This morning began with House Democrats filing one article of impeachment against Trump, charging him with “incitement of insurrection.” It makes its case by noting that Trump’s months of lies about the election and his inflammatory speech to the rally on January 6-- including lines like “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore”—led directly to “violent, deadly, destructive and seditious acts.”
He will wither and eventually die an angry, broken, delusional man.
And many will try to forget him.
But I will not.
We may escape his tenure in office bruised, but not mortally wounded.
Our environment may begin to recover from the assault he leveled at it that delayed action to slow the creeping warming that is engulfing our earth and threatening our children’s lives.
Communities that were the targets of his hate may entertain some hope for deep and lasting change.
People who fear illness or death from the Coronavirus may live to see those fears relieved.
The world may breathe a sigh of relief that the tyrant who ruled the United States has passed from the scene.
But I will not.
I will not forget him.
I will not breathe easily when he leaves.
He did not act alone.
Those who enabled his worst behavior remain in positions of trust and power.
Thank you. I agree 100%. Neurotically, I have made a list. I have made a promise to myself to keep track of these people the best I can. And, like this past election where I contributed to campaigns running against people like Moscow Mitch, I will do the best I can to oppose them. I was starting to feel vindictive, but I am grateful to see that I am not alone.
This is not a neurotic commitment in any way, Suzanne. Our country is under siege by homegrown terrorists and a LOT of complicit people in our government and, apparently, in our protective agencies. They have planted deep roots of fear and tyranny, particularly against our elected officials and in our citizens of color or various religions and ethnicities. It is time for all of us who are healthy to use all the tools at our disposal for some deep, deep gardening of our soil. We have to be willing to get our hands dirty to root out fanatics. And then we have to plant new seeds.
Actually, let me add, we need to plant new seeds at the same time we are rooting out the dark roots. We have a lot of new energy and diverse people in our government now. I take hear that so many voices are going to be heard and supported. And we need to strongly support them so they know we have their backs.
And we need to have a new kind of justice system for all these traitors to America. One that is not behind bars for years, but that is educational and socially just in what they must give back to our country as part of their consequences. We have to re-think so many things in new ways. And, strangely, for that I thank the Seditionists of the dying patriarchy for waking us up to creating these new pathways for the 21st century. All those fears of the millennial shift have been working slowly, and have now surfaced. We are being asked to change EVERYTHING—at the same time. I think we have a lot of people ready for that. We just have to make sure they are safe and protected. We have to make a choice: complacent/ complicit or Committed to our country and the world/planet?
Yes, I think the work goes much further than financing election campaigns or even flipping seats. When we talk about “deep gardening” I think we are talking about a change in culture, and this is something the right has been talking about and doing for years. I see it in the ultra-right wing in my own family. Thirty to forty years ago they started down an evangelical path, and now they are so deeply steeped into the mythology, it’s impossible to have a conversation with them. Their blind faith in their own actions has worked it’s way into every moment of their day, and there is no middle ground. It’s very unfortunate. Now and then a late teen or an adult can escape from the thinking, similarly to escaping from a cult, but it’s very difficult. So what we are talking about here, is cult that has reached gigantic proportions in this country, and the bigger the cult, the more difficult the challenge, because the more support you have for your delusional ideas, the easier it is not to challenge them.
What a great phrase! I talk a lot about education, planting seeds, as a foundation for necessary culture change, but hadn't encountered "deep gardening" to capture the concept. Quick google search went to literal gardening items. Is this a concept used among evangelicals?
I just made it up as visual concept for how deep the roots of deception via propaganda and fear actually go from the the true "deep state" of dark money and white privilege. I love the concept of deeply digging out these roots that are preventing America from moving forward. I love the idea of all of us going deeply within to see what seeds each of us have to plant, together, to establish a new garden that includes plants of a huge variety and diversity but with the same rights across the entire garden for sun, soil, maintenance and rights to equal nutrients. When one plant or plants grow too big and think they deserve more sun or nutrients than the others, they need to be pruned way back. Sometimes, they need to be transplanted completely. And in our case, there are some very deep roots we have not begun to see their depths, but we certainly have seen the shade they throw at those of us who prefer benevolence over superiority and toxicity . Our challenge is to make compost out of all the excreta being thrown at Americans by those who call themselves republicans.
I can’t say that I have ever heard the term “deep gardening” but I pulled it from Penelope Simpson Adams comment above. I was thinking about A Breitbart’s quote which, paraphrased, says “if you want to change thinking, you have to change culture.”
This is well said. The ongoing question that I haven’t found a good answer to is, how? I know the Fairness Doctrine needs to be restored, but we are talking about cult behavior... how it was created and how is it de-programmed. It’s an enormous subject that involves many factors, none of which I am familiar with. I do know from the little reading that I have done on it that deprogramming cult thinking is a major undertaking and is not always successful. A lot of us here have found that it is impossible to talk to these people, even family and friends. There’s no amount of truth/facts that you can present them with that makes a difference. I don’t know the answer to this pervasive problem here in this country.
As we describe far right groups, they are diverse, including in degree of approaching a cult. Rather than seeking to "de-program" those in it the deepest, it is more effective to start with the domains of public media. Even without a new Fairness Doctrine, we here are "taking up oxygen," as HCR likes to say. We are amplifying her messages that assert and affirm truth and reality, countering alt-right/trumpists/QAnon distortion, "fake news," "alternative facts," propaganda, and outright big lies.
These efforts comprise our newly coined phrase of deep gardening, planting seeds. It's a long term but necessary process and operates at many levels--from one-on-one conversations to public media, from single to ongoing occurrences.
I have intended to make a list (and admit, that with other emergencies going on in my life, I’ve been hoping some news source would do it for me). I do know that none of my elected representatives are on it, although Yvette Herrell, the newly elected Rep from the southern part of New Mexico decided her first speech on the floor should be an objection to Pennsylvania’s votes. 🤬
Suzanne, I would love it if you would post the list you made, so I and others could save it.
Brilliantly crafted post, R Dooley. Let this become our pledge - to the future, to our children and their children, to our nation and democracy: “I will not forget”. We must not forget, nor must we allow others to forget, else we will find ourselves facing these same issues yet again. I will not forget.
I, too, will never forget. It's not about retribution from those who were complicit in this rupture of civil society. No, for me, it is about trying to bring light into the darkness of these souls.
What has happened here, culminated by events of last week, is making the invisible visible. The shadow side of American society is now exposed and shown the light of day. Strangely, this is a good thing. Because we can't heal the wounds until we admit they are there and are real. We cannot recover from the traumas we have hidden until we confront them.
As any person in recovery knows, you can't move upward until you have hit the emotional and psychic bottom. As a country, we are now there. So, what are the traumas we now can talk about, deal with, and find a way to selflessness, compassion, and awakening? Prof. Randy Morris (Emeritus Antioch University spells it out better than I can:
1. Dislocation of original colonists from Europe bringing separation anxiety, which was repressed by a Puritanical theology – read today as misogyny and dominance over nature.
2. Slaughter and destruction of Native American peoples – appropriation of land and resources read today as unbridled greed
3. Slavery and its economic institutionalization – read today as racism and aggression against 'the other.'
4. Nuclear bombing of Japan and the subsequent institutionalization of planetary aggression – read today as the prominence of the military/industrial/police state.
All of this covered under a wrapping of delusion we now see as the messages we get from media and political parties. What's the old saying? "Keep them in the dark and feed them ????"
Sorry for the long rant, but I will not forget. The lights have been turned on, and I will NOT consume delusion any longer.
I so appreciate your articulating this. Millions of us feel this way. Please note that those of us who refuse to forget, those of us who insist on consequences, will likely experience some PTSD. In the absence of consequences we hold these causes in our bodies, never forgiving, never forgetting. We are all likely to need professional help to discern the difference between productive vigilance, the hard work we will do to create consequences — campaign work for example — and the self-harming work of maintaining a state of heightened anxiety.
Absolutely! Yes! Making the consequences ourselves through organizing and campaigning is therapeutic. That's what I do. But I have noticed a lot of people, even the organizers who have an outlet for their political anxiety, have trouble disentangling anxiety and vigilance. Stay well! Peace!
Already experiencing PTSD symptoms after enduring numerous attempts to throw away our votes in Pennsylvania. Each attempt was like a hard slap in the face. Self care is crucial.
74 million voters and probably double that in terms of actual supporters. A third or maybe 2/5 of our society is living in that Kool-Aid fantasy world. My father among them, many truck drivers, and at the very least the 88 million Twitter followers that have now been cut off from their cult leader. The parallels with Hitler are so so glaring.
Specifically, how and when do we undertake a national conversation about "The Big Lie?" I think this is crucial for moving back (?) toward functional politics in our country, as opposed to what we've experienced for the last thirty years. The barrier I see being that the people who bought into the lie fall largely in two camps. Those who were complicit and promoted it, and those who were victims of it. Both of which are sensitive subjects to bring up. The ones being immoral and the others dupes. And you can bet, if we ever get to this reckoning, the immoral ones will throw their hands in the air, and cry "I was fooled!"
I apologize for repeating something I wrote yesterday, but I heartily agree with R Dooley and suggest this as a blueprint for those who seek clear, useful direction going forward:
Let’s remember and praise the neighborhood work of Stacey Abrams and all so many others in Georgia. btw, I learned that Senator Raphael Warnock (!!) was a board member and perhaps president of this GA empowerment movement.
Just when I was trying to visualize and alternate reality in which trump never existed, you come up with a good reason to remember. May we all survive this turmoil.
Thank you for asking and thank you so much for your comment. You are most welcome to share it with your friends, but I’m not eager to post it on Facebook.
When the article in The Atlantic appeared, warning of the dangerous period of the Interregnum, it talked about how he could move from the electoral, to the litigation phase, but that after January 6th, the only option remaining was insurrection.
The visual of a constructed gallows, and vigilante groups, who carried zip cuffs, who new the location of secret congressional offices, tells me this was not simply a flash mob of angry citizens.
No, both from an offensive and defensive standpoint this a planned assault conducted by hate groups. He gave them their marching orders. He removed the leadership of the agencies tasked with guarding the Congress, ensuring that the response would be weak and ineffective. He influenced 147 political leaders to reject their oaths to the Constitution and swear their allegiance to him alone.
Almost seventy years ago, one man stood up to a demagogue saying, “Have you no decency, sir?”
We are at such a moment today, except that what’s at stake is far more than decency. Our country is badly divided, with about one in three citizens in support of the carnage that occurred on January 6, 2021. We face a most formidable adversary.
As Pogo said many years ago, “We have met the enemy... and it is us!”
Seventy five years ago we vanquished Fascism. Using our might, we built the greatest economy the world had seen. We conquered polio. We put a man on another celestial body. And we expanded the rights of the least powerful among us.
In an earlier letter, you described how Lincoln insisted on completing the dome of the Capitol at the same time the Civil War was killing over half a million people. Now we are facing dueling crises, one of our own making.
Conquering Covid does not demand we set aside what happened last week. We can, and should hold our leaders accountable for their false allegiance to a person that cares not one whit for the welfare of anyone but the privileged few.
Let that shining dome remind us of our shared history, our decency, our common purpose; and serve as an inspiration to those who yearn for and love freedom to continue the quest for the “more perfect union”.
But it is not just DJT. This white boy insurrection has been strategically planned and honed for decades. DJT was the final thrust of those who want to maintain total power. Look to our own and foreign oligarchs and how they control many aspects of our lives and thought. Look behind DJT and the money that empowered him and these fringe fanatical groups including the NRA and the promotion of weapons of mass destruction by civilians and fanatics. They are White Isis. financially. DJT was the dancing monkey of distraction whilst they placed their "acting" people into positions of power throughout our government and judicial systems. It was brilliant, it was foreseen and many pieces of the puzzle indicate the real conspiracy. And, whoever "they" are, masked as religious republicans of law and order, they allowed him to golf, rally, tweet and brainwash insane lies along with fanatic media heads and empower their white supremacist hate groups. Meanwhile this horrific pandemic brings us to our knees. None of them did anything to stop or try to reduce this pandemic. They do not appear to care whom it kills or harms. It is a modern holocaust, IMHO, led by American traitors who are terrorizing us and our elected officials. ISIS tactics by using our own people against us. And the death toll is so big now that we cannot comprehend the numbers.
Who was that totalitarian cult leader that said, "The death of one man is a tragedy, but millions are merely statistics? And these cult fanatics attack the heart of our democracy. I do not see any way around all of this except by our military intervening. And my national guard neighbor saluted the Proud Boys parade in front of my house. As someone said they other day, who can we trust now? I think I comprehend the fears of the people in Germany as the cult of Hitler truly began to take power. And I think we might be able to escape this take over, just. I am no military person, but swiftness in our actions is critical right now.
The Air Force particularly but the military in general has been a breeding ground for fanatical Evangelicals. I have a cousin whose daughter, raised as a free-thinking Unitarian, was recruited to the Air Force Academy and, as a serving officer, succumbed to the pressure to "be saved" in order to have a career. Those who do not do the Evangelical thing do not get preference or advancement in the military these days.
I am afraid you are right, it is difficult to see how they can be tamed or intimidated since a percentage of them appear to be ex-vets/trained warriors. Does that not say something about the travesty of war in itself? We train our young to be warriors, and, is it trauma and/or difficulty slipping back into normal civilian life where your fight and kill skills are no longer needed? Do they experience what some of my clients experience who prefer the intensity, wildness, creativity, and aliveness of their bi-polar episodes no matter how much destruction it causes? As opposed to being medicated to prevent hospitalization, jail or death because normal life feels so boring?
Some of the insurrectionists appear to think they are in a cos-play alternated reality than actually at the Capitol of the USA threatening, destroying and attempting graphic murder of the highest officials in our land and the police.
Trump & Hitler both know/knew how to grow mob mentality and keep it at a high level. My hope is that no social media and no rallies will begin to help fade the wolf packs. Still, I go back to the dark money behind the scenes must be rooted out.
A brilliant analysis. There is just not enough space dedicated to writing about the powers behind the dancing money charade. This is where the real dark forces reside. sunlight is the best disinfectant
I agree! Sunlight as disinfectant— love that! And I believe much of those forces will be revealed bit by bit and his followers may be in for a shock by the depths of this manipulation...and the emperor's lack of...well, everything of real value.
Well, that was an unsettling statement “my national guard neighbor saluted the Proud Boys”. And an armed national guard is mobilizing across the country as we speak. Who to trust 🤷🏻♀️
Ironic that your quote of "Have you no decency" was aimed not just at McCarthy but at his chief hatchet man, Roy Cohn, who later became the primary mentor for Trump, Roger Stone, and Paul Manafort. That question and declaration should ring again through the halls of Congress and our society.
Bingo. IF you watch some old Roy Cohn videos, you can easily see who mentored DT in the ways of the demagogue. Lie. Spin. Gaslight. attack. Never concede anything.
I had forgotten McCarthy's nickname, Tailgunner Joe
I am wondering why the 8 days? Can you elaborate on how things will be better, safer, more democratic after the inauguration? I'm not very confident that we will settle after the 20th.
1. Senate is Democratic. Bills and apointments will actually be taken up.
2. Biden is an experienced institutionalist who knows the system as well as a good number of the people, and has chosen wise, dynamic leaders to implement is agenda.
What has disturbed me the most during the past months is not simply 45's continual assault on our democracy, on our moral and ethical standards, on our safety and security as a nation, but his total disregard for a health disaster that has killed (in the most cruel of ways -- the utter depravation of the oxygen needed to breathe in our life source) more than 375,000 of our kin.
As you so eloquently put it, Heather:
"[A]ccording to Maggie Haberman at the New York Times, what is upsetting him most is that the PGA has pulled its 2022 golf championship from Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.
That, not the riots, not the deaths, not impeachment, and certainly not the coronavirus--which has now killed more than 375,000 of us—has “gutted” him."
Just think of it ... this traitor can only be "gutted" by financial loss and the destruction of prestige in a "white" sport that most US citizens cannot afford to play. Not one iota of compassion runs through the veins of this so-called human being, nor through the veins of his family, his administration or his blood-thirsty followers. At a time when thousands are on the brink of death, he has ensured that the spotlight remains on him rather than on the dying, the grieving, the homeless, and the starving.
May the Force be with our country and her citizens.
Add to the list: the essential workers who risk their lives every day, like the janitors who had to clean up after the rioters, police and firefighters who keep us safe, exhausted medial workers, teachers forced into classrooms so parents can work, people who provide food and keep stores and restaurants and factories open, government workers at all levels and many many more, These people are working and dying for almost a YEAR for people who in too many cases don’t even think about them any more, don’t wear masks or take precautions because they believe it’s their right to do whatever they damn please. This is the base that this president in name only and his party panders to. These proud, selfish super spreading bullies believe might makes right, God is on their side and the president has learned his lesson. 45 has truly left a mess for 46 to clean up. He and his carefully chosen administration need our support because otherwise, we are over and out.
I agree, Rowshan. Take all else away and what's left is failed leadership during what should be considered the most horrific of consequences that our country has faced.
Another concern, Marcy, is hearing the absolute relief from people who have received ONE vaccine shot - as if now they can relax - no need to be careful anymore! There needs to be big time education regarding the fact that that is not the cure so they can go back to "normal"! Especially at this point where there is now a push to just vaccinate as many numbers BEFORE there is enough vaccine in place for a 2nd shot.
I wonder if they would listen & comprehend? The whole thought is to go back to normal! Which truly is not going to happen likely in less than another year or two. I dont think most people actually understand that.
Screw bipartisanship, at least with the racist and theocratic terrorists who make up the bulk of the Republican party.
Would the so-called "moderate" Republicans like to rejoin government? Then they should form a new party, maybe call it the "Conservative" party. Denounce Trump. Denounce racism, violence, and the evisceration of our governmental agencies. Declare loyalty to the separation of church and state, the rule of law, and the Constitutional transfer of power. Do that, and after a few months to make sure you mean it, and we can talk about sharing power with the Democratic party. Until then, to hell with the lot of you, for we know you by the company you keep.
Democrats should -- must -- "ram through" as much comprehensive, well-drafted legislation as quickly as they can without any "bipartisan" participation. Don't worry about "inflaming their resistance," because they do that to themselves without any help from anybody else.
In their current incarnation, on a bus driven by racists and religious fanatics, Republicans can only negotiate in bad faith, hoping to delay and impede the functions of government while they mount another insurrection.
It is unbelievable that the ERA hasn’t become law. It is such a simple amendment: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” That’s it, yet we haven’t been able to make it law, despite 100 years of effort since Alice Paul first proposed the amendment in 1922.
I worked for a year in Washington from 1971-1972 to help get the amendment approved by the Senate. I was in the gallery on March 22, 1972 when the Senate vote was taken and will never forget the joy we felt. Two hours after the Senate vote, when Hawaii ratified it, we felt confident that within a couple of years it would be ratified by the necessary 38 states and become law, but anti-ERA groups stalled ratification. (Does the name Phyllis Schaffly ring a bell?)
Here we are, 50 years later and women still are not formally recognized and protected in the Constitution. The 38th State, Virginia, ratified it it in February, 2020. Once the necessary 38 states had ratified it, both houses of Congress needed to vote to eliminate the original ratification deadline. In February, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J. Res. 79 to do just that, but the Senate still hasn’t been able to get a vote on the parallel piece of legislation to make the ERA law (S.J. Res. 6).
Keep this in mind when you have visions of eliminating the Electoral College, which would also require a Constitutional Amendment. And also keep it in mind with regard to the importance of electing progressive candidates to State legislatures.
Once the new Senate is seated, please urge your Senators to bring a vote to the floor to approve S.J. Res. 6.
Mary Anne and Gwen, I could not agree with you more. The fact that the ERA still has not been passed, that it is taking nearly my entire life to become part of the Constitution, to me looks like an epic failure of the American people and the American democratic social experiment. Of course it’s part of the entire problem we are discussing here on this forum, the old social order of whites-first males-first straights-first hanging in there. I just think of my father, the old man born and raised in Nazi Germany, a loving father who dotes on his kids, but who will never truly think otherwise: whites come first, males come first, straights come first. The diehard Republican and diehard Fox watcher and diehard disdainer of non-straights, hippies, liberals and free-thinkers like all his children. All three children, the acorn fell a long way from the tree. Sometimes I have to wonder who is the child and who are the parents.
Duplicate post, because I want to make sure Gwen sees it in the middle of this avalanche and snowstorm of discussion.
Mary Anne and Gwen, I could not agree with you more. The fact that the ERA still has not been passed, that it is taking nearly my entire life to become part of the Constitution, to me looks like an epic failure of the American people and the American democratic social experiment. Of course it’s part of the entire problem we are discussing here on this forum, the old social order of whites-first males-first straights-first hanging in there. I just think of my father, the old man born and raised in Nazi Germany, a loving father who dotes on his kids, but who will never truly think otherwise: whites come first, males come first, straights come first. The diehard Republican and diehard Fox watcher and diehard disdainer of non-straights, hippies, liberals and free-thinkers like all his children. All three children, the acorn fell a long way from the tree. Sometimes I have to wonder who is the child and who are the parents.
Yes! The conservative party should become The Conservative Party. Cleave from trumpists, bring back Eisenhower decency, and how about environmental conservatism as well.
I'm new to this community, so forgive me if I say things that have already been said, or which irritate any followers. I've been following Heather on Facebook for a while now, though I somehow missed until just the other day that there was a newsletter.
I have watched with growing alarm what has gone on in this country since even before Trump took office, though his taking office in 2016 certainly made things a lot worse. I trace a lot of what is going on now to the rise of "conservative talk radio", led by Rush Limbaugh, etc., because when that happened, Republicans and Democrats started getting their actual news and information from different sources. Even into the early 1990s, Republicans and Democrats used to get the same information. They may have interpreted the information differently, but the "base predicate" was the same. However, that all changed once Limbaugh, et als, arrived on the scene, and it was accelerated and exacerbated by the rise of Fox News and its ilk. Now, we have a huge chunk of the population which doesn't even get the same news as the rest of the population. How can that possibly work in the long run?
As well, there are clearly--and horrifyingly--there are a lot of people in this country who would be just fine if we became a fascist autocracy. That is something that I never in my worst nightmares ever imagined.
Sorry to be a "Debbie Downer", but the last few months have just been so disheartening.
Welcome, Ian! You are so right about the talk shows. My dear brother and I were best buddies, both liberal minded, lived a couple miles from each other and raising kids the same ages, we spent a lot of time with each other "solving the world's problems" over coffee and dishes while the kids played. A sweet, sweet time. But he started listening to talk radio, Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, I don't even know who. Around the same time, a local ultra conservative Christian pastor, seeing him working out in the yard with his kids, started stopping by and chatting him up. So within a few years, I lost my pal to Far Wrong as someone here calls it, and for about 15 years now we rarely speak. We still love each other but have almost nothing in common except our family ties. It's really the saddest loss in my life. A tiny consolation is that his kids, as well as mine, are more aligned with liberal values but still able to maintain a loving relationship with their dad.
I have a cousin that I was very close to. We both supported the clown 🤡 in chief, the error of that call became evident to me when he became fixated on the crowd size which was obviously much smaller than Obama’s, that was my wake up call. My cousin never got that call. I have argued ever since via phone calls, emails, and NYT posted comments that we had made a colossal error in judgment and that we needed to do everything in our power to correct it. I was educated by Jesuits, who taught me that any argument had to be grounded in truth otherwise it was like taking a stand in sand. For nearly 4 years I made my arguments always based on facts, I would get 1 word replies. After my father passed, alone in a nursing home of old age, isolated because of the virus 🦠, I let him know that was a deal breaker, it still is. While I have done everything in my power to correct the mistake I made 4 years ago, a good relationship that I had with my cousin has evaporated, that’s a shame, our fathers were best friends. The well-being of the nation I love and have fought for, and will leave to my children and grandchildren is more important than my relationship with my cousin who has chosen a very different path. I was a 40+ year Republican in the vein of John McCain, whom I revered, the Republican Party has become irrelevant and no longer offers ideas and solutions based on reality. I fully support Joe Biden, who does have a grounded sense of reality, and pray that he gets a full 8 years to enact all of the many changes our beloved nation so desperately needs. So I feel your loss, but know that you are not alone.
Dick, good heavens! Thank you for this. I'm so sorry for the loss of your father and how his death was different than it could have been because of the virus restrictions. As a nurse, I've been deeply saddened by the way this has affected our elders especially those in nursing homes where they struggle with outbreaks and staffing issues, residents alone with no visits from loved ones, whether they're healthy or not. Frankly, I've been grateful my own parents are long gone and don't have to suffer through this. The isolation alone would have killed my mother. And I'm sorry for the loss of your relationship with your cousin. I'm very admiring of your attitude, priorities and honesty. Thank you for admitting you were wrong and trying (and succeeding - he lost!) to right that wrong. My husband and his father are both McCain Republicans at heart too and are perplexed and angry at the loss of their party, so I get it to some degree. I even could have considered McCain until he chose Palin; it was over for me then. He made the fatal mistake of caving to party pressure and the desire for a running mate that would cash in on voters he could not otherwise expect to win over.
Thank you Beth, I couldn'y agree with you more about John McCain's poor choice of Palin, as I understand it he wanted to pick Joe Lieberman a very close friend who was a democrat, but was talked out of it, I believe he regreted that for the rest of his life. I would have walked into hell for John McCain but thankfully I won't have to as I believe he's in a better place. I loved that man as much as anyone in my family because of his courage and the dignity he displayed as a POW. The clown in chief is beneath my contempt.
I believe my father in law, a lovely man, feels just as you do about John McCain (and djt as well!), Dick. You must be kindred spirits. I remember now about Lieberman, I believe you are absolutely right in your memory of that. We could use a whole lot of McCains right now, in place of what we've got in the GOP.
Wow, Dick, thank you for sharing all of this. And thank you for the encouragement and for sharing your convictions and hope for a better future. Some things can heal with time. Maybe your relationship with your cousin, as well as others whose relationships have been so badly damaged, can be one of those things. I hope so, for your sake as well as everyone else’s.
It might be my age, having become an old curmudgeon but I don’t miss the ppl I have lost to the cult. To use the term that has gotten me locked out of twitter – They are dead to me. Over my lifetime I have actually had a large number of ppl I was close to that have died so maybe I have been hardened somewhat to loss.
My half-brother in Mississippi was the first and I argued with him online from the time he started posting anti-Obama lies on facebook and finally cut off all communication with him on Nov 9, 2016. Same with a co-worker & “friend” of 15 years. I even discovered an old friend from the Hippie Days in Mississippi who was a sister in our extended family had gone to the Dark Side. Her ex-husband from that time is still with me in rational thot, so not all ppl in MS are so backward but he may be an anomaly.
Rob I really love your posts. I have a question for you. How do you feel about me contacting you by email? I have a new subscriber who must be you, and I have a private question for you, but I don’t want to betray your privacy by using your email without your permission.
Also, anyone else on this forum (Not Repugnants) are welcome, but be warned I often send out BCC e-mails to most of those on my e-male addresses such as events in my life, journal entries & old movie reviews, unless requested otherwise. :)
So true! As everyone here experiences, how can they think that way?!?!?! But especially hard when it's someone you love and who used to think completely differently. They go from caring about the welfare and well-being of all to just being pissed off about their taxes. My brother ranted about socialism, all through the Obama years, while simultaneously his son received the best private HS education possible at one of the top ranked academies in the country because his mother worked there and he could go for free - kind of a socialism concept, but he couldn't see it.
Yes. The saddes thing. I’ve had to detach from all of my family in Idaho and whom I frequently visited and with such fun and dear memories of years gone by. And my own young adult son, who was raised in a liberal and loving and accepting-of-differences home is pretty far right now. Full of anger and rambles of taxes and gun rights that make zero sense. The main influence of this change has been his fiancés family, the men, and the red town / county they live in.
Oh Tricia, I’m sorry to hear about your son’s situation. We try so hard to raise compassionate men, but there are innumerable influences that can, at times, overwhelm that upbringing. I pray that better days lie ahead, with men feeling more secure and less fearful/angry. Hang in there!
There are two things I don't think I could bear, my children or my spouse being far right. You have my deepest sympathies, Tricia. All I can say is my brother, a truly wonderful, gentle, generous man, well loved by all, did a 180 in terms of religion and politics. Maybe your son will do the same someday. May it be so. Til then, keep doing what you're doing.
Not to be a wise-acre but if you are referring to the movie it is "The invasion of the Body Snatchers" and when it came out in 1956 I (as a ten year old) couldn't sleep for a week. Over the years it was used as a creeping metaphor for communism, Rock and Roll, and quite a few more trends but I want to thank you and congratulate you for being astute enough to see the comparison to our time. The really frightening part is that the original in 56 and the remake in 78 really had no ending.
You know, I never saw either movie but the title stuck in my mind and it seemed so appropriate for what is happening. Glad I didn’t see the movie.. I wouldn’t have likely slept for a week either.
I’m so sorry, Beth. Besides all of the obvious and blatant destruction that he has brought upon our country in my opinion one of the saddest of all is how this has torn once living families such as yours apart. I have seen it in others close to me and I am so very sorry that you have lost your brother to this. Hopefully he will change his view as events continue to transpire.
Good morning Beth, I too have a brother who drank the kool aid and still sends me taunting emails. I must admit, however, that now I rather enjoy this back and forth. When he started to bait me, well before the presidential election, he would end each email with NPFAA (nothing personal family above all). We are really trying to cling to this...Now my emails to him, the last being how the left taunted Trump about hiding in his bunker during BLM protests in the summer, I say “and your point?”. But it is so sad to see and breaks my heart...
Maybe some people see “drinking the Kool-Aid“ as extremist, you know, one of those cringe worthy things. Maybe a new reader has a cringeworthy moment when they see me comparing trump to Hitler and Nazi Germany, or when they see me identifying the man as a Putin stooge and paid henchman. I know those comparisons will never get a “like” from HCR without clear historical context and explanation. However, the implicit comparison between DT and Charles Manson as cult leaders is right on target. I’m so pleased that people here see that.
Thank you for the kind words, Beth, and I am truly sorry about your estrangement from your brother. I can't pretend to understand that pain, though I have seen it happen with others, too. It is horrible to observe.
The compassion and love I’m seeing today moves me. This is a beautiful beautiful exchange today on this entire day of discussion. Brings tears to my eyes.
We must bring back the Fairness Doctrine. It’s unconscionable that the Fox Entertainment Network and the likes of Rush Limbaugh are given a license to brainwash citizens by feeding them lies and then can stand behind “free speech” to allow it.
It's a stretching of "free speech," which has always been subject to limitations. People are entitled to free thoughts and to sharing their thoughts but not entitled to huge, adoring audiences.
Welcome! Bringing the Fairness Doctrine back into play will help the media "problem". Heather is a big advocate of this, and often comments on it, so stay tuned!
You are so right. That is why Dr. Richardson's first recommendation for action by the Biden administration is reinstatement of The Fairness Doctrine. The lies must stop.
There is (was?) a wonderful documentary on Amazon called "The Brainwashing of my Dad." Worth watching. Fascinating. No society will survive where facts are irrelevant. We will just descend into madness. It is happening before our eyes. The guy with the horns us sane and we should marvel at him like a Marvel comic book character.
Somehow liberals got branded as liers while the liers kept lying. Very tricky of the Republicans. But they knew they could do it when so many people thought Richard Nixon really did have a plan to end the Vietnam war right there in his jacket breast pocket.
Watching the "death spiral" of the GOP is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. My spirits were buoyed by the commitments from corporate America to NOT fund the 147 Republicans who were not far behind Trump in culpability for the insurrection. Clearly the corporations and the social media companies are late in their condemnations and shock at what has happened, but they ALL should have been way out in front of this quite some time ago. I do realized that they are still concerned for their bottom line, but better late than never. Taking away their money and their social media megaphones will do more to weaken Trumpism as any political speeches or condemnations from Editorial Boards of mainstream media. -- HCR, keep up the good work!
McCarthy voted with the sedition caucus. He and his buddies are in deep Doo Doo, because without money, which is probably the primary Republican motivating force in the world (from their perspective, not mine), they are nothing and they know it. To them, money is everything. Having businesses and big corporate sponsors turn their back on them: deep trouble.
I am ashamed and embarrassed to report that I am in McCarthy’s district right now, taking my 30 minute break. I’m a truck driver on my way from Sacramento to LA. I get to drive through Bakersfield area every week. In fact every week I probably drive through most of the last remaining Republican congressional districts left in California. And I live in one, my Congressman LaMalfa (CA-1) is also one of the 147. Lucky me.
Lay on the horn when I passed McCarthy’s house? I’m always going through Bakersfield at 2 AM! Somebody just give me the address and I will give it a shot.
I feel very grateful to live in a state with two wonderful Dem senators and a Republican Governor who voted for Biden and publicly declared his disgust for the Capitol attack. BUT I am ashamed that busloads of our residents went to the Capitol, including one of our State Troopers. I hope our little State House, and those who do fine work inside it, will survive this coming weekend.
We must not ignore the fact that the Trump malignancy has metastisized to law enforcement personnel throughout the country, like the trooper you mentioned, like the Capitol Police who turned their heads and those involved in the George Floyd murder. Reversing this, de-politicizing of law enforcement, will have to be part of the next Attorney General's role.
For a minute I thought you lived in MD. But Hogan bravely voted for Ronald Reagan, a dead man, rather than Biden. It is hard to believe a smart man could be so ridiculous and obvious.
My state also has the wonderful Representative Jamie Raskin. I am so grateful for him. He has found time in his greatest grief to put his all into removing Trump for all of us.
Mine is nationally known deplorable Marsha Blackburn, and newly elected seditionist Bill Hagerty (who ran on a “trump loves me” platform—seriously) and Tim Burchett, a good ol’ boy who keeps finding new offices to run for rather than get a job.
I share the same awful Senators with Marcy, but my Congressman is seditous Chuck Fleishmann. He tested positive for Covid this week, presumably transmitted from his housemate. He is under quarantine.
I feel your pain, Sally. I’ve got “toxic” Tom Tiffany and Ron Johnson. Pre gerrymandering, the 7th CD was ably and nobly represented by David Obey. Post gerrymandering, the district was “represented” by a reality TV personality, actually, Sean something (apologies—have not been sleeping well since last Wednesday), who was not my favorite.
If you haven’t already, please check out the Fair Maps initiative, which is listening to and sharing information with Wisconsinites about nonpartisan redistricting. They are holding virtual meetings in each Congressional district to get the word out and build support. If Fair Maps appeals to you, I encourage you to amplify their message with your own network. We will be in legislative hell here at both the state and national level until each seat is (or at least most seats are) competitive.
Tom Palzewicz told me about the Fair Maps initiative and I've been following. Maybe if they remove Fitzgerald we could get Tom to run for his seat. I would be proud to have him represent my district. Wisconsin needs to clean house and redistrict.
My rep compared impeachment to lynching in an ultimate tone deaf comment. He is a blue dog, but he did walk back the comment and will vote for impeachment. I have had to vote for him because the alternatives are such persons as Tootie Smith (puke). I did vote for a progressive primary opponent who proceeded to diss HRC once she was the candidate. I will never vote for him for anything again. I would consider an alternative to the blue dog, but the person cannot be be a Bernie type in this district.
I am in a hotel in LA, and that just tickles my funny bone I cannot stop laughing. “Steaming heaps of human excrement that they are.” You’re just killing me.
Wow that’s beautiful Ted and it expresses my feelings exactly. I have no complaints about having a Sedition 💩 Caucus Representative in Congress, or driving through Kevin McCarthy’s California. It’s an honor. GO LIBERTY‼️GO EGALITARIAN NEW SOCIETY‼️🥰
Thanks Roland. I love So Cal and especially Kernville, the desert mountain roads with Sierra Mountain views are something to enjoy, and not everyone has, nor gets too.
If you are near there, that is where you will find a safe harbor. Keep the faith. As bad as it is, there are more good people who only wish for good things to happen. I admit it can be struggle to swim against the current and remain steady. I am finding that I am needing some help from others to remind me of the same, more this week than any other ever.
Hang in there Ted. We love you. You are loved. This week is brutal, you’re doing a great job with it. I love your posts. I copied your “light in the darkness“ quote into my journal, because it exactly captures what I was saying about driving through Red California districts and living in one. I take joy in my work of driving through dark regions and bringing light.
Aah, I see where you are. You are in Kevin McCarthy District! A handful of times I did an organic food delivery route down 395 through the Valley behind Mount Whitney, and that route went right past Lake Isabella before returning to Auburn-Placer County (near Sacramento), so I’ve been in your neighborhood a few times. Yeah it is absolutely gorgeous, the drive is spectacular. I loved it when the driver went on vacation and I could do his route. Quiet, gorgeous, spectacular drive. Ethereal.
I’m new here and in California. My family roots are from Bakersfield, and I still have some family there now. I can say that a woman highly involved the in CA RNC is one of my FB ‘friends’. I have seen even her post how McCarthy is bonkers... Of course he was re-elected but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new ‘conservative’ rep from that district sooner rather than later.
Hi Leona! I live in Grass Valley. I’m a truck driver, so me and my colleagues drive down I-5 and 99 every week from Sacramento to SoCal and back. So if you’re looking through recent posts, you’ll know that Roland and Ted are neighbors of yours, sort of.
Thank you! And Ted, Kernville is one of my favorite spots in CA. My family settled in Kern County in the early 1900’s and some family retired in Weldon. I still have family there and in Bakersfield, although I was raised on the coast and now live in Oakland.
Agree completely. Trump, McCarthy, the sedition caucus, Graham, the whole vipers nest, no moral compass, no principles, nobody you would ever want near your house or even talking to any of your children.
Stopping corporate funding may be the only way to get my treasonous Representative out. Never thought I'd ever say this but Thank You Corporate America!!
My body and mind are now wide awake! It’s uncanny how lately I wake up the minute your letter hits my inbox! It’s like a relay... you turn off the lights and I pick it up and run!
And then she wakes up probably noonish, and if she’s not a complete zombie, she might go in and look at comments. How she makes time for that I will never now, I wouldn’t have it in me.
Cynthia, turn off the alerts on your phone at night. That's what I do: and I read the newsletter at the "rational" (for me) hour of 5:30 AM when I start drinking my first cup of coffee. 🤪
Linda, For a long time I would awaken in the middle of the night and read HCR's Letter. It was detrimental because I would then go through and read any articles cited that I had not already read which would then lead me down God only knows how many rabbit holes. These days I rarely read the Letters in the wee hours. I get a little more sleep which, I think, makes me a little less crazy.
Ha! My phone was off, but I needed to turn the flashlight on. The notification of the arrival of Heather’s letter was right on my home screen! I didn’t have the discipline to ignore it, so here I am!
Of course he's "gutted" by the loss of the golf game - of all the problems, that's the only one that affects his ego personally.
The nice thing is, he is going to be DESTROYED on all fronts. He owes a billion+ in debts that come due this year, and now no one will give him money (I'm certain even Putin and the Russians have washed their hands of him now). So his "great business" goes totally bankrupt. All his golf courses will have to be sold, along with everything else - and the company that was handling his real estate business has announced they will have nothing more to do with him. After making himself a traitor, nobody's going to want to give him money to have his name on their building. He is toast. Over. Done. Stick a fork in him.
And that doesn't even count the Department of Justice coming after him for sedition, the New York Attorney General going after him and also his company for major tax fraud, and the New York DA also going after him and his spawn. And that doesn't mention SDNY, which is going to be relentless.
Bye bye, shithead. You and your worthless children are ALL going to lose EVERYTHING and then go to jail.
And all the Trumpscum are going to "get theirs." When their names and addresses are linked to their hate speech, and then that information is given to their employers, they're going to be Out On Their Asses, and since so far they're getting "fired for cause" (which will continue) that means they can't collect unemployment. They're going to WANT to be picked up and put in FEMA camps, as the only way to have a roof over their head and a meal.
The owners of the wingnut noise machine are already telling their puppets to STFU on pain of being fired.
Then we pass The Fairness Doctrine as law, rather than revocable regulation, and shut down their whole Wingnut Welfare State.
2021: the year we SMASH the pseudo-conservative Far Wrong Wing.
The thing that scares me so much is the notion that someone who realizes all of that has nothing left to lose. That kind of desperation is terrifying - what might he do next? This is why I think it’s a big mistake to hold onto articles of impeachment. If he’s a clear and present danger, the House *must* send them to the senate ASAP.
Niece Mary Trump said as much in a post-insurrection interview. She said he will want to take us all down with him, and she is quite certain, as a psychologist, that he will try to do this. Quite scary.
That's what I wonder too; if he becomes a martyr in their eyes, what is the next step they will take? We don't know what rumblings are going on with that herd and where they will appear next. The fact that many security forces are looking into themselves to find members who are complicate just adds to my uncertainty of the consequences.
I want him OUT, but I don't know the full extent of the fall out of it happening.
I am grateful for HCR explaining all the nets Pelosi put into the documents that did offer some protection for those who may need it.
I think you are right. At least some supporters this is key to breaking apart the delusion. Andrew Weissmann broke Enron. As a prosecutor he explains what Mueller could do and not be fired, and having studied the Mueller report, Weissmann's book is really really helpful, like a prelude or cliff notes to the Mueller Report.
Read:
Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation
Andrew Weissmann
and
Dark Towers ( DT loans from Deutche Banks Private Loans Division....Dark $ funneled unknown Russian Oligarchs)
Yeah, I have Dark Towers. It covers the highlights of Deutsche Bank’s history including Nazi Germany, they were totally on board with the Hitler Administration.
Thank you, HCR and TCinLA. From your pen to the god’s and goddess’s ears. Golf organizations and football teams taking a stand against Trump might reach the crazies at both financial extremes. BUT, this morning I’m most heartened to read of corporations moves on seditious members of Congress. Taking their money away is the surest way to get rid of them or change their tunes. The business of America is business. The USA has for some time been viewed as a safe harbor for international financial investment. Corporations must feel that they have an obligation to their shareholders to withdraw support? Or, is it just possible the CEO’s also experienced the fear and fury we did watching Trump supporters smash their way into Congress. Impeach and Imprison Trump. Go, go, go, Pelosi, Schumer and SDNY. ❤️🤍💙
Hi Deborah, excellent post I don’t know why nobody responded. I read an article that the corporations that have PACs, how those PACs invest is guided by employees wishes. So according to this article, sorry I don’t remember where I saw it, Raw Story or Politico maybe, employees are disgusted with the Sedition Caucus and vocal about it, and that’s what’s making the PAC staffs change their funding policies.
I watched a news clip a month or so ago where Amarosa (the woman who worked closely with Trump on the Apprentice) said that the minute Trump leaves office Melania will file divorce papers.
Have you read Stephanie Wolcott’s ... I was almost ashamed to read it, she’s kind of a nutty person, but there’s no doubt that Melania is cut from the same cloth....
Thank you for the ray of hope.. I want all of this and then some, please. My worry is that he will start his own right wing-nut media empire and continue to engage and enrage his base base.
We're going to need to convene a Truth & Reconciliation Commission, similar to the one that took place in South Africa after apartheid, similar to the one that should have taken place in the USA following the Civil War. If we are going to root out this sickness that has infected the body of American politics since the founding and now threatens its very life, all of it has to be exposed to the light.
This time, for a change, we need to start by holding the leaders and worst offenders responsible for their deadly actions. The Republicans claim to be the party of personal responsibility. It’s time to act accordingly.
Thank you Heather. Always on spot with the facts and details. I appreciate this lifeline to reality as I grapple with friends and colleagues that are complicit with Trump and his accomplices.
The days seem endless as we approach the first step to righting this ship. We have so far to go on this journey. I am delighted with the mass fallout away from Trump. It's as if we are watching an onion peel away from itself in fast forward. I'm hoping this will lead to making Trump insignificant in due time. Something is needed to break the trance he has on his cult.
I am still, and will likely always be sickened by the images coming from the attack on the Capitol by the domestic terrorists. I feel a Commission should be set up to concentrate on all aspects of who and why this happened. A price must be paid for this insurrection.
I'm curious as to why Chad Wolff chose now to exit. Jumping ship or trying to save his ass? I have watch a couple of interviews with Colin Powell these last few days. His is dripping with disdain towards Trump. My hope is that Biden will pull him in to investigate the insurrection.
As a side note, if nothing else comes of Trumps involvement, we can all settle on the fact that even Bellichick won't tolerate him. Damn.
Great comments, Linda. Truly a long road ahead of us. I have this foreboding feeling that after 45's unwrapping of Pandora's Box, even he will be irrelevant to his very supporters as they feel empowered over what they accomplished on 1/6.
Oh no! I had some trumper say that how could we get so crazy about a few Republicans rioting when all summer long the BLM and Antifa people laid siege to the entire country?! This mentality terrifies me!
I guess we'll have to brace ourselves as we hear more of the same in the coming weeks and months. Won't change my opinion at all. I feel comfortable in being able to distinguish a riot from a protest.
Foxnews.com had pivoted to "but BLM!" and accusing Democrats of being "divisive" the morning after. Now they're covering how much money Biden's nominee for OMB made at a non-profit she ran (misleadingly reporting her combined salary over two years). The right-wing apparatus is still spinning.
Still, there's a modicum of hope--Cumulus Media, owner of Westwood One and third largest operator of AM and FM radio, banned all of their talk shows from suggesting the election has not ended. Here's hoping it's a start of a bigger trend and not a lone executive with a conscience.
This reminds me of the courage of Joe Wilson in his attempts to counter the suggestion that yellow-cake uranium was being provided by Niger to Iraq, to justify attacking Iraq's purported WMD. Joe Wilson has been trashed. His wife, Valerie Plame was "outed" by Scooter Libby and lost her CIA cover and exposed her contacts to retribution. A jury convicted Libby of obstruction of justice and perjury in his grand jury testimony and making false statements to federal investigators about when and how he learned that Plame was a CIA agent. On April 13, 2018, Libby was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
I am concerned with the Inaugural events. I wonder if it would be safer to officiate the New Elect President and Vice=President in a small, closed event, with the attendance of those who must be present to make it official and legal, and leave visits to cemetery and other regular activities for next day or end of the month. By then, there would be a new cabinet, new leaders in charge of our Nation's security, better security plans in place as well as removing infiltrators from any agency related to national and local security. Vesting Joe Biden and Kamalla Harris with all the legal powers, securing that step, in my view, would be the most relevant act on the 20th.
I'm also worried about the Inauguration and the safety of the new President and VP. I live across the Potomac from DC and know the Secret Service and Metropolitan Police will do all they can to protect our elected officials. With the National Guard being called up well in advance, I'm hopeful they'll all be fully prepared this time for the violent insurrectionists threatening to turn out. I feel the new administration wants to reclaim the public space and I support them in that. It's still scary as hell to think of an outdoor event at this point
Until the 20th Biden does not have the authority nor will his appointees be allowed to do the much needed security scrutiny to face the current threats and challenges. I remind myself there were people in that terrorist mob who were skilled and apparently equipped to take some hostages while chants to hang the VP and Pelosi were going. And they are planning events on all 50 capitals on the 20th. They want war.
Way too dangerous to hold an outside inauguration when we know there are so many officers in the National Guard and other forces who are white supremist trumpers. God (and our military Chiefs of Staff) Protect Us.
When you live long enuf, you recall events that surprised & moved you for coming out of nowhere. I immediately thot of Anwar Sadat in '81. This was before the Internet. I saw the headline of a newspaper on a news stand. For any younguns here who don't know, here is a quick grab from the Internet:
"Opposition to the treaty, a declining Egyptian economy and Sadat's quashing of the resulting dissent led to general upheaval. On October 6, 1981, Armed Forces Day, Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremist army officers at a military parade to celebrate Egypt's 1973 Yom Kippur War in Cairo, Egypt."
Good lord! I hope the Secret Service might dissuade him from that. At least they should put up bullet-proof screens around the stage. i don't see how they can ensure against snipers.
Such a long day, and yet true to form, Dr HCR is able to tell us not only what has transpired, but also to explain the significance of each action and reaction, all while keeping a connection with the humanity of everyone involved and providing an objective insight into the psyche of each.
Question: I have clear memories of studying about propaganda and The Big Lie in grade school. These concepts were introduced early on, before middle and high school, and were revisited over the years. Did I just happen to end up with brilliant teachers - or was this just being taught because W.W. II was a relatively recent (within the past 20-25 years) memory? I am extremely worried that it seems we don't have a cultural knowledge of these concepts. How can we rectify the situation that we find ourselves in, with such a large percentage of our citizenry believing The Big Lie that the election was not a fair election? How do we get past this?
On a neighborhood Facebook group, people were complaining about the push to send kids to college and blaming teachers and the high schools. Some of them I know were previously non political folks. So I broke it down for them. What is taught in schools is decided by politicians not educators. Politicians set the standards by how schools are ranked which includes how many students go to college. Then once in college, the government makes millions on student loan debt. So you don’t like the curriculum in schools? Vote! I didn’t receive any replies, crickets. Being involved in the political process matters!
As a person who has worked in public schools for 30 years, you couldn’t be more correct. In addition, the textbook companies who decide the content of what our youth read and study in classrooms are aligned with particular parties and people. AND even university professors and department chairs of psychology, social studies, government, etc are ‘in bed’ with politicians. It runs deep.
Crickets my ass. “ what is taught in schools is decided by politicians not educators.“ This is a brilliant statement. In the 1970s California public schools, I was taught that genocidal maniac Spanish conquistadors were heroes and good people. These were vicious criminals. I have had to relearn and replace almost everything I was taught in public school, at least the bias, the context, the worship of the wrong people.
I taught 8th grade reading and "The Children's Story" by James Clavell was on our reading list. It began as a magazine article but eventually was published as a tiny little novella. So small, that my students were awestruck that we began reading the novella at the beginning of the period and by class end had completed it and discussed a lot of it. It should be required reading in every 8th grade classroom throughout the country. It's premise is that when Clavell, a British citizen (famous author) was living in the USA, he little daughter came home from school one day and proudly recited the Pledge of Allegiance. His questions to her made it clear she did not understand its meaning. That event was the author's springboard. We have lived the premise, the plot of this novel for the past five years. I can't recommend it enough. I posted about it all the time during trump's first year of his regime.
Well - THATS an example of brainwashing, isnt it? Scary but I imagine its exactly what happens in many countries - something to prevent happening here!
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is a must read for not just children but also adults. It gives us what we all need: The Truth. That is what children want, the lies many of our school systems have in what they force teachers to present to children's minds. This great masterpiece has been removed in the past, and perhaps even now, in various school systems. Shame on those people!
Mid 20th century Americans witnessed the horrors unleashed by the big lies of Hitler and Stalin. Millions of tragic deaths, waves of destruction and multigenerational trauma.
How is it that we Americans forget this, and 70+ million voters fall for the big liar in the besmirched White House?
Special contempt for the big tech conveyors of lies whose click bait avarice provided these seditious liars with propaganda platforms Zuckerberg and Dorsey forgot that free speech does not include shouting FIRE in a crowded theater. (Homage to the great Justice Brandeis.) Now, too late, they realize they have a responsibility. Let us never forget. Thank all historians for keeping knowledge alive and in our consciousness.
The challenge of "political speech" on big tech (and lamestream media) is that those platforms help little lies become big, both in their spread and the subsequent accumulation of ancillary lies. You are, of course, quite right that big tech free speech advocates--wherever they started from--are driven by protecting massive profits. One small note: Brandeis was a highly significant jurist and political thinker (see "Other People's Money" 1914), but the quote is from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Brandeis, considered a radical some hundred years ago, said all speech should be allowed unless it leads to criminal action. The question is: Did trump and his allies speech lead to the capitol insurrection?
A good question. According to recent comments from various legal scholars, it's all in the realm of "that depends." In the various federal statutes under which Trump could be charged, once out of office, the meanings of words like "incite," "solicit," "solicits, commands, induces, or otherwise endeavors to persuade," etc. have all been contested in various (non-presidential) court cases. I personally think "seditious conspiracy" would have the best shot: " If two or more persons conspire to . . . by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States ...." sounds to me pretty much like trying to halt Congress from its Constitutional duty to count electoral votes.
But, impeachment is not a criminal trial. The standards of evidence are much looser and, obviously, openly political. Trump's lawyers will of course claim free speech rights. And while his accusers could bring up relevant federal laws, Trump has long been skilled at saying something while also taking it away ("those Second Amendment people" nudge-nudge, wink-wink). I think that if there is a trial after impeachment--remember that a year ago the Senate allowed no witnesses or entry of documentary evidence--it will come down essentially to a face-validity argument: He began asserting election fraud in July and accelerated people's sense of grievance thereafter, calling for public resistance. Free speech is not absolute. A politician who stated that illegal immigrants or Muslims deserved to be killed (rather than just massively mistreated) would likely be both impeached and prosecuted. And remember that in Schenck's case, where the Holmes quote is from, he was unanimously convicted--and all he did was pass out leaflets encouraging draft resistance.
I teach it as I teach about WWII and want kids to be wise citizens. My son went through a different school system and I don’t think he learned about it.
I, too, was taught all about propaganda in the 50"s, by the nuns, who also told me, at age 7, that if I took Communion with a Mortal Sin on my Soul, I would be struck dead. What do you believe.
A week ago, DT was likely to run for election in 2024. Now he has lost all his communications platforms. His extremist supporters have too, their organizing ability is severely compromised. He has diminished fundraising ability by losing Stripe and Shopify, compounding the crippling loss of his megaphones.
The Trump brand is now radioactive, only a week after being hotter than the sun.
I am still in shock. I am still stunned. If you had told me a week ago that both Georgia Senate seats go blue, I would’ve said no way, at least one incumbent will win, surely Perdue. If you had told me that the Capitol, the US Capitol, would be invaded by rioters and looters posing serious threat to Congressional members, I would’ve questioned your sanity. And then, to top it all off, if you had told me that the Trump brand would implode and become radioactive and so toxic that he is being shunned by business, and that he is going to be impeached in the remaining two weeks of his term, that would’ve ended the conversation for sure.
Omg Roland! So true! And it comes in waves of fury, despondency, depression, indignation at the sheer hypocrisy of the crap flowing from the right- now they want a Kumbaya moment?? Now they are concerned about further dividing the country?
Pence wants to wait and see if t**** gets worse? Dude- he tried to have you murdered!
And every day we learn some new horrific detail- not from the government though, they’ve gone dark. We’re learning from journalist with cameras and iPhone. We’re learning from our intrepid Dr R and her deep research and concise writing.
Much like we have experienced the pandemic- we are in this on our own, no leadership at the helm to calm us or light the way. Trying to figure out what comes next, what we should do, how we need to protect ourselves.
Amazing. You had high hopes? I had a dim dim hope. One mathematical chance in 4, not a good start. The Democrats are challengers, the Republicans are both incumbents. The odds are getting worse. I just didn’t expect it, I had a meltdown on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning while I was driving and listening to MSNBC on satellite radio. I’m still trying to believe it. I was feeling joy and hysteria all night, it was like winning the lottery and then taking those winnings to the casino and hitting the jackpot. I’m still blown away.
He’s not gonna give a press conference. The press burns him up one side and down the other, they’re not just kissing his ass like his fans. At this point I think Fox is gone too. All he has left is a Cabinet meeting.
Undoubtedly, but can he ever regain those 88 million Twitter followers? I think it’s all downhill from here for this guy. There’s no way to know for sure of course, but I think the High Point of his fame and influence is gone.
I HATE POLITICS. I hate the party posturing to which it has devolved, where ppl must ask permission of the party rather than doing the right thing. (Yes, I am an Independent and a Berner). I especially hate the hypocrisy, obfuscation and outright lying that comes so easily to the Repugnant Party.
Senator Rick Scott (Reptile FL) actually used a tRumpism yesterday “On Both Sides.” No, you HMO pilfering crook, the killing and destruction is on the Repugnant side with their following of Hateful, White Supremacist Terrorists who attacked the Capitol and are still posing a threat to our government.
WTF is wrong with that 1/3 of ppl who approve of this traitor’s job performance or 40% of voters who can’t see that he has done no work for the nation? And, WTF is wrong with almost half the ppl can’t see that he was directly involved in inciting a rabid cult mob to attack the Capitol with the possibility of removing all successors to his power? Those are rhetorical questions. As I have been saying since 2016, ignorant deluded ppl with no critical thinking skills who live in an alternate fantasy realm would support this clearly insane person or the Repugnant Party that does not have the best interests for them or the nation.
Do you ever get a chance to talk to them Rob? It’s like talking to a member of the Manson following. They robotically parrot what they hear. No ability to see the truth, the reality. They roll their eyes when I even say he’s racist and sexist, but they really think I’m whacked out when I say things like:
(1) Trump is owned by Putin.
(2) Trump’s strategy and techniques have a lot in common with Hitler’s
(3) everything Trump does is coercion, blackmail, bribery, quid pro quo dealing, self-serving greed and lust for power and money.
We have to be grateful for the gift of seeing it as it is. Just thank your lucky stars that you’re not a member of the cult, lost in delusion and illusion.
All politics is local, even electing the next council member, or Senator, or President. And also, were one to put up solar or insulate or purchase an electric car, that is local but far reaching in positive consequences. And good carma too
Reptile Rick Scott is beyond redemption. I had sent him a letter asking him to remove Trump either by invocation of the 25th or by impeachment. I got a form letter that nearly drove me into insanity...I wish I could put a link to the letter, but I will copy one of the paragraphs. He not only insists that the PA election was fraudulent, he also has some "lovely" ideas for reforming voting throughout all the states. Voter suppression at its finest. If anyone knows how I can send a copy to Rick Wilson of the Lincoln Project (he lives in FL), please let me know. Here is Rick Scott's "excuse".
Specifically, the situation in Pennsylvania was of particular concern to me. The actions of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Administration and the courts in Pennsylvania pose a serious threat to the integrity of future elections. The Governor of Pennsylvania, along with state courts, made a decision to allow votes to be counted that came in after Election Day, even if they did not have a postmark, in defiance of state law. This is absurd, and cannot be tolerated. It also appears that Pennsylvania enacted policies in direct conflict with its own state constitution, which is also unacceptable. We simply cannot tolerate partisan political attempts to change the rules and tip the scales in our elections. In October, Supreme Court Justices Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas warned that the reckless actions of Pennsylvania’s Governor and Secretary of State might result in ‘serious post-election problems’ and they were right. Both of these matters are still pending at the United States Supreme Court. I voted to sustain the objection to Pennsylvania’s slate of electors because these important constitutional questions are still unresolved.
The American Political Science Association actually used the "Both Sides" Trumpists and its members went berserk. The APSA modified its statement, but once the toothpaste is out of the tube you can't put it back in. Member, Tomasso Pavone, posted a red ink "correction" which, if the situation weren't so serious, would be hilarious on its own merit.
If the link doesn't take you directly to the article go to the article "Deeply Harmful Rhetoric".
Great resource. Pulling from the article, trump/demagogues use 6 rhetorical strategies to unify his followers against everyone else:
1. Appealing to the wisdom of the crowd, using popularity as the measure of value
2. Paralipsis: "I’m not saying; I’m just saying." Gives them "plausible deniability to assert that they didn’t actually say some controversial thing or that they were merely joking or being sarcastic"
3. American exceptionalism "to take advantage of their followers’ patriotism and feelings of national pride for the demagogue’s gain"
Please keep all of his transgressions enumerated in the News Letter and in the sage comments close at hand. I sense in coming days, weeks, months and years many more aspects of his devious character will see sunlight.
I have written this before but I have to repeat myself. All those elected republicans in Congress and in the various states, with very few exceptions, would have rejoiced at his reelection. Certainly last Wednesday was the icing on the cake, but the cake was long baked for all to smell and taste. And they did, and supported him anyway.
Surely djt is one of the most reprehensible men to have lived. But he is not the cause of where we find ourselves today. He is the result of the Republican Party of the last 40 years. The biggest lie was voiced by Ronald Regan when he said “government is the problem”. What we witnessed at the Capital building last week, and what we have endured during this pandemic, is what you get when you “shrink government to a size that you can drown it in a bathtub”.
For four years Trump’s wildly unstable mental state, preposterous narratives, revolving door of staff and appointees, provided substantial signs, along with insider reports, conveying he is a madman and unfit to be president. Mental health professionals risked protocol and signed on by the hundreds insisting he was unfit from the start.
WHY was all of this allowed to reach and culminate so horrifically—-and predictably?
Yesterday from OpenSecrets I pulled a list of donor to my senators and rep, who are all guilty of seditious behavior. I plan to write at least some. The biggest donor, a private company, to our new Senator is owned by the brother-in law of a close friend, one a dedicated repub and my friend the complete opposite. FedEx is HQ’d in Memphis and I think they have already suspended donations.
Thank you for this. I’ve read it a number of times sinking in with the notion money speaks louder than reason — to those who revere “power” over love as the vehicle of transformation and happiness.
He might resign.
Mike might pardon him.
Congress might impeach or censure him.
Some Republicans will pretend to disavow him.
Prosecutors will indict him.
Citizens will sue him.
Banks will abandon him.
His followers will erect shrines to him.
He will wither and eventually die an angry, broken, delusional man.
And many will try to forget him.
But I will not.
We may escape his tenure in office bruised, but not mortally wounded.
Our environment may begin to recover from the assault he leveled at it that delayed action to slow the creeping warming that is engulfing our earth and threatening our children’s lives.
Communities that were the targets of his hate may entertain some hope for deep and lasting change.
People who fear illness or death from the Coronavirus may live to see those fears relieved.
The world may breathe a sigh of relief that the tyrant who ruled the United States has passed from the scene.
But I will not.
I will not forget him.
I will not breathe easily when he leaves.
He did not act alone.
Those who enabled his worst behavior remain in positions of trust and power.
They must be held to account.
They must be rooted out.
Some may forgive and forget.
But I will not.
Thank you. I agree 100%. Neurotically, I have made a list. I have made a promise to myself to keep track of these people the best I can. And, like this past election where I contributed to campaigns running against people like Moscow Mitch, I will do the best I can to oppose them. I was starting to feel vindictive, but I am grateful to see that I am not alone.
This is not a neurotic commitment in any way, Suzanne. Our country is under siege by homegrown terrorists and a LOT of complicit people in our government and, apparently, in our protective agencies. They have planted deep roots of fear and tyranny, particularly against our elected officials and in our citizens of color or various religions and ethnicities. It is time for all of us who are healthy to use all the tools at our disposal for some deep, deep gardening of our soil. We have to be willing to get our hands dirty to root out fanatics. And then we have to plant new seeds.
Actually, let me add, we need to plant new seeds at the same time we are rooting out the dark roots. We have a lot of new energy and diverse people in our government now. I take hear that so many voices are going to be heard and supported. And we need to strongly support them so they know we have their backs.
And we need to have a new kind of justice system for all these traitors to America. One that is not behind bars for years, but that is educational and socially just in what they must give back to our country as part of their consequences. We have to re-think so many things in new ways. And, strangely, for that I thank the Seditionists of the dying patriarchy for waking us up to creating these new pathways for the 21st century. All those fears of the millennial shift have been working slowly, and have now surfaced. We are being asked to change EVERYTHING—at the same time. I think we have a lot of people ready for that. We just have to make sure they are safe and protected. We have to make a choice: complacent/ complicit or Committed to our country and the world/planet?
Yes, I think the work goes much further than financing election campaigns or even flipping seats. When we talk about “deep gardening” I think we are talking about a change in culture, and this is something the right has been talking about and doing for years. I see it in the ultra-right wing in my own family. Thirty to forty years ago they started down an evangelical path, and now they are so deeply steeped into the mythology, it’s impossible to have a conversation with them. Their blind faith in their own actions has worked it’s way into every moment of their day, and there is no middle ground. It’s very unfortunate. Now and then a late teen or an adult can escape from the thinking, similarly to escaping from a cult, but it’s very difficult. So what we are talking about here, is cult that has reached gigantic proportions in this country, and the bigger the cult, the more difficult the challenge, because the more support you have for your delusional ideas, the easier it is not to challenge them.
Replying to a different post of Penelope Simpson Adams, here is a list to focus our remembering and our actions going forward:
* As Matthew Goulet notes, we have a task of deep gardening with education (critical thinking, anti-racism, civics, conflict resolution, etc.).
* AND we have the task of enforcing the laws we already have against sedition and terrorism.
* And we need a new law that restores the Fairness Doctrine updated to include social media.
* And we need a new law that stops the flow of dark money to super PACs.
* And we need to get rid of the Electoral College.
* And we need to get rid of gerrymandering.
(This list is culled from reading many reader replies to HCR questions over the past 6 months! Did I miss anything?)
Good list! Must destroy Citizens United.
I'd add that we get rid of all PACs, please.
Excellent, Ellie!!
Deep gardening:
What a great phrase! I talk a lot about education, planting seeds, as a foundation for necessary culture change, but hadn't encountered "deep gardening" to capture the concept. Quick google search went to literal gardening items. Is this a concept used among evangelicals?
As an avid gardener, I will tell you that digging out old large roots is extremely difficult and often requires heavy duty equipment.
I just made it up as visual concept for how deep the roots of deception via propaganda and fear actually go from the the true "deep state" of dark money and white privilege. I love the concept of deeply digging out these roots that are preventing America from moving forward. I love the idea of all of us going deeply within to see what seeds each of us have to plant, together, to establish a new garden that includes plants of a huge variety and diversity but with the same rights across the entire garden for sun, soil, maintenance and rights to equal nutrients. When one plant or plants grow too big and think they deserve more sun or nutrients than the others, they need to be pruned way back. Sometimes, they need to be transplanted completely. And in our case, there are some very deep roots we have not begun to see their depths, but we certainly have seen the shade they throw at those of us who prefer benevolence over superiority and toxicity . Our challenge is to make compost out of all the excreta being thrown at Americans by those who call themselves republicans.
I can’t say that I have ever heard the term “deep gardening” but I pulled it from Penelope Simpson Adams comment above. I was thinking about A Breitbart’s quote which, paraphrased, says “if you want to change thinking, you have to change culture.”
This is well said. The ongoing question that I haven’t found a good answer to is, how? I know the Fairness Doctrine needs to be restored, but we are talking about cult behavior... how it was created and how is it de-programmed. It’s an enormous subject that involves many factors, none of which I am familiar with. I do know from the little reading that I have done on it that deprogramming cult thinking is a major undertaking and is not always successful. A lot of us here have found that it is impossible to talk to these people, even family and friends. There’s no amount of truth/facts that you can present them with that makes a difference. I don’t know the answer to this pervasive problem here in this country.
As we describe far right groups, they are diverse, including in degree of approaching a cult. Rather than seeking to "de-program" those in it the deepest, it is more effective to start with the domains of public media. Even without a new Fairness Doctrine, we here are "taking up oxygen," as HCR likes to say. We are amplifying her messages that assert and affirm truth and reality, countering alt-right/trumpists/QAnon distortion, "fake news," "alternative facts," propaganda, and outright big lies.
These efforts comprise our newly coined phrase of deep gardening, planting seeds. It's a long term but necessary process and operates at many levels--from one-on-one conversations to public media, from single to ongoing occurrences.
You are not alone.
Not even close to alone.
I have intended to make a list (and admit, that with other emergencies going on in my life, I’ve been hoping some news source would do it for me). I do know that none of my elected representatives are on it, although Yvette Herrell, the newly elected Rep from the southern part of New Mexico decided her first speech on the floor should be an objection to Pennsylvania’s votes. 🤬
Suzanne, I would love it if you would post the list you made, so I and others could save it.
You are definitely not alone.
No, you are not alone!
Brilliantly crafted post, R Dooley. Let this become our pledge - to the future, to our children and their children, to our nation and democracy: “I will not forget”. We must not forget, nor must we allow others to forget, else we will find ourselves facing these same issues yet again. I will not forget.
I, too, will never forget. It's not about retribution from those who were complicit in this rupture of civil society. No, for me, it is about trying to bring light into the darkness of these souls.
What has happened here, culminated by events of last week, is making the invisible visible. The shadow side of American society is now exposed and shown the light of day. Strangely, this is a good thing. Because we can't heal the wounds until we admit they are there and are real. We cannot recover from the traumas we have hidden until we confront them.
As any person in recovery knows, you can't move upward until you have hit the emotional and psychic bottom. As a country, we are now there. So, what are the traumas we now can talk about, deal with, and find a way to selflessness, compassion, and awakening? Prof. Randy Morris (Emeritus Antioch University spells it out better than I can:
1. Dislocation of original colonists from Europe bringing separation anxiety, which was repressed by a Puritanical theology – read today as misogyny and dominance over nature.
2. Slaughter and destruction of Native American peoples – appropriation of land and resources read today as unbridled greed
3. Slavery and its economic institutionalization – read today as racism and aggression against 'the other.'
4. Nuclear bombing of Japan and the subsequent institutionalization of planetary aggression – read today as the prominence of the military/industrial/police state.
All of this covered under a wrapping of delusion we now see as the messages we get from media and political parties. What's the old saying? "Keep them in the dark and feed them ????"
Sorry for the long rant, but I will not forget. The lights have been turned on, and I will NOT consume delusion any longer.
This is emphatically not a rant, Charlie, your piece is beautifully written
Thanks. I'll keep at it.
Yes the "keep them in the dark" quote is particularly apt.
I so appreciate your articulating this. Millions of us feel this way. Please note that those of us who refuse to forget, those of us who insist on consequences, will likely experience some PTSD. In the absence of consequences we hold these causes in our bodies, never forgiving, never forgetting. We are all likely to need professional help to discern the difference between productive vigilance, the hard work we will do to create consequences — campaign work for example — and the self-harming work of maintaining a state of heightened anxiety.
IMO, the work of Stacey Abrams is an a great example of settling scores in a positive (and therapeutic) way.
Absolutely! Yes! Making the consequences ourselves through organizing and campaigning is therapeutic. That's what I do. But I have noticed a lot of people, even the organizers who have an outlet for their political anxiety, have trouble disentangling anxiety and vigilance. Stay well! Peace!
Already experiencing PTSD symptoms after enduring numerous attempts to throw away our votes in Pennsylvania. Each attempt was like a hard slap in the face. Self care is crucial.
I know what you mean!
Well said
74 million voters and probably double that in terms of actual supporters. A third or maybe 2/5 of our society is living in that Kool-Aid fantasy world. My father among them, many truck drivers, and at the very least the 88 million Twitter followers that have now been cut off from their cult leader. The parallels with Hitler are so so glaring.
How does anyone go about undoing a lie to 74 million people and lift the fog. does history have any parallel?
Therein lies the root question that arises from all this mess.
Specifically, how and when do we undertake a national conversation about "The Big Lie?" I think this is crucial for moving back (?) toward functional politics in our country, as opposed to what we've experienced for the last thirty years. The barrier I see being that the people who bought into the lie fall largely in two camps. Those who were complicit and promoted it, and those who were victims of it. Both of which are sensitive subjects to bring up. The ones being immoral and the others dupes. And you can bet, if we ever get to this reckoning, the immoral ones will throw their hands in the air, and cry "I was fooled!"
I apologize for repeating something I wrote yesterday, but I heartily agree with R Dooley and suggest this as a blueprint for those who seek clear, useful direction going forward:
https://indivisible.org/democracy-guide?akid=70164.55085.rO-UQ6&rd=1&t=8&utm_medium=link2_20210108&utm_source=email
Indivisible has some powerful material to effectuate change - it bears repeating.
Let’s remember and praise the neighborhood work of Stacey Abrams and all so many others in Georgia. btw, I learned that Senator Raphael Warnock (!!) was a board member and perhaps president of this GA empowerment movement.
Oh God, *Senator* Raphael Warnock. That sounds awesome. So much better than Kelly Cardboard-Cutout-Stick-Figure Loeffler.
Thanks for posting this. I tried to but I don’t think it went through.
My feelings exactly. This cannot be forgiven not forgotten.
Just when I was trying to visualize and alternate reality in which trump never existed, you come up with a good reason to remember. May we all survive this turmoil.
To help make our remembering concrete and doable, here are some links to the Republican members of Congress...
Who voted against certified states' Electoral College vote results on 1/6/2021:
https://twitter.com/ellie_kona/status/1349236797398605826?s=20
Senators who voted against overriding trump's veto of the NDAA on 12/28/2020:
https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1345101009966645249?s=20
The 126 House Representatives who signed onto the Texas lawsuit to overturn the election:
https://twitter.com/isawthesethings/status/1337688381061533696?s=20
https://twitter.com/HelenArmstrong5/status/1337275190145818625?s=20
The State Attorneys General who joined the #SCOTUS-rejected Texas lawsuit:
https://twitter.com/postcards4USA/status/1337935728488157184?s=20
This list with links is a start.
Also in the name of making it concrete, I posted elsewhere in this thread a list of issues for us to attend to, including:
* Deep gardening, planting seeds with education (critical thinking, anti-racism, civics, conflict resolution, etc.).
* Enforcing the laws we already have against sedition and terrorism.
* New law that restores the Fairness Doctrine updated to include social media.
* New law that stops the flow of dark money to super PACs.
* Get rid of the Electoral College.
* Get rid of gerrymandering.
Thank you for that!
Exactly right! We. Cannot. Forget.
Thank you R Dooley for so clearly listing the jumbled thoughts in my head. Can you make this shareable? Or can I share this with your name as author?
Thank you, Lynn and yes. The handle I sometimes use in print is R W Dooley.
R W Dooley I love the way you manage your discussion thread. Clearly you are a beautiful and lovely person
Yes, can we share?
Me too.
This... is raw truth. Thank you.
Thank you....
My feelings exactly!
May I post this poem to Facebook? With attribution, of course. Thanks!
Thank you for asking and thank you so much for your comment. You are most welcome to share it with your friends, but I’m not eager to post it on Facebook.
How sweet and considerate of you to ask Kathy
When the article in The Atlantic appeared, warning of the dangerous period of the Interregnum, it talked about how he could move from the electoral, to the litigation phase, but that after January 6th, the only option remaining was insurrection.
The visual of a constructed gallows, and vigilante groups, who carried zip cuffs, who new the location of secret congressional offices, tells me this was not simply a flash mob of angry citizens.
No, both from an offensive and defensive standpoint this a planned assault conducted by hate groups. He gave them their marching orders. He removed the leadership of the agencies tasked with guarding the Congress, ensuring that the response would be weak and ineffective. He influenced 147 political leaders to reject their oaths to the Constitution and swear their allegiance to him alone.
Almost seventy years ago, one man stood up to a demagogue saying, “Have you no decency, sir?”
We are at such a moment today, except that what’s at stake is far more than decency. Our country is badly divided, with about one in three citizens in support of the carnage that occurred on January 6, 2021. We face a most formidable adversary.
As Pogo said many years ago, “We have met the enemy... and it is us!”
Seventy five years ago we vanquished Fascism. Using our might, we built the greatest economy the world had seen. We conquered polio. We put a man on another celestial body. And we expanded the rights of the least powerful among us.
In an earlier letter, you described how Lincoln insisted on completing the dome of the Capitol at the same time the Civil War was killing over half a million people. Now we are facing dueling crises, one of our own making.
Conquering Covid does not demand we set aside what happened last week. We can, and should hold our leaders accountable for their false allegiance to a person that cares not one whit for the welfare of anyone but the privileged few.
Let that shining dome remind us of our shared history, our decency, our common purpose; and serve as an inspiration to those who yearn for and love freedom to continue the quest for the “more perfect union”.
Eight days...
But it is not just DJT. This white boy insurrection has been strategically planned and honed for decades. DJT was the final thrust of those who want to maintain total power. Look to our own and foreign oligarchs and how they control many aspects of our lives and thought. Look behind DJT and the money that empowered him and these fringe fanatical groups including the NRA and the promotion of weapons of mass destruction by civilians and fanatics. They are White Isis. financially. DJT was the dancing monkey of distraction whilst they placed their "acting" people into positions of power throughout our government and judicial systems. It was brilliant, it was foreseen and many pieces of the puzzle indicate the real conspiracy. And, whoever "they" are, masked as religious republicans of law and order, they allowed him to golf, rally, tweet and brainwash insane lies along with fanatic media heads and empower their white supremacist hate groups. Meanwhile this horrific pandemic brings us to our knees. None of them did anything to stop or try to reduce this pandemic. They do not appear to care whom it kills or harms. It is a modern holocaust, IMHO, led by American traitors who are terrorizing us and our elected officials. ISIS tactics by using our own people against us. And the death toll is so big now that we cannot comprehend the numbers.
Who was that totalitarian cult leader that said, "The death of one man is a tragedy, but millions are merely statistics? And these cult fanatics attack the heart of our democracy. I do not see any way around all of this except by our military intervening. And my national guard neighbor saluted the Proud Boys parade in front of my house. As someone said they other day, who can we trust now? I think I comprehend the fears of the people in Germany as the cult of Hitler truly began to take power. And I think we might be able to escape this take over, just. I am no military person, but swiftness in our actions is critical right now.
You are spot on. The extremely frightening thing is the level of infiltration within our police, military and government officials.
The Air Force particularly but the military in general has been a breeding ground for fanatical Evangelicals. I have a cousin whose daughter, raised as a free-thinking Unitarian, was recruited to the Air Force Academy and, as a serving officer, succumbed to the pressure to "be saved" in order to have a career. Those who do not do the Evangelical thing do not get preference or advancement in the military these days.
Holy crap, that is sick and so WRONG!
Whoa! Is that a fact!?
Yikes! No separation 'twen Church and State there.
And at work, and in our families, its pervasive.
"White Isis." Yes, I agree. The only way to stop this will be military intervention. Then decades of deprogramming of trump cultists.
White Isis/white supremacist militia types/evangelicals/QAnon are among our military and law enforcement.
As HCR reader Matthew Goulet replied to R Dooley, we have a task of deep gardening with education.
AND we have the task of enforcing the laws we already have against sedition and terrorism.
And we need a new law that restores the Fairness Doctrine updated to include social media.
And we need a new law that stops the flow of dark money to super PACs.
And we need to get rid of the Electoral College and gerrymandering.
Andcwe need a President, VP and Congress with the will and wherewithall to lead us. 8 days, 31 minutes..
We have a demagogue induced delusion on a national level.
Yesterday, Politico reports:
"The military has a hate group problem. But it doesn't know how bad it's gotten."
https://www.politico.com/
Oh.
"And we need a new law that restores the Fairness Doctrine updated to include social media." YES!!!!!!!
and PACs!
I am afraid you are right, it is difficult to see how they can be tamed or intimidated since a percentage of them appear to be ex-vets/trained warriors. Does that not say something about the travesty of war in itself? We train our young to be warriors, and, is it trauma and/or difficulty slipping back into normal civilian life where your fight and kill skills are no longer needed? Do they experience what some of my clients experience who prefer the intensity, wildness, creativity, and aliveness of their bi-polar episodes no matter how much destruction it causes? As opposed to being medicated to prevent hospitalization, jail or death because normal life feels so boring?
Some of the insurrectionists appear to think they are in a cos-play alternated reality than actually at the Capitol of the USA threatening, destroying and attempting graphic murder of the highest officials in our land and the police.
Trump & Hitler both know/knew how to grow mob mentality and keep it at a high level. My hope is that no social media and no rallies will begin to help fade the wolf packs. Still, I go back to the dark money behind the scenes must be rooted out.
A brilliant analysis. There is just not enough space dedicated to writing about the powers behind the dancing money charade. This is where the real dark forces reside. sunlight is the best disinfectant
I agree! Sunlight as disinfectant— love that! And I believe much of those forces will be revealed bit by bit and his followers may be in for a shock by the depths of this manipulation...and the emperor's lack of...well, everything of real value.
Well, that was an unsettling statement “my national guard neighbor saluted the Proud Boys”. And an armed national guard is mobilizing across the country as we speak. Who to trust 🤷🏻♀️
Your quote is from J Stalin.
Penelope, I read your comment as expounding on Herb's comment where he says: “We have met the enemy... and it is us!”
I still struggle with identifying with that statement. I know I can be my own worst enemy, though!!
Ironic that your quote of "Have you no decency" was aimed not just at McCarthy but at his chief hatchet man, Roy Cohn, who later became the primary mentor for Trump, Roger Stone, and Paul Manafort. That question and declaration should ring again through the halls of Congress and our society.
Bingo. IF you watch some old Roy Cohn videos, you can easily see who mentored DT in the ways of the demagogue. Lie. Spin. Gaslight. attack. Never concede anything.
I had forgotten McCarthy's nickname, Tailgunner Joe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaP1tkKrCWw
Nowadays, the Trumpian response would be "Have No Decency....of course...so what?"
I am wondering why the 8 days? Can you elaborate on how things will be better, safer, more democratic after the inauguration? I'm not very confident that we will settle after the 20th.
1. Senate is Democratic. Bills and apointments will actually be taken up.
2. Biden is an experienced institutionalist who knows the system as well as a good number of the people, and has chosen wise, dynamic leaders to implement is agenda.
3. Biden has an agenda.
I'm with Herb
Beautifully written Herb!!
What has disturbed me the most during the past months is not simply 45's continual assault on our democracy, on our moral and ethical standards, on our safety and security as a nation, but his total disregard for a health disaster that has killed (in the most cruel of ways -- the utter depravation of the oxygen needed to breathe in our life source) more than 375,000 of our kin.
As you so eloquently put it, Heather:
"[A]ccording to Maggie Haberman at the New York Times, what is upsetting him most is that the PGA has pulled its 2022 golf championship from Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club.
That, not the riots, not the deaths, not impeachment, and certainly not the coronavirus--which has now killed more than 375,000 of us—has “gutted” him."
Just think of it ... this traitor can only be "gutted" by financial loss and the destruction of prestige in a "white" sport that most US citizens cannot afford to play. Not one iota of compassion runs through the veins of this so-called human being, nor through the veins of his family, his administration or his blood-thirsty followers. At a time when thousands are on the brink of death, he has ensured that the spotlight remains on him rather than on the dying, the grieving, the homeless, and the starving.
May the Force be with our country and her citizens.
Add to the list: the essential workers who risk their lives every day, like the janitors who had to clean up after the rioters, police and firefighters who keep us safe, exhausted medial workers, teachers forced into classrooms so parents can work, people who provide food and keep stores and restaurants and factories open, government workers at all levels and many many more, These people are working and dying for almost a YEAR for people who in too many cases don’t even think about them any more, don’t wear masks or take precautions because they believe it’s their right to do whatever they damn please. This is the base that this president in name only and his party panders to. These proud, selfish super spreading bullies believe might makes right, God is on their side and the president has learned his lesson. 45 has truly left a mess for 46 to clean up. He and his carefully chosen administration need our support because otherwise, we are over and out.
The Force is always with us but we must keep in mind that Sith have access to the power of the Force as well as Jedi. "This isn't over yet."
Thank you, once again, Rowshan, for expressing what is in many hearts.
I agree, Rowshan. Take all else away and what's left is failed leadership during what should be considered the most horrific of consequences that our country has faced.
I worry that too many people will think once trump is out of office, the crisis is passed. The rot is much deeper.
Absolutely. Too many people think trump is the problem, and don't understand that he's just the current face of the real issue.
Deep gardening really is needed, and it needs to begin now.
Absolutely. Unfortunately.
Another concern, Marcy, is hearing the absolute relief from people who have received ONE vaccine shot - as if now they can relax - no need to be careful anymore! There needs to be big time education regarding the fact that that is not the cure so they can go back to "normal"! Especially at this point where there is now a push to just vaccinate as many numbers BEFORE there is enough vaccine in place for a 2nd shot.
Yes and you still be infectious after receiving the vaccines. Are people being told this??
I wonder if they would listen & comprehend? The whole thought is to go back to normal! Which truly is not going to happen likely in less than another year or two. I dont think most people actually understand that.
I hope an education plan is part of Biden's covid task force rollout.
😔
Screw bipartisanship, at least with the racist and theocratic terrorists who make up the bulk of the Republican party.
Would the so-called "moderate" Republicans like to rejoin government? Then they should form a new party, maybe call it the "Conservative" party. Denounce Trump. Denounce racism, violence, and the evisceration of our governmental agencies. Declare loyalty to the separation of church and state, the rule of law, and the Constitutional transfer of power. Do that, and after a few months to make sure you mean it, and we can talk about sharing power with the Democratic party. Until then, to hell with the lot of you, for we know you by the company you keep.
Democrats should -- must -- "ram through" as much comprehensive, well-drafted legislation as quickly as they can without any "bipartisan" participation. Don't worry about "inflaming their resistance," because they do that to themselves without any help from anybody else.
In their current incarnation, on a bus driven by racists and religious fanatics, Republicans can only negotiate in bad faith, hoping to delay and impede the functions of government while they mount another insurrection.
Watch the Lincoln Project in the coming months. And donate. They are not done.
I agree. They have just begun.
Can't donate to a group that doesn't share my values.
"Don't worry about "inflaming their resistance," because they do that to themselves without any help from anybody else." Solid point!
Add to that list Pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
It is unbelievable that the ERA hasn’t become law. It is such a simple amendment: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” That’s it, yet we haven’t been able to make it law, despite 100 years of effort since Alice Paul first proposed the amendment in 1922.
I worked for a year in Washington from 1971-1972 to help get the amendment approved by the Senate. I was in the gallery on March 22, 1972 when the Senate vote was taken and will never forget the joy we felt. Two hours after the Senate vote, when Hawaii ratified it, we felt confident that within a couple of years it would be ratified by the necessary 38 states and become law, but anti-ERA groups stalled ratification. (Does the name Phyllis Schaffly ring a bell?)
Here we are, 50 years later and women still are not formally recognized and protected in the Constitution. The 38th State, Virginia, ratified it it in February, 2020. Once the necessary 38 states had ratified it, both houses of Congress needed to vote to eliminate the original ratification deadline. In February, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J. Res. 79 to do just that, but the Senate still hasn’t been able to get a vote on the parallel piece of legislation to make the ERA law (S.J. Res. 6).
Keep this in mind when you have visions of eliminating the Electoral College, which would also require a Constitutional Amendment. And also keep it in mind with regard to the importance of electing progressive candidates to State legislatures.
Once the new Senate is seated, please urge your Senators to bring a vote to the floor to approve S.J. Res. 6.
Mary Anne and Gwen, I could not agree with you more. The fact that the ERA still has not been passed, that it is taking nearly my entire life to become part of the Constitution, to me looks like an epic failure of the American people and the American democratic social experiment. Of course it’s part of the entire problem we are discussing here on this forum, the old social order of whites-first males-first straights-first hanging in there. I just think of my father, the old man born and raised in Nazi Germany, a loving father who dotes on his kids, but who will never truly think otherwise: whites come first, males come first, straights come first. The diehard Republican and diehard Fox watcher and diehard disdainer of non-straights, hippies, liberals and free-thinkers like all his children. All three children, the acorn fell a long way from the tree. Sometimes I have to wonder who is the child and who are the parents.
Duplicate post, because I want to make sure Gwen sees it in the middle of this avalanche and snowstorm of discussion.
Mary Anne and Gwen, I could not agree with you more. The fact that the ERA still has not been passed, that it is taking nearly my entire life to become part of the Constitution, to me looks like an epic failure of the American people and the American democratic social experiment. Of course it’s part of the entire problem we are discussing here on this forum, the old social order of whites-first males-first straights-first hanging in there. I just think of my father, the old man born and raised in Nazi Germany, a loving father who dotes on his kids, but who will never truly think otherwise: whites come first, males come first, straights come first. The diehard Republican and diehard Fox watcher and diehard disdainer of non-straights, hippies, liberals and free-thinkers like all his children. All three children, the acorn fell a long way from the tree. Sometimes I have to wonder who is the child and who are the parents.
Yes! The conservative party should become The Conservative Party. Cleave from trumpists, bring back Eisenhower decency, and how about environmental conservatism as well.
I'm new to this community, so forgive me if I say things that have already been said, or which irritate any followers. I've been following Heather on Facebook for a while now, though I somehow missed until just the other day that there was a newsletter.
I have watched with growing alarm what has gone on in this country since even before Trump took office, though his taking office in 2016 certainly made things a lot worse. I trace a lot of what is going on now to the rise of "conservative talk radio", led by Rush Limbaugh, etc., because when that happened, Republicans and Democrats started getting their actual news and information from different sources. Even into the early 1990s, Republicans and Democrats used to get the same information. They may have interpreted the information differently, but the "base predicate" was the same. However, that all changed once Limbaugh, et als, arrived on the scene, and it was accelerated and exacerbated by the rise of Fox News and its ilk. Now, we have a huge chunk of the population which doesn't even get the same news as the rest of the population. How can that possibly work in the long run?
As well, there are clearly--and horrifyingly--there are a lot of people in this country who would be just fine if we became a fascist autocracy. That is something that I never in my worst nightmares ever imagined.
Sorry to be a "Debbie Downer", but the last few months have just been so disheartening.
Welcome, Ian! You are so right about the talk shows. My dear brother and I were best buddies, both liberal minded, lived a couple miles from each other and raising kids the same ages, we spent a lot of time with each other "solving the world's problems" over coffee and dishes while the kids played. A sweet, sweet time. But he started listening to talk radio, Limbaugh, Dr. Laura, I don't even know who. Around the same time, a local ultra conservative Christian pastor, seeing him working out in the yard with his kids, started stopping by and chatting him up. So within a few years, I lost my pal to Far Wrong as someone here calls it, and for about 15 years now we rarely speak. We still love each other but have almost nothing in common except our family ties. It's really the saddest loss in my life. A tiny consolation is that his kids, as well as mine, are more aligned with liberal values but still able to maintain a loving relationship with their dad.
I have a cousin that I was very close to. We both supported the clown 🤡 in chief, the error of that call became evident to me when he became fixated on the crowd size which was obviously much smaller than Obama’s, that was my wake up call. My cousin never got that call. I have argued ever since via phone calls, emails, and NYT posted comments that we had made a colossal error in judgment and that we needed to do everything in our power to correct it. I was educated by Jesuits, who taught me that any argument had to be grounded in truth otherwise it was like taking a stand in sand. For nearly 4 years I made my arguments always based on facts, I would get 1 word replies. After my father passed, alone in a nursing home of old age, isolated because of the virus 🦠, I let him know that was a deal breaker, it still is. While I have done everything in my power to correct the mistake I made 4 years ago, a good relationship that I had with my cousin has evaporated, that’s a shame, our fathers were best friends. The well-being of the nation I love and have fought for, and will leave to my children and grandchildren is more important than my relationship with my cousin who has chosen a very different path. I was a 40+ year Republican in the vein of John McCain, whom I revered, the Republican Party has become irrelevant and no longer offers ideas and solutions based on reality. I fully support Joe Biden, who does have a grounded sense of reality, and pray that he gets a full 8 years to enact all of the many changes our beloved nation so desperately needs. So I feel your loss, but know that you are not alone.
Dick, good heavens! Thank you for this. I'm so sorry for the loss of your father and how his death was different than it could have been because of the virus restrictions. As a nurse, I've been deeply saddened by the way this has affected our elders especially those in nursing homes where they struggle with outbreaks and staffing issues, residents alone with no visits from loved ones, whether they're healthy or not. Frankly, I've been grateful my own parents are long gone and don't have to suffer through this. The isolation alone would have killed my mother. And I'm sorry for the loss of your relationship with your cousin. I'm very admiring of your attitude, priorities and honesty. Thank you for admitting you were wrong and trying (and succeeding - he lost!) to right that wrong. My husband and his father are both McCain Republicans at heart too and are perplexed and angry at the loss of their party, so I get it to some degree. I even could have considered McCain until he chose Palin; it was over for me then. He made the fatal mistake of caving to party pressure and the desire for a running mate that would cash in on voters he could not otherwise expect to win over.
Thank you Beth, I couldn'y agree with you more about John McCain's poor choice of Palin, as I understand it he wanted to pick Joe Lieberman a very close friend who was a democrat, but was talked out of it, I believe he regreted that for the rest of his life. I would have walked into hell for John McCain but thankfully I won't have to as I believe he's in a better place. I loved that man as much as anyone in my family because of his courage and the dignity he displayed as a POW. The clown in chief is beneath my contempt.
I believe my father in law, a lovely man, feels just as you do about John McCain (and djt as well!), Dick. You must be kindred spirits. I remember now about Lieberman, I believe you are absolutely right in your memory of that. We could use a whole lot of McCains right now, in place of what we've got in the GOP.
Wow, Dick, thank you for sharing all of this. And thank you for the encouragement and for sharing your convictions and hope for a better future. Some things can heal with time. Maybe your relationship with your cousin, as well as others whose relationships have been so badly damaged, can be one of those things. I hope so, for your sake as well as everyone else’s.
It might be my age, having become an old curmudgeon but I don’t miss the ppl I have lost to the cult. To use the term that has gotten me locked out of twitter – They are dead to me. Over my lifetime I have actually had a large number of ppl I was close to that have died so maybe I have been hardened somewhat to loss.
My half-brother in Mississippi was the first and I argued with him online from the time he started posting anti-Obama lies on facebook and finally cut off all communication with him on Nov 9, 2016. Same with a co-worker & “friend” of 15 years. I even discovered an old friend from the Hippie Days in Mississippi who was a sister in our extended family had gone to the Dark Side. Her ex-husband from that time is still with me in rational thot, so not all ppl in MS are so backward but he may be an anomaly.
Rob I really love your posts. I have a question for you. How do you feel about me contacting you by email? I have a new subscriber who must be you, and I have a private question for you, but I don’t want to betray your privacy by using your email without your permission.
Sure, I'm pretty accessible by e-mail
roboyte@att.net
Also, anyone else on this forum (Not Repugnants) are welcome, but be warned I often send out BCC e-mails to most of those on my e-male addresses such as events in my life, journal entries & old movie reviews, unless requested otherwise. :)
Your beautiful and painful story moves me
Losing dear friends and family It is one of the saddest outcomes of this brainwashing. It’s like the invasion of the “mind snatchers.”
So true! As everyone here experiences, how can they think that way?!?!?! But especially hard when it's someone you love and who used to think completely differently. They go from caring about the welfare and well-being of all to just being pissed off about their taxes. My brother ranted about socialism, all through the Obama years, while simultaneously his son received the best private HS education possible at one of the top ranked academies in the country because his mother worked there and he could go for free - kind of a socialism concept, but he couldn't see it.
Yes. The saddes thing. I’ve had to detach from all of my family in Idaho and whom I frequently visited and with such fun and dear memories of years gone by. And my own young adult son, who was raised in a liberal and loving and accepting-of-differences home is pretty far right now. Full of anger and rambles of taxes and gun rights that make zero sense. The main influence of this change has been his fiancés family, the men, and the red town / county they live in.
Oh Tricia, I’m sorry to hear about your son’s situation. We try so hard to raise compassionate men, but there are innumerable influences that can, at times, overwhelm that upbringing. I pray that better days lie ahead, with men feeling more secure and less fearful/angry. Hang in there!
Thank you so very much. Your comment means a lot.
There are two things I don't think I could bear, my children or my spouse being far right. You have my deepest sympathies, Tricia. All I can say is my brother, a truly wonderful, gentle, generous man, well loved by all, did a 180 in terms of religion and politics. Maybe your son will do the same someday. May it be so. Til then, keep doing what you're doing.
I’m so hopeful to read of your brother and pray for the same.
Not to be a wise-acre but if you are referring to the movie it is "The invasion of the Body Snatchers" and when it came out in 1956 I (as a ten year old) couldn't sleep for a week. Over the years it was used as a creeping metaphor for communism, Rock and Roll, and quite a few more trends but I want to thank you and congratulate you for being astute enough to see the comparison to our time. The really frightening part is that the original in 56 and the remake in 78 really had no ending.
You know, I never saw either movie but the title stuck in my mind and it seemed so appropriate for what is happening. Glad I didn’t see the movie.. I wouldn’t have likely slept for a week either.
I’m so sorry, Beth. Besides all of the obvious and blatant destruction that he has brought upon our country in my opinion one of the saddest of all is how this has torn once living families such as yours apart. I have seen it in others close to me and I am so very sorry that you have lost your brother to this. Hopefully he will change his view as events continue to transpire.
*loving, not living. My apologies.
Good morning Beth, I too have a brother who drank the kool aid and still sends me taunting emails. I must admit, however, that now I rather enjoy this back and forth. When he started to bait me, well before the presidential election, he would end each email with NPFAA (nothing personal family above all). We are really trying to cling to this...Now my emails to him, the last being how the left taunted Trump about hiding in his bunker during BLM protests in the summer, I say “and your point?”. But it is so sad to see and breaks my heart...
The human suffering this man has wrought is hard to fathom. The separation of children from their parents at the border is something that haunts me.
Maybe some people see “drinking the Kool-Aid“ as extremist, you know, one of those cringe worthy things. Maybe a new reader has a cringeworthy moment when they see me comparing trump to Hitler and Nazi Germany, or when they see me identifying the man as a Putin stooge and paid henchman. I know those comparisons will never get a “like” from HCR without clear historical context and explanation. However, the implicit comparison between DT and Charles Manson as cult leaders is right on target. I’m so pleased that people here see that.
I’m sorry
Thank you for the kind words, Beth, and I am truly sorry about your estrangement from your brother. I can't pretend to understand that pain, though I have seen it happen with others, too. It is horrible to observe.
The compassion and love I’m seeing today moves me. This is a beautiful beautiful exchange today on this entire day of discussion. Brings tears to my eyes.
We must bring back the Fairness Doctrine. It’s unconscionable that the Fox Entertainment Network and the likes of Rush Limbaugh are given a license to brainwash citizens by feeding them lies and then can stand behind “free speech” to allow it.
Agreed completely.
It's a stretching of "free speech," which has always been subject to limitations. People are entitled to free thoughts and to sharing their thoughts but not entitled to huge, adoring audiences.
Welcome! Bringing the Fairness Doctrine back into play will help the media "problem". Heather is a big advocate of this, and often comments on it, so stay tuned!
You are so right. That is why Dr. Richardson's first recommendation for action by the Biden administration is reinstatement of The Fairness Doctrine. The lies must stop.
There is (was?) a wonderful documentary on Amazon called "The Brainwashing of my Dad." Worth watching. Fascinating. No society will survive where facts are irrelevant. We will just descend into madness. It is happening before our eyes. The guy with the horns us sane and we should marvel at him like a Marvel comic book character.
Somehow liberals got branded as liers while the liers kept lying. Very tricky of the Republicans. But they knew they could do it when so many people thought Richard Nixon really did have a plan to end the Vietnam war right there in his jacket breast pocket.
Very good point and you expressed my thoughts and feelings perfectly. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome, Debby!
Watching the "death spiral" of the GOP is both exciting and terrifying at the same time. My spirits were buoyed by the commitments from corporate America to NOT fund the 147 Republicans who were not far behind Trump in culpability for the insurrection. Clearly the corporations and the social media companies are late in their condemnations and shock at what has happened, but they ALL should have been way out in front of this quite some time ago. I do realized that they are still concerned for their bottom line, but better late than never. Taking away their money and their social media megaphones will do more to weaken Trumpism as any political speeches or condemnations from Editorial Boards of mainstream media. -- HCR, keep up the good work!
McCarthy voted with the sedition caucus. He and his buddies are in deep Doo Doo, because without money, which is probably the primary Republican motivating force in the world (from their perspective, not mine), they are nothing and they know it. To them, money is everything. Having businesses and big corporate sponsors turn their back on them: deep trouble.
I am ashamed and embarrassed to report that I am in McCarthy’s district right now, taking my 30 minute break. I’m a truck driver on my way from Sacramento to LA. I get to drive through Bakersfield area every week. In fact every week I probably drive through most of the last remaining Republican congressional districts left in California. And I live in one, my Congressman LaMalfa (CA-1) is also one of the 147. Lucky me.
Can you lay on the horn when you pass his house at 2 am?
Lay on the horn when I passed McCarthy’s house? I’m always going through Bakersfield at 2 AM! Somebody just give me the address and I will give it a shot.
I’m joking of course. Wouldn’t do that to Kevin’s neighbors. 😉
🤣
Take heart, Roland; you got us!
I can sympathize, Roland! I live a mile away from the creepy Billy Graham Training Center😱😱😱
Eek! Training for what, I wonder. The rapture? 😳
🤮
Yeah, what Peri said.
Yucky!
Oy!
Yikes.
Thanks Lynell. I love being in this community.
I feel very grateful to live in a state with two wonderful Dem senators and a Republican Governor who voted for Biden and publicly declared his disgust for the Capitol attack. BUT I am ashamed that busloads of our residents went to the Capitol, including one of our State Troopers. I hope our little State House, and those who do fine work inside it, will survive this coming weekend.
We must not ignore the fact that the Trump malignancy has metastisized to law enforcement personnel throughout the country, like the trooper you mentioned, like the Capitol Police who turned their heads and those involved in the George Floyd murder. Reversing this, de-politicizing of law enforcement, will have to be part of the next Attorney General's role.
For a minute I thought you lived in MD. But Hogan bravely voted for Ronald Reagan, a dead man, rather than Biden. It is hard to believe a smart man could be so ridiculous and obvious.
My state also has the wonderful Representative Jamie Raskin. I am so grateful for him. He has found time in his greatest grief to put his all into removing Trump for all of us.
I simply don’t understand these people. All decency has left them. I suppose I can’t understand since I haven’t joined their cult.
I live in the same state, Sally, and feel most grateful as well!
Our district is saddled with Scott Fitzgerald and Sen. Ron Johnson, steaming heaps of human excrement that they are.
Mine is nationally known deplorable Marsha Blackburn, and newly elected seditionist Bill Hagerty (who ran on a “trump loves me” platform—seriously) and Tim Burchett, a good ol’ boy who keeps finding new offices to run for rather than get a job.
Cream of the crop...curdled cream.
I share the same awful Senators with Marcy, but my Congressman is seditous Chuck Fleishmann. He tested positive for Covid this week, presumably transmitted from his housemate. He is under quarantine.
Googled Blackburn and Hagerty, here’s what came up:
https://amp.tennessean.com/amp/6584448002
I feel your pain, Sally. I’ve got “toxic” Tom Tiffany and Ron Johnson. Pre gerrymandering, the 7th CD was ably and nobly represented by David Obey. Post gerrymandering, the district was “represented” by a reality TV personality, actually, Sean something (apologies—have not been sleeping well since last Wednesday), who was not my favorite.
If you haven’t already, please check out the Fair Maps initiative, which is listening to and sharing information with Wisconsinites about nonpartisan redistricting. They are holding virtual meetings in each Congressional district to get the word out and build support. If Fair Maps appeals to you, I encourage you to amplify their message with your own network. We will be in legislative hell here at both the state and national level until each seat is (or at least most seats are) competitive.
Tom Palzewicz told me about the Fair Maps initiative and I've been following. Maybe if they remove Fitzgerald we could get Tom to run for his seat. I would be proud to have him represent my district. Wisconsin needs to clean house and redistrict.
West coast Wisconsinite here. I definitely will check Fair Maps out.
Thank you!
My rep compared impeachment to lynching in an ultimate tone deaf comment. He is a blue dog, but he did walk back the comment and will vote for impeachment. I have had to vote for him because the alternatives are such persons as Tootie Smith (puke). I did vote for a progressive primary opponent who proceeded to diss HRC once she was the candidate. I will never vote for him for anything again. I would consider an alternative to the blue dog, but the person cannot be be a Bernie type in this district.
My D-VA Senator subscribes to HCR!!
🤣.
I am in a hotel in LA, and that just tickles my funny bone I cannot stop laughing. “Steaming heaps of human excrement that they are.” You’re just killing me.
If we don't laugh, we cry. Gallows humor is my go-to coping mechanism. And copious cursing.
Argh.... my sympathies
Yes, take heart. I live in a state where four out of our 7 representatives voted with the sedition caucus. And my representative is one of those four.
Oh Lordy I’ll take California over your state anytime. 4 out of 7 House members with the 💩 caucus? No thank you😳
Ugh
Lights shine brightest in the deepness of the darkness.
Wow that’s beautiful Ted and it expresses my feelings exactly. I have no complaints about having a Sedition 💩 Caucus Representative in Congress, or driving through Kevin McCarthy’s California. It’s an honor. GO LIBERTY‼️GO EGALITARIAN NEW SOCIETY‼️🥰
Thanks Roland. I love So Cal and especially Kernville, the desert mountain roads with Sierra Mountain views are something to enjoy, and not everyone has, nor gets too.
If you are near there, that is where you will find a safe harbor. Keep the faith. As bad as it is, there are more good people who only wish for good things to happen. I admit it can be struggle to swim against the current and remain steady. I am finding that I am needing some help from others to remind me of the same, more this week than any other ever.
Hang in there Ted. We love you. You are loved. This week is brutal, you’re doing a great job with it. I love your posts. I copied your “light in the darkness“ quote into my journal, because it exactly captures what I was saying about driving through Red California districts and living in one. I take joy in my work of driving through dark regions and bringing light.
Aah, I see where you are. You are in Kevin McCarthy District! A handful of times I did an organic food delivery route down 395 through the Valley behind Mount Whitney, and that route went right past Lake Isabella before returning to Auburn-Placer County (near Sacramento), so I’ve been in your neighborhood a few times. Yeah it is absolutely gorgeous, the drive is spectacular. I loved it when the driver went on vacation and I could do his route. Quiet, gorgeous, spectacular drive. Ethereal.
Perfectly put!
“Lights shine brightest in the deepest of the darkness.” Double and triple “likes” for this one ❤️❤️❤️
My sympathies.... thanks for keeping your head on! Be safe....
There is certainly nothing to be ashamed and embarrassed about, Roland. You are working to make a positive contribution.
The “ashamed and embarrassed“ was a little sarcastic and humorous, there was a twinkle in my eye.
Oh, that makes more sense. I missed the humor. I was thinking, he’s just driving through...
I’m new here and in California. My family roots are from Bakersfield, and I still have some family there now. I can say that a woman highly involved the in CA RNC is one of my FB ‘friends’. I have seen even her post how McCarthy is bonkers... Of course he was re-elected but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new ‘conservative’ rep from that district sooner rather than later.
Hi Leona! I live in Grass Valley. I’m a truck driver, so me and my colleagues drive down I-5 and 99 every week from Sacramento to SoCal and back. So if you’re looking through recent posts, you’ll know that Roland and Ted are neighbors of yours, sort of.
We are definitely neighbors!
I have family in Bakersfield so venture into the valley often. It’s often under appreciated.
Welcome Leona!
Thank you! And Ted, Kernville is one of my favorite spots in CA. My family settled in Kern County in the early 1900’s and some family retired in Weldon. I still have family there and in Bakersfield, although I was raised on the coast and now live in Oakland.
True, true, true (and that bears repeating)
Hope so.
And my wife adds: "They (the 147 especially) have no moral compass" -- so true!
Agree completely. Trump, McCarthy, the sedition caucus, Graham, the whole vipers nest, no moral compass, no principles, nobody you would ever want near your house or even talking to any of your children.
Stopping corporate funding may be the only way to get my treasonous Representative out. Never thought I'd ever say this but Thank You Corporate America!!
Let’s hope they stick to it and that it’s not a passing fancy!
Boy Steve I’m totally with you. I love this line:
“ Watching the "death spiral" of the GOP is both exciting and terrifying at the same time.”
Heather, if you keep posting in the middle of the night, we’ll have to make you an honorary truck driver
My body and mind are now wide awake! It’s uncanny how lately I wake up the minute your letter hits my inbox! It’s like a relay... you turn off the lights and I pick it up and run!
And then she wakes up probably noonish, and if she’s not a complete zombie, she might go in and look at comments. How she makes time for that I will never now, I wouldn’t have it in me.
Cynthia, turn off the alerts on your phone at night. That's what I do: and I read the newsletter at the "rational" (for me) hour of 5:30 AM when I start drinking my first cup of coffee. 🤪
Linda, For a long time I would awaken in the middle of the night and read HCR's Letter. It was detrimental because I would then go through and read any articles cited that I had not already read which would then lead me down God only knows how many rabbit holes. These days I rarely read the Letters in the wee hours. I get a little more sleep which, I think, makes me a little less crazy.
Ha! My phone was off, but I needed to turn the flashlight on. The notification of the arrival of Heather’s letter was right on my home screen! I didn’t have the discipline to ignore it, so here I am!
🤣🤣
Of course he's "gutted" by the loss of the golf game - of all the problems, that's the only one that affects his ego personally.
The nice thing is, he is going to be DESTROYED on all fronts. He owes a billion+ in debts that come due this year, and now no one will give him money (I'm certain even Putin and the Russians have washed their hands of him now). So his "great business" goes totally bankrupt. All his golf courses will have to be sold, along with everything else - and the company that was handling his real estate business has announced they will have nothing more to do with him. After making himself a traitor, nobody's going to want to give him money to have his name on their building. He is toast. Over. Done. Stick a fork in him.
And that doesn't even count the Department of Justice coming after him for sedition, the New York Attorney General going after him and also his company for major tax fraud, and the New York DA also going after him and his spawn. And that doesn't mention SDNY, which is going to be relentless.
Bye bye, shithead. You and your worthless children are ALL going to lose EVERYTHING and then go to jail.
And all the Trumpscum are going to "get theirs." When their names and addresses are linked to their hate speech, and then that information is given to their employers, they're going to be Out On Their Asses, and since so far they're getting "fired for cause" (which will continue) that means they can't collect unemployment. They're going to WANT to be picked up and put in FEMA camps, as the only way to have a roof over their head and a meal.
The owners of the wingnut noise machine are already telling their puppets to STFU on pain of being fired.
Then we pass The Fairness Doctrine as law, rather than revocable regulation, and shut down their whole Wingnut Welfare State.
2021: the year we SMASH the pseudo-conservative Far Wrong Wing.
Mmmmmmm.... tasty!
But, oh, the dastardly deeds he can do in 8 days, 4 hours and 21 minutes. Hunker down because Civil War II is not over yet.
True. If nothing else this past week has burned into our brains what a difference an hour makes.
Yup. He's going to call his followers to arms before he goes.
He already has! They keep repeating that Congress can be reimbursed for bulletproof vests!
Sicko Nazi
“Sicko Nazi.”
Thank You!
I know. 🙈I’m glad you are ok Mary Pat. I hope you feel safe, as possible in this awful time.
Quiet on the Northern Front. Thank You Pamsy!
The thing that scares me so much is the notion that someone who realizes all of that has nothing left to lose. That kind of desperation is terrifying - what might he do next? This is why I think it’s a big mistake to hold onto articles of impeachment. If he’s a clear and present danger, the House *must* send them to the senate ASAP.
Niece Mary Trump said as much in a post-insurrection interview. She said he will want to take us all down with him, and she is quite certain, as a psychologist, that he will try to do this. Quite scary.
I think you meant 'doing this'?
Take everyone out with him. Sorry I don’t know on which news source I saw this. Possibly the Guardian 2 days back.
Wow. Anybody know what that could mean?
That's what I wonder too; if he becomes a martyr in their eyes, what is the next step they will take? We don't know what rumblings are going on with that herd and where they will appear next. The fact that many security forces are looking into themselves to find members who are complicate just adds to my uncertainty of the consequences.
I want him OUT, but I don't know the full extent of the fall out of it happening.
I am grateful for HCR explaining all the nets Pelosi put into the documents that did offer some protection for those who may need it.
I still think he’s heavily medicated right now.
I think so too.
Would he be smart enough to do that? Who would suggest it to him that he would listen to? Ivanka, maybe?
I HOPE so!
And his tax returns will be published in black and white (well, probably red too), for ALL the world to see his nakedness.
I think you are right. At least some supporters this is key to breaking apart the delusion. Andrew Weissmann broke Enron. As a prosecutor he explains what Mueller could do and not be fired, and having studied the Mueller report, Weissmann's book is really really helpful, like a prelude or cliff notes to the Mueller Report.
Read:
Where Law Ends: Inside the Mueller Investigation
Andrew Weissmann
and
Dark Towers ( DT loans from Deutche Banks Private Loans Division....Dark $ funneled unknown Russian Oligarchs)
Yeah, I have Dark Towers. It covers the highlights of Deutsche Bank’s history including Nazi Germany, they were totally on board with the Hitler Administration.
Thank you, HCR and TCinLA. From your pen to the god’s and goddess’s ears. Golf organizations and football teams taking a stand against Trump might reach the crazies at both financial extremes. BUT, this morning I’m most heartened to read of corporations moves on seditious members of Congress. Taking their money away is the surest way to get rid of them or change their tunes. The business of America is business. The USA has for some time been viewed as a safe harbor for international financial investment. Corporations must feel that they have an obligation to their shareholders to withdraw support? Or, is it just possible the CEO’s also experienced the fear and fury we did watching Trump supporters smash their way into Congress. Impeach and Imprison Trump. Go, go, go, Pelosi, Schumer and SDNY. ❤️🤍💙
Hi Deborah, excellent post I don’t know why nobody responded. I read an article that the corporations that have PACs, how those PACs invest is guided by employees wishes. So according to this article, sorry I don’t remember where I saw it, Raw Story or Politico maybe, employees are disgusted with the Sedition Caucus and vocal about it, and that’s what’s making the PAC staffs change their funding policies.
And Melania will leave him.
I don’t think she will. She’s as self-involved as he is.
If she leaves, it will be for the loss of status and the trappings of wealth, not because she’s disgusted with his behavior.
And she will remain an untouchable.
0000h, I like that term in reference to all the seditionist repubs. The untouchables of our society.
I watched a news clip a month or so ago where Amarosa (the woman who worked closely with Trump on the Apprentice) said that the minute Trump leaves office Melania will file divorce papers.
Probably - but does anyone give a shit? Goes right along with her Christmas wishes!!
‘I don’t really don’t care, do you?’
NOT a bit!! I just hope we don't have to hear too much about it all!
I doubt it. She was a victim in all this. Not once did she condemn the violence.
She was NOT a victim in this. Ever. She embraced the politics of hate and division and helped to enable him.
I take this as a sarcastic reference to her recent non-condolence message.
I did actually wonder if she is hurt at all - either physically or mentally, or if she shields herself somehow.
Have you read Stephanie Wolcott’s ... I was almost ashamed to read it, she’s kind of a nutty person, but there’s no doubt that Melania is cut from the same cloth....
No, but I will look at it. Thanks!
And move back to Stepford.
Ha! That would be the icing!!!
I love you! Please, Heather, tell us that this will be! I want that to be true more than anything else I have ever wished for!
Thank you for the ray of hope.. I want all of this and then some, please. My worry is that he will start his own right wing-nut media empire and continue to engage and enrage his base base.
We're going to need to convene a Truth & Reconciliation Commission, similar to the one that took place in South Africa after apartheid, similar to the one that should have taken place in the USA following the Civil War. If we are going to root out this sickness that has infected the body of American politics since the founding and now threatens its very life, all of it has to be exposed to the light.
This time, for a change, we need to start by holding the leaders and worst offenders responsible for their deadly actions. The Republicans claim to be the party of personal responsibility. It’s time to act accordingly.
Double and triple likes ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you Heather. Always on spot with the facts and details. I appreciate this lifeline to reality as I grapple with friends and colleagues that are complicit with Trump and his accomplices.
The days seem endless as we approach the first step to righting this ship. We have so far to go on this journey. I am delighted with the mass fallout away from Trump. It's as if we are watching an onion peel away from itself in fast forward. I'm hoping this will lead to making Trump insignificant in due time. Something is needed to break the trance he has on his cult.
I am still, and will likely always be sickened by the images coming from the attack on the Capitol by the domestic terrorists. I feel a Commission should be set up to concentrate on all aspects of who and why this happened. A price must be paid for this insurrection.
I'm curious as to why Chad Wolff chose now to exit. Jumping ship or trying to save his ass? I have watch a couple of interviews with Colin Powell these last few days. His is dripping with disdain towards Trump. My hope is that Biden will pull him in to investigate the insurrection.
As a side note, if nothing else comes of Trumps involvement, we can all settle on the fact that even Bellichick won't tolerate him. Damn.
Be safe, be well.
Great comments, Linda. Truly a long road ahead of us. I have this foreboding feeling that after 45's unwrapping of Pandora's Box, even he will be irrelevant to his very supporters as they feel empowered over what they accomplished on 1/6.
Oh no! I had some trumper say that how could we get so crazy about a few Republicans rioting when all summer long the BLM and Antifa people laid siege to the entire country?! This mentality terrifies me!
“Whataboutism” at its finest.
I guess we'll have to brace ourselves as we hear more of the same in the coming weeks and months. Won't change my opinion at all. I feel comfortable in being able to distinguish a riot from a protest.
Actually, it is not a riot, it is an insurrection against our democracy.
Understood, thanks Penelope
I just don’t get these people!
THEY don't get it. Maybe once COVID dies down we can convert Dodger Stadium for de-programming trump culters.
I say give them a whole state, let them build a wall and they can all have at it! Hell, I’d even help fund it!
I’ve had the exact same reaction, Cynthia. Sounds like they’re working from a force-fed script.
Foxnews.com had pivoted to "but BLM!" and accusing Democrats of being "divisive" the morning after. Now they're covering how much money Biden's nominee for OMB made at a non-profit she ran (misleadingly reporting her combined salary over two years). The right-wing apparatus is still spinning.
Still, there's a modicum of hope--Cumulus Media, owner of Westwood One and third largest operator of AM and FM radio, banned all of their talk shows from suggesting the election has not ended. Here's hoping it's a start of a bigger trend and not a lone executive with a conscience.
https://news.radio-online.com/articles/n39981/Cumulus-Orders-Ban-on-False-Election-Fraud-Rhetoric-On-the-Air
I don’t know why, but there’s something I don’t trust about Powell...?
His promotion of weapons of mass destruction?
This reminds me of the courage of Joe Wilson in his attempts to counter the suggestion that yellow-cake uranium was being provided by Niger to Iraq, to justify attacking Iraq's purported WMD. Joe Wilson has been trashed. His wife, Valerie Plame was "outed" by Scooter Libby and lost her CIA cover and exposed her contacts to retribution. A jury convicted Libby of obstruction of justice and perjury in his grand jury testimony and making false statements to federal investigators about when and how he learned that Plame was a CIA agent. On April 13, 2018, Libby was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
That’s probably the biggest reason.
Not sure if this is a good source but: https://static.theintercept.com/amp/lie-after-lie-what-colin-powell-knew-about-iraq-fifteen-years-ago-and-what-he-told-the-un.html
Thanks, this is a great reminder.
Thanks! Great...
I am concerned with the Inaugural events. I wonder if it would be safer to officiate the New Elect President and Vice=President in a small, closed event, with the attendance of those who must be present to make it official and legal, and leave visits to cemetery and other regular activities for next day or end of the month. By then, there would be a new cabinet, new leaders in charge of our Nation's security, better security plans in place as well as removing infiltrators from any agency related to national and local security. Vesting Joe Biden and Kamalla Harris with all the legal powers, securing that step, in my view, would be the most relevant act on the 20th.
I'm also worried about the Inauguration and the safety of the new President and VP. I live across the Potomac from DC and know the Secret Service and Metropolitan Police will do all they can to protect our elected officials. With the National Guard being called up well in advance, I'm hopeful they'll all be fully prepared this time for the violent insurrectionists threatening to turn out. I feel the new administration wants to reclaim the public space and I support them in that. It's still scary as hell to think of an outdoor event at this point
Until the 20th Biden does not have the authority nor will his appointees be allowed to do the much needed security scrutiny to face the current threats and challenges. I remind myself there were people in that terrorist mob who were skilled and apparently equipped to take some hostages while chants to hang the VP and Pelosi were going. And they are planning events on all 50 capitals on the 20th. They want war.
Way too dangerous to hold an outside inauguration when we know there are so many officers in the National Guard and other forces who are white supremist trumpers. God (and our military Chiefs of Staff) Protect Us.
When you live long enuf, you recall events that surprised & moved you for coming out of nowhere. I immediately thot of Anwar Sadat in '81. This was before the Internet. I saw the headline of a newspaper on a news stand. For any younguns here who don't know, here is a quick grab from the Internet:
"Opposition to the treaty, a declining Egyptian economy and Sadat's quashing of the resulting dissent led to general upheaval. On October 6, 1981, Armed Forces Day, Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremist army officers at a military parade to celebrate Egypt's 1973 Yom Kippur War in Cairo, Egypt."
I’m with you. This week reminds me of JFK, MLK, 9/11, and Sadat. I didn’t even know the man, but when I heard he was killed I felt a pain in my heart.
So, coming out of somewhere, and we havr all the signs.
After he got his second COVID-19 vaccination yesterday, Biden insisted he would hold the inauguration in the usual outdoor venue.
Good lord! I hope the Secret Service might dissuade him from that. At least they should put up bullet-proof screens around the stage. i don't see how they can ensure against snipers.
Oh!!!
Such a long day, and yet true to form, Dr HCR is able to tell us not only what has transpired, but also to explain the significance of each action and reaction, all while keeping a connection with the humanity of everyone involved and providing an objective insight into the psyche of each.
Question: I have clear memories of studying about propaganda and The Big Lie in grade school. These concepts were introduced early on, before middle and high school, and were revisited over the years. Did I just happen to end up with brilliant teachers - or was this just being taught because W.W. II was a relatively recent (within the past 20-25 years) memory? I am extremely worried that it seems we don't have a cultural knowledge of these concepts. How can we rectify the situation that we find ourselves in, with such a large percentage of our citizenry believing The Big Lie that the election was not a fair election? How do we get past this?
On a neighborhood Facebook group, people were complaining about the push to send kids to college and blaming teachers and the high schools. Some of them I know were previously non political folks. So I broke it down for them. What is taught in schools is decided by politicians not educators. Politicians set the standards by how schools are ranked which includes how many students go to college. Then once in college, the government makes millions on student loan debt. So you don’t like the curriculum in schools? Vote! I didn’t receive any replies, crickets. Being involved in the political process matters!
As a person who has worked in public schools for 30 years, you couldn’t be more correct. In addition, the textbook companies who decide the content of what our youth read and study in classrooms are aligned with particular parties and people. AND even university professors and department chairs of psychology, social studies, government, etc are ‘in bed’ with politicians. It runs deep.
Crickets my ass. “ what is taught in schools is decided by politicians not educators.“ This is a brilliant statement. In the 1970s California public schools, I was taught that genocidal maniac Spanish conquistadors were heroes and good people. These were vicious criminals. I have had to relearn and replace almost everything I was taught in public school, at least the bias, the context, the worship of the wrong people.
Wow, that’s powerful. Than you for doing that!
I taught 8th grade reading and "The Children's Story" by James Clavell was on our reading list. It began as a magazine article but eventually was published as a tiny little novella. So small, that my students were awestruck that we began reading the novella at the beginning of the period and by class end had completed it and discussed a lot of it. It should be required reading in every 8th grade classroom throughout the country. It's premise is that when Clavell, a British citizen (famous author) was living in the USA, he little daughter came home from school one day and proudly recited the Pledge of Allegiance. His questions to her made it clear she did not understand its meaning. That event was the author's springboard. We have lived the premise, the plot of this novel for the past five years. I can't recommend it enough. I posted about it all the time during trump's first year of his regime.
Never heard of it, thanks for the post, will check it out.
https://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Story-Collection-Stories/dp/0440204682/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1GD06IQTIGGUQ&dchild=1&keywords=the+children%27s+story+by+james+clavell&qid=1610453259&sprefix=%22The+Children%27s+Story%22+by+%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1
Carla, free online: https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/UWEXLakes/Documents/programs/lakeleaders/crew7/greenlake_may_2008/the_childrens_story_becken_presentation.pdf
Well - THATS an example of brainwashing, isnt it? Scary but I imagine its exactly what happens in many countries - something to prevent happening here!
Come to think of it - its EXACTLY what happened here to our Native Americans not so many years ago - "boarding schools"?
"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is a must read for not just children but also adults. It gives us what we all need: The Truth. That is what children want, the lies many of our school systems have in what they force teachers to present to children's minds. This great masterpiece has been removed in the past, and perhaps even now, in various school systems. Shame on those people!
I love that the darling, educated, Tom Sawyer, is exposed for the duplicitous con man he truly is in the end.
Mid 20th century Americans witnessed the horrors unleashed by the big lies of Hitler and Stalin. Millions of tragic deaths, waves of destruction and multigenerational trauma.
How is it that we Americans forget this, and 70+ million voters fall for the big liar in the besmirched White House?
Special contempt for the big tech conveyors of lies whose click bait avarice provided these seditious liars with propaganda platforms Zuckerberg and Dorsey forgot that free speech does not include shouting FIRE in a crowded theater. (Homage to the great Justice Brandeis.) Now, too late, they realize they have a responsibility. Let us never forget. Thank all historians for keeping knowledge alive and in our consciousness.
The challenge of "political speech" on big tech (and lamestream media) is that those platforms help little lies become big, both in their spread and the subsequent accumulation of ancillary lies. You are, of course, quite right that big tech free speech advocates--wherever they started from--are driven by protecting massive profits. One small note: Brandeis was a highly significant jurist and political thinker (see "Other People's Money" 1914), but the quote is from Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Brandeis, considered a radical some hundred years ago, said all speech should be allowed unless it leads to criminal action. The question is: Did trump and his allies speech lead to the capitol insurrection?
A good question. According to recent comments from various legal scholars, it's all in the realm of "that depends." In the various federal statutes under which Trump could be charged, once out of office, the meanings of words like "incite," "solicit," "solicits, commands, induces, or otherwise endeavors to persuade," etc. have all been contested in various (non-presidential) court cases. I personally think "seditious conspiracy" would have the best shot: " If two or more persons conspire to . . . by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States ...." sounds to me pretty much like trying to halt Congress from its Constitutional duty to count electoral votes.
But, impeachment is not a criminal trial. The standards of evidence are much looser and, obviously, openly political. Trump's lawyers will of course claim free speech rights. And while his accusers could bring up relevant federal laws, Trump has long been skilled at saying something while also taking it away ("those Second Amendment people" nudge-nudge, wink-wink). I think that if there is a trial after impeachment--remember that a year ago the Senate allowed no witnesses or entry of documentary evidence--it will come down essentially to a face-validity argument: He began asserting election fraud in July and accelerated people's sense of grievance thereafter, calling for public resistance. Free speech is not absolute. A politician who stated that illegal immigrants or Muslims deserved to be killed (rather than just massively mistreated) would likely be both impeached and prosecuted. And remember that in Schenck's case, where the Holmes quote is from, he was unanimously convicted--and all he did was pass out leaflets encouraging draft resistance.
Thanks for the correct citation!
I teach it as I teach about WWII and want kids to be wise citizens. My son went through a different school system and I don’t think he learned about it.
Neither did I?! And I thought we had a pretty good education?!
Brilliant teachers ...
I, too, was taught all about propaganda in the 50"s, by the nuns, who also told me, at age 7, that if I took Communion with a Mortal Sin on my Soul, I would be struck dead. What do you believe.
Jeez! I have a story or two about 12 years in Catholic schools.
A week ago, DT was likely to run for election in 2024. Now he has lost all his communications platforms. His extremist supporters have too, their organizing ability is severely compromised. He has diminished fundraising ability by losing Stripe and Shopify, compounding the crippling loss of his megaphones.
The Trump brand is now radioactive, only a week after being hotter than the sun.
I am still in shock. I am still stunned. If you had told me a week ago that both Georgia Senate seats go blue, I would’ve said no way, at least one incumbent will win, surely Perdue. If you had told me that the Capitol, the US Capitol, would be invaded by rioters and looters posing serious threat to Congressional members, I would’ve questioned your sanity. And then, to top it all off, if you had told me that the Trump brand would implode and become radioactive and so toxic that he is being shunned by business, and that he is going to be impeached in the remaining two weeks of his term, that would’ve ended the conversation for sure.
We are all in shock. How can you not be.
Omg Roland! So true! And it comes in waves of fury, despondency, depression, indignation at the sheer hypocrisy of the crap flowing from the right- now they want a Kumbaya moment?? Now they are concerned about further dividing the country?
Pence wants to wait and see if t**** gets worse? Dude- he tried to have you murdered!
And every day we learn some new horrific detail- not from the government though, they’ve gone dark. We’re learning from journalist with cameras and iPhone. We’re learning from our intrepid Dr R and her deep research and concise writing.
Much like we have experienced the pandemic- we are in this on our own, no leadership at the helm to calm us or light the way. Trying to figure out what comes next, what we should do, how we need to protect ourselves.
Ditto, Roland; except I had high expectations for Georgia!
Amazing. You had high hopes? I had a dim dim hope. One mathematical chance in 4, not a good start. The Democrats are challengers, the Republicans are both incumbents. The odds are getting worse. I just didn’t expect it, I had a meltdown on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning while I was driving and listening to MSNBC on satellite radio. I’m still trying to believe it. I was feeling joy and hysteria all night, it was like winning the lottery and then taking those winnings to the casino and hitting the jackpot. I’m still blown away.
Well, he could hold a press conference. Or make press release. But I’m good with his silence!
Denise Huddle: or go on Fox news, as Nunez did - complaining that djt has no platform anymore. Umm, how about, umm, Fox, Dennis?
He’s not gonna give a press conference. The press burns him up one side and down the other, they’re not just kissing his ass like his fans. At this point I think Fox is gone too. All he has left is a Cabinet meeting.
That cabinet meeting crack is sarcastic of course. Yes he can still do a press release, fwiw.
I'm reasonably sure there are communication platforms in his swamp.
Undoubtedly, but can he ever regain those 88 million Twitter followers? I think it’s all downhill from here for this guy. There’s no way to know for sure of course, but I think the High Point of his fame and influence is gone.
I HATE POLITICS. I hate the party posturing to which it has devolved, where ppl must ask permission of the party rather than doing the right thing. (Yes, I am an Independent and a Berner). I especially hate the hypocrisy, obfuscation and outright lying that comes so easily to the Repugnant Party.
Senator Rick Scott (Reptile FL) actually used a tRumpism yesterday “On Both Sides.” No, you HMO pilfering crook, the killing and destruction is on the Repugnant side with their following of Hateful, White Supremacist Terrorists who attacked the Capitol and are still posing a threat to our government.
WTF is wrong with that 1/3 of ppl who approve of this traitor’s job performance or 40% of voters who can’t see that he has done no work for the nation? And, WTF is wrong with almost half the ppl can’t see that he was directly involved in inciting a rabid cult mob to attack the Capitol with the possibility of removing all successors to his power? Those are rhetorical questions. As I have been saying since 2016, ignorant deluded ppl with no critical thinking skills who live in an alternate fantasy realm would support this clearly insane person or the Repugnant Party that does not have the best interests for them or the nation.
Do you ever get a chance to talk to them Rob? It’s like talking to a member of the Manson following. They robotically parrot what they hear. No ability to see the truth, the reality. They roll their eyes when I even say he’s racist and sexist, but they really think I’m whacked out when I say things like:
(1) Trump is owned by Putin.
(2) Trump’s strategy and techniques have a lot in common with Hitler’s
(3) everything Trump does is coercion, blackmail, bribery, quid pro quo dealing, self-serving greed and lust for power and money.
We have to be grateful for the gift of seeing it as it is. Just thank your lucky stars that you’re not a member of the cult, lost in delusion and illusion.
I appreciate your rant and I share your feelings. And now, we have to get on with adult behavior. We must work at the local level.
All politics is local, even electing the next council member, or Senator, or President. And also, were one to put up solar or insulate or purchase an electric car, that is local but far reaching in positive consequences. And good carma too
Good Carma Baby❗️
Reptile Rick Scott is beyond redemption. I had sent him a letter asking him to remove Trump either by invocation of the 25th or by impeachment. I got a form letter that nearly drove me into insanity...I wish I could put a link to the letter, but I will copy one of the paragraphs. He not only insists that the PA election was fraudulent, he also has some "lovely" ideas for reforming voting throughout all the states. Voter suppression at its finest. If anyone knows how I can send a copy to Rick Wilson of the Lincoln Project (he lives in FL), please let me know. Here is Rick Scott's "excuse".
Specifically, the situation in Pennsylvania was of particular concern to me. The actions of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Administration and the courts in Pennsylvania pose a serious threat to the integrity of future elections. The Governor of Pennsylvania, along with state courts, made a decision to allow votes to be counted that came in after Election Day, even if they did not have a postmark, in defiance of state law. This is absurd, and cannot be tolerated. It also appears that Pennsylvania enacted policies in direct conflict with its own state constitution, which is also unacceptable. We simply cannot tolerate partisan political attempts to change the rules and tip the scales in our elections. In October, Supreme Court Justices Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas warned that the reckless actions of Pennsylvania’s Governor and Secretary of State might result in ‘serious post-election problems’ and they were right. Both of these matters are still pending at the United States Supreme Court. I voted to sustain the objection to Pennsylvania’s slate of electors because these important constitutional questions are still unresolved.
The American Political Science Association actually used the "Both Sides" Trumpists and its members went berserk. The APSA modified its statement, but once the toothpaste is out of the tube you can't put it back in. Member, Tomasso Pavone, posted a red ink "correction" which, if the situation weren't so serious, would be hilarious on its own merit.
If the link doesn't take you directly to the article go to the article "Deeply Harmful Rhetoric".
I found this from (Texas?) Jennifer Mercieca
Associate Professor of Communication, Texas A&M University
https://theconversation.com/a-field-guide-to-trumps-dangerous-rhetoric-139531
Great resource. Pulling from the article, trump/demagogues use 6 rhetorical strategies to unify his followers against everyone else:
1. Appealing to the wisdom of the crowd, using popularity as the measure of value
2. Paralipsis: "I’m not saying; I’m just saying." Gives them "plausible deniability to assert that they didn’t actually say some controversial thing or that they were merely joking or being sarcastic"
3. American exceptionalism "to take advantage of their followers’ patriotism and feelings of national pride for the demagogue’s gain"
4. Attacking the person instead of their argument
5. Threats of force or intimidation
6. Treating people as objects
Excellent resource, Tom!
Tom, thanks for posting this link. Spot on article. I jyst subscribed to the newsletter.
Please keep all of his transgressions enumerated in the News Letter and in the sage comments close at hand. I sense in coming days, weeks, months and years many more aspects of his devious character will see sunlight.
I have written this before but I have to repeat myself. All those elected republicans in Congress and in the various states, with very few exceptions, would have rejoiced at his reelection. Certainly last Wednesday was the icing on the cake, but the cake was long baked for all to smell and taste. And they did, and supported him anyway.
Surely djt is one of the most reprehensible men to have lived. But he is not the cause of where we find ourselves today. He is the result of the Republican Party of the last 40 years. The biggest lie was voiced by Ronald Regan when he said “government is the problem”. What we witnessed at the Capital building last week, and what we have endured during this pandemic, is what you get when you “shrink government to a size that you can drown it in a bathtub”.
Paul Krugman writes about this in today's NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/opinion/republicans-democracy.html
For four years Trump’s wildly unstable mental state, preposterous narratives, revolving door of staff and appointees, provided substantial signs, along with insider reports, conveying he is a madman and unfit to be president. Mental health professionals risked protocol and signed on by the hundreds insisting he was unfit from the start.
WHY was all of this allowed to reach and culminate so horrifically—-and predictably?
The big ‘WHY’!
As one cynic put iit, corporations will stop the flow of money until they need legislation to protect their interests.
Yesterday from OpenSecrets I pulled a list of donor to my senators and rep, who are all guilty of seditious behavior. I plan to write at least some. The biggest donor, a private company, to our new Senator is owned by the brother-in law of a close friend, one a dedicated repub and my friend the complete opposite. FedEx is HQ’d in Memphis and I think they have already suspended donations.
Excellent Plan! Thank You!
Thank you for this. I’ve read it a number of times sinking in with the notion money speaks louder than reason — to those who revere “power” over love as the vehicle of transformation and happiness.
An old, tragic tale repeats.