There is a frantic feeling in the political air as stories fly around: the leader of the Proud Boys has been arrested in Washington, D.C.; senators will contest the counting of electoral votes; Georgia election officials destroy Trump’s accusations of a fraudulent election.
I don't think the medal has been devalued but, henceforth, recipients will be at pains to mention from whom they received it, and Nunes, Limbaugh, and anyone else to whom he gives it will be constantly told that theirs aren't real.
Thank you, Pamela! I love this. Perfect for the Alternative Reality world: The Trumpian Medal of Butt Kissers of the Lowest Order. We will definitely have to change the names of our previous honors that have been so tainted by this authoritarian coup d'etat on our country.
Can you imagine if all the conferees of the MoF had a get together? Nunes (and reportedly Gym Jordan) would stand out for their utter stupidity, lack of qualifications, and a total failure to contribute to the betterment of the country and the world.
Thanks, Heather. I spent the entire day following the news blow by blow so I got nothing else done. I should have waited for tonight's Letter but it's now become something close to an addiction to stay abreast. I might need to go on a news blackout.
The insanity and overblown passion Trump Republicans express in the comments during live video broadcasts is overwhelming; from the declarations that Trump is the best ever president to he's "our lord and savior" to people vowing to take to the streets bearing arms because "this is war". It's mind boggling and frightening. These folks are consuming news from sources that bend the facts so totally out of shape that by the time Trump walked out on stage they were all lathered up and raring to go. Trump is stoking a sense of rage amongst his supporters that is volatile and intended to reverberate throughout the country well after he is dead and gone.
I have seen this rage up close and personal, and I am terrified. The sheriff promised they would visit my neighbor Sunday night, the one I have been so kibd to for 20 years, the one who told me on Sunday that he was going to Washington on Monday "because we gotta prevent the man with ashes on his forehead who kills babies from becoming president." The one who has a history of mental illness and has lately talked of suicide. The one who owns acres of property so he can practice shooting his guns when he isn't supposed to have any firearms. The one who screamed at me to go to hell. I have a contract with Community Mental Health to provide nursing services, so I called the supervisor there who told me I had to call the state police and report him immediately. When I couldn't get through to MSP, I called our local sheriff dispatch, who agreed they would send a deputy to visit him, but assured me that it was not necessary to contact the state police. My county is one of many here that oppose our Democratic Governor and her COVID-19 restrictions. I insisted that he must report it, that this man is dangerous, that MPS should have his vehicle license number. The dispatcher finally said, yes, they would forward my concern. The deputy was kind, told me he would visit my neighbor, and call if he had any questions, but not to worry. I worried. I broke my COVID-19 seclusion and stayed with a friend for the night. The next morning it appeared my neighbor had left for DC to join the proud boys. God help us all. And help me when he comes back.
When trump was elected, I told my kids it is better to leave (the country) “too soon” vs waiting and it becomes too late. The pandemic has changed where we can go, but I agree with R. Dooley, trust your gut and get to a safer place.
I’m not going anywhere, it’s here that the battle will be won or lost. It’s here that we need to make a stand, all of our heroes stood on principle come what may, they are the example to follow, we will make this country better or die trying. I have been in battle and know the cost, this is a battle that we can win, of that I have no doubt.
This story is frightening, and at the same time so very sad. That we have come to the point of not feeling safe in our own homes is a direct result of the violence that tRump has fomented for years, probably starting with the birther story. I'm sorry, MaryPat that you have to live this way.
You’re always welcome here! You can stay downstairs in my daughter’s room, we’ll all just stay separated until we quarantine! But do you mind cleaning out her closet while you are here!?!
Ha!! Just cleaned out 3 closets here (I could hide in)! Thanks, but I will be okay. Will stay at friend's house on the night he is supposed to come back, and until I know he is okay.
My God! Can you please send your thoughts and experiences to The NY Times and WAPO? Try everything! This is terrifying... this guy is going to kill somebody!
I do trust most of our county deputies, even if they are trumpers, to do the right thing and alert the Michigan State Police. When they pull up my neighbor's record and see the firearms restrictions and why, I am sure he will be on their radar (I guess literally). Our MSP worked closely with the FBI to prevent the plot to kidnap and possibly murder Governor Whitmer. They take every call seriously. As an extra precaution, though, I will stay with a friend on Thursday/Friday when the neighbor said he is coming back.
That’s good, don’t be in a hurry... how bad is this... we’re afraid to leave our homes because of Covid, and afraid to stay home for fear of the Trump insane... this is way beyond....
Your adjective, "most," combined with "even if they are trumpers," speaks VOLUMES about the level of assistance you'll get from them. Please call your State Police, and take your lead from them.
It is terrifying, however these people and their likes are scattered across our country. I learned from a Facebook neighborhood post that there are two chartered bus loads of these dangerous “protesters” heading to DC from my area. Not surprising since my area is repped by the dishonorable Josh Hawley and grub worm Sam Graves. Everyone I know has repeatedly called these asshat’s offices...to no avail. 🤯
Mary Pat, this is a terrifying story and I am so so sorry you have had to experience this first hand! I have similar neighbors and I try to just keep my head down because I am also afraid of them. Big trump flags and lots of shooting practice even in a residential neighborhood, which is allowed, you guessed it, in Florida. It’s frightening and crazy-making and the fact that you felt so afraid that you broke Covid quarantine to stay with your friend says a lot. How is it that we law-abiding, fact-believing, democracy-loving citizens are forced to live in fear of this violence and chaotic insanity that has been unleashed?? I send you wishes of comfort and safety and that you may live in your home peacefully. May we all feel safe and peaceful.
Thank You. You stay safe, too. We will feel safer and hopefully more peaceful when we don't have a vile president stoking all these fragile people to do terrible things. This man had gone at least 20 years without a breakdown. It is no coincidence thst it is happening now.
We have the convenient illusion that we’re surrounded by sane, intelligent and law abiding neighbors in an historic town in one of the bluest states. It is sad that I know mental illness is rampant in our wonderful country and many don’t know they’re suffering from it and many will keep acting out delusional fantasies which DT has propagated with his dark ways.
There are way more lunatics out there than any of us imagined 4 years ago, think of the screaming faces at the Michigan capital last year, unhinged is hardly the word.
Pay no attention to the deputy or the dispatcher. You have legitimate concerns, and you MUST call the State Police. This is not the time for you to be lulled into complacency with somebody dangerously deranged and armed loose in your vicinity. Take every step toward your own protection and well-being.
Further, until the situation is completely resolved, please don't stay at home alone.
Safer to break your seclusion than risk a confrontation. Joe Biden has the Secret Service - and wisely has the contingent that protected Obama, not the latest crop!
Biden’s choice likely has to do with his comfort level – having familiar faces around him – just as he has shown in his choices for his administration.
I do not believe he means to cast any aspersions on the loyalty or dedication of the men and women who make up the Secret Service.
I read that he was warned that the current crop contains Trump loyalists. That doesn't mean that they wouldn't protect him, but if I were choosing, I'd go with his former friends.
I, too, found myself consumed by the news, Daria. I was furloughed in April and spent most of my summer and early fall obsessively reading the news and following both political and COVID news on twitter. I returned to work in October and very quickly began to feel overwhelmed by the news and found I had to stop reading both news and social media almost completely in order to maintain my own sanity. At this point Heather’s letters and the posts in this forum are my primary source for news and current events because I can no longer tolerate the chaos and hysteria in the news and on social media. I also made it a point to be more consistent with meditation and now do so daily. I find that, between my news “diet” (not quite a blackout) and the meditation, I am less stressed and better able to deal with what is now a daily litany of truly frightening reports of ongoing and escalating insanity in our country. I hope you find a balance that works for you so that you are also able to feel less overwhelmed. Considering the circumstances, though, I believe a certain amount of fear is unavoidable because these are truly frightening times. Stay safe and be well!
Karen, thank you for sharing your experience. I need to adopt a daily meditation practice and stick to it. I can't change what's going on out there but I can change what's going on "in here".
I don't use an app, but I do meditate regularly: it's part of my daily routine and has been for decades. But an app is a great way to get started. In early days I had meditation partners. But along the line I found a delightful little desktop app with the sweet beginning bell and a soft ending bong. I could set specific times, or simply start it if I needed a meditation break. I'm glad you brought this up; I think I'll see if it is still available. I think it was created by a monk in the Order I follow.
As I was watching, the thought occurred to me wouldn't it be great if during the Proud Boy protests this week, Washington, D.C. could share Ted's music through "billboards" around the streets with videos of the frontline workers caring for the thousands of people who are sick and dying. What a powerful counter-protest it would make!
Thank You Lynell. This is calming and hopeful! I love your idea of billboards of scenes and music. I fear they would get destroyed by proud boys (can't capitalize them). For future demonstrations, though, powerful.
Yes, Karen. I do the same. I don't do any kind of social media and I limit my time watching, reading, paying attention to world events to about 2 hours per day only. It also helps to identify the informational sources we pay attention to and if there is any sensationalism, drama, and / or fear embedded. Almost all of MSM has those attributes (just pay attention to the opening credits, headlines, and back ground music of NBC or CBS or ABC nightly news). I love the PBS newshour (6-7pm) and reading HCR's daily letter for a factual summary of most current events. And that's about it. The rest of my life must consist of spending as much time of my day I can checking in with my family, exercising outdoors, cooking and eating healthily, pet therapy. Have calming music quietly playing in my home, car or office is very, very helpful as well.
The world continues. Day after day. There is very little I can do on a daily basis to stop any of the madness that is reported. But I can remain an informed voter from local to state to national and pick one or two causes (also local, state, or national) that interest me and that I can be a part of.
Could I suggest finding a journalist u trust, and read them, but in the newspaper or at least not on Facebook. It’s too easy to get false info and miss info Fromm FB.
I consume no news from Facebook and watch almost nothing "televised" or streamed on a regular basis. I do subscribe to several papers, plus AP and Reuters. That's bad enough when one has nothing but time on one's hands.
Daria, I follow pretty much the same routine. the only thing I use FB for (other that friends/fam and a couple of groups) is for Heather's videos, which I open to full screen. Get her letters via SubStack. I subscribe to several of the reliable news outlets , mainly newspapers online, but also The Atlantic. Important: I also treat myself to High Country News and Orion for the beauty of the writing and for sanity. This year I will let one of the papers go and resubscribe to The New Yorker. The Atlantic is a keeper. As is Yes! magazine. Everyone should read it. Free online, very inexpensive mailed. It lift my spirit and is one of the things that keeps me from getting mired in all the negativity and over-reaction.
All the bigots, all the religious zealots who dreamed of a Supreme Court that would create a Christian Caliphate, all the homophobes, are in a fever dream. They know their time is gone. Their own children and grandchildren who will have nothing to do with their contrived hoaxes.
Now is not the time of violence, for it never wins. It creates more hate. Now is the time of reason and compassion. The good people who have been fooled for whatever reason, or just misplaced emotion, will come around to their normal selves. Once out of office, djt and his spawn will be discovered. Empty vessels. Worthless. And all the Sycophants will dry up and wither away.
This is the time to believe in the hard fought dream that all humans are equal. That all deserve the support of all. That life without equality cannot bring true freedom and happiness. If Georgia disappoints, be resolved to vote again. Vote in every election. Until we succeed. In the names of John Lewis and Ruth Ginsberg, have resolve. Good trouble!
Could it be? I have been thinking those thoughts for four years. I’ve always been an optimistic person, and try to project love and compassion. I read everything I can to understand, to learn, and I try to reason with others and myself... but I am so discouraged, so sad... and totally disgusted by this band of dunces... and some of them so highly educated and versed on the Constitution. Why is this ok? Why are people so eager to believe the distorted stories that everyone from djt to Ted Cruz to the moronic gang on Fox News not even to mention OAN etc. This is crazy. And all the time we are being eradicated by a monster pandemic that is now mutating and cutting us off from the hope of a comeback?! I have said it before, they are the virus that is killing us. I remember Heather’s letter from March 28th which explained the origins of the mindset of the Trump supporters. I have been so disappointed in our history as we have learned from her letters and books.
Sorry... maybe I woke up grump and anxious. I just want to wake up one morning and say ‘Whew’, and not look back.
I am so concerned for Mary Pat! There are some very crazy people here in our town, with their guns and their theories about preparedness for taking up arms to fight the government that they don’t accept. I can only imagine how many are out there everywhere? We are in the pot of water and it is near the boiling point, and yet it is not much more than the reaction to the Access Hollywood tape!
Argh! I want to do something! At 69 I feel somewhat limited, I made phone calls and sent letters. I would have been on my way to GA to help register voters if I was younger and healthier... I have a headache that won’t stop... It’s all just such a huge mess....
Cynthia - Well, I've been grumpy and angry for the past 4 years! :-) I always thought logic and sanity and the greater good would prevail. I always thought bad deeds would be punished. But there have been absolutely no repercussions for any of the heinous acts against our country and our people. Nothing.
I feel the exact same way. I’m doing everything I know to maintain my equilibrium but this constant erosion of reality and the descent into chaos, with our country’s democracy on the line... no rule of law containing these traitors who enjoy fomenting violence.. I am feeling frayed and scared and sad, too. Could we all live next to each other?
I might be interested :) I’m actually wanting to do something similar in north Florida. I know, it’s Florida, but there are some progressive pockets and good people. I love Maine. My grandmother had a place in Brooklin Me. where the cousins all gathered. It was idyllic.
I am with you on this despair and attribute it to cultism, of which there is a long history of irrational ppl doing the most bizarre things. (If you can find the post I just made) Cultists, like ppl with Narcissistic Personality Disorder are, I believe untreatable.
I agree with you in one sense, Rob, but with a large caveat: research with women having difficulty leaving abusive relationships assumed at first that the women went into the relationship already damaged, with personality disorders of their own. But as researcher dug deeper, they found that most women had been psychologically healthy prior to the relationship. Their relationships did not start out abusive, and often seemed healthy in the beginning. Once the abuse began, often low-level and verbal, the woman tried to explain it away, and accepted excuses made by her partner. The escalation continued until she doubted her own ability to tell what was true.
We have a word for that: gaslighting. And we know what the outcomes often are. But women who manage to escape the relationship and get counseling regain their sense of self and ability to form healthy relationships. (I hasten to add that this works when a man is the target and a woman the abuser, and in same-sex relationships as well).
We can think of this as a cult of two. Expand that number, and the same kind of dynamics are at work. Add an individual with money and some form of power (religion, corporate cult, political position, successful entertainer) and what you can end up with is a mixed group of people who have set aside their ability to reason, reinforced by being part of a group doing the same thing and by a leader who uses his/her power and control of the misperceptions and disinformation for his/her own aggrandizement. The group seems to take on the characteristics of the leader.
But they did not all begin that way. They began, perhaps, with simply the need to belong, as we all have the need to love and be loved. It is possible, in this kind of situation, as in a relationship, for a rational person to act in irrational ways that are not in their best interests. Interrupt that process in some way, and many of those people will begin to see how they have been used and seek to distance themselves.
In personal relationships, this sometimes becomes the danger point in terms of violence, as the controlling partner begins to perceive power slipping away, but relationships vary in how they resolve. How it plays out in a cult of many people is going to vary, too. Some are slipping away, some are fighting back, some are in a form of shock, some are in denial even when the truth is demonstrated over and over. I think we're seeing all of these. Trumpists are not a monolith. And as each kind of follower comes to some sort of recognition, the fabric of the cult frays and begins to come apart. I think that is where it is at now. Yes, some will cling to their illusions of power until that power disintegrates. Others will wonder what in the world they were thinking of.
I do not think that there is a direct one-on-one correlation between people who get caught up in cult-like thinking and behavior, and people who are born with a disorder like NPD or BPD. Just as the researcher found that most women in abusive relationships had been healthy prior to the abuse and could recover, I think the same possibility exists for at least some people in cults. I think we need to allow for that potential, because those are the people who can help heal the damage.
・Why Does He Do That: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men | Bancroft
・The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump | Lee
These are 4 great reads in understanding the brain functions of person's like Donald Trump. You bring up a great deal of good points, Annie, and make it understandable to a layman. So thank you for that. I'll add that oftentimes people do not understand when they are in the presence of a malignant narcissistic because of their magnetic charm and slow burn. I was married to one for nearly 25 years. It is the frog in the boiling water concept. Everything is slow and steady and insidious by these types and until you yourself realize you are not well and no longer safe in their presence. You are in the middle of something that you can not escape. If they catch on that you have figured them out and can see who they are behind the mask (or they let the mask fall away more and more as they often do) then it gets really crazy. It takes a great deal of strength and courage and help to: 1) get out and away from such a person, and 2) rebuild from the destruction.
Lee's book above outlines the white collar type folks in our societies, Trump being one of them, and how we as a nation can stop these people in more effective ways so they cease to have so much control over us. Bandcroft's book is just a must read as it digs deep into the mind of the narcissist and the misconceptions that people who fall for these types may be weak or ill themselves.
What a great point, and I can clearly see the pattern here. One personal sticking point here that I see, to help and abused individual leave a relationship, they have to do it for themselves. There is no rescue, so the idea is to support the individual, support their self esteem, help them develop strength to leave on their own free will. But them problem gets compounded when the abused gets pulled into the abusers pattern of abuse, and begins to work with the abuser, carrying out similar patterns of abuse on other (family/group) members. At this point I feel like many of the GOP members of congress have done just that. I will have difficulty feeling I can let any of them off the hook, let alone the ring leaders of the Sedition Caucus.
As far as personal experience in an abusive relationship (he never raised a physical hand), I heard I was stupid enough times that I started to believe that I was, and the other thing for not getting out sooner was that I kept thinking that things would get better! I was a lucky one.
I'm sorry you got mixed up in something that damaging. We just naturally want to believe people, and sometimes don't see the pattern until it has come to seem like something real. Some of the Trump folks are caught in the same trap: thinking that things would get better, that he would "grow into it", and becoming so vested that they clung to the repeated assurances. It will be hard for them once the props are gone. I hope we can find ways to welcome them so they can find solid ground again.
Thank you Heather for this concise review of yet another diminishing day of this Country. The world can't possibly laugh harder at us. I do feel we will continue to spiral down until January 20th and beyond. This free fall may well be unrecoverable. I can remember the day when the Medal of Freedom meant something. It's now nothing more than a flea market trinket.
What we are seeing are the desperate attempts of a deranged man trying to stay revelant and at the same time not pay the prices for his crimes. He is as pathetic as this nation has so quickly become.
I was so glad we made it to 2021, I'm no longer sure that's a prize.
I think the rest of the world has gone beyond laughing at us to standing in speechless horror as they watch us self-destruct. The Slow motion train wreck of the fall of a once great nation has the world on the edge of their seats.
Agree. The rest of the world is not laughing at us. When I lived and worked abroad in S America and the Middle East for 10 years, the #1 thing I learned is the rest of the world knows a lot more about America than our own citizens. It was always wonderful to break bread and socialize with others and have good and deep conversations about international living, world politics, and the horror most around the world feel in trying to figure out why Americans are so blatantly unaware of what it means to hold on to a democracy.
Agree. We would be better off in more Americans traveled abroad for education, business , and of course for leisure. Travel widens one's perspective. Only 42% of Americans have passports ( started to increase around 2000 with this generations globalization but more so because of 911 and you now need a Passport to travel to Mexico and Canada.
If you take out Mexico and Canada, I think the 42% drops to 10% of Americans have traveled abroad(excluding MX and CN) in the last ten years. Its got to be the lowest of the industrialized countries. ( similar to the 1900's and 1920's and 30's) https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html)
The majority of us Americans never leave the country in their entire lifetimes. Many have never left their state. Many have never left their county! Think about how that narrows their perspective. Their world and worldview ends at the county or state line. I think Kennedy understood this and was one reason to start the Peace Corps and similar projects.
Granted I was an expat and had that advantage while living abroad, yet the only thing I really, truly missed and appreciated about the USA was our postal system and banking needs (not to be confused with investment). Had personal circumstances not forced me to come back to the states, and then having to raise 3 children as a single parent, I most likely would have lived the remainder of my life abroad. Many of my former colleagues have done just that.
My wife taught at an elementary school near the NH coast. There was a mountain in the town from the peak of which the ocean could usually be seen. My wife volunteered to help chaperone the sixth grade trip, which was a whale watch. One of the class mothers, she related, was very excited because she'd never seen the ocean. Born and raised in a NH town thirty miles from the shore and she had never left the town, or been to the beach.
I feel like many of us look at Drumf supporters this way, with an amazing sense of their ignorance. How can they not know the ocean that we see and the one we swim in? They have never left their town, so they have no clue what the Ocean is, that it does exist, so they look at us with the same disdain.
From RFK...."Only earthbound man still clings to the dark and poisoning superstition that his world is bounded by the nearest hill, his universe ends at river's shore, his common humanity is enclosed in the tight circle of those who share his town or his views and the color of his skin."
Although educated cosmopolitans with disposable incomes the world over may have extensive travel experience, I believe that parochialism is more common world-wide. In China, I met quite a few people who had never gone to the other side of Beijing, let alone outside the city; and because I often carried my Beijing map with me around the city, I not only met Chinese out-of-towners who asked me for directions when they saw the map was written in Chinese, I also often asked people for directions to discover that many locals did not even know the names of the streets on which they had lived their entire lives. In Ireland on a bicycle trip alone, I spoke with a middle-aged woman in a village shop/post office who had never been to Dublin, Galway, or any other Irish city, and who wondered if I wasn't terrified to be traveling on my own in a foreign country (and clearly, to her, foreign was anywhere outside her own village).
Perhaps the reason we feel the rest of the world knows more about us than many Americans do about our own country is that our (the readers of these Letters) contact with citizens of other countries tends to be through their news outlets or with well-educated, well-traveled representatives, not with the average residents of small towns and hinterlands.
Well said...and so sad. There is the ugly American who has no interest in other cultures and countries, who believes in American Exceptionalism, and the other ugly American who doesn’t want to learn about our history, civics, or to engage in critical thinking that would enlighten them about undeniable facts.
Another thing I learned about Americans while living abroad is that there is a laziness in our country. A selfishness. A lack of work ethic. And yes, there were always some 'ugly Americans' to be found abroad who were not interested in the cultural experience of living and traveling abroad at all. That was sad, too.
Agree. And, the disrupting players on the world stage never had to fire a shot. Hard to know if Putin over-played his hand for world dominance .... I’m not sure he anticipated the degree of actual insanity that is trump. We worry about the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the hands of madmen and we are the biggest threat in the world. Yes, the world is on anxious alert for so many reasons.
Hm. You mean all those years of studying Chinese may actually pay off? I once read a very reasonable (albeit tongue in cheek) article in a scholarly journal arguing that if Chinese became the lingua franca of the world it would not be necessary for anyone to learn to speak a new language, only to read written Chinese using English, French, German, or Swahili words for the characters. Since my ability to read Chinese is definitely better than my ability to speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or any of the myriad of other Chinese languages, I'm all set to play my part in world dominance!
And Trump appears to be fueling a plane to escape to Scotland before Biden’s Inauguration.
Likely expecting the city in which he resided (part-time) over for the last four years to be in flames, or at least smoldering, he is off to play golf and into the arms of his pal Boris – and the less welcoming Nicola Sturgeon.
Is this what Boris needs right now – a 250-pound weight around his neck? Welcome to our world, Boris!
The Irish hate him as well. During a trip to Ireland a couple of years ago, we stayed in B&Bs. Innkeepers were polite but we could tell they were suspect of American political views. So upon arrival at each place, we immediately stated we didn’t vote for trump, he was a dictator-wanna-be, and was a disaster for the US and the world. A sigh of relief with much conversation that included international context (hosts and other travelers) and perspective. There was not a good word about trump from the press, business owners, or anyone else. We all feared what would continue to transpire during his tenure in the WH. And, here we are.
We had the same experience in Ireland. We stayed in B &B’s where everyone was very cautious around us until we made it clear that we were not trump supporters. Suddenly everyone was friendly and welcoming. The Irish people can’t stand trump.
LOL. Totally off topic to Heather's letter . . . but my maternal grandmother (born in 1890) was adopted. Her parents (1 percenters of the day) were very progressive and very open that she and her sister were adopted (not biologically related to each other) even though adoption records were closed... my grandmother claimed they were lost and never wanted to know her background (even though given the times and being in Boston, most likely Irish) A couple of years ago, a 125+ year mystery solved by my son through a tremendous amount of research, including newly available DNA samples of the living, Ancestry.com, etc. He found my grandmother's birth name (Irish as can be!) and some links to people he was able to contact. I was surprised at how moving that was for me and how much it has meant to confirm the Irish heritage. While I couldn't track the genealogy in Ireland, there was a sense of being "grounded" Another part of my DNA is Viking but we won't go down that trail :)
To go even farther off topic, I was born and raised in Texas, and my dad had a saying: "Son, don't ever ask a man where he's from, if he's from Texas, he'll let you know, if not, you don't want to embarrass him"!
We had a similar experience in Italy, both with Trump and, earlier, with Bush. When I commented about my distaste for both, saying I hadn't voted for either, one person laughed and said "Nobody will claim them."
Same here. In Italy shortly after Bush invaded Iraq a table of German tourists next to our table waited until my companion left the table. I had caught one of their eyes and smiled and nodded to be friendly. Before he responded in a low voice he said "Did you vote for Buuuush?" I said no. They were very nice for the remainder of their meal. The terror of the US did not begin with electing djt. He is a failed experiment. But Bush got re-elected...why?
We were probably in Italy around the same time. There were "Pace" banners everywhere - a week after the bombing began. We had been there the year before, and I went into a shop in Cortona, one that I'd visited the first trip. I recognized the woman working there, but she was absolutely frosty this time around. When I made my purchase, I smiled and told her that many of us were just as offended as she obviously was, and I understood. Later, leaving a restaurant near our hotel, someone called out from a window "American, go home!" I called back, telling him that we were Canadian.
One could argue he doesn't have the emotional capacity to truly care about anything. But I suspect it burns him when he sees all those Scottish "Trump is a C*NT" signs that are always here to greet him.
It was a very good golf course long before he bought it. He only bought it so that he could sell homes 🏠 along the fairways and greens which the Scotts have refused to let him do, otherwise it’s a money 💰 suck, he has put way more in it than he can sell it for, the same is true for Doral in Miami. Think about it, just how many of his “base” can afford $300 for a round of golf, and as to the rest of us, how many of us would choose to spend that kind of money at anything he owns. I have played Doral long before he bought it, you couldn’t pay me to play there today.
“We are not allowing people to come into Scotland now without an essential purpose, which would apply to him, just as it applies to everybody else. Coming to play golf is not what I would consider an essential purpose.” -Nicola Sturgeon
Well, we have seen four years of a person who I consider completely "un-presidented" but has revealed our democracy's weaknesses. One cannot have a democracy if the majority do not believe in Truth and Justice. Period. I say we try to focus on paragraph 8 of Heather's letter. We all need to stay calm and stay safe for the moment to see how this plays out. I think there are way more of us who want our democracy to survive. But we must remove the great brainwasher from public venues immediately. Immediately.
I agree “we must remove the great brainwasher from public venues immediately. Immediately.” He shouldn’t be given the media spotlight once he’s gone. Let him start his own media company and hope it fails as the Pillow Man can only buy so many commercial spots.
I personally like the picture of the plane and the Secret Service leaving him stranded on his Scottish golf course at noon on Jan. 20. Although all former Presidents get lifetime Secret Service protection ... unless they were removed from office.
I was referring to Jan's comment about the Menace leaving the country before leaving office. Anything that makes the Useful Idiot leave town, even to a country that doesn't have an extradition agreement with us (not Scotland), would be a good thing.
I agree. What we assumed was a given, just wasn't. It will be one more thing for Joe Biden to add to his long list - codify the many items that we've taken for granted, so that they are never sullied again.
We have extradition treaties with the UK. And Boris just shut down all of England (Scotland was already mostly in lockdown) because the new mutation of the coronavirus is 70% more infectious. Which is terrifying.
Linda, this new variant is more easily transmitted (it has more connection points), meaning the possibility of more cases. But it doesn't make people sicker. We all need to be extra careful about masking, distancing, and avoiding places that could create possibility of exposure - something we know how to do, and which are known to protect us. The treatments for Covid19 still will help people who do get sick, and as important, the vaccine will work on it too, though there is some consideration that doses for vulnerable people might be increased. Answer to that one unknown for now.
Rumor has it that Trump has been heard yelling "A cart! A cart!, My kingdom for a golf cart!" [In case you don't know to what I refer, in Shakespeare's tragedy "King Richard The Third," in the final scene King Richard the Third yells, "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"]
Where he'll have to sit in 14 days of quarantine before getting off the airplane, and will have to wear a mask or risk arrest. And in a country where dog poop is more popular than he is.
Well he will have to find his way back if he must return to the US. Once Biden is inaugurated the insane one will mo longer have access to the presidential aircraft.
That's right. But he has a jet, I believe. The larger question is whether will he want to come back soon given his precarious legal situation? He can wage his legal battles by proxy from Scotland until his is officially summoned - and then he can stall for time. That is one thing he is very adept at doing - he's spent a lifetime practicing.
The point would be, I think, to NOT be in US when he becomes ex-president. I am curious now: ex-presidents still have Secret Service protection. They don't work for the ex-pres: they are a courtesy provided by the US Gov. What would their job be should charges be brought against Trump? I got curious and just emerged from a rabbit hole about ex-pres perks. I knew the general facts but there are interesting details. Like a travel allowance and office expenses (latter only within US). A search brought up a bunch of websites; I thought this one had the best overview. Ironically, it is from an aussie source. Info tallies with US sources. Fun. God, we'll be paying for Trump for a long time.
Every day, I awaken to read your summation, only to find that the depths to which this president will go to rob, cheat, and steal from the American people has reached yet an even lower bottom. Vladimir Putin's efforts to divide us has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams!
The next fourteen days could prove to be the most consequential days in the history of our Republic, determining as Franklin said in 1787, "... if we can keep it."
The damage that 45 has inflicted on our country and her citizens has gone beyond anything comprehensibly foolhardy -- it is utter madness! As of yesterday, the number of Covid cases had risen to 20.9 million and the unfathomable number of deaths to 354k; and yet, our daily news must, perforce, center on the political antics of a narcissist rather than on the pain and suffering of the sick, the dying, those who care for them in overcrowded hospitals, the grieving, the hungry, the homeless ...
It is heart wrenching to witness such calamities! The letter signed yesterday by the heads of over 170 business leaders which condemned "attempts to 'thwart or delay' the process of counting the electoral votes as a threat 'to the essential tenets of our democracy'" spoke to me because of its focus on this: “'The incoming Biden administration faces the urgent tasks of defeating COVID-19 and restoring the livelihoods of millions of Americans who have lost jobs and businesses during the pandemic. Our duly elected leaders deserve the respect and bipartisan support of all Americans at a moment when we are dealing with the worst health and economic crises in modern history. There should be no further delay in the orderly transfer of power.'"
We can no longer stand by and allow the people's representatives to give credence to the lies perpetrated by a WH that has never and will never have this country and its citizens' best interests at heart.
Very little except to continue ro speak out about their seditious and subversive actions through postcards, letters to our representatives/senators both in state and in DC, and to shout out about our suffering citizens. They should not be forgotten!!!
To say that Trump and his enablers "have no evidence" of election fraud isn't accurate--and not for reasons that are purely semantic hair-splitting. They have lots and lots of evidence, it just happens to be of abysmal quality. Trump supporter Trish White, interviewed yesterday by NPR at a Trump rally in GA, said "... I believe the election was stolen in the state of Georgia. Absolutely believe it. Look around. No way Biden won this state." I have heard Trump use the exact same logic, pointing to the size of his rallies in the run-up to the election. I won't waste any time here explaining the sheer stupidity of that argument or the questionable intelligence of those who buy into it uncritically.
I think the correct response isn't to dismiss their claims, but to address them head-on in more public forums. I don't think I've heard any politicians speak up to defend election procedures in any informative way beyond parroting that they were fairly conducted. I have heard much about the stunning number of Trump's failed law suits, but virtually nothing about their content. I have only heard a trickle of reports in the media regarding how fraud was investigated in GA (and elsewhere), how the recounts were conducted, how remarkably secure the GA procedures were -- even in comparison to those in a lot of other states. I would love to see the media step-up and try to reach more people with information on the social science of rumor- and conspiracy-mongering. I'm sure there are other approaches.
Obviously, better info won't sway the opinions of Trump cultists, but it will move the needle by influencing the more thoughtful Republicans who can appreciate both the attractiveness and the invalidity of anecdotal evidence and conspiracies. In short, more talking heads on both sides of the aisle need to explain *why* the election was fair, not just declare that it was so.
Gabriel Sterling, who is responsible for implementing election strategy in Georgia, yesterday addressed every single issue Trump raised in that phone call with the Sec. of State and credibly explained them all away. More information is always better for most of us, but it was a stunning presentation of the sort I think you are requesting. And any of the points he raised could be used with a DJT supporter as an example of how the truth is being bypassed.
Melinda, I just watched the video you refer to right after I posted my comment (and probably while you were posting your reply :) I watched the entire presentation. Wow! I immediately shared it on Facebook. I hope it gets a lot of play today. Here's a link for it:
After watching and listening to Gabriel Sterling I just want to give him a great big hug and and also a large glass of cool water and thank him!!! I think I’m 😍
It was a beautiful thing. Then this morning he put out a tweet asking that Georgians vote for Loefffler and Perdue. Here it is:
"I encourage any of you that haven't voted yet here in Georgia, you have between 7am-7pm at your polling location. And as much as this may disappoint some, please join me in voting for Senators Perdue and Loeffler. A divided government will serve Americans best right now."
Normally I think this refers to not having a single-party control of all three branches of gov't. There may be a reasonable case to be made for that, but the point seems to be moot because the judicial branch is Republican controlled.
I agree that we should be easily able to find more clear information about how election officials have come to the conclusion that the election was free and fair, and not just that it was. I'd like to be able to reinforce that in conversations with people by knowing more of the particulars. I find that I'm not going to be able to change the mind of any trumpeters, no matter how much info I have, but there are a lot of people out there who could still be swayed if they don't feel very confident about evidence for a fair election. These are the folks who voted again for trump, but aren't arguing about the outcome, aren't protesting. They appear to be going along with the fact he lost, but I worry that over time any doubts they may have could grow if we aren't clearly shown how the election was determined to be free of fraud.
Ted, can you clarify this comment a bit for me, please? I'm not too up on Manafort/Ukraine and would like to know, in a very general sense what you are referring to. Thanks.
Background on Paul Manfort, Ukrainian Politics, and Operation of Russian and Ukrainian Oligarchy
In the early 2000's Paul Manafort was recruited by Russians to help Russian stooge
Viktor Yanukovych, who had lost the presidency to a young capable female idealist, Yulia Tymoshenko.
Russia needs Ukraine under their boot. This is where Putin's Oligarchs through the oil and gas mark up trade, launder much of their money stolen from the Russian people. As Ukraine was courted to join the EU, this infuriated Putin. Ukraine is a tool for Putin to make $ and launder it so he and oligarchy can repatriate the money into the Western Banking system (in the early 2000's Putin was not as strong nor entrenched as he is now). If the Ukraine joins the EU, Putin loses the ability to make and launder $ via Ukraine. Putin needs maintain his cash cow to keep the oligarchs paid and thus fat and happy or they will rise up against him politically and threaten his power (Mikhail Khodorkovsky challenged and barely escaped prison from prison, torture and possible execution ).
Yulia Tymoshenko was EU and western leading, an economist, former finance minister. She ran and won a fair election with joining the EU as a big part of her platform. This was unacceptable to the Kremlin. Yanokovich needed help defeating the popular and Pro EU Yulia Tymoshenko. Manafort rebranded Viktor Yanokovich to appear like a Ronald Reagan to the Ukrainians, but he also taught and deployed the "Dirty Tricks" tactics of Nixon. ( Manfort and Roger Stone are former partners/ political consultants). Manfort devised a slander campaign against Yulia, full of made up stories of epic misogynistic proportions. Just nasty stuff leading to "lock her up" chants. ( sound familiar?).
You can find a lot of news articles telling this story in real time in the 2000's WSJ A section. I read the WSJ for twenty years, but cancelled by subscription when Rupert Murdoch purchased it.
Anyway, it should be of importance to every American as to what and how Paul Manafort was being paid by Russians maintain influence over Ukrainian politics. If he has been helping Russians win in Ukraine for decades, wouldn't it be easy to do the same for Donald Drumf?
How did it end for Yanokovich? With people protesting his election in the streets, . Both sides poured into Kiev to protest, riots, burning, tempers flared, and shots fired, blood in the streets, he fled to Moscow. Then War and occupation of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea by Russia.
So, when HCR talks about Oligarchy in this country and our history of it, I believe it, and how far it can go here I do not know. ( and there is soooo much more 411 to support her views)
oh yes. "do not look away" - Tim Snyder. It is time to dig in harden the defenses of Democracy. Snyder goes on, "History can not inform us of the future, but it can instruct", just like HCR is doing so graciously. Snyder instructs that peaceful protest is the key defense, time and time again against the forces of Authoritarianism. King. Mandela. Ghandi. Not the IRA way.
Thank you for this information. I have read an article or listened to a podcast about how Europe counters false messaging in the media which we obviously don’t do here. .I can’t remember the details. I will see if I can find it’s it and listen to it again. Anybody remember that episode?
Yes! First read up on Ukraine politics and Yulia Tymoshenko. Manafort coined the “Lock her up” chant/slogan to defeat her and helped the Russian stooge win their presidential election. And they did put their former president, Yulia in prison, unjustly. There are so many parallels to Eastern Europe election campaigns with Russians meddling. ALL my European contacts know and understand these tactics and recognize them with ease. Europeans were at first laughing at how gullible we Americans are. Now they are crying for us.
The first thing u do to destabilize a political opponent or an entire country is take control of its mass communications or as much as you can. FB is an open door to Russians, but also our own Oligarchs to first overwhelm with news volume, confuse with conflicting reports, and conspiracy theories, create Apathy in the political process to reduce dialogue and participation. Trust is eroded everywhere. Sew division through vulnerabilities of racism, religion, classes. Politicize every issue, even education, public health, environmental protections. This is the way to radicalize of millions of Americans. And Paul Manafort was paid tens of millions to do this in Ukraine for a long long time. He is a professional at it.
Read “nothing is true and everything is possible” Peter ?
“Red Notice”by Bill Browder
On tyranny and The road to unfreedom by Tim Synder
Read Malcom Nance and Clint Watts ( counter insurgency and counter cyber terrorism experts)
I liked and agree with Nance on the Syria Civil War viewpoint. How the Russians encourage it, facilitate it, to move mass refugees into Europe to destabilize Germany. This is just one of Putin's Active Measures against democratic Governments. Russia is the gateway to Europe to sell the 'stan country's gas at a huge mark up, when European countries try to negotiate gas prices with Russia, Vladimir sends more bombs weapons to Assad. Putin is a master at taking a crisis, making it worse to create and add more leverage where there is little or none.
You will like "messing with the enemy" Clint Watts, A West Point Grad and FBI Counter Cyber Terrorism expert. But also, Gary Kasporov, Masha Geshen, Alexander Litvenchenko, Boris Berezovsky, Anna Politkovskaya, All are or were critical Putin for explaining the schemes and active measures inside and outside Russia that I 've described and three have been murdered, two in England for explaining these things and more in their books.
London, like New York are destinations for Putin's money via Cypress and Maltese banks after Ukraine ( Wilbur Ross, your Commerce Sec was on the board of the banks there). The key to understanding Drumf's corruption is through Deutche Bank lending, New York Real Estate and lax US corporate real estate adn PAC laws. The more I read and research, the more convinced I am we are an oligarchy and need a rebalance.
The NRA donated 10 million to Mitt's campaign in 2012, but 30 million to Drumf in 2016. Where did all that excess cash come from? More memberships? I doubt it. I 'd like to know, but thanks to Republican's, the NRA does have to disclose anything.
I do not think we now enough about our own history, HCR is such a huge help. But we also do not understand enough about eastern Europe and Russian History. We think they are a democracy or at least were on a democratic trajectory post Yeltsin. But as Russia adopted Capitalism, it slowly fell to Oligarchy and worse.
If you want a case study of how a fledging democracies or any democracy can wither slowly from capitalism to oligarchy, to Authoritarianism, Russia from 1989 to present is your ticket.
What is happening this week, has happened throughout eastern European democracy's more than once. It is a cycle with patterns, tactics and strategies, with parallels to here and now, and we need to pay close attention.
Postwar, Tony Judt
Red Notice, Bill Browder
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, Masha Gessen
I'd recommend reading a recent article in Salon titled "Donald Trump's gift to America: Realizing we've never been a liberal democracy". The concept (or reality) of "Competitive Authoritarianism" seems to fit well with what you've said about the political destabilization of Ukraine.
Many, many thanks for all you've written. I understand it, and I will follow through with research. Thank you for the book references. I recently watched the documentary, "Get Me Roger Stone," where I glimpsed something ugly I was not really aware of. Now I'm wide awake. A further question (which I ask to many): what are your preferred sources of news? I understand about WSJ. Again, thank you.
The "Nothing is true..." is by Peter Pomerantsev, who also has a newer collection of essays, "This is NOT propaganda." Masha Gessen builds on this work in "The Future is History" (on Russia) and the more recent "Surviving Autocracy" (closer to home).
I agree with your sentiment that you'd like the media to step up with more factual information. Unfortunately, that does not sell or make money. Drama does. Drama is addicting, even when we begin to feel weakened and depressed by it.
One thing that I've come to realize over the past 4 years is that Trump's presence, and breaking of decorum to law, has given a lot of insight to uniformed American's about civil responsibilities, democracy, the constitution and 3 branches of government along with the checks and balances. Everything has been tested to its limits and I've learned a lot -- or have been reminded of what I already knew based on my high school and undergraduate college days in studying government, history and world politics. A decade of living and working abroad also taught me more than I would ever have learned had I not left the USA.
One last thing .. I would love to see more information on TV (and how you get that to the majority through sensational mainstream programming is beyond me) about the voting processes in our cities and states. My goodness I've learned a ton and am just blown away at the intricacies I've learned about through all this drama around the POTUS election being 'stolen' from Trump. But it's a bit late because the brainwashing (drama) has already solidified folks' minds.
They really don’t have any evidence though. They have anecdotes, theories , and accusations but zero direct evidence of any malfeasance. Indeed, none of Trump’s lawyers (the real ones, anyway) have alleged pr tried to produce any evidence of fraud IN A COURT because they fear their own reputations and/ or careers of they present fantastical or perjured claims.
The contents of the complaints were discussed, openly and often, by media and analysts, people both sides of the aisle. The basic thing is that there was NO CONTENT. If you have read only a "trickle of reports in the media" about fraud investigations, you haven't been reading very deeply. The information (what there is of it) is mostly smoke and screens by the T lawyers who have no content but get paid to show up in court and talk to media afterwards as if they did something of substance. That's for show for T's unquestioning base. The media HAS reported all of this, in a much detail as actually exists. At some point, the news isn't what is in the supposed lawsuits because it is all the same, there are words that state nothing, the lawyers can say their lies to the media but don't dare in court because that's grounds for disbarment. The news is that all those lawsuits were bogus. That's it. And the news moves on to the news. There have been stories and videos about how the counts were conducted- repeatedly. And obviously fairly. What more do you want?
Charlie, HRC has a "chat" with followers on her Facebook page at 4:00 on Tuesday and 1:00 on Thursday. She's usually a few minutes "late". Follow her FB page.
Thank you for the prompt response. Unfortunately, I don't 'do' FB. It's a political thing. I believe the use of this social media technology is psychologically harmful and the business model divisive and exploitive. OK, rant off. I'll have to catch her somewhere else.
Unfortunately, all the YouTube posts are at least several weeks old; still, they are definitely worth watching, along with her other educational series posted there.
Oh, that’s a shame. Might be worth shooting an email to Heather, asking about it. The talks are excellent. I wonder if you can watch on Facebook even if you don’t have an account.
I also ditched FB a few years ago, but HCR's FB is public so even though we don't have FB accounts anymore, we can still watch (and we can watch older chats still posted on her page). We just wouldn't be able to post questions, so that might be a reason to go the YouTube route.
Laine, Beth, I totally understand your frustration with FB. I share these views as well. But I think, we need better tools, organization, comradery on every platform. Imagine what 1 million of us here could do to overwhelm those who want to destroy democracy by poisoning reasoned dialogue and debate? But its more than that, there are plenty of regular good folks reading both views and trying to figure out where to stand and who to stand with. There are those silent on FB that we need to reach and influence in the right way. I think the next FDR or Kennedy, or Lincoln will have this ability to flip the switch.
Okay, this is evolving for me. No-one should feel obligated to go on SM and defend democracy, especially when it can be a lonely place without tools and instructions. Without a plan, without support, it would futile and it can cause a ton of damage to relationships in the home, at work, and in ones community, but most of all to ones mental health. I'd like to take back that space, but not anyone's mental health or well being. I hate seeing the uncivil, the unlearned, the taking advantage of people with propaganda, and so much malice, and everything that leads too. FB does suck. Or its just a symptom and reflection on our culture now, and that sucks even more.
Her talks are posted on YouTube after the Live on Facebook. Just search Heather Cox Richardson and many of her videos pop up. They’re well worth watching!
[W]e are right now fighting over whether or not America will remain a democracy.”
Heather’s presentation may be calm, but the situation is terrifying. Let us at least hope that Ossoff and Warnock will win today, that the seditionists will lose tomorrow, and that Biden will be president on the 20th. Let us hope that we are not living through the final days of our democracy.
Thank you for this calm report of such a chaotic start to 2021. Those of us who have faith should pray for the peaceful transfer of power. I had to take my husband to a doctor’s appointment yesterday and because of COVID they didn’t want me to come with him. I used the time to listen to the phone call as I read the transcript. It was truly horrifying and it felt endless. DT is desperate.
Our emergency rooms and ICUs are desperate too. Try taking your son to the ER for what turned out to be emergency gallbladder surgery, only to have the ER tell him, "we have no beds at this time". "Rationing" patient care is our current, third world medical system on full, ugly, broken display. (He did eventually get seen, admitted and successfully operated on, thank you doctors and nurses!)
Maskless covidiots in the villages now crying for "their share" of limited supply of vaccines, hypocrisy on full display. In other counties in FL 84,000 calls/minute made to secure an appointment for 5000 doses. Phone reservation systems crashing after 5 minutes! Buckle up buttercups.
I so glad your son is ok, how very frightening. I have just sent my children an email. To say please, please stay in and avoid people as much as possible. This should be front and center on the news yet once again everything has to be about this horrible man and the the GOP doing his bidding. I m getting really frightened about this virus and there is very little info getting out there unless you really look for it.
"The two Republican Senators in Georgia, in a fight for reelection, have now signed onto the effort, although it means they are saying that the voters in their own state should be overruled in their choice for president."
As a matter of principle, if not of law, this should disqualify the Perdue and Loeffler candidacies. I'm sure they'd say they're standing up for electoral integrity, but in fact they're saying that they're running to become part of the junta that will make America an autocracy.
Once again, I don't know exactly what tools are available to render their efforts null, but should they win, to seat them would be one of the most lasting and blatant insults of Trump's reign.
OK, so they believe the Georgia Presidential election was fraudulent. So what makes THIS election TODAY less so? Have the Georgia election laws and procedures been changed? This is lunacy. They are just jumping on what they think is the gravy train. Let's hope it's the train to oblivion instead.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Fingers crossed for a Warnock/Ossoff win in GA. There seems to be a split in the opinions of newsies about whether the forthcoming Republican objection of states' electors is unprecedented. What is new for sure is we are being treated to a front row seat as it will unfold. I pray that there will be no counter-protesting tomorrow in D.C. And here's a link to the arrest of the Proud Boy leader: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/proud-boys-enrique-tarrio-arrest/2021/01/04/8642a76a-4edf-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html
15 Days 7 Hours 18Minutes...and Seconds to January 20, 2021 (You're Welcome, Catherine!
Morning Lynell! I appreciate your enthusiastic way to start the day. Thank you for the WAPO link. I bet the Proud Bullies were so happy to see their maskless faces spread across the page. Didn’t Melania defend her hubby before the election by saying “boys will be boys”? 4 years of locker room talk that he will never live down.
Devin Nunes receiving the Medal of Freedom makes me sick to my stomach.
Yeah- the medal of freedom became a two bit carnival prize the day it was awarded to Limbaugh.
I don't think the medal has been devalued but, henceforth, recipients will be at pains to mention from whom they received it, and Nunes, Limbaugh, and anyone else to whom he gives it will be constantly told that theirs aren't real.
iDJiT has made the Medal of Freedom a participation trophy by awarding it to Nunes and next J. Jordan both butt kissers of the lowest order.
Thank you, Pamela! I love this. Perfect for the Alternative Reality world: The Trumpian Medal of Butt Kissers of the Lowest Order. We will definitely have to change the names of our previous honors that have been so tainted by this authoritarian coup d'etat on our country.
Drumf cheapens everything, he turns everything meaningful into meaninglessness.
Everything Trump touches dies.
Same here. And worse to come next week - Jim Jordan.
Maybe he’ll put on his damn jacket at least. I find him particularly annoying
Me too— it reduces the value of this honor— Nunes is a worm
Nunes and Limbaugh both nauseate me - even without the Medal of Freedom. What a perversion!
Limbaugh did it for me, and so publicly.
He did it to me without the medal.
Think of all these medals as "booby" prizes for those who have lost!
Puke. The errand boy. Thst is supposed to be a military award
It tarnishes the medal.
Can you imagine if all the conferees of the MoF had a get together? Nunes (and reportedly Gym Jordan) would stand out for their utter stupidity, lack of qualifications, and a total failure to contribute to the betterment of the country and the world.
I just hope that Trump's phone call results in Ossoff/Warnock victories today.
As they are saying down I Georgia: "Vote your Ossoff!" Heck, that slogan alone should be enough to win. ;-)
I hadn't heard that slogan. I'm literally laughing out loud. thanks for helping me find a chuckle during these dark days.
We have to laugh or we go crazy. I heard it on NPR early this morning.
Love that— vote your ossof
I did
Thank you!
I hear/saw this: "Warnock your Ossoff!" Got both of them in the slogan!
HAHAHAHAHAHA
Yes we have to laugh
Thanks, Heather. I spent the entire day following the news blow by blow so I got nothing else done. I should have waited for tonight's Letter but it's now become something close to an addiction to stay abreast. I might need to go on a news blackout.
The insanity and overblown passion Trump Republicans express in the comments during live video broadcasts is overwhelming; from the declarations that Trump is the best ever president to he's "our lord and savior" to people vowing to take to the streets bearing arms because "this is war". It's mind boggling and frightening. These folks are consuming news from sources that bend the facts so totally out of shape that by the time Trump walked out on stage they were all lathered up and raring to go. Trump is stoking a sense of rage amongst his supporters that is volatile and intended to reverberate throughout the country well after he is dead and gone.
I have seen this rage up close and personal, and I am terrified. The sheriff promised they would visit my neighbor Sunday night, the one I have been so kibd to for 20 years, the one who told me on Sunday that he was going to Washington on Monday "because we gotta prevent the man with ashes on his forehead who kills babies from becoming president." The one who has a history of mental illness and has lately talked of suicide. The one who owns acres of property so he can practice shooting his guns when he isn't supposed to have any firearms. The one who screamed at me to go to hell. I have a contract with Community Mental Health to provide nursing services, so I called the supervisor there who told me I had to call the state police and report him immediately. When I couldn't get through to MSP, I called our local sheriff dispatch, who agreed they would send a deputy to visit him, but assured me that it was not necessary to contact the state police. My county is one of many here that oppose our Democratic Governor and her COVID-19 restrictions. I insisted that he must report it, that this man is dangerous, that MPS should have his vehicle license number. The dispatcher finally said, yes, they would forward my concern. The deputy was kind, told me he would visit my neighbor, and call if he had any questions, but not to worry. I worried. I broke my COVID-19 seclusion and stayed with a friend for the night. The next morning it appeared my neighbor had left for DC to join the proud boys. God help us all. And help me when he comes back.
MaryPat ... That is a bone-chilling story. Trust your gut and when/if it tells you to go - go.
When trump was elected, I told my kids it is better to leave (the country) “too soon” vs waiting and it becomes too late. The pandemic has changed where we can go, but I agree with R. Dooley, trust your gut and get to a safer place.
I agree with him too. Trust your intuition and stay safe, MaryPat.
I’m not going anywhere, it’s here that the battle will be won or lost. It’s here that we need to make a stand, all of our heroes stood on principle come what may, they are the example to follow, we will make this country better or die trying. I have been in battle and know the cost, this is a battle that we can win, of that I have no doubt.
Thank you.
It is what I would say to my own sister - whose name is also MaryPat.
Always trust your intuition. It took me years to honor my intuitive instincts, but I’m glad I finally figured it out. Yes, trust your gut.
This story is frightening, and at the same time so very sad. That we have come to the point of not feeling safe in our own homes is a direct result of the violence that tRump has fomented for years, probably starting with the birther story. I'm sorry, MaryPat that you have to live this way.
You’re always welcome here! You can stay downstairs in my daughter’s room, we’ll all just stay separated until we quarantine! But do you mind cleaning out her closet while you are here!?!
You’re so sweet Cynthia.
You haven’t seen my daughter’s closet!
Ha!! Just cleaned out 3 closets here (I could hide in)! Thanks, but I will be okay. Will stay at friend's house on the night he is supposed to come back, and until I know he is okay.
My God! Can you please send your thoughts and experiences to The NY Times and WAPO? Try everything! This is terrifying... this guy is going to kill somebody!
I do trust most of our county deputies, even if they are trumpers, to do the right thing and alert the Michigan State Police. When they pull up my neighbor's record and see the firearms restrictions and why, I am sure he will be on their radar (I guess literally). Our MSP worked closely with the FBI to prevent the plot to kidnap and possibly murder Governor Whitmer. They take every call seriously. As an extra precaution, though, I will stay with a friend on Thursday/Friday when the neighbor said he is coming back.
That’s good, don’t be in a hurry... how bad is this... we’re afraid to leave our homes because of Covid, and afraid to stay home for fear of the Trump insane... this is way beyond....
MaryPat, bless you. Stay safe.
Your adjective, "most," combined with "even if they are trumpers," speaks VOLUMES about the level of assistance you'll get from them. Please call your State Police, and take your lead from them.
It is terrifying, however these people and their likes are scattered across our country. I learned from a Facebook neighborhood post that there are two chartered bus loads of these dangerous “protesters” heading to DC from my area. Not surprising since my area is repped by the dishonorable Josh Hawley and grub worm Sam Graves. Everyone I know has repeatedly called these asshat’s offices...to no avail. 🤯
Mary Pat, this is a terrifying story and I am so so sorry you have had to experience this first hand! I have similar neighbors and I try to just keep my head down because I am also afraid of them. Big trump flags and lots of shooting practice even in a residential neighborhood, which is allowed, you guessed it, in Florida. It’s frightening and crazy-making and the fact that you felt so afraid that you broke Covid quarantine to stay with your friend says a lot. How is it that we law-abiding, fact-believing, democracy-loving citizens are forced to live in fear of this violence and chaotic insanity that has been unleashed?? I send you wishes of comfort and safety and that you may live in your home peacefully. May we all feel safe and peaceful.
Thank You. You stay safe, too. We will feel safer and hopefully more peaceful when we don't have a vile president stoking all these fragile people to do terrible things. This man had gone at least 20 years without a breakdown. It is no coincidence thst it is happening now.
We have the convenient illusion that we’re surrounded by sane, intelligent and law abiding neighbors in an historic town in one of the bluest states. It is sad that I know mental illness is rampant in our wonderful country and many don’t know they’re suffering from it and many will keep acting out delusional fantasies which DT has propagated with his dark ways.
Three epidemics at Once: Opioid, Covid, & demagogue induced dementia!
Nailed it!
Stay with us, MaryPat. Stay safe, no matter what you have to do.
There are way more lunatics out there than any of us imagined 4 years ago, think of the screaming faces at the Michigan capital last year, unhinged is hardly the word.
Oh my. MaryPat stay safe. I cannot imagine being that close to someone that volatile.
Golly MaryPat. Please stay safe.
Pay no attention to the deputy or the dispatcher. You have legitimate concerns, and you MUST call the State Police. This is not the time for you to be lulled into complacency with somebody dangerously deranged and armed loose in your vicinity. Take every step toward your own protection and well-being.
Further, until the situation is completely resolved, please don't stay at home alone.
Safer to break your seclusion than risk a confrontation. Joe Biden has the Secret Service - and wisely has the contingent that protected Obama, not the latest crop!
Biden’s choice likely has to do with his comfort level – having familiar faces around him – just as he has shown in his choices for his administration.
I do not believe he means to cast any aspersions on the loyalty or dedication of the men and women who make up the Secret Service.
I read that he was warned that the current crop contains Trump loyalists. That doesn't mean that they wouldn't protect him, but if I were choosing, I'd go with his former friends.
Scary. Stay safe.
The country needs to have a focus on mental health and I believe President-elect Biden is planning to do so.
Yes. My hope was to have a counsor or social worker go with the deputy to his place. So much to ne done.
That is totally scary. Do you have family in the area? I would call the FBI
The Michigan State Police are working closely with the FBI on monitoring these "persons of interest."
Thank god
I do have some family and friends not far away, and good neighbors. Thanks.
Yes!
FBI when it seems to be at a Federal/National level might be better to contact.
Be careful!
I, too, found myself consumed by the news, Daria. I was furloughed in April and spent most of my summer and early fall obsessively reading the news and following both political and COVID news on twitter. I returned to work in October and very quickly began to feel overwhelmed by the news and found I had to stop reading both news and social media almost completely in order to maintain my own sanity. At this point Heather’s letters and the posts in this forum are my primary source for news and current events because I can no longer tolerate the chaos and hysteria in the news and on social media. I also made it a point to be more consistent with meditation and now do so daily. I find that, between my news “diet” (not quite a blackout) and the meditation, I am less stressed and better able to deal with what is now a daily litany of truly frightening reports of ongoing and escalating insanity in our country. I hope you find a balance that works for you so that you are also able to feel less overwhelmed. Considering the circumstances, though, I believe a certain amount of fear is unavoidable because these are truly frightening times. Stay safe and be well!
Karen, thank you for sharing your experience. I need to adopt a daily meditation practice and stick to it. I can't change what's going on out there but I can change what's going on "in here".
Calm app is fantastic
Yes, just started using it!
I don't use an app, but I do meditate regularly: it's part of my daily routine and has been for decades. But an app is a great way to get started. In early days I had meditation partners. But along the line I found a delightful little desktop app with the sweet beginning bell and a soft ending bong. I could set specific times, or simply start it if I needed a meditation break. I'm glad you brought this up; I think I'll see if it is still available. I think it was created by a monk in the Order I follow.
Karen, Daria, MaryPat, and others: While thinking about the stress you are feeling there was a piece on CBS about the nurse/musician in California who has been sharing his music to the frontline workers to ease the stress that they all are experiencing. I share this story of him with you here: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/loma-linda-nurse-uses-music-to-help-patients-and-fellow-health-workers-cope-with-covid-19/
As I was watching, the thought occurred to me wouldn't it be great if during the Proud Boy protests this week, Washington, D.C. could share Ted's music through "billboards" around the streets with videos of the frontline workers caring for the thousands of people who are sick and dying. What a powerful counter-protest it would make!
Thank You Lynell. This is calming and hopeful! I love your idea of billboards of scenes and music. I fear they would get destroyed by proud boys (can't capitalize them). For future demonstrations, though, powerful.
Thanks for the link, Lynell. And if anyone wants to thank him, buy his album on his website linked at the end of the article!. <3
I will check this out. 💙 Lynell.
I too have become a daily meditator with the Calm app. These anxious times require adjustments in our self care and in caring for our families.
I will check out the Calm app. Thanks, Liz.
It’s a great app with many components
Yes, Karen. I do the same. I don't do any kind of social media and I limit my time watching, reading, paying attention to world events to about 2 hours per day only. It also helps to identify the informational sources we pay attention to and if there is any sensationalism, drama, and / or fear embedded. Almost all of MSM has those attributes (just pay attention to the opening credits, headlines, and back ground music of NBC or CBS or ABC nightly news). I love the PBS newshour (6-7pm) and reading HCR's daily letter for a factual summary of most current events. And that's about it. The rest of my life must consist of spending as much time of my day I can checking in with my family, exercising outdoors, cooking and eating healthily, pet therapy. Have calming music quietly playing in my home, car or office is very, very helpful as well.
The world continues. Day after day. There is very little I can do on a daily basis to stop any of the madness that is reported. But I can remain an informed voter from local to state to national and pick one or two causes (also local, state, or national) that interest me and that I can be a part of.
Peace to all.
Could I suggest finding a journalist u trust, and read them, but in the newspaper or at least not on Facebook. It’s too easy to get false info and miss info Fromm FB.
I consume no news from Facebook and watch almost nothing "televised" or streamed on a regular basis. I do subscribe to several papers, plus AP and Reuters. That's bad enough when one has nothing but time on one's hands.
Daria, I follow pretty much the same routine. the only thing I use FB for (other that friends/fam and a couple of groups) is for Heather's videos, which I open to full screen. Get her letters via SubStack. I subscribe to several of the reliable news outlets , mainly newspapers online, but also The Atlantic. Important: I also treat myself to High Country News and Orion for the beauty of the writing and for sanity. This year I will let one of the papers go and resubscribe to The New Yorker. The Atlantic is a keeper. As is Yes! magazine. Everyone should read it. Free online, very inexpensive mailed. It lift my spirit and is one of the things that keeps me from getting mired in all the negativity and over-reaction.
NPR
how could I forget NPR!!! IT is my go to in the car on roadtrips.
yes! of course!
and an app called Insight Timer is one is a good one, too.
I could have written every word of your comment. And, I too am so sick and tired of this all.
Stay safe.
All the bigots, all the religious zealots who dreamed of a Supreme Court that would create a Christian Caliphate, all the homophobes, are in a fever dream. They know their time is gone. Their own children and grandchildren who will have nothing to do with their contrived hoaxes.
Now is not the time of violence, for it never wins. It creates more hate. Now is the time of reason and compassion. The good people who have been fooled for whatever reason, or just misplaced emotion, will come around to their normal selves. Once out of office, djt and his spawn will be discovered. Empty vessels. Worthless. And all the Sycophants will dry up and wither away.
This is the time to believe in the hard fought dream that all humans are equal. That all deserve the support of all. That life without equality cannot bring true freedom and happiness. If Georgia disappoints, be resolved to vote again. Vote in every election. Until we succeed. In the names of John Lewis and Ruth Ginsberg, have resolve. Good trouble!
Could it be? I have been thinking those thoughts for four years. I’ve always been an optimistic person, and try to project love and compassion. I read everything I can to understand, to learn, and I try to reason with others and myself... but I am so discouraged, so sad... and totally disgusted by this band of dunces... and some of them so highly educated and versed on the Constitution. Why is this ok? Why are people so eager to believe the distorted stories that everyone from djt to Ted Cruz to the moronic gang on Fox News not even to mention OAN etc. This is crazy. And all the time we are being eradicated by a monster pandemic that is now mutating and cutting us off from the hope of a comeback?! I have said it before, they are the virus that is killing us. I remember Heather’s letter from March 28th which explained the origins of the mindset of the Trump supporters. I have been so disappointed in our history as we have learned from her letters and books.
Sorry... maybe I woke up grump and anxious. I just want to wake up one morning and say ‘Whew’, and not look back.
I am so concerned for Mary Pat! There are some very crazy people here in our town, with their guns and their theories about preparedness for taking up arms to fight the government that they don’t accept. I can only imagine how many are out there everywhere? We are in the pot of water and it is near the boiling point, and yet it is not much more than the reaction to the Access Hollywood tape!
Argh! I want to do something! At 69 I feel somewhat limited, I made phone calls and sent letters. I would have been on my way to GA to help register voters if I was younger and healthier... I have a headache that won’t stop... It’s all just such a huge mess....
Cynthia - Well, I've been grumpy and angry for the past 4 years! :-) I always thought logic and sanity and the greater good would prevail. I always thought bad deeds would be punished. But there have been absolutely no repercussions for any of the heinous acts against our country and our people. Nothing.
Is this as good as it gets? Judging by history (thank you HCR) I’m feeling like it’s the same as many times...
I’m afraid it will get worse.
I feel the exact same way. I’m doing everything I know to maintain my equilibrium but this constant erosion of reality and the descent into chaos, with our country’s democracy on the line... no rule of law containing these traitors who enjoy fomenting violence.. I am feeling frayed and scared and sad, too. Could we all live next to each other?
Pamsy - maybe we can all move to Maine and start a commune! :-)
I might be interested :) I’m actually wanting to do something similar in north Florida. I know, it’s Florida, but there are some progressive pockets and good people. I love Maine. My grandmother had a place in Brooklin Me. where the cousins all gathered. It was idyllic.
Yes!
I am with you on this despair and attribute it to cultism, of which there is a long history of irrational ppl doing the most bizarre things. (If you can find the post I just made) Cultists, like ppl with Narcissistic Personality Disorder are, I believe untreatable.
I agree with you in one sense, Rob, but with a large caveat: research with women having difficulty leaving abusive relationships assumed at first that the women went into the relationship already damaged, with personality disorders of their own. But as researcher dug deeper, they found that most women had been psychologically healthy prior to the relationship. Their relationships did not start out abusive, and often seemed healthy in the beginning. Once the abuse began, often low-level and verbal, the woman tried to explain it away, and accepted excuses made by her partner. The escalation continued until she doubted her own ability to tell what was true.
We have a word for that: gaslighting. And we know what the outcomes often are. But women who manage to escape the relationship and get counseling regain their sense of self and ability to form healthy relationships. (I hasten to add that this works when a man is the target and a woman the abuser, and in same-sex relationships as well).
We can think of this as a cult of two. Expand that number, and the same kind of dynamics are at work. Add an individual with money and some form of power (religion, corporate cult, political position, successful entertainer) and what you can end up with is a mixed group of people who have set aside their ability to reason, reinforced by being part of a group doing the same thing and by a leader who uses his/her power and control of the misperceptions and disinformation for his/her own aggrandizement. The group seems to take on the characteristics of the leader.
But they did not all begin that way. They began, perhaps, with simply the need to belong, as we all have the need to love and be loved. It is possible, in this kind of situation, as in a relationship, for a rational person to act in irrational ways that are not in their best interests. Interrupt that process in some way, and many of those people will begin to see how they have been used and seek to distance themselves.
In personal relationships, this sometimes becomes the danger point in terms of violence, as the controlling partner begins to perceive power slipping away, but relationships vary in how they resolve. How it plays out in a cult of many people is going to vary, too. Some are slipping away, some are fighting back, some are in a form of shock, some are in denial even when the truth is demonstrated over and over. I think we're seeing all of these. Trumpists are not a monolith. And as each kind of follower comes to some sort of recognition, the fabric of the cult frays and begins to come apart. I think that is where it is at now. Yes, some will cling to their illusions of power until that power disintegrates. Others will wonder what in the world they were thinking of.
I do not think that there is a direct one-on-one correlation between people who get caught up in cult-like thinking and behavior, and people who are born with a disorder like NPD or BPD. Just as the researcher found that most women in abusive relationships had been healthy prior to the abuse and could recover, I think the same possibility exists for at least some people in cults. I think we need to allow for that potential, because those are the people who can help heal the damage.
・The Sociopath Next Door | Stout
・Without Conscience | Hale
・Why Does He Do That: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men | Bancroft
・The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump | Lee
These are 4 great reads in understanding the brain functions of person's like Donald Trump. You bring up a great deal of good points, Annie, and make it understandable to a layman. So thank you for that. I'll add that oftentimes people do not understand when they are in the presence of a malignant narcissistic because of their magnetic charm and slow burn. I was married to one for nearly 25 years. It is the frog in the boiling water concept. Everything is slow and steady and insidious by these types and until you yourself realize you are not well and no longer safe in their presence. You are in the middle of something that you can not escape. If they catch on that you have figured them out and can see who they are behind the mask (or they let the mask fall away more and more as they often do) then it gets really crazy. It takes a great deal of strength and courage and help to: 1) get out and away from such a person, and 2) rebuild from the destruction.
Lee's book above outlines the white collar type folks in our societies, Trump being one of them, and how we as a nation can stop these people in more effective ways so they cease to have so much control over us. Bandcroft's book is just a must read as it digs deep into the mind of the narcissist and the misconceptions that people who fall for these types may be weak or ill themselves.
What a great point, and I can clearly see the pattern here. One personal sticking point here that I see, to help and abused individual leave a relationship, they have to do it for themselves. There is no rescue, so the idea is to support the individual, support their self esteem, help them develop strength to leave on their own free will. But them problem gets compounded when the abused gets pulled into the abusers pattern of abuse, and begins to work with the abuser, carrying out similar patterns of abuse on other (family/group) members. At this point I feel like many of the GOP members of congress have done just that. I will have difficulty feeling I can let any of them off the hook, let alone the ring leaders of the Sedition Caucus.
As far as personal experience in an abusive relationship (he never raised a physical hand), I heard I was stupid enough times that I started to believe that I was, and the other thing for not getting out sooner was that I kept thinking that things would get better! I was a lucky one.
I'm sorry you got mixed up in something that damaging. We just naturally want to believe people, and sometimes don't see the pattern until it has come to seem like something real. Some of the Trump folks are caught in the same trap: thinking that things would get better, that he would "grow into it", and becoming so vested that they clung to the repeated assurances. It will be hard for them once the props are gone. I hope we can find ways to welcome them so they can find solid ground again.
Yes, sadly, it as well as borderline personality disorder are almost completely untreatable.
Thank you for your words. Trying to stay positive in such chaos is a real challenge!
A fever dream... good and accurate imagery
Perhaps we should stop using the language “a threat to our democracy” and replace it with “these folks are traitors and seditionists”.
Or as one article said, call them radical Republicans instead of "conservatives". There is nothing conservative about anything trumplican.
And it was a Republican who made that statement.
Yes!
Thank you Heather for this concise review of yet another diminishing day of this Country. The world can't possibly laugh harder at us. I do feel we will continue to spiral down until January 20th and beyond. This free fall may well be unrecoverable. I can remember the day when the Medal of Freedom meant something. It's now nothing more than a flea market trinket.
What we are seeing are the desperate attempts of a deranged man trying to stay revelant and at the same time not pay the prices for his crimes. He is as pathetic as this nation has so quickly become.
I was so glad we made it to 2021, I'm no longer sure that's a prize.
Be safe, be well.
I think the rest of the world has gone beyond laughing at us to standing in speechless horror as they watch us self-destruct. The Slow motion train wreck of the fall of a once great nation has the world on the edge of their seats.
I totally agree— my friends in other parts of the world aren’t laughing— more like holding their breath in fear.
Agree. The rest of the world is not laughing at us. When I lived and worked abroad in S America and the Middle East for 10 years, the #1 thing I learned is the rest of the world knows a lot more about America than our own citizens. It was always wonderful to break bread and socialize with others and have good and deep conversations about international living, world politics, and the horror most around the world feel in trying to figure out why Americans are so blatantly unaware of what it means to hold on to a democracy.
Agree. We would be better off in more Americans traveled abroad for education, business , and of course for leisure. Travel widens one's perspective. Only 42% of Americans have passports ( started to increase around 2000 with this generations globalization but more so because of 911 and you now need a Passport to travel to Mexico and Canada.
If you take out Mexico and Canada, I think the 42% drops to 10% of Americans have traveled abroad(excluding MX and CN) in the last ten years. Its got to be the lowest of the industrialized countries. ( similar to the 1900's and 1920's and 30's) https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html)
The majority of us Americans never leave the country in their entire lifetimes. Many have never left their state. Many have never left their county! Think about how that narrows their perspective. Their world and worldview ends at the county or state line. I think Kennedy understood this and was one reason to start the Peace Corps and similar projects.
Granted I was an expat and had that advantage while living abroad, yet the only thing I really, truly missed and appreciated about the USA was our postal system and banking needs (not to be confused with investment). Had personal circumstances not forced me to come back to the states, and then having to raise 3 children as a single parent, I most likely would have lived the remainder of my life abroad. Many of my former colleagues have done just that.
I missed Mexican and Italian food in China.
My wife taught at an elementary school near the NH coast. There was a mountain in the town from the peak of which the ocean could usually be seen. My wife volunteered to help chaperone the sixth grade trip, which was a whale watch. One of the class mothers, she related, was very excited because she'd never seen the ocean. Born and raised in a NH town thirty miles from the shore and she had never left the town, or been to the beach.
I feel like many of us look at Drumf supporters this way, with an amazing sense of their ignorance. How can they not know the ocean that we see and the one we swim in? They have never left their town, so they have no clue what the Ocean is, that it does exist, so they look at us with the same disdain.
From RFK...."Only earthbound man still clings to the dark and poisoning superstition that his world is bounded by the nearest hill, his universe ends at river's shore, his common humanity is enclosed in the tight circle of those who share his town or his views and the color of his skin."
Although educated cosmopolitans with disposable incomes the world over may have extensive travel experience, I believe that parochialism is more common world-wide. In China, I met quite a few people who had never gone to the other side of Beijing, let alone outside the city; and because I often carried my Beijing map with me around the city, I not only met Chinese out-of-towners who asked me for directions when they saw the map was written in Chinese, I also often asked people for directions to discover that many locals did not even know the names of the streets on which they had lived their entire lives. In Ireland on a bicycle trip alone, I spoke with a middle-aged woman in a village shop/post office who had never been to Dublin, Galway, or any other Irish city, and who wondered if I wasn't terrified to be traveling on my own in a foreign country (and clearly, to her, foreign was anywhere outside her own village).
Perhaps the reason we feel the rest of the world knows more about us than many Americans do about our own country is that our (the readers of these Letters) contact with citizens of other countries tends to be through their news outlets or with well-educated, well-traveled representatives, not with the average residents of small towns and hinterlands.
Putin is laughing 4 sura!
Well said...and so sad. There is the ugly American who has no interest in other cultures and countries, who believes in American Exceptionalism, and the other ugly American who doesn’t want to learn about our history, civics, or to engage in critical thinking that would enlighten them about undeniable facts.
Another thing I learned about Americans while living abroad is that there is a laziness in our country. A selfishness. A lack of work ethic. And yes, there were always some 'ugly Americans' to be found abroad who were not interested in the cultural experience of living and traveling abroad at all. That was sad, too.
Agree. And, the disrupting players on the world stage never had to fire a shot. Hard to know if Putin over-played his hand for world dominance .... I’m not sure he anticipated the degree of actual insanity that is trump. We worry about the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the hands of madmen and we are the biggest threat in the world. Yes, the world is on anxious alert for so many reasons.
Putin hasn't gained world dominance. He's just broken the US and created a void into which China will eagerly step.
Hm. You mean all those years of studying Chinese may actually pay off? I once read a very reasonable (albeit tongue in cheek) article in a scholarly journal arguing that if Chinese became the lingua franca of the world it would not be necessary for anyone to learn to speak a new language, only to read written Chinese using English, French, German, or Swahili words for the characters. Since my ability to read Chinese is definitely better than my ability to speak Mandarin, Cantonese, or any of the myriad of other Chinese languages, I'm all set to play my part in world dominance!
I think ur right
And Trump appears to be fueling a plane to escape to Scotland before Biden’s Inauguration.
Likely expecting the city in which he resided (part-time) over for the last four years to be in flames, or at least smoldering, he is off to play golf and into the arms of his pal Boris – and the less welcoming Nicola Sturgeon.
Is this what Boris needs right now – a 250-pound weight around his neck? Welcome to our world, Boris!
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/04/trump-biden-inauguration-plane-flight-scotland
I'm in Scotland. Scotland loathes Trump.
The Irish hate him as well. During a trip to Ireland a couple of years ago, we stayed in B&Bs. Innkeepers were polite but we could tell they were suspect of American political views. So upon arrival at each place, we immediately stated we didn’t vote for trump, he was a dictator-wanna-be, and was a disaster for the US and the world. A sigh of relief with much conversation that included international context (hosts and other travelers) and perspective. There was not a good word about trump from the press, business owners, or anyone else. We all feared what would continue to transpire during his tenure in the WH. And, here we are.
We had the same experience in Ireland. We stayed in B &B’s where everyone was very cautious around us until we made it clear that we were not trump supporters. Suddenly everyone was friendly and welcoming. The Irish people can’t stand trump.
As my grandfather used to say, ‘do you know what I would be if I wasn’t Irish? I’d be ashamed!’
LOL. Totally off topic to Heather's letter . . . but my maternal grandmother (born in 1890) was adopted. Her parents (1 percenters of the day) were very progressive and very open that she and her sister were adopted (not biologically related to each other) even though adoption records were closed... my grandmother claimed they were lost and never wanted to know her background (even though given the times and being in Boston, most likely Irish) A couple of years ago, a 125+ year mystery solved by my son through a tremendous amount of research, including newly available DNA samples of the living, Ancestry.com, etc. He found my grandmother's birth name (Irish as can be!) and some links to people he was able to contact. I was surprised at how moving that was for me and how much it has meant to confirm the Irish heritage. While I couldn't track the genealogy in Ireland, there was a sense of being "grounded" Another part of my DNA is Viking but we won't go down that trail :)
Glad that we’re ‘related’!
To go even farther off topic, I was born and raised in Texas, and my dad had a saying: "Son, don't ever ask a man where he's from, if he's from Texas, he'll let you know, if not, you don't want to embarrass him"!
We had a similar experience in Italy, both with Trump and, earlier, with Bush. When I commented about my distaste for both, saying I hadn't voted for either, one person laughed and said "Nobody will claim them."
Same here. In Italy shortly after Bush invaded Iraq a table of German tourists next to our table waited until my companion left the table. I had caught one of their eyes and smiled and nodded to be friendly. Before he responded in a low voice he said "Did you vote for Buuuush?" I said no. They were very nice for the remainder of their meal. The terror of the US did not begin with electing djt. He is a failed experiment. But Bush got re-elected...why?
And the French hate him too.
Not only is this fool ignorant and arrogant, but I imagine he sealed his fate by telling Macron's wife that she was in good shape! Gasp.
Not so hard to believe, considering that the Menace was elected at all.
We were probably in Italy around the same time. There were "Pace" banners everywhere - a week after the bombing began. We had been there the year before, and I went into a shop in Cortona, one that I'd visited the first trip. I recognized the woman working there, but she was absolutely frosty this time around. When I made my purchase, I smiled and told her that many of us were just as offended as she obviously was, and I understood. Later, leaving a restaurant near our hotel, someone called out from a window "American, go home!" I called back, telling him that we were Canadian.
How awful... a far step from the traditional ‘Ugly American’! That almost seems quaint....
All of Europe and the UK think the US has gone insane. Everyone here sees right through this pathetic sham of a man.
Today (Wednesday, January 6th) is looking so much brighter!
Refuse the refuse!
Like he cares.
One could argue he doesn't have the emotional capacity to truly care about anything. But I suspect it burns him when he sees all those Scottish "Trump is a C*NT" signs that are always here to greet him.
He doesn't speak Scots - you think he gets the message?
I think he knows that word...
But they love his golf course.
It was a very good golf course long before he bought it. He only bought it so that he could sell homes 🏠 along the fairways and greens which the Scotts have refused to let him do, otherwise it’s a money 💰 suck, he has put way more in it than he can sell it for, the same is true for Doral in Miami. Think about it, just how many of his “base” can afford $300 for a round of golf, and as to the rest of us, how many of us would choose to spend that kind of money at anything he owns. I have played Doral long before he bought it, you couldn’t pay me to play there today.
Meh--not really. They were super irritated when he bought it.
LOL. Um, no.
Actually, the golf course is expiring for lack of business, due to its ownership.
I just listened to Nicola Sturgeon saying that Trump will not be permitted to land in Scotland if he is planning to fly there to play golf.
“We are not allowing people to come into Scotland now without an essential purpose, which would apply to him, just as it applies to everybody else. Coming to play golf is not what I would consider an essential purpose.” -Nicola Sturgeon
Thank you— I love Scotland and this is great news. Siberia will be welcoming.
So what's new......most other places do too.
You'll probably find that he has booked "contingency" flights elsewhere too in order to keep everyone guessing.
My thoughts exactly. My vote is for UAE. Putin will not want him if he's no longer a "mainstream" player in the US.
If he would just please go away...
The two places he'd skedaddle to are Russia and Brazil - countries run by fellow co-conspirators, that don't have extradition treaties with the US.
Good point. Bet you're right.
250? It's more like 330!😉
Yeah Herb!
"Leaving the country before formally leaving office would be unprecedented for a US president." The Guardian article link.
Well, we have seen four years of a person who I consider completely "un-presidented" but has revealed our democracy's weaknesses. One cannot have a democracy if the majority do not believe in Truth and Justice. Period. I say we try to focus on paragraph 8 of Heather's letter. We all need to stay calm and stay safe for the moment to see how this plays out. I think there are way more of us who want our democracy to survive. But we must remove the great brainwasher from public venues immediately. Immediately.
I agree “we must remove the great brainwasher from public venues immediately. Immediately.” He shouldn’t be given the media spotlight once he’s gone. Let him start his own media company and hope it fails as the Pillow Man can only buy so many commercial spots.
I personally like the picture of the plane and the Secret Service leaving him stranded on his Scottish golf course at noon on Jan. 20. Although all former Presidents get lifetime Secret Service protection ... unless they were removed from office.
Nice visual, and if only we had time to "remove him from office."
and ultimately, a good thing!
Do you mean a good thing that our weaknesses have been revealed, Nancy?
I was referring to Jan's comment about the Menace leaving the country before leaving office. Anything that makes the Useful Idiot leave town, even to a country that doesn't have an extradition agreement with us (not Scotland), would be a good thing.
He has violated most of the norms on which we rely about the conduct of our leaders. What's one more?
Even one is too many. Where is the accountability? Where are the checks and balances?
I agree. What we assumed was a given, just wasn't. It will be one more thing for Joe Biden to add to his long list - codify the many items that we've taken for granted, so that they are never sullied again.
We have extradition treaties with the UK. And Boris just shut down all of England (Scotland was already mostly in lockdown) because the new mutation of the coronavirus is 70% more infectious. Which is terrifying.
Linda, this new variant is more easily transmitted (it has more connection points), meaning the possibility of more cases. But it doesn't make people sicker. We all need to be extra careful about masking, distancing, and avoiding places that could create possibility of exposure - something we know how to do, and which are known to protect us. The treatments for Covid19 still will help people who do get sick, and as important, the vaccine will work on it too, though there is some consideration that doses for vulnerable people might be increased. Answer to that one unknown for now.
Russia or UAE are more likely. No extradition treaty
Or a luxury condo in the north Korean coast?
Rumor has it that Trump has been heard yelling "A cart! A cart!, My kingdom for a golf cart!" [In case you don't know to what I refer, in Shakespeare's tragedy "King Richard The Third," in the final scene King Richard the Third yells, "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"]
Where he'll have to sit in 14 days of quarantine before getting off the airplane, and will have to wear a mask or risk arrest. And in a country where dog poop is more popular than he is.
TC, you make me smile...
More like 285 lbs
Boris has shut down the country. Will tRump wear a mask?
Well he will have to find his way back if he must return to the US. Once Biden is inaugurated the insane one will mo longer have access to the presidential aircraft.
That's right. But he has a jet, I believe. The larger question is whether will he want to come back soon given his precarious legal situation? He can wage his legal battles by proxy from Scotland until his is officially summoned - and then he can stall for time. That is one thing he is very adept at doing - he's spent a lifetime practicing.
The point would be, I think, to NOT be in US when he becomes ex-president. I am curious now: ex-presidents still have Secret Service protection. They don't work for the ex-pres: they are a courtesy provided by the US Gov. What would their job be should charges be brought against Trump? I got curious and just emerged from a rabbit hole about ex-pres perks. I knew the general facts but there are interesting details. Like a travel allowance and office expenses (latter only within US). A search brought up a bunch of websites; I thought this one had the best overview. Ironically, it is from an aussie source. Info tallies with US sources. Fun. God, we'll be paying for Trump for a long time.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-05/what-is-donald-trump-entitled-to-when-he-is-former-president/12937940
More like a THREE hundred and fifty pound weight...
Every day, I awaken to read your summation, only to find that the depths to which this president will go to rob, cheat, and steal from the American people has reached yet an even lower bottom. Vladimir Putin's efforts to divide us has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams!
The next fourteen days could prove to be the most consequential days in the history of our Republic, determining as Franklin said in 1787, "... if we can keep it."
The damage that 45 has inflicted on our country and her citizens has gone beyond anything comprehensibly foolhardy -- it is utter madness! As of yesterday, the number of Covid cases had risen to 20.9 million and the unfathomable number of deaths to 354k; and yet, our daily news must, perforce, center on the political antics of a narcissist rather than on the pain and suffering of the sick, the dying, those who care for them in overcrowded hospitals, the grieving, the hungry, the homeless ...
It is heart wrenching to witness such calamities! The letter signed yesterday by the heads of over 170 business leaders which condemned "attempts to 'thwart or delay' the process of counting the electoral votes as a threat 'to the essential tenets of our democracy'" spoke to me because of its focus on this: “'The incoming Biden administration faces the urgent tasks of defeating COVID-19 and restoring the livelihoods of millions of Americans who have lost jobs and businesses during the pandemic. Our duly elected leaders deserve the respect and bipartisan support of all Americans at a moment when we are dealing with the worst health and economic crises in modern history. There should be no further delay in the orderly transfer of power.'"
We can no longer stand by and allow the people's representatives to give credence to the lies perpetrated by a WH that has never and will never have this country and its citizens' best interests at heart.
text SEDITION to 50409 and you can sign letters and petitions to your Congress
Amplify this! Thank you Kimberly!
Sure thing!
Thank you
ot treason or traitor or vote or any number of words...or make your own petition
I did yesterday. How many letters have gone out now?
173,168 at the time I entered my name
I totally agree! But what can we do ?!
Build this group to 2 million strong. Then 10, and so on...
Very little except to continue ro speak out about their seditious and subversive actions through postcards, letters to our representatives/senators both in state and in DC, and to shout out about our suffering citizens. They should not be forgotten!!!
Yes! Repeat the essence of the messages of HCR Paragraph #8 as far and wide as you can.
see above
To say that Trump and his enablers "have no evidence" of election fraud isn't accurate--and not for reasons that are purely semantic hair-splitting. They have lots and lots of evidence, it just happens to be of abysmal quality. Trump supporter Trish White, interviewed yesterday by NPR at a Trump rally in GA, said "... I believe the election was stolen in the state of Georgia. Absolutely believe it. Look around. No way Biden won this state." I have heard Trump use the exact same logic, pointing to the size of his rallies in the run-up to the election. I won't waste any time here explaining the sheer stupidity of that argument or the questionable intelligence of those who buy into it uncritically.
I think the correct response isn't to dismiss their claims, but to address them head-on in more public forums. I don't think I've heard any politicians speak up to defend election procedures in any informative way beyond parroting that they were fairly conducted. I have heard much about the stunning number of Trump's failed law suits, but virtually nothing about their content. I have only heard a trickle of reports in the media regarding how fraud was investigated in GA (and elsewhere), how the recounts were conducted, how remarkably secure the GA procedures were -- even in comparison to those in a lot of other states. I would love to see the media step-up and try to reach more people with information on the social science of rumor- and conspiracy-mongering. I'm sure there are other approaches.
Obviously, better info won't sway the opinions of Trump cultists, but it will move the needle by influencing the more thoughtful Republicans who can appreciate both the attractiveness and the invalidity of anecdotal evidence and conspiracies. In short, more talking heads on both sides of the aisle need to explain *why* the election was fair, not just declare that it was so.
Gabriel Sterling, who is responsible for implementing election strategy in Georgia, yesterday addressed every single issue Trump raised in that phone call with the Sec. of State and credibly explained them all away. More information is always better for most of us, but it was a stunning presentation of the sort I think you are requesting. And any of the points he raised could be used with a DJT supporter as an example of how the truth is being bypassed.
Melinda, I just watched the video you refer to right after I posted my comment (and probably while you were posting your reply :) I watched the entire presentation. Wow! I immediately shared it on Facebook. I hope it gets a lot of play today. Here's a link for it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbAYDg66Jhs
After watching and listening to Gabriel Sterling I just want to give him a great big hug and and also a large glass of cool water and thank him!!! I think I’m 😍
Thanks, this video cleared by sinuses! I wonder how much it has cost to refute this nonsense over and over.
This is a breath of fresh air. Great antidote to Trump's call.
Thank you!!
It was a beautiful thing. Then this morning he put out a tweet asking that Georgians vote for Loefffler and Perdue. Here it is:
"I encourage any of you that haven't voted yet here in Georgia, you have between 7am-7pm at your polling location. And as much as this may disappoint some, please join me in voting for Senators Perdue and Loeffler. A divided government will serve Americans best right now."
UGH....sigh
ARGH
what did he mean about 'a divided government will serve Americans best right now'?
Normally I think this refers to not having a single-party control of all three branches of gov't. There may be a reasonable case to be made for that, but the point seems to be moot because the judicial branch is Republican controlled.
EXACTLY! I don't understand either
All I can say is SHIT!
I agree that we should be easily able to find more clear information about how election officials have come to the conclusion that the election was free and fair, and not just that it was. I'd like to be able to reinforce that in conversations with people by knowing more of the particulars. I find that I'm not going to be able to change the mind of any trumpeters, no matter how much info I have, but there are a lot of people out there who could still be swayed if they don't feel very confident about evidence for a fair election. These are the folks who voted again for trump, but aren't arguing about the outcome, aren't protesting. They appear to be going along with the fact he lost, but I worry that over time any doubts they may have could grow if we aren't clearly shown how the election was determined to be free of fraud.
Until Fox "News" explains it, they won't believe it.
Like that's gonna happen.
These are the tactics Manafort deployed in Ukrainian’s elections for the last 20 years.
Ted, can you clarify this comment a bit for me, please? I'm not too up on Manafort/Ukraine and would like to know, in a very general sense what you are referring to. Thanks.
Background on Paul Manfort, Ukrainian Politics, and Operation of Russian and Ukrainian Oligarchy
In the early 2000's Paul Manafort was recruited by Russians to help Russian stooge
Viktor Yanukovych, who had lost the presidency to a young capable female idealist, Yulia Tymoshenko.
Russia needs Ukraine under their boot. This is where Putin's Oligarchs through the oil and gas mark up trade, launder much of their money stolen from the Russian people. As Ukraine was courted to join the EU, this infuriated Putin. Ukraine is a tool for Putin to make $ and launder it so he and oligarchy can repatriate the money into the Western Banking system (in the early 2000's Putin was not as strong nor entrenched as he is now). If the Ukraine joins the EU, Putin loses the ability to make and launder $ via Ukraine. Putin needs maintain his cash cow to keep the oligarchs paid and thus fat and happy or they will rise up against him politically and threaten his power (Mikhail Khodorkovsky challenged and barely escaped prison from prison, torture and possible execution ).
Yulia Tymoshenko was EU and western leading, an economist, former finance minister. She ran and won a fair election with joining the EU as a big part of her platform. This was unacceptable to the Kremlin. Yanokovich needed help defeating the popular and Pro EU Yulia Tymoshenko. Manafort rebranded Viktor Yanokovich to appear like a Ronald Reagan to the Ukrainians, but he also taught and deployed the "Dirty Tricks" tactics of Nixon. ( Manfort and Roger Stone are former partners/ political consultants). Manfort devised a slander campaign against Yulia, full of made up stories of epic misogynistic proportions. Just nasty stuff leading to "lock her up" chants. ( sound familiar?).
You can find a lot of news articles telling this story in real time in the 2000's WSJ A section. I read the WSJ for twenty years, but cancelled by subscription when Rupert Murdoch purchased it.
Anyway, it should be of importance to every American as to what and how Paul Manafort was being paid by Russians maintain influence over Ukrainian politics. If he has been helping Russians win in Ukraine for decades, wouldn't it be easy to do the same for Donald Drumf?
How did it end for Yanokovich? With people protesting his election in the streets, . Both sides poured into Kiev to protest, riots, burning, tempers flared, and shots fired, blood in the streets, he fled to Moscow. Then War and occupation of Eastern Ukraine and Crimea by Russia.
So, when HCR talks about Oligarchy in this country and our history of it, I believe it, and how far it can go here I do not know. ( and there is soooo much more 411 to support her views)
OH. Oh, No.
oh yes. "do not look away" - Tim Snyder. It is time to dig in harden the defenses of Democracy. Snyder goes on, "History can not inform us of the future, but it can instruct", just like HCR is doing so graciously. Snyder instructs that peaceful protest is the key defense, time and time again against the forces of Authoritarianism. King. Mandela. Ghandi. Not the IRA way.
Thank you for this information. I have read an article or listened to a podcast about how Europe counters false messaging in the media which we obviously don’t do here. .I can’t remember the details. I will see if I can find it’s it and listen to it again. Anybody remember that episode?
Yes! First read up on Ukraine politics and Yulia Tymoshenko. Manafort coined the “Lock her up” chant/slogan to defeat her and helped the Russian stooge win their presidential election. And they did put their former president, Yulia in prison, unjustly. There are so many parallels to Eastern Europe election campaigns with Russians meddling. ALL my European contacts know and understand these tactics and recognize them with ease. Europeans were at first laughing at how gullible we Americans are. Now they are crying for us.
The first thing u do to destabilize a political opponent or an entire country is take control of its mass communications or as much as you can. FB is an open door to Russians, but also our own Oligarchs to first overwhelm with news volume, confuse with conflicting reports, and conspiracy theories, create Apathy in the political process to reduce dialogue and participation. Trust is eroded everywhere. Sew division through vulnerabilities of racism, religion, classes. Politicize every issue, even education, public health, environmental protections. This is the way to radicalize of millions of Americans. And Paul Manafort was paid tens of millions to do this in Ukraine for a long long time. He is a professional at it.
Read “nothing is true and everything is possible” Peter ?
“Red Notice”by Bill Browder
On tyranny and The road to unfreedom by Tim Synder
Read Malcom Nance and Clint Watts ( counter insurgency and counter cyber terrorism experts)
Fiction but worth it to understand more:
The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth
Malcolm Nance is an eye opener.
I liked and agree with Nance on the Syria Civil War viewpoint. How the Russians encourage it, facilitate it, to move mass refugees into Europe to destabilize Germany. This is just one of Putin's Active Measures against democratic Governments. Russia is the gateway to Europe to sell the 'stan country's gas at a huge mark up, when European countries try to negotiate gas prices with Russia, Vladimir sends more bombs weapons to Assad. Putin is a master at taking a crisis, making it worse to create and add more leverage where there is little or none.
You will like "messing with the enemy" Clint Watts, A West Point Grad and FBI Counter Cyber Terrorism expert. But also, Gary Kasporov, Masha Geshen, Alexander Litvenchenko, Boris Berezovsky, Anna Politkovskaya, All are or were critical Putin for explaining the schemes and active measures inside and outside Russia that I 've described and three have been murdered, two in England for explaining these things and more in their books.
London, like New York are destinations for Putin's money via Cypress and Maltese banks after Ukraine ( Wilbur Ross, your Commerce Sec was on the board of the banks there). The key to understanding Drumf's corruption is through Deutche Bank lending, New York Real Estate and lax US corporate real estate adn PAC laws. The more I read and research, the more convinced I am we are an oligarchy and need a rebalance.
The NRA donated 10 million to Mitt's campaign in 2012, but 30 million to Drumf in 2016. Where did all that excess cash come from? More memberships? I doubt it. I 'd like to know, but thanks to Republican's, the NRA does have to disclose anything.
I do not think we now enough about our own history, HCR is such a huge help. But we also do not understand enough about eastern Europe and Russian History. We think they are a democracy or at least were on a democratic trajectory post Yeltsin. But as Russia adopted Capitalism, it slowly fell to Oligarchy and worse.
If you want a case study of how a fledging democracies or any democracy can wither slowly from capitalism to oligarchy, to Authoritarianism, Russia from 1989 to present is your ticket.
What is happening this week, has happened throughout eastern European democracy's more than once. It is a cycle with patterns, tactics and strategies, with parallels to here and now, and we need to pay close attention.
Postwar, Tony Judt
Red Notice, Bill Browder
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin, Masha Gessen
Russian Roulette, Michael Isakoff
Winter is Coming, Gary Kasporov
Democracy in Chains, Nancy MacLean
Dark Towers, David Enrich
Putin's Russia, Anna Politkovskaya
Blowing up Russia, Alexander Litvinenko
The Future is History, Masha Gessen
Red Mafia Robert Friedman
The Threat, Andrew McCabe
Plot to Betray American, Malcom Nance
I'd recommend reading a recent article in Salon titled "Donald Trump's gift to America: Realizing we've never been a liberal democracy". The concept (or reality) of "Competitive Authoritarianism" seems to fit well with what you've said about the political destabilization of Ukraine.
Agreed.
Many, many thanks for all you've written. I understand it, and I will follow through with research. Thank you for the book references. I recently watched the documentary, "Get Me Roger Stone," where I glimpsed something ugly I was not really aware of. Now I'm wide awake. A further question (which I ask to many): what are your preferred sources of news? I understand about WSJ. Again, thank you.
Your welcome! Reuters & AP, and Wa Post! NY Times, Seattle Times( still family owned!) and San Francisco Chronicle, Idaho Statesman
The "Nothing is true..." is by Peter Pomerantsev, who also has a newer collection of essays, "This is NOT propaganda." Masha Gessen builds on this work in "The Future is History" (on Russia) and the more recent "Surviving Autocracy" (closer to home).
I agree with your sentiment that you'd like the media to step up with more factual information. Unfortunately, that does not sell or make money. Drama does. Drama is addicting, even when we begin to feel weakened and depressed by it.
One thing that I've come to realize over the past 4 years is that Trump's presence, and breaking of decorum to law, has given a lot of insight to uniformed American's about civil responsibilities, democracy, the constitution and 3 branches of government along with the checks and balances. Everything has been tested to its limits and I've learned a lot -- or have been reminded of what I already knew based on my high school and undergraduate college days in studying government, history and world politics. A decade of living and working abroad also taught me more than I would ever have learned had I not left the USA.
One last thing .. I would love to see more information on TV (and how you get that to the majority through sensational mainstream programming is beyond me) about the voting processes in our cities and states. My goodness I've learned a ton and am just blown away at the intricacies I've learned about through all this drama around the POTUS election being 'stolen' from Trump. But it's a bit late because the brainwashing (drama) has already solidified folks' minds.
They really don’t have any evidence though. They have anecdotes, theories , and accusations but zero direct evidence of any malfeasance. Indeed, none of Trump’s lawyers (the real ones, anyway) have alleged pr tried to produce any evidence of fraud IN A COURT because they fear their own reputations and/ or careers of they present fantastical or perjured claims.
The contents of the complaints were discussed, openly and often, by media and analysts, people both sides of the aisle. The basic thing is that there was NO CONTENT. If you have read only a "trickle of reports in the media" about fraud investigations, you haven't been reading very deeply. The information (what there is of it) is mostly smoke and screens by the T lawyers who have no content but get paid to show up in court and talk to media afterwards as if they did something of substance. That's for show for T's unquestioning base. The media HAS reported all of this, in a much detail as actually exists. At some point, the news isn't what is in the supposed lawsuits because it is all the same, there are words that state nothing, the lawyers can say their lies to the media but don't dare in court because that's grounds for disbarment. The news is that all those lawsuits were bogus. That's it. And the news moves on to the news. There have been stories and videos about how the counts were conducted- repeatedly. And obviously fairly. What more do you want?
What more can anyone do?
I am so sick of this. 🤬
“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” - Bette Davis, All About Eve.
...Better make that a bumpy week!
Sleep well HCR, Tuesday is here. Looking forward to your 4:00 chat. We’re going to need it! Thank you for your dedication 💕
4:00 PM chat? didn't know. Where/when? A little help please.
Charlie, HRC has a "chat" with followers on her Facebook page at 4:00 on Tuesday and 1:00 on Thursday. She's usually a few minutes "late". Follow her FB page.
Thank you for the prompt response. Unfortunately, I don't 'do' FB. It's a political thing. I believe the use of this social media technology is psychologically harmful and the business model divisive and exploitive. OK, rant off. I'll have to catch her somewhere else.
Charlie, her talks are also posted on YouTube. You can’t watch live, but you can watch.
Unfortunately, all the YouTube posts are at least several weeks old; still, they are definitely worth watching, along with her other educational series posted there.
Oh, that’s a shame. Might be worth shooting an email to Heather, asking about it. The talks are excellent. I wonder if you can watch on Facebook even if you don’t have an account.
Super. On it.
thanks from me too, Kathy
Ur right! The commercial algorithms were designed to suck u in and keep u there.Influence at the speed of light.
I ditched FB after watching The Social Dilemma - is there anywhere else to access HRC's chat?
I also ditched FB a few years ago, but HCR's FB is public so even though we don't have FB accounts anymore, we can still watch (and we can watch older chats still posted on her page). We just wouldn't be able to post questions, so that might be a reason to go the YouTube route.
Laine, Beth, I totally understand your frustration with FB. I share these views as well. But I think, we need better tools, organization, comradery on every platform. Imagine what 1 million of us here could do to overwhelm those who want to destroy democracy by poisoning reasoned dialogue and debate? But its more than that, there are plenty of regular good folks reading both views and trying to figure out where to stand and who to stand with. There are those silent on FB that we need to reach and influence in the right way. I think the next FDR or Kennedy, or Lincoln will have this ability to flip the switch.
Okay, this is evolving for me. No-one should feel obligated to go on SM and defend democracy, especially when it can be a lonely place without tools and instructions. Without a plan, without support, it would futile and it can cause a ton of damage to relationships in the home, at work, and in ones community, but most of all to ones mental health. I'd like to take back that space, but not anyone's mental health or well being. I hate seeing the uncivil, the unlearned, the taking advantage of people with propaganda, and so much malice, and everything that leads too. FB does suck. Or its just a symptom and reflection on our culture now, and that sucks even more.
Great documentary!
YouTube, I believe
Me too. No more FB.
She has a YouTube channel where you can access some of her work and interviews. Google YouTube heather cox richardson and gobs pop up.
Yes, YouTube.
Can we watch the talks live, as they occur, on YouTube, do you know?
I see this questions was answered: no.
I wonder if anyone has any suggestions to offer her for a more accessible place host live chats.
They’re awesome. I never miss them.
The most recent one I could find was posted 12/15/20. Is there anything more recent?
Her talks are posted on YouTube after the Live on Facebook. Just search Heather Cox Richardson and many of her videos pop up. They’re well worth watching!
Will do. Thanks.
“There is a frantic feeling in the political air.
[...]
[W]e are right now fighting over whether or not America will remain a democracy.”
Heather’s presentation may be calm, but the situation is terrifying. Let us at least hope that Ossoff and Warnock will win today, that the seditionists will lose tomorrow, and that Biden will be president on the 20th. Let us hope that we are not living through the final days of our democracy.
Thank you for this calm report of such a chaotic start to 2021. Those of us who have faith should pray for the peaceful transfer of power. I had to take my husband to a doctor’s appointment yesterday and because of COVID they didn’t want me to come with him. I used the time to listen to the phone call as I read the transcript. It was truly horrifying and it felt endless. DT is desperate.
Our emergency rooms and ICUs are desperate too. Try taking your son to the ER for what turned out to be emergency gallbladder surgery, only to have the ER tell him, "we have no beds at this time". "Rationing" patient care is our current, third world medical system on full, ugly, broken display. (He did eventually get seen, admitted and successfully operated on, thank you doctors and nurses!)
Maskless covidiots in the villages now crying for "their share" of limited supply of vaccines, hypocrisy on full display. In other counties in FL 84,000 calls/minute made to secure an appointment for 5000 doses. Phone reservation systems crashing after 5 minutes! Buckle up buttercups.
I so glad your son is ok, how very frightening. I have just sent my children an email. To say please, please stay in and avoid people as much as possible. This should be front and center on the news yet once again everything has to be about this horrible man and the the GOP doing his bidding. I m getting really frightened about this virus and there is very little info getting out there unless you really look for it.
❤️take care!
"The two Republican Senators in Georgia, in a fight for reelection, have now signed onto the effort, although it means they are saying that the voters in their own state should be overruled in their choice for president."
As a matter of principle, if not of law, this should disqualify the Perdue and Loeffler candidacies. I'm sure they'd say they're standing up for electoral integrity, but in fact they're saying that they're running to become part of the junta that will make America an autocracy.
Once again, I don't know exactly what tools are available to render their efforts null, but should they win, to seat them would be one of the most lasting and blatant insults of Trump's reign.
OK, so they believe the Georgia Presidential election was fraudulent. So what makes THIS election TODAY less so? Have the Georgia election laws and procedures been changed? This is lunacy. They are just jumping on what they think is the gravy train. Let's hope it's the train to oblivion instead.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! Fingers crossed for a Warnock/Ossoff win in GA. There seems to be a split in the opinions of newsies about whether the forthcoming Republican objection of states' electors is unprecedented. What is new for sure is we are being treated to a front row seat as it will unfold. I pray that there will be no counter-protesting tomorrow in D.C. And here's a link to the arrest of the Proud Boy leader: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/proud-boys-enrique-tarrio-arrest/2021/01/04/8642a76a-4edf-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html
15 Days 7 Hours 18Minutes...and Seconds to January 20, 2021 (You're Welcome, Catherine!
Morning Lynell! I appreciate your enthusiastic way to start the day. Thank you for the WAPO link. I bet the Proud Bullies were so happy to see their maskless faces spread across the page. Didn’t Melania defend her hubby before the election by saying “boys will be boys”? 4 years of locker room talk that he will never live down.
Stay safe, Lynell!
TY, Daria!
Thanks Lynell