Investigators found two letters on a phone inside the remains of the rented Tesla Cybertruck that active-duty Green Beret Master Sergeant Matthew Alan Livelsberger exploded outside the Las Vegas, Nevada, Trump hotel on New Year’s Day.
I will never forget four years ago today - January 6, 2021 (it's the 6th already where I live). That this creature has been rewarded for his malice and treachery by the electorate with the highest office and the nuclear codes is spectacularly grotesque.
And let me add that that a monster like Musk has such unfettered power sans regulation and sans limits on income is equally horrific. That money can be dumped ad nauseum into campaigns by vested interests even to the extent that it compromises national security means that the Roberts' court is going to stand before the harshest tribunals of history. Meaningless to him, I know, and to the corrupted court at large which is historically tone deaf, but given we've had so much stripped away of our democracy I will take it.
Some people in EU are estimating that interference by Muskrat could increase the AfD numbers to 30% in the upcoming election in Germany. That would be tragic.
Peter Baker id correct in his description of what president Biden is leaving the coming president in terms of economic growth but apparently it was not enough to prevent a corrupt felon to have access to almost unlimited power to destroy everything that was accomplished.
Unfortunately we didn't have a young Biden for for more years to finish reversing what Reagan created and the subsequent two democratic administration weren't able or willing to reverse. But mostly I blame the lack of messaging, the high ground taken, the appeasement and the poor communication skills demonstrated in reference to the working class. Sad.
A jerk with too much money has an international megaphone and people listen to him. That is a great reason to institute a large enough tax that could mute such a loudmouth.
Your comment correctly reflects our current state of affairs, wherein wealth inequality is the worst it has been in over one hundred years. Plutocracy - - - rule by the wealthy - - - inevitably follows wealth inequality and that is what we now have. And that inequality powers your "megaphone". This is our new "Gilded Age" - - - the last one did not end well for the wealthy, or for the rest of us, either.
So true. Very hard to accept or digest, when you were brought up on the Golden Rule, earning a living according to the (metaphorical) sweat of your brow, and "manners makyth man".
Agreed! "A jerk" who puts SELF GAIN as well as ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY above the United States of America and its citizenry!!!! Just check out the world leaders he admires!!! He has hidden nothing!!!
Harvey....Trump wants to increase taxes, but not for the wealthy but to add additional burdens to the average citizens who are trying to keep their "noises above water" even now!!!
You know his tax breaks are only for the wealthy. He made this clear before he was voted into this presidency.....and YET....look at those who voted for him?????
One of the reasons that many people don't think Biden has done a great job is that they think his administration has lied. That those great numbers about inflation, investment, jobs, etc. are made up. We are in a very odd place, where no amount of great communication or messaging will have any impact on millions of Americans because they assume the Democrats are lying. And this is not just the "working class", which may not be a monolithic group. Trump won tons of college educated white voters.
Jon, it is not the messaging. It is the fundamental belief that their "news sources" that are lying to them, feeding them the lines that the oligarchs want them to hear is the truth. It falls back on the old negotiator's line "you cannot reason with unreasonable people". When they are informed with reams/volumes of documentation that what they are being told is flat out wrong, or worse, a lie, and their replay is "yeah, well it could be true" there is nothing that can be done.
I have come to believe it is not some savior’s job to “get the messaging right”. We have a big responsibility in this situation. Think about how many times you have talked with men in your life about misogyny and it’s grip on the -what can only be called- fragile male psyche. Men can be duped each and every time by framing their inadequacy and inabilities as caused by women being elevated to equal human beings. When was the last time men spoke to their bros about “why haven’t we grabbed the opportunities to make our life better that were being grabbed by women?” Those things were not withheld from men. Education, jobs for less pay, jobs in industries not-traditional to the partriarchial culture, time caring for the home and family, time supporting the community through clubs and organizations, time emotionally supporting friends, kids, spouse, parents, co-workers, controlling their money and investments with responsibly and less risky behavior. All this was and is available to men. And it’s available to men without laws prohibiting them from participating. There are no laws controlling men’s bodies. There are no laws prohibiting males from education, finance, property ownership, voting. Women suffered under punishing patriarchal rules for millenia. But once they had the some Rights won, they took advantage of the opportunities. Along. Side. Men. Women did not take anything away. So the critical message that all of Americans needs to talk about in our everyday conversations with everyone we have five minutes with is: Why do we cling to patriarchy when it is NOT serving us? Does your belief in your entitled privilege trump the Greater Good? Why is that so important to hold on to when it’s the Death of Democracy?
We need to do a better job of WHERE and HOW we message. If the target audience never sees the message, it’s not the content of the message that matters.
The messaging was clear - the problem was that you all did not want to hear it from a woman, much less a woman of color. Well, I am sure that the next time, if there is one, it will be from a human version of yacht music. Maybe the messaging will be "clearer".
The mindless commitment of the NYT, WaPo, LATimes, and cable new networks (with the exception of Fox News which is a propaganda platform) to "both-sidesism" muddied the public's understanding of factual information. Alt-reaity became respected and normalized.
Biden and his team did a poor job of advertising their achievements. A lot of progressive podcasts did talk about them, but MSM knowingly ignored them. And when you occasionally check out Fox News they make it seem like the Biden economy was a disaster. Fox is the most watched "news" on TV. I know a lot of people don't get their news on TV, but a lot still do.
You are delusional. They LIED ABOUT BIDEN's mental health.
They lied about inflation calling it non-existent, then transitory, then telling Americans to stop complaining about it.
THEY LIED about the border saying was secure. They lied about the efficacy of the COVID vaccine. They lied about Afghanistan. They lied about Russia invading Ukraine.
James, my husband and I have gotten thr Covid vaccine and boosters since thr vaccine became available, as have other family members. We have found it to br effective.
Russia DID invade Ukraine.
Is our border as secure as it might be? I would say no. I will wait to see if Trump is actually serious about immigration reform. Given his efforts before the 2024 election to scuttle such reform, I doubt that he is.
And you fell for every one of the lies Republicans fed you. Will you call for all Democrats to be slaughtered and blow yourself up because Tucker Carlson told you you’re losing your masculinity? Do you even understand what masculinity is?
NO competition for the NEW internet Botts out of Russia...mascarading as News Networks.....with a delude of daily mis information being force fed to Americans to confuse and disarm...continually ...... for Trumps benefit ... the US has be duped and that is SAD - and scary
I am so thankful for all the good Joe Biden and his team have accomplished. How long will this good endure? We will soon be made aware of the will of the incoming President and his minions. Will Musk continue to wield power as an unelected person?
Will we as Americans, hold onto our Democracy or will we allow it to slide away? Have we as a people become so unaware....so uncaring of what it means to be a Democracy, of the People....by the People and for the People....that we have become numb as well as blind to the destruction that is happening before us?
Has money and power blinded us to who we are supposed to represent to the world...."The land of the Free and the Home of the Brave"?
We are refusing to see reality before us. "A blind eye" has continued to be given to Trump and to the many criminals who receive no to little punishment for their criminality....criminals within our government!!!!
Add to cupidity, stupidity, as we no longer teach American history and Civics in our schools, nor do we have adequate teacher training and compensation.
Those wqho voted for Trump are more concerned about a transgender woman playing on a girls' volleyball team than they are with the great economy Biden shaped. Then, Biden and his team did a very poor job of advertising their accomplishments. Rest assured that Trump will take credit for it all and will talk about it ad nauseum.
I'd guess that some historians will argue that a highly relevant misstep was in 2020, when the Ds decided to 'step back' in leadership rather than step forward with youth when the populist candidate was most vulnerable. I do not argue that Biden's first term was not pretty darn good in terms of accomplishment, but he was unable to establish himself as a virile and visionary leader for a wide swath of the population in the face of the propaganda campaign unleashed against him. It was effective, IMO, because the main thing that dragged him down -- his age, I would argue -- was so evident as a shortcoming to anyone who was watching. Months of denial that it was an issue in the face of what people were seeing (and NOT seeing) from their president further undermined the D cause. Despite some very good and well prepared SoTHs, JRB did not have the excellent off-the-cuff leadership skills required to build and hold enthusiasm in a largely un/misinformed electorate.
Someone posted brilliantly earlier...Millionaires should be CAPPED at ??? and then the rest of the excess $$ is donated to the lower half of Society for the betterment of ALL (in their Name of course ! ) ....and a dog park is named after them as well !
Maybe this is a serious lack of imagination, and a detrimental myth that we hold on to: “That there is no antidote to unlimited money”. It creates hardship and difficulties for sure. But really, “No Antidote”? I suffer under this myth myself, but reading it in your comment right now finally has me pushing back and questioning my perception of unlimited money’s omnipotence. As a parent I had “total authority” over my kids……..in theory. In practice?…..I was brought to my knees emotionally, spiritually, financially, and physically many times. Thwarting my best efforts was resistance by a child, I could swear was schooled by the most crafty psy-ops operatives. I am not a unique human being or parent. The antidote to unlimited money may well still need to be “Re-Cognized” by us. So let’s throw all the spaghetti-of-ideas against the wall. Something’s gotta stick. And that’s what we begin with.
Trump is not so bad... really...? Why is this a Global situation all of a sudden....hmmmmmm- someone is pulling the strings and feeding the lies and all roads seem to lead to Russia. Awareness is first before solutions
Not only Russia. I have not forgotten the hostages ...human beings...who have not been returned....dead or alive....to their families.
How convenient for Netanyahu to have a "humanitarian concern"???He has been able to receive the huge and powerful military support of the USA to bomb and destroy Gaza and now to use us to bomb those countries and persons he wants to destroy for his gain.
The engagement of infighting between countries and causes has increased dramatically!!!!
We cannot just point our fingers at other leaders. It is us...."bloodthirsty" Americans who have chosen destruction over negotiation....because there are leaders in the USA who do not want negotiation. There are leaders who want power and control over and above negotiation . Negotiation could bring some peace for regular human beings and for their families.
We are creating people within and without who see these problems, feel that they are alone....no one seeing them....no one serious about finding solutions to the obvious problems in the world.
Deportation is not going to solve the problems but only create more!
Violence is often used when persons feel helpless and see no solutions being carried out for the peace and care of humanity. People turn to violence when they have lost spouses, their children, their parents, their home, even their country.
Because of turning away from the interpersonal ie HUMANITARIAN ISSUES, we will pay a price. We will begin to see more violence within our own country. Who can we blame then??? We will not be able to turn our eyes away.
What is to become of the future of our children, our families....the hope of our nation? We are making these choices at this very moment!!!!
No one can argue with "True Believers." I recommend reading "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer. It's a short, sobering look at humans and belief. It's available online at used book stores and ebooks.
Unless there are big unforeseen changes, we'll be plunged back into the late 1920s. Robber barons will rule and they will suck the wealth out of the world economy to the point where they collapse it into Great Depression II. This is deliberate, as it will allow them to buy up everything for pennies. They'll be fighting among themselves the whole time. Eventually...well we all know what happened after that.
As the African proverb says, "When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.
This is all tragic and should have been avoided. Had the NYT and other papers put Biden’s policies successes on the front page in clear English, rather than on the back, maybe more folks would have seen them. And that’s not malarkey. Musk disgusts me mightily. How do we fight this? I’m so taking a four week Zoom class focused on Gandhi’s methods of resistance. Anybody interested can find more info at PaceBene.com.
Will admit to feeling a bit depressed these days. The election was fair. Trump is totally corrupt, but he's as popular as ever. Our economy is fine, but our politics have become a moral question. A US Senator with an Ivy-league education that poses for a Christmas card with his wife and children all brandishing fire arms is just too tough to explain. We're heading into darkness and whether morality and sanity will reassert themselves in time is anybody's guess.
I vehemently disagree that the election was fair. In his first administration, the census was mishandled, jurisdictions were changed, mail in voting stopped, polling places closed, dishonest postmaster general put in place, three liars added to the Supreme Court…etc. This time, dozens of polling places closed with bomb threats that came from Russia, and the election was called long before votes were all counted. Colorado and other states tried to keep him off the ballot. He’s a liar and a cheat and that will never change. Otherwise John, I agree with you.
And how would that have worked? I continue to be fascinated by the magical thinking that would have speedily moved the legal process along and had Trump under the jail in record time. Just a reminder, the speedy trial right is for the defendant, not the people. If some moneyed ass wants to drag things out, he can. Just want a step by step analysis of how this could have been handled.
Gigi, the election was fair. It is painful to state it over and over but the fact is 7 million people who supported Biden walked out on Harris. That is the tragedy. Biden did amazing things but didn't use the most important part of the Presidency, the so- called "bully pulpit" to scream his achievements to the roof. He let his ratings sag because he (and Garland) didn't want to believe that Trump could return.
Yet there he was. They could have put him in jail a year before he could have run for office again but they just wanted him to go away.
And tragically he didn't go away.
Don't blame the election loss on nonsense. We lost the election because of mistakes and missteps. Trying to pretend that it was stolen is the same thing that Trump did in 2020. It is demeaning to all of us to not accept the truth.
Trump is as popular as ever, but no more popular than ever. He increased the number of votes he got but not the proportion of the electorate that voted for him. Harris lost because she did not get the turnout that Biden got. I suspect a lot of this was because of voters who could not get themselves to vote for a Black woman. I also suspect that most of those voters cannot admit to themselves that this is the reason. And once again the mainstream media coverage helped get Trump elected. How much of this is that they can't help themselves and how much that they are "in the tank" for Trump?
Based on the two elections that tcf/tot has won, I think you are 100% spot on. That people who ran with the experience in public life that Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris had (senator, sec state, VP) could not beat the con man says far, far too much about the gender bias in this country that far, far, too many people refuse to acknowledge.
Another big story this last week was the link between alcohol and breast cancer. No big surprise that in the Reagan-era, mythological world of white men who believe government regulation is the enemy and one-worldism the path to communism, the breast cancer/alcohol story has been suppressed since at least 1988. In that year the World Health Organization drew attention to the link with alcohol and industry successfully kept it off the Congressionally approved alcohol warning label.
Ally, I've heard it said that nothing prepares for the presidency, that it's on the job training.
I did not care for Hilary's personality, but consider her resume, both political and personal. On her own, a lawyer, senator and Secretary of State, and worked extensively for a comprehensive health care plan. She also was the spouse of a governor and a president.
Over many years, she saw government close up. She would have come into the office of POTUS as arguably the best prepared candidate EVER.
My own sister (83 y/o) told me this past election that she thought "women can't do the job of presidency".
Michael Biales -- IMO, fundamentally VP Harris lost because President Biden didn't step back at the Democratic Convention where proper nominations could be put forward and vetted, and she would have been put in the spotlight. (I'll leave it at that.)
John, the Senator and any other pol or judge will be fine with guns until they and their family are targeted or caught in crossfire. Then they will demand more security at taxpayer expense. When I hear about security, I always think about the Praetorian Guard or the Sikhs who assassinated Indira Gandhi. Personally, I also think that they love the idea of the proletariat being well armed and doing their dirty work.
Or a good science fiction movie—Mad Max meets Idiocracy. I hope the event begins with a prayer for those who died and those who were hurt and those who still can’t believe this unrepentant criminal has been legally elected less than 4 years after attacking his own government, killing hundreds of thousands with his mismanagement of Covid and lying every time he opens his wicked mouth. 💔💩🎃🤡💔🤮
I have long been convinced that the folks of extreme wealth and privilege live in an alternate universe bubble. Their wealth and privilege blind them. They live in fear of having it taken away, so they create myths of macho individualism to make the rest of us cower in fear along with them.
Democracy fails by small losses, constant and over time...one day the tides have turned and getting it back becomes paramount to those who know the difference. The Wizard of Oz is well entrenched behind his curtain
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people....To destroy this invisible government, to befoul this unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of statesmanship."
The lack of any smidge of integrity by the SCOTUS reactionary members has been the hardest fact for me to absorb. I used to think so highly of SCOTUS as an institution. But Roberts’ year end report shows how far the court has fallen.
You can click on the 3 dots at the top right of your comment and edit your comment. People can also select those 3 dots and collapse comments as well. Neat huh.
There have always been super-wealthy puppet masters in the political arena. Lobbyists are the visible go-betweens as huge corporations and multinationals pull the strings. Mostly we don't know who they are, just that they represent the wealthy and powerful, not us. NRA is just one of many.
They have as little accountability as Musk-- that is, none.
Musk is an individual person who wants us to know he's throwing his weight around. Thats the only difference between him and other powerful entities that run this country.
So don't be so shocked that some unelected invulnerable never-accountable entity is pulling the strings.
Much as I agree with your overall comment today, I find the notion of "harshest tribunals of history" simply a fantasy, a sugar pill for the cancer that is eating away at our Republic. History is being rewritten by Trump and his toddies, January 6th is now "a day of love." This is Orwell run wild. Now ignorance is strength and the victors are rewriting history. We fight this because we must to the decent and right thing. Please don't give speak about the judgement of history.
In essence Musk owns Trump, and therefore Trump is his proxy president. A psychologist says that often boys put just enough effort into school work to get an 89.5 average, giving them an A-. Musk put the minimum amount of money into Trump's campaign openly (we don't know where all the dark money is coming from in this campaign, can we say Putin, Saudi Arabia) to buy himself the presidency since he cannot run himself. We need to take him down in the eyes of the public.
We need to never forget how SCOTUS paved the way for an oligarchy. And we should constantly remind Roberts (I don't call him Justice Roberts) and the right wing fascist judges, that we will make sure the history books portray them for what they are- puppets of Leonard Leo and right wing billionaire fascists.
Russia won the cold war,using psy ops to attack us. SCOTUS ruled in effect that the 14th Amendment is unconstitutional to protect insurrection.
"Trump held a party at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night during which he screened a documentary about John Eastman, a close ally who tried to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the 2020 election..."
Trump spoke at the event, praising Eastman and insisting he was “right the whole time” [from several sources].
;From WIKI} On January 6, 2021, Eastman gave a speech at the White House Trump rally that preceded the 2021 United States Capitol attack. Later that day, after rioters had attacked the Capitol, Eastman e-mailed Greg Jacob, counsel to Vice President Pence, and implored him to violate the Electoral Count Act by delaying certification of the election.Jacob responded by calling Eastman's arguments "bullshit", his legal advice as "gravely, gravely irresponsible", and calling Eastman a "serpent in the ear of the president". On January 13, 2021, Eastman retired from the Chapman faculty after the controversy created by his speech at the Trump rally. On March 28, 2022, federal judge David O. Carter found Eastman, along with Trump, was more likely than not to have "dishonestly conspired to obstruct the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021"
Eastman was criminally indicted, ordered inactive by the State Bar of California, and recommended for disbarment. Eastman has lost eligibility to practice law in California state courts, pending his appeal of the state bar judge's ruling that recommended him for disbarment. Eastman was also named as a co-conspirator in the federal indictment brought against Trump over his attempts to subvert the 2020 election results and prevent the certification of Biden's election.
He remins a defendant in the Georgia ans Arizona state fake elector conspiracy cases.
Eastman wrote a controversial op-ed in August 2020 that falsely suggested the then-presumed Democratic nominee for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was not a "natural-born citizen" within the meaning of Article II of the Constitution and thus ineligible for the position.
Daniel, please explain where it says "SCOTUS ruled in effect that the 14th Amendment is unconstitutional to protect insurrection." It is my understanding that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment clearly states that Trump, as an adjudicated insurrectionist, cannot be qualified today to be President, that is, if our Members of Congress were to honor their oaths to the Constitution. They have the power to stop Trump today. I know you have been following the past three days in DC where many people are there to talk with their members of Congress to demand they do the right thing. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSBOZQrHmko
I said it. They can't read. And that includes the Democrats. Plain as day. Colorado, two other states struck him from the ballot. States are supposed to be able to enforce the federal constitution. Even right wing "conservatives" support invoking it.
As I probably said somewhere else I am sickened that Jamie Raskin says he knows Trump is ineligible, but Dems will acquiesce to avoid "chaos"
It only takes 1/5 of each body to raise an objection under the Electoral Count Act. As explained by former editors of the Columbia Law Review and Yale Law Journal, “If the objection is sustained by majority vote in each house, the vote is not counted and the number of votes required to be elected is reduced by the number of disqualified votes. If all votes for Trump were not counted, Kamala Harris would be elected president.”
Regarding the Colorado case and others like it, legal scholars say
Constitutional scholars agree. In spite of the ruling in Trump v. Anderson, Donald Trump remains constitutionally disqualified from holding office.
“The upshot is that Donald Trump remains constitutionally disqualified from the presidency and may not lawfully serve in that office or any other unless Congress removes the disqualification by two-thirds majorities of both houses. Nothing in Trump v. Anderson changes that legal reality.”
William Baude and Michael Paulsen, Harvard Law Review, Sweeping Section Three under the Rug: A Comment on Trump v. Anderson
“Under the law as it stands, Donald Trump is not qualified to be president of the United States.”
Harvard Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe
“Some will argue that the Supreme Court decision in the Colorado case, Trump v. Anderson, precludes Congress from rejecting electoral votes when they convene on Jan. 6, on the basis of 14th Amendment disqualification. This view lacks merit for three reasons….”
Evan Davis and David Shulte, former editors of the Columbia Law Review and Yale Law Journal
Listen to Evan Bernick, author of The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, explain the process by which Congress can and must object to the certification of Donald Trump’s electoral votes.
Listen to John Bonifaz, constitutional lawyer and President of Free Speech for People, explain why new congressional legislation to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against Donald Trump is not required.
Carol, by their actions, their ruling held Amendment 14, Section 3 did not apply in this case, which is "saying without saying" that it is unconstitutional. I think that they are relying on language that has come to mean an "adjudication" must be done by a judge; an impeachment by congress that is not tried, in their eyes, is not an adjudication because it did not have an ultimate "ruling" by the senate.
If you cannot draw a line directly from the conduct of tcf (or tot, the orange taint*) from his speech to a formal adjudication (either by the court or by the senate), $COTUS believes that the 14 sec 3 does not apply. BUT they did not articulate that clearly, only by inference.
The flagrant error, which is to falsehood upon which the Colorado decision rested was for the Court to hold that in order to be effective, the constitutional provision in question required enabling legislation. To don't have to have gone to law school to know that this is wrong.
The second flagrant error was to hold that states lack the authority to decide the substantive factual question that was presented in the case, when the Constitution clearly delegates the administration and conduct of elections to federal office, which entails things for setting terms for filing to get on the ballot and screening such filings for qualifications, to States.
..In effect the Court said that "in this special case", the question presented was a federal matter in to which Colorado has no business sticking its nose. This second error went hand in hand with the first. There is no case here to be decided, and if there were, it would note be up to you to decide.
Parenthesis: it would be up to us.
This did the Court rule in favor of its own role as goalkeeper. And revealed it's determination, not surprisingly, to assert its own power. In this instance the Court used it to nullify a constitutional provision.
Why did it do so, given how transparently wrong the decision was. Because they were afraid of the consequences of doing what they knew to be right.
Carol T Cox -- Wow! Thank you greatly for that YouTube link. We're currently within 8 hours of the meeting of the members of congress. The day is now here.
It is not until now that I have come to be fully convinced that djt is a full bore Neo-Nazi would be dictator and that the assault on the Capitol was his bid to seize power by emulating Hitler's burning of the Reichstag.
The evidence was long ago uncovered. Like others I simply chose to reserve judgment and maintain a healthy skepticism. .But it is all there. And Heather's last two posts have tied it all together. The orders given to the Secretary of the Army not to allow the DC National Guard to be turned out without White House approval. The plans to issue an emergency proclamation. .The threats to Pence. The instigated riot and failed seizure that was supposed to serve as the excuse .The planted stories of "leftist agent provocateurs" that were supposed to provide cover...It's all there. . Trumps whole Hail Mary to Himself. Designed by this Eastman to bootstrap Trump in to power with a Martial Law declaration. Following Hitler 's playbook.
I was not prepared to believe at the time that Trump was that depraved and that stupid. Nor that much of an ex post facto Nazi sympathizer. I do now.
It certainly was. Cicero, Plutarch, Appian, Cassius Dio, Sallust, and other ancient sources teach us that monied interests, the breaking of norms, and lawlessness were the death of any remotely republican form of government in ancient Rome.
It is a far more interesting, compelling, and pertinent story than any "fall" of the Roman Empire some five centuries later.
Money quote (no pun intended) - Sallust in his Jugurthine War states "In Rome all things are for sale, and she shall quickly perish once she finds a buyer."
In a sense, yes. My devotional in scripture union’s encounter with God reminded me to rely on the wisdom of God, not man. The wisdom of the maga movement is ungodly in that involves forcing their beliefs on others, not Christian at all. The super rich like musk are just taking advantage of it to get what they want, more power.
Sadly we Americans have confirmed, to all intelligent life forms on the planet, that we are just as stupid as they suspected. I wanted so badly to believe that 2016 was an anomaly.
My initial thought was that it was "only" the routine misogyny and racism which has always been a huge part of our American culture.
My go-to optimism was that this was to be expected; that it was backlash for having elected a biracial man to the presidency (twice). That "we" (still) weren't quite ready to join the ranks of mature adults and acknowledge gender equality. That we would muddle through and the nation would somehow survive.
I'm no longer optimistic. I'm too old to be foolish all the time - it takes far too much energy. I'm not going to rent a truck and explode myself because forty percent of us are too apathetic, or just too lazy, to bother voting. This nation does not deserve that sacrifice.
I'd emigrate, but the few people I care about wouldn't, or can't, join me. I'm lucky to have the luxury to even consider leaving.
I think it doesn't really matter where you are these days - I migrated 30 years ago from Europe to Australia - we are all so connected, the fascistoid movement is pretty much everywhere on the rise. I'm old as well but have decided to fight (engagement, activism) to the best of my abilities where we're heading and hope the young will find better ways. The young generations are my only hope.
It matters a LOT where you are, Sabine. I am lucky enough, as Michael said above, to have the luxury of living in Scotland now, and the emotional/physical distance from that creature and his evil clown car is preserving my sanity. Here, the women and girls in our family have bodily autonomy, protected by law. The children in our family don't endure active shooter drills, and we adults don't live in fear of them being gunned down. As a woman, I feel safer on the street than I ever have in my life because I know the men can't carry firearms, much less assault rifles. And everyone here knows EXACTLY the threat that monster is.
Alexandra, lucky indeed! I have to say that I am grateful to be old in these times and I can’t imagine being a school-age kid in the USA these days. We only practiced fire drills, and scarily, getting under our desks in case of a nuclear attack (this was in the 50’s).
Barbara, I agree about it being hard to be a child today. This study sets out current fears of children all over the world because of the already present and future worsening climate chaos. Children are very worried. I'm sure we are all sorry to have put them in this position by failing to live sensibly with Earth.
Many are sorry & rightly worried and work for change, and then there are those who want to continue to sink their teeth into the world’s neck and feed on its life force…..greed/control/riches…and, ultimately, for what? Perhaps such folk have never heard of or contemplated the prospect of “enough” which increases the likelihood of there being “enough” for all.
My well-being and peace of mind living in France, despite its difficulties, is profound. I have health care. There is great public transportation and I don't need a car. Education is accessible to young people. Food is cheaper and better. Children are better cared for. There are lively cafes and high culture readily at hand for those who like theater, music, or opera. I live in a modest apartment and don't have the burdens of a yard or maintenance. Everything I need is within half an hour by public transport, but most daily things I need are 2-3 minutes from me. My expenses have gone way down living here as opposed to the US. No flags, no damn red hats, no roaring pick up trucks with right wing nuttery on full display. And like you, I don't live in fear of some idiot with a gun - in the little town I left in rural Oregon young men walked into coffee shops with loaded pistols in holsters.
What cowards.
And as a final aside, Hollywood from its inception right up to today shares enormous blame for perpetuating and popularizing the toxic masculinity of the lone cowboy and helping to aid and abet this rubbish.
Philoctetes, you list so much that we have in Scotland, too — plus France is warm!!! I 100% understand why you left - I can't even imagine the toxicity and fear induced by living in a state with open carry. It's surreal.
I've worked as a screenwriter for most of my professional career and agree with your comment about the toxic masculinity — but want to add that a lot of social change comes through people fighting for depictions of the world's real, beautiful diversity comes from Hollywood as well. David Kohan & Max Mutchnick worked so hard to get and keep Will & Grace on the air and worked with the LGBTQ+ community to deepen portrayals of its characters. Shonda Rhimes broke through the white male wall and gave the world a full rainbow of beloved characters on Grey's Anatomy. Hollywood is to blame but it's also one of our greatest weapons against fascism and we need to put the pressure on and make the industry rise to the challenge.
I absolutely agree - and my wife LOVES Will & Grace! I'm also a great fan of live theater as an instrument for social change and for opening up the lives of young people. One production of Shakespeare in 1977 put me on my life trajectory. It doesn't take much . . .
If only Scotland could come to our aid as France did back when the nation was founded. Don't know, though, that anyone should help those who don't help themselves...too many Americans sat out the last election and a chance to rid ourselves of a tyrant traitor.
It took years of work to manifest, but I'm so grateful every day. Europeans and Brits are just aghast at the willful violence of the US. It's an armed camp. I don't think people can possibly comprehend the toxicity of it until they've been out for a while. It's still my country, and California will ALWAYS be my home. I will fight for it from here. But here — is sanity.
Like I said, I am envious of your planned journey. I love Scotland and her people. My only refuge would be going to Germany where my mother was born and raised and eventually escaped from. My girls could go with me but my husband, who has yet to get a passport and is a Nam vet with PTSD, is reticent about leaving CA. Not certain what the outcome will be but I do know that we are in very very rough waters. Always good to hear from you and get your perspective, Alexandra.
I, too, have decided that our Constitution and the promise of a fairer, more just society is worth fighting for. I stay and give it my best, encourage everyone to join in to protect the lives and rights of all fellow humans, and not let those who take and not give destroy the hopes and futures of America and the world.
Agree, Sabine, we must stand ready to resist, persist and push back on the efforts to make us an illiberal democracy as has happened to Hungary and Türkiye, even as they still have “elections”. As little as I may actually be able to do, I’ll do my damn best!🗽🇺🇸 The whole world better get its collective act together, cuz we’re all that we’ve got on this fragile planet we have. btw, I read this eve about all the space junk….a staggering amount of trash (seems we humans can even litter up space!), bits ‘n pieces orbiting—the visual rendering of what is being tracked made it look almost like a force field encasing earth. If we have immense and growing garbage patches in the sea and on land, why not trash up space too! This means, perhaps (unless we can find a way to clean it up), that someday soonish we will not be able to leave the planet for exploration or other scientific endeavors because the debris would destroy/incapacitate anything sent into space (think weather satellites for example)….resulting in even MORE junk!!! Trying to balance my feelings of anger and dread with those of resolve and hope…bit of a teeter-totter ride!
I hear you, Barbara. But here is something we all can do today, that might possibly make a difference in memory of this day. Please take a moment to do something that could contribute to saving our democracy! The last three days in sub-zero temperatures in Washington, DC, people have been gathered together who feel as passionately as I do about this opportunity to do something that can truly make a difference. I wish I could have been among them! Here are the basic facts: Today (on the anniversary of January 6th) is the day that the electoral votes are to be counted by Congress to certify Donald Trump to be our 39th president. What is wrong with this scenario? The answer is simple and stark! Every Congress member who votes to accept these electoral votes will be dishonoring their oath to the Constitution. If they were to honestly uphold the oath they took, they would have no other choice but to disqualify Trump, an insurrectionist, from ever holding office again. The following is from https://nowmarch.org "Donald J. Trump is an adjudicated insurrectionist, constitutionally disqualified from holding office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment for the deadly assault on our Capitol four years ago. Every member of Congress has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Unless lawmakers remove his current disability by a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress, or reject the certification of his electoral votes, they, too, will be in violation of their oaths. It only takes 1/5 of each body to raise an objection under the Electoral Count Act. As explained by former editors of the Columbia Law Review and Yale Law Journal, 'If the objection is sustained by majority vote in each house, the vote is not counted and the number of votes required to be elected is reduced by the number of disqualified votes. If all votes for Trump were not counted, Kamala Harris would be elected president.'” It’s important to call our Senators and Reps to tell them that we demand they honor the oaths they took. The offices open at 8:30 AM. We have to inundate them with calls. All the info you need can be found here: https://nowmarch.org To be further inspired by Jessica Densen who organized this movement, see a portion of Saturday’s gathering in DC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSBOZQrHmko
Our political parties have been baffled, even neutered, however we can't abandon organized resistance. The ACLU still exists and they're already actively opposing Trimp's initiatives. They're by no means alone. There are also groups like The Womens March, Common Cause, and Indivisible. Look around; join and support those who you agree with. Help somebody.
The Trimp-ists are fully aware that they have only a slim margin of approval but they want you to forget that, and while their megaphone is larger and they don't hesitate to lie and intimidate wherever they can, they CAN AND SHOULD be opposed.
Isolating ourselves and shaking our fists as they vandlize the world won't work. (This is also why I rejected the notion of emigrating.) We don't all need to be heroic either, but every day we can share knowledge, perform individual acts of humanity, and try to be the example others will remember. Like Hank Stamper once said, "Never give a inch."
Sabine, there's nowhere to go. If this country falls to fascism the rest of the world that hasn't fallen already will be following, one after the other. That's why Musk is getting involved in Germany and Canada and elsewhere.
I also immigrated, to Canada in my case, long ago. I fought for a just society both in Canada and in the US - and am also an old woman.
The Prime Minister of Canada, J Trudeau January 6, 2025, has just resigned as leader of the ruling party which will lead to an election.
The rise of authoritarianism has impacted this country as well as many others around the world. We all have to fight at this point as much as possible Be safe all
Thank you, Loes. The Netherlands is on my short list of places to consider if I decided to leave - to go back to the land of my father. I had hoped it would not be suffering the same cancer the US carries. But the grandchildren come first.
"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26-28.
I don't identify as a Christian, but I know enough to know how a real Christian thinks, and the above is what a REAL Christian thinks. Someone that supports the MAGA movement is NOT a Christian regardless of what they call themselves.
Leave the country or stay, it doesn't matter. It's everywhere. Just don't give up. Instead, do something simple and easy. Start calling MAGA supporters and supporters of authoritarianism everywhere what they are, which is a bunch of gutless hypocrites. Don't call them childish. That would be an insult to children.
James, fascism took over Christianism a while ago and is entrenched there. We need real Christian to raise their voices and fight their way back. Peacefully but loud.
Michael, don't know if you have children, but one of the most difficult things for me to overcome was disappointment over something big they had done. I'm not talking criminal but a huge disappointment over poor life changing decisions that they made. As a parent, you try so hard to mold a soul into an honorable human being. Perhaps it is brainwashing, just as the cult follows Trump.
I mention this because as much as I am horribly disappointed with much of our voters--and I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed by the MAGA voters or the non-voters--I still love this country. Like our children who we dearly love in spite of when they dismayingly fall short of our hopes, thus too our history has done so. Slavery, wars, all the ills of society. Like our children who end up getting to where we hoped but not by the path we would have chosen, I HAVE to be optimistic. We'll get there, maybe not in my lifetime.
I don't condone violence in any form, and I wonder if those who do take actions like the truck guy think they really make a change? In six months, nobody will remember his name and there will be other news items making headlines. He sacrificed his life for what?
I've often thought of teenagers who are bullied and decide to shoot out the school--if ONLY you could see through to the future where becoming very successful would be the biggest f*ck you that could be given to your peers at your 10th HS reunion.
That and the fact that Reagan and his administration set everything up for what we see today. But really, it is because of the diabolical mind of Putin. He has infiltrated every single country with his plans. Trump has been groomed by him for at least the last 30 years and as you can see, he is not the only one.
The fact that Donald Trump & his minions have convinced many Americans that Jan.6, 2021 was a "Day of Love" & that he intends to pardon the insurrectionists bothers me more than Democrats losing the recent election! How can Americans believe this, after we all saw & heard what happened on that day on our televisions?
Yes! That has been my message as well. Today we will witness another count. We all saw the insurrectionists storming the Capitol in 2021. Nothing about that day was loving or peaceful.
I’m prepared to be upset that the major mainstream media will probably not give the events of that day the conveyor deserves. Americans need a reminder of the horror of that day.
I wonder, KMD, if when TFFFG is sworn into office he’ll place his hand on the Bible he has for sale…I can just hear another sales pitch following! He won’t actually be swearing an oath of allegiance to the constitution, but rather, I think, what should be termed a “Hypocritic Oath”, as suits his (lack of) character.
We do not have the office of "co-president" in the US. Furthermore, no one who is not eligible to be president and is in the line of succession cannot serve if not meeting those requirements. Mu$k is ineligible due to his not being a "natural born citizen of the United States". I can't speak to German law.
You are talking about a normal, legal and decent country Ally House, I'm talking about a country that use to be like you are describing but not longer, and I'm saying this with a heavy heart.
Originally I meant my comment as a joke. Thanks for your reply 👍
Dang, we need a symbol for "tongue in cheek" or maybe a Joker face for what you're communicating. I know I have to use the sidebar <sarcasm font> else people take what I am saying as a more serious comment than my sarcastic self can come up with.
If a crowd broke through the gates of Mar A Lago, smeared feces on the walls, and walked around yelling "MELANIA? WHERE ARE YOU?" I wonder if he'd consider that a love fest?
"We can no longer afford to take that which was good in the past and simply call it our heritage, to discard the bad and simply think of it as a dead load which by itself time will bury in oblivion. The subterranean stream of Western history has finally come to the surface and usurped the dignity of our tradition. This is the reality in which we live. And this is why all efforts to escape from the grimness of the present into nostalgia for a still intact past, or into the anticipated oblivion of a better future, are vain."
- Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
In short. Be here now. Present and accounted for. If not now, when?
"That even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination might well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and their works, will kindle under almost all circumstances and shed over the time span that was given to them...."
lin•, "If not now, when?" is the question. If it is not "now"*, then I expect the "when" will be far, far too late to avoid destruction of the planet, not just our system of government.
*To quote my mother, with her somewhat recalcitrant first born (me) "Right goddam NOW".
"Spectacularly grotesque" is a good description of the acceptance of the "BIG Lie". We all witnessed the brutal, illegal attack and witnessed GOP Reps running for their lives and denouncing Trump for sitting idle as the attack went on. Talk about re-writing history...
Most sane Americans agree with you. Unfortunately, Trumpo, the elderly addled ringmaster, greatly aided by policy chief Stephen Miller and shadow president-elect Elon Musk, has brought his very own circus--the CrazyTown clowns--with him and is now in the process of setting up the tents for his clown show.
Trump is a gift to comedians, satirists, and cartoonists. Religious people will debate whether the gift-giver was Satan or God. For me, I see Trump’s second term as a sign that there is no god watching over us. No god would be that cruel.
And quit literally terrifying if you ground yourself in that truth and know any World History. Actually, the USA has made poor and sometimes quite bad decisions, over the full course it's wonderful History..but this may very well end up being its worst. And accepting that fact is not ok....not for America
I agree! Trump has created an “us versus them” narrative that has divided this country. I am trying to be more compassionate and inclusive. But it’s difficult. My anger at people who voted for Trump and for those who didn’t bother to vote continues.
The creature's political career is driven by social media influencing operations - both foreign (his campaign, Bannon, Stone etc) and foreign (Putin's FSB).
The issue is that every Republican administration in the past forty years left the country in much worse shape than it had been, and each Democratic administration that followed had a mess of massive proportions to clean up, and they can never seem to do enough.
The greatest problem that has been plaguing America in that period of time is the 24/7 right-wing noise machine.
Rupert’s propaganda machine never took a day off. The Green Beret is proof that the message played on military bases ad nauseam. Our military was the target as much as the MAGAts. What a twisted tale Rupert has woven…
Spouting obvious lies, this noise machine should be falling on deaf ears. Instead, patriots like Charles Sumner, Abraham Lincoln, Howard Zinn, Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris go unappreciated and even mocked.
💯 % correct Moebym but that 24/7 noise machine had been working for years brain washing the brains of the American people while the democrats were wondering. Total lack of determination and imagination.
Sad but true, Ricardo. It’s embarrassing to realize how weak our leadership has been and it’s by no means clear that the next generation of Democratic leaders will be better. I’d love to be wrong about the latter so if anyone has examples of promising leaders, please weigh in!
Moebym, I agree, especially with your first sentence. @heathercoxrichardson and others have written at length about the forty year period you refer to but they rarely mention the word “Neoliberalism.” And that’s unfortunate, to put it mildly, because it is shorthand for “the cause of all our trouble since Reagan’s presidency.” Recently, though, Anat Shenker-Osorio wrote an article entitled “The Electoral Problem for Democrats: IT'S NEOLIBERALISM, STUPID.” (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/trump-harris-democrats-electoral-problem-neoliberalism-1235176879/)
“Noise machine” is too soft a term. It is Russian-sponsored terrorism, a propagandist onslaught that is fully and demonstrably intended to turn Americans against Americans and encourage violence as the only resort for resolving the manufactured conflict. It has already led to the attack on our capitol, taking American lives there and elsewhere, and judging by the research HCR points to, there is only more to come.
Too bad our leadership, Democratic and Republican, did not name this for what it was a long time ago and deal with it accordingly. When we had a more than fighting chance.
You are so right. Neither Democratic leaders nor the small liberal part of the MSM where I have spent many wasted hours watching and reading for years were up to naming it for what it was and dealing with it accordingly. Worse yet, their soft treatment of false, vicious, immoral Right Wing verbal and actual physical attacks also led to non-Democratic voters concluding that “Democrats don’t fight for us!” That is one astounding conclusion Ms. Shenker-Osorio offers up in the article I linked to above.
As someone who formerly worked with retirement/investment plans, it is worth noting that stock markets in Democratic administrations always out-performed the so-called "business friendly" Republican administrations. And yet, because of the massive disinformation efforts from GOP allies for the past 40 years, I'd guess that most of Trump's voters, (as well as a fair number of Democrats) believe that electing a Democratic administration and Congress spells doom for the economy.
I read the very long report by Joshua Kaplan in *Pro Publica* around 6 AM on January 5. I was terribly concerned by it and wondered who else had read it. And here it is already in your column, January 6. I do believe strongly that the military policy as I understand it is to have Fox News only on every base. I know one (perhaps retired) General has pointed this out and demanded it cease. It can directly indoctrinate people. It has.
I accidentally "liked" your comment before reading it since it popped up right where I was planning to "like" an earlier one. As fate would have it, I really do like it as it reminds me of the better diversity and really well educated, competent and ethical people that the draft brought into contact with so many of us that we wouldn't otherwise have been associated within an all volunteer force. (They also drafted great Conscientious Objectors into the Civilian Public Service during WWII.)
I especially liked the Conscientious Objectors who became some of the bravest medics that would never pick up a weapon but go into the most dangerous situations that even the most heavily armed combat soldiers couldn't bring themselves to risk.
I met one at Tan An soon after Tet 68 started, as I was traveling solo to different camps and bases in the Delta fixing weather equipment. I got there after the chow hall closed, and, unusually was refused access to any of the 163 cheeseburgers they had leftover. They told me they were being kept available for the Conscientious Objector medic that was still out on a mission. I believe he was called Bunkie and was originally shunned for refusing to ever use a weapon, but soon earned their respect by running through fire that was so intense that they all doing things like firing over logs without sticking their heads up enough to keep track of what they were shooting at. They explained that on a previous mission, the helicopter backed off two attempted landings due to the extreme incoming fire, but landed on the third attempt. Bunkie had run out and brought two wounded back onto the helicopter, and was trying to put a third on as they were trying to get the first two off, telling him they hadn't chosen to land, they had been shot down. When he did get back, we could finally start eating some of the 163 burgers (after he got to choose the ones he wanted), and he replied to my questions on how he became such a determined Conscientious Objector. As I recall, he had given in to peer pressure when drafted into the infantry and didn't apply for the CO status he sincerely had wanted to do. He had tolerated the others in his unit ridiculing and playing tricks on what they considered the country bumpkin until they tried one trick too many on the live grenade range. One had kept a practice grenade that no longer had a smoke charge in it and pulled the pin while the were all still in a large group, then pretended to accidentally drop it. Everyone else knew it and really acted up the panic running away when "Live Grenade" was screamed by several. He had played along a little and started to run away but looked back and saw the "bumpkin" had jumped on the grenade, crying as he tried to save them from what he thought was a live grenade.
"Bunkie" put in for Conscientious Objector status and volunteered to be a Combat Medic though insisting he would never carry a weapon. It seems he never did, even in the toughest situations, (although others would to defend their patients if there was no other way). He earned the highest respect I'd ever seen, though, despite his stance on using weapons, from the men in the units of those he had saved.
I'm trying to research the impact of WWII drafted Conscientious Objectors on a period of reform in mental health care that seemed to become unsustainable after those drafted into the Civilian Public Service (CPS) completed their service obligations, and many continued for what seems another decade or two. My mother had worked as kitchen staff at the now seemingly infamous Belchertown State School. She described the earlier years when it seemed to have at least provided better care during a period of influence from the CPS draftees and volunteers that more than made up for the poorer care by the better staffed facilities before WWII made even worse by losing so much staff to other war efforts.
I'm going through publications like:
Noncombatant Service -Conscientious Objectors’ Fight for Mental Health Reform during WWII By Nate Barker
Bender, Titus W., (2011), The Mennonite Mental Health Movement and the Wider Society in the United States, 1942-1965. Journal of Mennonite Studies, 29.
Keim, Albert, The CPS Story: An Illustrated History of Civilian Public Service. Good Books, 1990. (available as a borrowed version from Internet Archive at:
Sareyan, Alex, The Turning Point, How Men of Conscious Brought About Major Change In The Care of America’s Mentally Ill. American Psychiatric Press, 1994.
I really appreciated the following text from Sareyan's book:
"...To understand the reactions of Cos to the mental hospital scene, it is important to understand what set them apart from the rest of the institutional staff.
First and foremost, Cos had been required by their local draft boards to demonstrate satisfactorily that their grounds for claiming exemption from military service were based on religious training and belief.
Another significant factor that set the CPS men apart was that, as a group, they were well above the average employee in intelligence, education, and job experience. In the CPS units administered by the American Friends Service Committee, the men averaged 15 years of formal education. At the time of their induction, many of the men had been employed as teachers at the high school or college level. Quite a few had been trained as research scientists, lawyers, artists, and musicians and in similar professions. Except in a very few instances, the capabilities that men in the CPS mental hospital units brought with them were never used.
In an article published in The Psychiatric Quarterly Supplement in 1948, two physicians, Robert A. Clark and Alex M. Burgess, had this to say about what differentiated the Cos assigned to state mental hospitals during World War II from the regular rank and file of attendants. Besides intelligence, education, and skills not often found. Most of these men brought to their positions a high level of idealistic humanitarianism [I’d add extremely competent idealistic humanitarianism]. Since they “volunteered” for hospital service [what were the other choices], they were largely self-selected. As they were at the bottom of the state hospital hierarchy, they had unparalleled opportunities for continual and close observation…
Very soon after they began working, it became obvious to the men in the CPS mental hospital units that not only was their own orientation and training insufficient, but also that the care of the patients was woefully inadequate in nearly every respect. This inadequacy resulted in almost general neglect and not infrequent brutality. There was overcrowding into old and dangerous buildings.
In many hospitals there was an absence of a minimum standard of medical care. Nowhere was there an approach to the maximum medical need because of shortages in trained professional staff, as well as for medicines and medical equipment. Consequently, even good custodial care was seldom being given. Though these conditions were accentuated by the war, it was evident that in many institutions much of the same state of affairs had existed before and would continue afterward. In some hospitals, conditions were worse than others, but in none were they ideal.
First the COs began comparing notes among themselves, then seeking methods of reaching the public with their findings. Articles began to appear in newspapers and magazines, written or inspired by men in the CPS mental hospital units, and often illustrated by photos taken by them. Sympathetic superintendents often helped with, or gave permission for these articles…"
How would we have ever gotten that relatively golden age of mental health reform without drafting such talented men (often joined by their wives), without such a public service draft?
Jim, thanks for your post here. Fascinating information.
Not unrelated, here's a CO story:
I learned about Thomas from a Coastie friend (disabled veteran) when we got on the topic of the Medal of Honor on one of our many trips to the Portland VA.
Fascinating additions to what I remembered about Desmond Doss (I'd forgotten his connection to the 77th ID, an honorary Marine division for all the beach landings they had made, the Division Ernie Pyle landed with at Okinawa before he was lost). I knew the children of some of them and some of the troops that landed there. I hadn't known he didn't wear any Red Cross markings since that was likely to make him a higher priority target for the Japanese (whom he would also try to rescue). He even saved his commander who had tried to force him out. I also learned he considered himself a "Conscientious Cooperator."
I vaguely knew of the USCG MoH recipient (I married into a family with the father, mother, and both sons in the CG, and my sister's fiance was in the the CG, but was killed in a car accident). Douglas Munro's actions at Guadalcanal are newly more meaningful to me now since I pass John Basilone's grave at Arlington every time we visit the graves of my USCG SPAR mother-in law, USCG father in-law, and my wife's uncle lost near Sainteny Normandy in July of 1944. When visiting our son's family in Richland, WA, we had avoided taking the more direct I-90 route through the mountain passes to Seattle, preferring the Columbia gap, partially to also visit my brother's family south of Seattle along the way. Since my brother moved, I hope to finally take the I-90 if we rent a car instead of flying from SeaTac to Pasco which would enable stopping by the Douglas Munro Memorial.
I only have the beginnings of a concept of how to make posts and activities make better sense than my "likes." Ideally, I'd like to make it obvious I'm primarily driven by the Golden Rule and goals of the Declaration of Independence as far as human rights balance with property rights, and the best examples I can remember of how people figure out how to look out for each other and not unintentionally harming others (or the planet).
I do like looking at the possibilities of new technology being useful to everyone as it also keeps the planet more human habitable, but am concerned about overly concentrating on things like Fusion reactors if they concentrate too much monopolistic power we can be enslaved to instead of much more diverse local power resilience (at least at basic needs levels). It seems odd to me that so much of the rest of the world is doing healthcare, education, and more distributed power than we started but too often sold off to others and stopped doing ourselves.
I'll be working on it once we finish our last attempt at peaceful protest at the People's March on DC on the 18th. I wish it was called the Women's March, simply because I think it would draw more criticism of any who would dare to try to divide public opinion if they can disrespect any subgroups (at least to portions of the public that like to pick on whoever they think will get more backing for them).
It may be a much smaller gathering than the Women's March the day after the 2017 inauguration, perhaps due to some fear of opposition, but I'll still try to be there, as I imagined 3 months ago, walking the ground Joshua Chamberlain and the members of the Maine 20th and a few Veterans of the Maine 2nd held at Gettysburg, no matter the odds.
If it turns out to be a small crowd, I can imagine it in the light of Henry V's "This day is called the feast of Crispan." The last part should be modified such as for person-hood and siblings, marching instead of fighting, and event, but here is the original:
"...From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
I'm concerned that we not have much chance to do so after the 20th, so I really don't want to miss it..
Lucia ,they are feeding the brains of our military man and women with "news" emanating front an institution that was penalized almost 3/4 of a billion dollars for lying. I would like to know who authorized this aberration.
I read it yesterday morning also. Very frightening. And then I topped off the day with Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s monthly Sunday night zoom. Her guest, a reporter, was terrifying in her description of “ Christian” nationalists.
Sadly the right-wing media environment has grown tremendously beyond Fox News playing in military base public areas. Streaming, Tik Tok, podcasts - it's a wide space now
My wife and I are 80 years old and have traveled the world.
We have a world view that most people are “good” and if society assists, with a “do unto others” attitude, enlightenment will evolve.
We have spent the last 2 weeks in Singapore and we report, “life can be better” than the US voters imagine. ( A few other countries are also more civilized than us…)
We live in San Francisco where because there are so few public toilets, people are forced to defacate on sidewalks.
Public toilets are a sign of civility. The absence in most US cities (because homeless would sleep in them and no funding is provided) says much about the short sighted greed that is the USA.
The USA is no longer a first world country, except in weapons to capitalist dictators it seems to us. The short term thinking of both evil republicans and capitalist democrats will keep the USA as less than “first world” within the lifetime of any HCR reader, IMHO… ouch
Generational change is required, but who could possibly be allowed as leader in our broken two party system with complicit corporate media?
HCR tells us history and events, but other people in the world live better lives every day.
The USA has a mental disease and are slipping toward irrelevance.
Oh, and if god loves us best, how is that possible?…
Well said! In fact, Mr. Trump was reelected in spite of the cited excellent macroeconomic parameters because due to monstrous wealth inequality resulting from long standing Republican tax policy, the US is, for many citizens, already a failed state. Absent public toilets are the least of it. At least 50% of Americans spend 90% of their income on necessities and have less than $500 in cash for an emergency. They see only a bleak future for their children and no way to be secure or get ahead. (They are already serfs to the capitalist system. This is the obligatory other side of the coin of the multibillionaire aberation). Gasoline, food, rent, healthcare are, or are increasingly becoming, more unaffordable. Until now, the Dems preserved the institutions of the USA, but both parties contributed to hollowing them out. Yes, MAGA won the election due to massive propaganda and cultural issues, but also because there is a massive loss of trust in government policy and programs to help me and mine which motivated many Americans not to vote. This was a major factor in the Dem's loss.
I think that some of the Biden/Harris policies, initiatives and programs that were & are still rolling out had/have not had time to “be known” and awareness spread throughout communities. Sometimes the big ticket items take awhile for the engine to warm up and really get going. Likely TFFFG will claim any credit for outcomes before he plunges us back into the dark times. Sigh.
Barbara, I agree with you. I closely followed the infrastructure rollout—Biden NEVER got credit for that one act, never mind everything else he accomplished. in fact, our local paper (corporate owned, naturally) recently printed an article about road improvements in the state and cited some state appropriation as the source of funds. I emailed the editor and said it would have been helpful to add the state’s funding source was the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. I never got a reply.
I'm amazed at the improvements I've seen in roads, and airports, and the ongoing stringing of wideband cables (not yet connected but very near completion) as the most obvious improvements in infrastructure, especially in the red states that needed it most. I have no doubt few will know who voted for it over the objections and votes against it by the representatives of the most citizens that are now, or soon will be benefiting from the long hard work to catch up on the maintenance and build even better infrastructure.
The richest care little about infrastructure for everyone, they want to be able to monopolize new technologies while limiting the more local opportunities to do more for themselves.
There is an interesting collection of videos on "Engineering the Future" available for free at the moment on Roku such as:
All are interesting in at least grappling with the very real consequences climate change, even though some concentrate even more power in the hands of those who want to keep us dependent upon their profit desires. I'd particularly recommend the segment in the above episode on Arrival Electric vehicles, especially on how they intend to manufacture them in modular micro factories set up within existing structures like warehouses.
The "conservatives" don't want everybody to have accesss to all those resources. What good is it to be an Aristocrat if others who you despise also have the same benefits of citizenship? Equality offends them.
“Conservatism” consists of exactly one proposition…There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. Corollary: The law cannot protect anyone unless it binds everyone; and it cannot bind anyone unless it protects everyone.” ― Frank Wilhoit
My wife and me, about your same age and also world travelers, don't think itvis about the number of toilets available but the stupidity and immaturity of the people. That's what we have in abundance. Sorry to say.
Yeah, but public restrooms would sure help. What "people" are "stupid and "immature"? The ones needing to engage in bodily functions, or those who refuse to have public restrooms?
Or the ones with no education? We have the worst education of the free world. My husband and I talk about how we grew up at a good time. Public education was good, women were thought of as contractors to society with jobs and college degrees and not just baby factories and people were mostly decent.
Now we identify people as Democrats or Republicans and avoid the hatred known to be perpetrated by the Republican MAGA. Most especially after 1/6/2020.
"...although not quickly enough to undo damage of the previous forty years and satisfy those left behind, many of whom voted for Trump and some of whom have resorted to violence."
While economic indicators are strong and the United States has recovered faster than other major industrialized countries, far too many Americans continue to live paycheck to paycheck or worse while legacy Reagan economic policies continue to drive wealth to the top. I recently wrote:
"At the root, it is the extreme concentration of wealth versus the rest of us. Period. Everything else is intended to distract us and keep us divided and fighting.
While we continue to fight each other …
As of 2010:
Elon Musk had accumulated $2 billion. Now: $451 billion.
Jeff Bezos had accumulated $12.6 billion. Now: $243 billion.
Overall, in 2010 the wealthiest Americans held $1.37 trillion and have now accumulated $5.4 trillion."
The multiple generations of economic despair are leading to more societal-level uncertainty -which always opens the door to fear, hate, and othering. Couple it with corporate media directing anger and outrage away from the accumulation of vast wealth and onto divisive hot-button issues and you get a weak and divided nation on the verge of self-destruction.
Do you feel the trickle-down of money that $5.4 trillion in wealth? But apparently the greedy MAGA voters think that somehow Trump has a plan to spread the wealth to his loyalists.
Trump has no ideas and therefore no plans to help anyone but himself and his fellow billionaires.
I suspect he’ll lob some peanuts to his cult and keep them too distracted with hatred to notice what he does to further enrich himself and the Billionaire Boys Club. But I also suspect that outliers from his side will continue to be a physical threat to him.
I never joined the cult, I will never join the cult. Many of my family members don’t even know that they are members of a cult. That’s how saturated the country is with the right-wing blather spewed by Rupert and clones for decades. We are upside down and speeding to cultural collapse. They are celebrating while Dems are pretending that we are right side up. I hope enough can maintain equilibrium as the shitshow takes the throne. Heather is our North Star.
So glad that my recollections are pretty parallel with hers. Makes me think that my memory is intact. When the trolls spew, it makes me know that they are lying bastards
I’m even worried if there’s gonna be a vote. I don’t trust Trump as far as I can throw him and it seems that he’s got a lot of representatives on his side. I just wonder if they’re gonna find a way not to have a vote.
There will be a vote. It’s adhering to the results — if not in Trump’s favor — that I think is very much in doubt. In fact, I don’t believe they will allow themselves to lose power again, regardless of the actual results of the vote. Never have I wanted to be more wrong about anything.
I agree with you 100% they’re backing Trump because they see that he’ll try and bulldoze anyone that gets in his way. This is all about the dumbing ing down of America. I think it starts in the school when they stop teaching civics and now they’re not even teaching cursive. I worked the polls. This last election and young men were coming in and registering. I live in Nevada so you can register the same day and vote the same day. Some of the young men when I asked them to sign their name printed only their first name I’m shocked, what the hell is going on in schools.
Yeh.. Cursive.., talk about a canary in a coal mine. We can't even read our own writing anymore, let alone "sign" our name. It all began 30 or 40 years ago when someone said... "hey.. I can't read your signature..". And I replied.. No Shit dumbass.., it's my SIGNATURE.., geezzuuuss H christ! I was in the Air Force back then and in aircraft maintenance there were always lots of forms one had to "sign off" on. However, they usually included a block for you to print your name as well. Even so, some moron(s) thought your signature ought to be readable. Of course, part of the freaking problem was that nobody learned how to print worth a shit so the name printed next to it was probably un-readable too. And so, it was impossible to know who signed off the forms. No problem.., we fixed that. That's when "man numbers" were assigned. And, what do you suppose became your "man" number? Yup, you got it. Believe it or not, but it's all part of the mess we find ourselves in today.., being trumped at every move $$$$$$$$$$$
Our civilian GS-13 Tech Training Advisor's signature was sometimes questioned on supply requisitions. My standard answer became to ask them if it was basically thirteen loops before I told them his name. He became fairly well known as thirteen loops by the supply personnel who took over my description and passed it on to newer ones.
It's seems to be something of a puzzle for what to teach in our modern age, but it is clear that our minds improve with use. If AI does all our thinking for us, will human thinking and creativity atrophy? If AI does teaching and goes off the rails, will we even know before reality asserts itself catastrophically? If we are to (so far as possible) be the masters of our fate, we need to adequately comprehend and remain in charge of our own tools. Just always chasing the dollar could (and demonstrably does) erode the foundation of our own societal agency.
How much of it is school and how much of it is hyper-commercialized manufactured culture? I think that most of us mere citizens feel we have been losing control of our own society. Too many have been wishfully gulled into imagining that Trump is somehow going to fix it.
And, in that regard, that makes them far more dangerous, also Newsmax, OAN, Bannon, Tucker etc...creating disinformation and propaganda. In many cases, flat out lies. And they continue to do so.....
Dems will remain on the defensive until they can overcome the Fox News propaganda effect, which influences its viewers 24/7/365 with the false vision of America that Heather described today.
Craig, if TFFFG can sue someone for telling the truth, why can’t media outlets be held accountable (make it illegal) to lie to viewers/readers? Even the 1st amendment is not a carte blanche to lie.
Fortunately, the states are in charge of the votes for the mid-terms, rather than the federal government. So, barring some massive (and unconstitutional) interference by the federal govt, there ought to be mid-term elections.
I think the 'intimidation-factor' is already being employed across the board at great expense but since money is available for that, it will continue to keep mouths shut. So, there will be "a vote", don't worry about that. It's just that the outcome will be pre-ordained. And, people will be paid who will make sure that happens. No shortage of money.., yet.
I understand what you are saying, MisTBlu. However, I feel that we should be starting now to to build the Democratic Infrastructure to counter the MAGAt machine. I think it is up to the DNC to lead.
Will the DNC leading create more tribalism? All of US need to come together as patriots no matter party, religion, sex, race. It is democracy & our constitution that needs building & support
Bruce,this leadership won't lead, had they known how, they should have done that years ago. Now we are in a much worse situation. Maybe a new, younger and less appeasement oriented, imaginative and resolved one.
That's a goal, but fight against tyrants never ends. I am hoping to see some creative tactics emerge to shine a spotlight on the creepy critters and spoil, so far as possible, their felonious little plans. I'll try , as I am able, to help that happen.
If this past election has taught me anything, it’s that politics are pointless. Musk bought the election, using a perfectly empty instrument, in Trump.
Culture war bull shit whips up the faithful, when he needs them, but the fix is in. Plutocracy.
Mike, politics are not pointless, after all it was used to give us Citizens United and that's is why we have Mu$k as co president. It cost him what for us would be a few dollars but it's going to cost us dearly.
Start today! Support the truth-tellers in your local community. Vote every chance you get, especially primaries. 20% turnouts are not how to keep democracy alive.
Thank you for breaking open the conversation. We need to vent our anger and disgust. I do. And I do it all the time. But WE, the loyal opposition need to regroup around a new winning message. The answer is in Heather's last paragraph:
"Those years [the last four] demonstrated that the federal government could work for all Americans, although not quickly enough to undo damage of the previous forty years and satisfy those left behind, many of whom voted for Trump and some of whom have resorted to violence."
"Not quickly enough."
Joe Biden managed to do a lot which should be celebrated. He will be remembered as a very fine president - with flaws, like every other human being. Still, one of the best.
But our campaign of positivity (joy) fell on deaf ears because you can't undo the damage of 40 years in just 4. It will probably take at least 20 years after the New Democrats resume control of the government to make real substantive change in the lives of the people left behind by automation, weak labor laws, outsourcing, awful healthcare system and a wobbly unfair education system. All made possible by tax code geared to make the rich richer, build national debt and punish the peasants.
It is fine to vent and wallow in the pain for this moment. The next few weeks may be the most infamous and horrific of the century (or ever). But we need to regroup and become the REAL PARTY of POPULISM. We need to advocate for a complete overhaul of our society and government's role in it.
We should scream for ECONOMIC JUSTICE. This should be the center pole of a tent that will welcome people with many other views on many other important subjects. We can't be the party of purity any more. We must include those that are radical about Climate and Social Justice (like me). But we must also welcome those who have different views on most other subjects.
I will be very, very uncomfortable hanging with someone who doesn't believe in women's reproductive rights, the Climate Catastrophe...or who thumps a Bible quoting cherry picked nonsense. But if they will join in creating a coalition to topple the Oligarchs and rearrange the money fairly, I will put aside my revulsion. For a while.
We can fight over other issues later. We will always fight, won't we? For now, the key thing is removing the tyrants, restoring true democracy (as close as we can get) and creating a country where every kid has a chance to be housed, healthy, well fed and very educated.
Let's find a charismatic leader who will channel the frustration that has brought us to this ugly place. A leader with a clean background check, good education but most of all can bring a crowd to its feet. The Democratic bench is deep. Corey Booker unites. Gretchen Whitmer builds coalitions and is eloquent. Gavin Newsom can crush anyone in a debate. Chris Murphy is talking the right talk (POPULISM). Sec Pete is amazing. There are many!
I loved the joy in the Harris/Walz campaign. They would have led beautifully. But it missed the mark. The MOST unqualified politician, the MOST despicable leader in our long history, a CRIMINAL who many of his voters find offensive just won the election - faking fellatio at a rally??? All Howard Dean did was scream!
Why did he win? Not because he brought joy or happiness or a positive sense of leadership.
But because he channeled the enormous pain and dissatisfaction that is widespread in America. We are near the "Let them eat cake." moment.
So lets vent. But let's get up off our touchies and rally around a solution, a new path, a new way to appeal to more Americans - like the 90 million that could have voted who didn't. We thought we would win on turnout. We didn't. Now we know why. Most people are broke or close to it - and a few people have a ton of money.
Bill, that "enormous pain and dissatisfaction that is widespread in America" is only a fraction of the issue; that so much of the anger is based on the lies they are fed in a steady stream by their "information" sources (Faux Noise, OAN, and others) is. I do not know what the response will be when the price of eggs stays high, Medicare and SS benefits are cut if not eliminated, when the "religion" that is established excludes them or their family members, and when US citizens are rounded up along with all of the "illegals" and "deported" at HUGE expense; I can only hope they will fight with us instead of bending like Niedermeyer and saying "thank you sir, may I have another."
Bill, bravo! Would love to see everyone in this group choose one item to boycott buying at the grocery store for a month. Let’s start with pork (yes, deliberately chosen since Congress is so familiar with it). Let’s choose action over reaction!
After everything that's happened on and since January 6, 2021, it is incredibly sad and frustrating to see that tffg was re-elected as POTUS by a thin majority of Americans, and to know that basically millions of Americans were too apathetic and misinformed or ignorant to even cast a vote. The next four years will be a repeat but worse of his first term, because this time they have put their people in place to carry out their planned Project 2025.
HOWEVER - We the People have organized and mobilized since 2016 and we need to pull together and keep working on helping get downballot positions filled with others who will work towards preserving our democracy. I am grateful for Dr. Heather, Joyce Vance, Robert Hubbell, Jess Craven and the many others who have worked tirelessly to keep us informed, encouraged, and active.
48 vs 49... but it was the electoral states that really colored us red. And thos people picked for those positions were paid. That's where the rot is. The deck is well stacked. with some sick people.
Dr. Richardson writes that " the four years from 2021 to 2025 challenged Reagan’s claim that the government is the problem. Those years demonstrated that the federal government could work for all Americans."
But this simply NOT TRUE! Many of those who voted for Trump do not live in the economy that economists, educators, analysts, and other grand thinkers see, and for a variety of reasons. They're farmers, small business people, work in low wage industries, are stuck in dead end jobs, and so on. Many are under-employed and under-educated. Many are retired and trying to live on social security, where cost of living increases are based on indexes totally unrepresentative of the cost of living of older Americans, which are strongly correlated with health care and elder care, both of which have turned into profit centers for the investor class. My wife and I collect social security, but thank God we don't have to live on it!
And please stop telling us how wonderful it is that the booming stock market is a positive indicator. THE STOCK MARKET IS NOT THE ECONOMY! The only people who benefit from it are those who have sufficient savings to invest, and the more they have, the more they benefit. Indeed, much of the wealth in the stock market has come from the pockets of the middle and lower classes, who are taken advantage of by far too many the companies in the market! I speak as one who's doing just fine in the market, but also as one who has kept up with who's screwing who and for how much.
I saw these realities when I travelled from NorCal to knock on doors in Northern Nevada for both Obama campaigns and for Hillary's; our voters were in trailer parks, low cost walk-up apartments, in Reno, Sparks, and smaller towns. I saw them 50 years earlier when I worked in the Civil Rights movement in Chicago and Cairo, IL.
Statements these this are deep denial of reality, and they come from the isolation of political leaders from the people they think they represent! The Democratic party can not regain the trust of this part of the American people until they and we realize these realities.
Thank you! The stock market is not the economy. It is as Reich has described it, a giant gambling casino. " The Age of Easy Money" PBS Frontline is a great watch.
What you saw on the ground and in reality is that the USA has become a failed state! Trust in government has appropriately atrophied. This is the fertile foundation for MAGA.
I live in such a gray zone where no one has answers that seem connected to the full-blown dynamic we're living. Sorry to admit that the list of Biden's achievements reads to me as another form of Kool Aid, even while being part of what's true. It may be true AND not the whole picture, which you, Jim Brown, bring to light. I vote Democratic but locally and nationally I see a need to refresh almost everything (especially healthcare, education, housing communities, water and food quality). Divisiveness and polarized thinking over-simplify and we all suffer. Whether it's a third party in gestation or an overhaul that's going to emerge? I see some younger and solidly competent Democrats and maybe they'll rise into influence, I don't know but it seems we each need to show up everyday with awareness and principled behavior. Your second paragraph rings true to me.
You omit the more important point of her statement, that “…the four years from 2021 to 2025 challenged Reagan’s claim that the government is the problem. Those years demonstrated that the federal government could work for all Americans, although not quickly enough to undo damage of the previous forty years and satisfy those left behind, many of whom voted for Trump and some of whom have resorted to violence.”
I omitted it because it was WRONG -- the government does NOT work for ALL Americans. What we achieved under Biden, and it IS considerable, MISSES lots of folks like those I mentioned. And she keeps repeating it! Don't you get it? THAT'S WHY WE LOST. Caps for emphasis. :)
You are right the stock market isn’t the economy and that only some people have had the luxury of benefiting therefrom. However, it is the marker generally recognized and used in the media and evidence of the country’s financial health (or unhealth) and so can’t be completely overlooked. It is the 90/10 wealth disparity that is a problem, but it’s unlikely to be addressed in a country staffed with greedy billionaires.
Yes, it's used in the media. But it's WRONG! Something else that pisses me off is that NPR only listens the Dow, which hasn't been an indicator of the market for nearly half a century, and only in Dow points, which are meaningless, never as a percentage loss or gain, which is what the media has done for everything else for decades! I've stopped contributing to NPR until they get with reality!
As an aside on the "Manly White Cowboys" - have you ever wondered why they are called "cowBOYS" and not "cowMEN"? After all, men are "MEN!" and boys are - boys.
Apparently it stems from the earliest days of settlement. People were raising cattle in Carolina - and the weather there, the lack of knowledge, and the insect infestation, made it impossible for the white immigrants to work the cattle. However, among the slaves that had been brought in to work the crops were people from parts of Africa where cattle raising in difficult conditions was a skill that had been practised for generations. So they were taken off field work and put to work the cattle. However, as they were "black" they couldn't be referred to as "men" - hence the name cow - boys.
Well, there are "cowboys" and then there are "cow hands". The latter like to work with and are good at taking care of those silly and cantankerous things called cattle.
We need more cowboys like Bass Reeves. From Wikipedia:
Bass Reeves (July 1838 – January 12, 1910) was a deputy U.S. Marshal, gunfighter, farmer, scout, tracker, railroad agent, and a runaway slave. He spoke the languages of several Native American tribes including Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole and Creek. Bass was one of the first African-American Deputy U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi River, mostly working in the deadly Indian Territory. The region was saturated with horse thieves, cattle rustlers, gunslingers, bandits, bootleggers, swindlers, and murderers. Reeves made up to 4,000 arrests in his lifetime, killing twenty men in the line of duty
Lady Emsworth, that’s truly fascinating, and it makes sense to me. Of course. I’ve seen a few southern plantations… horrific. It was obvious …again to me …that the enslaved African people were far brighter than their supposed white masters.
I could go on about this and prejudice but no. I think Heathers’ readers know. Certainly Heather does as well.
Funny, as I read the beginning of HCR’s letter today, Timothy McVeigh came to mind. The parallels are striking, and chilling. Apparently Professor Richardson thought so as well.
McVeigh’s murderous bomb didn’t start the civil war he hoped for, and Sargeant Livelsberger’s stupid stunt won’t either.
The eternal quest by some white men for some mythical lost masculinity, that is the root of all evil in the world, that can only be restored by blowing things up, shedding blood, controlling women, dominating black and brown people, and on and on, is most tiresome. Will it always be with us?
Government was never the problem. The Government is you and me and who we elect. In 2016 the government was, apparently, you me and Donald Trump, though I'm looking more and more at the events surrounding the last three elections and wondering just how much interference we had in '16 and '24. I think Comey is as guilty as anyone who broke into the Capitol, and that his actions in '16 were only a small part in bringing this soviet puppet to power.
But Trump is not even the problem here. The problem, in my life, from the Powell memo forward, is a small group of business people who don't want to participate in our community, they simply want to own and control it. These people, as embodied by the Heritage Foundation, have no common cause with Bundy; they would as soon take his cattle to Chicago and pocket the proceeds.
It was difficult, it seems, to address this manipulative little fraternity over the years, beyond deposing its front men, people like Newt. But now they have a problem, and we have an opportunity. The Court is publicly tied to support for the insurrection. We need to go after that problem.
I don't know where Master Sergeant Livelsberger figures in any of this, if at all. My first reaction was this was the same play Trump made on July 13, a manufactured crisis with human sacrifice. But it really doesn't matter, because this bombing's effect is as another distraction grenade. We can discuss the demoralization (and by the writing you paraphrased, convolution) of ordinary Americans all day, but while we are doing that, the Heritage Foundation is making whatever it's next move is, probably toward implementing P2025. We need to focus on ridding ourselves of them, their supporters in government, and exorcizing the Court.
Like MSG Livelsberger, MAGAs don't come to believe that "The vision of the U.S. as a hellscape that can only be fixed by purging the government of Democrats" just by listening to individual elected officials. They come to believe that extremist vision because it is distorted and amplified by Fox News 24/7/365. Saving democracy and restoring common sense can't be done without also neutralizing Fox News' propaganda effect. Democrats will remain on the defensive until they figure that out.
I spent a career in the AF and it's sadly true! Every ops center is tuned to the major networks but always includes (and sometimes exclusively shows) Fox. I agree: bad policy!
thank you for serving. my son tells me AF serves a good dinner!
I think stories like NOLA and LV say tons about how we (don't) support everyone the way we ought to. Assaulting worried minds with Murdoch's poisonous agenda does not help, either
While the bombers frame of mind seems pretty bereft of reason, it does reflect the general tone of wacko right wing talking points. So it is curious that among his complaints is "an economy that has permitted the top 1% to leave everyone else behind". And because of? Democrats? Women? Not enough tax cuts? The scale of big lies is making delusional quasi-psychosis epidemic.
There is no psychosis epidemic; it's the effect of Fox News propaganda filling their heads with the maga narrative 24/7/365 for the benefit of a few elites.
I believe that part of the "dark art" of cult-building is to manipulate the mindset security-hole of our vulnerable human ego. Left untamed, ego, with no more than a slight, can provoke murder or suicide. It's part and parcel of hate speech, and accompanying adamant assurance that by virtue of admission, one is among "the righteous, the "master race", the "real" Americans, whatever.
That's why I say it's psychosis-like. Cult dynamics, and there are many forms of it, can take over the mind like a computer "virus", reminiscent of how a physical virus takes over the mechanisms of physical living cells. The Heaven's Gate cult committed mass suicide in order to allegedly enter an alien space ship 'hidden" in the tail of the comet Hale-Bopp, a tale that gives even MTG a run for her money; but they were willing to die for it, and some cults kill.
The core code of such a "virus", so far as I can tell, is that it asserts possession of unquestionable, absolute truth and demonizes both doubt and the doubter. You often see this arrangement attached to religion, but they can be separate and independent things. It is why one is warned not to mention religion or politics with certain people. Anything but full agreement will provoke a personal attack; and that's not a bug, it's the feature.
Note also that our president to be has never shown any respect for anything except his own advantage. One need not be "infected" by a cult to author one, or spread it. Curiosity and reasonable doubt are protective against such mental capture, and were central to "The Enlightenment" and much of the thinking behind the Constitution.
JL, excellent points. How, exactly, does his statement about the economy (I agree with that) lead him to calling for the purge of liberals in favor of the oligarchic kakistophy that is coming into power?
How, oh how can we get truth and reality out to all residents of the USA? If i were a trillionaire, i would buy up the top 20 right-wing radio stations and do a slow (ish) transition to moderate and truthful content.
I think a version of this HAS TO BE CREATED.... A Truth Scape..somewhere where facts CAN be checked instantly and verified..AI maybe ????? .....that isn't a small or easy task but life will not be re balanced without it !
Let's hope section 3 of the 14th Amendment (prohibiting former government officials from holding public office again if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion) is enacted before the clown car sets up shop. If MAGA had that one up their sleeve, you can be sure as hell they'd try to use it. Come on Dems, grow some balls.
As a career servicemember, the actions of MSG Livelsberger are chilling and profoundly disturbing (as well as angering). We swore an oath to the Constitution, and despite the cherry-picking of folks like Livelsberger and Originalists, their words and actions are clearly, exactly in contradiction to what they swore their lives to defend. That a man whose career is dependent on supreme effort, focus and ability to both discern and act upon reality (to levels most cannot imagine) can convince himself of such an obviously inconsistent narrative should make ALL of us think hard, reflect and ask: what can I/we do?
Meanwhile, rest assured, non-military readers, there are still plenty of us who are with The People, Democracy and Education. But Livelsberger's actions are a reminder that there is no panacea--no background, level of education, social class--that assures us people's hearts are in the right place (or the wrong place either). All of us must be vigilant. We cannot all be warriors, but we can ALL be responsible, alert, prudent, just and ACTIVE citizens. We all need all of us.
I am now a teacher, and this past year I have dug in HARD on teaching my students one thing: how to think critically for themselves. I am not very successful so far. The mindset is descendant of how I view parenting. Long ago, I saw the foolishness of overprotective parenting, and saw its results too. I resolved that the single best thing I can do (aside from loving, and providing life care and nurture to my kids) is to teach them how to think and make good choices for themselves. Similarly, the single best defense we can engender in kids now is to teach them HOW to sift through the BS--because they are inundated with it on a level we don't appreciate. Think how it took the mind of MSG Livelsberger, who grew up like most of us with news and information we could generally trust. Now think how, if you were just a kid, you would have ANY reference upon which to discern fact from fiction. We're barely giving them ANY chance.
No, teaching critical thinking is not enough--but also, no amount of effort, money, education and training will solve it either. Resource direction can help, but know: we can't resource (or tech) our way out of it. It's time we stopped thinking that way. The answer is in engendering fullness as people and agency, starting with every child in our nation. And every single one of us can be a part, however small, of that. We must raise fuller, more mentally and physically active, healthy, and socially-functional human beings with the greatest-possible levels of understanding, perception and decision-making ability (and yes, this includes survival skills and resiliency in a world facing societal collapse). That, not money or some political ideology will make the biggest difference (our education hasn't been focused this way since the days of John Dewey; it is much worse since the days of Reagan, neoliberalism and the international standards of PISA). It is a long, slow, unglamorous process. But, if Ronald Reagan and his Big Boy hair can reshape American thinking for 50 years, well dammit, so can we.
As I watch my grandchildren grow, I see their parents doing a better job of raising children than my wife and I did. For this I am grateful, and proud. They are being given the golden rule, not being indoctrinated in any religion (as were my children) in hopes they will become what Americans should be: aware of the world around them, and part of it. They will not be indifferent.
Robert, I see the same actions in my field, law enforcement. I was active local law enforcement for 28 years, and part time for 7 years. I do not see how swearing an oath to the constitution permits an act such as that. Far, far too many cops buy into the MAGA line of thinking, and are parts of these "active militias" that are ready and willing to carry out all of Project 2025 with gusto.
I will never forget four years ago today - January 6, 2021 (it's the 6th already where I live). That this creature has been rewarded for his malice and treachery by the electorate with the highest office and the nuclear codes is spectacularly grotesque.
And let me add that that a monster like Musk has such unfettered power sans regulation and sans limits on income is equally horrific. That money can be dumped ad nauseum into campaigns by vested interests even to the extent that it compromises national security means that the Roberts' court is going to stand before the harshest tribunals of history. Meaningless to him, I know, and to the corrupted court at large which is historically tone deaf, but given we've had so much stripped away of our democracy I will take it.
Some people in EU are estimating that interference by Muskrat could increase the AfD numbers to 30% in the upcoming election in Germany. That would be tragic.
Peter Baker id correct in his description of what president Biden is leaving the coming president in terms of economic growth but apparently it was not enough to prevent a corrupt felon to have access to almost unlimited power to destroy everything that was accomplished.
Unfortunately we didn't have a young Biden for for more years to finish reversing what Reagan created and the subsequent two democratic administration weren't able or willing to reverse. But mostly I blame the lack of messaging, the high ground taken, the appeasement and the poor communication skills demonstrated in reference to the working class. Sad.
A jerk with too much money has an international megaphone and people listen to him. That is a great reason to institute a large enough tax that could mute such a loudmouth.
Your comment correctly reflects our current state of affairs, wherein wealth inequality is the worst it has been in over one hundred years. Plutocracy - - - rule by the wealthy - - - inevitably follows wealth inequality and that is what we now have. And that inequality powers your "megaphone". This is our new "Gilded Age" - - - the last one did not end well for the wealthy, or for the rest of us, either.
So true. Very hard to accept or digest, when you were brought up on the Golden Rule, earning a living according to the (metaphorical) sweat of your brow, and "manners makyth man".
e-musk thinks he is a nation unto himself.
Harvey Kravetz,
Agreed! "A jerk" who puts SELF GAIN as well as ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY above the United States of America and its citizenry!!!! Just check out the world leaders he admires!!! He has hidden nothing!!!
Harvey....Trump wants to increase taxes, but not for the wealthy but to add additional burdens to the average citizens who are trying to keep their "noises above water" even now!!!
You know his tax breaks are only for the wealthy. He made this clear before he was voted into this presidency.....and YET....look at those who voted for him?????
One of the reasons that many people don't think Biden has done a great job is that they think his administration has lied. That those great numbers about inflation, investment, jobs, etc. are made up. We are in a very odd place, where no amount of great communication or messaging will have any impact on millions of Americans because they assume the Democrats are lying. And this is not just the "working class", which may not be a monolithic group. Trump won tons of college educated white voters.
We need to do a better job of messaging, not throw up our hands.
Jon, it is not the messaging. It is the fundamental belief that their "news sources" that are lying to them, feeding them the lines that the oligarchs want them to hear is the truth. It falls back on the old negotiator's line "you cannot reason with unreasonable people". When they are informed with reams/volumes of documentation that what they are being told is flat out wrong, or worse, a lie, and their replay is "yeah, well it could be true" there is nothing that can be done.
I have come to believe it is not some savior’s job to “get the messaging right”. We have a big responsibility in this situation. Think about how many times you have talked with men in your life about misogyny and it’s grip on the -what can only be called- fragile male psyche. Men can be duped each and every time by framing their inadequacy and inabilities as caused by women being elevated to equal human beings. When was the last time men spoke to their bros about “why haven’t we grabbed the opportunities to make our life better that were being grabbed by women?” Those things were not withheld from men. Education, jobs for less pay, jobs in industries not-traditional to the partriarchial culture, time caring for the home and family, time supporting the community through clubs and organizations, time emotionally supporting friends, kids, spouse, parents, co-workers, controlling their money and investments with responsibly and less risky behavior. All this was and is available to men. And it’s available to men without laws prohibiting them from participating. There are no laws controlling men’s bodies. There are no laws prohibiting males from education, finance, property ownership, voting. Women suffered under punishing patriarchal rules for millenia. But once they had the some Rights won, they took advantage of the opportunities. Along. Side. Men. Women did not take anything away. So the critical message that all of Americans needs to talk about in our everyday conversations with everyone we have five minutes with is: Why do we cling to patriarchy when it is NOT serving us? Does your belief in your entitled privilege trump the Greater Good? Why is that so important to hold on to when it’s the Death of Democracy?
Christian Nationalism is a cult that has gotten out of hand.
They have no concept of the teachings of Jesus.
We need to do a better job of WHERE and HOW we message. If the target audience never sees the message, it’s not the content of the message that matters.
The messaging was clear - the problem was that you all did not want to hear it from a woman, much less a woman of color. Well, I am sure that the next time, if there is one, it will be from a human version of yacht music. Maybe the messaging will be "clearer".
As Joe Hill is supposed to have said. "Don't mourn, organize."
I think the problem is once trust is lost it is very difficult to get it back.
The mindless commitment of the NYT, WaPo, LATimes, and cable new networks (with the exception of Fox News which is a propaganda platform) to "both-sidesism" muddied the public's understanding of factual information. Alt-reaity became respected and normalized.
A columnist, whose name I forgot, ended his column with an unforgettable phrase. Do it for America: Make Stupidity Embarrassing Again.
How to deal with FOX?
Biden and his team did a poor job of advertising their achievements. A lot of progressive podcasts did talk about them, but MSM knowingly ignored them. And when you occasionally check out Fox News they make it seem like the Biden economy was a disaster. Fox is the most watched "news" on TV. I know a lot of people don't get their news on TV, but a lot still do.
You are delusional. They LIED ABOUT BIDEN's mental health.
They lied about inflation calling it non-existent, then transitory, then telling Americans to stop complaining about it.
THEY LIED about the border saying was secure. They lied about the efficacy of the COVID vaccine. They lied about Afghanistan. They lied about Russia invading Ukraine.
Shuld I go on.
James, my husband and I have gotten thr Covid vaccine and boosters since thr vaccine became available, as have other family members. We have found it to br effective.
Russia DID invade Ukraine.
Is our border as secure as it might be? I would say no. I will wait to see if Trump is actually serious about immigration reform. Given his efforts before the 2024 election to scuttle such reform, I doubt that he is.
If you are not a troll....you need to seek cognitive mental health.
And you fell for every one of the lies Republicans fed you. Will you call for all Democrats to be slaughtered and blow yourself up because Tucker Carlson told you you’re losing your masculinity? Do you even understand what masculinity is?
I'm not going to challenge your beliefs and opinions; I've heard them all before. But how did "they" lie about Russia invading Ukraine?
No!
What the democrats have not done is to call the enemy by name - Republican leadership.
NO competition for the NEW internet Botts out of Russia...mascarading as News Networks.....with a delude of daily mis information being force fed to Americans to confuse and disarm...continually ...... for Trumps benefit ... the US has be duped and that is SAD - and scary
Ricardo Grinbank,
I am so thankful for all the good Joe Biden and his team have accomplished. How long will this good endure? We will soon be made aware of the will of the incoming President and his minions. Will Musk continue to wield power as an unelected person?
Will we as Americans, hold onto our Democracy or will we allow it to slide away? Have we as a people become so unaware....so uncaring of what it means to be a Democracy, of the People....by the People and for the People....that we have become numb as well as blind to the destruction that is happening before us?
Has money and power blinded us to who we are supposed to represent to the world...."The land of the Free and the Home of the Brave"?
We are refusing to see reality before us. "A blind eye" has continued to be given to Trump and to the many criminals who receive no to little punishment for their criminality....criminals within our government!!!!
Where are the boundaries of decency?
Add to cupidity, stupidity, as we no longer teach American history and Civics in our schools, nor do we have adequate teacher training and compensation.
"Has money and power blinded us to who we are supposed to represent to the world...."The land of the Free and the Home of the Brave"?"
Yes, it is all about the money and greed and maybe it always has been.
I wonder how things might be different had Biden been elected in 2008 or 2016?
Those wqho voted for Trump are more concerned about a transgender woman playing on a girls' volleyball team than they are with the great economy Biden shaped. Then, Biden and his team did a very poor job of advertising their accomplishments. Rest assured that Trump will take credit for it all and will talk about it ad nauseum.
I'd guess that some historians will argue that a highly relevant misstep was in 2020, when the Ds decided to 'step back' in leadership rather than step forward with youth when the populist candidate was most vulnerable. I do not argue that Biden's first term was not pretty darn good in terms of accomplishment, but he was unable to establish himself as a virile and visionary leader for a wide swath of the population in the face of the propaganda campaign unleashed against him. It was effective, IMO, because the main thing that dragged him down -- his age, I would argue -- was so evident as a shortcoming to anyone who was watching. Months of denial that it was an issue in the face of what people were seeing (and NOT seeing) from their president further undermined the D cause. Despite some very good and well prepared SoTHs, JRB did not have the excellent off-the-cuff leadership skills required to build and hold enthusiasm in a largely un/misinformed electorate.
And, in the UK, Muskrat's interference is already underway.
He wants to rule the world and he would lead the charge to put all Muslims in gas chambers just like Hitler did with the Jews.
And the list the German fascists used.
Is there no antidote to unlimited money? Dan Rather saw this coming back in August - "Who's minding Elon Musk"? https://steady.substack.com/p/whos-minding-musk
Someone posted brilliantly earlier...Millionaires should be CAPPED at ??? and then the rest of the excess $$ is donated to the lower half of Society for the betterment of ALL (in their Name of course ! ) ....and a dog park is named after them as well !
It's something to dream about when you can't sleep. How brilliant!
Maybe this is a serious lack of imagination, and a detrimental myth that we hold on to: “That there is no antidote to unlimited money”. It creates hardship and difficulties for sure. But really, “No Antidote”? I suffer under this myth myself, but reading it in your comment right now finally has me pushing back and questioning my perception of unlimited money’s omnipotence. As a parent I had “total authority” over my kids……..in theory. In practice?…..I was brought to my knees emotionally, spiritually, financially, and physically many times. Thwarting my best efforts was resistance by a child, I could swear was schooled by the most crafty psy-ops operatives. I am not a unique human being or parent. The antidote to unlimited money may well still need to be “Re-Cognized” by us. So let’s throw all the spaghetti-of-ideas against the wall. Something’s gotta stick. And that’s what we begin with.
Trump is minding Elon Mu$k very closely as well as the AfD in Germany .
Putin/Musk have Trump under their thumbs. Trump does not even cut being first lady anymore.......
WJB, first ladies don't wear long red ties to being with . You guys are very confused 😉
Possible Bruce, the same increase in numbers trump had from Russia interference in the US elections.
Truly horrifying. The Germans I've corresponded with say we are too afraid of the AfD, and they are not so bad. Really?
Sounds ominously familiar.
Trump is not so bad... really...? Why is this a Global situation all of a sudden....hmmmmmm- someone is pulling the strings and feeding the lies and all roads seem to lead to Russia. Awareness is first before solutions
Shauna,
Not only Russia. I have not forgotten the hostages ...human beings...who have not been returned....dead or alive....to their families.
How convenient for Netanyahu to have a "humanitarian concern"???He has been able to receive the huge and powerful military support of the USA to bomb and destroy Gaza and now to use us to bomb those countries and persons he wants to destroy for his gain.
The engagement of infighting between countries and causes has increased dramatically!!!!
We cannot just point our fingers at other leaders. It is us...."bloodthirsty" Americans who have chosen destruction over negotiation....because there are leaders in the USA who do not want negotiation. There are leaders who want power and control over and above negotiation . Negotiation could bring some peace for regular human beings and for their families.
We are creating people within and without who see these problems, feel that they are alone....no one seeing them....no one serious about finding solutions to the obvious problems in the world.
Deportation is not going to solve the problems but only create more!
Violence is often used when persons feel helpless and see no solutions being carried out for the peace and care of humanity. People turn to violence when they have lost spouses, their children, their parents, their home, even their country.
Because of turning away from the interpersonal ie HUMANITARIAN ISSUES, we will pay a price. We will begin to see more violence within our own country. Who can we blame then??? We will not be able to turn our eyes away.
What is to become of the future of our children, our families....the hope of our nation? We are making these choices at this very moment!!!!
you are talking to the wrong people, Patricia.
No one can argue with "True Believers." I recommend reading "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer. It's a short, sobering look at humans and belief. It's available online at used book stores and ebooks.
Unless there are big unforeseen changes, we'll be plunged back into the late 1920s. Robber barons will rule and they will suck the wealth out of the world economy to the point where they collapse it into Great Depression II. This is deliberate, as it will allow them to buy up everything for pennies. They'll be fighting among themselves the whole time. Eventually...well we all know what happened after that.
As the African proverb says, "When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled.
I regard him as 'Muskolini' - and simply wish he'd go back to where he came from. Oh, and take is mommy with him!
This is all tragic and should have been avoided. Had the NYT and other papers put Biden’s policies successes on the front page in clear English, rather than on the back, maybe more folks would have seen them. And that’s not malarkey. Musk disgusts me mightily. How do we fight this? I’m so taking a four week Zoom class focused on Gandhi’s methods of resistance. Anybody interested can find more info at PaceBene.com.
What business does that idiot have meddling in German politics? What an ego!!!
I should think the other parties would target Musk and get a lot of votes that way.
It's like a bad movie, isn't it.
Will admit to feeling a bit depressed these days. The election was fair. Trump is totally corrupt, but he's as popular as ever. Our economy is fine, but our politics have become a moral question. A US Senator with an Ivy-league education that poses for a Christmas card with his wife and children all brandishing fire arms is just too tough to explain. We're heading into darkness and whether morality and sanity will reassert themselves in time is anybody's guess.
I vehemently disagree that the election was fair. In his first administration, the census was mishandled, jurisdictions were changed, mail in voting stopped, polling places closed, dishonest postmaster general put in place, three liars added to the Supreme Court…etc. This time, dozens of polling places closed with bomb threats that came from Russia, and the election was called long before votes were all counted. Colorado and other states tried to keep him off the ballot. He’s a liar and a cheat and that will never change. Otherwise John, I agree with you.
In a government that followed the rule of law a treason isn’t traitor would not have been in the ballot. Garland and Biden failed us.
And how would that have worked? I continue to be fascinated by the magical thinking that would have speedily moved the legal process along and had Trump under the jail in record time. Just a reminder, the speedy trial right is for the defendant, not the people. If some moneyed ass wants to drag things out, he can. Just want a step by step analysis of how this could have been handled.
Gigi, the election was fair. It is painful to state it over and over but the fact is 7 million people who supported Biden walked out on Harris. That is the tragedy. Biden did amazing things but didn't use the most important part of the Presidency, the so- called "bully pulpit" to scream his achievements to the roof. He let his ratings sag because he (and Garland) didn't want to believe that Trump could return.
Yet there he was. They could have put him in jail a year before he could have run for office again but they just wanted him to go away.
And tragically he didn't go away.
Don't blame the election loss on nonsense. We lost the election because of mistakes and missteps. Trying to pretend that it was stolen is the same thing that Trump did in 2020. It is demeaning to all of us to not accept the truth.
Voter suppression by way of removing people from the rolls likely had an effect, tooo.
Me too, equally vehemently.
Trump is as popular as ever, but no more popular than ever. He increased the number of votes he got but not the proportion of the electorate that voted for him. Harris lost because she did not get the turnout that Biden got. I suspect a lot of this was because of voters who could not get themselves to vote for a Black woman. I also suspect that most of those voters cannot admit to themselves that this is the reason. And once again the mainstream media coverage helped get Trump elected. How much of this is that they can't help themselves and how much that they are "in the tank" for Trump?
Based on the two elections that tcf/tot has won, I think you are 100% spot on. That people who ran with the experience in public life that Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris had (senator, sec state, VP) could not beat the con man says far, far too much about the gender bias in this country that far, far, too many people refuse to acknowledge.
Another big story this last week was the link between alcohol and breast cancer. No big surprise that in the Reagan-era, mythological world of white men who believe government regulation is the enemy and one-worldism the path to communism, the breast cancer/alcohol story has been suppressed since at least 1988. In that year the World Health Organization drew attention to the link with alcohol and industry successfully kept it off the Congressionally approved alcohol warning label.
Ally, I've heard it said that nothing prepares for the presidency, that it's on the job training.
I did not care for Hilary's personality, but consider her resume, both political and personal. On her own, a lawyer, senator and Secretary of State, and worked extensively for a comprehensive health care plan. She also was the spouse of a governor and a president.
Over many years, she saw government close up. She would have come into the office of POTUS as arguably the best prepared candidate EVER.
My own sister (83 y/o) told me this past election that she thought "women can't do the job of presidency".
And deny til hell freezes over, all the while acting as if females are “lessers”
Ally, amen.
Michael Biales -- IMO, fundamentally VP Harris lost because President Biden didn't step back at the Democratic Convention where proper nominations could be put forward and vetted, and she would have been put in the spotlight. (I'll leave it at that.)
She lost because the "election" was fixed.
John, I am terribly depressed at the coming administration.
An understatement.
I am terrified for my grandchildren.
And a good deal of those elected officials posing their kids with guns are CINOS, as are their loyal supporters.
I thought we were supposed to pounds our swords into plowshares.
My bad.
John, the Senator and any other pol or judge will be fine with guns until they and their family are targeted or caught in crossfire. Then they will demand more security at taxpayer expense. When I hear about security, I always think about the Praetorian Guard or the Sikhs who assassinated Indira Gandhi. Personally, I also think that they love the idea of the proletariat being well armed and doing their dirty work.
Values, morality, ethics are the missing solution ! We feel it when we see it ....but it is internal and has to come naturally from the People
Oh, so much worse! At least you know a movie will end, and is *not* likely to have a negative effect on the entire country - and even the world. 🤬
Or a good science fiction movie—Mad Max meets Idiocracy. I hope the event begins with a prayer for those who died and those who were hurt and those who still can’t believe this unrepentant criminal has been legally elected less than 4 years after attacking his own government, killing hundreds of thousands with his mismanagement of Covid and lying every time he opens his wicked mouth. 💔💩🎃🤡💔🤮
Mad Max meets Idiocracy is spot on
And the bizarre thing is:his supporters see this as his achievements.
In Idiocracy, the only part of the government that worked efficiently was the police state. Donnie has already promised to go after his “enemies” .
They are being told that. They believe anything that makes them feel comfortable and relieves them of responsibility.
Add 10 - 12 inches a of snow coming down now at DC's Reagan Washington National Airport. The Airport is closed. There's a metaphor in there somewhere.
I wondered when that snow I kept reading about was going to hit. Are we missing all the MOC to certify the election?
A dystopian horror movie.
Can't think of one bad enough. Oh, Horrors !
Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone and WWII vet, came close.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=05LaTuuKPlI&pp=ygUVVHdpbGlnaHQgem9uZSBmYXNjaXNt
Waiting for the 20 Mule Team advertisement for Boraxo with Ronny Raygun to begin.
🤣
One you're forced to sit and watch.
get up and scream!
A very bad one. Let’s see if we can rewrite the ending.
I think that is what Poland thought
? Hmmm. "Julia". ? "The Triumph of the Will" ? Was "It Can't Happen Here" made in to a movie ?
Roberts' whiny year end complaint is a perfect example of how stupid and tone deaf they are,
His whining was weak cover for complicity.
I have long been convinced that the folks of extreme wealth and privilege live in an alternate universe bubble. Their wealth and privilege blind them. They live in fear of having it taken away, so they create myths of macho individualism to make the rest of us cower in fear along with them.
Blinded by privilege.
How DARE Roberts complain about WE THE PEOPLE!
Democracy fails by small losses, constant and over time...one day the tides have turned and getting it back becomes paramount to those who know the difference. The Wizard of Oz is well entrenched behind his curtain
Yes, but Musk is tired of waiting and wants to buy it’s end in a hurry.
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people....To destroy this invisible government, to befoul this unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of statesmanship."
--Theodore Roosevelt
And there's Trump, the would be robber baron surrounding himself with real robber barons.
As someone (I forget who) said recently, he'll be our worst 2 presidents.
The Wizard of Musk?
The lack of any smidge of integrity by the SCOTUS reactionary members has been the hardest fact for me to absorb. I used to think so highly of SCOTUS as an institution. But Roberts’ year end report shows how far the court has fallen.
You can click on the 3 dots at the top right of your comment and edit your comment. People can also select those 3 dots and collapse comments as well. Neat huh.
On a computer or a laptop, yes. On an iOS device (iPhone, iPad) it is not usually available. I'm unsure about other platforms for mobile devices.
I love the collapse function.
I have collapse on my iPad in the browser but not edit. At one time I had edit. I can’t get the app to work.
I suspect it is an iOS “feature”.
The Supreme Court is not tone-deaf. They are Righteous Prigs standing along side Trump and Reagan and Bush and Nixon.
There have always been super-wealthy puppet masters in the political arena. Lobbyists are the visible go-betweens as huge corporations and multinationals pull the strings. Mostly we don't know who they are, just that they represent the wealthy and powerful, not us. NRA is just one of many.
They have as little accountability as Musk-- that is, none.
Musk is an individual person who wants us to know he's throwing his weight around. Thats the only difference between him and other powerful entities that run this country.
So don't be so shocked that some unelected invulnerable never-accountable entity is pulling the strings.
Much as I agree with your overall comment today, I find the notion of "harshest tribunals of history" simply a fantasy, a sugar pill for the cancer that is eating away at our Republic. History is being rewritten by Trump and his toddies, January 6th is now "a day of love." This is Orwell run wild. Now ignorance is strength and the victors are rewriting history. We fight this because we must to the decent and right thing. Please don't give speak about the judgement of history.
In essence Musk owns Trump, and therefore Trump is his proxy president. A psychologist says that often boys put just enough effort into school work to get an 89.5 average, giving them an A-. Musk put the minimum amount of money into Trump's campaign openly (we don't know where all the dark money is coming from in this campaign, can we say Putin, Saudi Arabia) to buy himself the presidency since he cannot run himself. We need to take him down in the eyes of the public.
Maybe Musk thinks he can roll trump just like Putin has.
We need to never forget how SCOTUS paved the way for an oligarchy. And we should constantly remind Roberts (I don't call him Justice Roberts) and the right wing fascist judges, that we will make sure the history books portray them for what they are- puppets of Leonard Leo and right wing billionaire fascists.
Another amen!
exactamente, on both accounts ... really, for a person at 76, this entire reality seems incomprehensible
The election was bought
Russia won the cold war,using psy ops to attack us. SCOTUS ruled in effect that the 14th Amendment is unconstitutional to protect insurrection.
"Trump held a party at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night during which he screened a documentary about John Eastman, a close ally who tried to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the 2020 election..."
Trump spoke at the event, praising Eastman and insisting he was “right the whole time” [from several sources].
;From WIKI} On January 6, 2021, Eastman gave a speech at the White House Trump rally that preceded the 2021 United States Capitol attack. Later that day, after rioters had attacked the Capitol, Eastman e-mailed Greg Jacob, counsel to Vice President Pence, and implored him to violate the Electoral Count Act by delaying certification of the election.Jacob responded by calling Eastman's arguments "bullshit", his legal advice as "gravely, gravely irresponsible", and calling Eastman a "serpent in the ear of the president". On January 13, 2021, Eastman retired from the Chapman faculty after the controversy created by his speech at the Trump rally. On March 28, 2022, federal judge David O. Carter found Eastman, along with Trump, was more likely than not to have "dishonestly conspired to obstruct the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021"
Eastman was criminally indicted, ordered inactive by the State Bar of California, and recommended for disbarment. Eastman has lost eligibility to practice law in California state courts, pending his appeal of the state bar judge's ruling that recommended him for disbarment. Eastman was also named as a co-conspirator in the federal indictment brought against Trump over his attempts to subvert the 2020 election results and prevent the certification of Biden's election.
He remins a defendant in the Georgia ans Arizona state fake elector conspiracy cases.
Eastman wrote a controversial op-ed in August 2020 that falsely suggested the then-presumed Democratic nominee for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was not a "natural-born citizen" within the meaning of Article II of the Constitution and thus ineligible for the position.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Eastman
Excellent comment. You should post this in notes for others to see
Daniel, please explain where it says "SCOTUS ruled in effect that the 14th Amendment is unconstitutional to protect insurrection." It is my understanding that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment clearly states that Trump, as an adjudicated insurrectionist, cannot be qualified today to be President, that is, if our Members of Congress were to honor their oaths to the Constitution. They have the power to stop Trump today. I know you have been following the past three days in DC where many people are there to talk with their members of Congress to demand they do the right thing. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSBOZQrHmko
I said it. They can't read. And that includes the Democrats. Plain as day. Colorado, two other states struck him from the ballot. States are supposed to be able to enforce the federal constitution. Even right wing "conservatives" support invoking it.
As I probably said somewhere else I am sickened that Jamie Raskin says he knows Trump is ineligible, but Dems will acquiesce to avoid "chaos"
1. Maybe that wouldn't occur.
2. And if it does, Biden is still president. .
Would it be Biden, or would it be Vance?
Biden is president to Jan 20. He won't but could exercise emergency powers.
According to the site I referenced earlier ( https://nowmarch.org )
It only takes 1/5 of each body to raise an objection under the Electoral Count Act. As explained by former editors of the Columbia Law Review and Yale Law Journal, “If the objection is sustained by majority vote in each house, the vote is not counted and the number of votes required to be elected is reduced by the number of disqualified votes. If all votes for Trump were not counted, Kamala Harris would be elected president.”
Regarding the Colorado case and others like it, legal scholars say
(also on the site https://nowmarch.org):
Constitutional scholars agree. In spite of the ruling in Trump v. Anderson, Donald Trump remains constitutionally disqualified from holding office.
“The upshot is that Donald Trump remains constitutionally disqualified from the presidency and may not lawfully serve in that office or any other unless Congress removes the disqualification by two-thirds majorities of both houses. Nothing in Trump v. Anderson changes that legal reality.”
William Baude and Michael Paulsen, Harvard Law Review, Sweeping Section Three under the Rug: A Comment on Trump v. Anderson
“Under the law as it stands, Donald Trump is not qualified to be president of the United States.”
Harvard Constitutional Law Professor Laurence Tribe
“Some will argue that the Supreme Court decision in the Colorado case, Trump v. Anderson, precludes Congress from rejecting electoral votes when they convene on Jan. 6, on the basis of 14th Amendment disqualification. This view lacks merit for three reasons….”
Evan Davis and David Shulte, former editors of the Columbia Law Review and Yale Law Journal
Listen to Evan Bernick, author of The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, explain the process by which Congress can and must object to the certification of Donald Trump’s electoral votes.
Listen to John Bonifaz, constitutional lawyer and President of Free Speech for People, explain why new congressional legislation to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against Donald Trump is not required.
Nobody to effectuate it.
Carol, by their actions, their ruling held Amendment 14, Section 3 did not apply in this case, which is "saying without saying" that it is unconstitutional. I think that they are relying on language that has come to mean an "adjudication" must be done by a judge; an impeachment by congress that is not tried, in their eyes, is not an adjudication because it did not have an ultimate "ruling" by the senate.
If you cannot draw a line directly from the conduct of tcf (or tot, the orange taint*) from his speech to a formal adjudication (either by the court or by the senate), $COTUS believes that the 14 sec 3 does not apply. BUT they did not articulate that clearly, only by inference.
Yes, it is confusing for sure. I agree. I appreciate your discussion on this. Your last sentence is the important one. Inference cannot stand legally.
The flagrant error, which is to falsehood upon which the Colorado decision rested was for the Court to hold that in order to be effective, the constitutional provision in question required enabling legislation. To don't have to have gone to law school to know that this is wrong.
The second flagrant error was to hold that states lack the authority to decide the substantive factual question that was presented in the case, when the Constitution clearly delegates the administration and conduct of elections to federal office, which entails things for setting terms for filing to get on the ballot and screening such filings for qualifications, to States.
..In effect the Court said that "in this special case", the question presented was a federal matter in to which Colorado has no business sticking its nose. This second error went hand in hand with the first. There is no case here to be decided, and if there were, it would note be up to you to decide.
Parenthesis: it would be up to us.
This did the Court rule in favor of its own role as goalkeeper. And revealed it's determination, not surprisingly, to assert its own power. In this instance the Court used it to nullify a constitutional provision.
Why did it do so, given how transparently wrong the decision was. Because they were afraid of the consequences of doing what they knew to be right.
Carol T Cox -- Wow! Thank you greatly for that YouTube link. We're currently within 8 hours of the meeting of the members of congress. The day is now here.
It is not until now that I have come to be fully convinced that djt is a full bore Neo-Nazi would be dictator and that the assault on the Capitol was his bid to seize power by emulating Hitler's burning of the Reichstag.
The evidence was long ago uncovered. Like others I simply chose to reserve judgment and maintain a healthy skepticism. .But it is all there. And Heather's last two posts have tied it all together. The orders given to the Secretary of the Army not to allow the DC National Guard to be turned out without White House approval. The plans to issue an emergency proclamation. .The threats to Pence. The instigated riot and failed seizure that was supposed to serve as the excuse .The planted stories of "leftist agent provocateurs" that were supposed to provide cover...It's all there. . Trumps whole Hail Mary to Himself. Designed by this Eastman to bootstrap Trump in to power with a Martial Law declaration. Following Hitler 's playbook.
I was not prepared to believe at the time that Trump was that depraved and that stupid. Nor that much of an ex post facto Nazi sympathizer. I do now.
Believed it as they used Goebbels playbook, also Mien Kampf
No argument here. Spot on
It certainly was. Cicero, Plutarch, Appian, Cassius Dio, Sallust, and other ancient sources teach us that monied interests, the breaking of norms, and lawlessness were the death of any remotely republican form of government in ancient Rome.
It is a far more interesting, compelling, and pertinent story than any "fall" of the Roman Empire some five centuries later.
Money quote (no pun intended) - Sallust in his Jugurthine War states "In Rome all things are for sale, and she shall quickly perish once she finds a buyer."
Truer words and all that . . . .
Who said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for ___X___ to enter the kindom of heaven?
Jesus Christ
A rich man
The guy at the Gate - St Peter.
“The price of apathy is to be ruled by greedy men.” Plato
Says it all…
As scary as our times are - they're also bloody fascinating!
I can live without the "fascination".
In my words, funny "weird" not funny "ha-ha". Also terrifying, but there ya have it.
In a sense, yes. My devotional in scripture union’s encounter with God reminded me to rely on the wisdom of God, not man. The wisdom of the maga movement is ungodly in that involves forcing their beliefs on others, not Christian at all. The super rich like musk are just taking advantage of it to get what they want, more power.
And the “faithful” sign on to white “Christian” rule. I know them…
And now they buyers are going to start collecting the benefits.
Selling for parts, sort of like Mnuchin did with Sears.
Sort of...😄
More than 90% of elections in the last 40 years have been decided by who spent more.
And in 2012, repubs analyzed their strategy and decided to go whole hog for every kind of cheating imaginable
Everyone gets better with practice. R’s are the world champs of voter suppression and manipulation, dirty tricks, etc etc.
Rupert, Frank Luntz and their ilk have made fools of those who assumed honor where there was only deliberate deceit
Sadly we Americans have confirmed, to all intelligent life forms on the planet, that we are just as stupid as they suspected. I wanted so badly to believe that 2016 was an anomaly.
My initial thought was that it was "only" the routine misogyny and racism which has always been a huge part of our American culture.
My go-to optimism was that this was to be expected; that it was backlash for having elected a biracial man to the presidency (twice). That "we" (still) weren't quite ready to join the ranks of mature adults and acknowledge gender equality. That we would muddle through and the nation would somehow survive.
I'm no longer optimistic. I'm too old to be foolish all the time - it takes far too much energy. I'm not going to rent a truck and explode myself because forty percent of us are too apathetic, or just too lazy, to bother voting. This nation does not deserve that sacrifice.
I'd emigrate, but the few people I care about wouldn't, or can't, join me. I'm lucky to have the luxury to even consider leaving.
Greed is a powerful driver, along with stupidity. And yes, misogyny and racism. I’m so very disappointed in my country.
I think it doesn't really matter where you are these days - I migrated 30 years ago from Europe to Australia - we are all so connected, the fascistoid movement is pretty much everywhere on the rise. I'm old as well but have decided to fight (engagement, activism) to the best of my abilities where we're heading and hope the young will find better ways. The young generations are my only hope.
It matters a LOT where you are, Sabine. I am lucky enough, as Michael said above, to have the luxury of living in Scotland now, and the emotional/physical distance from that creature and his evil clown car is preserving my sanity. Here, the women and girls in our family have bodily autonomy, protected by law. The children in our family don't endure active shooter drills, and we adults don't live in fear of them being gunned down. As a woman, I feel safer on the street than I ever have in my life because I know the men can't carry firearms, much less assault rifles. And everyone here knows EXACTLY the threat that monster is.
Alexandra, lucky indeed! I have to say that I am grateful to be old in these times and I can’t imagine being a school-age kid in the USA these days. We only practiced fire drills, and scarily, getting under our desks in case of a nuclear attack (this was in the 50’s).
Barbara, I agree about it being hard to be a child today. This study sets out current fears of children all over the world because of the already present and future worsening climate chaos. Children are very worried. I'm sure we are all sorry to have put them in this position by failing to live sensibly with Earth.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3/fulltext
Many are sorry & rightly worried and work for change, and then there are those who want to continue to sink their teeth into the world’s neck and feed on its life force…..greed/control/riches…and, ultimately, for what? Perhaps such folk have never heard of or contemplated the prospect of “enough” which increases the likelihood of there being “enough” for all.
My well-being and peace of mind living in France, despite its difficulties, is profound. I have health care. There is great public transportation and I don't need a car. Education is accessible to young people. Food is cheaper and better. Children are better cared for. There are lively cafes and high culture readily at hand for those who like theater, music, or opera. I live in a modest apartment and don't have the burdens of a yard or maintenance. Everything I need is within half an hour by public transport, but most daily things I need are 2-3 minutes from me. My expenses have gone way down living here as opposed to the US. No flags, no damn red hats, no roaring pick up trucks with right wing nuttery on full display. And like you, I don't live in fear of some idiot with a gun - in the little town I left in rural Oregon young men walked into coffee shops with loaded pistols in holsters.
What cowards.
And as a final aside, Hollywood from its inception right up to today shares enormous blame for perpetuating and popularizing the toxic masculinity of the lone cowboy and helping to aid and abet this rubbish.
Philoctetes, you list so much that we have in Scotland, too — plus France is warm!!! I 100% understand why you left - I can't even imagine the toxicity and fear induced by living in a state with open carry. It's surreal.
I've worked as a screenwriter for most of my professional career and agree with your comment about the toxic masculinity — but want to add that a lot of social change comes through people fighting for depictions of the world's real, beautiful diversity comes from Hollywood as well. David Kohan & Max Mutchnick worked so hard to get and keep Will & Grace on the air and worked with the LGBTQ+ community to deepen portrayals of its characters. Shonda Rhimes broke through the white male wall and gave the world a full rainbow of beloved characters on Grey's Anatomy. Hollywood is to blame but it's also one of our greatest weapons against fascism and we need to put the pressure on and make the industry rise to the challenge.
I absolutely agree - and my wife LOVES Will & Grace! I'm also a great fan of live theater as an instrument for social change and for opening up the lives of young people. One production of Shakespeare in 1977 put me on my life trajectory. It doesn't take much . . .
If only Scotland could come to our aid as France did back when the nation was founded. Don't know, though, that anyone should help those who don't help themselves...too many Americans sat out the last election and a chance to rid ourselves of a tyrant traitor.
Yes, I give you that, I had only thought of Europe and Australia and both don't have the horrible gun culture as much.
I envy you, Alexandra.
It took years of work to manifest, but I'm so grateful every day. Europeans and Brits are just aghast at the willful violence of the US. It's an armed camp. I don't think people can possibly comprehend the toxicity of it until they've been out for a while. It's still my country, and California will ALWAYS be my home. I will fight for it from here. But here — is sanity.
Like I said, I am envious of your planned journey. I love Scotland and her people. My only refuge would be going to Germany where my mother was born and raised and eventually escaped from. My girls could go with me but my husband, who has yet to get a passport and is a Nam vet with PTSD, is reticent about leaving CA. Not certain what the outcome will be but I do know that we are in very very rough waters. Always good to hear from you and get your perspective, Alexandra.
I, too, have decided that our Constitution and the promise of a fairer, more just society is worth fighting for. I stay and give it my best, encourage everyone to join in to protect the lives and rights of all fellow humans, and not let those who take and not give destroy the hopes and futures of America and the world.
Old here, too, but not giving up. I have grandchildren who deserve better.
Agree, Sabine, we must stand ready to resist, persist and push back on the efforts to make us an illiberal democracy as has happened to Hungary and Türkiye, even as they still have “elections”. As little as I may actually be able to do, I’ll do my damn best!🗽🇺🇸 The whole world better get its collective act together, cuz we’re all that we’ve got on this fragile planet we have. btw, I read this eve about all the space junk….a staggering amount of trash (seems we humans can even litter up space!), bits ‘n pieces orbiting—the visual rendering of what is being tracked made it look almost like a force field encasing earth. If we have immense and growing garbage patches in the sea and on land, why not trash up space too! This means, perhaps (unless we can find a way to clean it up), that someday soonish we will not be able to leave the planet for exploration or other scientific endeavors because the debris would destroy/incapacitate anything sent into space (think weather satellites for example)….resulting in even MORE junk!!! Trying to balance my feelings of anger and dread with those of resolve and hope…bit of a teeter-totter ride!
I hear you, Barbara. But here is something we all can do today, that might possibly make a difference in memory of this day. Please take a moment to do something that could contribute to saving our democracy! The last three days in sub-zero temperatures in Washington, DC, people have been gathered together who feel as passionately as I do about this opportunity to do something that can truly make a difference. I wish I could have been among them! Here are the basic facts: Today (on the anniversary of January 6th) is the day that the electoral votes are to be counted by Congress to certify Donald Trump to be our 39th president. What is wrong with this scenario? The answer is simple and stark! Every Congress member who votes to accept these electoral votes will be dishonoring their oath to the Constitution. If they were to honestly uphold the oath they took, they would have no other choice but to disqualify Trump, an insurrectionist, from ever holding office again. The following is from https://nowmarch.org "Donald J. Trump is an adjudicated insurrectionist, constitutionally disqualified from holding office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment for the deadly assault on our Capitol four years ago. Every member of Congress has sworn an oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Unless lawmakers remove his current disability by a 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress, or reject the certification of his electoral votes, they, too, will be in violation of their oaths. It only takes 1/5 of each body to raise an objection under the Electoral Count Act. As explained by former editors of the Columbia Law Review and Yale Law Journal, 'If the objection is sustained by majority vote in each house, the vote is not counted and the number of votes required to be elected is reduced by the number of disqualified votes. If all votes for Trump were not counted, Kamala Harris would be elected president.'” It’s important to call our Senators and Reps to tell them that we demand they honor the oaths they took. The offices open at 8:30 AM. We have to inundate them with calls. All the info you need can be found here: https://nowmarch.org To be further inspired by Jessica Densen who organized this movement, see a portion of Saturday’s gathering in DC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSBOZQrHmko
Our political parties have been baffled, even neutered, however we can't abandon organized resistance. The ACLU still exists and they're already actively opposing Trimp's initiatives. They're by no means alone. There are also groups like The Womens March, Common Cause, and Indivisible. Look around; join and support those who you agree with. Help somebody.
The Trimp-ists are fully aware that they have only a slim margin of approval but they want you to forget that, and while their megaphone is larger and they don't hesitate to lie and intimidate wherever they can, they CAN AND SHOULD be opposed.
Isolating ourselves and shaking our fists as they vandlize the world won't work. (This is also why I rejected the notion of emigrating.) We don't all need to be heroic either, but every day we can share knowledge, perform individual acts of humanity, and try to be the example others will remember. Like Hank Stamper once said, "Never give a inch."
Sabine, there's nowhere to go. If this country falls to fascism the rest of the world that hasn't fallen already will be following, one after the other. That's why Musk is getting involved in Germany and Canada and elsewhere.
Here is where we have to have our stand.
Today he tells King Charles to disband parliament. Next week he’ll tell Trump to disband Congress.
I also immigrated, to Canada in my case, long ago. I fought for a just society both in Canada and in the US - and am also an old woman.
The Prime Minister of Canada, J Trudeau January 6, 2025, has just resigned as leader of the ruling party which will lead to an election.
The rise of authoritarianism has impacted this country as well as many others around the world. We all have to fight at this point as much as possible Be safe all
You are so right Michael, people deserve what they have vote.
Shame on those who didn’t vote, this is the result.
Not cry about spilled milk.
I am an old Dutch woman and see the same in my country.
I wish you all the best.
Thank you, Loes. The Netherlands is on my short list of places to consider if I decided to leave - to go back to the land of my father. I had hoped it would not be suffering the same cancer the US carries. But the grandchildren come first.
I have a friend in Holland who reports the same thing. Why do people do this to themselves over and over again?
"So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26-28.
I don't identify as a Christian, but I know enough to know how a real Christian thinks, and the above is what a REAL Christian thinks. Someone that supports the MAGA movement is NOT a Christian regardless of what they call themselves.
Leave the country or stay, it doesn't matter. It's everywhere. Just don't give up. Instead, do something simple and easy. Start calling MAGA supporters and supporters of authoritarianism everywhere what they are, which is a bunch of gutless hypocrites. Don't call them childish. That would be an insult to children.
James, fascism took over Christianism a while ago and is entrenched there. We need real Christian to raise their voices and fight their way back. Peacefully but loud.
A mind once enlightened, can not go dark.
Michael, don't know if you have children, but one of the most difficult things for me to overcome was disappointment over something big they had done. I'm not talking criminal but a huge disappointment over poor life changing decisions that they made. As a parent, you try so hard to mold a soul into an honorable human being. Perhaps it is brainwashing, just as the cult follows Trump.
I mention this because as much as I am horribly disappointed with much of our voters--and I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed by the MAGA voters or the non-voters--I still love this country. Like our children who we dearly love in spite of when they dismayingly fall short of our hopes, thus too our history has done so. Slavery, wars, all the ills of society. Like our children who end up getting to where we hoped but not by the path we would have chosen, I HAVE to be optimistic. We'll get there, maybe not in my lifetime.
I don't condone violence in any form, and I wonder if those who do take actions like the truck guy think they really make a change? In six months, nobody will remember his name and there will be other news items making headlines. He sacrificed his life for what?
I've often thought of teenagers who are bullied and decide to shoot out the school--if ONLY you could see through to the future where becoming very successful would be the biggest f*ck you that could be given to your peers at your 10th HS reunion.
I digress.
Where in the world would you be safe?
Not looking to be safe. I'm looking to get away from the STUPID. It might be contagious.
Michael: I have wondered if all that is happening is actually backlash to women’s liberation in the 70’s.
That and the fact that Reagan and his administration set everything up for what we see today. But really, it is because of the diabolical mind of Putin. He has infiltrated every single country with his plans. Trump has been groomed by him for at least the last 30 years and as you can see, he is not the only one.
The fact that Donald Trump & his minions have convinced many Americans that Jan.6, 2021 was a "Day of Love" & that he intends to pardon the insurrectionists bothers me more than Democrats losing the recent election! How can Americans believe this, after we all saw & heard what happened on that day on our televisions?
Yes! That has been my message as well. Today we will witness another count. We all saw the insurrectionists storming the Capitol in 2021. Nothing about that day was loving or peaceful.
I think I have a better understanding of that Trump defines as love a year on. It's a wake up call.
If that was a day of peace and love how would you call war and insurrection?
Kathy Hill( probably you are not the same Kathy Hill who was friend to my sister , Gretchen in ilo?) agreed.
I’m prepared to be upset that the major mainstream media will probably not give the events of that day the conveyor deserves. Americans need a reminder of the horror of that day.
Yeah, SR B, the old bloviating gasbag is ramping up the gaslighting…trying to pull off an Obi Wan mind game “move along, nothing to see here”.
I wonder, KMD, if when TFFFG is sworn into office he’ll place his hand on the Bible he has for sale…I can just hear another sales pitch following! He won’t actually be swearing an oath of allegiance to the constitution, but rather, I think, what should be termed a “Hypocritic Oath”, as suits his (lack of) character.
They’ll do as they want until they can’t , until they’re held accountable , it has never ended well for this kind eventually it ends…badly.
<<sigh>>
Barbara, incidentally, a Bible that was bought by Mu$k.
I love this- the Hypocritic Oath!
Just wondering, would be legal for Mu$k to co president in the US and Fürer in Germany? Anybody could help with an answer pls?
We do not have the office of "co-president" in the US. Furthermore, no one who is not eligible to be president and is in the line of succession cannot serve if not meeting those requirements. Mu$k is ineligible due to his not being a "natural born citizen of the United States". I can't speak to German law.
You are talking about a normal, legal and decent country Ally House, I'm talking about a country that use to be like you are describing but not longer, and I'm saying this with a heavy heart.
Originally I meant my comment as a joke. Thanks for your reply 👍
Dang, we need a symbol for "tongue in cheek" or maybe a Joker face for what you're communicating. I know I have to use the sidebar <sarcasm font> else people take what I am saying as a more serious comment than my sarcastic self can come up with.
KDM, unfortunately his minions are going to be in charge of the DOJ and won't open their mouth out of conviction or fear.
If a crowd broke through the gates of Mar A Lago, smeared feces on the walls, and walked around yelling "MELANIA? WHERE ARE YOU?" I wonder if he'd consider that a love fest?
Giselle, that would be considered a very unfair act and a witch hunt brought by the "deep state"
They are not convinced about that KMD. They don't care. His MAGA think overturning a government is macho.
As macho as trump following on his promise to meet the orde at the Congress..
My sentiments exactly. That gets me more than anything. It is beyond sad.
Yes, it seems so incomprehensible - you sort of expect every day that they can see it your way.
And sadly they may think the same. That's the tragedy, there seems currently no bridge in sight.
"We can no longer afford to take that which was good in the past and simply call it our heritage, to discard the bad and simply think of it as a dead load which by itself time will bury in oblivion. The subterranean stream of Western history has finally come to the surface and usurped the dignity of our tradition. This is the reality in which we live. And this is why all efforts to escape from the grimness of the present into nostalgia for a still intact past, or into the anticipated oblivion of a better future, are vain."
- Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
In short. Be here now. Present and accounted for. If not now, when?
"That even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination might well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and their works, will kindle under almost all circumstances and shed over the time span that was given to them...."
- Hannah Arendt, Men in Dark Times
lin•, "If not now, when?" is the question. If it is not "now"*, then I expect the "when" will be far, far too late to avoid destruction of the planet, not just our system of government.
*To quote my mother, with her somewhat recalcitrant first born (me) "Right goddam NOW".
"Spectacularly grotesque" is a good description of the acceptance of the "BIG Lie". We all witnessed the brutal, illegal attack and witnessed GOP Reps running for their lives and denouncing Trump for sitting idle as the attack went on. Talk about re-writing history...
Most sane Americans agree with you. Unfortunately, Trumpo, the elderly addled ringmaster, greatly aided by policy chief Stephen Miller and shadow president-elect Elon Musk, has brought his very own circus--the CrazyTown clowns--with him and is now in the process of setting up the tents for his clown show.
Trump is a gift to comedians, satirists, and cartoonists. Religious people will debate whether the gift-giver was Satan or God. For me, I see Trump’s second term as a sign that there is no god watching over us. No god would be that cruel.
And quit literally terrifying if you ground yourself in that truth and know any World History. Actually, the USA has made poor and sometimes quite bad decisions, over the full course it's wonderful History..but this may very well end up being its worst. And accepting that fact is not ok....not for America
From Timothy Snyder today:
https://snyder.substack.com/p/shadow-cabinet?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=310897&post_id=154226905&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=ithz2&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Professor says 60% of voters oppose Trump pardons the Jan. 6 rioters. We need major medias keep pulishing polls.
Sure but over 70% want common sense gun laws yet they still vote for the guys that refuse to pass them.
I agree! Trump has created an “us versus them” narrative that has divided this country. I am trying to be more compassionate and inclusive. But it’s difficult. My anger at people who voted for Trump and for those who didn’t bother to vote continues.
Ugh, but as I write, we can turn them. Not all, but MAGA is now divided.
“The Times they are Changing”
True
The creature's political career is driven by social media influencing operations - both foreign (his campaign, Bannon, Stone etc) and foreign (Putin's FSB).
Your view and mine are the same!
Amen to that!
The issue is that every Republican administration in the past forty years left the country in much worse shape than it had been, and each Democratic administration that followed had a mess of massive proportions to clean up, and they can never seem to do enough.
The greatest problem that has been plaguing America in that period of time is the 24/7 right-wing noise machine.
Rupert’s propaganda machine never took a day off. The Green Beret is proof that the message played on military bases ad nauseam. Our military was the target as much as the MAGAts. What a twisted tale Rupert has woven…
Wish he, Musk and Thiel could be shown the USA exit door….and don’t come back!
We have to do a lot more other than showing them the exit door Barbara. Maybe Mexico can pay them back the money they use to buy trump and vance .
Murdoch, Musk, Thiel, etc. — carpetbaggers.
We sure did let in a bunch of undesirables.
Spouting obvious lies, this noise machine should be falling on deaf ears. Instead, patriots like Charles Sumner, Abraham Lincoln, Howard Zinn, Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris go unappreciated and even mocked.
💯 % correct Moebym but that 24/7 noise machine had been working for years brain washing the brains of the American people while the democrats were wondering. Total lack of determination and imagination.
Sad but true, Ricardo. It’s embarrassing to realize how weak our leadership has been and it’s by no means clear that the next generation of Democratic leaders will be better. I’d love to be wrong about the latter so if anyone has examples of promising leaders, please weigh in!
Alan, you might need to wait tor that sitting on a comfortable chair.
Is there an emoji for the feeling of unhappy resignation to one’s fate?
🤕 how about this one Alan?
Thanks! I’ll remember those.
😄
Moebym, I agree, especially with your first sentence. @heathercoxrichardson and others have written at length about the forty year period you refer to but they rarely mention the word “Neoliberalism.” And that’s unfortunate, to put it mildly, because it is shorthand for “the cause of all our trouble since Reagan’s presidency.” Recently, though, Anat Shenker-Osorio wrote an article entitled “The Electoral Problem for Democrats: IT'S NEOLIBERALISM, STUPID.” (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/trump-harris-democrats-electoral-problem-neoliberalism-1235176879/)
Good article
“Noise machine” is too soft a term. It is Russian-sponsored terrorism, a propagandist onslaught that is fully and demonstrably intended to turn Americans against Americans and encourage violence as the only resort for resolving the manufactured conflict. It has already led to the attack on our capitol, taking American lives there and elsewhere, and judging by the research HCR points to, there is only more to come.
Too bad our leadership, Democratic and Republican, did not name this for what it was a long time ago and deal with it accordingly. When we had a more than fighting chance.
You are so right. Neither Democratic leaders nor the small liberal part of the MSM where I have spent many wasted hours watching and reading for years were up to naming it for what it was and dealing with it accordingly. Worse yet, their soft treatment of false, vicious, immoral Right Wing verbal and actual physical attacks also led to non-Democratic voters concluding that “Democrats don’t fight for us!” That is one astounding conclusion Ms. Shenker-Osorio offers up in the article I linked to above.
Well said and thx for that article
As someone who formerly worked with retirement/investment plans, it is worth noting that stock markets in Democratic administrations always out-performed the so-called "business friendly" Republican administrations. And yet, because of the massive disinformation efforts from GOP allies for the past 40 years, I'd guess that most of Trump's voters, (as well as a fair number of Democrats) believe that electing a Democratic administration and Congress spells doom for the economy.
Yes! No doubt about it but it’s encouraging to hear it from people like you, Steve, with your financial experience and expertise. Thank you!
So there's a conundrum here.
Should we shut down right-wing media?
Freedom of speech would preclude that. But freedom of speech also seems to assume that people who hear false speech aren't ninnyhammers.
That assumption seems to be false-to-fact. A huge number of people are ninnyhammers. Perhaps even a majority. Probably even a majority.
That calls the whole American Experiment into question.
I read the very long report by Joshua Kaplan in *Pro Publica* around 6 AM on January 5. I was terribly concerned by it and wondered who else had read it. And here it is already in your column, January 6. I do believe strongly that the military policy as I understand it is to have Fox News only on every base. I know one (perhaps retired) General has pointed this out and demanded it cease. It can directly indoctrinate people. It has.
That was the plan man. An ex-serviceman told me that about ten years ago. Fox is everywhere…. And the message was clear.
I am reading The Left Hook substack and he cites an article stating that
military service is now a predictor
of right wing violence. I can’t paste the link here, sorry, but this direct connection (I am not stating causation) is sobering.
I accidentally "liked" your comment before reading it since it popped up right where I was planning to "like" an earlier one. As fate would have it, I really do like it as it reminds me of the better diversity and really well educated, competent and ethical people that the draft brought into contact with so many of us that we wouldn't otherwise have been associated within an all volunteer force. (They also drafted great Conscientious Objectors into the Civilian Public Service during WWII.)
I especially liked the Conscientious Objectors who became some of the bravest medics that would never pick up a weapon but go into the most dangerous situations that even the most heavily armed combat soldiers couldn't bring themselves to risk.
I met one at Tan An soon after Tet 68 started, as I was traveling solo to different camps and bases in the Delta fixing weather equipment. I got there after the chow hall closed, and, unusually was refused access to any of the 163 cheeseburgers they had leftover. They told me they were being kept available for the Conscientious Objector medic that was still out on a mission. I believe he was called Bunkie and was originally shunned for refusing to ever use a weapon, but soon earned their respect by running through fire that was so intense that they all doing things like firing over logs without sticking their heads up enough to keep track of what they were shooting at. They explained that on a previous mission, the helicopter backed off two attempted landings due to the extreme incoming fire, but landed on the third attempt. Bunkie had run out and brought two wounded back onto the helicopter, and was trying to put a third on as they were trying to get the first two off, telling him they hadn't chosen to land, they had been shot down. When he did get back, we could finally start eating some of the 163 burgers (after he got to choose the ones he wanted), and he replied to my questions on how he became such a determined Conscientious Objector. As I recall, he had given in to peer pressure when drafted into the infantry and didn't apply for the CO status he sincerely had wanted to do. He had tolerated the others in his unit ridiculing and playing tricks on what they considered the country bumpkin until they tried one trick too many on the live grenade range. One had kept a practice grenade that no longer had a smoke charge in it and pulled the pin while the were all still in a large group, then pretended to accidentally drop it. Everyone else knew it and really acted up the panic running away when "Live Grenade" was screamed by several. He had played along a little and started to run away but looked back and saw the "bumpkin" had jumped on the grenade, crying as he tried to save them from what he thought was a live grenade.
"Bunkie" put in for Conscientious Objector status and volunteered to be a Combat Medic though insisting he would never carry a weapon. It seems he never did, even in the toughest situations, (although others would to defend their patients if there was no other way). He earned the highest respect I'd ever seen, though, despite his stance on using weapons, from the men in the units of those he had saved.
I'm trying to research the impact of WWII drafted Conscientious Objectors on a period of reform in mental health care that seemed to become unsustainable after those drafted into the Civilian Public Service (CPS) completed their service obligations, and many continued for what seems another decade or two. My mother had worked as kitchen staff at the now seemingly infamous Belchertown State School. She described the earlier years when it seemed to have at least provided better care during a period of influence from the CPS draftees and volunteers that more than made up for the poorer care by the better staffed facilities before WWII made even worse by losing so much staff to other war efforts.
I'm going through publications like:
Noncombatant Service -Conscientious Objectors’ Fight for Mental Health Reform during WWII By Nate Barker
Bender, Titus W., (2011), The Mennonite Mental Health Movement and the Wider Society in the United States, 1942-1965. Journal of Mennonite Studies, 29.
Keim, Albert, The CPS Story: An Illustrated History of Civilian Public Service. Good Books, 1990. (available as a borrowed version from Internet Archive at:
https://archive.org/details/cpsstoryillustra0000keim/mode/2up
Sareyan, Alex, The Turning Point, How Men of Conscious Brought About Major Change In The Care of America’s Mentally Ill. American Psychiatric Press, 1994.
I really appreciated the following text from Sareyan's book:
"...To understand the reactions of Cos to the mental hospital scene, it is important to understand what set them apart from the rest of the institutional staff.
First and foremost, Cos had been required by their local draft boards to demonstrate satisfactorily that their grounds for claiming exemption from military service were based on religious training and belief.
Another significant factor that set the CPS men apart was that, as a group, they were well above the average employee in intelligence, education, and job experience. In the CPS units administered by the American Friends Service Committee, the men averaged 15 years of formal education. At the time of their induction, many of the men had been employed as teachers at the high school or college level. Quite a few had been trained as research scientists, lawyers, artists, and musicians and in similar professions. Except in a very few instances, the capabilities that men in the CPS mental hospital units brought with them were never used.
In an article published in The Psychiatric Quarterly Supplement in 1948, two physicians, Robert A. Clark and Alex M. Burgess, had this to say about what differentiated the Cos assigned to state mental hospitals during World War II from the regular rank and file of attendants. Besides intelligence, education, and skills not often found. Most of these men brought to their positions a high level of idealistic humanitarianism [I’d add extremely competent idealistic humanitarianism]. Since they “volunteered” for hospital service [what were the other choices], they were largely self-selected. As they were at the bottom of the state hospital hierarchy, they had unparalleled opportunities for continual and close observation…
Very soon after they began working, it became obvious to the men in the CPS mental hospital units that not only was their own orientation and training insufficient, but also that the care of the patients was woefully inadequate in nearly every respect. This inadequacy resulted in almost general neglect and not infrequent brutality. There was overcrowding into old and dangerous buildings.
In many hospitals there was an absence of a minimum standard of medical care. Nowhere was there an approach to the maximum medical need because of shortages in trained professional staff, as well as for medicines and medical equipment. Consequently, even good custodial care was seldom being given. Though these conditions were accentuated by the war, it was evident that in many institutions much of the same state of affairs had existed before and would continue afterward. In some hospitals, conditions were worse than others, but in none were they ideal.
First the COs began comparing notes among themselves, then seeking methods of reaching the public with their findings. Articles began to appear in newspapers and magazines, written or inspired by men in the CPS mental hospital units, and often illustrated by photos taken by them. Sympathetic superintendents often helped with, or gave permission for these articles…"
How would we have ever gotten that relatively golden age of mental health reform without drafting such talented men (often joined by their wives), without such a public service draft?
Jim, thanks for your post here. Fascinating information.
Not unrelated, here's a CO story:
I learned about Thomas from a Coastie friend (disabled veteran) when we got on the topic of the Medal of Honor on one of our many trips to the Portland VA.
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/private-first-class-desmond-thomas-doss-medal-of-honor
Here's another (I believe the only USCG MoH award) that I learned about on that same 2 hour car ride:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Albert_Munro
Fascinating additions to what I remembered about Desmond Doss (I'd forgotten his connection to the 77th ID, an honorary Marine division for all the beach landings they had made, the Division Ernie Pyle landed with at Okinawa before he was lost). I knew the children of some of them and some of the troops that landed there. I hadn't known he didn't wear any Red Cross markings since that was likely to make him a higher priority target for the Japanese (whom he would also try to rescue). He even saved his commander who had tried to force him out. I also learned he considered himself a "Conscientious Cooperator."
I vaguely knew of the USCG MoH recipient (I married into a family with the father, mother, and both sons in the CG, and my sister's fiance was in the the CG, but was killed in a car accident). Douglas Munro's actions at Guadalcanal are newly more meaningful to me now since I pass John Basilone's grave at Arlington every time we visit the graves of my USCG SPAR mother-in law, USCG father in-law, and my wife's uncle lost near Sainteny Normandy in July of 1944. When visiting our son's family in Richland, WA, we had avoided taking the more direct I-90 route through the mountain passes to Seattle, preferring the Columbia gap, partially to also visit my brother's family south of Seattle along the way. Since my brother moved, I hope to finally take the I-90 if we rent a car instead of flying from SeaTac to Pasco which would enable stopping by the Douglas Munro Memorial.
Thank you. What a great story. I have followed you on substack now. These stories by veterans have much to teach and ennoble us.
I only have the beginnings of a concept of how to make posts and activities make better sense than my "likes." Ideally, I'd like to make it obvious I'm primarily driven by the Golden Rule and goals of the Declaration of Independence as far as human rights balance with property rights, and the best examples I can remember of how people figure out how to look out for each other and not unintentionally harming others (or the planet).
I do like looking at the possibilities of new technology being useful to everyone as it also keeps the planet more human habitable, but am concerned about overly concentrating on things like Fusion reactors if they concentrate too much monopolistic power we can be enslaved to instead of much more diverse local power resilience (at least at basic needs levels). It seems odd to me that so much of the rest of the world is doing healthcare, education, and more distributed power than we started but too often sold off to others and stopped doing ourselves.
I'll be working on it once we finish our last attempt at peaceful protest at the People's March on DC on the 18th. I wish it was called the Women's March, simply because I think it would draw more criticism of any who would dare to try to divide public opinion if they can disrespect any subgroups (at least to portions of the public that like to pick on whoever they think will get more backing for them).
It may be a much smaller gathering than the Women's March the day after the 2017 inauguration, perhaps due to some fear of opposition, but I'll still try to be there, as I imagined 3 months ago, walking the ground Joshua Chamberlain and the members of the Maine 20th and a few Veterans of the Maine 2nd held at Gettysburg, no matter the odds.
If it turns out to be a small crowd, I can imagine it in the light of Henry V's "This day is called the feast of Crispan." The last part should be modified such as for person-hood and siblings, marching instead of fighting, and event, but here is the original:
"...From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
I'm concerned that we not have much chance to do so after the 20th, so I really don't want to miss it..
Lucia ,they are feeding the brains of our military man and women with "news" emanating front an institution that was penalized almost 3/4 of a billion dollars for lying. I would like to know who authorized this aberration.
I read it yesterday morning also. Very frightening. And then I topped off the day with Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s monthly Sunday night zoom. Her guest, a reporter, was terrifying in her description of “ Christian” nationalists.
Sadly the right-wing media environment has grown tremendously beyond Fox News playing in military base public areas. Streaming, Tik Tok, podcasts - it's a wide space now
Is that really true about FOX only? Scary, if true!
https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/shows/reidout/blog/rcna73824 Here is a link
My wife and I are 80 years old and have traveled the world.
We have a world view that most people are “good” and if society assists, with a “do unto others” attitude, enlightenment will evolve.
We have spent the last 2 weeks in Singapore and we report, “life can be better” than the US voters imagine. ( A few other countries are also more civilized than us…)
We live in San Francisco where because there are so few public toilets, people are forced to defacate on sidewalks.
Public toilets are a sign of civility. The absence in most US cities (because homeless would sleep in them and no funding is provided) says much about the short sighted greed that is the USA.
The USA is no longer a first world country, except in weapons to capitalist dictators it seems to us. The short term thinking of both evil republicans and capitalist democrats will keep the USA as less than “first world” within the lifetime of any HCR reader, IMHO… ouch
Generational change is required, but who could possibly be allowed as leader in our broken two party system with complicit corporate media?
HCR tells us history and events, but other people in the world live better lives every day.
The USA has a mental disease and are slipping toward irrelevance.
Oh, and if god loves us best, how is that possible?…
Well said! In fact, Mr. Trump was reelected in spite of the cited excellent macroeconomic parameters because due to monstrous wealth inequality resulting from long standing Republican tax policy, the US is, for many citizens, already a failed state. Absent public toilets are the least of it. At least 50% of Americans spend 90% of their income on necessities and have less than $500 in cash for an emergency. They see only a bleak future for their children and no way to be secure or get ahead. (They are already serfs to the capitalist system. This is the obligatory other side of the coin of the multibillionaire aberation). Gasoline, food, rent, healthcare are, or are increasingly becoming, more unaffordable. Until now, the Dems preserved the institutions of the USA, but both parties contributed to hollowing them out. Yes, MAGA won the election due to massive propaganda and cultural issues, but also because there is a massive loss of trust in government policy and programs to help me and mine which motivated many Americans not to vote. This was a major factor in the Dem's loss.
I think that some of the Biden/Harris policies, initiatives and programs that were & are still rolling out had/have not had time to “be known” and awareness spread throughout communities. Sometimes the big ticket items take awhile for the engine to warm up and really get going. Likely TFFFG will claim any credit for outcomes before he plunges us back into the dark times. Sigh.
Barbara, I agree with you. I closely followed the infrastructure rollout—Biden NEVER got credit for that one act, never mind everything else he accomplished. in fact, our local paper (corporate owned, naturally) recently printed an article about road improvements in the state and cited some state appropriation as the source of funds. I emailed the editor and said it would have been helpful to add the state’s funding source was the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. I never got a reply.
😡!!!!!
I'm amazed at the improvements I've seen in roads, and airports, and the ongoing stringing of wideband cables (not yet connected but very near completion) as the most obvious improvements in infrastructure, especially in the red states that needed it most. I have no doubt few will know who voted for it over the objections and votes against it by the representatives of the most citizens that are now, or soon will be benefiting from the long hard work to catch up on the maintenance and build even better infrastructure.
The richest care little about infrastructure for everyone, they want to be able to monopolize new technologies while limiting the more local opportunities to do more for themselves.
There is an interesting collection of videos on "Engineering the Future" available for free at the moment on Roku such as:
https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/2e05f15281e8562491b75bd19c04a1ae
I really appreciate the ones that enable more local self reliance (and resilience) like:
https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/8dff758df3db52c0bb74eddbac9bf42e
All are interesting in at least grappling with the very real consequences climate change, even though some concentrate even more power in the hands of those who want to keep us dependent upon their profit desires. I'd particularly recommend the segment in the above episode on Arrival Electric vehicles, especially on how they intend to manufacture them in modular micro factories set up within existing structures like warehouses.
This also means they won’t notice when they don’t happen because Republicans claw back the funding. They will continue to blame Biden.
The "conservatives" don't want everybody to have accesss to all those resources. What good is it to be an Aristocrat if others who you despise also have the same benefits of citizenship? Equality offends them.
“Conservatism” consists of exactly one proposition…There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect. Corollary: The law cannot protect anyone unless it binds everyone; and it cannot bind anyone unless it protects everyone.” ― Frank Wilhoit
They won the election but lost their future and their freedom. Do you think they’ll ever realize it?
Really? "god loves you best"? Like he has a "chosen people"? It's not surprising that the US's regard worldwide is rapidly declining.
I read that as sarcasm. It’s something you often hear from the right over here.
Oh, I see! I still think it makes the US unpopular.
I don’t disagree!
My wife and me, about your same age and also world travelers, don't think itvis about the number of toilets available but the stupidity and immaturity of the people. That's what we have in abundance. Sorry to say.
Yeah, but public restrooms would sure help. What "people" are "stupid and "immature"? The ones needing to engage in bodily functions, or those who refuse to have public restrooms?
Or the ones with no education? We have the worst education of the free world. My husband and I talk about how we grew up at a good time. Public education was good, women were thought of as contractors to society with jobs and college degrees and not just baby factories and people were mostly decent.
Now we identify people as Democrats or Republicans and avoid the hatred known to be perpetrated by the Republican MAGA. Most especially after 1/6/2020.
Please keep reading, keep commenting.
Thank you Professor Richardson.
"...although not quickly enough to undo damage of the previous forty years and satisfy those left behind, many of whom voted for Trump and some of whom have resorted to violence."
While economic indicators are strong and the United States has recovered faster than other major industrialized countries, far too many Americans continue to live paycheck to paycheck or worse while legacy Reagan economic policies continue to drive wealth to the top. I recently wrote:
"At the root, it is the extreme concentration of wealth versus the rest of us. Period. Everything else is intended to distract us and keep us divided and fighting.
While we continue to fight each other …
As of 2010:
Elon Musk had accumulated $2 billion. Now: $451 billion.
Jeff Bezos had accumulated $12.6 billion. Now: $243 billion.
Overall, in 2010 the wealthiest Americans held $1.37 trillion and have now accumulated $5.4 trillion."
The multiple generations of economic despair are leading to more societal-level uncertainty -which always opens the door to fear, hate, and othering. Couple it with corporate media directing anger and outrage away from the accumulation of vast wealth and onto divisive hot-button issues and you get a weak and divided nation on the verge of self-destruction.
Do you feel the trickle-down of money that $5.4 trillion in wealth? But apparently the greedy MAGA voters think that somehow Trump has a plan to spread the wealth to his loyalists.
Trump has no ideas and therefore no plans to help anyone but himself and his fellow billionaires.
I suspect he’ll lob some peanuts to his cult and keep them too distracted with hatred to notice what he does to further enrich himself and the Billionaire Boys Club. But I also suspect that outliers from his side will continue to be a physical threat to him.
But they have a great messaging machine 24/7 and the biggest megaphone, Fox "news". What do we have?
Silence.
<sarcasm font> We have corporate media to tell us all we need to know. <sarcasm font>
Funny but true 👍
I never joined the cult, I will never join the cult. Many of my family members don’t even know that they are members of a cult. That’s how saturated the country is with the right-wing blather spewed by Rupert and clones for decades. We are upside down and speeding to cultural collapse. They are celebrating while Dems are pretending that we are right side up. I hope enough can maintain equilibrium as the shitshow takes the throne. Heather is our North Star.
"...as the shitshow takes the throne." So apt. Also, "...saturated the country is with right-wing blather spewed...for decades."
We must oppose, resist, and fight towards true democracy. We do have a great North Star here as well.
So glad that my recollections are pretty parallel with hers. Makes me think that my memory is intact. When the trolls spew, it makes me know that they are lying bastards
How the hell are we going to get out of this? I truly fear the next 4 years.
We start by taking back Congress in the midterms.
I’m even worried if there’s gonna be a vote. I don’t trust Trump as far as I can throw him and it seems that he’s got a lot of representatives on his side. I just wonder if they’re gonna find a way not to have a vote.
There will be a vote. It’s adhering to the results — if not in Trump’s favor — that I think is very much in doubt. In fact, I don’t believe they will allow themselves to lose power again, regardless of the actual results of the vote. Never have I wanted to be more wrong about anything.
I agree with you 100% they’re backing Trump because they see that he’ll try and bulldoze anyone that gets in his way. This is all about the dumbing ing down of America. I think it starts in the school when they stop teaching civics and now they’re not even teaching cursive. I worked the polls. This last election and young men were coming in and registering. I live in Nevada so you can register the same day and vote the same day. Some of the young men when I asked them to sign their name printed only their first name I’m shocked, what the hell is going on in schools.
Yeh.. Cursive.., talk about a canary in a coal mine. We can't even read our own writing anymore, let alone "sign" our name. It all began 30 or 40 years ago when someone said... "hey.. I can't read your signature..". And I replied.. No Shit dumbass.., it's my SIGNATURE.., geezzuuuss H christ! I was in the Air Force back then and in aircraft maintenance there were always lots of forms one had to "sign off" on. However, they usually included a block for you to print your name as well. Even so, some moron(s) thought your signature ought to be readable. Of course, part of the freaking problem was that nobody learned how to print worth a shit so the name printed next to it was probably un-readable too. And so, it was impossible to know who signed off the forms. No problem.., we fixed that. That's when "man numbers" were assigned. And, what do you suppose became your "man" number? Yup, you got it. Believe it or not, but it's all part of the mess we find ourselves in today.., being trumped at every move $$$$$$$$$$$
Our civilian GS-13 Tech Training Advisor's signature was sometimes questioned on supply requisitions. My standard answer became to ask them if it was basically thirteen loops before I told them his name. He became fairly well known as thirteen loops by the supply personnel who took over my description and passed it on to newer ones.
It's seems to be something of a puzzle for what to teach in our modern age, but it is clear that our minds improve with use. If AI does all our thinking for us, will human thinking and creativity atrophy? If AI does teaching and goes off the rails, will we even know before reality asserts itself catastrophically? If we are to (so far as possible) be the masters of our fate, we need to adequately comprehend and remain in charge of our own tools. Just always chasing the dollar could (and demonstrably does) erode the foundation of our own societal agency.
How much of it is school and how much of it is hyper-commercialized manufactured culture? I think that most of us mere citizens feel we have been losing control of our own society. Too many have been wishfully gulled into imagining that Trump is somehow going to fix it.
They are not independent of each other, JL.
Chump promised that there will be no need for another vote
Nobody will be able to say later they didn't know - he presented his plans loud and clear, just like another demagogue did in Mein Kampf.
He told us, despite lying in the next breath
Spot on, JD.
I worry more about their proposal for a new constitutional convention.
Yes, that keeps me up at night.
They want it, so worry. They have plans
Fox News tells Republican lies as it delivers sports programs. It is more powerful than traditional media.
And, in that regard, that makes them far more dangerous, also Newsmax, OAN, Bannon, Tucker etc...creating disinformation and propaganda. In many cases, flat out lies. And they continue to do so.....
Dems will remain on the defensive until they can overcome the Fox News propaganda effect, which influences its viewers 24/7/365 with the false vision of America that Heather described today.
Craig, if TFFFG can sue someone for telling the truth, why can’t media outlets be held accountable (make it illegal) to lie to viewers/readers? Even the 1st amendment is not a carte blanche to lie.
Fortunately, the states are in charge of the votes for the mid-terms, rather than the federal government. So, barring some massive (and unconstitutional) interference by the federal govt, there ought to be mid-term elections.
I think the 'intimidation-factor' is already being employed across the board at great expense but since money is available for that, it will continue to keep mouths shut. So, there will be "a vote", don't worry about that. It's just that the outcome will be pre-ordained. And, people will be paid who will make sure that happens. No shortage of money.., yet.
If they can't stop it, they will certainly find way to rig it.
I understand what you are saying, MisTBlu. However, I feel that we should be starting now to to build the Democratic Infrastructure to counter the MAGAt machine. I think it is up to the DNC to lead.
Will the DNC leading create more tribalism? All of US need to come together as patriots no matter party, religion, sex, race. It is democracy & our constitution that needs building & support
Perhaps a Lincoln Party, since it would be harder to misappropriate the principles.
Bruce,this leadership won't lead, had they known how, they should have done that years ago. Now we are in a much worse situation. Maybe a new, younger and less appeasement oriented, imaginative and resolved one.
That's a goal, but fight against tyrants never ends. I am hoping to see some creative tactics emerge to shine a spotlight on the creepy critters and spoil, so far as possible, their felonious little plans. I'll try , as I am able, to help that happen.
If this past election has taught me anything, it’s that politics are pointless. Musk bought the election, using a perfectly empty instrument, in Trump.
Culture war bull shit whips up the faithful, when he needs them, but the fix is in. Plutocracy.
Thanks to john Roberts
The unlimited spending has enabled the corruption beyond all imagination.
Young it's called "Billionaires United" and you have to thank Mitch McConnell and the SCOTUS for it. Irreparable damage.
Mike, politics are not pointless, after all it was used to give us Citizens United and that's is why we have Mu$k as co president. It cost him what for us would be a few dollars but it's going to cost us dearly.
Well said. Your last sentence is more succinct than the paragraph I wrote and deleted.
👌
Start today! Support the truth-tellers in your local community. Vote every chance you get, especially primaries. 20% turnouts are not how to keep democracy alive.
Thank you for breaking open the conversation. We need to vent our anger and disgust. I do. And I do it all the time. But WE, the loyal opposition need to regroup around a new winning message. The answer is in Heather's last paragraph:
"Those years [the last four] demonstrated that the federal government could work for all Americans, although not quickly enough to undo damage of the previous forty years and satisfy those left behind, many of whom voted for Trump and some of whom have resorted to violence."
"Not quickly enough."
Joe Biden managed to do a lot which should be celebrated. He will be remembered as a very fine president - with flaws, like every other human being. Still, one of the best.
But our campaign of positivity (joy) fell on deaf ears because you can't undo the damage of 40 years in just 4. It will probably take at least 20 years after the New Democrats resume control of the government to make real substantive change in the lives of the people left behind by automation, weak labor laws, outsourcing, awful healthcare system and a wobbly unfair education system. All made possible by tax code geared to make the rich richer, build national debt and punish the peasants.
It is fine to vent and wallow in the pain for this moment. The next few weeks may be the most infamous and horrific of the century (or ever). But we need to regroup and become the REAL PARTY of POPULISM. We need to advocate for a complete overhaul of our society and government's role in it.
We should scream for ECONOMIC JUSTICE. This should be the center pole of a tent that will welcome people with many other views on many other important subjects. We can't be the party of purity any more. We must include those that are radical about Climate and Social Justice (like me). But we must also welcome those who have different views on most other subjects.
I will be very, very uncomfortable hanging with someone who doesn't believe in women's reproductive rights, the Climate Catastrophe...or who thumps a Bible quoting cherry picked nonsense. But if they will join in creating a coalition to topple the Oligarchs and rearrange the money fairly, I will put aside my revulsion. For a while.
We can fight over other issues later. We will always fight, won't we? For now, the key thing is removing the tyrants, restoring true democracy (as close as we can get) and creating a country where every kid has a chance to be housed, healthy, well fed and very educated.
Let's find a charismatic leader who will channel the frustration that has brought us to this ugly place. A leader with a clean background check, good education but most of all can bring a crowd to its feet. The Democratic bench is deep. Corey Booker unites. Gretchen Whitmer builds coalitions and is eloquent. Gavin Newsom can crush anyone in a debate. Chris Murphy is talking the right talk (POPULISM). Sec Pete is amazing. There are many!
I loved the joy in the Harris/Walz campaign. They would have led beautifully. But it missed the mark. The MOST unqualified politician, the MOST despicable leader in our long history, a CRIMINAL who many of his voters find offensive just won the election - faking fellatio at a rally??? All Howard Dean did was scream!
Why did he win? Not because he brought joy or happiness or a positive sense of leadership.
But because he channeled the enormous pain and dissatisfaction that is widespread in America. We are near the "Let them eat cake." moment.
So lets vent. But let's get up off our touchies and rally around a solution, a new path, a new way to appeal to more Americans - like the 90 million that could have voted who didn't. We thought we would win on turnout. We didn't. Now we know why. Most people are broke or close to it - and a few people have a ton of money.
As Belle says, "It's just a thought."
Bill, that "enormous pain and dissatisfaction that is widespread in America" is only a fraction of the issue; that so much of the anger is based on the lies they are fed in a steady stream by their "information" sources (Faux Noise, OAN, and others) is. I do not know what the response will be when the price of eggs stays high, Medicare and SS benefits are cut if not eliminated, when the "religion" that is established excludes them or their family members, and when US citizens are rounded up along with all of the "illegals" and "deported" at HUGE expense; I can only hope they will fight with us instead of bending like Niedermeyer and saying "thank you sir, may I have another."
Bill, bravo! Would love to see everyone in this group choose one item to boycott buying at the grocery store for a month. Let’s start with pork (yes, deliberately chosen since Congress is so familiar with it). Let’s choose action over reaction!
After everything that's happened on and since January 6, 2021, it is incredibly sad and frustrating to see that tffg was re-elected as POTUS by a thin majority of Americans, and to know that basically millions of Americans were too apathetic and misinformed or ignorant to even cast a vote. The next four years will be a repeat but worse of his first term, because this time they have put their people in place to carry out their planned Project 2025.
HOWEVER - We the People have organized and mobilized since 2016 and we need to pull together and keep working on helping get downballot positions filled with others who will work towards preserving our democracy. I am grateful for Dr. Heather, Joyce Vance, Robert Hubbell, Jess Craven and the many others who have worked tirelessly to keep us informed, encouraged, and active.
48 vs 49... but it was the electoral states that really colored us red. And thos people picked for those positions were paid. That's where the rot is. The deck is well stacked. with some sick people.
Keep in mind that only one-third of eligible voters voted for Trump. The problem we have is getting people to vote!
By a thin majority of those who voted, and less than 50% of those. Non-voters take up another third of the voting population.
JustRaven, if we where organized and mobilized since 2016, we weren't looking down at the abyss.
Dr. Richardson writes that " the four years from 2021 to 2025 challenged Reagan’s claim that the government is the problem. Those years demonstrated that the federal government could work for all Americans."
But this simply NOT TRUE! Many of those who voted for Trump do not live in the economy that economists, educators, analysts, and other grand thinkers see, and for a variety of reasons. They're farmers, small business people, work in low wage industries, are stuck in dead end jobs, and so on. Many are under-employed and under-educated. Many are retired and trying to live on social security, where cost of living increases are based on indexes totally unrepresentative of the cost of living of older Americans, which are strongly correlated with health care and elder care, both of which have turned into profit centers for the investor class. My wife and I collect social security, but thank God we don't have to live on it!
And please stop telling us how wonderful it is that the booming stock market is a positive indicator. THE STOCK MARKET IS NOT THE ECONOMY! The only people who benefit from it are those who have sufficient savings to invest, and the more they have, the more they benefit. Indeed, much of the wealth in the stock market has come from the pockets of the middle and lower classes, who are taken advantage of by far too many the companies in the market! I speak as one who's doing just fine in the market, but also as one who has kept up with who's screwing who and for how much.
I saw these realities when I travelled from NorCal to knock on doors in Northern Nevada for both Obama campaigns and for Hillary's; our voters were in trailer parks, low cost walk-up apartments, in Reno, Sparks, and smaller towns. I saw them 50 years earlier when I worked in the Civil Rights movement in Chicago and Cairo, IL.
Statements these this are deep denial of reality, and they come from the isolation of political leaders from the people they think they represent! The Democratic party can not regain the trust of this part of the American people until they and we realize these realities.
Thank you! The stock market is not the economy. It is as Reich has described it, a giant gambling casino. " The Age of Easy Money" PBS Frontline is a great watch.
Now they're pushing Crypto and on line gambling, too. A great way to impoverish more people.
What you saw on the ground and in reality is that the USA has become a failed state! Trust in government has appropriately atrophied. This is the fertile foundation for MAGA.
Thank you for that reality check Jim Brown!
I live in such a gray zone where no one has answers that seem connected to the full-blown dynamic we're living. Sorry to admit that the list of Biden's achievements reads to me as another form of Kool Aid, even while being part of what's true. It may be true AND not the whole picture, which you, Jim Brown, bring to light. I vote Democratic but locally and nationally I see a need to refresh almost everything (especially healthcare, education, housing communities, water and food quality). Divisiveness and polarized thinking over-simplify and we all suffer. Whether it's a third party in gestation or an overhaul that's going to emerge? I see some younger and solidly competent Democrats and maybe they'll rise into influence, I don't know but it seems we each need to show up everyday with awareness and principled behavior. Your second paragraph rings true to me.
You omit the more important point of her statement, that “…the four years from 2021 to 2025 challenged Reagan’s claim that the government is the problem. Those years demonstrated that the federal government could work for all Americans, although not quickly enough to undo damage of the previous forty years and satisfy those left behind, many of whom voted for Trump and some of whom have resorted to violence.”
Once more, Gail, you beat me to it. EST vs. PST, I expect. 😉
😘😂
I omitted it because it was WRONG -- the government does NOT work for ALL Americans. What we achieved under Biden, and it IS considerable, MISSES lots of folks like those I mentioned. And she keeps repeating it! Don't you get it? THAT'S WHY WE LOST. Caps for emphasis. :)
You are right the stock market isn’t the economy and that only some people have had the luxury of benefiting therefrom. However, it is the marker generally recognized and used in the media and evidence of the country’s financial health (or unhealth) and so can’t be completely overlooked. It is the 90/10 wealth disparity that is a problem, but it’s unlikely to be addressed in a country staffed with greedy billionaires.
Yes, it's used in the media. But it's WRONG! Something else that pisses me off is that NPR only listens the Dow, which hasn't been an indicator of the market for nearly half a century, and only in Dow points, which are meaningless, never as a percentage loss or gain, which is what the media has done for everything else for decades! I've stopped contributing to NPR until they get with reality!
As an aside on the "Manly White Cowboys" - have you ever wondered why they are called "cowBOYS" and not "cowMEN"? After all, men are "MEN!" and boys are - boys.
Apparently it stems from the earliest days of settlement. People were raising cattle in Carolina - and the weather there, the lack of knowledge, and the insect infestation, made it impossible for the white immigrants to work the cattle. However, among the slaves that had been brought in to work the crops were people from parts of Africa where cattle raising in difficult conditions was a skill that had been practised for generations. So they were taken off field work and put to work the cattle. However, as they were "black" they couldn't be referred to as "men" - hence the name cow - boys.
Well, there are "cowboys" and then there are "cow hands". The latter like to work with and are good at taking care of those silly and cantankerous things called cattle.
We need more cowboys like Bass Reeves. From Wikipedia:
Bass Reeves (July 1838 – January 12, 1910) was a deputy U.S. Marshal, gunfighter, farmer, scout, tracker, railroad agent, and a runaway slave. He spoke the languages of several Native American tribes including Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole and Creek. Bass was one of the first African-American Deputy U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi River, mostly working in the deadly Indian Territory. The region was saturated with horse thieves, cattle rustlers, gunslingers, bandits, bootleggers, swindlers, and murderers. Reeves made up to 4,000 arrests in his lifetime, killing twenty men in the line of duty
Makes John Wayne look a bit of a wuss. . .
Brava, Lady Emsworth!
Lady Emsworth, that’s truly fascinating, and it makes sense to me. Of course. I’ve seen a few southern plantations… horrific. It was obvious …again to me …that the enslaved African people were far brighter than their supposed white masters.
I could go on about this and prejudice but no. I think Heathers’ readers know. Certainly Heather does as well.
Funny, as I read the beginning of HCR’s letter today, Timothy McVeigh came to mind. The parallels are striking, and chilling. Apparently Professor Richardson thought so as well.
McVeigh’s murderous bomb didn’t start the civil war he hoped for, and Sargeant Livelsberger’s stupid stunt won’t either.
The eternal quest by some white men for some mythical lost masculinity, that is the root of all evil in the world, that can only be restored by blowing things up, shedding blood, controlling women, dominating black and brown people, and on and on, is most tiresome. Will it always be with us?
Such a good comment!
Excellent question, Ralph. I sure hope that Livelsberger has the same result that McVeigh did.
Government was never the problem. The Government is you and me and who we elect. In 2016 the government was, apparently, you me and Donald Trump, though I'm looking more and more at the events surrounding the last three elections and wondering just how much interference we had in '16 and '24. I think Comey is as guilty as anyone who broke into the Capitol, and that his actions in '16 were only a small part in bringing this soviet puppet to power.
But Trump is not even the problem here. The problem, in my life, from the Powell memo forward, is a small group of business people who don't want to participate in our community, they simply want to own and control it. These people, as embodied by the Heritage Foundation, have no common cause with Bundy; they would as soon take his cattle to Chicago and pocket the proceeds.
It was difficult, it seems, to address this manipulative little fraternity over the years, beyond deposing its front men, people like Newt. But now they have a problem, and we have an opportunity. The Court is publicly tied to support for the insurrection. We need to go after that problem.
I don't know where Master Sergeant Livelsberger figures in any of this, if at all. My first reaction was this was the same play Trump made on July 13, a manufactured crisis with human sacrifice. But it really doesn't matter, because this bombing's effect is as another distraction grenade. We can discuss the demoralization (and by the writing you paraphrased, convolution) of ordinary Americans all day, but while we are doing that, the Heritage Foundation is making whatever it's next move is, probably toward implementing P2025. We need to focus on ridding ourselves of them, their supporters in government, and exorcizing the Court.
Like MSG Livelsberger, MAGAs don't come to believe that "The vision of the U.S. as a hellscape that can only be fixed by purging the government of Democrats" just by listening to individual elected officials. They come to believe that extremist vision because it is distorted and amplified by Fox News 24/7/365. Saving democracy and restoring common sense can't be done without also neutralizing Fox News' propaganda effect. Democrats will remain on the defensive until they figure that out.
100%
my son tells me every base he's walked onto in 9 years has a tv tuned to fox in the common area
bad policy
military personnel are as diverse of opinion as the general population
at least at firsr
I spent a career in the AF and it's sadly true! Every ops center is tuned to the major networks but always includes (and sometimes exclusively shows) Fox. I agree: bad policy!
thank you for serving. my son tells me AF serves a good dinner!
I think stories like NOLA and LV say tons about how we (don't) support everyone the way we ought to. Assaulting worried minds with Murdoch's poisonous agenda does not help, either
While the bombers frame of mind seems pretty bereft of reason, it does reflect the general tone of wacko right wing talking points. So it is curious that among his complaints is "an economy that has permitted the top 1% to leave everyone else behind". And because of? Democrats? Women? Not enough tax cuts? The scale of big lies is making delusional quasi-psychosis epidemic.
That line jumped out at me too, J.L. Graham. “Delusional quasi-psychosis”, simply put, mental illness, is our gravest epidemic.
Murdoch is the medical vector of the digital Information Age that thanks to the tech bros, is here.
There is no psychosis epidemic; it's the effect of Fox News propaganda filling their heads with the maga narrative 24/7/365 for the benefit of a few elites.
Not just faux. The other, unregulated streams of "information" they consume and eat up like candy.
I believe that part of the "dark art" of cult-building is to manipulate the mindset security-hole of our vulnerable human ego. Left untamed, ego, with no more than a slight, can provoke murder or suicide. It's part and parcel of hate speech, and accompanying adamant assurance that by virtue of admission, one is among "the righteous, the "master race", the "real" Americans, whatever.
That's why I say it's psychosis-like. Cult dynamics, and there are many forms of it, can take over the mind like a computer "virus", reminiscent of how a physical virus takes over the mechanisms of physical living cells. The Heaven's Gate cult committed mass suicide in order to allegedly enter an alien space ship 'hidden" in the tail of the comet Hale-Bopp, a tale that gives even MTG a run for her money; but they were willing to die for it, and some cults kill.
The core code of such a "virus", so far as I can tell, is that it asserts possession of unquestionable, absolute truth and demonizes both doubt and the doubter. You often see this arrangement attached to religion, but they can be separate and independent things. It is why one is warned not to mention religion or politics with certain people. Anything but full agreement will provoke a personal attack; and that's not a bug, it's the feature.
Note also that our president to be has never shown any respect for anything except his own advantage. One need not be "infected" by a cult to author one, or spread it. Curiosity and reasonable doubt are protective against such mental capture, and were central to "The Enlightenment" and much of the thinking behind the Constitution.
JL, excellent points. How, exactly, does his statement about the economy (I agree with that) lead him to calling for the purge of liberals in favor of the oligarchic kakistophy that is coming into power?
You gotta love Big Brother.
How, oh how can we get truth and reality out to all residents of the USA? If i were a trillionaire, i would buy up the top 20 right-wing radio stations and do a slow (ish) transition to moderate and truthful content.
I think a version of this HAS TO BE CREATED.... A Truth Scape..somewhere where facts CAN be checked instantly and verified..AI maybe ????? .....that isn't a small or easy task but life will not be re balanced without it !
🤞
Let's hope section 3 of the 14th Amendment (prohibiting former government officials from holding public office again if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion) is enacted before the clown car sets up shop. If MAGA had that one up their sleeve, you can be sure as hell they'd try to use it. Come on Dems, grow some balls.
As a career servicemember, the actions of MSG Livelsberger are chilling and profoundly disturbing (as well as angering). We swore an oath to the Constitution, and despite the cherry-picking of folks like Livelsberger and Originalists, their words and actions are clearly, exactly in contradiction to what they swore their lives to defend. That a man whose career is dependent on supreme effort, focus and ability to both discern and act upon reality (to levels most cannot imagine) can convince himself of such an obviously inconsistent narrative should make ALL of us think hard, reflect and ask: what can I/we do?
Meanwhile, rest assured, non-military readers, there are still plenty of us who are with The People, Democracy and Education. But Livelsberger's actions are a reminder that there is no panacea--no background, level of education, social class--that assures us people's hearts are in the right place (or the wrong place either). All of us must be vigilant. We cannot all be warriors, but we can ALL be responsible, alert, prudent, just and ACTIVE citizens. We all need all of us.
I am now a teacher, and this past year I have dug in HARD on teaching my students one thing: how to think critically for themselves. I am not very successful so far. The mindset is descendant of how I view parenting. Long ago, I saw the foolishness of overprotective parenting, and saw its results too. I resolved that the single best thing I can do (aside from loving, and providing life care and nurture to my kids) is to teach them how to think and make good choices for themselves. Similarly, the single best defense we can engender in kids now is to teach them HOW to sift through the BS--because they are inundated with it on a level we don't appreciate. Think how it took the mind of MSG Livelsberger, who grew up like most of us with news and information we could generally trust. Now think how, if you were just a kid, you would have ANY reference upon which to discern fact from fiction. We're barely giving them ANY chance.
No, teaching critical thinking is not enough--but also, no amount of effort, money, education and training will solve it either. Resource direction can help, but know: we can't resource (or tech) our way out of it. It's time we stopped thinking that way. The answer is in engendering fullness as people and agency, starting with every child in our nation. And every single one of us can be a part, however small, of that. We must raise fuller, more mentally and physically active, healthy, and socially-functional human beings with the greatest-possible levels of understanding, perception and decision-making ability (and yes, this includes survival skills and resiliency in a world facing societal collapse). That, not money or some political ideology will make the biggest difference (our education hasn't been focused this way since the days of John Dewey; it is much worse since the days of Reagan, neoliberalism and the international standards of PISA). It is a long, slow, unglamorous process. But, if Ronald Reagan and his Big Boy hair can reshape American thinking for 50 years, well dammit, so can we.
As I watch my grandchildren grow, I see their parents doing a better job of raising children than my wife and I did. For this I am grateful, and proud. They are being given the golden rule, not being indoctrinated in any religion (as were my children) in hopes they will become what Americans should be: aware of the world around them, and part of it. They will not be indifferent.
Robert, I see the same actions in my field, law enforcement. I was active local law enforcement for 28 years, and part time for 7 years. I do not see how swearing an oath to the constitution permits an act such as that. Far, far too many cops buy into the MAGA line of thinking, and are parts of these "active militias" that are ready and willing to carry out all of Project 2025 with gusto.
Thankyou for your insight . MT just elected a senator running on his Navy Seal service & his support of tRump.