“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
Required reading when I was in high school, along with Fahrenheit 451. Horrified me then, as it does even more now. And to think that I am alive to see the beginnings of it possibly becoming a reality is almost too much to bear. We must stay together, encouraging each other, use our combined mental assets and those of all other like minded souls, and find a way to haul democracy free.
We owe nothing less, to those who passed the gift on to us, and those who should receive it from us!
Yes, Gustav. Throwing in the towel and wringing our hands and concluding all hope is lost is not the mindset we need to overcome these bullies who are beating their chests. There are more citizens in these red states who are just as horrified as we are than those buying in to the maga q’s. We need to keep vocalizing why our democracy is worth fighting for and mobilizing people to use the power of their vote.
Not to mention Orwell's Animal Farm and Huxley's Brave New World. I remember too the Truffaut's 1966 film that was made of 451 which I saw while at UCL.
With the exception of Animal Farm: Brave New World, On the Beach, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and A Clockwork Orange were required reading. Randolph High School, Randolph Township, NJ class of ‘68. Terrifying stuff for a 17 year old who was reading The Prophet by Khalil Gibran on his own!
My problem is, I'm certain it's going to come down to a violent conflict. It will come down to who has the most guns. I'm not eager to engage in violence and afraid we can't win a violent conflict, at least not at first. The one "hope" is that the US military will be split, with at least a substantial part on our side. Then we would have to arm ourselves and join them. Am I ready to take up arms at age almost 60? I'm just not sure.
The more I read about current events, the more I am completely disillusioned with this Country. It is truly as if we are locked in a movie theater that is showing the worst film ever and we have no way to escape.
As much as I applaud Pelosi for shouldering through to have a Commission investigate January 6th, will it really matter what the results are? None of it will have any bearing on the Mid terms, let alone 2024. More to the point, there isn't anything a person who is entrenched in The Big Lie that will change their mind. Perhaps just an exercise for the history books.
My partner put up our flag and decorated the outside of the house for the 4th of July. We live in a small historical village district in a very Red Town. I will take it all down on the 5th. There is no honor any longer in our flag. He agreed.
It matters to me! Not having an investigation would be sweeping the horrible insurrection under the rug and pretending nothing of importance happened. Some Representatives and Senators need to be questioned under oath regarding their part in supporting the storming of our Capitol. Our security forces need to know we are supporting them and honoring their service in protecting our congressional leaders and staff. To turn our backs on this disgraceful act of violence towards our symbol of freedom is to proclaim to the world the victory of Republican tyranny, that we don’t care about upholding our democracy.
We MUST have the investigation. Damn the difficulty, the anticipated reaction from all trumpers, the time spent, effort, and exhaustion of yet another investigation…to allow this destructive challenge to our country is inexcusable. Be of good courage…we stand with integrity, honesty, and all things good about our country….we simply cannot give up!
Totally in support, Dula. It seems I am in convo daily with someone regarding Jan 6th. That seems to be THE issue that Republicans with their heels dug in will argue about. They just simply do not want facts to come out, they want the story rewritten, they want the continual comparison to “Antifa” riots, they want no further investigation, they want no, no, no, no.
They doth protest too much.
The loop back to the former president will prove the treason that will upend all of Republican efforts to keep minority majority power.
Yes Dula I also care a huge amount about getting to the bottom of why 1/06 insurrection happened. But look at how hard it is to get there. I hate how much the Capitol police suffered that day. I can’t imagine how hard it is for the families of the Capitol police. However, look at the power McConnell wields over the Repugs.I wish I could be more optimistic.
I listened to a Capital police officer yesterday on Nicole Wallace talking about how betrayed they all feel by the rethiglicans. It's really sad for them to hve to protect the assess who don't support them.
It has already been decided that sweeping it under the rug is what has happened. This was chosen not by us, but by the GOP when McConnell winked at his co conspirators to vote against a formal Commission. Whatever comes out of it will be as quickly forgotten as the Mueller Report.
I do not think so, Linda but I so respect your view on this. Investigating, probing, and showing the loop going back to the president before, during, and after the insurrection will not be like the Mueller Report. That loop is going to have a lot of conspirators resting firmly in its shadows.
Christine, honestly, nothing would be better than a complete exposure of every one of the GOP insurrectionists in full view and punished to the full extent of the law. My concern is how matter of factly, the bipartisan commission was swept under the rug by McConnell. January 6th was one of, if not the most diabolical actions against our Democracy in our lifetime. Yet, one man stopped the investigation. It sickens me when I think about it.
Doesn't it feel like we are shouting into the wind these days? Less than 20% of "us" are talking to an audience whose composition is partly ignorant, often intentionally misdirected, and sometimes vicious. I think our national culture has taken cues from too many Zombie movies. I hear the sad refrain of "Camelot" in my mind.
I understand your feelings about decorating for the 4th. I used to add red, white, & blue touches to my garden and bunting to my porch along with my flag. No more. My flag still flies in honor of my soldier son who retired after 20 years and in memory of my WWll dad and their service. What frustrates me is the fragility of our checks & balances system. It does NOT work if the executive branch is rampantly corrupt and the legislative branch says, “So what.” The R’s made a mockery of impeachment when they put party over country.
You display the flag for similar reasons as I do. I recently changed out my subdued national colors with a blue line flag for the original blue line flag; black with a horizontal blue stripe that I fly for fallen officers, specifically my friend and fellow negotiator who was murdered in the line of duty.
No matter what happens with efforts to protect and preserve our democracy and voting rights, no matter how red the area you live in, no matter how many of your neighbors disagree with your political views or choice of candidates...Do Not Give Up the Fight.
Surrender and apathy is what Republicans seek. Do not give them that gift or victory. The fight for Voting Rights and Democracy in America is now over 230 years old. Many fought for a lifetime and more before any progress was achieved. So why would you give up so easily and quickly?
No one is promising an easy or quick victory. The fights likely to be long and hard, with both progress and setbacks. However, the cause is just and the objectives clear. Do your part and stay the course.
Yes it’s very sad— I live in the middle of a very blue state blue town but the diviision is such that I wouldn’t want to make apparent our views. Our country is broken.
Liz, the only gas station in my town is owned by a flag flying Trumpster who fully believes Trump was cheated and will be back in the White House in August. My partner had to get gas last Sunday and within the 5 minutes he was in the gas station, he had to hear about Trump's return, immigrants and why you never see a " retarded" Amish child. Oh yeah, it's because they kill them. I asked my partner why he listens to that crap, let alone, why patronize that Qrump. He said, well you never know when we might need his services. This is the enormous downside of living in a small town. I only know of 2 other Democrats in town. There may be more, but they are afraid to say they are.
Your partner sounds like he has good tactical sense but the whole picture baffles me. I would buy my gas anywhere else. Occasionally here you’ll see a big pickup truck with a huge American flag. Then I know it’s a Trumpee. And in a few days it’s 4th of July—used to be one of my favorite holidays.
Me too. I thought it was just me. It’s going to be quite awhile until I see a flag on clothing, a vehicle or anywhere other than a flagpole and look at it the same way I used to.
President Biden has helped me be proud of our country and flag again. Progress is slow and the scum will scream their hollow lies. I want to put additional flags up somehow saying it is because George Floyd got noticed. Critical Race Theory is true, because Deb Holland has started investigating what happened to Native American children, because… because poor children are receiving tax credit money, BECAUSE.
I agree about Biden. I think and hope he's going to go down in history as a great. This is what you get in a pres when you get a guy with decades of experience who is capable of learning from that experience.
I read an article a few days ago (need to find it again) which pointed out that poor people who don't make enough to file with the IRS are difficult if not impossible to identify for the child tax credit. Makes me wonder how many also may have been left out from the various stimulus checks, possibly creating anger among some who didn't receive stimulus money who might believe they were purposely dissed.
Ain’t that the truth. About Fourth of July, I Feel the same way and I live in Rhode Island. Never thought I’d see things get like this. I feel very isolated now and I’m afraid to open my mouth. I certainly would never put a sticker on my car in my belief system either way. I’d be afraid someone would destroy my car.
Elaine, I had a Biden/Harris sticker I got from contributing to the campaign that I wanted to put on my car, but I didn't. I was afraid someone would do something to my car. Horrible way to live, isn't it?
It started back with Obama. I had an Obama signed out when he was running for office and I woke up one morning and found it torn up and thrown all over the neighborhood. So I got a bunch of signs and plastered them on my front windows on the inside. I’m probably lucky they didn’t burn my house down!
Linda, I took my Biden Harris sticker off the car last week. Partly because of fear and partly because progress is starting and no need to annoy those who might be starting to calm down. They exist. I replaced it with non partisan VOTE. It feels like something, tho small
In 2016, I put on a sticker demanding that we pick a functional adult as our next president. I never had any trouble with it. This year I put on a red MAGA hat sticker that said "Trump lost. Get over it." I've been waiting for the day I come out and the window is bashed in.
Yes, it is horrible. And even more so when you consider that these Trumpets spout nonsense about freedom and liberty. Where is our freedom and liberty to express our beliefs?
My one bumper sticker says "Use Yah Blinkah". (My sister has "Massachusetts Bumpah Stickah for the Cah". She lives in Virginia but still keeps the faith!) And, I have the 1957 Washington license plate in my rear window that was on the 1950 Studebaker in 1957 when I had my first ride across the country--Seattle to Cambridge via a summer in Menlo Park.
Was just out driving to the store here in a very lib'rul part of the City of Lost Angles, and came up behind a pick 'em up truck that had a biiiig bumper sticker: With a waving American flag for backdrop - "Love America! Be an American!" I thought to myself, that's exactly what I am doing and am absolutely convinced you are not doing - a statement he could say with equal true belief. Which is how and why things are as bad as they are. Words no longer mean the same between the two Americas.
the City of Lost Angles! They had angles when I lived there--in Santa Monica the summer of '56. I hope they find the angles. Things get sorta weird without 'em.
Liz, he generally does. We live, literally in the middle of nowhere. He had forgotten to gas up on his way home from work . I refuse to buy gas from that foolish man.
Maybe I'm being too idealistic, but if the owner knows people who voted against former guy are buying his gas, he might at least start to think of us as human beings.
"...and why you never see a " retarded" Amish child."
Interesting false statement. The Amish are actually increasing on birth defects, and many of those children use special education services from public education. They certainly don't kill them. But, I'm sure some people that have heard this will believe it. Sigh...
I could only imagine the look on my partners face when the Qrumper spouted that lie. We actually have many Amish living near us. They consider any "challenged" child a gift from God. They are well equipped to work with a challenged child as many have an extended family scenario at home that work with and nurture these wonderful children.
That is not true about Amish children. I see Amish children at the state hospital all the time. There are some genetic disorders common d/t closed community.
Cheerio, no ofcourse not. It's just QAnon bullshit. Prior to COVID-19, we used to go to an auction frequently that always had alot of Amish attending. There was a family that had a little boy with Down syndrome. They didn't hide him and certainly would not have killed him.
Kimberly, yes they are. Don't forget they are huge into puppy mills. But, they know how to build sheds and outbuildings. Their quality of work is incredible.
Liz, I believe our large Black Lives Matter sign is an important contribution in our "lily white" small Maine town. It is generally a liberal community like yours, probably, but I feel comfortable helping the visibility of the issue. We also fly the American flag, proudly, along with our liberal signage. fwiw
I love the idea, the visual, of the colorful rainbow pinwheel ! It would blend nicely with our garden of iris, peonies, cranesbill geraniums, snow-in-summer, roses and boxwoods. (none of which I planned; I'm a laborer)
I fly the National Colors on the right side of my garage (illuminated at night) and the original* blue line flag (illuminated by a blue light) with a sign reading "In Our America" which details the things that we believe in posted in the center of our garage shingles. A small yard flag has other similar message.
* Original flag is black with a single blue stripe in the center and is not an imitation of the US flag. It honors officers killed in the line of duty.
Could you further educate us on the difference between the original flag to honor officers killed in the line of duty—compared to the thin blue line flag? Or do they look the same? All I’m finding is the thin blue line flag and a mourning badge. Thanks.
This flag came into being in 2014 following the responses to the protests following the police shooting of Michael Brown and the asphyxiation of Eric Garner. It is a subdued flag made popular by US Military personnel in the war(s) beginning in 2002; additions to the subdued flag include blue for law enforcement, red for the fire service, gold for dispatchers, and green for EMS personnel.
The original flag (all black with a single horizontal blue line in the center) has been around a bit longer, and was originally flown with the intent of honoring fallen officers. Wikipedia has some good history in this link:
I like the combination. Shows people the intersection of honoring country, honoring fallen comrades, and honoring your values. I have a very tattered earth flag I plan to replace with a fresh one soon so that I can display it alongside (or possibly over) the Stars & Stripes on national holidays. It bothers me that too many of my rural neighbors use our national flag to express their loyalty to the former president. They don't own it - it belongs to all of us. By juxtaposing those two flags with that sign, Ally, you tell a powerful message.
Great site - the flag " in this house we believe science is real" a keeper! Well, plus all the cat ones too. (just so you understand where my loyalties lie)!!!
I'm proud that my daughter has her Black Lives Matter placard in her Morgantown, WV condo window. She's not allowed to have signage on her balcony but they can't do a damned thing about what's in her window. And, of course, she is probably the only progressive in her building..the others being card carrying trumpers based on their loud televisions blaring right wing cable news channels to the mostly elderly, hard of hearing residents.
Our mobile home park lot lease allows us to post political signs in our yards for only a brief window before and election and we are required to remove them within 48 hours of election day. Signs in windows are prohibited! So we've plastered our bumper instead (and we park so the stickers are very visible). I even have a BLM sticker on my bike fender! A lot of my neighbors have cutesy signs inside their carports ("gone fishin'", etc.) and crucifixes and other religious iconography, so I'm trying to figure out a way to sneak in a "We believe" sign into my carport.
I am worried that the Trumppatriots have co-opted the U.S. flag. When I see one flying my first thought is that they are TP's. That makes me really sad.
I have a "Betsy Ross" garden flag displayed in front of my house. People think I am a Republican. I have an anti-gun violence sign in my car's rear window which confuses some because I have a veterans' cap sitting next to it, and probably protects my tires from being slashed.
Thank goodness my email tells me this is a rely to me otherwise I have a hard time following the organization of these long involved threads. Maybe color coding them would be helpful! I think more about other signage, like BLM. Honestly (and I'm cringing as I write this because I'm not proud to say it), as a 60 y.o. woman living alone in a rural area, I get a bit nervous. While it is a blue state, there are strong pockets of red. Not very nearby there is a "patriot" training school that has wreaked havoc in a formerly peaceful little town. And a lot of gun-toting coyote haters/killers, bear hounders, crow shooters around this area.
I thank and applaud you for your note and honest sentiments. I feel you are taking care of yourself, in a very appropriate manner ... I had a bit of fear posting our BLM sign - it is very large - because we have a good number of young drivers of loud trucks commuting by our home. But nearby neighbors have posted signs for Biden-Harris and diversity. WIth this line of thinking, I wonder if you were to connect w other Dems in your area, you could rally people to post signs, and you’d be simply one of many.
You’re brave— I love Maine but when I go to OOB now I have to see the big sign saying Maine loves Trump. And I was hoping somebody would steal it but it’s still up.
A couple years into the Flaming Dumpster "administration" in Hudson Massachusetts, near my town, on a _pickup truck_ no less, I saw this bumper sticker:
"Does your Trump sticker make you feel stupid yet?"
My Prius still sports these three stickers:
Warren
Biden Harris
Got science?
No one has keyed it or bashed the windows in yet. But I do live in deep blue eastern Mass. We have some Dumpster fans even here, but they are clearly outnumbered.
I think it's essential to keep the Jan. 6 insurrection/invasion of the Capitol front and center as we move into and through 2022. If not, everyone and especially Republicans will simply move on and continue claiming "nothing to see here".
Some have, esp. Congressional Republicans and hard-core "Right" Republicans. It's all of the other Americans, particularly not-so-hard core Republicans along with Dems & Independents who need to be continually reminded of that heinous action.
Linda, if I may, I'd like to encourage you to fly your flag each and every day. I think it is so important to do that in spite of the times we live in. Each child that sees that flag flown by good people learns something positive about the meaning of the flag.
That is one of the saddest pieces I’ve read on this sub. It’s a tinder box and the summer will be hot. I think violent episodes are inevitable.
The far right is so far gone that it is unsafe in some parts for a nominally, intellectually honest person on the *right* not to throw in his/her lot with the hooligans, harridans, and haters.
The Overton window for right wing discourse has not just shifted. It has fled town. Nothing is so insane that people will not proudly uphold and weaponize it.
Unfortunately many, many people on the right *genuinely* fear people like those on this sub. They hear Tucker Carlson iterate and reiterate that the NSA has opened his mail, for example. This is a man skilled in the art of high dudgeon, far more brilliant than anyone in the nightly Fox team. Upwards of 4 million people hear this and other such dangerous garbage. And. They. Believe.
At some point this will come down to a “Mad as Hell” moment like the one in the movie Network and the aggressors will take flight, convinced that they are defenders. After that, it’s anybody’s guess.
The right is increasingly desperate. They see the same polls we do. Their desperation will be released, unless there is some unfathomable series of events that leads to an awakening from this fever dream.
I used to think that if the insurrectionists were dealt with swiftly, sternly, and of course legally, and Trump was indicted for events germane to his Presidency that the spell might be broken. That train has left the station, sadly.
Your country is being CyberNinja-ed.
It is sad indeed when one wants to put out the flag on July 4th, and at the same time is legitimately afraid not to.
My husband is a Vietnam Vet (68-69). He never wanted to display the American flag after that experience and especially when he found out the Robert McNamara lied. I was not afraid to put Biden-Harris signs up in our yards. I have participated in peaceful moratoriums, and marched against injustices re: women, blacks, brown, and Asians for over 50 years. I can’t stop now. I won’t. I am not afraid.
Yes, Marlene; we are neither the hostages of anti-democracy Republicans nor hysterics, wallowing in defeatist scenarios. We are in very challenging times when clear heads, hard work, the commitment of grass roots organizations .... lots of factors, including skill, strategy, experience, organization, cohesiveness, good judgement, determination and the participation of millions of Americans are the components of our mission.
I’m not sure what train you saw, but certainly it was not the train that has been like a million fleas on a dog’s butt biting hard to get at the loop back to the former president regarding the insurrection. You best check the True USofA Patriot Express train schedule, not the fake ass news Tucker thin lips Carlson spewing hysteria drivel train.
Where does one get hold of the “True USofA Patriot Express” train schedule and itinerary? I’d love to see it - one imagines it scattering Patriot Boys and Three Percenters in its wake, as it hurtles towards truth, justice, and the American Way.
We are on the same side Christine. I would love to see nobody from Matt Gaetz through the insurrectionists up to Donald Trump, spared. Max sentences - max deterrent value.
But…
So far we have probation - for one individual who participated in the insurrection.
And hundreds of Draconian voting laws passed during the same period.
And two Supreme Court decisions today that do nothing to protect civil liberties vis-à-vis voting.
And pacts among governors to protect the border from hordes coming in, including Christie Noem sending the National Guard from her state to assist Texas.
And a Senate which acts brazenly to block ALL legislation.
And “friends” like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
My point is this - may the may the Independents rise up.May the centrist Dems and the progressives rise. Pack that train and win justice back. Somehow. It is terrible for America to be undergoing this, but it is having a tremendously demoralizing effect on other democracies - like mine. And it scares the hell out of those of us with immediate family living in the States.
Having said that, it is very, very hard for me to be optimistic now. Who in this list of subscribers to LFAA thought that the Mueller report would be pancaked with such ease by a clever jerk like Bob Barr?
Who thought two impeachments would fail? Who in this group worries that all of these investigations against Trump will not lead to an indictment because justice may well be afraid of making him a martyr?
Shit happens. I think Donald Rumsfeld used that as a justification for isolated (I hope) American savagery in a useless, criminal war.
And shit may well happen again. I love Stacy Abrams and Indivisible and Move on and VoteBlue. If you’re fighting, I applaud you.
But I am weary of cheerleading - both in government and in this sub. The GOP astonishingly has whipped up support for the big lie in the last six months. By all rights they should be a heap of dust now. They’re not. This country is in mortal peril and the ones ostensibly running federal government are slow-walking solutions.
Spare me the Patriot Express train rhetoric. We’ve got a milk train getting geared up and an election in 17 months.
I think the comments of pessimism land like a drop of black paint in a bucket of white paint. They have a greater negative effect than they should mathematically. Negativity is counterproductive to the work we are doing to keep democratic process. If you support the work for democracy, then at least frame the questions of concern in a more neutral wondering way to examine the bigger picture, not to amplify the nay-sayers and restate the obvious.
And you're not the only one last night/today. It's energy sapping--not helpful. An ally is helpful or at least supportive.
I truly apologize Ellie. Your analogy makes much sense to me.
I immensely admire people like you and Fern. You are deeply engaged and practical. And so resolved. And I see how my post(s) can be wearisome to good people. Again, I apologize and will try to be less…relentless.
If there was a function where one could check out all a person’s posts, you would see that I was the optimist last January/February. I felt like I was swimming in a sea of pessimism. I made some assumptions about the new Administration and some more about the sorry state of the Republicans and…promptly drew all the wrong conclusions.
Even though I’m not American, I have become so disillusioned in the last couple of months. The GOP has, totally undeservedly, risen like a Phoenix from the ashes, although interestingly not in public opinion.
And the Democrats who started out in such a sprightly fashion have become bogged down in procedures, internecine quarreling and wrong priorities.
So now it seems to me that the magazine part of the nation has its chest puffed out and is poised for battle - true battle. Indeed I’ve heard numbers of them being quoted to that effect. The chilling part is that some of them look and sound like normal human beings, not thugs.
I find it worrisome in the extreme and I fear that your brave efforts will be in vain, will be overrun in fact.
However, let me say that I was wrong in the winter and will probably be proved wrong again. :)
Finally, I hate (everywhere, not just here) mindless cheerleading or what comes across as such. Phrases such as “the USofA Patriot Express” are bursts of foolishness on a sub where serious people make amazing points. I come hear to learn from you, not to have adolescent rah-rah thrown in my face. Not to hear endless phrasai corruptions like “Rethuglicans” and “maggats” and childish “T—-p”-isms. There is often a holier-than-thou effect played for and it bothers me.
Heather doesn’t write like that. Nor should we. The level of discourse is generally so brilliant - I am disturbed when it goes off the rails.
Again, I apologize. You have enlightened me in many posts and this was one of them. Sapping the will of the decent resistance is wrong and I am guilty as charged.
Hi Eric, I was a recipient of your response to Ellie and thought to add a few of my thoughts to hers.
When I can, I search the Forum for specific information about what is happening on the ground; what grass roots organizations need and are doing; actions that the courts, legislatures, politicians and political parties are actually taking which effect our lives; how to apply my thoughts and time to better understanding as well as courses of action in support democracy, address climate change; helping a good candidate, etc.
You mentioned the Democratic Party in you comment in the most negative terms without reference to the January 6th Commission, which was just formed. Here are a few recent links about the Party:
In times like these, some subscribers are discouraged and need to vent on the forum, which is understandable. Why do you sometimes or is it frequently need to chastise subscribers who applaud their side and vent their frustration?
'Finally, I hate (everywhere, not just here) mindless cheerleading or what comes across as such. Phrases such as “the USofA Patriot Express” are bursts of foolishness on a sub where serious people make amazing points. I come hear to learn from you, not to have adolescent rah-rah thrown in my face. Not to hear endless phrasai corruptions like “Rethuglicans” and “maggats” and childish “T—-p”-isms. There is often a holier-than-thou effect played for and it bothers me.'
This isn't a classroom, Eric, depending on a teacher to keep it in line. Your paragraph, above, displays your personal ire and attention given to writing, which you disapprove of. Sometimes, you write as the ultimate critic. Others on the forum may wish for less 'childless' forms of criticism, but then, of course, that could lead to more threatening language. Some moderation would be nice, but this does not call for periodic scolding's. Subscribers know that they are free to IGNORE more than trolls.
You raised the question of looking into past posts. If you have not deleted yours that could be a good opportunity to review the nature of your comments and how much they revolve around your 'feelings' at the time and generalizations and or current actions by a party, politician, bill, court decision, grassroots organization, etc.
We are all tied to our styles based our personalities, experiences, biases and needs. Most of us may be more reluctant than you are to review our communications. Thank you for being among the brave and for going beyond what many of us are likely to do.
Well, Eric, thank you. Canada is as American as the US. And I don’t pronounce people as right or wrong here. I shared the negative effect on me and very much appreciate your responsiveness. Democracies are interconnected in our world economy.
I believe Eric as a citizen of Great Britain is irrelevant to Republican strategy, other than to add to general efforts to stow mistrust, confusion, fatigue, and fatalism to the point like you say of giving up.
I’m thinking just imagining a kind of polar express train with all sorts of us finally meeting in person and victory in the end. I will display my father’s flag for the 4th.
If you watched the New York Times video of the insurrection day from the videos of the people involved, it is so apparent from their comments that they TRULY believed they were doing Trump's will to protect his 2020 election win. As crazy as it seems, it is one comment after another after another of their desire to stop the vote approval and harm those they can find. Their conviction to take back "their Capitol" was the frightening part of it. And, they came prepared with weapons such as flagpoles, hockey sticks, bear spray, canes, hammers, etc.
They were convinced by the Oath Keepers, Booglaloo Bois, and others to come out from under their rocks. All financed by Dark money and a sedition Caucus which may not be hidden for very much longer.
Great analogy with the movie theater... I feel the House's investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection will make a difference even if only for historical emphasis. A lot of people will be subpoenaed, and if will be interesting to see who defies, who shows up, who actually tells the truth under oath, and who lies under oath. Always remember that everything that happened that day was based on the biggest false story of our nation's history. And, people died and were badly injured that day in addition to thousands of dollars in damages.
I have felt this way about the flag since the neo nazis and "patriots" hijacked it and soiled it. My father was a pilot in the Air Force. He had such pride. He taught me how to fold the flag. Taps. I'm so glad that he is no longer here to see what has happened to our country.
The cat woke me up about an hour ago for some crunchy food. I opened Heather's letter. I watched the NYT investigative video. I wish I hadn't. As long as Republicans support the idea that there was no insurrection our country will not heal.
I watched it and some questions jumped out at me: The handful of Capitol Police who did just stand back and let rioters enter - why did they do that? Untrained in what to do? Or did they sympathize with the actions? I want to know that.
Was there a national security data breach because of all the abandoned laptops & file folders that could have been stolen? At least the nuclear codes and ballots were protected!
There a many other obvious questions that I hope to hear the answers to. I did watch the live coverage by a journalist who was there and being evacuated (I can't remember but I think an NPR reporter). It was one very narrow perspective on her live feed, but to see the 40 minutes from every angle and doorway and hallway was shocking. My last question which is unanswerable: What if these insurrectionists HAD found Pelosi or Pence or any staffer let alone congressperson?
I had the same questions and still do. I watched the entire thing live, but obviously was only able to see what was shown from a single location at any given time. And, I too, was taken aback by the one group of officers, in particular, who immediately acquiesced, opened the bike rack barriers, and appeared to lead the mob inside. I'm still troubled by that particular instance. However, after watching compilations over the last months, it is clear that the Capitol was under-protected and that the Capitol police were quickly overwhelmed. I can't help but think that this failure to staff appropriately was by design. But on who's order? The fact that so many Republicans are unwilling to investigate the depths of the insurrection leads me to think that that while some Republican members of Congress might not have been aware of a planned attack, many others were aware well ahead of time. Now, at the risk of gutting what's left of the legislative process and the well being of the country, most Republicans in the House and Senate are outright lying about what they personally witnessed on January 6.
If the insurrectionists had found Pence or Pelosi they'd be dead. Period. I have no question in my mind that there were many there who would have had no problem murdering either one of them. While I give credit to Nancy Pelosi for pushing to create an investigative panel, I firmly believe that absolutely nothing will come of it once the findings are presented. The entire system is broken. Its evident in the actions of most Republicans in Congress, including some who pay lip service to doing the right thing but cave when push comes to shove.
Anyone who goes to a "peaceful rally" carrying a baseball bat, hammer or a crowbar is not there to demonstrate peacefully. They are there to inflict violence. And that's just what they did.
Daria, frankly I am surprised there were no "real" weapons, ie guns. Were people frisked or otherwise searched before they went in to hear the Trumplicans speak? Of all those Second Amendment Freaks it's hard to me to believe someone didn't have a concealed weapon. But thank goodness they didn't use it anyway!!
My understanding is that Washington DC has rigorous gun control laws and word was spread among the rally-goers/insurrectionists not to bring firearms or else risk arrest.
It's scary to imagine what might have transpired without those laws in place. And yet, the 2A crowd insist repeatedly that "gun control doesn't work."
Barbara. If m surprised, too. But as Syd says below, most got the message ahead if time. Remember, too, the guy from VA who was stopped trying to enter the Capitol zone with guns in his Q sticker ed pick up truck?
That mob hasn’t gone away, it’s called the Republican base and it’s led by Trump and his mini-mes. Republican politicians can’t dismiss the fear that day, because the mob and the fear are still there. The Republican voter base is terrifying.
Christine, after watching the NY Times video, I think there probably would have been at least a terrorizing of any official they found in a hallway or office--verbal, shoving, maybe worse. Killing them, I can't bring myself to believe that, but their rage and mob mentality might have allowed that to happen.
I agree with you Barbara. It’s not what I thought on the numb evening of Jan 6th. It’s now that I believe something was watching over us because it came so close to being a massacre. Brrrrrrr.
Just started watching, but know I can't watch all at once. You're right, Daria. The country will never heal as long as there are politicians who believe it was just "another day of tourists at the Capital."
It’s raining here this morning, and I plan to watch the video since I won’t be working in the garden. I didn’t want to watch last night, as I wanted some hope of being able to sleep.
Marlene, the commentary was excellent. Without sound, I think I would have been very confused. But the audio is beyond troubling. Perhaps you were wise 🙂
Barely afternoon, Daria!! I'm so behind on my self-imposed schedule. Hope to catch up soon.
Just finished watching the video and agree with you...wish I hadn't. But you know we could not not watch it. Among the ugly, the woman who collapsed on the stairs (and died) and then was stampeded by the incoming crowd. Only one person stopped to help her. Patriots? Not by my defnition.
A video was released a couple months ago which was recorded right in the area where that woman died. It is even more atrocious than the new Times video.
Not only that but that they can move them around the country for partisan purposes without federal permission should be stopped forthwith. If they are thus starting to be used for partisan political purposes, they will start to resemble the "raiders" formed in several states during the Civil War in the States west of the Appalachians. They ending up streading mayhem and murder wherever they rode, no matter which side they "supported". Another disasterous example would be the origins and wide-ranging operations of the Texas Rangers which were essential formed and used to annihilate the Native American Tribes, peaceful or not, throughout the South West.
And what is their role at the border? Arresting people who are crossing? Do they have that authority? Then what? Can they lock them up? Who's directing and supervising them?
Today's Letter points sharply at the efforts to support and subvert Democracy in black and white. The divide is diabolically clear, strong and forbidding; how do we go on?
Yesterday Heather’s Letter opened with the following: ‘Last week, Florida governor Ron DeSantis became the latest Republican governor to sign a bill making it harder for citizens to shift away from the fossil fuels that are changing the climate’. I cannot let this subject go today. It is joined with the further menace to the migrants at the border by Abbott and Ducey, the governor of Arizona. 'Iowa governor Kim Reynolds, Nebraska governor Pete Ricketts, and Florida governor Ron DeSantis have all pledged to send law enforcement to Texas and Arizona. Yesterday, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem one-upped them by announcing that she is sending 50 South Dakota National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, and that billionaires Willis and Reba Johnson from Franklin, Tennessee, are paying for the troops. Johnson told Josh Kovensky at Talking Points Memo that he was making the donation because' “this President would rather help other countries than help America.” (The Letter)
I ask that you read the following:
Madagascar is headed toward a climate change-linked famine it did not create
In Madagascar, hunger has already left people eating raw red cactus fruits, wild leaves, even the very locusts that helped decimate crops. The southern part of the country is experiencing its worst drought in decades, with the World Food Program warning that 1.14 million people are food-insecure and 400,000 people are headed toward starvation'.
'As a vast Indian Ocean island renowned for its remote beauty and unique ecosystem, Madagascar is sometimes referred to as the eighth continent. But the problems it faces now are “catastrophic,” according to WFP — and they are not primarily the result of local political or economic disorder, nor do they stem from isolated weather events.'
“The big thing is there’s no conflict, but people are dying of hunger” in Madagascar, Lola Castro, who is WFP’s regional director in southern Africa and visited the worst-hit areas in June, told Today’s WorldView. The problem, Castro explained, was “clearly climate change.” (by Adam Taylor, Washington Post) Link below:
'It’s Some of America’s Richest Farmland. But What Is It Without Water?'
'A California farmer decides it makes better business sense to sell his water than to grow rice. An almond farmer considers uprooting his trees to put up solar panels. Drought is transforming the state, with broad consequences for the food supply.' (NY Times) Link below:
When you finish reading this comment, including the links, and consider Heather's Letter this morning, reflect on the actions of DeSantis, Abbott, Ricketts, Noam, et al. Then look to Pelosi, Biden, Fauci and many other brave and committed souls. They are going forward, and we are with them every step of the way.
Hi Fern? To add to the problems, Madagascar already had, post-colonial rule, an important problem of erosion caused by deforestation...which was the result of population growth and an ongoing need for fuel to survive...which was already devastating the previously highly fertile agricultural zones. My wife's grandfather was the director of the principal French military hospital on the island while it was under French rule.
Margaret, I haven't reflected on of these traitors in the personal way you have. Their children are the country's children. Their children, oh, my. You prompted me to think of them. The level of blind ambition/self-absorption of these anti-democracy lieutenants are the faces of animated gargoyles.
Christine, I'm going to wave at you at noon on the 4th. Happened that I also received the train reply. BOY OH BOY! All I can say is that it read like a train off the tracks. Kindness comes first. Onward, this 4th is the most important in my lifetime. 'Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grains...
Perhaps a gaff, but does the good Representative from the great State of Alabama understand that he cannot be a believer in “Federalism” and simultaneously object to the placement of confederate effigies at the Capitol under the guise of supporting his state’s desire to continue to honor its connection to a failed and racist emblem? Sad. Mo should be recalled for failing civics in junior high school. Oh, yea, he probably was taught that the south really won. My bad.🤷♂️
Your last comment is not unreasonable. Recently, a survey was conducted at a Texas college (Texas Tech?) where the students were asked, "Who won the Civil War?" The answers ranged from "I don't know" to "the South?" (and some did answer correctly).
And, more and more it is apparent that it has been allowed, many times by well meaning citizens who were not paying attention. That stops now, with the help of historians like Dr. R!
Mo's "states' rights" rhetoric (and my namesake Senator Mitch McConnell's similar talk in response to HR 1) put me in mind of a historical figure: Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, perhaps the most intellectually effective proponent of that doctrine. Rereading his works today might remind us that the entire Southern slave system was politically dependent on the claim that the U.S.A. was a union of states and no more than that. Southern Democrats evoked "states' rights" to defend Jim Crow - and got away with it, because their votes were needed for other measures.
Unfortunately, the Constitution does in fact place the administration of elections in the hands of the states. HR1 is intended to change that by introducing comprehensive Federal rules, without actually ammending the Constitution. An uphill climb, as we see.
We need to remember where all this "states' rights" talk originally came from. But remembering is not enough: the DEMS need to work harder to take back more state legislatures, to make the arc of the Constitution "bend toward justice"!
I am now 86, and growing up in a Charleston that was still talking about the 'War of Northern Aggression" I wondered why the poor white folks were so eager to fight the Yankees, what was in it for them? Here's John C. Calhoun, whose advocacy of states' rights set the stage for the Civil War, explaining why:
"With us, the two great divisions of society are not the rich and the poor, but white and black, and all the former, the poor as well as the rich, belong to the upper class, and are respected and treated as equals, if honest and industrious, and hence have a position and pride of character of which neither poverty nor misfortune can deprive them."
If you haven't already, please read Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste".
That's how the planters managed to stop the poor white and the black populations from uniting to control the exactions of their "betters" and thus improve their situation.
It’s time to lessen “state’s rights “. Over the years as I have moved from MA to TX to OH to IN to NC, I have been aghast at how different these areas of the US are! We move freely (for jobs, typically) that US should NOT be so very diverse about laws and attitudes!!
Who, pray tell, is "we"? The fact is that many, perhaps the majority of state residents do NOT move, but stay where they are, for better or worse. These stay-at-homes are the folks who keep the REPS in charge in the red states and the DEMs in charge in the blue states. Fortunately, demographics can and do change, as in VA and AZ, but this is NOT true everywhere. My home state of KY is a classic example of the opposite phenomenon, dominated as politics are there by rural and mountain folks who do not and will not move. The US is a continent, more than a country. Don't forget the motto on the dollar bill, "e pluribus unum", from the many one. How wonderfully ambiguous that is. Which should we celebrate: the many, the one, or both at once? Of course it would be useful to have some basic unity in election laws and to abolish gerrymandering, but these should be practical matters and not matters of principle. If we insist on their being the latter, we will fail.
Good morning Mitchell and allow me a moment. The US is not a continent. It is a country of 50 states and 3 territories currently on the continent of North America.
You ask Priscilla, “pray tell who is we?” That would be everyone on this forum. That would be every person living in this country. That would be every legislator in Washington sent by every state. “We” is the people of this nation that have the freedom to move to or to visit any state in this nation and expect the welcome granted to a neighbor.
I will repeat to you a comment I made yesterday, Mitchell. And I stand by it. I do not reside in the country of Florida. I live in the country of the United States of America. And if Gov Desantis or the likes of him think they are going to supersede the Constitution or any law that binds us as a nation to prepare “us” to become another country as a second Confederacy with the former president as the new Jefferson Davis?
Ummmmm, no. Not going to happen. The thought of paramilitary groups that invaded the Capitol on Jan 6th leading this effort against the military of the US under the current Commander In Chief? May common sense and a correct knowledge of military strategy and might prevail. State leaders are offering their constituents up as pawns in a battle they cannot win. To turn it into a war is their greatest folly.
While your phrase: "The US is a continent, more than a country" is both amusing and ,sadly, inciteful, I think this is changing. Texas is going blue, Georgia just gave us a majority in the Senate (albeit a fragile one), and Virginia, North Carolina ...
While there are a few states which remain strongly "Confederate", we cannot, and must not, write off most of the so-called "red" states. There are moderates and even progressives in every part of our "continent."
You say "administration" but since when did administering include necessarily setting the rules too. A good administrator applies a system created by others. He doesn't continually bend the system to his own advantage or to ease his life. I see no problem in the Constitution with the Feds fixing the rules and the States applying them administratively.
The (white) masses, one step above the mudsills. Deluded to believe they are more akin to the authoritarians who promulgate laws to disenfranchise those who strike out for democracy. Once achieved by laws targeting such, those same laws will be adapted and vigorously pursued to surpress the very deluded masses so as to achieve absolute control in a law and order society. The muddled masses craft the circumstances and shackles of their marginalized status as a once free man in the society replacing American Democracy.
I watched the NY Times video after reading today's letter. Here is my response. It was 243 words too long for the NY Times comments, but you can read it. You might be able to tell I was incensed after watching it:
Anger isn't nearly a strong enough word to describe my feelings after watching this video. I agree with other posters that every person involved in American politics - local, state, federal - should be forced to sit down and watch the entire video. Why forced? Because it's obvious that many will say, just like their dictator wannabe Trump, that the January 6 insurrection was just something dreamed up by left-wing radical socialists, the universal name Republicans have bestowed on Democrats in order to keep the red venom flowing. This is a totally disgusting video to watch, yet that's why it is so good. It was real, it happened, and no one can deny what was caught on video by the insurrectionists' own cameras. Every one of the 500 or so rioters who have been arrested should be put in jail. Trump should go to prison for the rest of his life, and his Republican acolytes who continue to call the 2020 election a fraud and refuse to accept a clean defeat should be stripped of their office and never allowed to enter politics again. With Trump now criss-crossing the country and spewing the same vitriol he began many years ago - not just during his time in office - I have no doubt his dimwitted followers will attempt more insurrections. What will resolve this situation, a civil war? I hope not, but that's what Trump's animals are gearing for. And he is just feeding the frenzy with his seditionist diatribe. And this is the United States of America? How dare we even allow something like this to take place? God bless this democracy as time goes on, for it appears the hopes of the Founding Fathers to establish a true democracy are in jeopardy, due in large part to a very sick, totally narcissistic individual who would be king.
Well put. I find the Times' comments sections maddening for several reasons. One is the sheer inconsistency of whether a comment will be accepted for posting, then, trying to find your comment can be maddening if you are using a phone. Also, from a partisan perspective, several years ago they used to be a reliably liberal redoubt of ideas and conversation. Then I noticed a seeming colonisation by right wing commenters, to the point where I became convinced it was a campaign of some sort being drummed up in some internet chat room somewhere. So I mostly gave up on reading them.
That said, I'd say your comment is worthy of posting in its entirety. I'd suggest cutting it in half, posting the first half, and when it appears post the second half as a reply.
Only if you're that interested in getting the full piece posted, of course.
Regarding the removal of statues, if I am given a gift that is offensive, I have no obligation to display it. I may make the gift-giver angry. So be it. Misguidedly displaying the gift does not create an obligation to continue to display it. Why should Congressman and US Senate candidate Mo Brooks think it appropriate to display statues honoring those who led a rebellion against the United States, a rebellion undertaken in order to enslave people in their states? It is regrettable that statues of Confederates were ever displayed at the US Capitol.
I well know all of you are "out there" - which is why secession can never be other than a rhetorical waste of energy. Not unless we were willing to literally divide and pay for the reds to move to Red and the blues to Blue, which couldn't happen.
Of course, it is basically just a lot of hot-air rhetoric. Red states aren't going anywhere and they know it. There is that apparently rather "serious" secession talk in eastern Oregon and Washington and Idaho, but I still think that is just a bunch of idle chatter. The bulk of financial capital of this country and a great deal of manufacturing are in based in blue states. Red states in the West might fare a little better with their fossil fuel reserves in terms of revenue, but red states in the South don't have that. What would a state like Georgia do? Outside our cities it's largely rural and agricultural--we give y'all a lot of your peanuts, pecans, blueberries, chickens, etc., and of course, cotton (though not as much as long ago...). And, we're now supposedly a "swing" state and our urban areas are blue "bubbles" where increasingly more and more Democratic voters are. The same is true in quite a few other Southern states. There are very pronounced urban/rural divides. So rural areas want to secede and then think they don't need the urban areas in their states? It's pretty much complete lunacy to even remotely consider such a stupid idea. No, we're all bozos on this bus, and we all need to figure out how to get along SOMEHOW. Costs nothing to dream, though...
Actually, no I don't. The overwhelming majority of Texans are very good people no matter what their political leanings are. Please resist stereotyping all Texans. And, to wall off the conservatives from the liberals you might have to wall the big cities including the capitol Austin.
Also, be careful for what you wish for. By treaty when Texas became a state, it is allowed to divide into up to five states. That's ten senators! Chew on that for a while!
And old boy Texas Republican elected officials think only crazy liberal Californians are moving into Texas and bringing their crazy liberal ideas with them and they are scared shitless about it. Just sayin'.
Reminds me of efforts to split California into two or more states yet no comprehension of how these new states, almost exclusively lower-revenue, lower-population counties in northern, northeastern and eastern California, will come up with the financial resources essential to create and operate a government for each new state.
I saw this comment when you posted it, as I was up in the night. It startled me, and I have not stopped thinking about it. Could that be possible? Yet the evidence points that way.
Becky, I have no way of knowing, but the thought struck me this morning after reading today’s Letter.
There have been initiatives and rumblings in State Houses for some time now, and as the distemper that has seized the Republican Party appears to be intensifying, I asked the question. I wanted to know how others in this space view the possibility.
I suppose another reason I raised the question today is because last night I spent forty grueling minutes watching the New York Times video recreation of the events of January 6th. The denials by Republican members of Congress about what took place that day indicates to me, at least, that they have crossed a line that can’t be walked back.
We seem to be inching toward a break of some sort. I think Jan. 6 happened in large part due to the anticipation and desire of a significant number of people for a new revolution to cement the priority of conservative, "patriotic" values against the inclusive vision of progressivism. A vision which I gather is seen as being anti-American somehow, which seems like a mask so they don't have to say anti-white.
I have no problem debating these ideas. In fact I think that is the true promise of America, the freedom to speak up and challenge orthodoxy, whatever it may be. But I see this conservative movement as not willing to take up the challenge in the arena of discussion. Perhaps their thought leaders recognize the weaknesses of their stance. They seem to be relying on political gamesmanship and calls for "2nd Amendment solutions." Cries to arms and talk of secession, I guess to prove their zeal. Frankly, if they're that hard up to insist on "my way or the highway," I'll be glad to wave them goodbye. The problem is, where exactly do they plan on going? Like so many of their ideas, I get the strong impression their plans are not well thought through.
Thanks for your further comment, R Dooley. I also watched (part of) that video last night.
I had hoped that by now the country would have pulled back together at least a little, but we are more divided than ever. What frightens me most is that Republican actions seem like suicide for our country. Could that be what they really want? Secession?
They would not dare to secede. They are too dependent on money from the Blue States. Why secede when they can have total control through gerrymandering and election rigging?
I hope we keep following these additional law enforcement officers and National Guard members being sent to Texas. What will they do when they get there? Anything? It sounds like when Trump sent active duty military personel to the border, where they hung around, strung some barbed wire, and sweltered in the heat. Net effect on immigration = zero. Wasted money and military morale = millions.
Sorry to be slow responding, I didn't spot your comment until just now. While I'm glad to hear that most of your military friends are upset with the Republicans, I would be interested in hearing whether they are, nonetheless, voting for them. Because finding the actual Republican voter base, for me and my circle, is sort of like a group of astronomers looking for "dark matter." We know it exists because we can see the impact all around us (mainly weird legislative behavior and pictures of white people wearing strange clothing at Trump rallies). But everyone we actually talk to opines that the Republican Party has become a mashup between a Franz Kafka story and the movie "Beetlejuice." Very mysterious and disheartening.
Cruelty being the point, nothing Republicans are doing is designed to make the lives of their constituents better. Rather, it is about feeding red-meat/ schadenfreude to their base, and making the lives of women and minorities, miserable.
I retired after a 36 year career as a high school teacher and assistant principal. Therefore, I am extremely interested in discussions concerning the teaching of Critical Race Theory in our schools. To listen to the trump right, one would think the curriculum of every school from preschool to high school is inundated with CRT. It was my belief that it was sometimes taught in law school. Is this false? I personally know of no district that is including this in their curriculum. And yet, I see “concerned” lawmakers waxing eloquently of the dangers and evils that the theory poses to our children. This appears to be yet another disinformation campaign that so many see and believe. Am I wrong? I personally believe our curriculum needs to be revised with truth instead of myth. An uphill battle, especially in my home state of Texas, but a battle that must be fought. As my grandmother used to say, “One way or the other, the truth will out.”
You are correct CRT is is a subject for advanced education, more specifically in law schools. Last Thursday on NPR Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She was interviewing a investigation journalist with NBC. He has been looking in the right's attemp to remove all mention of CRT in all grade levels. I was appalled. By people who 1) have no idea what they are talking about, and 2) attempting to limit what is taught in local school. What this person said was it every where. Its not red states, it's also happening in blue states. In my opinion this take over of school boards must be stopped in its tracks right now.
A very important point, Jake. For decades, vacancies on school boards have been filled with right-reaching folks, often filled with half-baked ideas of politics, religion, and alt-education. It has been an intentional move by the right-wingers.
Deborah. Good morning. I, too, in public education for many years. You are correct. You won’t find it in a curriculum. Because it is not. But certain governors and legislatures will insist so because that is where their legislative power lies…with decisions regarding standards and curriculums. So all of a sudden CRT has become a “thing”, a specialty, a course, a tangible subject. Anyone who understands pedagogy knows this cannot be.
That’s not how theories work. In this case, Critical Race Theory, introduced to a teacher has the possibility of influencing an instructional approach that eliminates bias so that all students with all their differences and strengths can learn material. It actually is a theory reflected in the federal legislation “No Child Left Behind”. A “Republican” initiative.
You are correct. It is taught in some law schools. The frothing at the mouth going on by governors and others is simply grandstanding and meaningless, other than to stoke fear and stir up their MAGATs.
The easiest way to deal with this is to ask whoever is vamping on about CRT to explain what it is. Because they have not got a clue. Of course, they turn nasty when their utter ignorance is exposed, but it does shut them up.
Look, CRT is just this month's red meat signalling. Just wait there will be another "OMG the libtards are at it again" issue in August. It's geeting tiresome to say the least. Kind of like the umpteenth time you have heard the comedian do his routine. "Yep, now he's going to do the 'three guys walk into the bar' one. Last call time to go home.
Thanks as always for putting today’s events in the context of history.
Here’s an excellent piece on State attempts to ban discussion of critical race theory. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html. The analogy to Stalin in the ‘30s seems apt. And it seems clear that the ReTrumplicans who rail against “cancel culture” are doing their best to cancel the emergence of those parts of the American story that don’t mesh with their lily-white fiction.
Mother Theresa said, peace begins with a smile. It’s sad that Kevin, Mitch, Ron, and the rest won’t even give a smile. Is this to be how democracy dies?
“Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”
― George Orwell, 1984
Required reading when I was in high school, along with Fahrenheit 451. Horrified me then, as it does even more now. And to think that I am alive to see the beginnings of it possibly becoming a reality is almost too much to bear. We must stay together, encouraging each other, use our combined mental assets and those of all other like minded souls, and find a way to haul democracy free.
We owe nothing less, to those who passed the gift on to us, and those who should receive it from us!
Can we agree?
Yes, Gustav. Throwing in the towel and wringing our hands and concluding all hope is lost is not the mindset we need to overcome these bullies who are beating their chests. There are more citizens in these red states who are just as horrified as we are than those buying in to the maga q’s. We need to keep vocalizing why our democracy is worth fighting for and mobilizing people to use the power of their vote.
Their vote will have no power if Republicans keep control of swing states through gerrymandering and give themselves the power to throw out votes.
As in Fahrenheit 451, I humbly suggest that each of us memorize a book.
Not to mention Orwell's Animal Farm and Huxley's Brave New World. I remember too the Truffaut's 1966 film that was made of 451 which I saw while at UCL.
With the exception of Animal Farm: Brave New World, On the Beach, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and A Clockwork Orange were required reading. Randolph High School, Randolph Township, NJ class of ‘68. Terrifying stuff for a 17 year old who was reading The Prophet by Khalil Gibran on his own!
Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet, occupied space in my college room starting in ‘69. After that, Vietnam War marches and burning my bra.
All of the above were taught to me in school. Recently saw a FB post asked who had read these books? Astounding how many had not- all ages.
Do you still live in Randolph? If so, we are practically neighbors!
No, not since the day after my graduation, when I moved to Ft. Dix.
Yeah....
My problem is, I'm certain it's going to come down to a violent conflict. It will come down to who has the most guns. I'm not eager to engage in violence and afraid we can't win a violent conflict, at least not at first. The one "hope" is that the US military will be split, with at least a substantial part on our side. Then we would have to arm ourselves and join them. Am I ready to take up arms at age almost 60? I'm just not sure.
We are not going to let that happen.
Thank you Heather.
The more I read about current events, the more I am completely disillusioned with this Country. It is truly as if we are locked in a movie theater that is showing the worst film ever and we have no way to escape.
As much as I applaud Pelosi for shouldering through to have a Commission investigate January 6th, will it really matter what the results are? None of it will have any bearing on the Mid terms, let alone 2024. More to the point, there isn't anything a person who is entrenched in The Big Lie that will change their mind. Perhaps just an exercise for the history books.
My partner put up our flag and decorated the outside of the house for the 4th of July. We live in a small historical village district in a very Red Town. I will take it all down on the 5th. There is no honor any longer in our flag. He agreed.
Be safe, be well.
It matters to me! Not having an investigation would be sweeping the horrible insurrection under the rug and pretending nothing of importance happened. Some Representatives and Senators need to be questioned under oath regarding their part in supporting the storming of our Capitol. Our security forces need to know we are supporting them and honoring their service in protecting our congressional leaders and staff. To turn our backs on this disgraceful act of violence towards our symbol of freedom is to proclaim to the world the victory of Republican tyranny, that we don’t care about upholding our democracy.
We MUST have the investigation. Damn the difficulty, the anticipated reaction from all trumpers, the time spent, effort, and exhaustion of yet another investigation…to allow this destructive challenge to our country is inexcusable. Be of good courage…we stand with integrity, honesty, and all things good about our country….we simply cannot give up!
Yes to this!
Totally in support, Dula. It seems I am in convo daily with someone regarding Jan 6th. That seems to be THE issue that Republicans with their heels dug in will argue about. They just simply do not want facts to come out, they want the story rewritten, they want the continual comparison to “Antifa” riots, they want no further investigation, they want no, no, no, no.
They doth protest too much.
The loop back to the former president will prove the treason that will upend all of Republican efforts to keep minority majority power.
Please, let it be so!
Who's sizzlin' now, Christine!! Late to today's party, so I'll just say Afternoon, Christine!!
Almost evening now Lynell. Traveling today. I had to sizzle some bacon on the griddle early this morning!
I’m celebrating freedom this weekend!
Celebrate away, Christine!! After all, last time I checked, it's your country too.
Yes Dula I also care a huge amount about getting to the bottom of why 1/06 insurrection happened. But look at how hard it is to get there. I hate how much the Capitol police suffered that day. I can’t imagine how hard it is for the families of the Capitol police. However, look at the power McConnell wields over the Repugs.I wish I could be more optimistic.
I listened to a Capital police officer yesterday on Nicole Wallace talking about how betrayed they all feel by the rethiglicans. It's really sad for them to hve to protect the assess who don't support them.
At least the hypocrisy is laid bare for all to see. Truth matters.
It has already been decided that sweeping it under the rug is what has happened. This was chosen not by us, but by the GOP when McConnell winked at his co conspirators to vote against a formal Commission. Whatever comes out of it will be as quickly forgotten as the Mueller Report.
I do not think so, Linda but I so respect your view on this. Investigating, probing, and showing the loop going back to the president before, during, and after the insurrection will not be like the Mueller Report. That loop is going to have a lot of conspirators resting firmly in its shadows.
Treason.
Christine, honestly, nothing would be better than a complete exposure of every one of the GOP insurrectionists in full view and punished to the full extent of the law. My concern is how matter of factly, the bipartisan commission was swept under the rug by McConnell. January 6th was one of, if not the most diabolical actions against our Democracy in our lifetime. Yet, one man stopped the investigation. It sickens me when I think about it.
Doesn't it feel like we are shouting into the wind these days? Less than 20% of "us" are talking to an audience whose composition is partly ignorant, often intentionally misdirected, and sometimes vicious. I think our national culture has taken cues from too many Zombie movies. I hear the sad refrain of "Camelot" in my mind.
Only 10% of the colonists fought for independence. Most sat on the fence. The remainder fought with the king.
Hope, yes it does.
Linda I know it seems hopeless but let’s try to keep our faith.
Here Here!!! Perfectly stated
I share your sadness. I wish that I could be more optimistic but the situation here seems to be getting worse by the day.
I understand and I agree.
It matters to me as well, Dula.
Exactly
I understand your feelings about decorating for the 4th. I used to add red, white, & blue touches to my garden and bunting to my porch along with my flag. No more. My flag still flies in honor of my soldier son who retired after 20 years and in memory of my WWll dad and their service. What frustrates me is the fragility of our checks & balances system. It does NOT work if the executive branch is rampantly corrupt and the legislative branch says, “So what.” The R’s made a mockery of impeachment when they put party over country.
You display the flag for similar reasons as I do. I recently changed out my subdued national colors with a blue line flag for the original blue line flag; black with a horizontal blue stripe that I fly for fallen officers, specifically my friend and fellow negotiator who was murdered in the line of duty.
No matter what happens with efforts to protect and preserve our democracy and voting rights, no matter how red the area you live in, no matter how many of your neighbors disagree with your political views or choice of candidates...Do Not Give Up the Fight.
Surrender and apathy is what Republicans seek. Do not give them that gift or victory. The fight for Voting Rights and Democracy in America is now over 230 years old. Many fought for a lifetime and more before any progress was achieved. So why would you give up so easily and quickly?
No one is promising an easy or quick victory. The fights likely to be long and hard, with both progress and setbacks. However, the cause is just and the objectives clear. Do your part and stay the course.
Thank you Bruce. We proudly display our American flag and our neighbors know that we are Democrats.
Yes it’s very sad— I live in the middle of a very blue state blue town but the diviision is such that I wouldn’t want to make apparent our views. Our country is broken.
Liz, the only gas station in my town is owned by a flag flying Trumpster who fully believes Trump was cheated and will be back in the White House in August. My partner had to get gas last Sunday and within the 5 minutes he was in the gas station, he had to hear about Trump's return, immigrants and why you never see a " retarded" Amish child. Oh yeah, it's because they kill them. I asked my partner why he listens to that crap, let alone, why patronize that Qrump. He said, well you never know when we might need his services. This is the enormous downside of living in a small town. I only know of 2 other Democrats in town. There may be more, but they are afraid to say they are.
Your partner sounds like he has good tactical sense but the whole picture baffles me. I would buy my gas anywhere else. Occasionally here you’ll see a big pickup truck with a huge American flag. Then I know it’s a Trumpee. And in a few days it’s 4th of July—used to be one of my favorite holidays.
Me too. I thought it was just me. It’s going to be quite awhile until I see a flag on clothing, a vehicle or anywhere other than a flagpole and look at it the same way I used to.
President Biden has helped me be proud of our country and flag again. Progress is slow and the scum will scream their hollow lies. I want to put additional flags up somehow saying it is because George Floyd got noticed. Critical Race Theory is true, because Deb Holland has started investigating what happened to Native American children, because… because poor children are receiving tax credit money, BECAUSE.
I agree about Biden. I think and hope he's going to go down in history as a great. This is what you get in a pres when you get a guy with decades of experience who is capable of learning from that experience.
I read an article a few days ago (need to find it again) which pointed out that poor people who don't make enough to file with the IRS are difficult if not impossible to identify for the child tax credit. Makes me wonder how many also may have been left out from the various stimulus checks, possibly creating anger among some who didn't receive stimulus money who might believe they were purposely dissed.
Girl, YES.
Me, too! But, the day Biden looks like he's going to hug the flag will be the day I move out of country. LOL
And they gave her tenure.
Ain’t that the truth. About Fourth of July, I Feel the same way and I live in Rhode Island. Never thought I’d see things get like this. I feel very isolated now and I’m afraid to open my mouth. I certainly would never put a sticker on my car in my belief system either way. I’d be afraid someone would destroy my car.
Elaine, I had a Biden/Harris sticker I got from contributing to the campaign that I wanted to put on my car, but I didn't. I was afraid someone would do something to my car. Horrible way to live, isn't it?
It started back with Obama. I had an Obama signed out when he was running for office and I woke up one morning and found it torn up and thrown all over the neighborhood. So I got a bunch of signs and plastered them on my front windows on the inside. I’m probably lucky they didn’t burn my house down!
Linda, I took my Biden Harris sticker off the car last week. Partly because of fear and partly because progress is starting and no need to annoy those who might be starting to calm down. They exist. I replaced it with non partisan VOTE. It feels like something, tho small
In 2016, I put on a sticker demanding that we pick a functional adult as our next president. I never had any trouble with it. This year I put on a red MAGA hat sticker that said "Trump lost. Get over it." I've been waiting for the day I come out and the window is bashed in.
Yes, it is horrible. And even more so when you consider that these Trumpets spout nonsense about freedom and liberty. Where is our freedom and liberty to express our beliefs?
Morning Elaine, the only sticker I have on my car says “Make tea not war”.
My one bumper sticker says "Use Yah Blinkah". (My sister has "Massachusetts Bumpah Stickah for the Cah". She lives in Virginia but still keeps the faith!) And, I have the 1957 Washington license plate in my rear window that was on the 1950 Studebaker in 1957 when I had my first ride across the country--Seattle to Cambridge via a summer in Menlo Park.
How are your bees?
Was just out driving to the store here in a very lib'rul part of the City of Lost Angles, and came up behind a pick 'em up truck that had a biiiig bumper sticker: With a waving American flag for backdrop - "Love America! Be an American!" I thought to myself, that's exactly what I am doing and am absolutely convinced you are not doing - a statement he could say with equal true belief. Which is how and why things are as bad as they are. Words no longer mean the same between the two Americas.
My despair has no words.
So very true and partly because some of us actually read.
the City of Lost Angles! They had angles when I lived there--in Santa Monica the summer of '56. I hope they find the angles. Things get sorta weird without 'em.
Liz, he generally does. We live, literally in the middle of nowhere. He had forgotten to gas up on his way home from work . I refuse to buy gas from that foolish man.
Yeah, and living in the middle of nowhere is not the place to be if you're low on gas. Been there done that in ruby red eastern Colorado.
True story !
Maybe I'm being too idealistic, but if the owner knows people who voted against former guy are buying his gas, he might at least start to think of us as human beings.
"...and why you never see a " retarded" Amish child."
Interesting false statement. The Amish are actually increasing on birth defects, and many of those children use special education services from public education. They certainly don't kill them. But, I'm sure some people that have heard this will believe it. Sigh...
I could only imagine the look on my partners face when the Qrumper spouted that lie. We actually have many Amish living near us. They consider any "challenged" child a gift from God. They are well equipped to work with a challenged child as many have an extended family scenario at home that work with and nurture these wonderful children.
That is not true about Amish children. I see Amish children at the state hospital all the time. There are some genetic disorders common d/t closed community.
Cheerio, no ofcourse not. It's just QAnon bullshit. Prior to COVID-19, we used to go to an auction frequently that always had alot of Amish attending. There was a family that had a little boy with Down syndrome. They didn't hide him and certainly would not have killed him.
Lie number 6,235,876
They are brutal on their horses generally too.
Kimberly, yes they are. Don't forget they are huge into puppy mills. But, they know how to build sheds and outbuildings. Their quality of work is incredible.
Liz, I believe our large Black Lives Matter sign is an important contribution in our "lily white" small Maine town. It is generally a liberal community like yours, probably, but I feel comfortable helping the visibility of the issue. We also fly the American flag, proudly, along with our liberal signage. fwiw
Worth a great deal, imho. We fly the American flag along with a large rainbow pinwheel in front of our home.
I love the idea, the visual, of the colorful rainbow pinwheel ! It would blend nicely with our garden of iris, peonies, cranesbill geraniums, snow-in-summer, roses and boxwoods. (none of which I planned; I'm a laborer)
I fly the National Colors on the right side of my garage (illuminated at night) and the original* blue line flag (illuminated by a blue light) with a sign reading "In Our America" which details the things that we believe in posted in the center of our garage shingles. A small yard flag has other similar message.
* Original flag is black with a single blue stripe in the center and is not an imitation of the US flag. It honors officers killed in the line of duty.
https://www.nwgsd.org/download for the "In Our America" signage
This is the other one:
https://macorner.co/products/in-this-house-we-believe-science-is-real-garden-flag-pr-fem260303hapo?variant=39566147125408¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_source=googlesp&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=13350010703&utm_content=126026952194&utm_term=&gclid=CjwKCAjwz_WGBhA1EiwAUAxIcTlzJ0DPNaFF3gmVv8IMhAunLyYZuozfapJiDj8YPSLmm3TBUU29thoCvsgQAvD_BwE
Hi Ally,
Could you further educate us on the difference between the original flag to honor officers killed in the line of duty—compared to the thin blue line flag? Or do they look the same? All I’m finding is the thin blue line flag and a mourning badge. Thanks.
This flag came into being in 2014 following the responses to the protests following the police shooting of Michael Brown and the asphyxiation of Eric Garner. It is a subdued flag made popular by US Military personnel in the war(s) beginning in 2002; additions to the subdued flag include blue for law enforcement, red for the fire service, gold for dispatchers, and green for EMS personnel.
https://www.thinbluelineusa.com/products/durasleek-thin-blue-line-american-flag-sewn-embroidered-2x3-ft?keyword=&gclid=CjwKCAjwz_WGBhA1EiwAUAxIcXEiIkh31vOOMe49TdIxti7VMVzWwifIzkirCccCyK3PMuEbDUp5JhoC5e0QAvD_BwE
The original flag (all black with a single horizontal blue line in the center) has been around a bit longer, and was originally flown with the intent of honoring fallen officers. Wikipedia has some good history in this link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_blue_line
Thank you, Ally.
Thank you Ally. Fabulous post today.
I like the combination. Shows people the intersection of honoring country, honoring fallen comrades, and honoring your values. I have a very tattered earth flag I plan to replace with a fresh one soon so that I can display it alongside (or possibly over) the Stars & Stripes on national holidays. It bothers me that too many of my rural neighbors use our national flag to express their loyalty to the former president. They don't own it - it belongs to all of us. By juxtaposing those two flags with that sign, Ally, you tell a powerful message.
Nice, Ally! Will be back on track, hopefully, tomorrow.
Great site - the flag " in this house we believe science is real" a keeper! Well, plus all the cat ones too. (just so you understand where my loyalties lie)!!!
Of course, cats rule!
They truly do! Over people AND dogs!
I'm proud that my daughter has her Black Lives Matter placard in her Morgantown, WV condo window. She's not allowed to have signage on her balcony but they can't do a damned thing about what's in her window. And, of course, she is probably the only progressive in her building..the others being card carrying trumpers based on their loud televisions blaring right wing cable news channels to the mostly elderly, hard of hearing residents.
Our mobile home park lot lease allows us to post political signs in our yards for only a brief window before and election and we are required to remove them within 48 hours of election day. Signs in windows are prohibited! So we've plastered our bumper instead (and we park so the stickers are very visible). I even have a BLM sticker on my bike fender! A lot of my neighbors have cutesy signs inside their carports ("gone fishin'", etc.) and crucifixes and other religious iconography, so I'm trying to figure out a way to sneak in a "We believe" sign into my carport.
You go, Lanita!
Ah-haa! A liberal “Mountaineer!” I treasure the thought!
Right?
Daria, thank her for me for her conviction. I love that she did.
I am worried that the Trumppatriots have co-opted the U.S. flag. When I see one flying my first thought is that they are TP's. That makes me really sad.
Let’s take it back
Yeah!!!
I have a "Betsy Ross" garden flag displayed in front of my house. People think I am a Republican. I have an anti-gun violence sign in my car's rear window which confuses some because I have a veterans' cap sitting next to it, and probably protects my tires from being slashed.
Haha, I guess have to "curate" our displays very carefully to make sure we are sending the right message! :)
Republicans have co-opted the flag and narrowed the definition of "patriotism" and anyone who disagrees with them is "not worthy". Dan Crenshaw, another despicable character, wants Gwen Berry kicked off the Olympic team. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/06/29/gwen-berry-dan-crenshaw/
Crenshaw is a thug. They are all thugs. No apologies for saying so.
Have you thought of flying the flag? Along with a yard sign or two?
Thank goodness my email tells me this is a rely to me otherwise I have a hard time following the organization of these long involved threads. Maybe color coding them would be helpful! I think more about other signage, like BLM. Honestly (and I'm cringing as I write this because I'm not proud to say it), as a 60 y.o. woman living alone in a rural area, I get a bit nervous. While it is a blue state, there are strong pockets of red. Not very nearby there is a "patriot" training school that has wreaked havoc in a formerly peaceful little town. And a lot of gun-toting coyote haters/killers, bear hounders, crow shooters around this area.
I thank and applaud you for your note and honest sentiments. I feel you are taking care of yourself, in a very appropriate manner ... I had a bit of fear posting our BLM sign - it is very large - because we have a good number of young drivers of loud trucks commuting by our home. But nearby neighbors have posted signs for Biden-Harris and diversity. WIth this line of thinking, I wonder if you were to connect w other Dems in your area, you could rally people to post signs, and you’d be simply one of many.
You’re brave— I love Maine but when I go to OOB now I have to see the big sign saying Maine loves Trump. And I was hoping somebody would steal it but it’s still up.
I see an American flag now, for instance on a truck, and my first thought is “Trumpster” or “Redneck”. I know...sad.
My friend has a huge flag on his red cool antique truck that he flies occasionally that says
TRUMP
LOST
A couple years into the Flaming Dumpster "administration" in Hudson Massachusetts, near my town, on a _pickup truck_ no less, I saw this bumper sticker:
"Does your Trump sticker make you feel stupid yet?"
My Prius still sports these three stickers:
Warren
Biden Harris
Got science?
No one has keyed it or bashed the windows in yet. But I do live in deep blue eastern Mass. We have some Dumpster fans even here, but they are clearly outnumbered.
I think it's essential to keep the Jan. 6 insurrection/invasion of the Capitol front and center as we move into and through 2022. If not, everyone and especially Republicans will simply move on and continue claiming "nothing to see here".
Judith, I think they already have.
Some have, esp. Congressional Republicans and hard-core "Right" Republicans. It's all of the other Americans, particularly not-so-hard core Republicans along with Dems & Independents who need to be continually reminded of that heinous action.
Linda, if I may, I'd like to encourage you to fly your flag each and every day. I think it is so important to do that in spite of the times we live in. Each child that sees that flag flown by good people learns something positive about the meaning of the flag.
We lefties need to take back the flag.
That is one of the saddest pieces I’ve read on this sub. It’s a tinder box and the summer will be hot. I think violent episodes are inevitable.
The far right is so far gone that it is unsafe in some parts for a nominally, intellectually honest person on the *right* not to throw in his/her lot with the hooligans, harridans, and haters.
The Overton window for right wing discourse has not just shifted. It has fled town. Nothing is so insane that people will not proudly uphold and weaponize it.
Unfortunately many, many people on the right *genuinely* fear people like those on this sub. They hear Tucker Carlson iterate and reiterate that the NSA has opened his mail, for example. This is a man skilled in the art of high dudgeon, far more brilliant than anyone in the nightly Fox team. Upwards of 4 million people hear this and other such dangerous garbage. And. They. Believe.
At some point this will come down to a “Mad as Hell” moment like the one in the movie Network and the aggressors will take flight, convinced that they are defenders. After that, it’s anybody’s guess.
The right is increasingly desperate. They see the same polls we do. Their desperation will be released, unless there is some unfathomable series of events that leads to an awakening from this fever dream.
I used to think that if the insurrectionists were dealt with swiftly, sternly, and of course legally, and Trump was indicted for events germane to his Presidency that the spell might be broken. That train has left the station, sadly.
Your country is being CyberNinja-ed.
It is sad indeed when one wants to put out the flag on July 4th, and at the same time is legitimately afraid not to.
My husband is a Vietnam Vet (68-69). He never wanted to display the American flag after that experience and especially when he found out the Robert McNamara lied. I was not afraid to put Biden-Harris signs up in our yards. I have participated in peaceful moratoriums, and marched against injustices re: women, blacks, brown, and Asians for over 50 years. I can’t stop now. I won’t. I am not afraid.
Yes, Marlene; we are neither the hostages of anti-democracy Republicans nor hysterics, wallowing in defeatist scenarios. We are in very challenging times when clear heads, hard work, the commitment of grass roots organizations .... lots of factors, including skill, strategy, experience, organization, cohesiveness, good judgement, determination and the participation of millions of Americans are the components of our mission.
Yes, girl. Go Marlene. That’s how I feel.
I’m not sure what train you saw, but certainly it was not the train that has been like a million fleas on a dog’s butt biting hard to get at the loop back to the former president regarding the insurrection. You best check the True USofA Patriot Express train schedule, not the fake ass news Tucker thin lips Carlson spewing hysteria drivel train.
Where does one get hold of the “True USofA Patriot Express” train schedule and itinerary? I’d love to see it - one imagines it scattering Patriot Boys and Three Percenters in its wake, as it hurtles towards truth, justice, and the American Way.
We are on the same side Christine. I would love to see nobody from Matt Gaetz through the insurrectionists up to Donald Trump, spared. Max sentences - max deterrent value.
But…
So far we have probation - for one individual who participated in the insurrection.
And hundreds of Draconian voting laws passed during the same period.
And two Supreme Court decisions today that do nothing to protect civil liberties vis-à-vis voting.
And pacts among governors to protect the border from hordes coming in, including Christie Noem sending the National Guard from her state to assist Texas.
And a Senate which acts brazenly to block ALL legislation.
And “friends” like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
My point is this - may the may the Independents rise up.May the centrist Dems and the progressives rise. Pack that train and win justice back. Somehow. It is terrible for America to be undergoing this, but it is having a tremendously demoralizing effect on other democracies - like mine. And it scares the hell out of those of us with immediate family living in the States.
Having said that, it is very, very hard for me to be optimistic now. Who in this list of subscribers to LFAA thought that the Mueller report would be pancaked with such ease by a clever jerk like Bob Barr?
Who thought two impeachments would fail? Who in this group worries that all of these investigations against Trump will not lead to an indictment because justice may well be afraid of making him a martyr?
Shit happens. I think Donald Rumsfeld used that as a justification for isolated (I hope) American savagery in a useless, criminal war.
And shit may well happen again. I love Stacy Abrams and Indivisible and Move on and VoteBlue. If you’re fighting, I applaud you.
But I am weary of cheerleading - both in government and in this sub. The GOP astonishingly has whipped up support for the big lie in the last six months. By all rights they should be a heap of dust now. They’re not. This country is in mortal peril and the ones ostensibly running federal government are slow-walking solutions.
Spare me the Patriot Express train rhetoric. We’ve got a milk train getting geared up and an election in 17 months.
I think the comments of pessimism land like a drop of black paint in a bucket of white paint. They have a greater negative effect than they should mathematically. Negativity is counterproductive to the work we are doing to keep democratic process. If you support the work for democracy, then at least frame the questions of concern in a more neutral wondering way to examine the bigger picture, not to amplify the nay-sayers and restate the obvious.
And you're not the only one last night/today. It's energy sapping--not helpful. An ally is helpful or at least supportive.
Ellie, you put it so well. The negative stuff actually hurts. It is difficult not to cut back. Thank you.
I truly apologize Ellie. Your analogy makes much sense to me.
I immensely admire people like you and Fern. You are deeply engaged and practical. And so resolved. And I see how my post(s) can be wearisome to good people. Again, I apologize and will try to be less…relentless.
If there was a function where one could check out all a person’s posts, you would see that I was the optimist last January/February. I felt like I was swimming in a sea of pessimism. I made some assumptions about the new Administration and some more about the sorry state of the Republicans and…promptly drew all the wrong conclusions.
Even though I’m not American, I have become so disillusioned in the last couple of months. The GOP has, totally undeservedly, risen like a Phoenix from the ashes, although interestingly not in public opinion.
And the Democrats who started out in such a sprightly fashion have become bogged down in procedures, internecine quarreling and wrong priorities.
So now it seems to me that the magazine part of the nation has its chest puffed out and is poised for battle - true battle. Indeed I’ve heard numbers of them being quoted to that effect. The chilling part is that some of them look and sound like normal human beings, not thugs.
I find it worrisome in the extreme and I fear that your brave efforts will be in vain, will be overrun in fact.
However, let me say that I was wrong in the winter and will probably be proved wrong again. :)
Finally, I hate (everywhere, not just here) mindless cheerleading or what comes across as such. Phrases such as “the USofA Patriot Express” are bursts of foolishness on a sub where serious people make amazing points. I come hear to learn from you, not to have adolescent rah-rah thrown in my face. Not to hear endless phrasai corruptions like “Rethuglicans” and “maggats” and childish “T—-p”-isms. There is often a holier-than-thou effect played for and it bothers me.
Heather doesn’t write like that. Nor should we. The level of discourse is generally so brilliant - I am disturbed when it goes off the rails.
Again, I apologize. You have enlightened me in many posts and this was one of them. Sapping the will of the decent resistance is wrong and I am guilty as charged.
Thank you for taking the time to write.
Hi Eric, I was a recipient of your response to Ellie and thought to add a few of my thoughts to hers.
When I can, I search the Forum for specific information about what is happening on the ground; what grass roots organizations need and are doing; actions that the courts, legislatures, politicians and political parties are actually taking which effect our lives; how to apply my thoughts and time to better understanding as well as courses of action in support democracy, address climate change; helping a good candidate, etc.
You mentioned the Democratic Party in you comment in the most negative terms without reference to the January 6th Commission, which was just formed. Here are a few recent links about the Party:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/07/gallup-survey-shows-largest-increase-democratic-party-affiliation-decade/7114860002/
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1009818514/house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-launches-select-committee-to-probe-jan-6-insurrection
https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959573611/dnc-chairman-jaime-harrison-wants-to-build-the-next-generation-of-democratic-tal
Voting rights organizations, articles and voting rights lawyers are good sources for up-to-date information on that subject:
https://www.brennancenter.org/get-involved/partner-us
https://www.lawyerscommittee.org/project/voting-rights-project/
https://www.lawyerscommittee.org/project/election-protection/
https://www.axios.com/supreme-court-voting-rights-georgia-texas-4a722425-0430-48bc-aeac-7d257a29fe24.html
In times like these, some subscribers are discouraged and need to vent on the forum, which is understandable. Why do you sometimes or is it frequently need to chastise subscribers who applaud their side and vent their frustration?
'Finally, I hate (everywhere, not just here) mindless cheerleading or what comes across as such. Phrases such as “the USofA Patriot Express” are bursts of foolishness on a sub where serious people make amazing points. I come hear to learn from you, not to have adolescent rah-rah thrown in my face. Not to hear endless phrasai corruptions like “Rethuglicans” and “maggats” and childish “T—-p”-isms. There is often a holier-than-thou effect played for and it bothers me.'
This isn't a classroom, Eric, depending on a teacher to keep it in line. Your paragraph, above, displays your personal ire and attention given to writing, which you disapprove of. Sometimes, you write as the ultimate critic. Others on the forum may wish for less 'childless' forms of criticism, but then, of course, that could lead to more threatening language. Some moderation would be nice, but this does not call for periodic scolding's. Subscribers know that they are free to IGNORE more than trolls.
You raised the question of looking into past posts. If you have not deleted yours that could be a good opportunity to review the nature of your comments and how much they revolve around your 'feelings' at the time and generalizations and or current actions by a party, politician, bill, court decision, grassroots organization, etc.
We are all tied to our styles based our personalities, experiences, biases and needs. Most of us may be more reluctant than you are to review our communications. Thank you for being among the brave and for going beyond what many of us are likely to do.
Well, Eric, thank you. Canada is as American as the US. And I don’t pronounce people as right or wrong here. I shared the negative effect on me and very much appreciate your responsiveness. Democracies are interconnected in our world economy.
Sorry for my typos, Eric. Even when I reread what I've written before posting, I still miss them. Salud!
Be weary if you choose. That spares you nothing, Eric.
And the Repubs have you just where they like…. Weary and allowing their boasts and empty legislation to have you sit down.
PATRIOT EXPRESS!
I believe Eric as a citizen of Great Britain is irrelevant to Republican strategy, other than to add to general efforts to stow mistrust, confusion, fatigue, and fatalism to the point like you say of giving up.
I’m thinking just imagining a kind of polar express train with all sorts of us finally meeting in person and victory in the end. I will display my father’s flag for the 4th.
Oh, yes! You know your trains and one dog butt from another. All aboard....!
‘Dat’s right!
"convinced that they are defenders."
If you watched the New York Times video of the insurrection day from the videos of the people involved, it is so apparent from their comments that they TRULY believed they were doing Trump's will to protect his 2020 election win. As crazy as it seems, it is one comment after another after another of their desire to stop the vote approval and harm those they can find. Their conviction to take back "their Capitol" was the frightening part of it. And, they came prepared with weapons such as flagpoles, hockey sticks, bear spray, canes, hammers, etc.
They were convinced by the Oath Keepers, Booglaloo Bois, and others to come out from under their rocks. All financed by Dark money and a sedition Caucus which may not be hidden for very much longer.
Great analogy with the movie theater... I feel the House's investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection will make a difference even if only for historical emphasis. A lot of people will be subpoenaed, and if will be interesting to see who defies, who shows up, who actually tells the truth under oath, and who lies under oath. Always remember that everything that happened that day was based on the biggest false story of our nation's history. And, people died and were badly injured that day in addition to thousands of dollars in damages.
I have felt this way about the flag since the neo nazis and "patriots" hijacked it and soiled it. My father was a pilot in the Air Force. He had such pride. He taught me how to fold the flag. Taps. I'm so glad that he is no longer here to see what has happened to our country.
I agree—my father would have trouble comprehending it—so I’m glad he doesn’t have to—
Linda,
I hear you. We are currently in a deluge of rain. Be safe and have hope.
The cat woke me up about an hour ago for some crunchy food. I opened Heather's letter. I watched the NYT investigative video. I wish I hadn't. As long as Republicans support the idea that there was no insurrection our country will not heal.
I watched it and some questions jumped out at me: The handful of Capitol Police who did just stand back and let rioters enter - why did they do that? Untrained in what to do? Or did they sympathize with the actions? I want to know that.
Was there a national security data breach because of all the abandoned laptops & file folders that could have been stolen? At least the nuclear codes and ballots were protected!
There a many other obvious questions that I hope to hear the answers to. I did watch the live coverage by a journalist who was there and being evacuated (I can't remember but I think an NPR reporter). It was one very narrow perspective on her live feed, but to see the 40 minutes from every angle and doorway and hallway was shocking. My last question which is unanswerable: What if these insurrectionists HAD found Pelosi or Pence or any staffer let alone congressperson?
I had the same questions and still do. I watched the entire thing live, but obviously was only able to see what was shown from a single location at any given time. And, I too, was taken aback by the one group of officers, in particular, who immediately acquiesced, opened the bike rack barriers, and appeared to lead the mob inside. I'm still troubled by that particular instance. However, after watching compilations over the last months, it is clear that the Capitol was under-protected and that the Capitol police were quickly overwhelmed. I can't help but think that this failure to staff appropriately was by design. But on who's order? The fact that so many Republicans are unwilling to investigate the depths of the insurrection leads me to think that that while some Republican members of Congress might not have been aware of a planned attack, many others were aware well ahead of time. Now, at the risk of gutting what's left of the legislative process and the well being of the country, most Republicans in the House and Senate are outright lying about what they personally witnessed on January 6.
If the insurrectionists had found Pence or Pelosi they'd be dead. Period. I have no question in my mind that there were many there who would have had no problem murdering either one of them. While I give credit to Nancy Pelosi for pushing to create an investigative panel, I firmly believe that absolutely nothing will come of it once the findings are presented. The entire system is broken. Its evident in the actions of most Republicans in Congress, including some who pay lip service to doing the right thing but cave when push comes to shove.
Anyone who goes to a "peaceful rally" carrying a baseball bat, hammer or a crowbar is not there to demonstrate peacefully. They are there to inflict violence. And that's just what they did.
Daria, frankly I am surprised there were no "real" weapons, ie guns. Were people frisked or otherwise searched before they went in to hear the Trumplicans speak? Of all those Second Amendment Freaks it's hard to me to believe someone didn't have a concealed weapon. But thank goodness they didn't use it anyway!!
My understanding is that Washington DC has rigorous gun control laws and word was spread among the rally-goers/insurrectionists not to bring firearms or else risk arrest.
It's scary to imagine what might have transpired without those laws in place. And yet, the 2A crowd insist repeatedly that "gun control doesn't work."
Barbara. If m surprised, too. But as Syd says below, most got the message ahead if time. Remember, too, the guy from VA who was stopped trying to enter the Capitol zone with guns in his Q sticker ed pick up truck?
Yep to everything you say here, Daria.
I don't understand how Republicans can dismiss the fear they felt that day. Even if they were involved, an out of control mob is terrifying.
That mob hasn’t gone away, it’s called the Republican base and it’s led by Trump and his mini-mes. Republican politicians can’t dismiss the fear that day, because the mob and the fear are still there. The Republican voter base is terrifying.
Many of same questions here. In real time I saw police move barriers for rioters, appalled.
Tell me what you think would have happened, Barbara. I’m curious. Because now, in retrospect, I think that question is answerable.
Christine, after watching the NY Times video, I think there probably would have been at least a terrorizing of any official they found in a hallway or office--verbal, shoving, maybe worse. Killing them, I can't bring myself to believe that, but their rage and mob mentality might have allowed that to happen.
I agree with you Barbara. It’s not what I thought on the numb evening of Jan 6th. It’s now that I believe something was watching over us because it came so close to being a massacre. Brrrrrrr.
Just started watching, but know I can't watch all at once. You're right, Daria. The country will never heal as long as there are politicians who believe it was just "another day of tourists at the Capital."
It’s raining here this morning, and I plan to watch the video since I won’t be working in the garden. I didn’t want to watch last night, as I wanted some hope of being able to sleep.
I was very, very foolish in the wee hours.
I watched it without sound. Compelling evidence for judges, prosecutors, and the select committee. I found myself gasping.
Marlene, the commentary was excellent. Without sound, I think I would have been very confused. But the audio is beyond troubling. Perhaps you were wise 🙂
I just finished watching it. I’m left almost in tears. It is shocking.
I started with tears, then got angry.
Daria, I hope you can get a nap in today! I’m glad I waited.
I hope you can too. I am definitely taking one.
Right after lunch! I’m still tired from my cancer treatment and recent surgery. Or else I’m going full blown Italian and napping every day 😂
Napping...every day? Yep, says this Italian descendant!
Kathy. Take care. Cancer treatment is a rough ride. A daily nap does the.mind and body good.💐
Me too, saved for daylight.
Barely afternoon, Daria!! I'm so behind on my self-imposed schedule. Hope to catch up soon.
Just finished watching the video and agree with you...wish I hadn't. But you know we could not not watch it. Among the ugly, the woman who collapsed on the stairs (and died) and then was stampeded by the incoming crowd. Only one person stopped to help her. Patriots? Not by my defnition.
Lynell, I was horrified by that woman being trampled. The whole video was very hard to watch. Scares me to think what might lie ahead.
Afternoon, Pam!! So glad there will be a commission. I don't care that it will be "partisan."
A video was released a couple months ago which was recorded right in the area where that woman died. It is even more atrocious than the new Times video.
I did not see that video, Daria. I can only imagine it showed the mob's thirst for "freedom" outweighed their humanity.
It was horrifying.
That is why the Congressional Investigation is essential. Records must be revealed, recorded, and remembered.
It essential that the video documentation is kept intact. Those images are not lies.
I’m alarmed that private citizens are funding national guard troops... is that even legal?
Not only that but that they can move them around the country for partisan purposes without federal permission should be stopped forthwith. If they are thus starting to be used for partisan political purposes, they will start to resemble the "raiders" formed in several states during the Civil War in the States west of the Appalachians. They ending up streading mayhem and murder wherever they rode, no matter which side they "supported". Another disasterous example would be the origins and wide-ranging operations of the Texas Rangers which were essential formed and used to annihilate the Native American Tribes, peaceful or not, throughout the South West.
And what is their role at the border? Arresting people who are crossing? Do they have that authority? Then what? Can they lock them up? Who's directing and supervising them?
Sounds like the "unmarked" fed troops that Trump sent to Portland!
I smell an Erik Prince attack!
My exact thought.
Beth - exactly! Who's directing them? Are they under any obligation to those footing the bill?
Does the National Guard have the authority and training to kill fellow citizens?
Thanks for that history lesson, Stuart. There's so many ways this could go wrong!
Not in our country.
Today's Letter points sharply at the efforts to support and subvert Democracy in black and white. The divide is diabolically clear, strong and forbidding; how do we go on?
Yesterday Heather’s Letter opened with the following: ‘Last week, Florida governor Ron DeSantis became the latest Republican governor to sign a bill making it harder for citizens to shift away from the fossil fuels that are changing the climate’. I cannot let this subject go today. It is joined with the further menace to the migrants at the border by Abbott and Ducey, the governor of Arizona. 'Iowa governor Kim Reynolds, Nebraska governor Pete Ricketts, and Florida governor Ron DeSantis have all pledged to send law enforcement to Texas and Arizona. Yesterday, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem one-upped them by announcing that she is sending 50 South Dakota National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, and that billionaires Willis and Reba Johnson from Franklin, Tennessee, are paying for the troops. Johnson told Josh Kovensky at Talking Points Memo that he was making the donation because' “this President would rather help other countries than help America.” (The Letter)
I ask that you read the following:
Madagascar is headed toward a climate change-linked famine it did not create
In Madagascar, hunger has already left people eating raw red cactus fruits, wild leaves, even the very locusts that helped decimate crops. The southern part of the country is experiencing its worst drought in decades, with the World Food Program warning that 1.14 million people are food-insecure and 400,000 people are headed toward starvation'.
'As a vast Indian Ocean island renowned for its remote beauty and unique ecosystem, Madagascar is sometimes referred to as the eighth continent. But the problems it faces now are “catastrophic,” according to WFP — and they are not primarily the result of local political or economic disorder, nor do they stem from isolated weather events.'
“The big thing is there’s no conflict, but people are dying of hunger” in Madagascar, Lola Castro, who is WFP’s regional director in southern Africa and visited the worst-hit areas in June, told Today’s WorldView. The problem, Castro explained, was “clearly climate change.” (by Adam Taylor, Washington Post) Link below:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/07/01/madagascar-climate-famine/
'It’s Some of America’s Richest Farmland. But What Is It Without Water?'
'A California farmer decides it makes better business sense to sell his water than to grow rice. An almond farmer considers uprooting his trees to put up solar panels. Drought is transforming the state, with broad consequences for the food supply.' (NY Times) Link below:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/28/climate/california-drought-farming.html
When you finish reading this comment, including the links, and consider Heather's Letter this morning, reflect on the actions of DeSantis, Abbott, Ricketts, Noam, et al. Then look to Pelosi, Biden, Fauci and many other brave and committed souls. They are going forward, and we are with them every step of the way.
Hi Fern? To add to the problems, Madagascar already had, post-colonial rule, an important problem of erosion caused by deforestation...which was the result of population growth and an ongoing need for fuel to survive...which was already devastating the previously highly fertile agricultural zones. My wife's grandfather was the director of the principal French military hospital on the island while it was under French rule.
sorry Fern. Don't know how the question mark got there!
It was questionable but not a serious challenge my identity, an amusing gaff in the middle of our struggle to see the way out.
It's on the same key of my AZERTY computer keyboard. Forgot to use upper case. Hindsight is a wonderful thing....no freudian slip intended.
...and somehow I lost the e in gaffe.
All I can think of in reading this is how they value and protect their money over their children's future.
Margaret, I haven't reflected on of these traitors in the personal way you have. Their children are the country's children. Their children, oh, my. You prompted me to think of them. The level of blind ambition/self-absorption of these anti-democracy lieutenants are the faces of animated gargoyles.
Amazing. I’m putting up more flags this weekend. You inspire Sister Fern.
Christine, I'm going to wave at you at noon on the 4th. Happened that I also received the train reply. BOY OH BOY! All I can say is that it read like a train off the tracks. Kindness comes first. Onward, this 4th is the most important in my lifetime. 'Oh, beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grains...
Please take a picture for me.
Perhaps a gaff, but does the good Representative from the great State of Alabama understand that he cannot be a believer in “Federalism” and simultaneously object to the placement of confederate effigies at the Capitol under the guise of supporting his state’s desire to continue to honor its connection to a failed and racist emblem? Sad. Mo should be recalled for failing civics in junior high school. Oh, yea, he probably was taught that the south really won. My bad.🤷♂️
Your last comment is not unreasonable. Recently, a survey was conducted at a Texas college (Texas Tech?) where the students were asked, "Who won the Civil War?" The answers ranged from "I don't know" to "the South?" (and some did answer correctly).
and the correct answer is?
How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America
Our hero wrote that!
Thanks for the title, Ellie. I looked up the author: Heather Cox Richardson! Instantly going on my reading list. https://www.powells.com/book/how-the-south-won-the-civil-war-oligarchy-democracy-the-continuing-fight-for-the-soul-of-america-9780190900908
Yes, Ellie. There was a comment from a subscriber the other day who scoffed at the thought of a country having a soul.
That is exactly what the fight is for.
Mo can absolutely speak out of both sides of his mouth. They all do (both sides actually) but Mo has a great mentor in this regard, Moscow Mitch.
Mo was speaking from both sides of another orifice ...
Kudos for the winning witty comment for this morning. I'm thinking of a new image, 'two faced'?
Ha-ha! Yep!
Rascal…..
Ha, ha, ha. Good one, Sharon.
Unfortunately, for most practical purposes the south did win, just not on the battlefield.
And, more and more it is apparent that it has been allowed, many times by well meaning citizens who were not paying attention. That stops now, with the help of historians like Dr. R!
And today he would be a slave owner.
Several, probably.
Right! There are those who still believe it was the War of Northern Aggression.
Mo's "states' rights" rhetoric (and my namesake Senator Mitch McConnell's similar talk in response to HR 1) put me in mind of a historical figure: Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, perhaps the most intellectually effective proponent of that doctrine. Rereading his works today might remind us that the entire Southern slave system was politically dependent on the claim that the U.S.A. was a union of states and no more than that. Southern Democrats evoked "states' rights" to defend Jim Crow - and got away with it, because their votes were needed for other measures.
Unfortunately, the Constitution does in fact place the administration of elections in the hands of the states. HR1 is intended to change that by introducing comprehensive Federal rules, without actually ammending the Constitution. An uphill climb, as we see.
We need to remember where all this "states' rights" talk originally came from. But remembering is not enough: the DEMS need to work harder to take back more state legislatures, to make the arc of the Constitution "bend toward justice"!
I am now 86, and growing up in a Charleston that was still talking about the 'War of Northern Aggression" I wondered why the poor white folks were so eager to fight the Yankees, what was in it for them? Here's John C. Calhoun, whose advocacy of states' rights set the stage for the Civil War, explaining why:
"With us, the two great divisions of society are not the rich and the poor, but white and black, and all the former, the poor as well as the rich, belong to the upper class, and are respected and treated as equals, if honest and industrious, and hence have a position and pride of character of which neither poverty nor misfortune can deprive them."
If you haven't already, please read Isabel Wilkerson's "Caste".
That's how the planters managed to stop the poor white and the black populations from uniting to control the exactions of their "betters" and thus improve their situation.
Caste! Essential
Explains so much, doesn’t it Lee?
It’s time to lessen “state’s rights “. Over the years as I have moved from MA to TX to OH to IN to NC, I have been aghast at how different these areas of the US are! We move freely (for jobs, typically) that US should NOT be so very diverse about laws and attitudes!!
Who, pray tell, is "we"? The fact is that many, perhaps the majority of state residents do NOT move, but stay where they are, for better or worse. These stay-at-homes are the folks who keep the REPS in charge in the red states and the DEMs in charge in the blue states. Fortunately, demographics can and do change, as in VA and AZ, but this is NOT true everywhere. My home state of KY is a classic example of the opposite phenomenon, dominated as politics are there by rural and mountain folks who do not and will not move. The US is a continent, more than a country. Don't forget the motto on the dollar bill, "e pluribus unum", from the many one. How wonderfully ambiguous that is. Which should we celebrate: the many, the one, or both at once? Of course it would be useful to have some basic unity in election laws and to abolish gerrymandering, but these should be practical matters and not matters of principle. If we insist on their being the latter, we will fail.
I prefer Alexandre Dumas' less ambiguous and more complete motto for the 4 Muskateers "All for one and one for all".
The GOP folks would say, indeed that' not ambiguous at all, it means all of US (not all of U.S.!)
As long as they can only say that amongst themselves as no one else is listening anymore. Life passes them by.
I was going to say something like that also!
Good morning Mitchell and allow me a moment. The US is not a continent. It is a country of 50 states and 3 territories currently on the continent of North America.
You ask Priscilla, “pray tell who is we?” That would be everyone on this forum. That would be every person living in this country. That would be every legislator in Washington sent by every state. “We” is the people of this nation that have the freedom to move to or to visit any state in this nation and expect the welcome granted to a neighbor.
I will repeat to you a comment I made yesterday, Mitchell. And I stand by it. I do not reside in the country of Florida. I live in the country of the United States of America. And if Gov Desantis or the likes of him think they are going to supersede the Constitution or any law that binds us as a nation to prepare “us” to become another country as a second Confederacy with the former president as the new Jefferson Davis?
Ummmmm, no. Not going to happen. The thought of paramilitary groups that invaded the Capitol on Jan 6th leading this effort against the military of the US under the current Commander In Chief? May common sense and a correct knowledge of military strategy and might prevail. State leaders are offering their constituents up as pawns in a battle they cannot win. To turn it into a war is their greatest folly.
Be a true patriot, Mitchell. And do not fail.
While your phrase: "The US is a continent, more than a country" is both amusing and ,sadly, inciteful, I think this is changing. Texas is going blue, Georgia just gave us a majority in the Senate (albeit a fragile one), and Virginia, North Carolina ...
While there are a few states which remain strongly "Confederate", we cannot, and must not, write off most of the so-called "red" states. There are moderates and even progressives in every part of our "continent."
You say "administration" but since when did administering include necessarily setting the rules too. A good administrator applies a system created by others. He doesn't continually bend the system to his own advantage or to ease his life. I see no problem in the Constitution with the Feds fixing the rules and the States applying them administratively.
The (white) masses, one step above the mudsills. Deluded to believe they are more akin to the authoritarians who promulgate laws to disenfranchise those who strike out for democracy. Once achieved by laws targeting such, those same laws will be adapted and vigorously pursued to surpress the very deluded masses so as to achieve absolute control in a law and order society. The muddled masses craft the circumstances and shackles of their marginalized status as a once free man in the society replacing American Democracy.
I watched the NY Times video after reading today's letter. Here is my response. It was 243 words too long for the NY Times comments, but you can read it. You might be able to tell I was incensed after watching it:
Anger isn't nearly a strong enough word to describe my feelings after watching this video. I agree with other posters that every person involved in American politics - local, state, federal - should be forced to sit down and watch the entire video. Why forced? Because it's obvious that many will say, just like their dictator wannabe Trump, that the January 6 insurrection was just something dreamed up by left-wing radical socialists, the universal name Republicans have bestowed on Democrats in order to keep the red venom flowing. This is a totally disgusting video to watch, yet that's why it is so good. It was real, it happened, and no one can deny what was caught on video by the insurrectionists' own cameras. Every one of the 500 or so rioters who have been arrested should be put in jail. Trump should go to prison for the rest of his life, and his Republican acolytes who continue to call the 2020 election a fraud and refuse to accept a clean defeat should be stripped of their office and never allowed to enter politics again. With Trump now criss-crossing the country and spewing the same vitriol he began many years ago - not just during his time in office - I have no doubt his dimwitted followers will attempt more insurrections. What will resolve this situation, a civil war? I hope not, but that's what Trump's animals are gearing for. And he is just feeding the frenzy with his seditionist diatribe. And this is the United States of America? How dare we even allow something like this to take place? God bless this democracy as time goes on, for it appears the hopes of the Founding Fathers to establish a true democracy are in jeopardy, due in large part to a very sick, totally narcissistic individual who would be king.
Well put. I find the Times' comments sections maddening for several reasons. One is the sheer inconsistency of whether a comment will be accepted for posting, then, trying to find your comment can be maddening if you are using a phone. Also, from a partisan perspective, several years ago they used to be a reliably liberal redoubt of ideas and conversation. Then I noticed a seeming colonisation by right wing commenters, to the point where I became convinced it was a campaign of some sort being drummed up in some internet chat room somewhere. So I mostly gave up on reading them.
That said, I'd say your comment is worthy of posting in its entirety. I'd suggest cutting it in half, posting the first half, and when it appears post the second half as a reply.
Only if you're that interested in getting the full piece posted, of course.
Brilliant!
That's very funny. Good one!
There is something wrong with privately funding the National Guard deployment. Period.
It's legal but not ethical: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/06/30/a-privately-funded-national-guard-deployment-is-legal-but-is-it-ethical/
Thanks for the reference.
Is that even legal? Any attorneys out there?
Regarding the removal of statues, if I am given a gift that is offensive, I have no obligation to display it. I may make the gift-giver angry. So be it. Misguidedly displaying the gift does not create an obligation to continue to display it. Why should Congressman and US Senate candidate Mo Brooks think it appropriate to display statues honoring those who led a rebellion against the United States, a rebellion undertaken in order to enslave people in their states? It is regrettable that statues of Confederates were ever displayed at the US Capitol.
Q: How long before Secession becomes a key Republican talking point in Red State legislatures?
Let 'em go.
WAAAAAAAAIT!! Let me get out first!!
Same here!
Keep in mind, people, that not everyone in the rethuglican-run states are of that mindset.
*Sheepishly puts up hand* Here, here!
Hand them thier hat and show them the door.
Hey, Charlie. In an unrelated reply, I just quoted what my dad would say often: "Here's your hat...what's your hurry?"
Sizzlin’, TC. Sizzlin.
I well know all of you are "out there" - which is why secession can never be other than a rhetorical waste of energy. Not unless we were willing to literally divide and pay for the reds to move to Red and the blues to Blue, which couldn't happen.
Of course, it is basically just a lot of hot-air rhetoric. Red states aren't going anywhere and they know it. There is that apparently rather "serious" secession talk in eastern Oregon and Washington and Idaho, but I still think that is just a bunch of idle chatter. The bulk of financial capital of this country and a great deal of manufacturing are in based in blue states. Red states in the West might fare a little better with their fossil fuel reserves in terms of revenue, but red states in the South don't have that. What would a state like Georgia do? Outside our cities it's largely rural and agricultural--we give y'all a lot of your peanuts, pecans, blueberries, chickens, etc., and of course, cotton (though not as much as long ago...). And, we're now supposedly a "swing" state and our urban areas are blue "bubbles" where increasingly more and more Democratic voters are. The same is true in quite a few other Southern states. There are very pronounced urban/rural divides. So rural areas want to secede and then think they don't need the urban areas in their states? It's pretty much complete lunacy to even remotely consider such a stupid idea. No, we're all bozos on this bus, and we all need to figure out how to get along SOMEHOW. Costs nothing to dream, though...
Just like the Brits imposed in India 1948...but didn't pay for it.
did not the Republicans make secession unconstitutional after the Civil War? I thought so.
Amen!
Adios, and take Texas with you.
These Texas legislators?
https://www.texasdemocrats.org/our-party/leaders/electeds/
https://news.yahoo.com/dems-walk-stop-texas-gops-091113601.html
Well said.
Texas may lead the charge.
Prob Florida. With Desantis as Trump Jefferson Davis’s new VP. Their house at MereLargo.
Make it "A whole other country" for real. With a wall around it.
The irony in your statement is 1) Texas is turning purple 2) Texas is a prime destination of a lot of Californians escaping the wild fires.
Californians are the ones wrecking your real estate market. I think you know, as a fellow Texan, which part of Texas needs to be walled off. :-)
Actually, no I don't. The overwhelming majority of Texans are very good people no matter what their political leanings are. Please resist stereotyping all Texans. And, to wall off the conservatives from the liberals you might have to wall the big cities including the capitol Austin.
Also, be careful for what you wish for. By treaty when Texas became a state, it is allowed to divide into up to five states. That's ten senators! Chew on that for a while!
That's true - the three I know who moved to Texas are all MAGAts.
And old boy Texas Republican elected officials think only crazy liberal Californians are moving into Texas and bringing their crazy liberal ideas with them and they are scared shitless about it. Just sayin'.
The blue states carry them financially and I think they know it. Makes me sick being a taxpayer in California.
Reminds me of efforts to split California into two or more states yet no comprehension of how these new states, almost exclusively lower-revenue, lower-population counties in northern, northeastern and eastern California, will come up with the financial resources essential to create and operate a government for each new state.
Good point.
Hasn't Texas been talking about seceding for decades?
Regular as rain
Well, for sure Mexico won't take 'em back!
I saw this comment when you posted it, as I was up in the night. It startled me, and I have not stopped thinking about it. Could that be possible? Yet the evidence points that way.
Becky, I have no way of knowing, but the thought struck me this morning after reading today’s Letter.
There have been initiatives and rumblings in State Houses for some time now, and as the distemper that has seized the Republican Party appears to be intensifying, I asked the question. I wanted to know how others in this space view the possibility.
I suppose another reason I raised the question today is because last night I spent forty grueling minutes watching the New York Times video recreation of the events of January 6th. The denials by Republican members of Congress about what took place that day indicates to me, at least, that they have crossed a line that can’t be walked back.
We seem to be inching toward a break of some sort. I think Jan. 6 happened in large part due to the anticipation and desire of a significant number of people for a new revolution to cement the priority of conservative, "patriotic" values against the inclusive vision of progressivism. A vision which I gather is seen as being anti-American somehow, which seems like a mask so they don't have to say anti-white.
I have no problem debating these ideas. In fact I think that is the true promise of America, the freedom to speak up and challenge orthodoxy, whatever it may be. But I see this conservative movement as not willing to take up the challenge in the arena of discussion. Perhaps their thought leaders recognize the weaknesses of their stance. They seem to be relying on political gamesmanship and calls for "2nd Amendment solutions." Cries to arms and talk of secession, I guess to prove their zeal. Frankly, if they're that hard up to insist on "my way or the highway," I'll be glad to wave them goodbye. The problem is, where exactly do they plan on going? Like so many of their ideas, I get the strong impression their plans are not well thought through.
Thanks for your further comment, R Dooley. I also watched (part of) that video last night.
I had hoped that by now the country would have pulled back together at least a little, but we are more divided than ever. What frightens me most is that Republican actions seem like suicide for our country. Could that be what they really want? Secession?
Agree R Dooley and good morning. I commented a few minutes earlier about the nefarious thoughts of secession. Fools.
They would not dare to secede. They are too dependent on money from the Blue States. Why secede when they can have total control through gerrymandering and election rigging?
90 days, give or take. /s
I hope we keep following these additional law enforcement officers and National Guard members being sent to Texas. What will they do when they get there? Anything? It sounds like when Trump sent active duty military personel to the border, where they hung around, strung some barbed wire, and sweltered in the heat. Net effect on immigration = zero. Wasted money and military morale = millions.
Sorry to be slow responding, I didn't spot your comment until just now. While I'm glad to hear that most of your military friends are upset with the Republicans, I would be interested in hearing whether they are, nonetheless, voting for them. Because finding the actual Republican voter base, for me and my circle, is sort of like a group of astronomers looking for "dark matter." We know it exists because we can see the impact all around us (mainly weird legislative behavior and pictures of white people wearing strange clothing at Trump rallies). But everyone we actually talk to opines that the Republican Party has become a mashup between a Franz Kafka story and the movie "Beetlejuice." Very mysterious and disheartening.
Cruelty being the point, nothing Republicans are doing is designed to make the lives of their constituents better. Rather, it is about feeding red-meat/ schadenfreude to their base, and making the lives of women and minorities, miserable.
Truth! Hate the mother. Love the fetus.
No kidding Gregory and I can’t walk on my favorite beach in Maine without seeing a big sign that says Maine loves Trump.
I retired after a 36 year career as a high school teacher and assistant principal. Therefore, I am extremely interested in discussions concerning the teaching of Critical Race Theory in our schools. To listen to the trump right, one would think the curriculum of every school from preschool to high school is inundated with CRT. It was my belief that it was sometimes taught in law school. Is this false? I personally know of no district that is including this in their curriculum. And yet, I see “concerned” lawmakers waxing eloquently of the dangers and evils that the theory poses to our children. This appears to be yet another disinformation campaign that so many see and believe. Am I wrong? I personally believe our curriculum needs to be revised with truth instead of myth. An uphill battle, especially in my home state of Texas, but a battle that must be fought. As my grandmother used to say, “One way or the other, the truth will out.”
You are correct CRT is is a subject for advanced education, more specifically in law schools. Last Thursday on NPR Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She was interviewing a investigation journalist with NBC. He has been looking in the right's attemp to remove all mention of CRT in all grade levels. I was appalled. By people who 1) have no idea what they are talking about, and 2) attempting to limit what is taught in local school. What this person said was it every where. Its not red states, it's also happening in blue states. In my opinion this take over of school boards must be stopped in its tracks right now.
A very important point, Jake. For decades, vacancies on school boards have been filled with right-reaching folks, often filled with half-baked ideas of politics, religion, and alt-education. It has been an intentional move by the right-wingers.
Deborah. Good morning. I, too, in public education for many years. You are correct. You won’t find it in a curriculum. Because it is not. But certain governors and legislatures will insist so because that is where their legislative power lies…with decisions regarding standards and curriculums. So all of a sudden CRT has become a “thing”, a specialty, a course, a tangible subject. Anyone who understands pedagogy knows this cannot be.
That’s not how theories work. In this case, Critical Race Theory, introduced to a teacher has the possibility of influencing an instructional approach that eliminates bias so that all students with all their differences and strengths can learn material. It actually is a theory reflected in the federal legislation “No Child Left Behind”. A “Republican” initiative.
You are correct. It is taught in some law schools. The frothing at the mouth going on by governors and others is simply grandstanding and meaningless, other than to stoke fear and stir up their MAGATs.
The easiest way to deal with this is to ask whoever is vamping on about CRT to explain what it is. Because they have not got a clue. Of course, they turn nasty when their utter ignorance is exposed, but it does shut them up.
Look, CRT is just this month's red meat signalling. Just wait there will be another "OMG the libtards are at it again" issue in August. It's geeting tiresome to say the least. Kind of like the umpteenth time you have heard the comedian do his routine. "Yep, now he's going to do the 'three guys walk into the bar' one. Last call time to go home.
It's being trumped up, pun intended, to rile the conservative base and get them engaged for electoral reasons.
The NYT video on the insurrection is a must-see documentary.
Here is the link HCR used:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/us/jan-6-capitol-attack-takeaways.html
Thanks as always for putting today’s events in the context of history.
Here’s an excellent piece on State attempts to ban discussion of critical race theory. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/magazine/memory-laws.html. The analogy to Stalin in the ‘30s seems apt. And it seems clear that the ReTrumplicans who rail against “cancel culture” are doing their best to cancel the emergence of those parts of the American story that don’t mesh with their lily-white fiction.
Mother Theresa said, peace begins with a smile. It’s sad that Kevin, Mitch, Ron, and the rest won’t even give a smile. Is this to be how democracy dies?