I know you do not write the news, but your framing of the events of the day is unlike that of any I’ve known. I’ve become familiar with your “voice” not just from your Chats, but your written voice expressed here in these missives, and I value it.
The measure you take of events, your passion for history, for context, and for the well-being of our Democracy, might go unnoticed were it not for these Letters and that would be a shame. It is this passion – this enthusiasm and thoroughness, even joy, you bring to your work – that distinguishes it and sets it above the noise that often passes for informed commentary in these fractured times.
What follows may sound a bit unhinged but indulge me for a moment.
I am not a particularly spiritual person, but there have been a handful of times in my life when I didn’t know where to turn – tough times, nothing but the change in my pocket times. And for some reason I cannot explain, a cat appeared – a normal house cat – and by appeared, I mean either literally showed up in my room unannounced and for no apparent reason or happened to live in the place where I was taking refuge at the time. I can’t explain it – but it happened. And these cats stilled me, befriended me when I needed a friend.
Now, I’m not exactly comparing you to a cat, Professor Richardson, but when I had reached the point where I could no longer make sense of what was going on in our country – you appeared. A student of mine sent me one of your Letters and I have been here ever since, listening, comforted in the knowledge that much of what we are experiencing has happened before in one form or another.
So, thank you great Spirit, whoever or whatever you are, for cats and Professor Heather Richardson.
Thank you, R Dooley! I had the same experience with horses that entered my life 20+ years ago. Every morning on the short walk from the house to the barn my mind would be filled with the demands of the day. "I'll just throw feed in their bowls and toss out some hay, then be off to work." But upon entering the barn and being in their presence, a calm would take over me. I lost all sense of time. They literally, as you say, stilled me. I'd say they taught me to rethink what really was important in life.
As well, a friend sent me one of Professor Richardson's Letters last year and I have been a follower ever since. Looking through her aura makes it easier to be still in spite of the crazy that surrounds us.
(BTW, the stillness of my barn is an exact antidote to my 2 housebound feline friends!)
Yesterday, in the middle of my second week of chemo radiation, I braved the long drive out to the barn. My new boy was fairly indifferent, oh, the treat lady is here, I will tolerate you for the banana. My old guy, who I’ve had for more than 11 years, drew me in to his neck, wrapped his head around me, and held me close, with me breathing his wonderful smell, until I felt all the tension drain through my feet, at which point he sighed and stepped away. He is magical. I rode him for about 20 minutes, just walking, until I couldn’t anymore. I came home beyond exhausted, but full of joy in the simple beautiful things of the day.
Kathy wishing you well. The dog I adopted from a No-Kill Shelter in September is called The Magic Poodle by my friends: since his arrival in my life my cancer numbers are down and tumors are shrinking. Not without intense side effects--and the exhaustion of which you speak--but caring for an empathetic 4-legged family member is so healing. Hang in there, friend.
You, too, Linda. We have a crazy puppy too - he's one, and so so energetic! But snuggles me so nicely during my many naps. I will keep you in my thoughts, that you (and I!) continue to cure and heal.
Best of luck, Linda. Yesterday a close friend said that he has inoperable cancer. It's not known yet how serious it is, but we have to start saying goodbye.
The team is amazing. So dedicated, so caring. We are unbelievably blessed to live less than 10 minutes from Ohio State’s cancer hospital, to have great insurance, a wonderful friend network who are feeding us, and a great deal of physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and mental strength. My husband is a rock, my children are being supportive, and we are hopeful.
I’m so glad that you have such wonderful support, Kathy. Your story about your “old boy” is beautiful. Hopefully he will teach your “new boy” and he, in time, will become another of your “old boys”. I hope your chemo removes the illness from your body the same way your old boy’s hug removed your tension. ❤️
It’s a shame that with so much joy and support around you that you have to deal with such a terrible disease. I’m sure you have extraordinary strength. It seems inadequate to say “God bless you”, but your story touched me greatly. So - God bless you. May you have many years more to enjoy what is around you.
Sometimes bad things just happen. I wish it hadn’t. God, do I wish that. But, there are good parts, too. My marriage was strong to begin with, but now it’s even stronger. That’s wonderful. Thank you so much for your kind words.
We all wish you a speedy recovery. With all of the resources at your disposal, good family support, and expert medical care, please remain positive, Kathy.
Oh, Kathy...such joy for you with your old guy. Keep the faith with the "young'un." He, too, will come around. I have 2 newbies to the barn (just over 4 years here.) A big change for one of them this year for the better!
I am in your corner for you to fully heal sooner rather than later.
Where to put this, bingo, Spooky, my darling African American teenage step granddaughter, has been interested in horses since she was a toddler. Her parents have fostered that love and she has been around horses for most of her young life. I know they are great comfort to her, always and especially when she has received an awful comment about the color of her beautiful skin. As an aside, I wish her grandpa had lived long enough to be in her life, she is truly a special human.
It all looks like a grand digression… but when you look at Dr. Cox Richardson’s calm, lucid interweaving of past and present, context and content, facts and meaning, then this sudden burst of spontaneous togetherness, with each other, within ourselves, with the plain goodness of the animals around us, it is wonderfully encouraging. A clear and powerful ray of light, cutting through the fog of am-I-my-brother’s-keeper fear, lies, indifference and hostility. For these moments, we can pause and be grateful.
I’m glad. But I’m always wary of becoming sententious, it’s all too easy. Please forgive me if I fall into that trap.
I’d just written, wishing that you and Linda should always have and share the courage and joy you’ve found in this hard time. I would wish this on no one, yet if I had to live my life again, one thing I would not forgo is the experience of a rare cancer—if only because of the company I had throughout (and still have, years later). It was a privilege to meet and spend time with that team of doctors and nurses—skilled, dedicated and (while you always knew who was the professor, who the student nurse, who was the expert, who the learner) always that sense of equality, within the close knit group and in their relationship with the sick. All human beings, all in this together—and that outweighed all else, all those letters after their names. They treated us, above all, they accompanied us.
Goodness knows what we shall all have to face in the coming months and years, but it will be great if we can keep up awareness of the simple reality that we are all in this life together, if we can stay free in the face of whatever comes. It may be that small numbers of lucid, free individuals just standing together, without any partisan agenda, will count for more than a vast, amorphous stampede of the brainwashed. So be it!
Meanwhile, I wish you and those around you all good things.
I agree. I live in an area where most people including my own family members are very outspoken Trump supporters. I was having a hard time. Then a friend introduced me to Heather Cox Richardson’s letters. Ever since then I rely on her letters to help me maintain sanity and peace.
I also subscribe to a conservative newsletter (not a Trump-positive one) just to try to retain the ability to have conversations with people who disagree with me. There is a continuum of viewpoints from liberal to still Trump loyal/very anti-democrats in their commentariat. This is where I come afterwards -- like a balm on my soul and conscience--it makes me feel so less alone or softens the sting of so many Trump voters and RW misery and insanity. I listened to a podcast yesterday (The New Abnormal) and there was a guest who said that there are more conservatives than liberals and the only reason Democrats get elected is the large number of moderates their policies sway. Now, I would say I am on the moderate side of liberal at this stage in my life. But I think that many of us suffer under the illusion that most people are like us when they are not.
Remember to stand firmly anchored in what gives you joy. When we focus on negativity we leave very little room for gratitude. I have experienced throughout my life that situations come and go with storms and with the tide. Our planet is much better off...our spirits are much better off when we choose to take in and breathe out positivity and goodness...thereby depriving negative energy any form of sustainability.
We are in a time of turmoil and transition both internally and externally. We are being tossed in all aspects of life. Trust that this is necessary in the bigger picture. Stay anchored in love....do/be whatever gives you joy. In this way, darkness is dispelled and light will shine forth, brighter than you've ever imagined.
I think we sometimes confuse conservative with people who hate change. Not always the same thing. Good for you on trying to stay informed on other viewpoints. I've been reading depressing books lately, "Dark Money" & "Democracy in Chains" & even " The Silk Roads:A New History of the World" and struggle to understand the mindset of power & control. At the same time I find myself wondering if I'm getting sucked into it.
Once I complained to a friend, a religious sister, that I wished I could give God a ring and ask “am I on the right track?” She said God responds by putting people in your life at those times. Why not an animal?
Animals know. They just know. When my late wife was ill, our black lab never left her side. We have a cat Bonya, that is Tanya's doctor cat. If she is feeling sick, he will cuddle up to her to sleep. If she is ok, he may sleep somewhere else. Perhaps they are 'angels unaware' but they know. You are totally correct about your cats. And HCR, except she brings comfort to thousands all at the same time.
Thank you R. Dooley for your deep insights on finding what matters. I've always had cats in my life - as I type this, my feral-born, gray tabby Bilbo, sits on my lap. But I discovered Dr. Richardson's rich insights by way of a Republican neighbor, who was spitting mad at something Dr.Richardson had written last year. Sheri just yelped at me about "you foolish criminal democrats" and mentioned Dr. Richardson's column. Talk about a circuitous path to stillness?!
My husband died of ALS just a week before the election. My stepdaughter lives just a block and a half from where George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. The restaurant her partner owns is about a mile east of where the worst of the rioting occurred after Floyd's death. My younger brother was unable to leave his apartment in downtown Minneapolis for nearly 48 hours because of the riots, and my younger daughter was furloughed from her job that same week. Yowser, it was a tough year.
Thankfully, I had enough help from my community to keep my husband fed and safe and well cared for, free of COVID until he died. But in the wee hours, when I couldn't sleep because of personal stress and the threats to my democracy, I found that quiet still place here among so many thoughtful, reasoning people. My degrees are in journalism and I worked for environmental groups most of the last 35 years. To watch the previous administration dismantle my life's work (and thousands of others) and put all Americans at risk because of their greed, stupidly and belief that they could vote on the laws of chemistry, virology and physics (climate change) almost put me under. I found sanity again in many places but for a life long political activist, this was the place I found context, understanding and the knowledge that there are still plenty of folks who believe in and will work towards democracy.
I sat for about 15 minutes this morning after reading today's letter. Then I read your response and cried with simple gratitude. Thank you for articulating so clearly what I could not put into words. Be well - and enjoy those cats!
Sbmn, I am so very sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how difficult it is to lose the love of your life, especially at the time of Covid when all human interaction is stifled. I am glad you found Dr. Richardson and the community here. I, too, have had cats all my life (although I did have a dog, an Alaskan Malamute, when I lived in Buffalo, NY) and my cats have always given us love and comfort. A couple of years ago when I had surgery, one of my kitties would plop himself in my lap and stay with me for as long as I would let him! Stay well and let us know how we can help you.
R Dooley, when I have needed them both cats and dogs have come into my life. They choose their time and I respect them for that. I've got a dog now but I have been the Ultimate Academic Cat Lady for most of my life--all of them arriving unannounced and demanding to be taken in. How can I say no? Same thing with my pooch. I found HCR through someone reposting her on FB. I am so glad I did, not only because of her calm, succinct, elegant presentation of the happenings of the day, but also because it introduced me to all of you. This has been the absolute best thing to come out of this annus horribilis.
Who was it that said, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears"? I think that's true of many of us here in regard to HCR and her letters. Well said, R Dooley!
R. Dooley, cats have an "uncanny" sense of when we humans are dejected and need comfort and stabilizing, and in most cases they jump into the breach and do all they can to reassure us. Lots of people have experienced this; so have I, unforgettably. And I'm convinced it's no slight to Heather to compare her beneficial presence to the sort of timely help cats have given you!
You can forget being unhinged, R Dooley, you're just fine. You need not have any concerns about your mental health. Congratulations for having the courage to voice your experience here.
In my Father's house are many mansions. That saying is attributed to the founder of Christianity, but I'm sure the inspiration for any of the world's religions would have their own languaging. I translate it as follows: in the greater scheme of reality, there are infinite dimensions. Notice the similarity between "mansion" and "dimension." There are a vast array of levels of reality, and we as humans are only tuned to see a thin slice of All That Is. These days, we can point to Star Trek movies and episodes, Star Wars, Men in Black, Avatar, etc. etc. etc. for visuals that express the concept.
So, that may or may not be helpful, but it's my introduction to what comes next.
Do not read Whitley Strieber, anyone seeing this name now, because this is off-the-reservation and off-the-charts terrifying stuff. Google him, sure, but I do not recommend reading this book of his.
I have to mention Whitley Strieber, because he wrote a book that I read once about his contact with an extraterrestrial, one of the Grays, I presume.
When something appears in your life which does not fit with your conception of reality, your mind as a prism or a filter turns it into an acceptable object or creature. In Whitley's case, he was bringing an extraterrestrial visitor into his house. Now none of us has actually seen one, I presume. If one of the short gray creatures with the bulbous eyes and no mouth showed up at your front door, how would your mind handle it?
Whitley's mind turned him into an owl. So for days, weeks, months, Whitley was seeing an owl, only he knew it wasn't an owl. But his prismatic mind had to manufacture something, it couldn't face the truth. Whitley did eventually begin to see this creature as it actually was, but it took some time.
If you have experienced or seen or read about visitations by angels, guardian spirits, et al, they often appear as animals. Quite common. The movie The Emerald Forest, for example.
So here's my observation, take it or leave it.
They are not cats. They look like cats, but in reality they are something or some person, but not a cat per se. Clearly your comforting helpers, your guardian angels/spirits/people, appear to you as cats when they materialize in your presence.
Obviously they are benevolent beings. Obviously they are personal allies of yours. Clearly a gift, a blessing, for appearing to you in time of need.
Thank you R Dooley for having the emotional courage (and trust?) to begin this thread; to Linda for sharing her healing journey and to Roland for words that feel like an answered prayer. It is often in the depth of suffering that we find a Living Presence greeting us in the most unexpected ways. When the self is stripped away and we are vulnerable, we are opened to find miracles everywhere. The “old ones” draw from a deep well. Thank you all for this loving community.
May I suggest, "The Way of the Shaman" by Michael Harner? Often in a shamanic trance (especially the lower world), your spirit will appear as an animal. That is a message from the ancients as to your true purpose and direction.
Well, I wasn't intending to start a discussion about unexplained phenomena and dream imagery here on a site about current events. Only responding to R Dooley.
If anyone has a burning question, you'll have to contact me by replying to one of my outdated posts on an old HCR page. That will shoot me an email.
A long time ago, I worked as a crisis counselor and homeless support person in a place called Project Place, when it was in a run-down brick building and when Reagan's legacy resulted in the deinstitutionalization of mental health inpatients. TPJ can drive there, if he wants. He can probably do his public confederate flag burning at their new HQ, they'd likely be ok with it. During that time, I learned to be open-minded to otherwise strange-sounding, easily dismissable stories. You would be surprised how often a trauma victim, for example, makes up an odd story about unpleasant and unassimilable experiences. So when you are open-minded and ask a person for more information about a story, as you explore with that person, they discover things which they had hidden, or buried, or were unable to process at the time. I rarely dismiss a story. It usually makes perfect sense, once you get to the bottom of it. R Dooley's situation is ideal. My dream world is another lovely place. A lot of this material, however, is dark, like a tumor or clot that builds up around a horrific incident to encase it and shield it. Not for the faint of heart if you go digging around with another person into their wounds and ghosts and skeletons.
Dang, Roland, you are one deep well. I love how many men in this forum (I am pretty sure TPJ is a man!) are willing to express themselves so openly. We need a lot more men like you guys in our world to change it. I appreciate all the work many of you must have had to do being raised in our Do Not Feel/Raising Cain cowboy culture.
I am feeling much less stress today about our world and what we all might create together.
I still think Seditionists should be swept out of our government immediately and jailed for 20 years on some island, or GITMO, where they subsist on their own and not our democracy's taxes. .
I am an NP who works with people with multiple “co-occurring disorders”. I know this darkness because I hear these stores every day and wanted to say that your analogy of tumor/clot is brilliant. I’ve never heard it before and it is an excellent description. May I borrow it?
Previously repressed elements that are rising out of a dreamers unconscious on their way to being finally "dispersed" in the conscious personality and disappearing for good as the sufferer is "cured" take this form of a black cloud or swirling, dense mist.
Reminds me of a movie I saw in 1968 "The Magus." Very confusing discerning what is real from many plausible possibilities. I had some similar experiences working in a psych hospital acute unit.
There are many cases when an otherwise ordinary person is also an angel, who shows up in another person's life to render help when it is needed. There are times when a non-human, for example a cat snuggling on our pillow, connects us to the comforting presence of G-d.
Thank you for this reminder that there are angels among us. I was graced by such an experience many years ago, and it is a blessing to be reminded of that time.
A friend of mine shared with me his definition of a "coincidence" and similar inexplicable events shaping your life. He said they are Gods way of passing unnoticed.
You know, I have to read Strieber's "Communion" now. Telling me not to read a horror story is like telling a teenager not to try alcohol or marijuana. However, my library does not have it for immediate download, so I'm going to have to see if I can order a print copy.
I get what you are putting down here. I also have read Whitley Strieber but not the book you have mentioned. I read another novel which you may find very interesting if you are a lover of speculative fiction. This one is called "Nature's End" by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka. I liked it so much I located a copy to keep in my collection (I mostly read library books).
OMG. I hadn’t thought of Streiber’s book in years. It terrified me. Literally (used in the correct way here). I laid awake at night. Any (normal) movement of light jarred me. I never finished it and never read anything else he wrote.
I managed to finish the book, but I never read another book of his again. Nor did I ever return to that book, even though I’ve often re-read books. This is absolutely not light reading. Makes Stephen King seem like a stroll in the park, a warm breeze on a summer day. But even the bizarre and the terrifying can teach you something. It taught me that the mind distorts and alters and transforms what it is unable to compute. Like a trauma. OK I’m out of here, I have to sleep. I’m muting this thread. Nighty night!
Yes! This historian as therapist! I fill out a survey regularly for the Nurses Health Study out of Harvard, now focused on COVID-19, and partnering with a national mental health group. When asked what supports I have relied on during this pandemic I always list HCR. Thank You for sanity and perspective!!
My father's spirit lives in the mockingbird. In the years since he died in 1988, one has appeared or has sung within earshot for every significant occasion. I call it the Mocker Miracle. It has been less so since I moved to my house in '95 since I see at least one mockingbird every day now in my garden, but the import remains, giving me comfort, as we have come to rely on Heather to teach and guide us gently through the difficult times. We are lucky to have found her and each other in this supportive community.
Thanks for that response to her letter today. I agree with all of it! Those little pointy eared creatures have been part of my life in stressful times as well and I too have felt like Professor Richardson has saved my sanity. Spring is in air here in the PNW and it feels like the country is coming back to life as well.
Here in my state capitol, the towhees have come back and are calling to each other all around the mobile home park in which we live. And the Oregon spotted frogs have been singing for a week or so, too.
My... In the morning, I start reading David Abrams' The Spell of the Sensuous... The loss of connection with Nature, with earth, with animals, with all that's non-human... Yes, "other". Yet we are part of it all and so it is a part of us.
And now mankind is beset by sickness, every kind of sickness, every kind of self-destruction, and set on destroying the miraculous planet that sustains all life.
And here... it's curious, it's beautiful, just the sense of connection with and through a deeply thoughtful person bringing together people now and people in the past, their lives, their thoughts, their actions, and ours now. (This really is what history is all about -- about NOW and the roots of now!) And this person's presence, through her hard work of writing, is acting as a catalyst, bringing about far more than mere information for her readers, freeing thought and far more, deep feeling. And not just an opening up of awareness, not just release but the free, unashamed expression of those feelings.
This feels like the natural welling up of a powerful antidote to the poisons that have been unleashed on us for so long; and now, over the past few years, in unimaginable dosages.
We're fortunate to have come here, bringing so much with us. We've opened the doors and the windows of our lives, bringing in songbirds, loving horses, cats, dogs (mine are always with me). And feelings, good, healthy feelings! Deep health, even in illness.
Heather certainly has saved my sanity this past year, and now that things are looking better, although still challenging, Heather's Letters, along with many folks here who are becoming more light-hearted, are continuing to reconstitute our sanity. As for cats, we always have two, and they're very adept at keeping us out of a ditch. Heather, our "club," and cats - a winning combination.
Our current two were already middle-aged ladies when #2 (semi-feral, left behind when a neighbor moved) joined our household. They tolerate one another by giving one another a wide berth - but they seem to enjoy vigorous sparring when one is on each side of our patio sliding glass doors. Bop, bop, bop, raow! And they both act like they've won. Sweet, silly old ladies who love to sit in our laps and vie for that position.
We've always had two at a time. Our current two are a 7-year-old long-haired tuxedo male, who is super chill. We have a 3-year-old female long-haired gray tabby, left in a carrier behind a vet's office during Hurricane Irma (she's named Irma, of course). He holds her in contempt, but isn't mean to her, and she sometimes attacks him and rides him like a cowgirl, while he hisses. Pretty great, cheap entertainment!
Me too...cats. And I never considered myself a "cat" person. But they showed up. And HCR's Letters were introduced to me by my dear brother just days before his untimely death. So, I too thank that great "Spirit" for the keel which has kept my boat righted during this tumultuous year.
Thank you Heather. I appreciate your roadmap for today's happenings.
Much to be pleased about for certain.
I can't help but think the 30 votes against Garland represent a fairly reliable source as to who was involved with January 6th. Maybe I'm overthinking that, but......as I had posted earlier tonight on the announcement of Garlands' approval, gird your loins GOP.
I think you're right on the mark, Linda. The vote had the subsidiary result of flushing out the guilty parties, like dye injected to reveal cancer tissue.
Does anyone have a list of those 30? It would make for a good 'watch these people' list over the next year or so. Huumm, a phrase comes to mind: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
Nebraskan here...this is pure, unadulterated Sasse...flipflopping his way through life. He voted with the twice-impeached-one nearly 100%, even while daring occasionally to call out some of the egregious behavior. Then, after Biden's win, Sasse "courageously" called out a few more of 45's blatantly dastardly actions. Now, however, when it's time to actually help people, there Sasse goes...voting the Party Line...and against the will of his constituents. I really want to have confidence in him, but... well...there is just too much behind-the-scenes unknowability with him.
You may be right, but I also think there are about that many who will simply vote against every Biden nominee because they are obstructionist ideologues. Many of them no doubt consider him to not be the legitimately elected president (or at least represent large groups of people who believe this and so have to pretend they believe it, too), so won't vote to approve anyone he nominates.
We've gotten so used to our government unable to do anything really big—and dare I say it—revolutionary, that when it happens, we have to pinch ourselves to believe it is real. But so it is. And thank you Dems for hanging together and remaining strong for all the right reasons.
Yes the enormous strength that it required to beat the Cheeto then actually try to ignore his bs so they could create their team—the enormous amount of patience and persistence it took to keep throwing out Cheetos lawsuits, Merrill Garland’s strength and patience and it took the Repugs until yesterday to confirm this good man...
And it is really important that, as some or many, republicans start to be involved with or support parts of the coming actions we refrain from shaming or blaming for their votes. Welcome them back to a healing America.
God, I hope you are right, but I fear that you are not. I don't think the Rs have any intention of cooperating with Joe Biden and congressional Democrats. They are holding out for 2022 in the hope that they can retake one or both houses of Congress and will obstruct everything they can until then. Mitch McConnell talking about bipartisanship is the most rank hypocrisy I can imagine.
I take a small pleasure in the coincidence that this landmark legislation — likely the most significant of my adult lifetime — was passed by Congress on my 65th birthday... a day on which I officially begin receiving the benefits of one of the most important pieces of legislation of my youth.
Given the advantages afforded the children of the wealthy, especially in education, they should have little trouble making their own fortunes, and have the satisfaction that comes with making one’s own way in the world. Should their interests lie elsewhere, in the arts or science, they still start out two steps ahead of their middle class fellows.
As Warren Buffet said about his own children,
“They will have enough to do whatever they want. They will not have enough to do nothing.”
Yes , i'd heard that bit before about the "poor kids" but effectively couldn't remember what he was going to do with the rest of it...if there is something left with the coming economic destabalization.
Thank you for the informative news today. I watched a few Representatives "debating" the American Rescue Plan. The Republicans who spoke mentioned reasons they were against the plan, but are those reasons valid? In this type of "debate", no one can respond or take the specific point made and show where it is faulty, or exaggerated, or just plain partisan and untruthful. This has always bothered me when listening to each side defend his position in what they call a "debate". To me, this feeds into misinformation. It is unfair to the public, who is struggling to know the truth.
While there's no British-style back and forth colloquy, my Senator Chris Murphy of CT taught a Master Class on "debating" the Covid Relief Bill, rebutting point by point every single phony argument the Repugs made against the bill, dispelling their myths, and highlighting their sheer hypocrisy. It was breathtaking. And short too. View it here on Twitter:
In addition to making senators show up for filibuster, they should have to show up in general. Speaking in an almost empty room does not support bilateral thinking.
Congress doesn't debate; they just swap harangues. If they actually engaged in thrust-and-parry, think-on-your-feet debate like the House of Commons, many on both sides (mostly Repugs) would be exposed. And can you imagine any of the last 4-5 GQP presidents excelling in Question Time? ANY??
Sometimes I really think the US would be better with a parliamentary system. It'd certainly raise the caliber of candidates, while ridding us of the Electoral College. Hello, Canada? Are you annexing these days? Hello?
I’m not so sure about ‘rais[ing] the caliber of candidates’, considering the current Prime Minister, but the PMQs, held every Wednesday in the House of Commons, certainly expose the ineptitude of those engaged. John Crace, for The Guardian, writes a satirical sketch most weeks of the PMQs, and his followers’ comments are astute and witty; comic relief is always welcomed, as you know, TPJ, and so often provide. 😊
Here is one comment I read off of a WaPo article the other day that I think hits the mark: "GOP Reps and Senators have the best of both worlds in voting against the pandemic relief plan. They know their constituents will get the relief checks anyway, and will only remember next year that good ol' Foghorn Republican was their congressman when they got it. Meanwhile they can loudly campaign on having stood up to creeping socialism led by Nancy Pelosi and The Squad. They'll suffer zero political fallout from voting against popular relief bills that they know Dems will fight to push through."
That's where we need groups, like the Lincoln Project, to start putting up billboards and other advertisements loudly telling the truth, that these cowards did NOT vote to help them in their time of need. There is a new group on Twitter, for example, "Retire Rubio" which is posting billboards and other things to get the word out about how he has abandoned the people of Florida. https://twitter.com/RetireMarco
A very good day for Americans yesterday. The American Rescue Plan helps more people than the Republican-endorsed tax cuts even aimed to do. Merrick Garland will restore, well justice, to the Department of Justice. And Marcia Fudge's and Michael Regan's confirmation proves expertise matters and hopefully shows Republicans trying to enact even more acts of voter suppression that we all matter and we all can participate in our democracy. While it was a good day, it also served as a reminder (not that we needed it) of the callousness of the Republican Party. Not one, yes, not one, voted for Americans. And 30 Republicans voted against Merrick Garland -- under what grounds? So what's clear to me is simple. We're on track. But the narrow margins the democrats hold must be widened. And we can't leave it to others. It's in our hands.
Some of those 30, no doubt, have much to fear of Merrick Garland's competence in unraveling culpability at the Congressional level for the insurrection on 1/6/21
As I understand it, those Rethuglicans who voted against Garland believe he will go rogue and adopt the " radical agenda", whatever that means. Tom Cotton was quoted as succh. We need to be careful of him as he's another tRump.
Now that I have actually looked at the list, in addition to those that I expected (like Rubio, Scott and the other seditionists) I was even more upset with the chameleon Ben Sasse. He talks a good game, but when faced with backing up his words with actions, he falls short every time.
If it's not regressive, if it doesn't benefit the 1% and corporations, if it means the federal government doing ANYthing for the working and middle classes, it's "radical".
Heartwarming to read your letter. The sound bites of the news of how expensive this bill is without giving the context is so misleading. This bill will bring children out of
Poverty. The trickle down theory of Reagan and Trump has done nothing for the safety net. How in God’s name could we pass a bill for the same amount that benefits the top 1% 4years ago? If the Republican’s are concerned about debt maybe they should initiate repealing that bill.
It is such a relief to see those who need help will be receiving it.
It is always astonishing to me what we Americans accept as "normal." A favorite excuse seems to be blaming the victim. "Those kids in detention centers? They wouldn't be there if they didn't try to illegally enter our country. And those BLM people? They wouldn't have a problem if they would just be civil. And the poor? The wouldn't be poor if they just worked harder. And the environment? It burned because we didn't rake it. Etc." The focus on the symptoms rather than causes and solutions seems to be in the American DNA.
Not really. It just popped into my head. but actually has multiple slights built in. I was playing on the Tr sound (which properly is not a "ch" sound, but should maintain the hard T). I like it because it's closer to Chump, which is how I think of him and his cohort. It distorts and devalues his name (no more trump card), and robs him of his capital "T," which I'm sure he likes. And it sort of looks like chimp, which may be crossing a line, but I'm pretty sure would make him nuts.
I share this imagining that some in this community might like to participate. To me the force of multiple disciplines coming together as one can move mountains.
"The United States is presently confronting a dangerous collective racist mindset that has protected and encouraged violence against Black Americans and other groups for over 400 years. The pervasiveness of white supremacist ideology shields its adherents from ostracism and prosecution while subjecting non-Whites, especially Blacks, Latinx, Native Americans, and Asians, to various forms of discrimination and violence.
Such attitudes and associated deeply-ingrained phobias and fears made it possible a few years ago for a dangerous, mentally-impaired white supremacist to become president of the United States. His toleration by many, to the point of utter impunity in the face of escalating pandemic deaths, economic devastation, civil strife, and dangerous stoking of terrorism, all culminating in a violent insurrection designed to keep him in power at any cost.
Collective social disorders can have results much like what happens to individuals: truths and priorities are distorted with maladaptive behavior leading to destruction at both the individual and social level. That is why we must find new and formal ways to incorporate psychological insights into social and political discourse before there is further collective impairment and self-annihilation.
In pursuit of this goal, and to inaugurate our Truth and Reconciliation Forum, we will be holding a Special Professional Town Hall on 13 March bringing together leading intellectuals and mental health professionals. Speakers at our Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Town Hall include:
Cornel West, Ph.D. – Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University
Wade Nobles, Ph.D. – Professor Emeritus at San Francisco State University, Co-Founder of the Association of Black Psychologists, and Founder of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family, Life and Culture
Gregory Carr, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University and Adjunct Faculty at the Howard School of Law
I agree! We need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Race to confront our sordid history of bias, not only against Black Americans, but also our bigoted treatment of Chinese immigrants, the Japanese American internment, exploitation of Mexican, Central, and South American peoples, and the Indigenous genocide. We have a great deal of blood on our hands.
According to the link, the Town Hall is under the banner of WORLD MENTAL HEALTH COALATION. Christy, thank you for this post. I have though that our country was having a mental health crisis under Trump's presidency. The roots of the USA's social disorders began early in our history, and white supremacy is part its foundation. Although most of us will not be able to attend the town hall, I hope that you will keep us informed with links and posts about the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Forum.
Yes! Agreed! WMHC has an informative website and in case you haven't heard of their book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump", which is now dated but an interesting compilation of expert essays on that subject. Will our world ever learn how to prevent bullies from ruling entire nations?
Christy, I am familiar with book. Thank you. Essays by 37 psychiatrists and others in the field of mental health a year after his presidency began; they were our early whistle blowers. The amount of damage we incurred before he lost the election will not be forgotten, so many continue to suffer. The ground had been laid for him, and we have a monumental job ahead to cure not only the economic division but the social fissure, which is part of our legacy.
I don't know if the description of this T&R Forum is going to attract the sort of folks who need to participate. A T&R Forum shouldn't just be a gathering of folks all nodding their heads.
Patricia, I very much agree. Dr. Lee wants to get the ball rolling. she expended a great deal of energy to educate about how dangerous djt would be as POTUS. She struggled to be heard. intentions are a wonderful thing and the energy and ability to carry them out a whole different thing. but the more folks engaged the bigger the snowball rolling down the hill? I'm just saying it has to start somewhere.
I attached the link so folks that were interested could gather more info. Your comment leads me to guess you did not investigate the purpose of the forum. Certainly I feel much respect for whatever the invited speakers bring forth as their own truths. Wishing you well.
Yes. I read the link. Once again, I am concerned that the word "Truth" is used to describe something already predetermined. One would hope that a "Reconciliation" forum would reconcile those who have have other views than those described in the "Truth".
Sorry Patricia but I don't follow what you are saying. the truth that comes out will be built on the truth that goes in and the last I checked one might have different experiences or opinions but the truth is the truth? I'd be more worried about the differences in reconciliation. I could be "beating a dead horse", and if so my humble apologies to all.
Finally. Something to help those earning less than $30k per year. As I checked into the bill & the lies spread by Fox & Republicans, I realized, they are prolific liars.
The American Rescue Plan passed and will become law on Friday. This is the end of the Reagan Era, "The bill, which President Biden is expected to sign Friday, is a landmark piece of legislation, reversing the trend of American government since Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cut. Rather than funneling money upward in the belief that those at the top will invest in the economy and thus create jobs for poorer Americans, the Democrats are returning to the idea that using the government to put money into the hands of ordinary Americans will rebuild the economy from the bottom up."
Meanwhile the Republicans and Retrumplicans continue their wayward mission: "For right now, though, Republicans are continuing to push tax cuts. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are leading an effort to repeal the estate tax. According to Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times, this tax falls on estates over $11.7 million, about a fifth of which are worth $50 million or more. The average estate affected by the tax is worth $30 million, and it affects about 2,500 people a year. It is enacted on capital gains that have not been taxed during the original owner’s lifetime, and usually involves stock. While Crapo calls the tax “the most unfair tax on the books,” Hiltzik calls the attempt to eliminate it “a massive handout to rich families.”"
We will not change the stony hearts of these people so we will end up eliminating the filibuster and going for broke with all the legislation that will retransform our society and our lives.
Sadly, I don't think so. The filibuster will remain. We may be able to pass the infrastructure bill through reconciliation, but otherwise the Rs are determined to be as obstructionist as possible and Manchin and Sinema will not budge on the filibuster.
They have to take one for the team and go home and explain slowly and carefully why they did it to the righties they say they have to please. We can't do infrastructure, etc with reconciliation because that either 1 or 2 more times this congress (Repubs didn't use it so they accrue).
Reconciliation can be used once each Congress. If it went unused previously the accrues. Repubs did not use it last congress for sure so Dems would have two times. After that it has to be 60 votes unless it's a federal jusge nomination.
I started my career in the Federal Government when Jimmy Carter was elected. I worked at HUD and helped craft the current Section 8 Housing Assistance Program. When Regan got elected, all research and development stopped. We had nothing to do. I left in 1985 when Regan got re-elected. Yet Regan is a "most beloved" President. The father figure of the Republican party. Same on Romney and others for not voting "yes."
I had recently graduated from college and started my career and I could not function for three days. A rude wake up call to the reality of "my country"
I have never understood that. Reagan took a $70B deficit to $175B. He was merely an actor in a role and all the scumbags around him did the dirty deeds.
I always thought Reagan was playing a role. One of his ardent supporters was Jesse Helms, a bigoted racist if there ever was one. Shamefully, he was NC’s senator for a long time.
I had not fully appreciated the effect of this bill. Thank you so much for laying it out with your usual no-fluff clarity. Just one piece of it: "With its expansion of the child tax credit, the bill is projected to reach about 27 million children and to cut child poverty in half."
As always, Heather, you do a nice job of setting this important legislation in the historical context. Thank you. Of course there is much more to be done, and it will get harder before it gets easier. Time is running out on Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Joe Biden should have a little talk with them.
Thank you, Professor Richardson.
I know you do not write the news, but your framing of the events of the day is unlike that of any I’ve known. I’ve become familiar with your “voice” not just from your Chats, but your written voice expressed here in these missives, and I value it.
The measure you take of events, your passion for history, for context, and for the well-being of our Democracy, might go unnoticed were it not for these Letters and that would be a shame. It is this passion – this enthusiasm and thoroughness, even joy, you bring to your work – that distinguishes it and sets it above the noise that often passes for informed commentary in these fractured times.
What follows may sound a bit unhinged but indulge me for a moment.
I am not a particularly spiritual person, but there have been a handful of times in my life when I didn’t know where to turn – tough times, nothing but the change in my pocket times. And for some reason I cannot explain, a cat appeared – a normal house cat – and by appeared, I mean either literally showed up in my room unannounced and for no apparent reason or happened to live in the place where I was taking refuge at the time. I can’t explain it – but it happened. And these cats stilled me, befriended me when I needed a friend.
Now, I’m not exactly comparing you to a cat, Professor Richardson, but when I had reached the point where I could no longer make sense of what was going on in our country – you appeared. A student of mine sent me one of your Letters and I have been here ever since, listening, comforted in the knowledge that much of what we are experiencing has happened before in one form or another.
So, thank you great Spirit, whoever or whatever you are, for cats and Professor Heather Richardson.
Thank you, R Dooley! I had the same experience with horses that entered my life 20+ years ago. Every morning on the short walk from the house to the barn my mind would be filled with the demands of the day. "I'll just throw feed in their bowls and toss out some hay, then be off to work." But upon entering the barn and being in their presence, a calm would take over me. I lost all sense of time. They literally, as you say, stilled me. I'd say they taught me to rethink what really was important in life.
As well, a friend sent me one of Professor Richardson's Letters last year and I have been a follower ever since. Looking through her aura makes it easier to be still in spite of the crazy that surrounds us.
(BTW, the stillness of my barn is an exact antidote to my 2 housebound feline friends!)
Yesterday, in the middle of my second week of chemo radiation, I braved the long drive out to the barn. My new boy was fairly indifferent, oh, the treat lady is here, I will tolerate you for the banana. My old guy, who I’ve had for more than 11 years, drew me in to his neck, wrapped his head around me, and held me close, with me breathing his wonderful smell, until I felt all the tension drain through my feet, at which point he sighed and stepped away. He is magical. I rode him for about 20 minutes, just walking, until I couldn’t anymore. I came home beyond exhausted, but full of joy in the simple beautiful things of the day.
Kathy wishing you well. The dog I adopted from a No-Kill Shelter in September is called The Magic Poodle by my friends: since his arrival in my life my cancer numbers are down and tumors are shrinking. Not without intense side effects--and the exhaustion of which you speak--but caring for an empathetic 4-legged family member is so healing. Hang in there, friend.
You, too, Linda. We have a crazy puppy too - he's one, and so so energetic! But snuggles me so nicely during my many naps. I will keep you in my thoughts, that you (and I!) continue to cure and heal.
Bless you both, Kathy and Linda!
Best of luck, Linda. Yesterday a close friend said that he has inoperable cancer. It's not known yet how serious it is, but we have to start saying goodbye.
Thanks TPJ and Yeah--my boat too but even if my sell-by date is considerably accelerated it doesn't mean I can't make noise while I am able!
Continue to heal. It seems that you have found the formula.
Wishing you health. Hang in there. Spiritually connect with your doctors and nurses who care for you.
The team is amazing. So dedicated, so caring. We are unbelievably blessed to live less than 10 minutes from Ohio State’s cancer hospital, to have great insurance, a wonderful friend network who are feeding us, and a great deal of physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and mental strength. My husband is a rock, my children are being supportive, and we are hopeful.
I’m so glad that you have such wonderful support, Kathy. Your story about your “old boy” is beautiful. Hopefully he will teach your “new boy” and he, in time, will become another of your “old boys”. I hope your chemo removes the illness from your body the same way your old boy’s hug removed your tension. ❤️
What Karen said. Hugs.
It’s a shame that with so much joy and support around you that you have to deal with such a terrible disease. I’m sure you have extraordinary strength. It seems inadequate to say “God bless you”, but your story touched me greatly. So - God bless you. May you have many years more to enjoy what is around you.
Sometimes bad things just happen. I wish it hadn’t. God, do I wish that. But, there are good parts, too. My marriage was strong to begin with, but now it’s even stronger. That’s wonderful. Thank you so much for your kind words.
We all wish you a speedy recovery. With all of the resources at your disposal, good family support, and expert medical care, please remain positive, Kathy.
Oh, Kathy...such joy for you with your old guy. Keep the faith with the "young'un." He, too, will come around. I have 2 newbies to the barn (just over 4 years here.) A big change for one of them this year for the better!
I am in your corner for you to fully heal sooner rather than later.
I bought him in January. Such big dreams for the new FEI horse. Hopefully just on hold. He’s so spicy, I don’t dare ride him right now :)
A perfect time for you to just hang out with him (as well as the old guy). I suggest it will do wonders for both of you
Yes! This forces me to develop a connection on the ground, slow and steady. But dang that drive is rough.
How beautiful, Kathy. May your chemo work as beautifully for you.
Thank you for sharing such a touching and inspirational moment.
Glad that you have the peace of your animals to sustain and lift you up through your hard times. May you be blessed with success with your treatments.
I hear you Kathy ... can smell that smell and the feel of your friend's strong neck. Heal well ...
Emotional support equines. Best of luck to you, Kathy.
Kathy, Your words and feelings give inspiration. Thank you.
Where to put this, bingo, Spooky, my darling African American teenage step granddaughter, has been interested in horses since she was a toddler. Her parents have fostered that love and she has been around horses for most of her young life. I know they are great comfort to her, always and especially when she has received an awful comment about the color of her beautiful skin. As an aside, I wish her grandpa had lived long enough to be in her life, she is truly a special human.
Thank you for that wonderful reply, life is tough enough without being recipient of hateful remarks and oh, for a more perfect world for all!
Fred WI, you put it perfectly.
It all looks like a grand digression… but when you look at Dr. Cox Richardson’s calm, lucid interweaving of past and present, context and content, facts and meaning, then this sudden burst of spontaneous togetherness, with each other, within ourselves, with the plain goodness of the animals around us, it is wonderfully encouraging. A clear and powerful ray of light, cutting through the fog of am-I-my-brother’s-keeper fear, lies, indifference and hostility. For these moments, we can pause and be grateful.
I love this so much!
I’m glad. But I’m always wary of becoming sententious, it’s all too easy. Please forgive me if I fall into that trap.
I’d just written, wishing that you and Linda should always have and share the courage and joy you’ve found in this hard time. I would wish this on no one, yet if I had to live my life again, one thing I would not forgo is the experience of a rare cancer—if only because of the company I had throughout (and still have, years later). It was a privilege to meet and spend time with that team of doctors and nurses—skilled, dedicated and (while you always knew who was the professor, who the student nurse, who was the expert, who the learner) always that sense of equality, within the close knit group and in their relationship with the sick. All human beings, all in this together—and that outweighed all else, all those letters after their names. They treated us, above all, they accompanied us.
Goodness knows what we shall all have to face in the coming months and years, but it will be great if we can keep up awareness of the simple reality that we are all in this life together, if we can stay free in the face of whatever comes. It may be that small numbers of lucid, free individuals just standing together, without any partisan agenda, will count for more than a vast, amorphous stampede of the brainwashed. So be it!
Meanwhile, I wish you and those around you all good things.
I have a similar gratitude in that this forum created by HCR has done wonders for my peace of mind and sanity
I agree. I live in an area where most people including my own family members are very outspoken Trump supporters. I was having a hard time. Then a friend introduced me to Heather Cox Richardson’s letters. Ever since then I rely on her letters to help me maintain sanity and peace.
I also subscribe to a conservative newsletter (not a Trump-positive one) just to try to retain the ability to have conversations with people who disagree with me. There is a continuum of viewpoints from liberal to still Trump loyal/very anti-democrats in their commentariat. This is where I come afterwards -- like a balm on my soul and conscience--it makes me feel so less alone or softens the sting of so many Trump voters and RW misery and insanity. I listened to a podcast yesterday (The New Abnormal) and there was a guest who said that there are more conservatives than liberals and the only reason Democrats get elected is the large number of moderates their policies sway. Now, I would say I am on the moderate side of liberal at this stage in my life. But I think that many of us suffer under the illusion that most people are like us when they are not.
Remember to stand firmly anchored in what gives you joy. When we focus on negativity we leave very little room for gratitude. I have experienced throughout my life that situations come and go with storms and with the tide. Our planet is much better off...our spirits are much better off when we choose to take in and breathe out positivity and goodness...thereby depriving negative energy any form of sustainability.
We are in a time of turmoil and transition both internally and externally. We are being tossed in all aspects of life. Trust that this is necessary in the bigger picture. Stay anchored in love....do/be whatever gives you joy. In this way, darkness is dispelled and light will shine forth, brighter than you've ever imagined.
Wise advice, thank you.
I think we sometimes confuse conservative with people who hate change. Not always the same thing. Good for you on trying to stay informed on other viewpoints. I've been reading depressing books lately, "Dark Money" & "Democracy in Chains" & even " The Silk Roads:A New History of the World" and struggle to understand the mindset of power & control. At the same time I find myself wondering if I'm getting sucked into it.
Peter Frankopan (The Silk Roads) is a very good historian.
Dark money is worse...
Bless your heart, the toxicity you experience reading that conservative newsletter can’t be good for you.
Honestly, there are some really great people on there and a few... well, let's just say I scroll by the worst of them.
Once I complained to a friend, a religious sister, that I wished I could give God a ring and ask “am I on the right track?” She said God responds by putting people in your life at those times. Why not an animal?
Thank you, Marcy, I needed to hear this today.
Animals know. They just know. When my late wife was ill, our black lab never left her side. We have a cat Bonya, that is Tanya's doctor cat. If she is feeling sick, he will cuddle up to her to sleep. If she is ok, he may sleep somewhere else. Perhaps they are 'angels unaware' but they know. You are totally correct about your cats. And HCR, except she brings comfort to thousands all at the same time.
'angels unaware' - love that.
Thank you R. Dooley for your deep insights on finding what matters. I've always had cats in my life - as I type this, my feral-born, gray tabby Bilbo, sits on my lap. But I discovered Dr. Richardson's rich insights by way of a Republican neighbor, who was spitting mad at something Dr.Richardson had written last year. Sheri just yelped at me about "you foolish criminal democrats" and mentioned Dr. Richardson's column. Talk about a circuitous path to stillness?!
My husband died of ALS just a week before the election. My stepdaughter lives just a block and a half from where George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis. The restaurant her partner owns is about a mile east of where the worst of the rioting occurred after Floyd's death. My younger brother was unable to leave his apartment in downtown Minneapolis for nearly 48 hours because of the riots, and my younger daughter was furloughed from her job that same week. Yowser, it was a tough year.
Thankfully, I had enough help from my community to keep my husband fed and safe and well cared for, free of COVID until he died. But in the wee hours, when I couldn't sleep because of personal stress and the threats to my democracy, I found that quiet still place here among so many thoughtful, reasoning people. My degrees are in journalism and I worked for environmental groups most of the last 35 years. To watch the previous administration dismantle my life's work (and thousands of others) and put all Americans at risk because of their greed, stupidly and belief that they could vote on the laws of chemistry, virology and physics (climate change) almost put me under. I found sanity again in many places but for a life long political activist, this was the place I found context, understanding and the knowledge that there are still plenty of folks who believe in and will work towards democracy.
I sat for about 15 minutes this morning after reading today's letter. Then I read your response and cried with simple gratitude. Thank you for articulating so clearly what I could not put into words. Be well - and enjoy those cats!
Sbmn, I am so very sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how difficult it is to lose the love of your life, especially at the time of Covid when all human interaction is stifled. I am glad you found Dr. Richardson and the community here. I, too, have had cats all my life (although I did have a dog, an Alaskan Malamute, when I lived in Buffalo, NY) and my cats have always given us love and comfort. A couple of years ago when I had surgery, one of my kitties would plop himself in my lap and stay with me for as long as I would let him! Stay well and let us know how we can help you.
I'm so happy that it resonated with you, brought perhaps a moment of peace. Thank you for your gracious words.
R Dooley, when I have needed them both cats and dogs have come into my life. They choose their time and I respect them for that. I've got a dog now but I have been the Ultimate Academic Cat Lady for most of my life--all of them arriving unannounced and demanding to be taken in. How can I say no? Same thing with my pooch. I found HCR through someone reposting her on FB. I am so glad I did, not only because of her calm, succinct, elegant presentation of the happenings of the day, but also because it introduced me to all of you. This has been the absolute best thing to come out of this annus horribilis.
Full agreement on both your points. One day, when the spirit moves, I'm going to write about my dog.
I, for one, am looking forward to reading it, R.
Who was it that said, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears"? I think that's true of many of us here in regard to HCR and her letters. Well said, R Dooley!
Supposedly an old Buddhist saying. The obverse is also true: when the teacher is ready, the student will appear.
Happy you enjoyed it - thanks.
R. Dooley, cats have an "uncanny" sense of when we humans are dejected and need comfort and stabilizing, and in most cases they jump into the breach and do all they can to reassure us. Lots of people have experienced this; so have I, unforgettably. And I'm convinced it's no slight to Heather to compare her beneficial presence to the sort of timely help cats have given you!
Agreed. So are dogs.
Yes.
Nice! Love your gratitude.
This is my department.
You can forget being unhinged, R Dooley, you're just fine. You need not have any concerns about your mental health. Congratulations for having the courage to voice your experience here.
In my Father's house are many mansions. That saying is attributed to the founder of Christianity, but I'm sure the inspiration for any of the world's religions would have their own languaging. I translate it as follows: in the greater scheme of reality, there are infinite dimensions. Notice the similarity between "mansion" and "dimension." There are a vast array of levels of reality, and we as humans are only tuned to see a thin slice of All That Is. These days, we can point to Star Trek movies and episodes, Star Wars, Men in Black, Avatar, etc. etc. etc. for visuals that express the concept.
So, that may or may not be helpful, but it's my introduction to what comes next.
Do not read Whitley Strieber, anyone seeing this name now, because this is off-the-reservation and off-the-charts terrifying stuff. Google him, sure, but I do not recommend reading this book of his.
I have to mention Whitley Strieber, because he wrote a book that I read once about his contact with an extraterrestrial, one of the Grays, I presume.
When something appears in your life which does not fit with your conception of reality, your mind as a prism or a filter turns it into an acceptable object or creature. In Whitley's case, he was bringing an extraterrestrial visitor into his house. Now none of us has actually seen one, I presume. If one of the short gray creatures with the bulbous eyes and no mouth showed up at your front door, how would your mind handle it?
Whitley's mind turned him into an owl. So for days, weeks, months, Whitley was seeing an owl, only he knew it wasn't an owl. But his prismatic mind had to manufacture something, it couldn't face the truth. Whitley did eventually begin to see this creature as it actually was, but it took some time.
If you have experienced or seen or read about visitations by angels, guardian spirits, et al, they often appear as animals. Quite common. The movie The Emerald Forest, for example.
So here's my observation, take it or leave it.
They are not cats. They look like cats, but in reality they are something or some person, but not a cat per se. Clearly your comforting helpers, your guardian angels/spirits/people, appear to you as cats when they materialize in your presence.
Obviously they are benevolent beings. Obviously they are personal allies of yours. Clearly a gift, a blessing, for appearing to you in time of need.
Thank you R Dooley for having the emotional courage (and trust?) to begin this thread; to Linda for sharing her healing journey and to Roland for words that feel like an answered prayer. It is often in the depth of suffering that we find a Living Presence greeting us in the most unexpected ways. When the self is stripped away and we are vulnerable, we are opened to find miracles everywhere. The “old ones” draw from a deep well. Thank you all for this loving community.
May I suggest, "The Way of the Shaman" by Michael Harner? Often in a shamanic trance (especially the lower world), your spirit will appear as an animal. That is a message from the ancients as to your true purpose and direction.
The Emerald Forest is a flawed but impressive film. I have recurring dreams about disappearing into the secret hidden tunnel.
Well, I wasn't intending to start a discussion about unexplained phenomena and dream imagery here on a site about current events. Only responding to R Dooley.
If anyone has a burning question, you'll have to contact me by replying to one of my outdated posts on an old HCR page. That will shoot me an email.
A long time ago, I worked as a crisis counselor and homeless support person in a place called Project Place, when it was in a run-down brick building and when Reagan's legacy resulted in the deinstitutionalization of mental health inpatients. TPJ can drive there, if he wants. He can probably do his public confederate flag burning at their new HQ, they'd likely be ok with it. During that time, I learned to be open-minded to otherwise strange-sounding, easily dismissable stories. You would be surprised how often a trauma victim, for example, makes up an odd story about unpleasant and unassimilable experiences. So when you are open-minded and ask a person for more information about a story, as you explore with that person, they discover things which they had hidden, or buried, or were unable to process at the time. I rarely dismiss a story. It usually makes perfect sense, once you get to the bottom of it. R Dooley's situation is ideal. My dream world is another lovely place. A lot of this material, however, is dark, like a tumor or clot that builds up around a horrific incident to encase it and shield it. Not for the faint of heart if you go digging around with another person into their wounds and ghosts and skeletons.
Dang, Roland, you are one deep well. I love how many men in this forum (I am pretty sure TPJ is a man!) are willing to express themselves so openly. We need a lot more men like you guys in our world to change it. I appreciate all the work many of you must have had to do being raised in our Do Not Feel/Raising Cain cowboy culture.
I am feeling much less stress today about our world and what we all might create together.
I still think Seditionists should be swept out of our government immediately and jailed for 20 years on some island, or GITMO, where they subsist on their own and not our democracy's taxes. .
I am an NP who works with people with multiple “co-occurring disorders”. I know this darkness because I hear these stores every day and wanted to say that your analogy of tumor/clot is brilliant. I’ve never heard it before and it is an excellent description. May I borrow it?
*stories, not stores. Oh, for an edit function!
Previously repressed elements that are rising out of a dreamers unconscious on their way to being finally "dispersed" in the conscious personality and disappearing for good as the sufferer is "cured" take this form of a black cloud or swirling, dense mist.
This is how I view much of Guillermo Del Toro's horror films and some of Neil Gaiman's fiction.
Reminds me of a movie I saw in 1968 "The Magus." Very confusing discerning what is real from many plausible possibilities. I had some similar experiences working in a psych hospital acute unit.
What else does psychoanalysis do when done properly?
Classic descent into your unconscious.
There are many cases when an otherwise ordinary person is also an angel, who shows up in another person's life to render help when it is needed. There are times when a non-human, for example a cat snuggling on our pillow, connects us to the comforting presence of G-d.
Thank you for this reminder that there are angels among us. I was graced by such an experience many years ago, and it is a blessing to be reminded of that time.
Little helpers along the road that have a "passing" role to play in your life.
A friend of mine shared with me his definition of a "coincidence" and similar inexplicable events shaping your life. He said they are Gods way of passing unnoticed.
And Jung referred to those mysterious coincidences as synchronicity. Life abounds with it when you begin to take notice.
You know, I have to read Strieber's "Communion" now. Telling me not to read a horror story is like telling a teenager not to try alcohol or marijuana. However, my library does not have it for immediate download, so I'm going to have to see if I can order a print copy.
I get what you are putting down here. I also have read Whitley Strieber but not the book you have mentioned. I read another novel which you may find very interesting if you are a lover of speculative fiction. This one is called "Nature's End" by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka. I liked it so much I located a copy to keep in my collection (I mostly read library books).
Thanks for that, Roland.
OMG. I hadn’t thought of Streiber’s book in years. It terrified me. Literally (used in the correct way here). I laid awake at night. Any (normal) movement of light jarred me. I never finished it and never read anything else he wrote.
I managed to finish the book, but I never read another book of his again. Nor did I ever return to that book, even though I’ve often re-read books. This is absolutely not light reading. Makes Stephen King seem like a stroll in the park, a warm breeze on a summer day. But even the bizarre and the terrifying can teach you something. It taught me that the mind distorts and alters and transforms what it is unable to compute. Like a trauma. OK I’m out of here, I have to sleep. I’m muting this thread. Nighty night!
Is the writing as well done as Stephen King? Everyone's reactions has me very curious and I'm going to have to read this book!
Historians have become our therapists, I think.
Yes! This historian as therapist! I fill out a survey regularly for the Nurses Health Study out of Harvard, now focused on COVID-19, and partnering with a national mental health group. When asked what supports I have relied on during this pandemic I always list HCR. Thank You for sanity and perspective!!
This one sure has!
My father's spirit lives in the mockingbird. In the years since he died in 1988, one has appeared or has sung within earshot for every significant occasion. I call it the Mocker Miracle. It has been less so since I moved to my house in '95 since I see at least one mockingbird every day now in my garden, but the import remains, giving me comfort, as we have come to rely on Heather to teach and guide us gently through the difficult times. We are lucky to have found her and each other in this supportive community.
Thanks for that response to her letter today. I agree with all of it! Those little pointy eared creatures have been part of my life in stressful times as well and I too have felt like Professor Richardson has saved my sanity. Spring is in air here in the PNW and it feels like the country is coming back to life as well.
Here in my state capitol, the towhees have come back and are calling to each other all around the mobile home park in which we live. And the Oregon spotted frogs have been singing for a week or so, too.
My... In the morning, I start reading David Abrams' The Spell of the Sensuous... The loss of connection with Nature, with earth, with animals, with all that's non-human... Yes, "other". Yet we are part of it all and so it is a part of us.
And now mankind is beset by sickness, every kind of sickness, every kind of self-destruction, and set on destroying the miraculous planet that sustains all life.
And here... it's curious, it's beautiful, just the sense of connection with and through a deeply thoughtful person bringing together people now and people in the past, their lives, their thoughts, their actions, and ours now. (This really is what history is all about -- about NOW and the roots of now!) And this person's presence, through her hard work of writing, is acting as a catalyst, bringing about far more than mere information for her readers, freeing thought and far more, deep feeling. And not just an opening up of awareness, not just release but the free, unashamed expression of those feelings.
This feels like the natural welling up of a powerful antidote to the poisons that have been unleashed on us for so long; and now, over the past few years, in unimaginable dosages.
We're fortunate to have come here, bringing so much with us. We've opened the doors and the windows of our lives, bringing in songbirds, loving horses, cats, dogs (mine are always with me). And feelings, good, healthy feelings! Deep health, even in illness.
Unbelievable!
Spring's in the air, let's go with it!
This stream of comments to R Dooley is delightful, well for the kindness.
Heather certainly has saved my sanity this past year, and now that things are looking better, although still challenging, Heather's Letters, along with many folks here who are becoming more light-hearted, are continuing to reconstitute our sanity. As for cats, we always have two, and they're very adept at keeping us out of a ditch. Heather, our "club," and cats - a winning combination.
Our current two were already middle-aged ladies when #2 (semi-feral, left behind when a neighbor moved) joined our household. They tolerate one another by giving one another a wide berth - but they seem to enjoy vigorous sparring when one is on each side of our patio sliding glass doors. Bop, bop, bop, raow! And they both act like they've won. Sweet, silly old ladies who love to sit in our laps and vie for that position.
We've always had two at a time. Our current two are a 7-year-old long-haired tuxedo male, who is super chill. We have a 3-year-old female long-haired gray tabby, left in a carrier behind a vet's office during Hurricane Irma (she's named Irma, of course). He holds her in contempt, but isn't mean to her, and she sometimes attacks him and rides him like a cowgirl, while he hisses. Pretty great, cheap entertainment!
OOPS, Substack needs help.
Hear, hear, YES!
Me too...cats. And I never considered myself a "cat" person. But they showed up. And HCR's Letters were introduced to me by my dear brother just days before his untimely death. So, I too thank that great "Spirit" for the keel which has kept my boat righted during this tumultuous year.
Thank you Heather. I appreciate your roadmap for today's happenings.
Much to be pleased about for certain.
I can't help but think the 30 votes against Garland represent a fairly reliable source as to who was involved with January 6th. Maybe I'm overthinking that, but......as I had posted earlier tonight on the announcement of Garlands' approval, gird your loins GOP.
Be safe, be well.
I think you're right on the mark, Linda. The vote had the subsidiary result of flushing out the guilty parties, like dye injected to reveal cancer tissue.
A good analogy!
Does anyone have a list of those 30? It would make for a good 'watch these people' list over the next year or so. Huumm, a phrase comes to mind: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
From the US Senate website: https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=117&session=1&vote=00114
The majority of those nays are not a surprise - most just hanging with the DJT crew! But Sasse? Toomey who wont even be there soon? A bunch of wimps!
Sasse disappointed me. I thought he was starting to show a backbone earlier, but he's been backsliding recently.
Nebraskan here...this is pure, unadulterated Sasse...flipflopping his way through life. He voted with the twice-impeached-one nearly 100%, even while daring occasionally to call out some of the egregious behavior. Then, after Biden's win, Sasse "courageously" called out a few more of 45's blatantly dastardly actions. Now, however, when it's time to actually help people, there Sasse goes...voting the Party Line...and against the will of his constituents. I really want to have confidence in him, but... well...there is just too much behind-the-scenes unknowability with him.
Ruth, thank you. I was looking for the list last evening and could not come up with it. Much appreciated.
You're welcome.
You may be right, but I also think there are about that many who will simply vote against every Biden nominee because they are obstructionist ideologues. Many of them no doubt consider him to not be the legitimately elected president (or at least represent large groups of people who believe this and so have to pretend they believe it, too), so won't vote to approve anyone he nominates.
We've gotten so used to our government unable to do anything really big—and dare I say it—revolutionary, that when it happens, we have to pinch ourselves to believe it is real. But so it is. And thank you Dems for hanging together and remaining strong for all the right reasons.
Yes the enormous strength that it required to beat the Cheeto then actually try to ignore his bs so they could create their team—the enormous amount of patience and persistence it took to keep throwing out Cheetos lawsuits, Merrill Garland’s strength and patience and it took the Repugs until yesterday to confirm this good man...
And it is really important that, as some or many, republicans start to be involved with or support parts of the coming actions we refrain from shaming or blaming for their votes. Welcome them back to a healing America.
God, I hope you are right, but I fear that you are not. I don't think the Rs have any intention of cooperating with Joe Biden and congressional Democrats. They are holding out for 2022 in the hope that they can retake one or both houses of Congress and will obstruct everything they can until then. Mitch McConnell talking about bipartisanship is the most rank hypocrisy I can imagine.
An excellent point, Cathy - I know I need to work on this myself. We could really use everyone's help, whenever it arrives
I take a small pleasure in the coincidence that this landmark legislation — likely the most significant of my adult lifetime — was passed by Congress on my 65th birthday... a day on which I officially begin receiving the benefits of one of the most important pieces of legislation of my youth.
Tomorrow is the first day I can apply for Medicare! Congratulations to us for making it this far....
"You go, Gurl," too, Reid!
Happy birthday!
Happy New You Day!
Congratulations! Your lucky day was a lucky day for all of us.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
As Randy Rainbow would say, David, "You go, Gurl"! Many happy returns of the day!
Double the estate tax. Triple it!
Given the advantages afforded the children of the wealthy, especially in education, they should have little trouble making their own fortunes, and have the satisfaction that comes with making one’s own way in the world. Should their interests lie elsewhere, in the arts or science, they still start out two steps ahead of their middle class fellows.
As Warren Buffet said about his own children,
“They will have enough to do whatever they want. They will not have enough to do nothing.”
I'm available for adoption.
After reading these posts, I was thinking of getting a dog or cat, but willing to reconsider. Have you had all your shots?
Vaccine or liquor?
Both preferred, latter not required
Me, too! Legitimately an orphan.
I seem to recollect that he was only going to give about $100 to each child.....is it worth it?
Sorry that was supposed to be $10 million
That's more than enough to do whatever's wanted.
But what will he do with the rest....he just joined the $100 Billion club?
What will he do with the rest?
Give it to Bill Gates, I suppose, for his various philanthropic endeavors.
The quote in my post came from a question posed to Buffet when he last gave a big chunk of cash to Gates;
“Are you giving away your children’s inheritance?”
Yes , i'd heard that bit before about the "poor kids" but effectively couldn't remember what he was going to do with the rest of it...if there is something left with the coming economic destabalization.
https://givingpledge.org/PledgerList.aspx He’s on the list.
Many thanks, Sherree.
Thank you for the informative news today. I watched a few Representatives "debating" the American Rescue Plan. The Republicans who spoke mentioned reasons they were against the plan, but are those reasons valid? In this type of "debate", no one can respond or take the specific point made and show where it is faulty, or exaggerated, or just plain partisan and untruthful. This has always bothered me when listening to each side defend his position in what they call a "debate". To me, this feeds into misinformation. It is unfair to the public, who is struggling to know the truth.
While there's no British-style back and forth colloquy, my Senator Chris Murphy of CT taught a Master Class on "debating" the Covid Relief Bill, rebutting point by point every single phony argument the Repugs made against the bill, dispelling their myths, and highlighting their sheer hypocrisy. It was breathtaking. And short too. View it here on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/harrisonjaime/status/1368225734515437568?s=20
Very proud of my senator!
THANK YOU FOR THIS LINK: I just hope the Republicans were present to listen to this.
I also hope that Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema were present to see this presentation.
In addition to making senators show up for filibuster, they should have to show up in general. Speaking in an almost empty room does not support bilateral thinking.
Chris Murphy is definitely a "keeper"!!
Excellent!
Chris Murphy is our future. He is magnificent. Always on point.
Everyone should pass this Twitter link on to their FaceBook. It is a great rebuttal.
Thank you for this link!!!! Love your Senator!!
Thank you so much!!!!
Congress doesn't debate; they just swap harangues. If they actually engaged in thrust-and-parry, think-on-your-feet debate like the House of Commons, many on both sides (mostly Repugs) would be exposed. And can you imagine any of the last 4-5 GQP presidents excelling in Question Time? ANY??
Sometimes I really think the US would be better with a parliamentary system. It'd certainly raise the caliber of candidates, while ridding us of the Electoral College. Hello, Canada? Are you annexing these days? Hello?
Question time - such a great institution.
pure theatre.
I’m not so sure about ‘rais[ing] the caliber of candidates’, considering the current Prime Minister, but the PMQs, held every Wednesday in the House of Commons, certainly expose the ineptitude of those engaged. John Crace, for The Guardian, writes a satirical sketch most weeks of the PMQs, and his followers’ comments are astute and witty; comic relief is always welcomed, as you know, TPJ, and so often provide. 😊
It usually seems they are just manufacturing sound bites for campaign ads.
A-yup.
Here is one comment I read off of a WaPo article the other day that I think hits the mark: "GOP Reps and Senators have the best of both worlds in voting against the pandemic relief plan. They know their constituents will get the relief checks anyway, and will only remember next year that good ol' Foghorn Republican was their congressman when they got it. Meanwhile they can loudly campaign on having stood up to creeping socialism led by Nancy Pelosi and The Squad. They'll suffer zero political fallout from voting against popular relief bills that they know Dems will fight to push through."
That's where we need groups, like the Lincoln Project, to start putting up billboards and other advertisements loudly telling the truth, that these cowards did NOT vote to help them in their time of need. There is a new group on Twitter, for example, "Retire Rubio" which is posting billboards and other things to get the word out about how he has abandoned the people of Florida. https://twitter.com/RetireMarco
They kinda talk to maximize tv sound bites and look smart to the people who give them money to run again
""Debate" is debatable.
Sen Mike Crapo (R-ID)
The jokes write themselves.
Yes....every time I see that man’s name, I think wow, how reflective!
I live in Eastern WA where our local newspaper reports Idaho news. I chuckle every time I see his name. And most lyrics his name fits.
I was going to comment, but you did a much better job. Touché!!
A very good day for Americans yesterday. The American Rescue Plan helps more people than the Republican-endorsed tax cuts even aimed to do. Merrick Garland will restore, well justice, to the Department of Justice. And Marcia Fudge's and Michael Regan's confirmation proves expertise matters and hopefully shows Republicans trying to enact even more acts of voter suppression that we all matter and we all can participate in our democracy. While it was a good day, it also served as a reminder (not that we needed it) of the callousness of the Republican Party. Not one, yes, not one, voted for Americans. And 30 Republicans voted against Merrick Garland -- under what grounds? So what's clear to me is simple. We're on track. But the narrow margins the democrats hold must be widened. And we can't leave it to others. It's in our hands.
Some of those 30, no doubt, have much to fear of Merrick Garland's competence in unraveling culpability at the Congressional level for the insurrection on 1/6/21
As I understand it, those Rethuglicans who voted against Garland believe he will go rogue and adopt the " radical agenda", whatever that means. Tom Cotton was quoted as succh. We need to be careful of him as he's another tRump.
Now that I have actually looked at the list, in addition to those that I expected (like Rubio, Scott and the other seditionists) I was even more upset with the chameleon Ben Sasse. He talks a good game, but when faced with backing up his words with actions, he falls short every time.
Projection is the lens they look through. They assume we are going to do exactly what they would and are doing. It’s their “tell” pay attention.
I just have to ask, what the hell is the “radical agenda”? (Besides a tired, catch all phrase?).
If it's not regressive, if it doesn't benefit the 1% and corporations, if it means the federal government doing ANYthing for the working and middle classes, it's "radical".
Heartwarming to read your letter. The sound bites of the news of how expensive this bill is without giving the context is so misleading. This bill will bring children out of
Poverty. The trickle down theory of Reagan and Trump has done nothing for the safety net. How in God’s name could we pass a bill for the same amount that benefits the top 1% 4years ago? If the Republican’s are concerned about debt maybe they should initiate repealing that bill.
It is such a relief to see those who need help will be receiving it.
As happy as I am by the fact that we are pulling children out of poverty, there should be no children in poverty in our country. None at all.
It is always astonishing to me what we Americans accept as "normal." A favorite excuse seems to be blaming the victim. "Those kids in detention centers? They wouldn't be there if they didn't try to illegally enter our country. And those BLM people? They wouldn't have a problem if they would just be civil. And the poor? The wouldn't be poor if they just worked harder. And the environment? It burned because we didn't rake it. Etc." The focus on the symptoms rather than causes and solutions seems to be in the American DNA.
My favorite line of yours, 'And the environment? It burned because we didn't rake it.'
And not just children. Poverty should be eradicated and could be if we had the will to do it.
Chrump. Just testing out a new spelling for the detestable one. I dunno, I kind of like it. Wish I'd come up with it earlier.
Cheeto+rump?
Or Chump+rump? Just curious about the derivation.
Not really. It just popped into my head. but actually has multiple slights built in. I was playing on the Tr sound (which properly is not a "ch" sound, but should maintain the hard T). I like it because it's closer to Chump, which is how I think of him and his cohort. It distorts and devalues his name (no more trump card), and robs him of his capital "T," which I'm sure he likes. And it sort of looks like chimp, which may be crossing a line, but I'm pretty sure would make him nuts.
Oh, yes, your second post. I didn't read that one right before writing.
I share this imagining that some in this community might like to participate. To me the force of multiple disciplines coming together as one can move mountains.
"The United States is presently confronting a dangerous collective racist mindset that has protected and encouraged violence against Black Americans and other groups for over 400 years. The pervasiveness of white supremacist ideology shields its adherents from ostracism and prosecution while subjecting non-Whites, especially Blacks, Latinx, Native Americans, and Asians, to various forms of discrimination and violence.
Such attitudes and associated deeply-ingrained phobias and fears made it possible a few years ago for a dangerous, mentally-impaired white supremacist to become president of the United States. His toleration by many, to the point of utter impunity in the face of escalating pandemic deaths, economic devastation, civil strife, and dangerous stoking of terrorism, all culminating in a violent insurrection designed to keep him in power at any cost.
Collective social disorders can have results much like what happens to individuals: truths and priorities are distorted with maladaptive behavior leading to destruction at both the individual and social level. That is why we must find new and formal ways to incorporate psychological insights into social and political discourse before there is further collective impairment and self-annihilation.
In pursuit of this goal, and to inaugurate our Truth and Reconciliation Forum, we will be holding a Special Professional Town Hall on 13 March bringing together leading intellectuals and mental health professionals. Speakers at our Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Town Hall include:
Cornel West, Ph.D. – Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University and Professor Emeritus at Princeton University
Wade Nobles, Ph.D. – Professor Emeritus at San Francisco State University, Co-Founder of the Association of Black Psychologists, and Founder of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family, Life and Culture
Gregory Carr, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University and Adjunct Faculty at the Howard School of Law
and others..... more info here:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/special-professional-town-hall-truth-reconciliation-and-reparations-tickets-144913581423?fbclid=IwAR1PgKkrtn9mfHAumtNBjhhDz0TxhH_Y72XDrgBI1j8tyPpSDHQDu8_w1nM
I agree! We need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Race to confront our sordid history of bias, not only against Black Americans, but also our bigoted treatment of Chinese immigrants, the Japanese American internment, exploitation of Mexican, Central, and South American peoples, and the Indigenous genocide. We have a great deal of blood on our hands.
I just signed up to attend this. Thanks for posting.
According to the link, the Town Hall is under the banner of WORLD MENTAL HEALTH COALATION. Christy, thank you for this post. I have though that our country was having a mental health crisis under Trump's presidency. The roots of the USA's social disorders began early in our history, and white supremacy is part its foundation. Although most of us will not be able to attend the town hall, I hope that you will keep us informed with links and posts about the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Forum.
Yes! Agreed! WMHC has an informative website and in case you haven't heard of their book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump", which is now dated but an interesting compilation of expert essays on that subject. Will our world ever learn how to prevent bullies from ruling entire nations?
Christy, I am familiar with book. Thank you. Essays by 37 psychiatrists and others in the field of mental health a year after his presidency began; they were our early whistle blowers. The amount of damage we incurred before he lost the election will not be forgotten, so many continue to suffer. The ground had been laid for him, and we have a monumental job ahead to cure not only the economic division but the social fissure, which is part of our legacy.
Thanks for that.
Thank you for commenting that it's of interest to you Mr. Dooley.
"Truth and Reconciliation" is a topic of particular interest to me.
I don't know if the description of this T&R Forum is going to attract the sort of folks who need to participate. A T&R Forum shouldn't just be a gathering of folks all nodding their heads.
Patricia, I very much agree. Dr. Lee wants to get the ball rolling. she expended a great deal of energy to educate about how dangerous djt would be as POTUS. She struggled to be heard. intentions are a wonderful thing and the energy and ability to carry them out a whole different thing. but the more folks engaged the bigger the snowball rolling down the hill? I'm just saying it has to start somewhere.
I'm with you on that. But the use of any "findings" of such a Forum will be tainted if "truth" is predetermined.
I attached the link so folks that were interested could gather more info. Your comment leads me to guess you did not investigate the purpose of the forum. Certainly I feel much respect for whatever the invited speakers bring forth as their own truths. Wishing you well.
Yes. I read the link. Once again, I am concerned that the word "Truth" is used to describe something already predetermined. One would hope that a "Reconciliation" forum would reconcile those who have have other views than those described in the "Truth".
Sorry Patricia but I don't follow what you are saying. the truth that comes out will be built on the truth that goes in and the last I checked one might have different experiences or opinions but the truth is the truth? I'd be more worried about the differences in reconciliation. I could be "beating a dead horse", and if so my humble apologies to all.
Finally. Something to help those earning less than $30k per year. As I checked into the bill & the lies spread by Fox & Republicans, I realized, they are prolific liars.
Prolific and shameless
After close to 30 years of Faux Snooze, the fact they are scumbags was news? How was your trip to Alpha Centauri? :-)
There used to be honest Republicans. Maybe you don't remember them.
I was related to one.
“The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” – St. Ronald the Communicator.
“I’m a Republican government official and I’m here to see that the government is able to do nothing for you.”
Heather, what a wonderful study in contrasts!
The American Rescue Plan passed and will become law on Friday. This is the end of the Reagan Era, "The bill, which President Biden is expected to sign Friday, is a landmark piece of legislation, reversing the trend of American government since Ronald Reagan’s 1981 tax cut. Rather than funneling money upward in the belief that those at the top will invest in the economy and thus create jobs for poorer Americans, the Democrats are returning to the idea that using the government to put money into the hands of ordinary Americans will rebuild the economy from the bottom up."
Meanwhile the Republicans and Retrumplicans continue their wayward mission: "For right now, though, Republicans are continuing to push tax cuts. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are leading an effort to repeal the estate tax. According to Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times, this tax falls on estates over $11.7 million, about a fifth of which are worth $50 million or more. The average estate affected by the tax is worth $30 million, and it affects about 2,500 people a year. It is enacted on capital gains that have not been taxed during the original owner’s lifetime, and usually involves stock. While Crapo calls the tax “the most unfair tax on the books,” Hiltzik calls the attempt to eliminate it “a massive handout to rich families.”"
We will not change the stony hearts of these people so we will end up eliminating the filibuster and going for broke with all the legislation that will retransform our society and our lives.
Sadly, I don't think so. The filibuster will remain. We may be able to pass the infrastructure bill through reconciliation, but otherwise the Rs are determined to be as obstructionist as possible and Manchin and Sinema will not budge on the filibuster.
They have to take one for the team and go home and explain slowly and carefully why they did it to the righties they say they have to please. We can't do infrastructure, etc with reconciliation because that either 1 or 2 more times this congress (Repubs didn't use it so they accrue).
I don't understand your logic. Why couldn't they use reconciliation for infrastructure?
Reconciliation can be used once each Congress. If it went unused previously the accrues. Repubs did not use it last congress for sure so Dems would have two times. After that it has to be 60 votes unless it's a federal jusge nomination.
Correct. So it COULD be used for an infrastructure bill.
Yes
I started my career in the Federal Government when Jimmy Carter was elected. I worked at HUD and helped craft the current Section 8 Housing Assistance Program. When Regan got elected, all research and development stopped. We had nothing to do. I left in 1985 when Regan got re-elected. Yet Regan is a "most beloved" President. The father figure of the Republican party. Same on Romney and others for not voting "yes."
When Reagan was re-elected in 1984, l lowered my flag to half staff because it felt like “mourning in America “.
I had recently graduated from college and started my career and I could not function for three days. A rude wake up call to the reality of "my country"
I have never understood that. Reagan took a $70B deficit to $175B. He was merely an actor in a role and all the scumbags around him did the dirty deeds.
I always thought Reagan was playing a role. One of his ardent supporters was Jesse Helms, a bigoted racist if there ever was one. Shamefully, he was NC’s senator for a long time.
Big Jimmy Carter fan here!
Ronnie & Donnie shared that their non-political persona's arrived regularly into folks homes as if they were family
I had not fully appreciated the effect of this bill. Thank you so much for laying it out with your usual no-fluff clarity. Just one piece of it: "With its expansion of the child tax credit, the bill is projected to reach about 27 million children and to cut child poverty in half."
Children going to bed less hungry
Sadly only half. How can we be the richest nation and have 27 million still in poverty?
As always, Heather, you do a nice job of setting this important legislation in the historical context. Thank you. Of course there is much more to be done, and it will get harder before it gets easier. Time is running out on Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Joe Biden should have a little talk with them.