Black Americans outnumbered white Americans among the 29,500 people who lived in Selma, Alabama, in the 1960s, but the city’s voting rolls were 99% white.
I joined SNCC on the day they crossed the bridge. I was a student at the University of Wisconsin. That march and the Greensboro sit-ins changed my life, my view of the world. Later I became the first white woman to join CORE in Milwaukee. Now at 82 I read the news and weep. But not without hope. You are part of that hope, Heather Cox Richardson.
Thank you Lee and Suzanne. Your courage and commitment to social justice and voting rights (in the face of possible physical harm) deserves much more praise and recognition than I can offer in this short note.
The Civil Rights Movement’s lessons are that thinking OR acting as if might makes right harms everyone whereas thinking AND acting as if right makes might helps everyone. John Lewis and Dr. King thought AND acted as if right makes might. Acting means deliberately practicing a good habit. They would repeatedly respond to conflicts of interest with dialogue aimed at discovering what is “right,” and then their actions were based on that discovered knowledge. We honor their sacrifice when we deliberately adopt their practice.
Heather's reminders of Lewis, King and the history of the mid to late 20th century is exceedingly important as the portion of the population that experienced it progressively dwindles.
Very insightful post, James. To me, it's a glimpse into what two serious, smart, and good men decided to make their way of life in order to make their own work effective and the lives of other men and women better. (I struggled with that last sentence for a while and, rereading it, concluded that I couldn't have put it more clumsily if I'd set out to try 🙂.)
It’s not hard to learn. It’s just hard for people to convince themselves that they want to learn.
The answer is in—because it is literally the founding principle of—every wisdom tradition including science and justice. Most people are familiar with the “treat others the way you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot” Golden Rule. Christianity’s founding principle (aka The Greatest Commandment) is the one I often refer to even though I do not identify as Christian, but I do translate it into modern language.
Luke 10:27 tells us what to do when there is a conflict of interest, including when one interest is your heart (intuition), and the other interest is your mind (logic), and also including when one interest is you, and the other is your neighbor (aka “the person you are interacting with at the moment”). If both interests serve the common interest, then everyone wins. If one interest is served at the expense of the common interest, then everyone loses.
Note the context. Luke 10:25-37 is the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and its message is that it doesn’t matter whether you identify with Christianity or some other tradition. Instead, what matters is what you repeatedly do. Wisdom, then, is not an act, but a deliberately practiced habit.
I also tell people to subscribe to my no-fee newsletter. My latest essay is a more detailed description of how any conflict of interest between any two individuals or groups can be resolved by applying that founding principle. Here’s the link: https://substack.com/home/post/p-158522918.
Very good, James. Thank you. I would like to add government inefficiency “in terms of work force” is a legitimate way to implement DEI. Privatization for efficiency is a disguised way to grab more wealth to those in power.
Yes, thank you, Lee and Suzanne I have long admired those who were out there risking their lives and standing up for equality. And like Lee, I am nearly 82 and weep. And I also thank Heather and the posters here who continue to work for justice and equality.
I am humbled by your ( both you and Lee Chemel) presence here. Thank you for being part of such an important movement. I was just 11 and 12 years of age or I too would have joined you. But I do have a personal story to relate. In my all white working class neighborhood in Hartford, a friend of mine lived down the street from me. One day he had used the “N” to describe the new neighbors that had moved in. I asked Marty not to use that word. My mama had taught me right from wrong. So Marty screamed it at me again and again until I lunged at him and we commenced a huge struggle. I recall getting Marty in a chokehold and as I looked down at his face, tears were running down his chin as his face turned red. It was at that moment I knew I had to let go of him or I would have ended his life. As I walked home that day, he continued to scream that word at me. Now 60 years later, I can still hear Marty screaming that word at me.
I met JohnLewis once at the Congressional Black Caucus convention when I was a vendor. He bought a work of art from me. I recall thinking that I should get a photo of us together but I didn’t want to do what most others would have done asking for that photo. Now I regret it.
I just found out that my new Polish-born doctor is a Trump supporter. I will download Heather’s piece and include it ina copy of my book, “ Donald’s Vanity Tantrums “ a send it to him. He needs some context.
Not I. I need to explore ( as a writer) and try to understand how a person can become closed minded. But don’t forget I’m a centrist and many of you folks reject ideas promulgated by centrists.
You might want to check your “centrism.” Thanks to GOP obstruction moving the Overton window consistently rightward, the centrists of today are the right wing conservatives of yesterday. And that “leftist” Bernie Sanders is only center-left compared to his counterparts in Europe.
Bill, regardless of WHAT position you take or stand for, we are ALWAYS better off when we can talk with and especially listen to others with a different point of view! Many think the Democrats lost the election because they lost their interest or ability to talk to those with differing views…or from different perceived classes.
That’s a bit of a blanket statement , I think, Bill. Although you do say “many” which I suppose is open to interpretation. Anyway, I have many a tale to tell about discrimination here in Connecticut (and I do have a copy of your book as I think I shared with you before).
Who is a centrist? Not Joe Manchin. He’s a CENTRINO (centrist in name only), meaning a person who thinks being a centrist involves holding a position that is halfway between good and evil. A real centrist is on the narrow path between two gates. Too far left is too openminded (aka naïve) and too far right is too skeptical (aka cynical).
I think it’s worth noting—because I don’t think we think about this enough—that being cynical about one idea is being naïve about another idea, and vice versa.
But, Bill Katz, what is “centrist” about feeling one is superior because one is white or that it’s ok to demand or hate others because they aren’t? Some Slavs I know are racist, usually because they have had little exposure to blacks.
I don’t need to as long as he is forthright with his duties. I chose him on recommendation because he is not part of an institutional medical group. The last one I had who was associated with Hartford Health Care became a nightmare for me.
Bill, I am a physician. When we graduate from medical school we take the Hippocratic Oath which says "do no harm". I associate with hundreds if not thousands of US and foreign fellow physicians, professionally and socially. I do not know a single physician who is a Trump supporter. Not a single one. I was at a medical meeting in October before the election and one of the panel moderators asked jokingly of the presenters before they gave their 5 minute talk - "say who you are voting for". Every physician who spoke said "I am voting for Harris". This phenomena probably varies from specialty to specialty, and from practice type to practice type. It would be interesting to poll VA physicians what they think of Trump today. Senator Bill Cassidy should have his medical license taken away because he's violated his oath of "do no harm". People are going to die before their time because of RFK Jr and Trump. Please find another doctor.
To be fair to him, he didn’t say he was a trump supporter. But he did sound off on a few issues that I connoted to be consistent. But he might be kinda like me because I don’t exactly fit snug with democratic dogma.
Bill, I hope you are making the correct choice. It's odd, but in this political climate, medicine/science and politics are against each other. Should Avian Flu become pandemic, would this doctor support vaccines? How about prescribing an SSRI should you need one?
Over my career, I worked with dozens of doctors. Before phlebotomists became common, I spent my first shift hour every morning drawing blood samples. I've assisted on hundreds of bone marrows--in the patient rooms, in the OR, or in the CT suites. I often was treated as invisible, but my ears and eyes were very present. I'm a huge supporter of good physicians, but let me tell you, they aren't all good. I could tell stories, but I still feel honor bound by HIPPA. I'll tell one though: when my mother was diagnosed with cancer, her GP recommended an oncologist. I'd spent plenty of experience with that doc so I said ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Perhaps some of the nurses here will back me up on this: when people would ask not for a recommendation, but what I thought of a name they were given, and I didn't think much of the doctor, I'd say "hmmm.....I don't really know her/him". The best advice I give people is to ask an RN "if your mom had x disease, who would you take her to?" Always, always, trust the nurses.
Last Friday Night, Rachel Maddow did a 'Block A' visual survey across many states demonstrating deep support for NIH & science based medicine & huge returns for tax dollars.
There were over 1000 folks at the DC demonstration of support for the NIH & Science. There were many clever messages on the Multi State signs.
To you and to Max above. The corporate doctor I had let me down when I most needed her. I have not seen a doctor in almost a year. Doctors are in short supply these days as both of you might know. We have a rotten way of practicing medicine in this country. Right now I have a serious neck pain with a lump and I’m not waiting any longer to have it looked at. He will be sending me to a neck specialist next week.
My first visit and he spent an inordinate of time with me and much of it veered on politics. And surprisingly especially on the Ukrainian war, we weren’t in full disagreement. For the record, telling Putin no NATO membership would have avoided outright war. Yes Russia had already invaded in a lesser war in the Russian east. But Biden and company couldn’t or wouldn’t say no NATO. Ukraine was not ready for membership so why not say it? Oh, because it would look like a Neville Chamberlain event right? There was no need. Besides, our Defense secretary at the time stated that this war was good because it would wear down the Russian army. So in his opinion, Ukraine could be the sacrificial lamb to wear down the Russians. Great. How well stated. Pin another medal on his jacket. Tell this to the hundreds of thousands who have suffered that war was necessary. I heard it from a distinct Polish perspective. It broadened my horizons and this is what I yearn for. I don’t want to remain cloistered in a cocoon.
If anyone can gift the NYT's 3/7 article ,"Inside the Explosive Meeting ..." by Jonathan Swan & his Co-author -- please post.
Regardless, TRANSportation Secretary Sean Duffy's clashed with Elon Musk over firings at the Federal Aviation Administration not over Elon's fiery rocket explosion yesterday 9 minutes into flight (NOT).
No, the clash was NOT over the first 5 letters of Sean Duffy's department.
Thanks for alerting us to this article. Although I still subscribe, guiltily, for Wordle and cooking, I didn't see this. I think Jonathan Swan is a great journalist. The opening line was a stunner, "Marco Rubio was incensed. Here he was in the Cabinet Room of the White House, the secretary of state, seated beside the president and listening to a litany of attacks from the richest man in the world."
Maureen, I saw headline about this clash, but have not read the article, but my husband did. I also do the Times puzzles, etc. Yes, quite the argument. Muskrat is in charge, although I read yesterday that death star told the Cabinet that they were in charge. We will see.
Frank, I think stubbornness isn’t necessarily basic to human behavior unless the “stubborn one” perceives the other is trying to change their mind or behavior, trying to change who they are. Often simply getting people to put in words what their beliefs are allows them to hear what they are saying. It certainly presses them to generate logical sentences.
Thanks for the thoughts, JohnM, i know "stubbornness" is a colloquial term, but my personal and reading observations suggest it's folded in the deck of the "I / we am/are right/good/superior" paradigm which repeats and echoes through human history. I would add to say human beings are both very competitive and very collegiate. "us/them" kind of thing.
Hey I’m no defender of Putin but let’s calla spade a spade and Putin is no fascist. The Russians lost 10s of millions in the war. We are ascribing terms that don’t fit. On the other hand, the Elons and others are making a mockery of the Hitler salute. It’s an inside joke. Since they are perhaps right being identified as fascist, they joke with the salute. Hey, the circus is in town.
It's pure semantics Bill. It might be differences but they envisioned a fascist word. I would like to point out that there's a distinction between fascism and nazism. Russians would never mention any of those two terms while talking about their system of government. Compare Germany minus the racial component just before the war and Russia today without the propaganda to make them look "nice".
You make a weak argument. I don’t have any answers I only met him for 1 1/2 hours and that is a long time to be in a doctor’s office. And he related that fascist elements of the Ukrainian army in WWII killed many Poles. Europe is a caldron of conflicting elements. Far be it from me to fully grasp. In college (although I dropped out) I took a Russian history course taught be a former general in the Hungarian army when it revolted against the Soviets in 1956. That was a trip.
Bill, it isn’t the 1 1/2 hour meeting that’s important beyond the indication of that amount of time spent talking with you as a patient. It will be the evolving process of talking with each other and the sense of being heard. The more one talks the more one has to try to align disparate directions of thinking.
Also Elvis Prestliys parents had no money so moved into a black neighborhood. Elvis songs are influenced by the neighborhood he grew up in. Your "N" word person would be horrified if he knew that. I watched Colen Powell's funeral. I told my son that I want the version of Presidous Lord sung at my funeral.I get chills every time I hear it. sorry about the ad:
Thanks for that personal story, Bill. Things were very much quieter in faraway Saint John, New Brunswick just east of Maine. I was walking along a neighbourhood street with a local friend about age 14 when a pair of older blacks happened to walk by across the opposite side of the street. My friend yelled out the N word. I tried to say no but it was too late. A chase ensued. Fortunately for me I was able to outrace my rightly angered pursuer. My mother was big on racial tolerance, and had a local black woman as a good friend, so i got an earful from her on these matters. Most of the blacks in eastern Canada are descendents of escaped slaves promised their liberty by the British during the American War of Independence - in Virginia and elsewhere it led to huge fears by plantation owners and led to their joining the Patriot side. Some escaped slaves formed the largest black American fighting unit until Vietnam. Thomas Jefferson tried to include an anti-slavery provision in part of the Independence documents but it was stricken out by his fellow Virginians, and the whole matter was effectively shelved for the duration, and later. Emancipation laws by various northern states dribbled out over the next 70 or so years. One effect of that was to allow various northern slave owners to sell their "property" to southern slave owners.
Frank, I think the story of how such a privileged, well-educated and articulate founder of our country such as Thomas Jefferson moved from a position of believing in, or at least making use of and benefitting from slavery to thinking people should not be subject to slavery, presumably evolved by way of his personal experience, would be an excellent example of one who was forced to put in words, often the most eloquent words we have preserved, what the fundamental principles of this emerging new country were.
Oh please. The fucker owned 600 slaves. He freed two in his lifetime, freed 5 in his Will (all were from Sally Hemmings clan including the one in impregnated) and the remainder were sold off to pay off the estate.
He was a very complicated guy indeed, but he was, almost, above all, very pragmatic esp in his politics. He did a lot to promote the Patriot, Republican opposition to Alexander Hamilton and other Federalists, trying to dismantle as much of Hamilton's legacy as possible during his terms in office. Reminded me of a little of the "Trump" whitehouse,.... kinda
A major part of Trump’s appeal to the electorate has always been his promotion of white supremacy. And it is no coincidence that he has come to power just as we “minorities” are about to become the majority in this country. If we can survive Trump’s effort to tear it all down, better days may be ahead. But at this point that appears to be a very big IF.
We recently gleaned from some of our financial adviser's statements (and lack thereof) that she is a Trump supporter, and we dropped her and told her why.
In addition, I was going to suggest that you send him a copy of, "The Barn", the story of the murder of Emitt Till, but I doubt he would read it, change doctors. It's also interesting because my wife and I have Polish friends whose parents fled Poland, and they are Trumpers as well. Makes me wonder what part of history they don't understand.
Off topic but when I visited the Emitt Till museum last October, I acquired a small ceramic with a picture of a young Emitt embedded on it. It’s a reminder.
I might need to get a copy of your book to give to my new HVAC contractor who thinks that Republicans and Democrats are the same. We all have to work on turning these people who lack “context” around.
At least you stopped choking him when you realized what was happening. Some whites do not ( I am thinking of the police brutality but I know there are others.
Absolutely nothing. And it's been only less than two months since inauguration. For your peace of mind please, don't think how much longer till we'll have a chance to correct directions .
He is a stupid moron, and is now carpet b0mb!ng the entirety of the life blood of the nation. But it’s the entire Republican Party, their actions, policies and sworn allegiance to hate and lies that are the cancer anything truthful, moral and just. There are not two sides of the argument. There is right and wrong.
Kudos to you both, Lee and Suzanne, for understanding the stain on the very soul of our Republic and for getting involved. Like Lee, I am 82. Growing up just north of Boston, well away from the "troubles in those Southern States" and affected by the revisionist history that had been carefully crafted about chattel slavery, I didn't see the truth... until, that is, the riots in Boston and surrounding areas over school busing. It pains me to realize that the pejorative term "woke" is used to deny the truth of history and I am rankled by the political slogan "Make America Great Again" because the "original sin" of chattel slavery, while understandable in the context of the time when our Republic was formed, was a stain on the very soul of our country that has to be erased if the Republic is ever to be considered "Great". It's painful to see that we still have a long, long way to go before we get there.
Lee and Suzanna are hero of America. They represent the underlying foundation of American democracy (DEI). I trust there are many working to stop Trump / Musk. Thank you Professor for this letter.
Thank you . Social Justice, is it the principle fought for the longest? Education should reflect the basic tenets in the process of highlighting principle. Things we should ‘hold to’ and which truth is the first principle thereof.
Their premise is to eliminate it ‘as it stands’ (to their objective) which is rewriting the script to fit their narrative. The first principle of which is that ALL people should be educated. But as emotions are used as the talking points -never the principle -is manipulation …and they are very good at that.
Excellent point. Thank you.
I love the stories from people of who their favorite teacher(s) were. Usually pivotal in their learning process.
Thank you Lee and Suzanne. Your courage and commitment to social justice and voting rights (in the face of possible physical harm) deserves much more praise and recognition than I can offer in this short note.
Absolutely Harvey, in this age of technology we, as a people, should be demanding transparency in all elections, starting with the 2024 Presidential elections. The Republicans could call it ‘sour grapes’ but it would of set a vetting policy that many successful corporations call ‘Quality Check’ in business practices. In 1998 my employer started using the ISO 9000 quality control clearance. As HCR wrote tonight that President Lyndon Johnson said,
…’He called the right to vote “the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men,” and pledged that “we will not delay, or we will not hesitate, or we will not turn aside until Americans of every race and color and origin in this country have the same right as all others to share in the process of democracy.”’
It would not surprise me at all if part of the reason he kept the big lie going, was to then be able to shame us -after manipulating the 2024 election- for speaking up.
Yes. The Big Lie was a two-part strategy, a Plan A and Plan B rolled into one. Plan A was to undo the results of the 2020 election. If Plan A failed, Plan B was to preempt and quash any future claims of election-rigging by Democrats, by setting a sore-loser precedent against which Democrats could be held and mocked.
It does seem to be one of their tactics - pre-empt any justified resistance by flooding the zone with disingenuous displays of speech and action that rob any protest of meaning.
One could start, Ricardo, by taking the first opportunity to renew the Voting Rights act and restore the requirement for “preclearance” of any legislation affecting voting at least in the states which have proven so stubbornly invested in limiting who and how some segments of our population can vote - historically TWICE now!
Thanks for your reply John. Your idea it's the rational one but we are in a vicious circle now. We have to winn elections to do what you proposed but, in part because vote suppression we can't.
Accountable means legislators not doing the right thing would be replaced by others that will. They are not afraid because now, it's a vicious circle very hard to broke up. I can see the problem but can't find a solution. For now at least.🤔
I am 80 and remember these events so clearly. I was a nursing student during those years and couldn't leave school to march but I was certainly there in spirit.
Thank you, Lee and Suzanne for your commitment to democracy. I remember Bloody Sunday watching it on the news being delivered by Walter Cronkite. It was immoral and terrifying to watch white men beat black men and women. I too, have been a political activist since 1969 burning my bra and participating in Vietnam War moratoriums in DC, the VRA, etc. Now I find myself at a Tesla showroom with signs every Saturday protesting against fascism and racism (again). It is embarrassing to me that white people, especially the wealthy, think they are above everyone else. Black people constantly teach us how to fight and how to do it the most effective way. We must follow by example and not get in their way because they have doing this a very long time.
I weep also, for what our nation has become and am grateful to have this community that Heather set up for us.
“White Lies” the NPR podcast of the Selma March and the murder of Reverend James Reeb. A must listen! Grateful to you for participating and sharing your story.
YOU make me proud. At 89, I too am part of that time, white woman who has participated. (Tho not in danger) First vote…. JFK, Nashville, TN…. One of 8 of Vanderbilt Univ. Hosp (4 were residents, 4 were wives) and the only white members of the staff so doing… We were not welcome to knock on doors there, so did so at Fisk Univ and Meharry Medical college…. Reading the comments (thank YOU, Heather) renews HOPE!!!
I remember hearing Lewis speak at a professional conference. You could hear a pin drop the entire time. Several thousand in the room. What a remarkable man. May we be like him.
“On March 5, 2025, Representative Terri Sewall (D-AL) reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would help restore the terms of the Voting Rights Act, and make preclearance national.”
We need to call the House Republican Representatives. Tell them to vote FOR the John Lewis Act and NO on the SAVE Act (which furthers voter suppression).
Tell them the American people are protesting what the government is doing. If they don’t stop Trump’s corruption, they won’t be re-elected.
I'm no lawyer, but I wonder if national pre clearance would run afoul of the Constitution's provision that the States manage elections. The only section of the 1965 Act that the Court voided was the section that named individual states or parts of states, and that list was essentially the same as had existed in the original 1965 Act, even though conditions had improved drastically in many of those jurisdictions. The Court insisted that, unless Congress updated the list based on current voting statistics, all States must receive equal treatment. Once again, Congress simply failed to do its work. National pre clearance will probably be found unconstitutional.
Remember that pre clearance was specific to states where evidence of violations of voting rights had been found. What you say is the bedrock for states rights to gerrymandering. And it's those states where those voting rights are being violated. Need I mention the blatant vote buying in Pennsylvania by Musk et alia.
One lady purged over 30,000 voters registrations with her challenges. She didn’t even know those people. Go to GregPalast.com and watch :
“Vigilantes Inc.”
It was estimated nearly 5 million LEGALLY registered voters were purged; voters who would have voted for Harris. Harris would have won!
It seems unconstitutional (with these purged votes and Russia interfering with bomb threats at the polls), that the American citizens were PREVENTED from exercising their constitutional right.
These are UNUSUAL circumstances. Along with Trump lying to the American people about his actions on “day one” to lower prices, end the war, etc., he didn’t say anything about destroying our democracy, ruining our relations with our allies or siding with our enemy, Putin. Trump is NOT who the American people voted for!
I think we deserve a RE-VOTE on PAPER BALLOTS - NO TABULATORS (as they were rigged. See Election Truth Alliance or SmartElections.US).
The 'evidence of violations' was still, in the late 19000s and early 2000s, statistics that were taken in the 1960s. Congress had not updated the pre clearance list to reflect much better voting participation accomplished in the second half pf the century. Shelby County prevailed, by showing they no longer deserved special treatment. Each state deserves equal treatment by the federal government, and exceptions like pre-clearance are permitted only upon showing of real, current problems.
Pre-clearance should be applied nationwide in every state.
Our only hope of ever achieving a more perfect union is if the vast majority of citizens become so enraged by trump and the despicable right-wing that we take to the streets and force them out of power. We can't wait until the 2026 elections, it will be too late.
We need super majoritys in Congress to amend the Constitution to make public financing of all political races with no private financing, including self funding. The Supreme Court decision on Citizens United opened the door to unlimited and untraceable political contributions.We must prevent the Supreme Court from interfering in legal recounts as they did in 2000 to make George W. Bush President.
And take away the ability of the Senate to refuse to act on the Presidential appointment of a Supreme Court justice as Mitch McConnell did for the last year of President Obama's Presidency.
There has got to be a way to inform everybody how corrupt the right-wingers in Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court are and that we are on the very brink of losing everything.
Marlo, while I agree wholeheartedly that renewing the Voting Rights Advancement Act is the right direction to go, I simultaneously recognize that it will be nearly impossible to get Republicans to go along as they have increasingly recognized that their messages, their positions and their planks are just not popular enough to ensure their re-election. Other than big business and billionaires, there are very few of their stances which make common people’s lives better.
I don’t understand. First, the PROTESTS from the drastic, nonsensical slashing of badly needed public agencies that serve the people should be enough to scare the Republicans into STOPPING this wreckage.
Second, do they realize this is replacing our democracy with a dictatorship? Our constitution will be meaningless?
Third, they are driving our economy into the ground with their tariffs, their cuts across the board.
4th, along with our military strength & intelligence, our country is losing its allies leaving us vulnerable for an attack.
Sometimes courageous, intimate, resonant, accuracy holds assembled listeners in rapt, speechless attention. I have witnessed this, rarely, in other circumstances. It is priceless.
Oh if I had hips and knees that could do it, I'd do a 54+ mile march now. After the Congressional recess, will it be time for a march to DC by people from every state? Not just protests in our own towns or marches to state capitols, but trains, planes, buses, cars, and marches to bring Americans to DC and to kick out the Republicans, Russian assets, and traitors in the White House, Congress, and Supreme Court.
Also I just read the Ukrainian troops, without the United States intelligence, are surrounded by the Russians at Kyiv.
Trump is beholden to Russia. This is why:
“Trump is an actual Asset for Russia since 1987 when he was compromised by Russia. in the 90s after six bankruptcies no bank would give him loans or credit however, Russia came to the rescue and forwarded him money through Shell companies who paid cash over and above the normal price for his condos in his building buildings. So he essentially for years laundered money for Russia and the crime syndicate in Russia. Google and you will find those reports. Below are some videos on that subject.
So educate yourself, it’s obvious that Russia plays a big role in American politics and with their asset Trump in the White House they are jumping for joy.
For this alone, Trump should be impeached (plus being a 34 count felon should exclude him from the White House as well).
Email it to all the Republican senators as well as the Democrat and the House of Representatives . “
I didn't know there were so many incriminating details! Thank you Marlo. Now, what will I do besides stay focused and keep moving towards truth? I'll be out in the wind today for that answer, as a few lines from this song are BOLDED in my mind. Written in 1963, Dylan's song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrQ4saKGI5k
LYRICS TO "Blowin' In The Wind"
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
oh my gosh…. i recently watched the pbs special (fundraiser) w peter, paul, and mary. they were a wee bit before my time but i was certainly familiar w their songs as soon as i started to listen to music. tears filled my eyes as i watched the show. filled and then overflowed. on one hand i realize the struggles are not new. on the other hand, our struggles now transcend awfulness. we’re losing, or perhaps have already lost, the soul of our nation.
I attended a Peter, Paul and Mary concert in the late 1990s and they sang that song. It was so moving. I have never forgotten that. Read these words over and over again and ask yourself those questions.
Clearly, DJT is a traitor and his support of Putin and potentially fatal decisions regarding Ukraine are treasonous! He needs to be impeached, arrested, and jailed. And Vance as well, his political viewpoints are anti-democratic. And every single Republican must be a bigot based on their anti voting rights/suppression stance and the SAVE act. The SAVE act targets women, specifically. Bigots!
I hear you, Laurie. I just had my knee replaced (hip was 2 years ago). As soon as I can walk without assistance devices, I plan to make a sign and go stand on a busy corner in Eugene. Don't think I'll be up to much travel or marching, but I do hope to make it to Salem for a more organized demonstration soon.
Since MTG can wear a “Trump didn’t do anything wrong” hat and not be kicked out or censured like Al Green, perhaps Democrats can get hats that say” Trump does not have a mandate” or something they want to express and see if that gets ignored like MTG!
Actually it's a good thing for each of us to have and if you can afford it a passport card and or booklet. BTW a REALID STATE certified id card or driver's license is also a great thing to have after the certified birth certificate.
All women need to do that! Yes, the SAVE act is targeting women, specifically. I have always encouraged my own daughter not to change her birth name if she ever marries.
Lewis and King are gone. Where are our inspired leaders now? See https://www.instagram.com/reel/DF6WJLZttlN/?igsh=MWRnZm41NzRidWpsMA== Bernie is out in the country doing his part. Others currently in congress are trying to speak out despite a lack of support from Dem leadership. But it is hard not to take the radio silence on the part of our former leaders who we entrusted leadership to as anything but disinterest or cowardice.
I’m Canadian but paying maybe too much attention to what’s going on, along with many of my friends and colleagues. We,too, are wondering where the democratic leadership is. I do remember how Obama was criticized for pushing a group of black me to vote for Kamala Harris…Didn’t go over very well. Maybe they aren’t confident about what their role is…But what has disturbed me the most is what Hegseth has done since stepping in to his role as Secretary of Defense…brutal!!! Very, very worrisome…Please know we (Canadians) care and are doing what we can…
And please know that we appreciate you! The president of the U.S. is a felon and has not received a mandate for his alternate reality! He is all about retribution just like a school yard bully. I have never experienced such hate towards a person as much as I do him. He is a cruel and evil individual.
I find the clips of Trump at his desk with a map of the "Gulf of America" pretty annoying, which, of course, is his point.
I wish Trudeau would start referring to the US as "South Canada" but that would support annexation, I guess. Although, if France and the UK joined with Canada and invaded our northern border, and Mexico joined with all the other South American countries and sent troops over our southern border, I couldn't fault them.
Donthecon interfered with Obama’s presidency just about every day of 8 years, stirring up hatred with his birther crap. And now he has stirred up the haters, pardoned 1500 of the worst and the majority who should know better sit and wait. For what?
Ruben Gallego of Arizona had a hard fought and well won race. He's younger and well thought of as well. I am a supporter of Sen Van Hollen from Maryland who walks in the history of Sen Mikulski and there's so many more.
I agree Carol that there are several shining examples OUTSIDE of DNC leadership and they do not include our ‘old guard’ as the linked commentary points out.
That was the subject of two of my 5 calls to the congresscritters yesterday. To Schumer and Jeffries, I left a message "WHERE IS THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS?"
Perhaps they are out there, but their messages aren't getting out there. I hate to say it, but some stunt of MTG's goes viral, and they need to do something that goes viral as well.
This post really took me back. As a fed-up 15 year old living in what was then 'the Prune Capital of the World' and since become part of Silicon Valley, I joined SNCC as a kind of protest to the sleepyheads in my town. When I wore the pin to school one day I got put on a kind of watch list headed by our Vice Principal, aka 'the Enforcer.' I did not take it off, and he backed off. I didn't then, but I do now, recognize how insulated I was by the visible fact of my whiteness, and after all these years am still sickened by what's still going on in the South, where I was born but fortunately did not have to grow up. Today John Lewis' photo is in a gold frame on my bureau, as a reminder never to stop making Good Trouble in the face of oppression. Thanks for holding this up to the light, Heather.
My first paid campaign job was in 2012 as a volunteer coordinator for an unwinnable congressional campaign for a former teacher and Unitarian. A volunteer from her church came in and my friend, the candidate, said I might want to Google him. He was Clark Olsen, retired Unitarian minister. Clark was working in a church in Berkeley CA back in the 60's and met up with James Reeb in Selma, but was lucky enough to live to tell about the day. I certainly was honored to be in Clark's presence. He died in 2019 at the age of 85.
One of the meeting rooms in my Unitarian Universalist church is named after James Reeb. He was an honorable man. And John Lewis came to our town for a book festival. I heard him speak and afterwards, I talked with him as he signed books. I have that book with his signature. Understanding the struggle for the simple act of voting—risking life and limb after climbing out of the shackles of slavery, just to have a voice—makes watching our sad country lurch into fascism ever more sickening. Where are our leaders? Voting to censure one of their own for speaking out in public against this monstrous regime?
My (perhaps selective?) memory was that a lot of moral support for Civil Rights came from churches (and not just UU). I may be just missing it, but I keep hoping to hear a lot more from churches that DON'T see Musk and Trump as the Second Coming. That value kindness and humility. That don't bow down to the richest, and who show compassion and refuge for the poorest and abused. I know some exist, and I suspect that there are many more, but about all I hear from is hate-filled, vainglorious MAGA. Jesus said something about not keeping one's light under a bushel.
Johnson got involved in Vietnam and the marching changed. I guess we thought Civil Rights was fixed but the children of the haters found a leader and made him king of the Wild Things.
Johnson lost track of the "War on Poverty" to pursue the War in Vietnam. To this day I don't understand why that pursuit was considered worth the human cost.
He tried to have guns and butter, but lost control of both. The other thing was I don’t think Johnson was about to have the right wingers question his patriotism by refusing to fight in Vietnam, even though it was not in our best interest.
The idea at the time was that one communist victory would cause all the other countries to join them. The problem was that the non communist leaders were not their people’s choice. Democracy requires work.
Even as a teen, the "Domino Theory" seemed to me a ridiculous con, especially when Vietnam was named as the trigger. If the the stability of those nations was that fragile, surely a larger communist power could have set it off, and surely there were wiser ways to prevent it. I even read somewhere that it was feared the Australia would be swept into the irresistible communist tractor beam (?) . And it was rubbish of course, but so much harm was done by our ham-fisted meddling. Hitler had to be fought, but a number of our less urgent military adventures have not turned out very well. I would include the CIA-backed coup in Iran.
Ironically, part of our strategic influence post Hitler was the product of the Marshall plan; the same sort of strategic (and humanitarian) finesse that MAGA is keen to eliminate.
While I do not disagree, it is impossible to judge that from our perspective today. The world has changed, and bringing back racism as policy is NOT going to improve our standing, status, or standard.
I agree that it likely would have made a positive difference and that one never knows how a single change would change history, one way or another. I was naive enough to think the the Internet would be an inherently democratic influence on our society, but forgot may earlier conclusion that tools will serve any master, for good or evil. The impulse that brought us into that war was the real problem, as well as the reluctance to abandon a poorly made choice. Narcissistic hubris manifests in many unfortunate ways, but seems so often to underlie our poorest choices. Can we somehow get a grip on that?
A lot changed for Johnson and some of it was King and the pressure and persistence of civil rights leaders. Some was his own volunteer experience with poor, Brown Texans that never left him—. Some was Vietnam—Doris Kearns Goodwin’s fascinating book An Unfinished Love Story brings all of this to life. I definitely see LBJ with new eyes. And how historical forces build ….
I feel SO fortunate, Linda, to have representatives—Fed, State, Local—that support free, fair, accessible elections to all who are eligible to vote….full stop. I contact them on occasion to let them know I appreciate their efforts on my behalf. Lucky, indeed.
Thank you HCR. It's hard to say when humanity will start acting like humans. For more than six decades, the GOP has been only interested in power rather than governing fairly or decently. It's sickening and disgusting.
As Carl Sagan, scientist and, IMHO, a prophet, said : “It is clear that the nations of the world now can only rise and fall together. It is not a question of one nation winning at the expense of another. We must all help one another or all perish together”. For me that goes w/in nations as well…all the “factions” that struggle and fight for dominance….and, really, for what reason in the end?
When I was in college, I was fortunate enough to go to a Carl Sagan lecture with about 3000 of my closest friends. 😎 This lecture was so inspiring, it literally changed my life. This was circa 1975.
He was friends with Noam Chomsky the brilliant linguist. Rumor has it they had a bet that pot would be legalized in the US within 10 years from 19xx. Sagan bet it would and Chomsky that it wouldn't.
I wasn't able to locate the story so the details and timing may not be accurate.
As far as people not listening to him, we call them Republicans.
Barbara, he was one of the earliest prominent scientists, following Rachel Carson in the late 60’s, to recognize that we had advanced sufficiently in our technology (especially nuclear technology) and simultaneous despoiling of our planet and air to be forced to think not in terms of national political identity but to think of how we, all nations, can and must work in concert to preserve our planet our air and water and our very selves.
A global aspiration to be sure….hard to see how we all, in our beautiful sameness/differentness, can lay down the “identities” (national, cultural, religious, etc) we humans cling so tightly to and come together and create “one world” for all of us…no winners, no losers, just all of us being neighbors.
We owe them not only debts for progress, but debts beholden to those who won't just be passive, who won't just timidly accept the status quo, who will find ways to express themselves in public -- and not ways as juvenile and insipid as congressional Dems with their silly slogans on paddles.
Can teams of Dems appear in public -- three and four at a time -- and clearly, passionately cite some of our time's fine novels, memoirs, biographies, essays, and histories -- name them, credit the authors, summarize the plots and main characters, and apply them as relevant to real life conditions American working classes of all colors face?
The convicted criminal in the White House has now openly allied with Putin -- openly sided with naked murder and aggression in order to kill a democracy.
Can't Dems turn to our culture -- really great ones amidst us now, as key as those who rose to the occasion of Bloody Sunday?
JL, we have many voices. It's a little strange that ME Governor Mills, Senator Angus King and even Susan Collins have had the courage to stand up to Trump and the Fascists. It has cost ME millions of dollars in Federal money, but at least they have the kahunas to stand up to Trump.
Listen to Progress radio (channel 127 Sirius XM). Their entire line up of hosts welcomes callers like Rush Limbaugh did and they are building an army. They even went on the road hosting campaign events for candidates in 2024. And they haven't stopped.
Also, listen to every late night host and check out their guests as well as YouTube personalities.
It's hard to scream louder than the FOX hosts when they rarely have a Democrat on. MSNBC has Nicole Wallace who bashes Trump every single day as well as Rachel Maddow.
Pete Buttigieg is in the news several times a week and other Biden cabinet members are running for public office, like Deb Harland in New Mexico.
How much play time was Bill Clinton getting in 1989 when HW was President? We need to focus on the 100,000 local and statewide races, rather than getting our panties in a wad over our current politicians.
We had a town election this week and elected a wonderful hard working career public servant as our 5th selectman. She won in a landslide against 2 candidates one of whom was a Republican. If we don't concentrate on these local and state elections we're just going to repeat what has been happening since 1995.
Sorry but Collins is the reason we have Kavanaugh on SCOTUS. SHE doesn't support women and needs to retire. She voted with McConnell more often than anyone else. And McConnell gave Trump a pass in impeachment.
I totally agree. She is so Jekyll and Hyde. She has been able to get Mainers so much being on the appropriation committee, but yet we have so many terrible far-right Federalist judges because of her loyalty to McConnell and Leo. And she supported GovernorLePage over Janet Mills. He was such a terrible governor. Her weekly newsletter makes her look like she gives a damn about Mainers but it's all a big show.
The problem isn’t one of standing up to the felon in chief. It’s standing up to the 77 million Americans who put him in charge and who are the basis of his power today. An abiding hatred of black Americans, the only “value” that the felon in chief is sincerely committed to, and a “value” that he shares with 60% of white Americans, 70% of white working class Americans, and 80% of white evangelical Americans, is the driving force behind the total control by Republicans of the federal government and the governments of over half the states. Roughly 20% of white evangelicals are decent human beings. If 40% if white evangelical Americans were decent human beings, no Republican would have been elected to the presidency since 1968.
Rex, I agree that the white evangelicals love them some Trump. In 2016, a majority of white evangelical ministers supported Trump. But polls showed that percentage had dwindled to around 40% in 2024.
So many of the ministers and priests were pushing Trump in 2024 when they no longer supported him. They are the worst kind of hypocrites.
And why would any woman support Trump? He hates women and can't stand it when any woman dares to stand up to him.
Right, BUT there are hundreds of churches around the country that split off because they refused to support Trump and their Trumpies joined other hateful patriarchal white nationalist churches.
I am very anti-Catholic because they are patriarchal and will not support abortion. If they had a female pope would she still support abortion? the Bible mentions abortion only--and that was to condone it when the wife cheats on her husband and becomes pregnant.
Yes. But most white Americans don’t give a damn about stronger. However, they very much care about oppressing demographic groups that they don’t like. LBJ predicted that the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act would lose the South for Democrats for 50 years. He was wrong on both geography and persistence. It was not just the South. It was white Americans everywhere, and it was forever.
When Chuck Schumer was Senate Majority Leader, he refused to call a vote on the Constitution's disqualification clause (Article 14, Section Three). Failure of Trump to get 2/3 of the Senate to free him from insurrection disqualification would have meant he was by that vote failure automatically and legally disqualified from any U.S. public office due to his insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. Constitution says that. Not even highest court in the land can override such a vote.
But Schumer, Dems could not, cannot do anything "with one voice." No shaking of any walls.
Listen to David Packman talk about Trump's approval rating going negative and how 1 negative thing a President does or the perception of a negative thing turns people away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h4_oEdj6_U
People are not happy with the tariffs or the fact that Trump is fucking over farmers and veterans. Trump's approval rating will continue to head south and he will drag down many Republicans with him. We need to find good candidates to replace the MAGAs.
Biden and George Soros control the US economy. Wrecking everything and screwing over the rest of the world helps a lot, but sleepy, clueless Joe is the master villain.
We have to shine a spotlight on the harm being done, whether it is people dying of preventable disease, good and needed people arbitrarily fired, or economic disruption for sport. Put human faces on the numbers.
Bernie is touring the country and AOC is out there as well. Pete Buttigieg is running for Senator from Michigan and Angus King is giving rousing speeches on the Senate floor.
Just because the corporate media isn't reporting on them doesn't mean their message isn't getting heard.
I agree we got into this mess by means of favoring Democratic candidates that would not rock the boat. Also by a party organization, as is the wont of heads of organizations, to try to grab and retain control:
From 2016:
" 'What do you tell voters who are new to the process who say this makes them feel like it's all rigged?' Tapper asked the DNC chair.
'Unpledged delegates exist really to make sure that party leaders and elected officials don't have to be in a position where they are running against grassroots activists,' Wasserman Schultz calmly explained.
Tapper did not press her on her response. "I'm not sure that that answer would satisfy an anxious young voter, but let's move on," he said, and dropped the issue just when it was getting hot."
The same thing has happened to the Republican party, only far worse. Legitimate democracy seeks empowerment and protection, not just for some, but for everyone. That's the message I want to try to drive home. I think there is some good company in that, but we won't steer the ship of state away from on-course to strike the iceberg without some rocking of the boat (but smart about it).
Not to put it nicely, no. We have elected too many Congressmen who practice "chicken sh*t" politics, running in flight at the threat of losing $$$ support. They sold their souls and now we are in the Hell they created. It will take more than protests and letters to get us out now. It will take real, physical skills and courage, because logic has no force with religious application of gaslite propaganda.
The Republicans are playing a game of deception right now with DEI and transgender (which is a subset of DEI). Meanwhile, Trump is trying to raise revenue with his tariffs, which are taxes on the consumer and firing essential Federal workers which actually make us unsafe, so that he can get through his tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The oligarchs are buying elections especially in red districts where they are cheaper and easier to buy. And by constantly spewing the DEI and transgender message the lame stream media reacts to this BS and blames the Democrats for not reacting to their racism, sexism and xenophobia.
Trump made promises to deport illegals starting with the criminals. But instead the dog killer is sending ICE into the schools terrifying and harassing young children. He's also trying to get his little Johnson to allocate almost $100 billion to fly people to places they have never been. And he's pissing off our allies in the process.
Trump's approval rating will continue to tank every time he does something that impacts a group of voters. Hopefully, he did himself no favors when he promised, ad nauseam, to lower grocery prices on day 1 and similarly energy costs.
And siding with Putin, who polls show only 4% of Americans trust, hopefully will turn voters against him.
Gary, I hope you are right. What I see in my peek in the window of how MAGAts think does NOT lead me to believe that they view Russia/Putin as an enemy. They may "say" they do not approve, but they also do not show that in word and deed.
I wish we knew just how bad the Russian economy is. Trump wants oil prices to drop because he promised they would. But if they do, then Russia is in even more trouble. And his drill, baby, drill promise won't be viable.
Russia has been forced to use non-military vehicles because so many of their tanks, fuel trucks, troop carriers have been destroyed or abandoned. I saw today, where over 50,000 Russian troops have deserted. I guess there's no one to prevent it anymore and since they don't track whose dead, wounded or alive, hard for them to catch them.
I suppose there is truth in that, but so too is Ukraine "white", and is patently not the aggressor. Putin clearly IS a dictator and a very creepy one by his record. It is insane to back Russia at this point, and to tear up our working alliances. That's set to bite us HARD. The ride that besotted Billionaires now celebrate is on a whirlpool down the toilet.
Putin is a world class monster. That has to be underlined, as does Trumps business connections with Russia. We got here because relentless repetition of lies works; but so do persistently repeated truths. Democracy and Democrats have trouble with focus, but when we do, we can be a force to be reckoned with. There is a history of that.
Kathy, your comment triggered a thought process in my mind. The process sets aside all factors of U.S. history except finance.
The U.S. was founded as a capitalist nation. But in the era it was founded, conscience always attended capitalism, so all was well. We experienced periods of expanding and contracting finance over the years, but our gradual economic ascent was always tempered by a sense of fairness. Admittedly, the fairness became racially bifurcated in the late Nineteenth Century.
However, sometime in the 1970s and 80s, our culture went all-in on capitalism and began shedding any semblance of conscience. The trend continued, leading to the era of "the wolf of Wall Street." We created financial predators like Jordan Belfort, Lou Perlman and Bernie Madoff, not to mention institutions like Lehman Brothers, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and others.
Our electoral process has followed a similar trajectory. The deal was sealed in 2010 when SCOTUS ruled in favor of Citizens United against the Federal Election Commission, using the far-fetched justification that "money is speech." Only a culture of capitalism without conscience could produce such an opinion.
Today, in a nation where everything is for sale, without limits or accountability, he who raises the most money wins the election, platform and principles be damned. It's a matter of outshouting the opponent, not presenting thoughtful reasons for being elected.
I contend that there is still a difference between the GOP and Dems, although both devote inordinate attention to fundraising. The GOP serves Trump and his cronies, while Dems still try to serve their constituents. The currents are against their continuing.
In the final analysis, capitalism without conscience is self-destructive and we are living through the razing.
Greater minds than mine will have to come up with a better system than capitalism, but it's apparent to me that it doesn't work for the benefit of humanity.
The date specific was August 23, 1971. That's when Lewis Powell, a Virginia gentleman lawyer for lying big tobacco wrote his memo outlining a plan for the commercial classes to take over America (and the world, given how a fat orange monster in the U.S. would eventually ally with the genocidal monster in Russia, and with all the other autocrats elsewhere).
Ah, yes. I was searching my memory for that trigger, but wanted to post my comment before the shelf life of this conversation expires.
Note: Given the genocide of more than a million Americans resulting from Covid mismanagement, isn't it appropriate to say the only difference between the genocidal monsters in the U.S. and Russia is the face coloring?
It's us, we, having in our vocabularies the voices of our betters, who write novels, memoirs, essays, histories, biographies -- film scripts, poems, too.
I'm reading four books now. One for nights. Three for afternoons. All model affections for our fellows.
And, yet, the criminals rule. Because our schools -- worldwide, as so many follow the lead of the U.S. vulgar, in promoting only standardized testing -- our schools promote only the neutered vulgarities of standardized testing.
I'm not convinced Phil, at least the stupids that I know and voted for the ignoramus president and still support him after such a display of chaos and irrationality, cruelty, indecency, believe me, there's no cure. Thanks for your reply 👍
We so, so, so, so, need to get unlimited money out of the political process. Just because $COTUS says that purchase of office and political favors is American as apple pie, it remains de facto bribery and corruption, and provably inimical to liberty and justice for all. Yes, money is how we as a society get things done, but bags of it are not supposed to weigh on the scales of justice and the blindfold on the icon is not supposed to signify indifference to facts, but indifference to socioeconomic status, a standard that been slipping. The concentrated power of wealth and political coercion was what our founding principles (if not always our choices) were crafted to oppose. We kind of looked the other way too long while pay-to-play corruption has spread. We are now fighting sepsis.
John Lewis' scars bear heavily upon ALL of us. If we do not stand up now to the peversion being thrown upon us, NONE of us will ever vote again.
Do you understand? The coup is unfolding before our eyes. Decorum and politeness are CAPITULATON to the FASCIST AUTOCRACY.
Where are the spineless Democrats in our Congress?????
I swore a solemn oath in September of 1967 to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic with MY LIFE!!!!!
Give me a MFN break. I lost everything. The documentation of all that I have ever done, including the documentation of my case against mfn draftboard for crimes against humanity and facilitating an illeagal war. The Eaton fire in Altadena damn near did me in. I could go on and on, but one thing is CLEAR:
The Fascist Oligarchy has just about completed their coup and Heather's
"How the South Won the Civil War" is our new reality.
Ransom, I feel your distress. My upside down flag is my outward sign of distress that I am willing to prominently display in my neighborhood where I am known…and I do so in service to the all people and our planet who have suffered injustices that we here on Heather’s Substack are trying to correct.
As a high school kid during the Johnson Civil Rights era, I absorbed that distress internally. By the time I left home for college, I was all-in for the changes I knew would be coming…the beat goes on…and each of us has a platform of influence. Today there’s a rally at our courthouse and I’ll be there.
If you want Democrats to have power you need to support them. They are out numbered and it’s the fault of people who keep criticizing them so not enough people vote for them. If you want more MAGA just keep bashing Democrats. Leaders have people supporting them.
I agree with the principle of political unity and solidarity. I also agree with the principal of honest and purposeful assessment of leadership strategies in order to bring about success of purpose. So it is like I have this fuel tank of trust and goodwill within me that was full. With each setback in leadership failure and political outcome that fuel tank slowly depletes. It is as though it now sits below a half a tank. I prefer to run on the top half of the tank. This is not, nor has it been an orthodox political fight. We must be able to do an honest assessment of strategic philosophy and action to move forward.
"Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet".- Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg
I'm not a religious man, but by god we need something now, something real.; if only we had some of the spirit of MLK and the Selma marchers and a president like Johnson who actually cared about others more than himself....Thank you for your continuing efforts Heather, to keep us focused and informed - you are amazing.
I joined SNCC on the day they crossed the bridge. I was a student at the University of Wisconsin. That march and the Greensboro sit-ins changed my life, my view of the world. Later I became the first white woman to join CORE in Milwaukee. Now at 82 I read the news and weep. But not without hope. You are part of that hope, Heather Cox Richardson.
I too joined the Selma march, part of a group from NYC. Launched a lifetime of work for social justice.
Thank you Lee and Suzanne. Your courage and commitment to social justice and voting rights (in the face of possible physical harm) deserves much more praise and recognition than I can offer in this short note.
The Civil Rights Movement’s lessons are that thinking OR acting as if might makes right harms everyone whereas thinking AND acting as if right makes might helps everyone. John Lewis and Dr. King thought AND acted as if right makes might. Acting means deliberately practicing a good habit. They would repeatedly respond to conflicts of interest with dialogue aimed at discovering what is “right,” and then their actions were based on that discovered knowledge. We honor their sacrifice when we deliberately adopt their practice.
Heather's reminders of Lewis, King and the history of the mid to late 20th century is exceedingly important as the portion of the population that experienced it progressively dwindles.
Very insightful post, James. To me, it's a glimpse into what two serious, smart, and good men decided to make their way of life in order to make their own work effective and the lives of other men and women better. (I struggled with that last sentence for a while and, rereading it, concluded that I couldn't have put it more clumsily if I'd set out to try 🙂.)
How and where do young people learn thinking and acting for social justice.
It’s not hard to learn. It’s just hard for people to convince themselves that they want to learn.
The answer is in—because it is literally the founding principle of—every wisdom tradition including science and justice. Most people are familiar with the “treat others the way you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot” Golden Rule. Christianity’s founding principle (aka The Greatest Commandment) is the one I often refer to even though I do not identify as Christian, but I do translate it into modern language.
Luke 10:27 tells us what to do when there is a conflict of interest, including when one interest is your heart (intuition), and the other interest is your mind (logic), and also including when one interest is you, and the other is your neighbor (aka “the person you are interacting with at the moment”). If both interests serve the common interest, then everyone wins. If one interest is served at the expense of the common interest, then everyone loses.
Note the context. Luke 10:25-37 is the Parable of the Good Samaritan, and its message is that it doesn’t matter whether you identify with Christianity or some other tradition. Instead, what matters is what you repeatedly do. Wisdom, then, is not an act, but a deliberately practiced habit.
I also tell people to subscribe to my no-fee newsletter. My latest essay is a more detailed description of how any conflict of interest between any two individuals or groups can be resolved by applying that founding principle. Here’s the link: https://substack.com/home/post/p-158522918.
Did I answer your question?
Very good, James. Thank you. I would like to add government inefficiency “in terms of work force” is a legitimate way to implement DEI. Privatization for efficiency is a disguised way to grab more wealth to those in power.
Yes, thank you, Lee and Suzanne I have long admired those who were out there risking their lives and standing up for equality. And like Lee, I am nearly 82 and weep. And I also thank Heather and the posters here who continue to work for justice and equality.
A southerner, now 90, I remember all of it and hope.
I concur wholeheartedly
I am humbled by your ( both you and Lee Chemel) presence here. Thank you for being part of such an important movement. I was just 11 and 12 years of age or I too would have joined you. But I do have a personal story to relate. In my all white working class neighborhood in Hartford, a friend of mine lived down the street from me. One day he had used the “N” to describe the new neighbors that had moved in. I asked Marty not to use that word. My mama had taught me right from wrong. So Marty screamed it at me again and again until I lunged at him and we commenced a huge struggle. I recall getting Marty in a chokehold and as I looked down at his face, tears were running down his chin as his face turned red. It was at that moment I knew I had to let go of him or I would have ended his life. As I walked home that day, he continued to scream that word at me. Now 60 years later, I can still hear Marty screaming that word at me.
I met JohnLewis once at the Congressional Black Caucus convention when I was a vendor. He bought a work of art from me. I recall thinking that I should get a photo of us together but I didn’t want to do what most others would have done asking for that photo. Now I regret it.
I just found out that my new Polish-born doctor is a Trump supporter. I will download Heather’s piece and include it ina copy of my book, “ Donald’s Vanity Tantrums “ a send it to him. He needs some context.
Sad to say but it's likely that it'll be easier to find a new physician than it will be to open the mind of the current one.
I have switched opthalmologist and look to avoid people I have trouble connecting with politically
Not I. I need to explore ( as a writer) and try to understand how a person can become closed minded. But don’t forget I’m a centrist and many of you folks reject ideas promulgated by centrists.
You might want to check your “centrism.” Thanks to GOP obstruction moving the Overton window consistently rightward, the centrists of today are the right wing conservatives of yesterday. And that “leftist” Bernie Sanders is only center-left compared to his counterparts in Europe.
Bill, regardless of WHAT position you take or stand for, we are ALWAYS better off when we can talk with and especially listen to others with a different point of view! Many think the Democrats lost the election because they lost their interest or ability to talk to those with differing views…or from different perceived classes.
That’s a bit of a blanket statement , I think, Bill. Although you do say “many” which I suppose is open to interpretation. Anyway, I have many a tale to tell about discrimination here in Connecticut (and I do have a copy of your book as I think I shared with you before).
In his particular case Bill we are talking about ,life or death situations sometimes and I don't want to be second guessing.
Who is a centrist? Not Joe Manchin. He’s a CENTRINO (centrist in name only), meaning a person who thinks being a centrist involves holding a position that is halfway between good and evil. A real centrist is on the narrow path between two gates. Too far left is too openminded (aka naïve) and too far right is too skeptical (aka cynical).
I think it’s worth noting—because I don’t think we think about this enough—that being cynical about one idea is being naïve about another idea, and vice versa.
I'm a bit vague on the difference between a blue dog and a centrist. Apparently, you can clarify that for me.
But, Bill Katz, what is “centrist” about feeling one is superior because one is white or that it’s ok to demand or hate others because they aren’t? Some Slavs I know are racist, usually because they have had little exposure to blacks.
How very sad…. We have come to “THAT” again….
I don’t need to as long as he is forthright with his duties. I chose him on recommendation because he is not part of an institutional medical group. The last one I had who was associated with Hartford Health Care became a nightmare for me.
I admire you. If I have an ongoing relationship with a provider I need to feel comfortable including politics in our interactions.
I'll be very uncomfortable for me ,especially in a patient/doctor relationship. I would always have my doubts if this MD is doing the best for me.
Bill, I am a physician. When we graduate from medical school we take the Hippocratic Oath which says "do no harm". I associate with hundreds if not thousands of US and foreign fellow physicians, professionally and socially. I do not know a single physician who is a Trump supporter. Not a single one. I was at a medical meeting in October before the election and one of the panel moderators asked jokingly of the presenters before they gave their 5 minute talk - "say who you are voting for". Every physician who spoke said "I am voting for Harris". This phenomena probably varies from specialty to specialty, and from practice type to practice type. It would be interesting to poll VA physicians what they think of Trump today. Senator Bill Cassidy should have his medical license taken away because he's violated his oath of "do no harm". People are going to die before their time because of RFK Jr and Trump. Please find another doctor.
Good advice Max..👍😄
Go that right Max, Forensic Psychiatrists were solid supporters of Harris & helping everyone NOW!
To be fair to him, he didn’t say he was a trump supporter. But he did sound off on a few issues that I connoted to be consistent. But he might be kinda like me because I don’t exactly fit snug with democratic dogma.
Bill, I hope you are making the correct choice. It's odd, but in this political climate, medicine/science and politics are against each other. Should Avian Flu become pandemic, would this doctor support vaccines? How about prescribing an SSRI should you need one?
Over my career, I worked with dozens of doctors. Before phlebotomists became common, I spent my first shift hour every morning drawing blood samples. I've assisted on hundreds of bone marrows--in the patient rooms, in the OR, or in the CT suites. I often was treated as invisible, but my ears and eyes were very present. I'm a huge supporter of good physicians, but let me tell you, they aren't all good. I could tell stories, but I still feel honor bound by HIPPA. I'll tell one though: when my mother was diagnosed with cancer, her GP recommended an oncologist. I'd spent plenty of experience with that doc so I said ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Good luck to you.
Perhaps some of the nurses here will back me up on this: when people would ask not for a recommendation, but what I thought of a name they were given, and I didn't think much of the doctor, I'd say "hmmm.....I don't really know her/him". The best advice I give people is to ask an RN "if your mom had x disease, who would you take her to?" Always, always, trust the nurses.
Last Friday Night, Rachel Maddow did a 'Block A' visual survey across many states demonstrating deep support for NIH & science based medicine & huge returns for tax dollars.
There were over 1000 folks at the DC demonstration of support for the NIH & Science. There were many clever messages on the Multi State signs.
A good one; "Science Prevents Brain Worms"
My personal Fav:
"NIH prevents" ...
"ALKYNES" ...
"Of Trouble"
To you and to Max above. The corporate doctor I had let me down when I most needed her. I have not seen a doctor in almost a year. Doctors are in short supply these days as both of you might know. We have a rotten way of practicing medicine in this country. Right now I have a serious neck pain with a lump and I’m not waiting any longer to have it looked at. He will be sending me to a neck specialist next week.
Bill, I'm sure that with a little bit of time you'll find someone better, a good professional and empathetic one. Just follow your heart.
My first visit and he spent an inordinate of time with me and much of it veered on politics. And surprisingly especially on the Ukrainian war, we weren’t in full disagreement. For the record, telling Putin no NATO membership would have avoided outright war. Yes Russia had already invaded in a lesser war in the Russian east. But Biden and company couldn’t or wouldn’t say no NATO. Ukraine was not ready for membership so why not say it? Oh, because it would look like a Neville Chamberlain event right? There was no need. Besides, our Defense secretary at the time stated that this war was good because it would wear down the Russian army. So in his opinion, Ukraine could be the sacrificial lamb to wear down the Russians. Great. How well stated. Pin another medal on his jacket. Tell this to the hundreds of thousands who have suffered that war was necessary. I heard it from a distinct Polish perspective. It broadened my horizons and this is what I yearn for. I don’t want to remain cloistered in a cocoon.
Not Really OFF Topic:
If anyone can gift the NYT's 3/7 article ,"Inside the Explosive Meeting ..." by Jonathan Swan & his Co-author -- please post.
Regardless, TRANSportation Secretary Sean Duffy's clashed with Elon Musk over firings at the Federal Aviation Administration not over Elon's fiery rocket explosion yesterday 9 minutes into flight (NOT).
No, the clash was NOT over the first 5 letters of Sean Duffy's department.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/us/politics/trump-musk-doge-power.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2U4.A5FP.aw5K3G6z6y_o&smid=url-share
Thank you Gail!
Thanks for alerting us to this article. Although I still subscribe, guiltily, for Wordle and cooking, I didn't see this. I think Jonathan Swan is a great journalist. The opening line was a stunner, "Marco Rubio was incensed. Here he was in the Cabinet Room of the White House, the secretary of state, seated beside the president and listening to a litany of attacks from the richest man in the world."
Maureen, I saw headline about this clash, but have not read the article, but my husband did. I also do the Times puzzles, etc. Yes, quite the argument. Muskrat is in charge, although I read yesterday that death star told the Cabinet that they were in charge. We will see.
It would be a total waste of time.....
Such are tightly held views, stubbornness being a basic human behaviour. As you remark, in cases like this, "sad to say"
Frank, I think stubbornness isn’t necessarily basic to human behavior unless the “stubborn one” perceives the other is trying to change their mind or behavior, trying to change who they are. Often simply getting people to put in words what their beliefs are allows them to hear what they are saying. It certainly presses them to generate logical sentences.
Thanks for the thoughts, JohnM, i know "stubbornness" is a colloquial term, but my personal and reading observations suggest it's folded in the deck of the "I / we am/are right/good/superior" paradigm which repeats and echoes through human history. I would add to say human beings are both very competitive and very collegiate. "us/them" kind of thing.
One never knoweth…. Go for it… whyever not….
How can he be a Trump supporter when Hitler killed so many Polish. That history is repeating itself as we speak?
Just let the scumbag president destroy NATO and you'll see facist Putin invade Poland and the Baltic states and you'll have history repeating itself.
Hey I’m no defender of Putin but let’s calla spade a spade and Putin is no fascist. The Russians lost 10s of millions in the war. We are ascribing terms that don’t fit. On the other hand, the Elons and others are making a mockery of the Hitler salute. It’s an inside joke. Since they are perhaps right being identified as fascist, they joke with the salute. Hey, the circus is in town.
It's pure semantics Bill. It might be differences but they envisioned a fascist word. I would like to point out that there's a distinction between fascism and nazism. Russians would never mention any of those two terms while talking about their system of government. Compare Germany minus the racial component just before the war and Russia today without the propaganda to make them look "nice".
I don't think there're too many differences.
You make a weak argument. I don’t have any answers I only met him for 1 1/2 hours and that is a long time to be in a doctor’s office. And he related that fascist elements of the Ukrainian army in WWII killed many Poles. Europe is a caldron of conflicting elements. Far be it from me to fully grasp. In college (although I dropped out) I took a Russian history course taught be a former general in the Hungarian army when it revolted against the Soviets in 1956. That was a trip.
Bill, it isn’t the 1 1/2 hour meeting that’s important beyond the indication of that amount of time spent talking with you as a patient. It will be the evolving process of talking with each other and the sense of being heard. The more one talks the more one has to try to align disparate directions of thinking.
I appreciate your insight & perspective, JohnM, especially "[t]he more one talks the more one has to try to align disparate directions of thinking."
Also Elvis Prestliys parents had no money so moved into a black neighborhood. Elvis songs are influenced by the neighborhood he grew up in. Your "N" word person would be horrified if he knew that. I watched Colen Powell's funeral. I told my son that I want the version of Presidous Lord sung at my funeral.I get chills every time I hear it. sorry about the ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYNFOxwdM0U
Thanks for that personal story, Bill. Things were very much quieter in faraway Saint John, New Brunswick just east of Maine. I was walking along a neighbourhood street with a local friend about age 14 when a pair of older blacks happened to walk by across the opposite side of the street. My friend yelled out the N word. I tried to say no but it was too late. A chase ensued. Fortunately for me I was able to outrace my rightly angered pursuer. My mother was big on racial tolerance, and had a local black woman as a good friend, so i got an earful from her on these matters. Most of the blacks in eastern Canada are descendents of escaped slaves promised their liberty by the British during the American War of Independence - in Virginia and elsewhere it led to huge fears by plantation owners and led to their joining the Patriot side. Some escaped slaves formed the largest black American fighting unit until Vietnam. Thomas Jefferson tried to include an anti-slavery provision in part of the Independence documents but it was stricken out by his fellow Virginians, and the whole matter was effectively shelved for the duration, and later. Emancipation laws by various northern states dribbled out over the next 70 or so years. One effect of that was to allow various northern slave owners to sell their "property" to southern slave owners.
Frank, I think the story of how such a privileged, well-educated and articulate founder of our country such as Thomas Jefferson moved from a position of believing in, or at least making use of and benefitting from slavery to thinking people should not be subject to slavery, presumably evolved by way of his personal experience, would be an excellent example of one who was forced to put in words, often the most eloquent words we have preserved, what the fundamental principles of this emerging new country were.
Oh please. The fucker owned 600 slaves. He freed two in his lifetime, freed 5 in his Will (all were from Sally Hemmings clan including the one in impregnated) and the remainder were sold off to pay off the estate.
He was a very complicated guy indeed, but he was, almost, above all, very pragmatic esp in his politics. He did a lot to promote the Patriot, Republican opposition to Alexander Hamilton and other Federalists, trying to dismantle as much of Hamilton's legacy as possible during his terms in office. Reminded me of a little of the "Trump" whitehouse,.... kinda
A major part of Trump’s appeal to the electorate has always been his promotion of white supremacy. And it is no coincidence that he has come to power just as we “minorities” are about to become the majority in this country. If we can survive Trump’s effort to tear it all down, better days may be ahead. But at this point that appears to be a very big IF.
We recently gleaned from some of our financial adviser's statements (and lack thereof) that she is a Trump supporter, and we dropped her and told her why.
In addition, I was going to suggest that you send him a copy of, "The Barn", the story of the murder of Emitt Till, but I doubt he would read it, change doctors. It's also interesting because my wife and I have Polish friends whose parents fled Poland, and they are Trumpers as well. Makes me wonder what part of history they don't understand.
Off topic but when I visited the Emitt Till museum last October, I acquired a small ceramic with a picture of a young Emitt embedded on it. It’s a reminder.
What was done to him.
Or, Bill, what part of their history and their experience they grew used to.
Interesting because tfg’s BFF Vlad no doubt has his eye on Poland after he gets Ukraine. Did your dr say why he is a tfg supporter?
Change doctors Bill. He probably is incompetent too.
You are all my heroes! God love you and keep you!❤️
I might need to get a copy of your book to give to my new HVAC contractor who thinks that Republicans and Democrats are the same. We all have to work on turning these people who lack “context” around.
At least you stopped choking him when you realized what was happening. Some whites do not ( I am thinking of the police brutality but I know there are others.
Sorry your good work is being trampled by such a stupid moron.
Is there anything he's not trampling on?
Absolutely nothing. And it's been only less than two months since inauguration. For your peace of mind please, don't think how much longer till we'll have a chance to correct directions .
Impeach the bastards. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/remove-impeach-impeach
He is a stupid moron, and is now carpet b0mb!ng the entirety of the life blood of the nation. But it’s the entire Republican Party, their actions, policies and sworn allegiance to hate and lies that are the cancer anything truthful, moral and just. There are not two sides of the argument. There is right and wrong.
Your hearts must be broken to see what the Republicans have done suppressing voter's rights.
Kudos to you both, Lee and Suzanne, for understanding the stain on the very soul of our Republic and for getting involved. Like Lee, I am 82. Growing up just north of Boston, well away from the "troubles in those Southern States" and affected by the revisionist history that had been carefully crafted about chattel slavery, I didn't see the truth... until, that is, the riots in Boston and surrounding areas over school busing. It pains me to realize that the pejorative term "woke" is used to deny the truth of history and I am rankled by the political slogan "Make America Great Again" because the "original sin" of chattel slavery, while understandable in the context of the time when our Republic was formed, was a stain on the very soul of our country that has to be erased if the Republic is ever to be considered "Great". It's painful to see that we still have a long, long way to go before we get there.
Lee and Suzanna are hero of America. They represent the underlying foundation of American democracy (DEI). I trust there are many working to stop Trump / Musk. Thank you Professor for this letter.
Thank you . Social Justice, is it the principle fought for the longest? Education should reflect the basic tenets in the process of highlighting principle. Things we should ‘hold to’ and which truth is the first principle thereof.
Their premise is to eliminate it ‘as it stands’ (to their objective) which is rewriting the script to fit their narrative. The first principle of which is that ALL people should be educated. But as emotions are used as the talking points -never the principle -is manipulation …and they are very good at that.
Excellent point. Thank you.
I love the stories from people of who their favorite teacher(s) were. Usually pivotal in their learning process.
Thanks to all those teachers too🫶
Thank you Lee ❤️
Thank you 🙏🏽
Thank you for helping make the history Heather just wrote about happen! God bless you for taking the risks you did back then!
Thank you Lee and Suzanne. Your courage and commitment to social justice and voting rights (in the face of possible physical harm) deserves much more praise and recognition than I can offer in this short note.
Thank you, Lee!
Does anyone doubt that voter suppression was a significant factor in the outcome of this last election?
Absolutely Harvey, in this age of technology we, as a people, should be demanding transparency in all elections, starting with the 2024 Presidential elections. The Republicans could call it ‘sour grapes’ but it would of set a vetting policy that many successful corporations call ‘Quality Check’ in business practices. In 1998 my employer started using the ISO 9000 quality control clearance. As HCR wrote tonight that President Lyndon Johnson said,
…’He called the right to vote “the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men,” and pledged that “we will not delay, or we will not hesitate, or we will not turn aside until Americans of every race and color and origin in this country have the same right as all others to share in the process of democracy.”’
It would not surprise me at all if part of the reason he kept the big lie going, was to then be able to shame us -after manipulating the 2024 election- for speaking up.
Yes. The Big Lie was a two-part strategy, a Plan A and Plan B rolled into one. Plan A was to undo the results of the 2020 election. If Plan A failed, Plan B was to preempt and quash any future claims of election-rigging by Democrats, by setting a sore-loser precedent against which Democrats could be held and mocked.
It does seem to be one of their tactics - pre-empt any justified resistance by flooding the zone with disingenuous displays of speech and action that rob any protest of meaning.
Absolutely voter suppression was a factor. The question is, what to do about it.
One could start, Ricardo, by taking the first opportunity to renew the Voting Rights act and restore the requirement for “preclearance” of any legislation affecting voting at least in the states which have proven so stubbornly invested in limiting who and how some segments of our population can vote - historically TWICE now!
Thanks for your reply John. Your idea it's the rational one but we are in a vicious circle now. We have to winn elections to do what you proposed but, in part because vote suppression we can't.
Accountable means legislators not doing the right thing would be replaced by others that will. They are not afraid because now, it's a vicious circle very hard to broke up. I can see the problem but can't find a solution. For now at least.🤔
You are a brave hero of history, Lee! Both you and Heather give me hope. I wrote a poem dedicated to Heather that should resonate with everyone in the community: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/heather-cox-richardson-letters-history-democracy
Your hearts must be broken to see what the Republicans have done suppressing voter's rights.
I am 80 and remember these events so clearly. I was a nursing student during those years and couldn't leave school to march but I was certainly there in spirit.
Thank you, Lee and Suzanne for your commitment to democracy. I remember Bloody Sunday watching it on the news being delivered by Walter Cronkite. It was immoral and terrifying to watch white men beat black men and women. I too, have been a political activist since 1969 burning my bra and participating in Vietnam War moratoriums in DC, the VRA, etc. Now I find myself at a Tesla showroom with signs every Saturday protesting against fascism and racism (again). It is embarrassing to me that white people, especially the wealthy, think they are above everyone else. Black people constantly teach us how to fight and how to do it the most effective way. We must follow by example and not get in their way because they have doing this a very long time.
I weep also, for what our nation has become and am grateful to have this community that Heather set up for us.
Thank you for making Good Trouble for many years❤️
You help to make our world
a better place even today, by continuing to speak out and share your experience!
I admire you. You are my today's hero. Thank you for sharing. You must have a story to tell. I hope you are writing your memoir.
“White Lies” the NPR podcast of the Selma March and the murder of Reverend James Reeb. A must listen! Grateful to you for participating and sharing your story.
https://www.npr.org/2019/04/30/718647599/the-murder-of-the-rev-james-reeb
YOU make me proud. At 89, I too am part of that time, white woman who has participated. (Tho not in danger) First vote…. JFK, Nashville, TN…. One of 8 of Vanderbilt Univ. Hosp (4 were residents, 4 were wives) and the only white members of the staff so doing… We were not welcome to knock on doors there, so did so at Fisk Univ and Meharry Medical college…. Reading the comments (thank YOU, Heather) renews HOPE!!!
Very proud of you! I wonder if I can be that brave.
Oh Lee, you are magnificent!
Lee, you are a credit to all women!
I remember hearing Lewis speak at a professional conference. You could hear a pin drop the entire time. Several thousand in the room. What a remarkable man. May we be like him.
“On March 5, 2025, Representative Terri Sewall (D-AL) reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would help restore the terms of the Voting Rights Act, and make preclearance national.”
We need to call the House Republican Representatives. Tell them to vote FOR the John Lewis Act and NO on the SAVE Act (which furthers voter suppression).
Tell them the American people are protesting what the government is doing. If they don’t stop Trump’s corruption, they won’t be re-elected.
(202) 225-3121
I'm no lawyer, but I wonder if national pre clearance would run afoul of the Constitution's provision that the States manage elections. The only section of the 1965 Act that the Court voided was the section that named individual states or parts of states, and that list was essentially the same as had existed in the original 1965 Act, even though conditions had improved drastically in many of those jurisdictions. The Court insisted that, unless Congress updated the list based on current voting statistics, all States must receive equal treatment. Once again, Congress simply failed to do its work. National pre clearance will probably be found unconstitutional.
Remember that pre clearance was specific to states where evidence of violations of voting rights had been found. What you say is the bedrock for states rights to gerrymandering. And it's those states where those voting rights are being violated. Need I mention the blatant vote buying in Pennsylvania by Musk et alia.
One lady purged over 30,000 voters registrations with her challenges. She didn’t even know those people. Go to GregPalast.com and watch :
“Vigilantes Inc.”
It was estimated nearly 5 million LEGALLY registered voters were purged; voters who would have voted for Harris. Harris would have won!
It seems unconstitutional (with these purged votes and Russia interfering with bomb threats at the polls), that the American citizens were PREVENTED from exercising their constitutional right.
These are UNUSUAL circumstances. Along with Trump lying to the American people about his actions on “day one” to lower prices, end the war, etc., he didn’t say anything about destroying our democracy, ruining our relations with our allies or siding with our enemy, Putin. Trump is NOT who the American people voted for!
I think we deserve a RE-VOTE on PAPER BALLOTS - NO TABULATORS (as they were rigged. See Election Truth Alliance or SmartElections.US).
See:
https://youtu.be0TWAmZBfX3E?si=tbQPaLLwHrMLbpiG
The 'evidence of violations' was still, in the late 19000s and early 2000s, statistics that were taken in the 1960s. Congress had not updated the pre clearance list to reflect much better voting participation accomplished in the second half pf the century. Shelby County prevailed, by showing they no longer deserved special treatment. Each state deserves equal treatment by the federal government, and exceptions like pre-clearance are permitted only upon showing of real, current problems.
Pre-clearance should be applied nationwide in every state.
Our only hope of ever achieving a more perfect union is if the vast majority of citizens become so enraged by trump and the despicable right-wing that we take to the streets and force them out of power. We can't wait until the 2026 elections, it will be too late.
We need super majoritys in Congress to amend the Constitution to make public financing of all political races with no private financing, including self funding. The Supreme Court decision on Citizens United opened the door to unlimited and untraceable political contributions.We must prevent the Supreme Court from interfering in legal recounts as they did in 2000 to make George W. Bush President.
And take away the ability of the Senate to refuse to act on the Presidential appointment of a Supreme Court justice as Mitch McConnell did for the last year of President Obama's Presidency.
There has got to be a way to inform everybody how corrupt the right-wingers in Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court are and that we are on the very brink of losing everything.
So far, they are concerned about being pushed out by Mu$k money on the next election.
Gina, thanks for your reply 👍
It's nice of you to think of more than one way the white supremacy that occupied our country would use to summarily deal with a black man on day one.
Marlo, while I agree wholeheartedly that renewing the Voting Rights Advancement Act is the right direction to go, I simultaneously recognize that it will be nearly impossible to get Republicans to go along as they have increasingly recognized that their messages, their positions and their planks are just not popular enough to ensure their re-election. Other than big business and billionaires, there are very few of their stances which make common people’s lives better.
I don’t understand. First, the PROTESTS from the drastic, nonsensical slashing of badly needed public agencies that serve the people should be enough to scare the Republicans into STOPPING this wreckage.
Second, do they realize this is replacing our democracy with a dictatorship? Our constitution will be meaningless?
Third, they are driving our economy into the ground with their tariffs, their cuts across the board.
4th, along with our military strength & intelligence, our country is losing its allies leaving us vulnerable for an attack.
Tell that to the House and Senate Republicans!
(202) 225-3121
Beautifully written.
Sometimes courageous, intimate, resonant, accuracy holds assembled listeners in rapt, speechless attention. I have witnessed this, rarely, in other circumstances. It is priceless.
Oh if I had hips and knees that could do it, I'd do a 54+ mile march now. After the Congressional recess, will it be time for a march to DC by people from every state? Not just protests in our own towns or marches to state capitols, but trains, planes, buses, cars, and marches to bring Americans to DC and to kick out the Republicans, Russian assets, and traitors in the White House, Congress, and Supreme Court.
Read Olga Lautman’s horrifying account in her Substack “Tyranny Tracker” (below)
https://open.substack.com/pub/trumptyrannytracker/p/trump-tyranny-tracker-day-47
Also I just read the Ukrainian troops, without the United States intelligence, are surrounded by the Russians at Kyiv.
Trump is beholden to Russia. This is why:
“Trump is an actual Asset for Russia since 1987 when he was compromised by Russia. in the 90s after six bankruptcies no bank would give him loans or credit however, Russia came to the rescue and forwarded him money through Shell companies who paid cash over and above the normal price for his condos in his building buildings. So he essentially for years laundered money for Russia and the crime syndicate in Russia. Google and you will find those reports. Below are some videos on that subject.
https://youtu.be/W2DxiDNRhzc
https://youtu.be/1p-tuKqPnSI
https://youtu.be/QnXe-SSxYKo
https://youtu.be/W2DxiDNRhzc
https://youtu.be/k35P4dDoLFw
So educate yourself, it’s obvious that Russia plays a big role in American politics and with their asset Trump in the White House they are jumping for joy.
For this alone, Trump should be impeached (plus being a 34 count felon should exclude him from the White House as well).
Email it to all the Republican senators as well as the Democrat and the House of Representatives . “
I didn't know there were so many incriminating details! Thank you Marlo. Now, what will I do besides stay focused and keep moving towards truth? I'll be out in the wind today for that answer, as a few lines from this song are BOLDED in my mind. Written in 1963, Dylan's song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrQ4saKGI5k
LYRICS TO "Blowin' In The Wind"
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
oh my gosh…. i recently watched the pbs special (fundraiser) w peter, paul, and mary. they were a wee bit before my time but i was certainly familiar w their songs as soon as i started to listen to music. tears filled my eyes as i watched the show. filled and then overflowed. on one hand i realize the struggles are not new. on the other hand, our struggles now transcend awfulness. we’re losing, or perhaps have already lost, the soul of our nation.
I attended a Peter, Paul and Mary concert in the late 1990s and they sang that song. It was so moving. I have never forgotten that. Read these words over and over again and ask yourself those questions.
Well it’s still blowing in the wind which has become a hurricane
Terrifying and heartbreaking. I feel a great surge of anger.
Read this:
https://open.substack.com/pub/shanealmgren/p/democracy-is-done-the-rise-of-corporate
The plan is to destroy our government, make us weak, isolated and vulnerable. The Techno Fascists will rule us
The techno fascist are ruling us already. Sorry to say Marlo.
All of them have blood in their hands now, nationally and internationally. It's a crime against humanity.
I have to add to this about Trump and the 34: Tennessee Brando has a clip of Crockett in Congress and it is worth the watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu5qePdbwOI&t=9s
And below, this, THIS deserves to go viral!!! Tennessee Brando's song "Hatin' Nazis"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egay_m5vC3I
The whole right-wing is corrupt.
You can call the House Republicans and protest. (202) 225-3121
Tell them this is not what you voted for
Clearly, DJT is a traitor and his support of Putin and potentially fatal decisions regarding Ukraine are treasonous! He needs to be impeached, arrested, and jailed. And Vance as well, his political viewpoints are anti-democratic. And every single Republican must be a bigot based on their anti voting rights/suppression stance and the SAVE act. The SAVE act targets women, specifically. Bigots!
I hear you, Laurie. I just had my knee replaced (hip was 2 years ago). As soon as I can walk without assistance devices, I plan to make a sign and go stand on a busy corner in Eugene. Don't think I'll be up to much travel or marching, but I do hope to make it to Salem for a more organized demonstration soon.
Best wishes, Ally! I'll be cheering you on.
Good Trouble
Al Green demonstrated Good Trouble. He was censored for it and ten democrats joined in the vote. Shameful!
Fearful that the SAVE act will be passed, I have requested a certified copy of my birth certificate.
Since MTG can wear a “Trump didn’t do anything wrong” hat and not be kicked out or censured like Al Green, perhaps Democrats can get hats that say” Trump does not have a mandate” or something they want to express and see if that gets ignored like MTG!
I think they should have one saying "ALL HAIL PRESIDENT MUSK"
;-D
Actually it's a good thing for each of us to have and if you can afford it a passport card and or booklet. BTW a REALID STATE certified id card or driver's license is also a great thing to have after the certified birth certificate.
All women need to do that! Yes, the SAVE act is targeting women, specifically. I have always encouraged my own daughter not to change her birth name if she ever marries.
I called his office and left a message of support.
Anyone else interested, here it is:
Phone: (202) 225-7508
Your space Opera there is so much shame to be had these days. More than enough to go around. "When good men do nothing"
Lewis and King are gone. Where are our inspired leaders now? See https://www.instagram.com/reel/DF6WJLZttlN/?igsh=MWRnZm41NzRidWpsMA== Bernie is out in the country doing his part. Others currently in congress are trying to speak out despite a lack of support from Dem leadership. But it is hard not to take the radio silence on the part of our former leaders who we entrusted leadership to as anything but disinterest or cowardice.
I’m Canadian but paying maybe too much attention to what’s going on, along with many of my friends and colleagues. We,too, are wondering where the democratic leadership is. I do remember how Obama was criticized for pushing a group of black me to vote for Kamala Harris…Didn’t go over very well. Maybe they aren’t confident about what their role is…But what has disturbed me the most is what Hegseth has done since stepping in to his role as Secretary of Defense…brutal!!! Very, very worrisome…Please know we (Canadians) care and are doing what we can…
And please know that we appreciate you! The president of the U.S. is a felon and has not received a mandate for his alternate reality! He is all about retribution just like a school yard bully. I have never experienced such hate towards a person as much as I do him. He is a cruel and evil individual.
For my part, I am cheering to Canadians on! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG3lerRxC14/?igsh=azI0MHVzc2huaHpu
Thank you.
I find the clips of Trump at his desk with a map of the "Gulf of America" pretty annoying, which, of course, is his point.
I wish Trudeau would start referring to the US as "South Canada" but that would support annexation, I guess. Although, if France and the UK joined with Canada and invaded our northern border, and Mexico joined with all the other South American countries and sent troops over our southern border, I couldn't fault them.
Donthecon interfered with Obama’s presidency just about every day of 8 years, stirring up hatred with his birther crap. And now he has stirred up the haters, pardoned 1500 of the worst and the majority who should know better sit and wait. For what?
Congressman Al Green from Texas is an inspired leader.
Phone: (202) 225-7508
That's his DC number, let him know!
Thanks, I will call him. Every lie should have been corrected by a democrat. They could each have been walked out.
Ruben Gallego of Arizona had a hard fought and well won race. He's younger and well thought of as well. I am a supporter of Sen Van Hollen from Maryland who walks in the history of Sen Mikulski and there's so many more.
I agree Carol that there are several shining examples OUTSIDE of DNC leadership and they do not include our ‘old guard’ as the linked commentary points out.
Yes. Where are Obama, and Harris, and Clinton. Where is our Navalny? There is just a big, sucking vacuum.
That was the subject of two of my 5 calls to the congresscritters yesterday. To Schumer and Jeffries, I left a message "WHERE IS THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERS?"
Perhaps they are out there, but their messages aren't getting out there. I hate to say it, but some stunt of MTG's goes viral, and they need to do something that goes viral as well.
This post really took me back. As a fed-up 15 year old living in what was then 'the Prune Capital of the World' and since become part of Silicon Valley, I joined SNCC as a kind of protest to the sleepyheads in my town. When I wore the pin to school one day I got put on a kind of watch list headed by our Vice Principal, aka 'the Enforcer.' I did not take it off, and he backed off. I didn't then, but I do now, recognize how insulated I was by the visible fact of my whiteness, and after all these years am still sickened by what's still going on in the South, where I was born but fortunately did not have to grow up. Today John Lewis' photo is in a gold frame on my bureau, as a reminder never to stop making Good Trouble in the face of oppression. Thanks for holding this up to the light, Heather.
What a good idea to have his photo displayed!
Go Prunedale! The Artichoke capital is just down the road. Me, SCHS 1966
My first paid campaign job was in 2012 as a volunteer coordinator for an unwinnable congressional campaign for a former teacher and Unitarian. A volunteer from her church came in and my friend, the candidate, said I might want to Google him. He was Clark Olsen, retired Unitarian minister. Clark was working in a church in Berkeley CA back in the 60's and met up with James Reeb in Selma, but was lucky enough to live to tell about the day. I certainly was honored to be in Clark's presence. He died in 2019 at the age of 85.
One of the meeting rooms in my Unitarian Universalist church is named after James Reeb. He was an honorable man. And John Lewis came to our town for a book festival. I heard him speak and afterwards, I talked with him as he signed books. I have that book with his signature. Understanding the struggle for the simple act of voting—risking life and limb after climbing out of the shackles of slavery, just to have a voice—makes watching our sad country lurch into fascism ever more sickening. Where are our leaders? Voting to censure one of their own for speaking out in public against this monstrous regime?
My (perhaps selective?) memory was that a lot of moral support for Civil Rights came from churches (and not just UU). I may be just missing it, but I keep hoping to hear a lot more from churches that DON'T see Musk and Trump as the Second Coming. That value kindness and humility. That don't bow down to the richest, and who show compassion and refuge for the poorest and abused. I know some exist, and I suspect that there are many more, but about all I hear from is hate-filled, vainglorious MAGA. Jesus said something about not keeping one's light under a bushel.
Too often maligned, would that our politicians today had Lyndon Johnson's moral courage and love for the people of our country.
Hard to recall that Johnson was a product of Texas. A senator even. Something changed.
Johnson got involved in Vietnam and the marching changed. I guess we thought Civil Rights was fixed but the children of the haters found a leader and made him king of the Wild Things.
Johnson lost track of the "War on Poverty" to pursue the War in Vietnam. To this day I don't understand why that pursuit was considered worth the human cost.
He tried to have guns and butter, but lost control of both. The other thing was I don’t think Johnson was about to have the right wingers question his patriotism by refusing to fight in Vietnam, even though it was not in our best interest.
The idea at the time was that one communist victory would cause all the other countries to join them. The problem was that the non communist leaders were not their people’s choice. Democracy requires work.
Top down governance sucks no matter the brand of it. Yes, democracy is work, physical, mental, and emotional, but well worth it.
Even as a teen, the "Domino Theory" seemed to me a ridiculous con, especially when Vietnam was named as the trigger. If the the stability of those nations was that fragile, surely a larger communist power could have set it off, and surely there were wiser ways to prevent it. I even read somewhere that it was feared the Australia would be swept into the irresistible communist tractor beam (?) . And it was rubbish of course, but so much harm was done by our ham-fisted meddling. Hitler had to be fought, but a number of our less urgent military adventures have not turned out very well. I would include the CIA-backed coup in Iran.
Ironically, part of our strategic influence post Hitler was the product of the Marshall plan; the same sort of strategic (and humanitarian) finesse that MAGA is keen to eliminate.
If not were for the Vietnam War, this country would be a hundred times greater, morally an financially. Too late now, what a shame.
While I do not disagree, it is impossible to judge that from our perspective today. The world has changed, and bringing back racism as policy is NOT going to improve our standing, status, or standard.
I don't desagree with you either 😁
I agree that it likely would have made a positive difference and that one never knows how a single change would change history, one way or another. I was naive enough to think the the Internet would be an inherently democratic influence on our society, but forgot may earlier conclusion that tools will serve any master, for good or evil. The impulse that brought us into that war was the real problem, as well as the reluctance to abandon a poorly made choice. Narcissistic hubris manifests in many unfortunate ways, but seems so often to underlie our poorest choices. Can we somehow get a grip on that?
And there is a lot of gnashing of teeth among the wild things.
" Let the wild rumpus begin!"
I would call him The KIng of Cruelty the First. And J D Vance, the Second.
A lot changed for Johnson and some of it was King and the pressure and persistence of civil rights leaders. Some was his own volunteer experience with poor, Brown Texans that never left him—. Some was Vietnam—Doris Kearns Goodwin’s fascinating book An Unfinished Love Story brings all of this to life. I definitely see LBJ with new eyes. And how historical forces build ….
I have no doubt .. but it’s the other one I read. I love her big long comprehensive sweep in the memoir-ish book ( historical memoir?)
It happened as he raised his hand and took the oath, standing beside a shocked and bloodstained Jackie Kennedy.
Unforgettable picture.
Tremendous moral courage especially in those days. Compare to our spineless politicians today, in both parties.
Here’s something we can all do right now - tell all your friends to call their members of congress to oppose the Republicans’ current voter suppression bill, the SAVE Act: https://uusj.net/wp1/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ActAlrt-SaveAct.pdf
I feel SO fortunate, Linda, to have representatives—Fed, State, Local—that support free, fair, accessible elections to all who are eligible to vote….full stop. I contact them on occasion to let them know I appreciate their efforts on my behalf. Lucky, indeed.
It's not my case in Florida Barbara. We live like in two different countries and I have to concede, yours is better.
yes, you are indeed lucky 💙
Thanks for that history. So much more now implied.
I remember.
If you never learn one more fact about this country’s dark, ugly racist underpinnings, let this be the one you retain.
Thank you HCR. It's hard to say when humanity will start acting like humans. For more than six decades, the GOP has been only interested in power rather than governing fairly or decently. It's sickening and disgusting.
Now? It's worse than ever.
I think human is Jekyll and Hyde, but our species swindles itself, and drifts toward catastrophe, should we go with the latter.
Good governance should preclude the later.
As Carl Sagan, scientist and, IMHO, a prophet, said : “It is clear that the nations of the world now can only rise and fall together. It is not a question of one nation winning at the expense of another. We must all help one another or all perish together”. For me that goes w/in nations as well…all the “factions” that struggle and fight for dominance….and, really, for what reason in the end?
When I was in college, I was fortunate enough to go to a Carl Sagan lecture with about 3000 of my closest friends. 😎 This lecture was so inspiring, it literally changed my life. This was circa 1975.
Carl Sagan was a very intelligent man, and it’s a shame that not enough people listened to what he had to say.
He was friends with Noam Chomsky the brilliant linguist. Rumor has it they had a bet that pot would be legalized in the US within 10 years from 19xx. Sagan bet it would and Chomsky that it wouldn't.
I wasn't able to locate the story so the details and timing may not be accurate.
As far as people not listening to him, we call them Republicans.
Barbara, he was one of the earliest prominent scientists, following Rachel Carson in the late 60’s, to recognize that we had advanced sufficiently in our technology (especially nuclear technology) and simultaneous despoiling of our planet and air to be forced to think not in terms of national political identity but to think of how we, all nations, can and must work in concert to preserve our planet our air and water and our very selves.
A global aspiration to be sure….hard to see how we all, in our beautiful sameness/differentness, can lay down the “identities” (national, cultural, religious, etc) we humans cling so tightly to and come together and create “one world” for all of us…no winners, no losers, just all of us being neighbors.
Along with any shred of human decency.
Some have advanced American democracy by actions.
We owe them not only debts for progress, but debts beholden to those who won't just be passive, who won't just timidly accept the status quo, who will find ways to express themselves in public -- and not ways as juvenile and insipid as congressional Dems with their silly slogans on paddles.
Can teams of Dems appear in public -- three and four at a time -- and clearly, passionately cite some of our time's fine novels, memoirs, biographies, essays, and histories -- name them, credit the authors, summarize the plots and main characters, and apply them as relevant to real life conditions American working classes of all colors face?
The convicted criminal in the White House has now openly allied with Putin -- openly sided with naked murder and aggression in order to kill a democracy.
Can't Dems turn to our culture -- really great ones amidst us now, as key as those who rose to the occasion of Bloody Sunday?
Can we find means to speak with one voice? A voice that shakes the walls.
JL, we have many voices. It's a little strange that ME Governor Mills, Senator Angus King and even Susan Collins have had the courage to stand up to Trump and the Fascists. It has cost ME millions of dollars in Federal money, but at least they have the kahunas to stand up to Trump.
Listen to Progress radio (channel 127 Sirius XM). Their entire line up of hosts welcomes callers like Rush Limbaugh did and they are building an army. They even went on the road hosting campaign events for candidates in 2024. And they haven't stopped.
Also, listen to every late night host and check out their guests as well as YouTube personalities.
It's hard to scream louder than the FOX hosts when they rarely have a Democrat on. MSNBC has Nicole Wallace who bashes Trump every single day as well as Rachel Maddow.
Pete Buttigieg is in the news several times a week and other Biden cabinet members are running for public office, like Deb Harland in New Mexico.
How much play time was Bill Clinton getting in 1989 when HW was President? We need to focus on the 100,000 local and statewide races, rather than getting our panties in a wad over our current politicians.
We had a town election this week and elected a wonderful hard working career public servant as our 5th selectman. She won in a landslide against 2 candidates one of whom was a Republican. If we don't concentrate on these local and state elections we're just going to repeat what has been happening since 1995.
Sorry but Collins is the reason we have Kavanaugh on SCOTUS. SHE doesn't support women and needs to retire. She voted with McConnell more often than anyone else. And McConnell gave Trump a pass in impeachment.
I totally agree. She is so Jekyll and Hyde. She has been able to get Mainers so much being on the appropriation committee, but yet we have so many terrible far-right Federalist judges because of her loyalty to McConnell and Leo. And she supported GovernorLePage over Janet Mills. He was such a terrible governor. Her weekly newsletter makes her look like she gives a damn about Mainers but it's all a big show.
Let's get rid of her in 2026.
The problem isn’t one of standing up to the felon in chief. It’s standing up to the 77 million Americans who put him in charge and who are the basis of his power today. An abiding hatred of black Americans, the only “value” that the felon in chief is sincerely committed to, and a “value” that he shares with 60% of white Americans, 70% of white working class Americans, and 80% of white evangelical Americans, is the driving force behind the total control by Republicans of the federal government and the governments of over half the states. Roughly 20% of white evangelicals are decent human beings. If 40% if white evangelical Americans were decent human beings, no Republican would have been elected to the presidency since 1968.
Rex, I agree that the white evangelicals love them some Trump. In 2016, a majority of white evangelical ministers supported Trump. But polls showed that percentage had dwindled to around 40% in 2024.
So many of the ministers and priests were pushing Trump in 2024 when they no longer supported him. They are the worst kind of hypocrites.
And why would any woman support Trump? He hates women and can't stand it when any woman dares to stand up to him.
The exit poll cited in Wikipedia says 82% of white evangelicals voted for Trump.
Remember, too, Rex: when they vote Trump, they're voting Putin.
Right, BUT there are hundreds of churches around the country that split off because they refused to support Trump and their Trumpies joined other hateful patriarchal white nationalist churches.
I am very anti-Catholic because they are patriarchal and will not support abortion. If they had a female pope would she still support abortion? the Bible mentions abortion only--and that was to condone it when the wife cheats on her husband and becomes pregnant.
Yes. But most white Americans don’t give a damn about stronger. However, they very much care about oppressing demographic groups that they don’t like. LBJ predicted that the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act would lose the South for Democrats for 50 years. He was wrong on both geography and persistence. It was not just the South. It was white Americans everywhere, and it was forever.
Here's a clear voice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pug7zkOUmXM
Two clear voices Anne-Louise.
No, J L, we cannot.
When Chuck Schumer was Senate Majority Leader, he refused to call a vote on the Constitution's disqualification clause (Article 14, Section Three). Failure of Trump to get 2/3 of the Senate to free him from insurrection disqualification would have meant he was by that vote failure automatically and legally disqualified from any U.S. public office due to his insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. Constitution says that. Not even highest court in the land can override such a vote.
But Schumer, Dems could not, cannot do anything "with one voice." No shaking of any walls.
If their voice won't shake the walls, we need new ones. We need ours.
We need voices of Thunder and Lightning.
Listen to David Packman talk about Trump's approval rating going negative and how 1 negative thing a President does or the perception of a negative thing turns people away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h4_oEdj6_U
People are not happy with the tariffs or the fact that Trump is fucking over farmers and veterans. Trump's approval rating will continue to head south and he will drag down many Republicans with him. We need to find good candidates to replace the MAGAs.
Fear not. A recession is in the making. Made by the one in office.
Now that is an issue to take up and exploit. Now!
He'll find a way to deflect Bill and the horde would believe him.
Biden and George Soros control the US economy. Wrecking everything and screwing over the rest of the world helps a lot, but sleepy, clueless Joe is the master villain.
ONLY one more quarter of negative growth and we're there. Economics 101.
Thank you, Gary. So good. Hopeful. It is essential to notice and celebrate the hopeful things.
We have to shine a spotlight on the harm being done, whether it is people dying of preventable disease, good and needed people arbitrarily fired, or economic disruption for sport. Put human faces on the numbers.
Bernie is touring the country and AOC is out there as well. Pete Buttigieg is running for Senator from Michigan and Angus King is giving rousing speeches on the Senate floor.
Just because the corporate media isn't reporting on them doesn't mean their message isn't getting heard.
I agree we got into this mess by means of favoring Democratic candidates that would not rock the boat. Also by a party organization, as is the wont of heads of organizations, to try to grab and retain control:
From 2016:
" 'What do you tell voters who are new to the process who say this makes them feel like it's all rigged?' Tapper asked the DNC chair.
'Unpledged delegates exist really to make sure that party leaders and elected officials don't have to be in a position where they are running against grassroots activists,' Wasserman Schultz calmly explained.
Tapper did not press her on her response. "I'm not sure that that answer would satisfy an anxious young voter, but let's move on," he said, and dropped the issue just when it was getting hot."
https://www.salon.com/2016/02/13/un_democratic_party_dnc_chair_says_superdelegates_ensure_elites_dont_have_to_run_against_grassroots_activists/
The same thing has happened to the Republican party, only far worse. Legitimate democracy seeks empowerment and protection, not just for some, but for everyone. That's the message I want to try to drive home. I think there is some good company in that, but we won't steer the ship of state away from on-course to strike the iceberg without some rocking of the boat (but smart about it).
Not to put it nicely, no. We have elected too many Congressmen who practice "chicken sh*t" politics, running in flight at the threat of losing $$$ support. They sold their souls and now we are in the Hell they created. It will take more than protests and letters to get us out now. It will take real, physical skills and courage, because logic has no force with religious application of gaslite propaganda.
The Republicans are playing a game of deception right now with DEI and transgender (which is a subset of DEI). Meanwhile, Trump is trying to raise revenue with his tariffs, which are taxes on the consumer and firing essential Federal workers which actually make us unsafe, so that he can get through his tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The oligarchs are buying elections especially in red districts where they are cheaper and easier to buy. And by constantly spewing the DEI and transgender message the lame stream media reacts to this BS and blames the Democrats for not reacting to their racism, sexism and xenophobia.
Trump made promises to deport illegals starting with the criminals. But instead the dog killer is sending ICE into the schools terrifying and harassing young children. He's also trying to get his little Johnson to allocate almost $100 billion to fly people to places they have never been. And he's pissing off our allies in the process.
Trump's approval rating will continue to tank every time he does something that impacts a group of voters. Hopefully, he did himself no favors when he promised, ad nauseam, to lower grocery prices on day 1 and similarly energy costs.
And siding with Putin, who polls show only 4% of Americans trust, hopefully will turn voters against him.
Gary, I hope you are right. What I see in my peek in the window of how MAGAts think does NOT lead me to believe that they view Russia/Putin as an enemy. They may "say" they do not approve, but they also do not show that in word and deed.
I wish we knew just how bad the Russian economy is. Trump wants oil prices to drop because he promised they would. But if they do, then Russia is in even more trouble. And his drill, baby, drill promise won't be viable.
Russia has been forced to use non-military vehicles because so many of their tanks, fuel trucks, troop carriers have been destroyed or abandoned. I saw today, where over 50,000 Russian troops have deserted. I guess there's no one to prevent it anymore and since they don't track whose dead, wounded or alive, hard for them to catch them.
I suppose there is truth in that, but so too is Ukraine "white", and is patently not the aggressor. Putin clearly IS a dictator and a very creepy one by his record. It is insane to back Russia at this point, and to tear up our working alliances. That's set to bite us HARD. The ride that besotted Billionaires now celebrate is on a whirlpool down the toilet.
But much of Russia is not "white" but Asian. I don't disagree with you, but the Russian political mentality is not aligned with the west.
Putin is a world class monster. That has to be underlined, as does Trumps business connections with Russia. We got here because relentless repetition of lies works; but so do persistently repeated truths. Democracy and Democrats have trouble with focus, but when we do, we can be a force to be reckoned with. There is a history of that.
People may vote for them, but the only people they represent are their big money donors.
Kathy, your comment triggered a thought process in my mind. The process sets aside all factors of U.S. history except finance.
The U.S. was founded as a capitalist nation. But in the era it was founded, conscience always attended capitalism, so all was well. We experienced periods of expanding and contracting finance over the years, but our gradual economic ascent was always tempered by a sense of fairness. Admittedly, the fairness became racially bifurcated in the late Nineteenth Century.
However, sometime in the 1970s and 80s, our culture went all-in on capitalism and began shedding any semblance of conscience. The trend continued, leading to the era of "the wolf of Wall Street." We created financial predators like Jordan Belfort, Lou Perlman and Bernie Madoff, not to mention institutions like Lehman Brothers, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and others.
Our electoral process has followed a similar trajectory. The deal was sealed in 2010 when SCOTUS ruled in favor of Citizens United against the Federal Election Commission, using the far-fetched justification that "money is speech." Only a culture of capitalism without conscience could produce such an opinion.
Today, in a nation where everything is for sale, without limits or accountability, he who raises the most money wins the election, platform and principles be damned. It's a matter of outshouting the opponent, not presenting thoughtful reasons for being elected.
I contend that there is still a difference between the GOP and Dems, although both devote inordinate attention to fundraising. The GOP serves Trump and his cronies, while Dems still try to serve their constituents. The currents are against their continuing.
In the final analysis, capitalism without conscience is self-destructive and we are living through the razing.
Greater minds than mine will have to come up with a better system than capitalism, but it's apparent to me that it doesn't work for the benefit of humanity.
You say, Dale, "sometime in the 1970s and 80s."
The date specific was August 23, 1971. That's when Lewis Powell, a Virginia gentleman lawyer for lying big tobacco wrote his memo outlining a plan for the commercial classes to take over America (and the world, given how a fat orange monster in the U.S. would eventually ally with the genocidal monster in Russia, and with all the other autocrats elsewhere).
Ah, yes. I was searching my memory for that trigger, but wanted to post my comment before the shelf life of this conversation expires.
Note: Given the genocide of more than a million Americans resulting from Covid mismanagement, isn't it appropriate to say the only difference between the genocidal monsters in the U.S. and Russia is the face coloring?
Are you talking about stupidity on part of the voters Kathy? I would like to point out that there's no cure for that.
But there is a cure for that, Ricardo.
It's us, we, having in our vocabularies the voices of our betters, who write novels, memoirs, essays, histories, biographies -- film scripts, poems, too.
I'm reading four books now. One for nights. Three for afternoons. All model affections for our fellows.
And, yet, the criminals rule. Because our schools -- worldwide, as so many follow the lead of the U.S. vulgar, in promoting only standardized testing -- our schools promote only the neutered vulgarities of standardized testing.
I'm not convinced Phil, at least the stupids that I know and voted for the ignoramus president and still support him after such a display of chaos and irrationality, cruelty, indecency, believe me, there's no cure. Thanks for your reply 👍
We so, so, so, so, need to get unlimited money out of the political process. Just because $COTUS says that purchase of office and political favors is American as apple pie, it remains de facto bribery and corruption, and provably inimical to liberty and justice for all. Yes, money is how we as a society get things done, but bags of it are not supposed to weigh on the scales of justice and the blindfold on the icon is not supposed to signify indifference to facts, but indifference to socioeconomic status, a standard that been slipping. The concentrated power of wealth and political coercion was what our founding principles (if not always our choices) were crafted to oppose. We kind of looked the other way too long while pay-to-play corruption has spread. We are now fighting sepsis.
John Lewis' scars bear heavily upon ALL of us. If we do not stand up now to the peversion being thrown upon us, NONE of us will ever vote again.
Do you understand? The coup is unfolding before our eyes. Decorum and politeness are CAPITULATON to the FASCIST AUTOCRACY.
Where are the spineless Democrats in our Congress?????
I swore a solemn oath in September of 1967 to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic with MY LIFE!!!!!
Give me a MFN break. I lost everything. The documentation of all that I have ever done, including the documentation of my case against mfn draftboard for crimes against humanity and facilitating an illeagal war. The Eaton fire in Altadena damn near did me in. I could go on and on, but one thing is CLEAR:
The Fascist Oligarchy has just about completed their coup and Heather's
"How the South Won the Civil War" is our new reality.
Lindsay Graham told us so two nights ago !!!!!
Ransom, I feel your distress. My upside down flag is my outward sign of distress that I am willing to prominently display in my neighborhood where I am known…and I do so in service to the all people and our planet who have suffered injustices that we here on Heather’s Substack are trying to correct.
As a high school kid during the Johnson Civil Rights era, I absorbed that distress internally. By the time I left home for college, I was all-in for the changes I knew would be coming…the beat goes on…and each of us has a platform of influence. Today there’s a rally at our courthouse and I’ll be there.
If you want Democrats to have power you need to support them. They are out numbered and it’s the fault of people who keep criticizing them so not enough people vote for them. If you want more MAGA just keep bashing Democrats. Leaders have people supporting them.
I agree with the principle of political unity and solidarity. I also agree with the principal of honest and purposeful assessment of leadership strategies in order to bring about success of purpose. So it is like I have this fuel tank of trust and goodwill within me that was full. With each setback in leadership failure and political outcome that fuel tank slowly depletes. It is as though it now sits below a half a tank. I prefer to run on the top half of the tank. This is not, nor has it been an orthodox political fight. We must be able to do an honest assessment of strategic philosophy and action to move forward.
I wish more people would recognize this fact.
👏👏👏
"Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet".- Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg
I'm not a religious man, but by god we need something now, something real.; if only we had some of the spirit of MLK and the Selma marchers and a president like Johnson who actually cared about others more than himself....Thank you for your continuing efforts Heather, to keep us focused and informed - you are amazing.