Once again Biden is acting responsibly, adroitly, sensibly, yes, presidentially, to a mess left by his predecessor. What will congressional Republicans do to try to hamstring Biden's efforts at re-establishing American diplomatic leadership? What will they do to try to trip him up if Russia does indeed invade Ukraine? Soon we may discover whether the Republican Party en masse has become a Russian agent.
One would want to ask Tucker Carson if Putin is paying him directley or through shell companies. Trump mortgaged his properties to Putin, Carlson appears to have mortgaged his soul.
Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley have been holding up diplomatic appointments. How’s that for obstructing diplomacy. Preventing ambassadors from representing America. These cowards are not patriotic
Regarding diplomatic appointments, this is one piece of good news. Nick Burns is an impressive career diplomat and is a real asset to the administration's stance regarding China. I have followed his narrative on international policy for years and heard him speak at a forum prior to the 2020 election. His articulate command and knowledge of the issues combined with his diplomatic personna was even more impressive in person. At the time, some speculated that if Biden were elected he might be a candidate for Secretary of State. He was a couple of years behind me in high school (his brother and I were in the same class) and when I introduced myself, he could not have been more gracious with his time and conversation. When he is speaking with you, you are the only person in the room!
Great post, Ralph. With so many countries making opening chess moves--China/Taiwan, Russia/Ukraine--the world is looking more like 1939 when war became inevitable. It boils down to good vs. evil, and our unhinged, myopic former president was the person who opened Pandora's box.
Well, nobody is talking about invading the United States so hopefully we keep our troops home and let others fight their own wars.
Plus, since WWII the USA has not won a war, although we have been in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
We lost eadch one of those "wars".
The only reason South Korea exists is because, when China pushed US Troops back to the 38th parallel they STOPPED advancing. Had they continued, US Troops would have been in the ocean in weeks.
I just went and did my trolling at Fox with statements about their anti-democracy propagandist rhetoric now proven by Tucker in his support of a Russian authoritarian regime over our democracy. I shifted the beginning each post to match the drivel they were "reporting" on and then cut and pasted my wake up call to fox viewers. After doing this about 10 times, my stomach began to hurt and I knew I was experiencing side effects of exposure to the cult. I left and will go and recover after doing my Fox doo-ty.
Hope everyone sends some messaging over there. It is so steeped in BS it is frightening.
I do that in my own little world with my former compatriots who are now in Cult45. I use "I don't think that word means what you think it means, applied in this context" quite a bit.
It sure sounds like it. Remember when Carlson went to Hungary last summer? This guy threw his moral compass out of his pocket as he filled it with money.
Tuckems plays a devil’s advocate. Who know what this man really believes in his core thinking but he makes a lot of money and notoriety to push the opposite. I muse often at how many have chosen to sell themselves into slavery so that they may oppose its eradication.
Yes. That’s what I believe about most of them. It is heinous. They shield themselves by believing a devil’s advocate role is just fine when it comes to the peril the country and world teeter on.
This is a critically important letter, Heather. Our collective amnesia regarding history that is older than a decade prevents us from grasping the weight of this moment. Thank you for laying out the big picture with such clarity.
Mark Hertling (one of my bosses many, MANY moons ago, ) is correct--Putin & Gang are seeking to increase pressure and the opportunity for a chaotic flashpoint event. When Biden was elected, a potential scenario like this was a BIG reason I was glad it was him (sorry, Biden knew more about foreign policy and Russia in particular than all the other Dems put together). I specifically pointed out to a friend (we live in Romania--they worry too) that Biden wouldn't fall asleep on or easily acquiesce on Russia. I worry too that Poland, not exactly a democracy anymore, and Hungary will "accidentally" step in dog crap with statements/actions in the coming weeks. This bears watching, for sure.
I will add that we absolutely can see whatever the Russians are doing near the border and capable of exposing it (if we want to). If the administration wants to it can easily expose the lies they casually got away with in 2014 and after (like saying the Eastern Ukrainians were fighting organically, even though they clearly had T-64 tanks which are only used in Russian units).
Lastly, (I'm sorry, I can't hold this back--I"m still hot about it 7 years later), the president undoubtedly knows to NEVER do what his predecessor did and state that the US won't intervene militarily in Ukraine. There is a saying: "never tell your opponent what you won't do." Exactly.
Sending the US Military over to Ukraine to "save" its Democracy would be the dumbest thing we have ever done.
Put our boys in the military to working building infrastructure here instead of roads in Iraq or Ukraine or wherever we decide to waste all our resources on war again.
The USA needs our military right here. Not getting shot up for somebody else who should be doing their own shooting.
Well, Mike, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Ukrainians have been fighting a mostly low-grade border war with the Russians for a number of years, ever since the Rooskies snatched the Crimean Peninsula from them in 2014. I also understand that the US has provided weapons and logistical support to Ukraine since then to help keep Putin from realizing his dreams of glorious empire. I'm also pretty sure the rest of Europe (with the notable exception of -- perhaps -- Hungary) would see a Russian invasion of Ukraine as an imminent and existential threat to them and would -- perhaps hopelessly -- resist it militarily. At that point, for the US military (130,00 soldiers and 50,000 civilians) already based in Europe to simply close up shop and go home would be -- in no particular order -- foolish, short-sighted, cowardly and dangerous.
The strongest deterrent against Putin is the guarantee that if he employs nuclear weapons to accomplish his aims, the US will annihilate Russia, even at the cost of exterminating the human species. Remember Mutual Assured Destruction? If Putin is truly nuts and determined to start a nuclear war, the only thing that can save us is that cooler heads in the Russian military might prefer that this not happen. Putin as Trump, if you will.
I agree our invasion of Iraq was monumentally stupid (to say nothing of immoral), but this is Ukraine, and it is not "wherever" but right on Europe's doorstep. And yes, our soldiers are men and women (not "boys") who undoubtedly have a better understanding of why they are stationed in Europe than you do, right down to the lowliest private. I would prefer they stay there.
I would also be happy to invite immigrants to the USA to help us build infrastructure in return for good living wages and citizenship, assuming there are not enough Americans willing/able to get it done.
Listened to about the last half of Governor Abbott's Town Hall this evening. I missed some topics like voter fraud but did hear his answers on CRT, the 2nd amendment, the illegal immigrant threat and the radical liberals threat of socialism. Abbott did sound very scared of Beto and desperate about Beto running against him this year. Beto winning would be a risk of losing not just gun rights but all the rights in the greatest state in the history of the world. He said CRT was antagonistic to the US and a Marxist approach. Thought it interesting that he quoted MLKjr as the being right about "judge a man not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character". Personally, I don't see much demonstration of character here. He talked about having thousands of jail beds to place illegal immigrants and coyotes. He called Biden's DOJ paying the families of the illegal immigrant children separated from their parents insanity. It was a little hard to take all the fawning and thank you's from the people on the call who asked questions of Abbott. I hope Abbott's reelection chances are as desperate as he sounded. That was my big take-away -- Beto is a big threat to his reelection. Beto hasn't even declared his candidacy yet. I already have my selfie with Beto so I'm all set!
I certainly hope you're right. I understand Abbott's arrests are costing Texas a fortune, in line with Desantis' foray to the border ($570,000). Will taxpayers revolt?
He's a good man and now in his fourth term in the House representing the very diverse district around San Antonio. Definitely represents the People of his district very well.
One would like think that TX Democrats could come up with a stronger candidate than Mr. O'Rourke but, if Abbott is that worried, maybe there's more to him than is apparent from his last two campaigns.
"I hope Abbott's reelection chances are as desperate as he sounded. That was my big take-away -- Beto is a big threat to his reelection. Beto hasn't even declared his candidacy yet." You just made my day Cathy!!! Hope!
A busted clock is right twice a day, and John McWhorter, a Black Columbia University professor, has some excellent criticism of the "critical race theory-lite" that's going on in schools and elsewhere. From NPR:
"The professor John McWhorter has problems with the way Americans are talking about race and racism.
McWhorter is a Black liberal. But he argues that the cultural left, along with major institutions and companies, have gone too far in embracing "anti-racist" ideas.
Much of it relates to the way two prominent writers about race have influenced public opinion about racism. Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist and Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility have both landed on bestseller lists since last summer, after widespread protests erupted over George Floyd's killing."
I just heard on TV this morning that Matthew McConaughey said he wouldn't be getting his young child vaccinated any time soon. Another one to watch for a potential governor race.
Love your last sentence. The character thing is what Cult Republicans want to teach in school instead of the true history of this country. It eliminates the reality of systemic rascism.
In a few short paragraphs, this Letter from Dr. Richardson explains the complex situation regarding what is happening in Eastern Europe and why, and what is going on regarding refugees flowing through Belarus to Poland. This is the larger story that CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and the other news networks are failing to acknowledge, report, or explain. Bravo again!
Well, it sure is the top story on TV news in Italy, has been for several days. Hope we don't have to play nuclear chicken with Putin, Trump's old pal and partner in mayhem.
European resurgence of Covid is the other big story here.
Thanks, Marcia, for your concern, but I'm pretty sure that by the time the first Russian tanks are rolling into my little town in Le Marche, we will all have been incinerated 100 times over by a worldwide nuclear free-for-all. Whoopee!
Oh David everyone knows to get an old School desk and get under it. That will save you . LOL ! I used to wonder what was going to happen if I wasn’t at school ? HaHa ! Good times !😜
As I seem to be saying on many of Dr. Richardson's Letters, the media, by and large, can't see beyond today's People-magazine-like story or scandal--along repetitive drumbeats of negativity toward President Biden and his policies.
I have listened to/watched several CNN, MSNBC, and other media stories regarding the flow of migrants from Belarus, and while they described the friction caused by the matter of migrants possibly flowing into EU countries (through Poland & Lithuania) and anti-immigrant tensions intensified relative to right wing groups in EU countries, no mention was made of the origin of the migrants, and no mention was made as to how the refugees got to Belarus or how they are pawns in the larger orchestration by Putin, et. al. (Perhaps this has all been satisfactorily covered and I've just missed it.) However, my original comment was that Dr. Richardson did an exceptional job in this Letter in just a few paragraphs of describing this complex situation effectively and more comprehensively than I've seen elsewhere.
Well that's a different angle than "the other news networks are failing to acknowledge, report, or explain." I agree, HCR does an exceptional job of reporting. But, here is a list of articles on the situation in Belarus that are just in the NYT. Other news sources also are reporting. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/10/world/poland-belarus-border-migrants
"Here’s what you need to know:
-Accusing Belarus of trying to create a migrant crisis, the E.U. sides with Poland in a border standoff.
-The E.U., once divided on migrants, is united this time, but the way out of the standoff is unclear.
-Belarus, Poland and Lithuania refuse to let the world see the migrant standoff up close.
-Migrants, often assisted by travel agents, are flown to Belarus before being escorted to border.
-Iraqi migrants say they face beatings on both sides of Belarusian border.
-Why some Middle Easterners are gambling all they have to reach Europe.
-Lithuania, sharing a border with Belarus, declares state of emergency.
I’ve been following the increasingly escalating developments at the Poland/Belarus border closely and, given that I live in Germany, the threat level is very worrisome to say the least.
The EU finds itself in the touchy situation of having harshly criticized Poland for its pushback of migrants attempting to seek asylum at their border, in violation of EU and International law. Now, it is being forced to take a new approach. Just this week, the Belarus army marched 1,000 migrants to the Polish border and told them they would be shot if they attempted to return to Belarus.
Putin’s fingerprints are all over this brewing fiasco, as they are in Ukraine. The dangerous test we are facing is made more difficult by the disloyal, radical Republican members of Congress and the far right media. Our country is being torn apart from within – just as Putin had hoped by supporting the former President.
Will we – and by “we” I mean the country as a whole – support our government when it must finally counter Putin’s actions? Will our allies? Frankly, I have more faith in NATO and the European Parliament than I do Republicans in the US Congress. I hope I'm wrong - we will need them all.
You should not have one iota of faith for the treasonous seditionists and traitors in our government led by tfg. They have no rights to be there anymore. Only Cheney and Kinzinger are pro-America in that group of liars and thugs.
Republicans in the US Congress will support Putin.
However, the USA should NOT send troops to fight for somebody else' Democracyw our own Democracy here is under the constant threat by Republicans of violence.
At the moment, the EU cannot count on the USA to back it up against Russia. That is just a fact.
Allies defending each other is what NATO is all about.
Putin does not believe we will honor our word; the question of who blinks first or, what we do if neither blinks, is likely the subject of a great many phone calls between the US and Europe right now.
I would imagine Chancellor Merkel will weigh in before she leaves office sometime in December, if not publicly, then certainly privately. She has already spoken with Putin once this week and knows him better than most.
Americans and the USA cannot continue to believe we can afford to be at war all the time while our deficit rockets past $30 Trillion, our infrastructure rots and our own Democracy is in shambles.
We cannot pretend to uphold committments to all of the countries in NATO. We are NOT the country we were when NATO was formed.
We are broke, we have spent all of our money on military gadgets and war, and, now? We need to re-invest right here.
Pretending we are the same country we were in 1946?
That smells like irrational, non-data based thinking honestly. Look around. My streets and highways are terrible.
I look at the giant steel structures holding up the electrical wires and they are brown with rust.
Agree, R Dooley. Seems to be a lot of contrary, naysaying assumptions on the forum today.
I’m reminded of Don Miguel Luis teaching from The Four Agreements…”Don’t make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.”
Mike, I'm not sure exactly where you're coming from, but there is so much wrong with your comment, I hardly know where to begin.
I guess I'll start with a few things we agree on. Yes our infrastructure is rotting, but the legislation that passed Congress a few days ago is a very good start on solving that problem. Yes our democracy is in a shambles, for which all of us must shoulder a part of the blame, even if it's the GOP that seems to be applying the coup de grace. True, we cannot afford to be at war all the time, but we have managed somehow to be at war part of the time for much of our nation's existence, a few times for very good and defensible reasons. True, we are not the same country we were when NATO was formed, nor are any of the world's countries as far as I know. Yes, we do need to invest in a lot of things in the US, many of them included in the yet-to-be-passed BBB legislation. Yes, we probably spend too much on armaments and useless bases in the far corners of the world where we have few if any interests worth fighting for. I expect there are lots of other things we agree on, perhaps most things.
But... It is simply not true that we are broke, if the "we" you refer to is our government and/or our nation as a whole. Having debts and being broke are not the same thing, especially for the richest nation on earth whose dollar is the world's common currency, and especially right now when interest rates are historically low and have been for years. (Paul Krugman understands this far better than I do, and his explanations of all this seem reasonable to me.) Our problem is that the enormous and increasing wealth of our nation is very poorly distributed, and this makes it hard for our government to find the cash to do things that really need doing on the domestic front and for the common good. A thorough overhaul of our tax system might help a lot.
I think R. Dooley's comments above, to which yours are a response, are pretty straight-forward and realistic, and I agree with him. The USA still needs to defend Europe against Putin's Russia because the Europeans are our closest friends, with the possible exception of several east Asian nations, Australia, Canada and a few others. We hope these situations on the Russia/Ukraine and Bielorussia/Poland borders will not lead to general war and that diplomatic solutions can be found, but a sudden withdrawal of US forces from Europe would make a peaceful settlement unlikely and possibly bring the world to the edge of Armageddon (if Putin is really crazy.) But I think he's just crazy like a fox.
I have more to say about all this in a response to Mike S. from Rochester's comment.
“Horrifically, to destabilize the EU and NATO further, Russia and its ally Belarus are weaponizing migrants.” It’s no surprise Tucker would support this…who is paying him ???
I hope the US Troops remain in the U.S. Perhaps, as others have suggested, to
help build infrastructure.
Dad was a World War II vet. Raising the U.S.flag started as a daily morning ritual when he was with us. Every Veteran’s Day he would dress in his Legion uniform and we would cruise on down to the local parade.
Several years ago we were sitting along the parade route when a campaigning Republican threw a promotional koozie at my feet. When I didn’t immediately reach for it, he snidely shouted out:”Pick it up, it won’t hurt you.” I made a note to self:This guy appears to have an attitude so let’s see how it goes if he’s elected.
Fast forward several years and he’s now a Florida House Rep .His self-professed greatest accomplishment is getting a Fl gaming bill passed which facilitates sports betting at your fingertips via an app.
He has also slandered and harassed a local school board member and a number of constituents. He’s proud of the pumpkin his son carved for Halloween with “Let’s Go Brandon”. The next generation ?
I contacted each Republican who voted for the infrastructure bill and thanked them for helping to bring us a better tomorrow.
Today we will spread dad’s ashes…and continue to hope for a better tomorrow.
As soon as it is daylight here in Oregon, I am going to go out and hang the National Colors (normally, they fly all the time, but my wife threw branches off the roof, hit the standard, and knocked it down--quickly picked up--) I repaired the siding yesterday, but since I am forbidden from using ladders or power tools, I will replace my Fallen LEO flag with the National Colors. I'll have to either take it down at sunset, or coerce the rehanging of the standard.
When I do that, I will send a thought to you and your Dad as you scatter his ashes as I also honor my family who served, with a special thought for a Viet Nam veteran friend (female, I might add) who still suffers from her trauma there.
Kathy, first of all, I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is always heartbreaking. Please accept my condolences. As to the story of the now Florida House Rep....I can only wonder which one it is as we have so many of these crazies here in Florida. This situation is so accurately...and scarily...depicted in the latest book I'm reading: "Laboratories of Autocracy - A Wake up Call from Behind the Lines" by David Pepper. David is from Ohio (held several positions there including chair of the Democratic party) but what he describes is happening all over the country, especially here in Florida. No one has paid attention to the state legislatures but that is where the most danger lies. They control the redistricting/gerrymandering of many, many states. And it is happening right now in state houses all over the country. Please get more information on this by (1) listening to the podcast that David did with the Lincoln project: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9saW5jb2xucHJvamVjdC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/NTJmOTAyZTctY2E2Ni00NDI5LWFhNjktN2UyMTIzMTA2ZDYy , (2) Following David on Twitter @DavidPepper and (3) picking up a copy of his book.
Thanks,Annette ! Despite his dementia Dad was such a grateful and gentle soul until his last earthly breath….and he was a true patriot.
I’ve listened to David Pepper’s podcast and yes, that is exactly what’s happening in FL and Brevard County and it flows upward. I’d wondered how Rick Scott got the NRCS chair as a newbie Senator but $$$ rules.Our local FL House Rep made his millions working in the gaming industry. He’s willing to help constituents (good optics)work through the unemployment filing fiasco.( thanks in great part to Rick Scott)but not so wiling to encourage a call for a special session to fix that whole hot mess for a long-term solution.
I don’t know what the answer is and I’m not on social media so my influence is very limited. But I do remember David Pepper saying to,support those who are doing the right thing..
So we’ll all keep fighting the good fight…in our own way…but just keep fighting !
Yesterday a friend texted me saying none of his friends want to be reminded of January 6th. That dwelling on it was like beating a dead horse. This came after I forwarded Heather’s letter. Later in the day my husband handed me his Economist magazine saying I should read Lexington. The essay pointed out how many of the people who follow Trump’s shadow are ivy leaguers—oh sure I thought—people who love power. The so-called friend is a white man who lives in a gorgeous mansion by the sea and who made a ton of money in the securities industry. He lives in a wealthy enclave north of Boston. I guess they’re just somewhat fat and happy and see our democracy going Biden’s way as a threat to their way of life. How shortsighted and selfish is that? How piggish and ignorant. When I encounter him again I’ll be pleasant enough but I have lost a certain respect that I once had for him.
Since President Biden’s election the stock market(S&P) has increased 27%. This fat cat should be wallowing in dough [Jobba the Hut had predicted a stock market crash, if Biden won.] As an Ivy Leaguer (Yale, Penn, plus MIT), I can assure you that those of us who learned critical thinking are not necessarily like this Lexington reprobate. Also serving my country for a decade and being involved in my local government for 15 years make me appreciate the true soul of America for which we all should strive to enhance.
True ‘dat, Daria. Hahahahahahaha. I’ve had plenty of “tuckems” as young students. It’s always self esteem and “I’m the best” with them, not self worth. Classic definition of a brat. I just find it astounding that so many Bigs (a term I use for adults in my writings on “Littles” and behavior) have still not figured out the Achilles heel of brats and bullies and continue to cater to their obsequious need for attention.
I swear, Christine, if Carlson's fans would just listen to his lunacy for what it is for just 5 minutes they'd realize he is a brat and totally off his rocker.
Good morning everyone. Nice to read HCR on foreign policy issues--even though they do ultimately turn around oleaginous house ferrets like Paul Manafort and Co. Surprised she didn't add Giuliani into the mix, as he was also involved in trying to keep Yanukovych in power. I am sorry to say that the "longue duree" history of Eastern Europe doesn't bode well for democratic institutions except in certain very specific areas, such as the Czech Republic (historically, Bohemia), which consistently pushed against imperial rule by the Teutonic Knights (the precursors of Prussia), the Holy Roman Empire/Kingdom of Hungary, and the German Empire. The citizens of Prague made their political views known by throwing opponents out the window of the town hall--the most famous defenestration of 1618, which supposedly started the Thirty Years' War, being only one of such actions. There are all kinds of people I would love to see tossed out of windows these days.
The rest of eastern Europe has been autocratic in complexion pretty much since the arrival of the Kievan Rus'--a combo of Germanic, Finno-Ugric, and Slavic groups who went a-Viking into the region and established a kingdom in the 9th century. Just as the so-called Arab Spring taught, the creation of functioning democracies is not an easy or short-term process. Tearing down the Iron Curtain in no way sufficed to convert those populations into democratically-inclined folks. It could be argued that there have been virtually no successful functioning democracies since the destruction of the Iroquois Confederation. Certainly Athens was not one, since about 10% of the population actually participated in the rule by the "demos."
Humans generally find it hard to do hard stuff. Maintaining democracies and empathy are two very hard things to sustain. It is far easier to fall back on dog-whistles and autocracy because then you can cluster with your tribe and complain about everyone else. For those wondering about the execrable Josh Hawley's motivations for proclaiming that "masculinity" (which he refuses to define) is "under attack" by all of us dangerous witchy feminists, there's your answer.
Always look for your voice, Linda. Good morning. Slippery as oil ferrets indeed. Not sure what to tie up Manafort and Giuliani with. They manage to weasel their way out of any boundary. Perhaps fry them on the griddle of justice instead? I can hear the sizzle now. A reckoning beckons.
Thanks Linda Mitchell for giving historic context for this deeply manipulated standoff, with the statement,
"there have been virtually no successful functioning democracies since the destruction of the Iroquois Confederation."
Prof Richardson gave us something to think about with her close:
“If the world’s leading democracy doesn’t believe in its own values, why should dictators even bother paying lip service to them? We must defend these principles that inspire advocates of liberty and provide a crucial check on tyrants.”
Our plutocrats are winning and the rest of us are given a cloak of righteousness while "our" values are so far from practice as to be a joke.
Your post is fabulous, thank you for your thumbnail presentation of Eastern European history. I know so little about it that it is embarrassing, and you give me a spark to learn some more.
Humans do tend to take the easy way out and avoid the hard stuff. Your explanation of "clustering with your tribe and complaining about everyone else" is awesome.
The vague threat to "masculinity" by us "dangerous witchy feminists" is one that I had not heard before. It may be manifest in some inabilities to acknowledge that men and women serve our country in uniform (or can play in the band; I SO HATE getting called "the boys in the band").
Yesterday, NPRs On Point, reviewed China's increasing aggressive acts towards Taiwan and the difficult position that puts the US in for defending democratic nations in the Asian Pacific, plus that half of the world's semiconductors are made in Taiwan. This capacity is not being duplicated or replaced anywhere in western democracies. And our defense systems as well as industries and daily life depend on semiconductors from Taiwan.
Trump Republicans attacks on the US are aiding and abetting both Russia and China.
Putin has a pattern. Where there is a crisis, exploit it and make it harder on your enemies, as he did in Syria, shelling cities. Adding millions of refugees to flood European countries. Then fund the right wings in those countries to criticize democratic leader’s humanitarian effort to stabilize the crisis.
In Ukraine, there wasn’t a crisis, so Putin manufactures one, then he will claim solving it and while doing so whip up the Nationalism domestically.
“When citizens can be kept uncertain by the regular manufacture of crisis, their emotions and behavior can be managed and directed”.- Solkov
I am a mental health professional. The strategies and tactics you outline are exactly the same as the strategies and tactics of domestic abusers. Manufactured crises, exploiting needs, and continual unbalance, keep the victimized looking toward the victimizer to stop doing what they are doing. The victimizer doesn't stop, because their actions work for them. And they have no interest in the person they are dominating, other than to use them.
And every single time the Biden Administration takes a big step forward something pops up. I firmly believe there are FRP* members who are connected to Russia.
Ukraine is not our problem. The US has plenty enough issues for our military to deal with. Put those young men to work building infrastructure instead.
IF we send our troops to Ukraine we all have dirt for brains.
No one has suggested USA military solutions. President Biden has much more effective finacial weapons at his disposal. But I agree - military responses only enrich military industrialists (and their congressional pawns).
On this Veterans Day, I remember and salute every dang one of them. This is my home country of choice. And I thank our troops for defending democracy throughout what is now centuries, as flawed as systems of governance may be. May the freedom that we fight for bring peace to the generations ahead so that they flourish in that peace.
Thanks for the great explanation. Being with a Lithuanian lady whose mother got the family out ten steps ahead of Stalin in 1945, I've definitely heard a lot about the wonders of Russia.
As succinct a history of the region as I have read anywhere, so thanks (as always!). -- Let's hope that the economic sanctions and threats of even more will dissuade Putin from trying to use military force. The EU and NATO need to hang tough and undo the harm to these alliances caused by Trump.
Once again Biden is acting responsibly, adroitly, sensibly, yes, presidentially, to a mess left by his predecessor. What will congressional Republicans do to try to hamstring Biden's efforts at re-establishing American diplomatic leadership? What will they do to try to trip him up if Russia does indeed invade Ukraine? Soon we may discover whether the Republican Party en masse has become a Russian agent.
One would want to ask Tucker Carson if Putin is paying him directley or through shell companies. Trump mortgaged his properties to Putin, Carlson appears to have mortgaged his soul.
Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley have been holding up diplomatic appointments. How’s that for obstructing diplomacy. Preventing ambassadors from representing America. These cowards are not patriotic
And is a national security risk. It reduces our ability to identify, understand, and respond to emerging trends.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3154773/nominee-us-ambassador-china-wins-committee-approval-heads-full
Regarding diplomatic appointments, this is one piece of good news. Nick Burns is an impressive career diplomat and is a real asset to the administration's stance regarding China. I have followed his narrative on international policy for years and heard him speak at a forum prior to the 2020 election. His articulate command and knowledge of the issues combined with his diplomatic personna was even more impressive in person. At the time, some speculated that if Biden were elected he might be a candidate for Secretary of State. He was a couple of years behind me in high school (his brother and I were in the same class) and when I introduced myself, he could not have been more gracious with his time and conversation. When he is speaking with you, you are the only person in the room!
Ignore both Hawley and Cruz and just assign people as "acting" whatever. Who cares if they are confirmed? Just do it.
If Biden has NOT done that approach, then, he has a ways to go to learn how to play with Republicans.
Trump made almost every government post "acting" and just threw his buddies in there.
Dems could learn a bit from Trump.
That’s what Trump did all the time to prevent Democrats from having any say in his appointments. What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.
Of course, Joe is trying to be Mr. Rogers while the Republicans are burning down the house.
Yes! I’ve been wondering why he’s not doing this.
Seth, they are not cowards. They are traitors to democracy. They are traders to us all.
Oh no worries - Trump has sent his own special envoy Ambassador Ric Grenell to Kosovo-Serbia. https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1458830407411986435?s=20
Great post, Ralph. With so many countries making opening chess moves--China/Taiwan, Russia/Ukraine--the world is looking more like 1939 when war became inevitable. It boils down to good vs. evil, and our unhinged, myopic former president was the person who opened Pandora's box.
He was not alone...he had Mitch and a whole host of other players across the country and in Washington ready for this coup d'etat.
Probably in it (South Dakota )also . Along with the other Treasonous Traitors .
Well, nobody is talking about invading the United States so hopefully we keep our troops home and let others fight their own wars.
Plus, since WWII the USA has not won a war, although we have been in Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan.
We lost eadch one of those "wars".
The only reason South Korea exists is because, when China pushed US Troops back to the 38th parallel they STOPPED advancing. Had they continued, US Troops would have been in the ocean in weeks.
My Dad was there and saw what happened.
Putin is paying Carlson directly.
And the side effect—the Murdochs are raking it in as well. They should be shut-down and deported, stripped of their citizenships.
I am in full support of arresting the Murdoch's and putting them in an Alabama prison.
I just went and did my trolling at Fox with statements about their anti-democracy propagandist rhetoric now proven by Tucker in his support of a Russian authoritarian regime over our democracy. I shifted the beginning each post to match the drivel they were "reporting" on and then cut and pasted my wake up call to fox viewers. After doing this about 10 times, my stomach began to hurt and I knew I was experiencing side effects of exposure to the cult. I left and will go and recover after doing my Fox doo-ty.
Hope everyone sends some messaging over there. It is so steeped in BS it is frightening.
I do that in my own little world with my former compatriots who are now in Cult45. I use "I don't think that word means what you think it means, applied in this context" quite a bit.
I couldn’t get thru reading all of it.
LOL ! It’s really not funny but the idea is.The Rosenbergs were hung .
Yes, but, Fox News has sold the concept that violence against Democrats is patiotic.
yep, that is what happens when you realize that folks that go to church and have been trained to believe what they are told from birth, well,
are told what to think.
It makes one wonder if Bird's Eye frozen vegetables are now readily available in Russia.
It sure sounds like it. Remember when Carlson went to Hungary last summer? This guy threw his moral compass out of his pocket as he filled it with money.
Don't believe he ever had a moral compass.
Maybe when he was 10.
Carlson has mortgaged his soul to the devil who directs his every move.
Morning Ralph.
Tuckems plays a devil’s advocate. Who know what this man really believes in his core thinking but he makes a lot of money and notoriety to push the opposite. I muse often at how many have chosen to sell themselves into slavery so that they may oppose its eradication.
Promoting the BS w/o believing it seems so much more heinous than if one were a true believer.
Yes. That’s what I believe about most of them. It is heinous. They shield themselves by believing a devil’s advocate role is just fine when it comes to the peril the country and world teeter on.
He has indeed
Yeah, stick it to 'em, Ralph!
Ralph- I think you're correct that we may well find out exactly that, as well about Carlson.
This is a critically important letter, Heather. Our collective amnesia regarding history that is older than a decade prevents us from grasping the weight of this moment. Thank you for laying out the big picture with such clarity.
Mark Hertling (one of my bosses many, MANY moons ago, ) is correct--Putin & Gang are seeking to increase pressure and the opportunity for a chaotic flashpoint event. When Biden was elected, a potential scenario like this was a BIG reason I was glad it was him (sorry, Biden knew more about foreign policy and Russia in particular than all the other Dems put together). I specifically pointed out to a friend (we live in Romania--they worry too) that Biden wouldn't fall asleep on or easily acquiesce on Russia. I worry too that Poland, not exactly a democracy anymore, and Hungary will "accidentally" step in dog crap with statements/actions in the coming weeks. This bears watching, for sure.
I will add that we absolutely can see whatever the Russians are doing near the border and capable of exposing it (if we want to). If the administration wants to it can easily expose the lies they casually got away with in 2014 and after (like saying the Eastern Ukrainians were fighting organically, even though they clearly had T-64 tanks which are only used in Russian units).
Lastly, (I'm sorry, I can't hold this back--I"m still hot about it 7 years later), the president undoubtedly knows to NEVER do what his predecessor did and state that the US won't intervene militarily in Ukraine. There is a saying: "never tell your opponent what you won't do." Exactly.
Sending the US Military over to Ukraine to "save" its Democracy would be the dumbest thing we have ever done.
Put our boys in the military to working building infrastructure here instead of roads in Iraq or Ukraine or wherever we decide to waste all our resources on war again.
The USA needs our military right here. Not getting shot up for somebody else who should be doing their own shooting.
Ahem, put our boys and girls...Please don't lose sight of the fact that women serve and die as well.
Well, Mike, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Ukrainians have been fighting a mostly low-grade border war with the Russians for a number of years, ever since the Rooskies snatched the Crimean Peninsula from them in 2014. I also understand that the US has provided weapons and logistical support to Ukraine since then to help keep Putin from realizing his dreams of glorious empire. I'm also pretty sure the rest of Europe (with the notable exception of -- perhaps -- Hungary) would see a Russian invasion of Ukraine as an imminent and existential threat to them and would -- perhaps hopelessly -- resist it militarily. At that point, for the US military (130,00 soldiers and 50,000 civilians) already based in Europe to simply close up shop and go home would be -- in no particular order -- foolish, short-sighted, cowardly and dangerous.
The strongest deterrent against Putin is the guarantee that if he employs nuclear weapons to accomplish his aims, the US will annihilate Russia, even at the cost of exterminating the human species. Remember Mutual Assured Destruction? If Putin is truly nuts and determined to start a nuclear war, the only thing that can save us is that cooler heads in the Russian military might prefer that this not happen. Putin as Trump, if you will.
I agree our invasion of Iraq was monumentally stupid (to say nothing of immoral), but this is Ukraine, and it is not "wherever" but right on Europe's doorstep. And yes, our soldiers are men and women (not "boys") who undoubtedly have a better understanding of why they are stationed in Europe than you do, right down to the lowliest private. I would prefer they stay there.
I would also be happy to invite immigrants to the USA to help us build infrastructure in return for good living wages and citizenship, assuming there are not enough Americans willing/able to get it done.
Listened to about the last half of Governor Abbott's Town Hall this evening. I missed some topics like voter fraud but did hear his answers on CRT, the 2nd amendment, the illegal immigrant threat and the radical liberals threat of socialism. Abbott did sound very scared of Beto and desperate about Beto running against him this year. Beto winning would be a risk of losing not just gun rights but all the rights in the greatest state in the history of the world. He said CRT was antagonistic to the US and a Marxist approach. Thought it interesting that he quoted MLKjr as the being right about "judge a man not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character". Personally, I don't see much demonstration of character here. He talked about having thousands of jail beds to place illegal immigrants and coyotes. He called Biden's DOJ paying the families of the illegal immigrant children separated from their parents insanity. It was a little hard to take all the fawning and thank you's from the people on the call who asked questions of Abbott. I hope Abbott's reelection chances are as desperate as he sounded. That was my big take-away -- Beto is a big threat to his reelection. Beto hasn't even declared his candidacy yet. I already have my selfie with Beto so I'm all set!
I certainly hope you're right. I understand Abbott's arrests are costing Texas a fortune, in line with Desantis' foray to the border ($570,000). Will taxpayers revolt?
Not in Flori-Duh !
Plenty of MAGAts here but we all pay
I’m always impressed with Joaquin Castro. Have not heard much lately. Does he represent well in your opinion, Cathy?
He's a good man and now in his fourth term in the House representing the very diverse district around San Antonio. Definitely represents the People of his district very well.
Good to hear that from you. I always get the vibe that he will move on to other seats.
Met him once in Weatherford, been donating ever since, even after cheating Ted “won.” Go Beto
I am ready for Beto and hope Texans are too!
Ditch the cult nuts. Go Beto
One would like think that TX Democrats could come up with a stronger candidate than Mr. O'Rourke but, if Abbott is that worried, maybe there's more to him than is apparent from his last two campaigns.
Ted cheated, Beto is very popular where I am in spite of the magats
"I hope Abbott's reelection chances are as desperate as he sounded. That was my big take-away -- Beto is a big threat to his reelection. Beto hasn't even declared his candidacy yet." You just made my day Cathy!!! Hope!
Great to hear that Abbott is sounding frightened.
A busted clock is right twice a day, and John McWhorter, a Black Columbia University professor, has some excellent criticism of the "critical race theory-lite" that's going on in schools and elsewhere. From NPR:
"The professor John McWhorter has problems with the way Americans are talking about race and racism.
McWhorter is a Black liberal. But he argues that the cultural left, along with major institutions and companies, have gone too far in embracing "anti-racist" ideas.
Much of it relates to the way two prominent writers about race have influenced public opinion about racism. Ibram X. Kendi's How to Be an Antiracist and Robin DiAngelo's White Fragility have both landed on bestseller lists since last summer, after widespread protests erupted over George Floyd's killing."
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/05/1052650979/mcwhorters-new-book-woke-racism-attacks-leading-thinkers-on-race?fbclid=IwAR3AqSDmG0OH8V3sPUJCzmuugApp1LRpDt6keLgYZvJFx6Nh6v_OhU3jwJo
I just heard on TV this morning that Matthew McConaughey said he wouldn't be getting his young child vaccinated any time soon. Another one to watch for a potential governor race.
Love your last sentence. The character thing is what Cult Republicans want to teach in school instead of the true history of this country. It eliminates the reality of systemic rascism.
Thanks for the update, Cathy💙!
In a few short paragraphs, this Letter from Dr. Richardson explains the complex situation regarding what is happening in Eastern Europe and why, and what is going on regarding refugees flowing through Belarus to Poland. This is the larger story that CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and the other news networks are failing to acknowledge, report, or explain. Bravo again!
Well, it sure is the top story on TV news in Italy, has been for several days. Hope we don't have to play nuclear chicken with Putin, Trump's old pal and partner in mayhem.
European resurgence of Covid is the other big story here.
Stay healthy, David. Sending white Light rays of health to you and your neighbors.
Stay well and safe .
Thanks, Marcia, for your concern, but I'm pretty sure that by the time the first Russian tanks are rolling into my little town in Le Marche, we will all have been incinerated 100 times over by a worldwide nuclear free-for-all. Whoopee!
“Bombs !” I was thinking CoVid.No,No, No bombs . 🤫
Well, the vaccinations work pretty well against Covid, maybe not so great against nukes
Oh David everyone knows to get an old School desk and get under it. That will save you . LOL ! I used to wonder what was going to happen if I wasn’t at school ? HaHa ! Good times !😜
As I seem to be saying on many of Dr. Richardson's Letters, the media, by and large, can't see beyond today's People-magazine-like story or scandal--along repetitive drumbeats of negativity toward President Biden and his policies.
David, it is all over the news! https://www.google.com/search?q=belarus+immigration&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS505US519&oq=Belarus+imm&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j69i57j0i10i131i433l4j0i512l4.3513j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
I have listened to/watched several CNN, MSNBC, and other media stories regarding the flow of migrants from Belarus, and while they described the friction caused by the matter of migrants possibly flowing into EU countries (through Poland & Lithuania) and anti-immigrant tensions intensified relative to right wing groups in EU countries, no mention was made of the origin of the migrants, and no mention was made as to how the refugees got to Belarus or how they are pawns in the larger orchestration by Putin, et. al. (Perhaps this has all been satisfactorily covered and I've just missed it.) However, my original comment was that Dr. Richardson did an exceptional job in this Letter in just a few paragraphs of describing this complex situation effectively and more comprehensively than I've seen elsewhere.
Well that's a different angle than "the other news networks are failing to acknowledge, report, or explain." I agree, HCR does an exceptional job of reporting. But, here is a list of articles on the situation in Belarus that are just in the NYT. Other news sources also are reporting. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/10/world/poland-belarus-border-migrants
"Here’s what you need to know:
-Accusing Belarus of trying to create a migrant crisis, the E.U. sides with Poland in a border standoff.
-The E.U., once divided on migrants, is united this time, but the way out of the standoff is unclear.
-Belarus, Poland and Lithuania refuse to let the world see the migrant standoff up close.
-Migrants, often assisted by travel agents, are flown to Belarus before being escorted to border.
-Iraqi migrants say they face beatings on both sides of Belarusian border.
-Why some Middle Easterners are gambling all they have to reach Europe.
-Lithuania, sharing a border with Belarus, declares state of emergency.
Nary a word on any of the few newscasts I still follow.
Ally, I don't understand. It is all over the news. https://www.google.com/search?q=belarus+immigration&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS505US519&oq=Belarus+imm&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j69i57j0i10i131i433l4j0i512l4.3513j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
See my “the few newscasts I still follow”. I am on a pretty restrictive “news diet” for my personal mental health.
I commend you!
It appearsTrump and his cohort of cretinous traitors in Congress are willing to risk WW3 if it will make Biden look weak. They need to be jailed now.
And not raising the debt ceiling so the US will default and create an economic crisis in the US and around the world!
At least someday soon please.
Yesterday!!
Thank you, Professor Richardson.
I’ve been following the increasingly escalating developments at the Poland/Belarus border closely and, given that I live in Germany, the threat level is very worrisome to say the least.
The EU finds itself in the touchy situation of having harshly criticized Poland for its pushback of migrants attempting to seek asylum at their border, in violation of EU and International law. Now, it is being forced to take a new approach. Just this week, the Belarus army marched 1,000 migrants to the Polish border and told them they would be shot if they attempted to return to Belarus.
Putin’s fingerprints are all over this brewing fiasco, as they are in Ukraine. The dangerous test we are facing is made more difficult by the disloyal, radical Republican members of Congress and the far right media. Our country is being torn apart from within – just as Putin had hoped by supporting the former President.
Will we – and by “we” I mean the country as a whole – support our government when it must finally counter Putin’s actions? Will our allies? Frankly, I have more faith in NATO and the European Parliament than I do Republicans in the US Congress. I hope I'm wrong - we will need them all.
You should not have one iota of faith for the treasonous seditionists and traitors in our government led by tfg. They have no rights to be there anymore. Only Cheney and Kinzinger are pro-America in that group of liars and thugs.
Republicans in the US Congress will support Putin.
However, the USA should NOT send troops to fight for somebody else' Democracyw our own Democracy here is under the constant threat by Republicans of violence.
At the moment, the EU cannot count on the USA to back it up against Russia. That is just a fact.
Allies defending each other is what NATO is all about.
Putin does not believe we will honor our word; the question of who blinks first or, what we do if neither blinks, is likely the subject of a great many phone calls between the US and Europe right now.
I would imagine Chancellor Merkel will weigh in before she leaves office sometime in December, if not publicly, then certainly privately. She has already spoken with Putin once this week and knows him better than most.
Americans and the USA cannot continue to believe we can afford to be at war all the time while our deficit rockets past $30 Trillion, our infrastructure rots and our own Democracy is in shambles.
We cannot pretend to uphold committments to all of the countries in NATO. We are NOT the country we were when NATO was formed.
We are broke, we have spent all of our money on military gadgets and war, and, now? We need to re-invest right here.
Pretending we are the same country we were in 1946?
That smells like irrational, non-data based thinking honestly. Look around. My streets and highways are terrible.
I look at the giant steel structures holding up the electrical wires and they are brown with rust.
We just cannot keep doing only war all the time.
Please don’t assume to know the basis for my thinking.
Agree, R Dooley. Seems to be a lot of contrary, naysaying assumptions on the forum today.
I’m reminded of Don Miguel Luis teaching from The Four Agreements…”Don’t make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.”
Salud R Dooley!
David Herrick
Mike, I'm not sure exactly where you're coming from, but there is so much wrong with your comment, I hardly know where to begin.
I guess I'll start with a few things we agree on. Yes our infrastructure is rotting, but the legislation that passed Congress a few days ago is a very good start on solving that problem. Yes our democracy is in a shambles, for which all of us must shoulder a part of the blame, even if it's the GOP that seems to be applying the coup de grace. True, we cannot afford to be at war all the time, but we have managed somehow to be at war part of the time for much of our nation's existence, a few times for very good and defensible reasons. True, we are not the same country we were when NATO was formed, nor are any of the world's countries as far as I know. Yes, we do need to invest in a lot of things in the US, many of them included in the yet-to-be-passed BBB legislation. Yes, we probably spend too much on armaments and useless bases in the far corners of the world where we have few if any interests worth fighting for. I expect there are lots of other things we agree on, perhaps most things.
But... It is simply not true that we are broke, if the "we" you refer to is our government and/or our nation as a whole. Having debts and being broke are not the same thing, especially for the richest nation on earth whose dollar is the world's common currency, and especially right now when interest rates are historically low and have been for years. (Paul Krugman understands this far better than I do, and his explanations of all this seem reasonable to me.) Our problem is that the enormous and increasing wealth of our nation is very poorly distributed, and this makes it hard for our government to find the cash to do things that really need doing on the domestic front and for the common good. A thorough overhaul of our tax system might help a lot.
I think R. Dooley's comments above, to which yours are a response, are pretty straight-forward and realistic, and I agree with him. The USA still needs to defend Europe against Putin's Russia because the Europeans are our closest friends, with the possible exception of several east Asian nations, Australia, Canada and a few others. We hope these situations on the Russia/Ukraine and Bielorussia/Poland borders will not lead to general war and that diplomatic solutions can be found, but a sudden withdrawal of US forces from Europe would make a peaceful settlement unlikely and possibly bring the world to the edge of Armageddon (if Putin is really crazy.) But I think he's just crazy like a fox.
I have more to say about all this in a response to Mike S. from Rochester's comment.
Agree.
We back up the EU with sanctions on Russia and holds on their American accounts.
And continue to hold cyber crimes committed by Russians up to public light. Go Garland.
“Horrifically, to destabilize the EU and NATO further, Russia and its ally Belarus are weaponizing migrants.” It’s no surprise Tucker would support this…who is paying him ???
I hope the US Troops remain in the U.S. Perhaps, as others have suggested, to
help build infrastructure.
Dad was a World War II vet. Raising the U.S.flag started as a daily morning ritual when he was with us. Every Veteran’s Day he would dress in his Legion uniform and we would cruise on down to the local parade.
Several years ago we were sitting along the parade route when a campaigning Republican threw a promotional koozie at my feet. When I didn’t immediately reach for it, he snidely shouted out:”Pick it up, it won’t hurt you.” I made a note to self:This guy appears to have an attitude so let’s see how it goes if he’s elected.
Fast forward several years and he’s now a Florida House Rep .His self-professed greatest accomplishment is getting a Fl gaming bill passed which facilitates sports betting at your fingertips via an app.
He has also slandered and harassed a local school board member and a number of constituents. He’s proud of the pumpkin his son carved for Halloween with “Let’s Go Brandon”. The next generation ?
I contacted each Republican who voted for the infrastructure bill and thanked them for helping to bring us a better tomorrow.
Today we will spread dad’s ashes…and continue to hope for a better tomorrow.
As soon as it is daylight here in Oregon, I am going to go out and hang the National Colors (normally, they fly all the time, but my wife threw branches off the roof, hit the standard, and knocked it down--quickly picked up--) I repaired the siding yesterday, but since I am forbidden from using ladders or power tools, I will replace my Fallen LEO flag with the National Colors. I'll have to either take it down at sunset, or coerce the rehanging of the standard.
When I do that, I will send a thought to you and your Dad as you scatter his ashes as I also honor my family who served, with a special thought for a Viet Nam veteran friend (female, I might add) who still suffers from her trauma there.
You and your family are the better past, present, and future. Thank you for sharing your story, Kathy. Godspeed to your dad.
What an image, this guy tossing cheap crap to a crowd, then getting snitty about people not groveling for it. That just about says it all.
Kathy, first of all, I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a parent is always heartbreaking. Please accept my condolences. As to the story of the now Florida House Rep....I can only wonder which one it is as we have so many of these crazies here in Florida. This situation is so accurately...and scarily...depicted in the latest book I'm reading: "Laboratories of Autocracy - A Wake up Call from Behind the Lines" by David Pepper. David is from Ohio (held several positions there including chair of the Democratic party) but what he describes is happening all over the country, especially here in Florida. No one has paid attention to the state legislatures but that is where the most danger lies. They control the redistricting/gerrymandering of many, many states. And it is happening right now in state houses all over the country. Please get more information on this by (1) listening to the podcast that David did with the Lincoln project: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9saW5jb2xucHJvamVjdC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/NTJmOTAyZTctY2E2Ni00NDI5LWFhNjktN2UyMTIzMTA2ZDYy , (2) Following David on Twitter @DavidPepper and (3) picking up a copy of his book.
Thanks,Annette ! Despite his dementia Dad was such a grateful and gentle soul until his last earthly breath….and he was a true patriot.
I’ve listened to David Pepper’s podcast and yes, that is exactly what’s happening in FL and Brevard County and it flows upward. I’d wondered how Rick Scott got the NRCS chair as a newbie Senator but $$$ rules.Our local FL House Rep made his millions working in the gaming industry. He’s willing to help constituents (good optics)work through the unemployment filing fiasco.( thanks in great part to Rick Scott)but not so wiling to encourage a call for a special session to fix that whole hot mess for a long-term solution.
I don’t know what the answer is and I’m not on social media so my influence is very limited. But I do remember David Pepper saying to,support those who are doing the right thing..
So we’ll all keep fighting the good fight…in our own way…but just keep fighting !
I’m sorry for your loss, Kathy.
Yesterday a friend texted me saying none of his friends want to be reminded of January 6th. That dwelling on it was like beating a dead horse. This came after I forwarded Heather’s letter. Later in the day my husband handed me his Economist magazine saying I should read Lexington. The essay pointed out how many of the people who follow Trump’s shadow are ivy leaguers—oh sure I thought—people who love power. The so-called friend is a white man who lives in a gorgeous mansion by the sea and who made a ton of money in the securities industry. He lives in a wealthy enclave north of Boston. I guess they’re just somewhat fat and happy and see our democracy going Biden’s way as a threat to their way of life. How shortsighted and selfish is that? How piggish and ignorant. When I encounter him again I’ll be pleasant enough but I have lost a certain respect that I once had for him.
Ah, shortsighted, fat, white males are the history of our country are they not? Remember plantations? Remember the guilded age?
America has served, very well, rich, fat, white guys over its history. Very well indeed.
They controlled it all. And their time to step down into being part of humanity has come. They are petrified.
This is happening all over America, and not just among the rich Ivy Leaguers
Yes, because what Biden wants to do costs them. They don’t want to pay.
Since President Biden’s election the stock market(S&P) has increased 27%. This fat cat should be wallowing in dough [Jobba the Hut had predicted a stock market crash, if Biden won.] As an Ivy Leaguer (Yale, Penn, plus MIT), I can assure you that those of us who learned critical thinking are not necessarily like this Lexington reprobate. Also serving my country for a decade and being involved in my local government for 15 years make me appreciate the true soul of America for which we all should strive to enhance.
Who is really paying Tucker Carlson? Follow the (Russian) money and stop this traitor.
A lobotomy would serve Tucker Carlson very well.
How would we tell?
He'd be drooling whilst talking and not sound like he'd snorted a line of coke during a commercial break.
True ‘dat, Daria. Hahahahahahaha. I’ve had plenty of “tuckems” as young students. It’s always self esteem and “I’m the best” with them, not self worth. Classic definition of a brat. I just find it astounding that so many Bigs (a term I use for adults in my writings on “Littles” and behavior) have still not figured out the Achilles heel of brats and bullies and continue to cater to their obsequious need for attention.
I swear, Christine, if Carlson's fans would just listen to his lunacy for what it is for just 5 minutes they'd realize he is a brat and totally off his rocker.
It might improve him.
Good one, Penelope!
The Murdochs, for three (if you add Putin).
Good morning everyone. Nice to read HCR on foreign policy issues--even though they do ultimately turn around oleaginous house ferrets like Paul Manafort and Co. Surprised she didn't add Giuliani into the mix, as he was also involved in trying to keep Yanukovych in power. I am sorry to say that the "longue duree" history of Eastern Europe doesn't bode well for democratic institutions except in certain very specific areas, such as the Czech Republic (historically, Bohemia), which consistently pushed against imperial rule by the Teutonic Knights (the precursors of Prussia), the Holy Roman Empire/Kingdom of Hungary, and the German Empire. The citizens of Prague made their political views known by throwing opponents out the window of the town hall--the most famous defenestration of 1618, which supposedly started the Thirty Years' War, being only one of such actions. There are all kinds of people I would love to see tossed out of windows these days.
The rest of eastern Europe has been autocratic in complexion pretty much since the arrival of the Kievan Rus'--a combo of Germanic, Finno-Ugric, and Slavic groups who went a-Viking into the region and established a kingdom in the 9th century. Just as the so-called Arab Spring taught, the creation of functioning democracies is not an easy or short-term process. Tearing down the Iron Curtain in no way sufficed to convert those populations into democratically-inclined folks. It could be argued that there have been virtually no successful functioning democracies since the destruction of the Iroquois Confederation. Certainly Athens was not one, since about 10% of the population actually participated in the rule by the "demos."
Humans generally find it hard to do hard stuff. Maintaining democracies and empathy are two very hard things to sustain. It is far easier to fall back on dog-whistles and autocracy because then you can cluster with your tribe and complain about everyone else. For those wondering about the execrable Josh Hawley's motivations for proclaiming that "masculinity" (which he refuses to define) is "under attack" by all of us dangerous witchy feminists, there's your answer.
Always look for your voice, Linda. Good morning. Slippery as oil ferrets indeed. Not sure what to tie up Manafort and Giuliani with. They manage to weasel their way out of any boundary. Perhaps fry them on the griddle of justice instead? I can hear the sizzle now. A reckoning beckons.
Thanks Linda Mitchell for giving historic context for this deeply manipulated standoff, with the statement,
"there have been virtually no successful functioning democracies since the destruction of the Iroquois Confederation."
Prof Richardson gave us something to think about with her close:
“If the world’s leading democracy doesn’t believe in its own values, why should dictators even bother paying lip service to them? We must defend these principles that inspire advocates of liberty and provide a crucial check on tyrants.”
Our plutocrats are winning and the rest of us are given a cloak of righteousness while "our" values are so far from practice as to be a joke.
I, too, appreciated the Iriqouis Confederation reference. Perhaps we can still find a soul for our American democracy in its first humans roots.
Your post is fabulous, thank you for your thumbnail presentation of Eastern European history. I know so little about it that it is embarrassing, and you give me a spark to learn some more.
Humans do tend to take the easy way out and avoid the hard stuff. Your explanation of "clustering with your tribe and complaining about everyone else" is awesome.
The vague threat to "masculinity" by us "dangerous witchy feminists" is one that I had not heard before. It may be manifest in some inabilities to acknowledge that men and women serve our country in uniform (or can play in the band; I SO HATE getting called "the boys in the band").
Yesterday, NPRs On Point, reviewed China's increasing aggressive acts towards Taiwan and the difficult position that puts the US in for defending democratic nations in the Asian Pacific, plus that half of the world's semiconductors are made in Taiwan. This capacity is not being duplicated or replaced anywhere in western democracies. And our defense systems as well as industries and daily life depend on semiconductors from Taiwan.
Trump Republicans attacks on the US are aiding and abetting both Russia and China.
The US Army needs to stay home for a while. I think we have done enough of saving the world since WW II.
Let's save ourselves.
South China sea, Ukraine, and our own democracy problems at home. Thank you professor, for the documentation, Food for thought.
Semiconductors used to be made here in America. We need to bring the manufacture back here for reasons of both national and economic security.
I heard the only factory we have not sold out to China is the one who makes our tanks.
Putin has a pattern. Where there is a crisis, exploit it and make it harder on your enemies, as he did in Syria, shelling cities. Adding millions of refugees to flood European countries. Then fund the right wings in those countries to criticize democratic leader’s humanitarian effort to stabilize the crisis.
In Ukraine, there wasn’t a crisis, so Putin manufactures one, then he will claim solving it and while doing so whip up the Nationalism domestically.
“When citizens can be kept uncertain by the regular manufacture of crisis, their emotions and behavior can be managed and directed”.- Solkov
I am a mental health professional. The strategies and tactics you outline are exactly the same as the strategies and tactics of domestic abusers. Manufactured crises, exploiting needs, and continual unbalance, keep the victimized looking toward the victimizer to stop doing what they are doing. The victimizer doesn't stop, because their actions work for them. And they have no interest in the person they are dominating, other than to use them.
And persistent gaslighting, to keep the victimized doubting their own perceptions, experiences.
And every single time the Biden Administration takes a big step forward something pops up. I firmly believe there are FRP* members who are connected to Russia.
*Fascist Republican Party
Yup.
This describes the Trumpublicans obstruction strategy
Exactly.
Sounds familiar .
It is.
Ukraine is not our problem. The US has plenty enough issues for our military to deal with. Put those young men to work building infrastructure instead.
IF we send our troops to Ukraine we all have dirt for brains.
No one has suggested USA military solutions. President Biden has much more effective finacial weapons at his disposal. But I agree - military responses only enrich military industrialists (and their congressional pawns).
On this Veterans Day, I remember and salute every dang one of them. This is my home country of choice. And I thank our troops for defending democracy throughout what is now centuries, as flawed as systems of governance may be. May the freedom that we fight for bring peace to the generations ahead so that they flourish in that peace.
Love and Light on this day.
Salud! 🙋🏻🙋🏼🙋🏽🙋🏾🙋🏿
Thanks for the great explanation. Being with a Lithuanian lady whose mother got the family out ten steps ahead of Stalin in 1945, I've definitely heard a lot about the wonders of Russia.
Yes. I’m descended from one grandma that got her family out ten steps ahead of fascist control.
Another thing I love about our “melting pot”. Some good stuff in our DNA.
Mine did too, but it was for a war 350 years ago.
You will hear more from Trump and his lovers too. Putin is telling them what to say now.
Has been for decades
yep. i agree.
As succinct a history of the region as I have read anywhere, so thanks (as always!). -- Let's hope that the economic sanctions and threats of even more will dissuade Putin from trying to use military force. The EU and NATO need to hang tough and undo the harm to these alliances caused by Trump.