Tfg doesn’t care that he’s dealing with a hostile country while he’s “running” for president. It’s all about acquiring more money and power. It’s all about the grift.
Fox News does not appear to be reporting today's good information about Trump on his knees at the feet of the Saudi Prince (or any Saudi with money or anyone with money to give him period).
Hence, all 73 million people who voted for him are not aware of that fact and Trump love remains a significant threat to our society, along with Fox News (and, Trump love may, again, ruin a few Thanksgiving dinners).
Those 73 million people ARE aware, however, that there was tremendous "voter fraud" in the last election and by God they are going to make sure it does not happen again.
Rupert has not rejected chump, he has hedged his bets. He burnished chump’s image with not a whiff of truth from the moment Jeb Bush flamed out. Chump’s bottomless pit of Saudi money puts the heads of evil on a swivel…
It’s an error to assume that T___p’s voters only get information from Fox News, or that they are uninformed about what goes on. Remember what happens when we assume.
Most of them have no idea. They just follow what their friends say. They have a big base in Clay County, Indiana. Most have no clue what is happening in the USA...except that gasoline to fill their pickup trucks with their TFG flags flying from the back. They have no idea that the Republicans in Indiana government raised the gasoline tax! Oh yes, they are upset that Thanksgiving dinner this year according to the local news will cost them an extra less than $12.00 over the cost last year. Of couse that is President Biden's fault. Those on the news complaining do not look like they are having trouble getting food. Most should be on a diet! Shame on me!
I just read the end of your post more closely. I am a Hoosier escapee living in Oregon and I did smile. I haven't been to Indiana in a few years, but when I was a regular visitor, I noticed quantity and not quality was the watch word. My parents used to take us to a fried chicken place in Michigan and it was huge platters of fried chicken and sides being chowed down by overweight people. My relatives (many of whom are overweight) post pictures of food full of calories and desserts that no one should ever eat. I just sigh.
Given what I see on other threads, most of them have no clue and some of them go deliberately looking for items they can post which tear down anything knowledgable people are doing. They want to own the libs and often hear dreck from their pastors who in my opinion, are merely on power trips.
DeSantis did the same in FL. Just before Election Day, FL State gasoline/diesel taxes were added back on to the cost at the pump. MAGAts believed it was Biden’s fault.
Not sure where you get that notion Jon. In my experience, that is exactly true, for the most part. Quite a while back I would tune in to Fox News every now and again just to study the enemy, or listen to Rush on the radio. No longer. I just could not stand it anymore. The extent of the lies and mischaracterizations became too much to take. I felt violated. So now it is MSNBC, CNN, WaPo, etc for me, with no input what so ever from the likes of Fox, OAN, Drudge, WSJ opinion, etc. You could not pay me to listen or watch news from those sources. I think the opposite is true of the Trumpian crowd.
What I meant was that it's a mistake to generalize, and also that we underestimate our opponents at our peril. And stereotypes are wrong, and can be dangerous. Note for instance that Ron DeSatan and Stewart Rhodes (on trial for sedition now) went to Yale Law.
Perhaps it is Yale and Harvard we should blame. They allow the Federalist Society to set up shop there to indoctrinate law students in “their” way of thinking. These lawyers basically sign a lifetime pledge to FS, which means now whatever Leonard Leo commands, goes.
IMHO, the fact that such individuals have attended and graduated from such storied institutions proves they are well schooled, but not necessarily well educated.
I agree with you for the most part, but when it comes to immigration, the NYT, NPR, etc., (although not the WaPo anymore) function as PR for "immigration advocates" while Fox, Washington Examiner, and others of that ilk often write the (often true--and available on the Center for Immigration Studies website--CIS.org0 the leading think tank on immigration) stuff that's not appearing on NPR et al.
I wrote to the NPR public editor. After writing me back, sounding like she saw my points, she had one of her "assistants" interview me. The young woman--daughter of immigrants--practically refused to believe that someone with my views could be a Democrat, and insisted that the Center for Immigration Studies was a nefarious, untrustworthy organization (they frequently testify before Congress, and when the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's premier scientific organization, did their 2016 study on The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration, NAS chose CIS as its outside reviewer). (I had told the young woman that NPR needed to interview people from CIS in order to get information on immigration that would give listeners a much more complete story.)
It's mixed, with staffers on both sides of the aisle. Jerry Kammer, a Pulitzer-prize winning former journalist, now on the staff of CIS, and author of the recent book, Losing Control: How Left-Right Coalition Blocked Immigration Reform and Provoked the Backlash That Elected Trump, would fit right in among HCR's readers.
Reasons I oppose mass immigration: 1) mass immigration leads to an oversupply of labor, which is why Mark Zuckerberg, the Koch organization, and big biz generally support it, and why I oppose it. I come from a family that has supported American workers on both sides (my great uncle ran the Colorado Democratic Party for most of the first half of the 1900s. 2) I studied environmental issues in a 1975 UC Berkeley class taught by John Holdren, later Pres O's Science Advisor, in which I also learned about climate change. The US population is currently environmentally unsustainable at current levels of consumption and climate change is fast worsening that unsustainability.
As for the SPLC they are well known for tarring people and groups with opposing ***political*** views with their hate group moniker, a strategy adopted by Morris Dees, whose main interest was making money (there was an article in the left-wing Nation about that).
IF CIS were a genuine hate group, don't you think the National Academy of Sciences would have avoided having it as an outside reviewer of their 2016 immigration study, as I mentioned in my previous comment?
In his book, Kammer writes about the failure of an NPR and an NYT reporter to investigate SLPC's "hate group" claim about CIS:
"...Joel Rose of NPR and Nicholas Kulish of the New York Times... reported the reputational assault on CIS as if it were the well-considered judgment of a responsible arbiter. Neither subjected it even to a rudimentary credibility check."
"I thought of a pertinent admonition from one of the heroes of modern journalism, the late Murray Marder of the Waashington Post. In the 1950s, Marder broke away from the pack of reporters who spread the hysterical red-baiting accusations of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. "The press can't simply report flatfooted a smearing accusation against someone's loyalty," said Marder. "The press should ask the accuser, "what do you mean? What justification do you have? That's real work, and it's called journalism."
"There was no such skepticism in the work of Joel Rose, despite NPR's commitment, spelled out in the NPR Ethics Handbook, to "rigorously challenge... the claims that we encounter," and to "take special care with news that might cause grief or damage reputations." Nor at the New York Times..."
"But Rose did nothing to examine the accuracy of Beirich's claims. This gaping hole in his story was a flagrant violation of NPR's commitment to rigorous reporting, which its Ethics Handbook makes explicit under the heading "These are the standards of our journalism."
You are, of course correct. However, we can also not deny the impact that Fox News minus the Fairness Doctrine, eliminated by Reagan, has had on America.
Whewww.. "votor fraud"... sounds like a job for Rottenman....taaataataaaadoooshhhh... whoa-lo... it's Kyle..inflated by the mutant-reprobates of the big R... here he comes.
But don't laugh folks. Education may actually result in a behavioral change. Look out.
Education can indeed result in behavioral change. I have a very good friend, a former special ops guy (Rangers), former fire chief in his home town after the military, actually the definition of the guy you want beside you in an emergency. And a solid conservative. Until he went back to college. He majored in Cold War and Russian Studies (since he had a lot of first hand experience) and came out a flaming liberal. Still has his beliefs about service (that should be nonpartisan) and even the Krazies in SOF still respect him to the point they elected him national vice president of the Ranger association a few years back. But he came out of school with - as he said - "my eyes open."
Mary, you compared the behavior of our president, Joseph R. Biden, with that of the last one. I did the same, covering two very different situations, which elicited the following quotes.
After one of Bidens's debates with the former president, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to condemn white supremacists and militia groups, and Biden interjected to mention the Proud Boys in particular, Trump said: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”
‘… the president and First Lady Jill Biden had a “Friendsgiving” dinner this afternoon at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, with service members and military families, greeting them table by table and then thanking both the “best fighting force in the history of the world” and those at home who, in the words of poet John Milton, “stand and wait.” (Letter)
Mary As an American who was a ‘sucker’ and almost a ‘loser’ in service to his country, I am not surprised that Bone Spur Donald is wallowing in Arab bakshesh (pay offs) while President Biden and his wife are honoring American servicemen
I recall why the widow of John McCain—a military hero—excluded Trump from the funeral service at Washington Cathedral. Trump, a coward and a bully, would have been unwelcome.
We have a Thanksgiving blessing upon us. The opportunity to support Senator Warnock’s re-election in Georgia. Do whatever you can do to support the people of Georgia voting to give a true majority to the Democrats in the Senate. Very important for approval of judicial appointments without time delays.
More importantly, a Senator that is competent…..or not.
Leigh McGowan, Politics Girl, just posted a sizzlin’ account from her kitchen.
It continues to amaze me that tens of millions of Americans who have lost family members in wars actually support, defend, and even worship this guy -- despite his being so outspoken about his contempt for THEM/their families.
I remember all too well watching the news as millions of the Orange Sadist's followers cheered when he said that not paying taxes "makes me smart, right? Right!" These are the same ones (who despite having served in the military and/or having family members who served in the military, voted for him despite calling soldiers -- serving, imprisoned, or dead -- "losers" and "suckers". I've always wondered: "What were they thinking?!"
Jesus was isolated enough to not know about Hindus, but if he did he would respect those who cared for others in the name of any "faith" but would not be pleased with "religion", he did overturn the money tables in the temple after all. And preached good news to the poor....
I am reading this to mean how did Gandhi feel about Hindus.....not Hindu enough as he was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist extremist when India was separating from Pakistan and he was working for equitable solutions. We can thank the Brits for a lot of the problems that ensued when they (finally) left the subcontinent.
Well, he was Jewish and better understood in that context. He was everything the so-called "Christians" are not. I suspect he would be very busy throwing moneychangers out of the Temple and calling out Pharisees.
Jean-Pierre, with deep sadness I find myself in acknowledgement with you on that possibility, at least to the far-right fundamentalist evangelical white nationalist community. A terrible pronouncement to consider.
On the other hand, it is equally possible that believers who are caught up in his love--for the marginalized and outcast, the persecuted and lame, the victims of all kinds and causes--would doubtless recognize Jesus through no matter what disguise, as they know him in those to whom they humbly minister.
We (some of us) are taught that to "find" Jesus we must not look for him in palaces or halls of power. He will not be there. We will find him among the lowest of the low..."what you do to the least of these, you do to me..." If one really reads the Gospels and what he is recorded as saying, one is continually confronted with so many uncomfortable truths that so many modern day Christians tend to ignore. He would undoubtedly be reviled by the right as a "woke radical socialist", which is why they will never see him. He wouldn't set foot in their churches. He doesn't seek glory or praise. He would urge people to use their energies and wealth to help fellow human beings, and, as I am directed in my baptismal covenant, "to respect the dignity of every human being." As you said, it's about love...love your neighbor as yourself, and people just cannot seem to understand that. I don't always succeed, but I do try. It is certainly not easy to "love your enemy" this day and time--the recent tragic event in Club Q in Colorado would sorely test anyone's capacity to feel that way. That showed what hate can do. We cannot react with even more hatred. Jesus tells us to resist it or we will die in it. Trying times indeed...
Exactly, Bruce! Hatred betrays Christianity. The hypocrisy and double standards of some so-called Christians is what drove me away from organized religion and its churches.
Brought up very young as Episcopalian. Went to a Quaker Boarding school where I learned there is a part of god in every man. Hard to see that in many. I haven’t had any church affiliation in about 50 years. I now live my life picking the values of religions, Marine integrity and brother/sisterhood and the example of animals from wolves to my cat. I try to care, help, be compassionate and lead a worthy life.
He'd have a hard job finding anyone following his teachings. On the other hand, he'd find hypocrites everywhere, the ones he said looked fine from the outside but were really tombs full of carrion.
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Good to see you posting, Allen. Wishing you, Tanya and Lucky a blessed Thanksgiving. I am sure that there are a lot of heavy thoughts and worries in your mind, I hope knowing that the entire world is watching the Ukraine can give you some peace.
Nelson Mandela, Bishop Curry and so many others. Open up a bit and appreciate those who are not of interest to the media much but do follow seriously the teachings, as we like to say we take the Bible seriously but not literally. Take a look at Faith in Public Life. rev William Barber, repairers of the Breach, and the Poor Peoples Campaign with Liz Theo-Harris, Bishop Vashti MacKenzie Interim General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, and so many other progressive Christians laboring in the vineyards but the media does not find them interesting unless they do something outrageous. When Was on the staff of the National Council of Churches and the Ecumenical (progressive) community had a press conference in DC the media would rarely show up. They are enthralled with hypocrites, like their addiction to quoting DJT. Sad but true. Bring back the Fairness Doctrine! (Look it up, equal time)
There are, indeed, many churches who have failed to focus on the message of love, acceptance, valuing diversity, tolerance, and kindness that Jesus brought to his society.
But, when I grew up in East Texas, you would be surprised at the many folks I met, interacted with, worked for and worked with, who role modeled, for the most part, the values that Jesus brought.
Those old Baptist Churches, both black and white, DID offer some scorching sermons about the evils of alcohol (I don't disagree), how easy it is to stray off the the path of "righteousness". Those churches did offer some judgemental pronouncements (sex before marriage may get you placed in hell, and, honestly, given some of the outcomes I am now aware of, maybe that is true).
However, many, many of the people I grew up with were the most kind people of my life.
I left East Texas at age 18 for college. Since then, I have had the good fortune to work at reasonably paying jobs, but, the bad fortune to live in cities and suburbs.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you the worst behaviors, nastiest people, least trustworthy folks I have encountered are right in those nice, all white, suburbs......and......LOTS of them do not go to church.
I think, on balance, if you want to find a Christian behaving as Jesus taught, the probability of finding one in a Christian church is higher than finding one in an all white suburb raising hell about his neighbor's grass or his neighbor's house color or his neighbor period (might be the wrong "sort" of neighbor).
While raised in the lower middle class suburbs of a big city in the North, I was taken to a Southern Baptist church by my grandparents. The congregation were all transplants from rural Kentucky who had migrated to get jobs in the auto industry. While they may have been very kind to those who belonged, they were very cruel if you hadn't been "saved," or if, like me, your parents had left the church. It was like a club that only supported its own members. The ladies talked about me and my family right in front of me, and once when I went back after a long absence, the Sunday school teacher looked at me, and changed her lesson for the day, having each girl talk about when she got saved and baptized. She asked me last because she knew I would have to say, "I haven't been," and they would all look at me with pity or scorn. I never went back. Sure do miss the music, though.
Janet, Thanx for telling the inside truth about the Southern Baptists judgment, hypocrisy, sanctimony and rabid cruelty. At the age of 9, I was Baptized at the St. Louis Park Baptist Church. Even then I saw thru the hypocrisy of religion, when another kid threatened to beat me up after Sunday School.
Since then I have seen too much racism, xenofobia, misogyny and un-Christian hatred by Southern Baptists and other organized "Christian" churches. My own uncle, who was a deacon in his Southern Baptist church in rural Mississippi was a member of the KKK. WWJD? is a valid question for these Poser Christians.
Morning Mike! I had a very similar experience growing up in rural NH. There were no suburbs in NH then, as there were no communities big enough to be a suburb of. What we had were lots of churches. Irish and French Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Congregationalist, Methodist, Baptist, LDS, Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Friends (Quaker), and Temple Israel - all standing within a few blocks of each other in a town (City by NH standards) of 20,000.
No one said WWJD? Instead, most expressed their faith in everyday actions of kindness, hard work, and cooperation.
I have found folks not grounded in some type of faith in something larger than themselves to be much more likely to get lost in judgement (aka hypocrisy, aka pride), anxiety (fear), and limited thinking (sloth). This is a recipe for sanctimony at best, but can also lead to rabid cruelty.
I do not know what Jesus would think about the state of our world. I do know I need to attend to my own spiritual condition using the sage lessons practiced by all those people in all the churches of the town I grew up in.
Which is why the founding fathers saw the potential conflicts when members of different faiths implored them to be sure to include their religion in the Constitution. Solution? Freedom of religion and separation of church and state. No losers, all winners. Fast forward to today's conservative Supreme Court - maybe they need a lesson in Originalism.
Jack, Religion...faith is a personal thing....deeply personal. It's fruits should be seen in the way the individual lives....I hope my faith honors my Savior but too often I am reminded how much I need to reexamine myself and to be reminded of His demonstraton of sacrificial love towards me and towards everyone. My Savior is a gentleman; He never forces His way into our lives, into our hearts. That deep personal faith within an imperfect creation forces me to look to Him......to experience His love and forgiveness over and over again.
The Jesus I know has allowed me to reject Him but has never left me.....He is "my all in all".
I have a responsibility to love and encourage those He places in my life: to forgive as I have been forgiven, to feed the hungry, to encourage the prisoner, to listen to and comfort friend or stranger who shares with me...to support good according to His standards, not from an organization that may try to use me to vote a certain way for a particular candidate...etc
"I do not know what Jesus would think about the state of our world. I do know I need to attend to my own spiritual condition using the sage lessons practiced by all those people in all the churches of the town I grew up in."
Well said. The entirety of Christianity cannot/ should not be defined by the radical evangelicals that misappropriate Jesus’ teachings. Stereotyping Christianity , or any religion based on anecdotal hypocrisy is a logical failure
Condemn those who fail at living the Word, but don’t pre judge the rest
Jesus"s teachings inspired me to be good, charitable, kind, honest, fair, healing, and an advocate for those who could not advocate for themselves. And that there is a strength, a spirit, beyond just me, that I can draw on for support and guidance. The Catholic Church's Christian teachings instructed me to be scared (was it Sister Alfrieda, Sister Humiliana or Sister Bunonia who told us 7 year olds that we would be struck dead if we received communion if we had a mortal sin on our souls), obedient to tyrants with wooden rulers, and to always honor men above women. So I became a Jesusist.
I am not only Catholic, I worked for the church for 11 years, product of Catholic school religious sisters. I have to say, though, I now have a much better appreciation of what Jesus taught and what it means to be of service to my fellow humans after many conversations with priests and, above all, with religious sisters who display a deep spirituality with pragmatism. One taught me I did not work for the bishop, who was respected only for the position he held and nothing else, but for Jesus. In other words, look over the heads of the hierarchy.
Yes. In highschool we had a much better order of nuns, as you so eloquently describe, with "a deep spirituality with pragmatism." I was then mostly able to unlearn what the first set taught me before graduating.
Kristin, I'm glad you are happy, but I hope you don't mean you live in Myanmar, a Buddhist country, where the Rhohingya have been so brutalized. We should not blame Buddha for what people do any more than we should blame Jesus for what people who self-describe as Christians do to harm others.
Agreed. I am distinguishing between the heart of good teachings and good models on the one hand and what corrupt and ignorant people do with them on the other.
I have friends in Myanmar who are suffering terribly under the military government but I don’t live in that country. I’m sure the military government officials aren’t Buddhists.
I am not Catholic, but have a patron Saint, Francis and made a pilgrimage to Assisi Italy in 1975. I am not Christian, but in 1970 living in the woods in my shack read the 4 books of gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke & John by kerosene lamp and saw how it fit with my Buddhist leanings at the time. My Puja table had icons of Meher Baba, Buddha, St. Francis with Muslim & Hindu prayer beads from my travels to India. I am still Agnostic with strong Atheist leanings as I have been since my teen years.
All those Religions have their own dreadful histories of hate & cruelty & murder despite their teachings otherwise. And that continues today.
I have a highschool friend who went to the seminary for 1 year. The seminarians were required to take their turns serving dinner to the priests, whose chef prepared lavish 4 course meals with a different wine for each course. The nuns made their own macaroni and cheese. My friend left with no respect for priests.
I was the minute taker at our non-profit board of directors meetings. One of the Jewish board members once addressed me as the Scribe. I took it as an honor. :)
The religion of Jesus was Judaism. Christianity is a religion about Jesus. But I get your meaning here. I'm not even sure what a Christian is anymore. From what I've read, mostly in the synoptics, Jesus wouldn't be happy at all with many of those who currently claim that title. Frankly, I think things really took a slide from Constantine on. The practice of using the power of the state to force a religion down the throats of others is called constantinianism. Ironic huh?
I wasn't going to add this, but JC wasn't necessarily a good guy, and in many ways his followers reflect this. I attended a parochial school run by Southern Baptist Evangelicals. I call myself a parochial school survivor. That term is delivered without a smile. I survived, but barely. I remember well the division between the sexes, the mind games, the twisted reasoning, the abuse. So many people say the Right aren't Christians, but in my experience and study (MS Comp Religion), I find they are indeed following in their leader.
Matthew 10:34-36
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Problem with quoting the New Testament is that we don't always know who wrote, or said, what. Then you have the problem of scribes who would add in things in places, or out and out change things. Add to that the fact that none of the books were written at the time Jesus lived. This corruption of the text makes it difficult to impossible to discern who Jesus was. Translation from Koine Greek to English also takes it's toll. So at best we get a blurry outline. Because of all of this Jesus is a bit of a Rorschach blot. People tend to see what they want.
Yeah.. Jesus, perfect name. Victim of circumstance. I just want to know who compiled 'that book'...., naa not the manuscript.., the un-adulterated version. And later.., much later, the leather-bound editions. Who transcribed all that intricate /interwoven detail? Into English no less. Who was the chiseler-in-chief on those stones, during the BC era? And during the AD era? Were they gay or straight..poor?.. Some, no doubt. Don't get me wrong folks, I learned a lot from my Mother reading me Golden Books and Mark Twain (I was really amused with "Letters from the Earth"). Christmas cometh. Such a tender time of year, not to be corrupted with news(?) about the degenerate-in-chief or the exploits of mr. rottenhous. Thank you.
Indeed, He would have been a rabbi. Honestly, some of us would say these right wing dangerous so called "Christian" nationalists are not Christians either. (See Carter Heyward: "The & Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism") Yes, THE Rev Carter Heyward, PhD, episcopal Priest ordained with the Philadelphia eleven in 1974, the first women to be ordained in the Episcopal Church, a scandal at the time. I was grateful to participate in the 25 anniversary celebration, also in Philly.
I’m sad that our Supreme Court has been trashed by those who place their agenda above the law.
The fact republicans focus on Hunter Biden while ignoring the trump family grifts shows they don’t really care about our country. It highlights their pettiness, lack of integrity, and unwillingness to do the important work. I believe (hope) voters will remember.
I've been thinking the same Ginni. Their priorities are more of a grade school mindset and I don't understand why more people don't see this. Why don't any of those Trumpers see that the R's have no other agenda then to take down the Democrats and vote against anything the Dem's are for? What a waste of time.
I agree. The Jared Kushner $2 Billion "investment" from the Saudi Fund / MBS is fishy, to be polite. Where is the Dem outrage and investigations regarding Kushner's gross monetizing of his (unelected) service in the White House at the highest level and with apparent authority of Trump?
I now better understand why the nation's highest court doesn't have a formal code of ethics and doesn't want one.
Instead of investigating the court's second leak centering on reproductive rights, perhaps Roberts should initiate an investigation into his fellow, hypocritical, right-wing colleagues.
Deborah, if you go to Sheldon Whitehouse's youtube page you will find that corruption on the Supreme Court is the norm now and evagelicals are probably the least influential.
The Federalist Society has Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh as their paid servants on the court. These four crawl, mewling, on their knees to the Federalist Society to ask how to rule on every case.
Leaking some stuff at a dinner? That is a pittance of the corruption the above four are involved in at this point.
I gave been following Senator Whitehouse's talks in the Senate on his research I to the capturing of the Supreme Court. I believe he is now coming out with a book on the subject.
I am hoping that the new revelations in the news will give his work more attention, and that we will see some investigations done by the legislative branch. But they'd better hurry! Come January, it will be nothing but Hunter Biden's laptop for 2 years!😡🤮
It makes me so sick... another page in the democracy for dummies handbook. The Court, TFG, and all the helper elves seem to get away with it all.... sad
I am a huge fan of John Adams. He studied ALL of the past forms of government, reading by the hour and the day after day to learn about them.
He, himself, participated in the Boston assembly and gained experience with representative government and met John Hancock who employed him as a lawyer.
John Adams was an incredible, incredible man.
HOWEVER, when the 1st "convention" in Philadelphia occured PRIOR to the revolutionary war, his employer, John Hancock, who was an "illegal" rum runner into Boston Harbor, helped to fund that convention.
Now, WHY did they all meet in in Philadelphia? Well, Hancock was angry that he was being taxed on his illegal rum running. He wanted to NOT be taxed. He made his complaints that he was taxed without representation.
So, he funded his employee, John Adams, who had represented him unsuccesfully to the British government to go off and form government where:
John Hancock would pay no tax on his rum running. Now, after the revolution, did Hancock pay taxes. No. However, it is possible that he helped fund the fledgling United States, but, George Washington was constantly angry about lack of funds.
So, I am guessing Hancock never paid any taxes.
So, in some ways, "corruption" is built in to the founding of our country.
I appreciate your knowledge of history... I have so much to learn. Sometimes it's overwhelming... I just purchased the new book about Samuel Adams, and I'm chomping at the bit!
Thank you for putting Dnipro on the map for me--sorry it took this awful war to educate Americans on Eastern European geography and history. Best wishes for safety in your travels home.
And all of you please keep fighting. America is worth saving. It has been 20 years since I last crossed the border. It would be good to feel safe doing it again
Please keep us up to date as to how Lucky is doing. At your convenience. I can't imagine our Sophie making such a journey. Lucky sounds more confident :)
Hopefully there will come a time when it will be peaceful enough for you all to consider a return trip or return to Ukraine. Glad you are here with us, a real connection to the history playing out in your homeland.
We are in the Frankfurt Airport waiting for our counters to open so we can check in. We arrive in Regina at 12:30 am Nov 23rd. Lucky will arrive at 5:30 am. Reunions in heaven will never be as joyful.
Leaving him yesterday in the care of strangers was difficult for all concerned. It had never happened before. Nothing on this trip ever happened to him before. He is a very smart boy so has learned many new things very quickly.
We stayed at a good hotel and had a good supper to celebrate the last day of our 12 day journey.
I will stay at a friend's place in Regina with Lucky until we move into a small house with a yard and that will be home for the foreseeable future.
Tanya will buy a big comfortable bed for Lucky. And I will sleep in it because he will sleep with Tanya in our Queen bed. I have pictures to prove it. Ask Fern.
My thanks to Fern and Rowshan for posting stuff to keep you up-to-date. Tanya and I and our "$10,000" dog appreciate your support so much. It has been an adventure. A fried on FB has suggested I write a kids book called Luckys Big Adventure. I think I will do that. I have both an illustrator and someone with publishing knowledge in my family. Maybe sales from the book will help pay for his big adventure.
I'm so happy you, Tanya, and Lucky will soon be able to rest and snug in for the winter safe and sound. 🎉And I'd be more than happy to buy a couple of copies of Lucky's Big Adventure for the children's section of my local library. I had to laugh at your comment about the dog co-opting the bed. 😆 I've bought Big Barker beds for my large breed dogs and they're more expensive - and more comfortable - than what I usually bought for myself. I will say the dogs are disgruntled when they find me stretched out on their bed vs the other way around.
Nothing like a warm snuggly dog to press up against you on a chilly night. Our Kimmy will wake up with us in the morning and offer her belly for a nice rub. She’s a pocket pit bull with a very short coat and a rather bare underside.
Here’s to every success on the last leg of your journey, Allen!! May your reunion with Lucky be the sweetest ever and may you find a lovely home for the three of you post haste. Blessings❣️
Oh Allen. Definitely write that book. So fabulous.
Think of you and yours every single day. So glad you have found Substack as one way to communicate with supporters. So love your courage and your grit. You and Tanya and Lucky are a formidable team.
Please do the book, Allen. It will be a way for today's youngest children to know about what happened in Ukraine...as we here have had a personal window through your sharing during this ordeal. Godspeed!
And my daughter is a a voice actor who does audio books, and I suspect she could either record it for you or connect you to someone else who would do it probono. Tell the Ukraine story through the eyes of your dog so children will grow up insisting on peace.
Allen, I don't mean to add stress to your already incredibly stressful year--but please do write that book!
For me (maybe for many here) this year has been a rollercoaster! We get good news, we get bad news on the national front. I am so incredibly sick of tfg and all the GOP already! I could really use a break from political campaigns but here we are launched already.
Your story of your journey is a light of hope that I think we all appreciate--not at all overlooking all the terror the Ukrainian people are going through, not overlooking the anguish you have felt leaving friends behind.--but your safe arrival does lighten the heart.
Talked me into it. I'll run it past my youngest daughter who is a teacher librarian in a middle high school in London and my second youngest who is a Professor of Victorian Lit at the U of S. Both are knowledgeable in kids lit.
That Supreme Court Historical Society is nothing but corruption. One gets invited to join and participate in events by making a substantial cash donation to the organization.
No, no, no, that's not dark money, that's free speech being exercised! They told us so in their Citizen's United decision...🙄 🧐 😡
I remain perplexed that if we must live with that decision why we (congress?) can't require that the "speaker" of that "free speech" must be identified?
Seems like the foxes ( SCOTUS) are guarding the hen house ( Democratic law and justice)
Religion has seeped its way in and the righteousness of the court , the very thing the original constitutional founders warned us about, is co-opting and corrupting… a seeping spreading stain
Professor, thank you for accurately sorting out the 2014 Hobby House-Schenck-Alioto insider information machinations & subsequent attempted merger of church & state in "Operation Higher Court". Roberts will not step up as Roberts has completely lost control of his role as Chief Justice. Fortunately, the Dems have control of the Senate & have demonstrated how to reveal historical truth to the nation. Full disclosure, I am a member the largest defacto US political group, independent.
This past evening, on Lawrence O'Donnell's show on MSNBC, there was extended discussion about how Justice Samuel Alito leaked the outcome of the Supreme Court's Hobby lobby decision to a wealthy couple who would donated heavily to the Supreme Court Historical Society. Apparently, today's coterie of conservative justices have been hobnobbing with ultra-wealthy right wing people who use their donations to the historical society as a wedge to gain influence on the court. So much for John Roberts' outrage that Justice Alito's decision in the Dobbs case was leaked to the press. He is no less hypocritical than any of the others in that bunch. They all think that they are some sort of royalty.
It is about time that Congress does their job and takes on the Supreme Court. This is the kind of investigation that is going to lead to a lot of dirt I suspect. Clarence Thomas is also someone who should be investigated. If our court can be compromised like that they are also subject to blackmail, and while being investigated Alito should be recusing himself on all cases. Thomas should be investigated too, and the same thing should happen. Another thing that should be investigated in the Gerrymandering in any state where the state court said the map was illegal. The Supreme Court cannot have it both ways. If the states should decide on abortion they should decide on voting too. Or, not! This court has made such a mockery of the word JUSTICE! We need to find some now!
I agree Congress should investigate this corruption, but it will be tough — like trying to nail down Jello. What will be odd is if SCOTUS somehow tries to stop it — what are they gonna do … make a federal case outta it? Those against investigations are going to cry foul and say it is a violation of a separation of powers. But the Congress, especially when in GOP power, is known to investigate its co-branch of the Executive. Also, who would have any standing other than SCOTUS to sue (answer: nobody) and yet they couldn’t sit in judgment of their own case due to a conflict of interest. The Chief is going to have to be a stand-up guy and come up with a reasonable & rational solution — quick! Or else his legacy is further damaged.
The Chief is no different than the other far-right justices. He’s lockstep with them. Just wanted to take it slower to make what was coming more palatable to the masses. The Dodd decision blew his pretense of being “reasonable and rational” out of the water.
The Chief is ultimately a politician. Also, like many ambitious men, he has a big ego. He will not good down well in history if he doesn’t herd his cats. Substantively, Roberts is pretty much in simpatico with his other 5 Right-Wing justices — BUT administratively, he is truly the only one with the power to try (ahem) right the ship of state here. SCOTUS is nothing if it leaves a bad impression and, as a result, the American People lose faith in it — and The Rule Of Law suffers.
What is difficult is that with a Gerrymandered Republican majority in the House of Representatives, we are unlikely to get an impeachment of the justices. Clearly the press has a big role to play in this, and they are unlikely to do this, but it is not impossible. The fact that mainstream press is even talking about these digressions is a step in the right direction. That could lead to public pressure, in the same way that Representatives from both Democratic and Republican sides have been in an uproar over Ticketmaster since Taylor Swift ticket sales were such a clear case of monopolistic power abuse. There are some things that with enough public uproar both sides will be on the same side. That is what we need to be doing, is creating that uproar and getting Republicans to do so as well. The sanctity of the court is at stake.
Use this Relationship Map to see how evangelists infiltrated the Supreme Court to overturn Roe and why the Supreme Court so badly needs a Code of Ethics.
It's hard not to wonder whether Middle Eastern countries that have invested in the Trumps to buy influence may be having buyer's remorse. Why? Trump's chances of winning the White House are fast becoming the fading light of dusk. He still has a fervent MAGA cult following, but its numbers won't deliver the presidency. What is Trump without the levers of governmental power? Maybe he and his family still have allure as veteran money-launderers.
Don't count Trump out. The same folks whose love for him put him in the White House the first time remain smitten. He has not lost even one person who was stricken with Trump love.
In fact, many of those folks no longer speak to the own families due to their love. Hence, their meld to Trump is even stronger now.
Not enough is written about the deep family divisions that you mention. That said, Trump has lost the majority of independent voters. And he won't get the fawning news coverage that he benefited from in 2016. I'm in the camp that believes he won't win the GOP nomination and will wreak havoc with a third-party run.
Another treasure of news and background from our esteemed Professor. Thank you. Our Democracy is always at risk because there are those who are influenced by power and money at any cost. Those who are racist or antisemitic or jeopardize human rights because of their “religious” beliefs that spill into our courts and elected representatives. And we know from history that even a Civil War did not prevent institutional racism. We have abundant examples. I just finished listening to R. Maddow’s podcast special about the fascist/Nazi infiltration of our government in the 1930s and 1940s. The antisemitism. About one government investigator: “And he offers a prescient warning about an American criminal justice system that is ill-equipped to defend democracy from those who seek to destroy it.” True story and the whistle blowers were ignored or lost jobs. Maybe we’re not there yet, but we have serious problems when (some) elected and appointed officials are in the pockets of the Saudis or take their party conference to Hungary and invite Orban to speak in Texas. Or fight over CRT and ban books. Maybe same show just a new cast. “Plot Against America” about Lindbergh in 30s (Roth) fiction based on true sociopolitical events. We all know those stories. They are not just entertainment. Just like the news, information, research and resources Professor Richardson analyzes, shares with us and the world, we need to know who and what to trust and then the next steps to protect our Democracy and our people. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra/id1647910854?i=1000582122699
Rachel Maddow's "Ultra" series was eye-opening about pervasive Nazi influence in Congress and the Catholic Church, and with timely lessons learned and to be applied in this very moment. The 8 one-hour podcast series is Must-Listening.
And on another track, so many organizations and people outside of Georgia not only aware of runoff election, but also working towards Senator Warnock remaining just that.
Yes, I listened to the last yesterday. It’s a wrap but it seems there’s always more. The history that’s in plain sight yet feels buried if we don’t know what to look for. I’m grateful for HCR, for R Maddow, Woodward and Bernstein, Ellsberg, all journalists, writers and historians, the list is endless, who research, dig. And present to the public. At their risk. Why are so many people angry or afraid of the press?
“Join Glenn Kirschner, NBC News/MSNBC legal analyst and former Assistant U.S. Attorney at the D.C. U.S Attorney's Office as he brings analysis and insight to legal issues of the day, drawing from his ... “says in YouTube and website casts, “Justice Matters.”
What a contrast—one potential 2024 presidential candidate meeting with service members and their families to thank them for their service and another signing a deal with a foreign company to enrich himself (he has said in the past that soldiers are suckers https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/09/03/report-trump-disparaged-us-war-dead-as-losers-suckers/ ).
And making a deal with an enemy of America. Surprise surprise.
Tfg doesn’t care that he’s dealing with a hostile country while he’s “running” for president. It’s all about acquiring more money and power. It’s all about the grift.
It's always about the grift!
NOT!!!
Saudi's have learned a lot from the Russians.
Fox News does not appear to be reporting today's good information about Trump on his knees at the feet of the Saudi Prince (or any Saudi with money or anyone with money to give him period).
Hence, all 73 million people who voted for him are not aware of that fact and Trump love remains a significant threat to our society, along with Fox News (and, Trump love may, again, ruin a few Thanksgiving dinners).
Those 73 million people ARE aware, however, that there was tremendous "voter fraud" in the last election and by God they are going to make sure it does not happen again.
So, stay tuned.
Rupert has not rejected chump, he has hedged his bets. He burnished chump’s image with not a whiff of truth from the moment Jeb Bush flamed out. Chump’s bottomless pit of Saudi money puts the heads of evil on a swivel…
Chilling.
It’s an error to assume that T___p’s voters only get information from Fox News, or that they are uninformed about what goes on. Remember what happens when we assume.
Most of them have no idea. They just follow what their friends say. They have a big base in Clay County, Indiana. Most have no clue what is happening in the USA...except that gasoline to fill their pickup trucks with their TFG flags flying from the back. They have no idea that the Republicans in Indiana government raised the gasoline tax! Oh yes, they are upset that Thanksgiving dinner this year according to the local news will cost them an extra less than $12.00 over the cost last year. Of couse that is President Biden's fault. Those on the news complaining do not look like they are having trouble getting food. Most should be on a diet! Shame on me!
I just read the end of your post more closely. I am a Hoosier escapee living in Oregon and I did smile. I haven't been to Indiana in a few years, but when I was a regular visitor, I noticed quantity and not quality was the watch word. My parents used to take us to a fried chicken place in Michigan and it was huge platters of fried chicken and sides being chowed down by overweight people. My relatives (many of whom are overweight) post pictures of food full of calories and desserts that no one should ever eat. I just sigh.
LOL
Given what I see on other threads, most of them have no clue and some of them go deliberately looking for items they can post which tear down anything knowledgable people are doing. They want to own the libs and often hear dreck from their pastors who in my opinion, are merely on power trips.
DeSantis did the same in FL. Just before Election Day, FL State gasoline/diesel taxes were added back on to the cost at the pump. MAGAts believed it was Biden’s fault.
I agree. Many of them are getting their news from talk radio shows which are spreading lies like wildfire.
Oh, you mean like from Charlie Kirk or Steve Bannon? Yep, that’s where they get their news.
Not sure where you get that notion Jon. In my experience, that is exactly true, for the most part. Quite a while back I would tune in to Fox News every now and again just to study the enemy, or listen to Rush on the radio. No longer. I just could not stand it anymore. The extent of the lies and mischaracterizations became too much to take. I felt violated. So now it is MSNBC, CNN, WaPo, etc for me, with no input what so ever from the likes of Fox, OAN, Drudge, WSJ opinion, etc. You could not pay me to listen or watch news from those sources. I think the opposite is true of the Trumpian crowd.
What I meant was that it's a mistake to generalize, and also that we underestimate our opponents at our peril. And stereotypes are wrong, and can be dangerous. Note for instance that Ron DeSatan and Stewart Rhodes (on trial for sedition now) went to Yale Law.
Perhaps it is Yale and Harvard we should blame. They allow the Federalist Society to set up shop there to indoctrinate law students in “their” way of thinking. These lawyers basically sign a lifetime pledge to FS, which means now whatever Leonard Leo commands, goes.
IMHO, the fact that such individuals have attended and graduated from such storied institutions proves they are well schooled, but not necessarily well educated.
I agree with you for the most part, but when it comes to immigration, the NYT, NPR, etc., (although not the WaPo anymore) function as PR for "immigration advocates" while Fox, Washington Examiner, and others of that ilk often write the (often true--and available on the Center for Immigration Studies website--CIS.org0 the leading think tank on immigration) stuff that's not appearing on NPR et al.
I wrote to the NPR public editor. After writing me back, sounding like she saw my points, she had one of her "assistants" interview me. The young woman--daughter of immigrants--practically refused to believe that someone with my views could be a Democrat, and insisted that the Center for Immigration Studies was a nefarious, untrustworthy organization (they frequently testify before Congress, and when the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's premier scientific organization, did their 2016 study on The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration, NAS chose CIS as its outside reviewer). (I had told the young woman that NPR needed to interview people from CIS in order to get information on immigration that would give listeners a much more complete story.)
David,
I’m not familiar w/the CIS so I googled it. It screamed right wing to me.
So I googled reviews on the organization.
check this out: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/center-immigration-studies
Perhaps the young lady from NPR had already done her homework and interviewed people from CIS.
Angela,
It's mixed, with staffers on both sides of the aisle. Jerry Kammer, a Pulitzer-prize winning former journalist, now on the staff of CIS, and author of the recent book, Losing Control: How Left-Right Coalition Blocked Immigration Reform and Provoked the Backlash That Elected Trump, would fit right in among HCR's readers.
Reasons I oppose mass immigration: 1) mass immigration leads to an oversupply of labor, which is why Mark Zuckerberg, the Koch organization, and big biz generally support it, and why I oppose it. I come from a family that has supported American workers on both sides (my great uncle ran the Colorado Democratic Party for most of the first half of the 1900s. 2) I studied environmental issues in a 1975 UC Berkeley class taught by John Holdren, later Pres O's Science Advisor, in which I also learned about climate change. The US population is currently environmentally unsustainable at current levels of consumption and climate change is fast worsening that unsustainability.
As for the SPLC they are well known for tarring people and groups with opposing ***political*** views with their hate group moniker, a strategy adopted by Morris Dees, whose main interest was making money (there was an article in the left-wing Nation about that).
IF CIS were a genuine hate group, don't you think the National Academy of Sciences would have avoided having it as an outside reviewer of their 2016 immigration study, as I mentioned in my previous comment?
In his book, Kammer writes about the failure of an NPR and an NYT reporter to investigate SLPC's "hate group" claim about CIS:
"...Joel Rose of NPR and Nicholas Kulish of the New York Times... reported the reputational assault on CIS as if it were the well-considered judgment of a responsible arbiter. Neither subjected it even to a rudimentary credibility check."
"I thought of a pertinent admonition from one of the heroes of modern journalism, the late Murray Marder of the Waashington Post. In the 1950s, Marder broke away from the pack of reporters who spread the hysterical red-baiting accusations of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. "The press can't simply report flatfooted a smearing accusation against someone's loyalty," said Marder. "The press should ask the accuser, "what do you mean? What justification do you have? That's real work, and it's called journalism."
"There was no such skepticism in the work of Joel Rose, despite NPR's commitment, spelled out in the NPR Ethics Handbook, to "rigorously challenge... the claims that we encounter," and to "take special care with news that might cause grief or damage reputations." Nor at the New York Times..."
"But Rose did nothing to examine the accuracy of Beirich's claims. This gaping hole in his story was a flagrant violation of NPR's commitment to rigorous reporting, which its Ethics Handbook makes explicit under the heading "These are the standards of our journalism."
pp. 164-165
I am with you. I get so upset about the lies and disinformation broadcast by the likes of Fox, OANN, et Al - I can’t bear to watch. Life is too short.
Jon,
You are, of course correct. However, we can also not deny the impact that Fox News minus the Fairness Doctrine, eliminated by Reagan, has had on America.
Whewww.. "votor fraud"... sounds like a job for Rottenman....taaataataaaadoooshhhh... whoa-lo... it's Kyle..inflated by the mutant-reprobates of the big R... here he comes.
But don't laugh folks. Education may actually result in a behavioral change. Look out.
Education can indeed result in behavioral change. I have a very good friend, a former special ops guy (Rangers), former fire chief in his home town after the military, actually the definition of the guy you want beside you in an emergency. And a solid conservative. Until he went back to college. He majored in Cold War and Russian Studies (since he had a lot of first hand experience) and came out a flaming liberal. Still has his beliefs about service (that should be nonpartisan) and even the Krazies in SOF still respect him to the point they elected him national vice president of the Ranger association a few years back. But he came out of school with - as he said - "my eyes open."
Mary, you compared the behavior of our president, Joseph R. Biden, with that of the last one. I did the same, covering two very different situations, which elicited the following quotes.
After one of Bidens's debates with the former president, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to condemn white supremacists and militia groups, and Biden interjected to mention the Proud Boys in particular, Trump said: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”
‘… the president and First Lady Jill Biden had a “Friendsgiving” dinner this afternoon at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, with service members and military families, greeting them table by table and then thanking both the “best fighting force in the history of the world” and those at home who, in the words of poet John Milton, “stand and wait.” (Letter)
Mary As an American who was a ‘sucker’ and almost a ‘loser’ in service to his country, I am not surprised that Bone Spur Donald is wallowing in Arab bakshesh (pay offs) while President Biden and his wife are honoring American servicemen
I recall why the widow of John McCain—a military hero—excluded Trump from the funeral service at Washington Cathedral. Trump, a coward and a bully, would have been unwelcome.
Thank you, Keith, for being a continuing warrior for truth -- and for your service!
We have a Thanksgiving blessing upon us. The opportunity to support Senator Warnock’s re-election in Georgia. Do whatever you can do to support the people of Georgia voting to give a true majority to the Democrats in the Senate. Very important for approval of judicial appointments without time delays.
More importantly, a Senator that is competent…..or not.
Leigh McGowan, Politics Girl, just posted a sizzlin’ account from her kitchen.
Let’s stay united and active for democracy.
https://youtu.be/PtB2zREt014
🗽🙋🏻♀️🙋🏼♀️🙋🏽♀️🙋🏾♀️🙋🏿♀️
Thanks for the link, Christine. Leigh once again shows her brilliance. I've shared the link on Facebook.
Thank you and great….we move forward informing others of truth and possibilities.
🗽
Gawwwd...I love her!! Thanks, Christine!
Thanks for the link. I reposted it on my FB page.
Christine,
Thanks so much for the link! Somehow, I’d missed that one.
It continues to amaze me that tens of millions of Americans who have lost family members in wars actually support, defend, and even worship this guy -- despite his being so outspoken about his contempt for THEM/their families.
I remember all too well watching the news as millions of the Orange Sadist's followers cheered when he said that not paying taxes "makes me smart, right? Right!" These are the same ones (who despite having served in the military and/or having family members who served in the military, voted for him despite calling soldiers -- serving, imprisoned, or dead -- "losers" and "suckers". I've always wondered: "What were they thinking?!"
I believe "thinking" is "a fact not in evidence" since these people obviously lack the necessary equipment to carry out such an action.
And that IS a fact!
Thank you Heather.
It occurs to me that if Jesus was here in this time and place, he might not identify as Christian.
I think he’d identify Jewish. Wouldn’t he? But I understand what you mean! Christians walking the conservative line, are not Jesus like.
Absolutely. He claimed no cult-name.
Or as a woody Allen character said once... if he saw what what was happening in his name he would never stop throwing up.
I am stealing this.....
ahhhh, woody, the plato of our times
💜👍
Gandhi didn't like Christians much either.
How did he feel about Hindus?
Jesus was isolated enough to not know about Hindus, but if he did he would respect those who cared for others in the name of any "faith" but would not be pleased with "religion", he did overturn the money tables in the temple after all. And preached good news to the poor....
I am reading this to mean how did Gandhi feel about Hindus.....not Hindu enough as he was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist extremist when India was separating from Pakistan and he was working for equitable solutions. We can thank the Brits for a lot of the problems that ensued when they (finally) left the subcontinent.
Well, for sure he would not be a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a group of people who have forgotten where they came from.
Well, he was Jewish and better understood in that context. He was everything the so-called "Christians" are not. I suspect he would be very busy throwing moneychangers out of the Temple and calling out Pharisees.
Jean-Pierre, with deep sadness I find myself in acknowledgement with you on that possibility, at least to the far-right fundamentalist evangelical white nationalist community. A terrible pronouncement to consider.
On the other hand, it is equally possible that believers who are caught up in his love--for the marginalized and outcast, the persecuted and lame, the victims of all kinds and causes--would doubtless recognize Jesus through no matter what disguise, as they know him in those to whom they humbly minister.
We (some of us) are taught that to "find" Jesus we must not look for him in palaces or halls of power. He will not be there. We will find him among the lowest of the low..."what you do to the least of these, you do to me..." If one really reads the Gospels and what he is recorded as saying, one is continually confronted with so many uncomfortable truths that so many modern day Christians tend to ignore. He would undoubtedly be reviled by the right as a "woke radical socialist", which is why they will never see him. He wouldn't set foot in their churches. He doesn't seek glory or praise. He would urge people to use their energies and wealth to help fellow human beings, and, as I am directed in my baptismal covenant, "to respect the dignity of every human being." As you said, it's about love...love your neighbor as yourself, and people just cannot seem to understand that. I don't always succeed, but I do try. It is certainly not easy to "love your enemy" this day and time--the recent tragic event in Club Q in Colorado would sorely test anyone's capacity to feel that way. That showed what hate can do. We cannot react with even more hatred. Jesus tells us to resist it or we will die in it. Trying times indeed...
Exactly, Bruce! Hatred betrays Christianity. The hypocrisy and double standards of some so-called Christians is what drove me away from organized religion and its churches.
Dear Bruce -
Yup.
Profoundly spiritual, Gus. You’re probably right!
Brought up very young as Episcopalian. Went to a Quaker Boarding school where I learned there is a part of god in every man. Hard to see that in many. I haven’t had any church affiliation in about 50 years. I now live my life picking the values of religions, Marine integrity and brother/sisterhood and the example of animals from wolves to my cat. I try to care, help, be compassionate and lead a worthy life.
But they lack the bull horn and the big bucks. A corruption of ideals unmatched in history; well, maybe not
Dear Gus -
Yup.
He'd have a hard job finding anyone following his teachings. On the other hand, he'd find hypocrites everywhere, the ones he said looked fine from the outside but were really tombs full of carrion.
Matthew 24:24 KJV
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Matthew 21:12 or thereabouts:
That carpenter also threw out those who sold Doves in the Temple.
Dylan: Highway 61 or thereabouts.
... to "flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark ... not much is really sacred'.
Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Make everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It’s easy to see without looking too far
That not much is really sacred
While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have to stand naked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBNWkCsmqAY
above lyrics and link song from Bob Dylan - It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) - With Lyrics.
Yes. And we are all atheists in that believers only believe in the latest version, while atheists don't believe in any of them.
Steady with that incision.
bow down to the standard white jesus on the cross
timbuk 3
Pharisees all
Good to see you posting, Allen. Wishing you, Tanya and Lucky a blessed Thanksgiving. I am sure that there are a lot of heavy thoughts and worries in your mind, I hope knowing that the entire world is watching the Ukraine can give you some peace.
Thank you. Wars are supposed to happen far away and to people of whom we know little. Ukraine is just one of many wars. It hurts.
Good to see you back. And I'm happy that you were reunited with Lucky. Can't imagine life without my dogs.
Nelson Mandela, Bishop Curry and so many others. Open up a bit and appreciate those who are not of interest to the media much but do follow seriously the teachings, as we like to say we take the Bible seriously but not literally. Take a look at Faith in Public Life. rev William Barber, repairers of the Breach, and the Poor Peoples Campaign with Liz Theo-Harris, Bishop Vashti MacKenzie Interim General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, and so many other progressive Christians laboring in the vineyards but the media does not find them interesting unless they do something outrageous. When Was on the staff of the National Council of Churches and the Ecumenical (progressive) community had a press conference in DC the media would rarely show up. They are enthralled with hypocrites, like their addiction to quoting DJT. Sad but true. Bring back the Fairness Doctrine! (Look it up, equal time)
JP,
There are, indeed, many churches who have failed to focus on the message of love, acceptance, valuing diversity, tolerance, and kindness that Jesus brought to his society.
But, when I grew up in East Texas, you would be surprised at the many folks I met, interacted with, worked for and worked with, who role modeled, for the most part, the values that Jesus brought.
Those old Baptist Churches, both black and white, DID offer some scorching sermons about the evils of alcohol (I don't disagree), how easy it is to stray off the the path of "righteousness". Those churches did offer some judgemental pronouncements (sex before marriage may get you placed in hell, and, honestly, given some of the outcomes I am now aware of, maybe that is true).
However, many, many of the people I grew up with were the most kind people of my life.
I left East Texas at age 18 for college. Since then, I have had the good fortune to work at reasonably paying jobs, but, the bad fortune to live in cities and suburbs.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you the worst behaviors, nastiest people, least trustworthy folks I have encountered are right in those nice, all white, suburbs......and......LOTS of them do not go to church.
I think, on balance, if you want to find a Christian behaving as Jesus taught, the probability of finding one in a Christian church is higher than finding one in an all white suburb raising hell about his neighbor's grass or his neighbor's house color or his neighbor period (might be the wrong "sort" of neighbor).
While raised in the lower middle class suburbs of a big city in the North, I was taken to a Southern Baptist church by my grandparents. The congregation were all transplants from rural Kentucky who had migrated to get jobs in the auto industry. While they may have been very kind to those who belonged, they were very cruel if you hadn't been "saved," or if, like me, your parents had left the church. It was like a club that only supported its own members. The ladies talked about me and my family right in front of me, and once when I went back after a long absence, the Sunday school teacher looked at me, and changed her lesson for the day, having each girl talk about when she got saved and baptized. She asked me last because she knew I would have to say, "I haven't been," and they would all look at me with pity or scorn. I never went back. Sure do miss the music, though.
Janet, Thanx for telling the inside truth about the Southern Baptists judgment, hypocrisy, sanctimony and rabid cruelty. At the age of 9, I was Baptized at the St. Louis Park Baptist Church. Even then I saw thru the hypocrisy of religion, when another kid threatened to beat me up after Sunday School.
Since then I have seen too much racism, xenofobia, misogyny and un-Christian hatred by Southern Baptists and other organized "Christian" churches. My own uncle, who was a deacon in his Southern Baptist church in rural Mississippi was a member of the KKK. WWJD? is a valid question for these Poser Christians.
Morning Mike! I had a very similar experience growing up in rural NH. There were no suburbs in NH then, as there were no communities big enough to be a suburb of. What we had were lots of churches. Irish and French Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, Congregationalist, Methodist, Baptist, LDS, Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Friends (Quaker), and Temple Israel - all standing within a few blocks of each other in a town (City by NH standards) of 20,000.
No one said WWJD? Instead, most expressed their faith in everyday actions of kindness, hard work, and cooperation.
I have found folks not grounded in some type of faith in something larger than themselves to be much more likely to get lost in judgement (aka hypocrisy, aka pride), anxiety (fear), and limited thinking (sloth). This is a recipe for sanctimony at best, but can also lead to rabid cruelty.
I do not know what Jesus would think about the state of our world. I do know I need to attend to my own spiritual condition using the sage lessons practiced by all those people in all the churches of the town I grew up in.
Religion then should be a personal thing.
Which is why the founding fathers saw the potential conflicts when members of different faiths implored them to be sure to include their religion in the Constitution. Solution? Freedom of religion and separation of church and state. No losers, all winners. Fast forward to today's conservative Supreme Court - maybe they need a lesson in Originalism.
Jack, Religion...faith is a personal thing....deeply personal. It's fruits should be seen in the way the individual lives....I hope my faith honors my Savior but too often I am reminded how much I need to reexamine myself and to be reminded of His demonstraton of sacrificial love towards me and towards everyone. My Savior is a gentleman; He never forces His way into our lives, into our hearts. That deep personal faith within an imperfect creation forces me to look to Him......to experience His love and forgiveness over and over again.
The Jesus I know has allowed me to reject Him but has never left me.....He is "my all in all".
I have a responsibility to love and encourage those He places in my life: to forgive as I have been forgiven, to feed the hungry, to encourage the prisoner, to listen to and comfort friend or stranger who shares with me...to support good according to His standards, not from an organization that may try to use me to vote a certain way for a particular candidate...etc
Emily,
Thank you, extremely well written, and, I have saved your words.
"I do not know what Jesus would think about the state of our world. I do know I need to attend to my own spiritual condition using the sage lessons practiced by all those people in all the churches of the town I grew up in."
Me too.
Front row pew has some of the worst offenders, although I have met some authentic jewels farther back in the crowd. Of course, it’s been awhile…
Well said. The entirety of Christianity cannot/ should not be defined by the radical evangelicals that misappropriate Jesus’ teachings. Stereotyping Christianity , or any religion based on anecdotal hypocrisy is a logical failure
Condemn those who fail at living the Word, but don’t pre judge the rest
Jesus"s teachings inspired me to be good, charitable, kind, honest, fair, healing, and an advocate for those who could not advocate for themselves. And that there is a strength, a spirit, beyond just me, that I can draw on for support and guidance. The Catholic Church's Christian teachings instructed me to be scared (was it Sister Alfrieda, Sister Humiliana or Sister Bunonia who told us 7 year olds that we would be struck dead if we received communion if we had a mortal sin on our souls), obedient to tyrants with wooden rulers, and to always honor men above women. So I became a Jesusist.
I am not only Catholic, I worked for the church for 11 years, product of Catholic school religious sisters. I have to say, though, I now have a much better appreciation of what Jesus taught and what it means to be of service to my fellow humans after many conversations with priests and, above all, with religious sisters who display a deep spirituality with pragmatism. One taught me I did not work for the bishop, who was respected only for the position he held and nothing else, but for Jesus. In other words, look over the heads of the hierarchy.
Yes. In highschool we had a much better order of nuns, as you so eloquently describe, with "a deep spirituality with pragmatism." I was then mostly able to unlearn what the first set taught me before graduating.
I also suffered in Catholic School. Now I happily live in a Buddhist country.
Kristin, I'm glad you are happy, but I hope you don't mean you live in Myanmar, a Buddhist country, where the Rhohingya have been so brutalized. We should not blame Buddha for what people do any more than we should blame Jesus for what people who self-describe as Christians do to harm others.
Very well said.
Anyone can corrupt anything in anyone's name.
But the hypocrisy is stifling
Agreed. I am distinguishing between the heart of good teachings and good models on the one hand and what corrupt and ignorant people do with them on the other.
I have friends in Myanmar who are suffering terribly under the military government but I don’t live in that country. I’m sure the military government officials aren’t Buddhists.
I am not Catholic, but have a patron Saint, Francis and made a pilgrimage to Assisi Italy in 1975. I am not Christian, but in 1970 living in the woods in my shack read the 4 books of gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke & John by kerosene lamp and saw how it fit with my Buddhist leanings at the time. My Puja table had icons of Meher Baba, Buddha, St. Francis with Muslim & Hindu prayer beads from my travels to India. I am still Agnostic with strong Atheist leanings as I have been since my teen years.
All those Religions have their own dreadful histories of hate & cruelty & murder despite their teachings otherwise. And that continues today.
Wait, "to always honor men above women".
What's wrong with that??
:-) :-) :-)
I have a highschool friend who went to the seminary for 1 year. The seminarians were required to take their turns serving dinner to the priests, whose chef prepared lavish 4 course meals with a different wine for each course. The nuns made their own macaroni and cheese. My friend left with no respect for priests.
Easy big fella.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Or he would have called Christian and Evangelical leaders Pharisees.
Been doing that for decades.
Indeed. And scribes! (It was a long time before I got rid of the feeling that "scribe" was a derogatory expression...)
I was the minute taker at our non-profit board of directors meetings. One of the Jewish board members once addressed me as the Scribe. I took it as an honor. :)
And so it was! I trust you scribed correctly. :)
The religion of Jesus was Judaism. Christianity is a religion about Jesus. But I get your meaning here. I'm not even sure what a Christian is anymore. From what I've read, mostly in the synoptics, Jesus wouldn't be happy at all with many of those who currently claim that title. Frankly, I think things really took a slide from Constantine on. The practice of using the power of the state to force a religion down the throats of others is called constantinianism. Ironic huh?
No worries...
There is no such thing as immaculate conceptions and half-human, half-god babies which means christians themselves are as fake as their beliefs.
My parents were the good Catholics.
I wasn't going to add this, but JC wasn't necessarily a good guy, and in many ways his followers reflect this. I attended a parochial school run by Southern Baptist Evangelicals. I call myself a parochial school survivor. That term is delivered without a smile. I survived, but barely. I remember well the division between the sexes, the mind games, the twisted reasoning, the abuse. So many people say the Right aren't Christians, but in my experience and study (MS Comp Religion), I find they are indeed following in their leader.
Matthew 10:34-36
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Problem with quoting the New Testament is that we don't always know who wrote, or said, what. Then you have the problem of scribes who would add in things in places, or out and out change things. Add to that the fact that none of the books were written at the time Jesus lived. This corruption of the text makes it difficult to impossible to discern who Jesus was. Translation from Koine Greek to English also takes it's toll. So at best we get a blurry outline. Because of all of this Jesus is a bit of a Rorschach blot. People tend to see what they want.
Very very good post, esp the last line!
Thanks. First time I've written anything here. I've been a lurker for awhile.
Welcome lurker!!
I shall look forward to your posts. This first one was spot on.
I might have just gotten lucky. I might be an idiot in later posts. Who knows?
Agree!
My fave is Elaine Pagels, author of "The Gnostic Gospels."
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/110763.The_Gnostic_Gospels
Excellent points. And I love the Rorschach metaphor.
Of course not - Christianity didn't exist yet!
As I recall, he never did “identify” as Christian.
Any doubt, none for me.
I doubt that he ever would.
Yeah.. Jesus, perfect name. Victim of circumstance. I just want to know who compiled 'that book'...., naa not the manuscript.., the un-adulterated version. And later.., much later, the leather-bound editions. Who transcribed all that intricate /interwoven detail? Into English no less. Who was the chiseler-in-chief on those stones, during the BC era? And during the AD era? Were they gay or straight..poor?.. Some, no doubt. Don't get me wrong folks, I learned a lot from my Mother reading me Golden Books and Mark Twain (I was really amused with "Letters from the Earth"). Christmas cometh. Such a tender time of year, not to be corrupted with news(?) about the degenerate-in-chief or the exploits of mr. rottenhous. Thank you.
If I remember right...he was born a Jew!
Indeed, He would have been a rabbi. Honestly, some of us would say these right wing dangerous so called "Christian" nationalists are not Christians either. (See Carter Heyward: "The & Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism") Yes, THE Rev Carter Heyward, PhD, episcopal Priest ordained with the Philadelphia eleven in 1974, the first women to be ordained in the Episcopal Church, a scandal at the time. I was grateful to participate in the 25 anniversary celebration, also in Philly.
When I grow up I want to be an Episcopalian
Raised as a child under the roof of St Martin ...
...
Karen, I am appreciating your knowledgeable insights in this very interesting discussion we are all having.
I wish more people read you, Heather.
I’m sad that our Supreme Court has been trashed by those who place their agenda above the law.
The fact republicans focus on Hunter Biden while ignoring the trump family grifts shows they don’t really care about our country. It highlights their pettiness, lack of integrity, and unwillingness to do the important work. I believe (hope) voters will remember.
Enough of us read her that the White House invited her to intervie President Biden last Spring.
Biden’s ratings would skyrocket if he scheduled their interviews more often. He was at his best, smart and engaged.
Having an interlocutor who was herself smart and engaged freed him up.
I remember that.
I'm infuriated that these (Christian) Supreme Court members are "trashable." Have you no honor, Your Honor?!
Mary Pat- the short answer to your question is no.
😣
Ginni, we all will help them remember!
I've been thinking the same Ginni. Their priorities are more of a grade school mindset and I don't understand why more people don't see this. Why don't any of those Trumpers see that the R's have no other agenda then to take down the Democrats and vote against anything the Dem's are for? What a waste of time.
I agree. The Jared Kushner $2 Billion "investment" from the Saudi Fund / MBS is fishy, to be polite. Where is the Dem outrage and investigations regarding Kushner's gross monetizing of his (unelected) service in the White House at the highest level and with apparent authority of Trump?
Or any of trump’s deals.
Lock Him Up!
YAWN.. that's all we get...BIG F-ing YAWNS....
I am so sick an tired of US whining..especially me!!
Skewer the opposition for what we do, and the MAGAt idiots love it.
Amen!
I now better understand why the nation's highest court doesn't have a formal code of ethics and doesn't want one.
Instead of investigating the court's second leak centering on reproductive rights, perhaps Roberts should initiate an investigation into his fellow, hypocritical, right-wing colleagues.
Deborah, if you go to Sheldon Whitehouse's youtube page you will find that corruption on the Supreme Court is the norm now and evagelicals are probably the least influential.
The Federalist Society has Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh as their paid servants on the court. These four crawl, mewling, on their knees to the Federalist Society to ask how to rule on every case.
Leaking some stuff at a dinner? That is a pittance of the corruption the above four are involved in at this point.
And Amy Coney Barrett humbly obeys every Leonard Leo command.
Yes indeed.
I gave been following Senator Whitehouse's talks in the Senate on his research I to the capturing of the Supreme Court. I believe he is now coming out with a book on the subject.
I am hoping that the new revelations in the news will give his work more attention, and that we will see some investigations done by the legislative branch. But they'd better hurry! Come January, it will be nothing but Hunter Biden's laptop for 2 years!😡🤮
Boy! You said it!
I have so m much admiration for Senator Whitehouse, I am going to pre-order that-today ( if I can!)
I can't believe that there could possibly be ANYTHING about Hunter's laptop !? Wouldn't they have found SOMETHING by now?
I’ve just started reading Whitehouse’s new book, The Scheme: How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to capture the Supreme Court. Looks like a good one.
It makes me so sick... another page in the democracy for dummies handbook. The Court, TFG, and all the helper elves seem to get away with it all.... sad
Cynthia,
I am a huge fan of John Adams. He studied ALL of the past forms of government, reading by the hour and the day after day to learn about them.
He, himself, participated in the Boston assembly and gained experience with representative government and met John Hancock who employed him as a lawyer.
John Adams was an incredible, incredible man.
HOWEVER, when the 1st "convention" in Philadelphia occured PRIOR to the revolutionary war, his employer, John Hancock, who was an "illegal" rum runner into Boston Harbor, helped to fund that convention.
Now, WHY did they all meet in in Philadelphia? Well, Hancock was angry that he was being taxed on his illegal rum running. He wanted to NOT be taxed. He made his complaints that he was taxed without representation.
So, he funded his employee, John Adams, who had represented him unsuccesfully to the British government to go off and form government where:
John Hancock would pay no tax on his rum running. Now, after the revolution, did Hancock pay taxes. No. However, it is possible that he helped fund the fledgling United States, but, George Washington was constantly angry about lack of funds.
So, I am guessing Hancock never paid any taxes.
So, in some ways, "corruption" is built in to the founding of our country.
Yes indeed.
“The fraud of men was ever so, since summer first was leafy.” So say the Bard.
Great addendum to real history, and an enriched perspective on our founding!
Thank you for that tidbit.
I learned all that in Katherine Drinker Bowen's phenomenal bio of John Adams published in 1949 I think. I have two copies.
I appreciate your knowledge of history... I have so much to learn. Sometimes it's overwhelming... I just purchased the new book about Samuel Adams, and I'm chomping at the bit!
Thank you.
I don't really have much knowledge of history. I just like Catherine Drinker Bowen books and SHE was a true historian.
thanks! I'm on the case!
How can we demand changes? Term limits, packing the court, hard ethics?
If Sheldon Whitehouse and Katie Porter ran in 2024, they could be called the Whiteboard
Truth Team.
Talk about a dream team!
🤣😅😂 TRUTH!!
... and himself?
Definitely, since he's the "Chief" of the right-wing "justices."
A rogue court if ever there was one. Action needed, yesterday.
Ha!
I want to thank all my friends on LFAA for their support as Tanya and I and Lucky are making our way home. It really helps.
Thank you for putting Dnipro on the map for me--sorry it took this awful war to educate Americans on Eastern European geography and history. Best wishes for safety in your travels home.
We’re with you Allen and Tanya and Lucky. Please continue to stay in touch and to walk with Hope. Love from all of us, always.
Thank you. Hope springs eternal...
And all of you please keep fighting. America is worth saving. It has been 20 years since I last crossed the border. It would be good to feel safe doing it again
Please keep us up to date as to how Lucky is doing. At your convenience. I can't imagine our Sophie making such a journey. Lucky sounds more confident :)
You have been through a lot. Glad everyone is safe. And will Canada be your home permanently? Or until it is possible to live in Ukraine again?
Don't know the answer to that.. we'll see I guess
Hopefully there will come a time when it will be peaceful enough for you all to consider a return trip or return to Ukraine. Glad you are here with us, a real connection to the history playing out in your homeland.
Love to the three of you. I hope the remainder of your journey goes smoothly. Lucky is a lucky guy to have such love. Peace.
You all have been on my mind daily. Wishing you safety in journey and in your life in Canada.
Thank you
We are in the Frankfurt Airport waiting for our counters to open so we can check in. We arrive in Regina at 12:30 am Nov 23rd. Lucky will arrive at 5:30 am. Reunions in heaven will never be as joyful.
Leaving him yesterday in the care of strangers was difficult for all concerned. It had never happened before. Nothing on this trip ever happened to him before. He is a very smart boy so has learned many new things very quickly.
We stayed at a good hotel and had a good supper to celebrate the last day of our 12 day journey.
I will stay at a friend's place in Regina with Lucky until we move into a small house with a yard and that will be home for the foreseeable future.
Tanya will buy a big comfortable bed for Lucky. And I will sleep in it because he will sleep with Tanya in our Queen bed. I have pictures to prove it. Ask Fern.
My thanks to Fern and Rowshan for posting stuff to keep you up-to-date. Tanya and I and our "$10,000" dog appreciate your support so much. It has been an adventure. A fried on FB has suggested I write a kids book called Luckys Big Adventure. I think I will do that. I have both an illustrator and someone with publishing knowledge in my family. Maybe sales from the book will help pay for his big adventure.
I'm so happy you, Tanya, and Lucky will soon be able to rest and snug in for the winter safe and sound. 🎉And I'd be more than happy to buy a couple of copies of Lucky's Big Adventure for the children's section of my local library. I had to laugh at your comment about the dog co-opting the bed. 😆 I've bought Big Barker beds for my large breed dogs and they're more expensive - and more comfortable - than what I usually bought for myself. I will say the dogs are disgruntled when they find me stretched out on their bed vs the other way around.
Tanya let Lucky sleep with us one night in Warsaw and now we can't get rid of him. It helps all our stress levels though
Nothing like a warm snuggly dog to press up against you on a chilly night. Our Kimmy will wake up with us in the morning and offer her belly for a nice rub. She’s a pocket pit bull with a very short coat and a rather bare underside.
Here’s to every success on the last leg of your journey, Allen!! May your reunion with Lucky be the sweetest ever and may you find a lovely home for the three of you post haste. Blessings❣️
Look forward to "Lucky's Big Adventure" and your safe and happy reunion.
Oh Allen. Definitely write that book. So fabulous.
Think of you and yours every single day. So glad you have found Substack as one way to communicate with supporters. So love your courage and your grit. You and Tanya and Lucky are a formidable team.
Safe passage! Salud.
🗽
Should I feel guilty piggybacking on HCR s hard work?
I think I can guess with some confidence that HCR welcomes it.
This HCR community...communicate...I'm with Christine's confidence that your messages are most welcome!
Please do the book, Allen. It will be a way for today's youngest children to know about what happened in Ukraine...as we here have had a personal window through your sharing during this ordeal. Godspeed!
And my daughter is a a voice actor who does audio books, and I suspect she could either record it for you or connect you to someone else who would do it probono. Tell the Ukraine story through the eyes of your dog so children will grow up insisting on peace.
Yes.
Call me Lucky. That's my name along with Bud, Doofus, Stop that, and Good boy.
😄
At least until the book is banned <insert string of angry sweary emojis here>
I am not sure but think 8 to 10 years
Allen, I don't mean to add stress to your already incredibly stressful year--but please do write that book!
For me (maybe for many here) this year has been a rollercoaster! We get good news, we get bad news on the national front. I am so incredibly sick of tfg and all the GOP already! I could really use a break from political campaigns but here we are launched already.
Your story of your journey is a light of hope that I think we all appreciate--not at all overlooking all the terror the Ukrainian people are going through, not overlooking the anguish you have felt leaving friends behind.--but your safe arrival does lighten the heart.
Talked me into it. I'll run it past my youngest daughter who is a teacher librarian in a middle high school in London and my second youngest who is a Professor of Victorian Lit at the U of S. Both are knowledgeable in kids lit.
Not to pressure you or anything, but are you taking pre-orders?!
Not yet.
I love this idea!
That Supreme Court Historical Society is nothing but corruption. One gets invited to join and participate in events by making a substantial cash donation to the organization.
Sounds like a front for dark money
No, no, no, that's not dark money, that's free speech being exercised! They told us so in their Citizen's United decision...🙄 🧐 😡
I remain perplexed that if we must live with that decision why we (congress?) can't require that the "speaker" of that "free speech" must be identified?
Not surprising, Citizens United was a self-serving decision.
❗️❗️❗️
Seems like the foxes ( SCOTUS) are guarding the hen house ( Democratic law and justice)
Religion has seeped its way in and the righteousness of the court , the very thing the original constitutional founders warned us about, is co-opting and corrupting… a seeping spreading stain
Professor, thank you for accurately sorting out the 2014 Hobby House-Schenck-Alioto insider information machinations & subsequent attempted merger of church & state in "Operation Higher Court". Roberts will not step up as Roberts has completely lost control of his role as Chief Justice. Fortunately, the Dems have control of the Senate & have demonstrated how to reveal historical truth to the nation. Full disclosure, I am a member the largest defacto US political group, independent.
This past evening, on Lawrence O'Donnell's show on MSNBC, there was extended discussion about how Justice Samuel Alito leaked the outcome of the Supreme Court's Hobby lobby decision to a wealthy couple who would donated heavily to the Supreme Court Historical Society. Apparently, today's coterie of conservative justices have been hobnobbing with ultra-wealthy right wing people who use their donations to the historical society as a wedge to gain influence on the court. So much for John Roberts' outrage that Justice Alito's decision in the Dobbs case was leaked to the press. He is no less hypocritical than any of the others in that bunch. They all think that they are some sort of royalty.
Selected for life, beyond reproach? Yup, SCOTUS royalty. Time to require a code of ethics (with removal for violations) and retirement age.
Time to remove Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett for lying under oath to get those jobs.
It is about time that Congress does their job and takes on the Supreme Court. This is the kind of investigation that is going to lead to a lot of dirt I suspect. Clarence Thomas is also someone who should be investigated. If our court can be compromised like that they are also subject to blackmail, and while being investigated Alito should be recusing himself on all cases. Thomas should be investigated too, and the same thing should happen. Another thing that should be investigated in the Gerrymandering in any state where the state court said the map was illegal. The Supreme Court cannot have it both ways. If the states should decide on abortion they should decide on voting too. Or, not! This court has made such a mockery of the word JUSTICE! We need to find some now!
I agree Congress should investigate this corruption, but it will be tough — like trying to nail down Jello. What will be odd is if SCOTUS somehow tries to stop it — what are they gonna do … make a federal case outta it? Those against investigations are going to cry foul and say it is a violation of a separation of powers. But the Congress, especially when in GOP power, is known to investigate its co-branch of the Executive. Also, who would have any standing other than SCOTUS to sue (answer: nobody) and yet they couldn’t sit in judgment of their own case due to a conflict of interest. The Chief is going to have to be a stand-up guy and come up with a reasonable & rational solution — quick! Or else his legacy is further damaged.
The Chief is no different than the other far-right justices. He’s lockstep with them. Just wanted to take it slower to make what was coming more palatable to the masses. The Dodd decision blew his pretense of being “reasonable and rational” out of the water.
The Chief is ultimately a politician. Also, like many ambitious men, he has a big ego. He will not good down well in history if he doesn’t herd his cats. Substantively, Roberts is pretty much in simpatico with his other 5 Right-Wing justices — BUT administratively, he is truly the only one with the power to try (ahem) right the ship of state here. SCOTUS is nothing if it leaves a bad impression and, as a result, the American People lose faith in it — and The Rule Of Law suffers.
The word SCUM comes to mind!
Exactly
His legacy is already damaged beyond repair. He has allowed SCROTUS to self-destruct.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-judicial-branch/#:~:text=Federal%20judges%20can%20only%20be,or%20conviction%20by%20the%20Senate.
What is difficult is that with a Gerrymandered Republican majority in the House of Representatives, we are unlikely to get an impeachment of the justices. Clearly the press has a big role to play in this, and they are unlikely to do this, but it is not impossible. The fact that mainstream press is even talking about these digressions is a step in the right direction. That could lead to public pressure, in the same way that Representatives from both Democratic and Republican sides have been in an uproar over Ticketmaster since Taylor Swift ticket sales were such a clear case of monopolistic power abuse. There are some things that with enough public uproar both sides will be on the same side. That is what we need to be doing, is creating that uproar and getting Republicans to do so as well. The sanctity of the court is at stake.
They are corrupt beyond belief, and proud of it
Use this Relationship Map to see how evangelists infiltrated the Supreme Court to overturn Roe and why the Supreme Court so badly needs a Code of Ethics.
https://thedemlabs.org/2022/11/21/how-did-evangelists-infiltrate-the-supreme-court-to-overturn-roe/
Valuable resource. Thank you, Deepak Puri.
Thank you so much for this information.
Deepak, thanks for the link!
It's hard not to wonder whether Middle Eastern countries that have invested in the Trumps to buy influence may be having buyer's remorse. Why? Trump's chances of winning the White House are fast becoming the fading light of dusk. He still has a fervent MAGA cult following, but its numbers won't deliver the presidency. What is Trump without the levers of governmental power? Maybe he and his family still have allure as veteran money-launderers.
Michael,
Don't count Trump out. The same folks whose love for him put him in the White House the first time remain smitten. He has not lost even one person who was stricken with Trump love.
In fact, many of those folks no longer speak to the own families due to their love. Hence, their meld to Trump is even stronger now.
Not enough is written about the deep family divisions that you mention. That said, Trump has lost the majority of independent voters. And he won't get the fawning news coverage that he benefited from in 2016. I'm in the camp that believes he won't win the GOP nomination and will wreak havoc with a third-party run.
Michael.
I certainly hope you are correct. Thanks for the analysis.
Perhaps he still has classified docs to sell.
Or the deal was payment for classified docs already delivered.
Even more terrifying.
Terrifying.
But the cheating is not restricted to the cult.
Another treasure of news and background from our esteemed Professor. Thank you. Our Democracy is always at risk because there are those who are influenced by power and money at any cost. Those who are racist or antisemitic or jeopardize human rights because of their “religious” beliefs that spill into our courts and elected representatives. And we know from history that even a Civil War did not prevent institutional racism. We have abundant examples. I just finished listening to R. Maddow’s podcast special about the fascist/Nazi infiltration of our government in the 1930s and 1940s. The antisemitism. About one government investigator: “And he offers a prescient warning about an American criminal justice system that is ill-equipped to defend democracy from those who seek to destroy it.” True story and the whistle blowers were ignored or lost jobs. Maybe we’re not there yet, but we have serious problems when (some) elected and appointed officials are in the pockets of the Saudis or take their party conference to Hungary and invite Orban to speak in Texas. Or fight over CRT and ban books. Maybe same show just a new cast. “Plot Against America” about Lindbergh in 30s (Roth) fiction based on true sociopolitical events. We all know those stories. They are not just entertainment. Just like the news, information, research and resources Professor Richardson analyzes, shares with us and the world, we need to know who and what to trust and then the next steps to protect our Democracy and our people. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rachel-maddow-presents-ultra/id1647910854?i=1000582122699
Rachel Maddow's "Ultra" series was eye-opening about pervasive Nazi influence in Congress and the Catholic Church, and with timely lessons learned and to be applied in this very moment. The 8 one-hour podcast series is Must-Listening.
Does she know about the coup of 1933, more a billionaire thing, I think…
I'm sure she does, but the subject of this podcast is the nazi scheme of the 1940's.
Agree 1000%, Ellie.
And on another track, so many organizations and people outside of Georgia not only aware of runoff election, but also working towards Senator Warnock remaining just that.
Salud!
🗽
Agree! I have listened to 7 so far.
I think the 8th broke yesterday.
Yes, I listened to the last yesterday. It’s a wrap but it seems there’s always more. The history that’s in plain sight yet feels buried if we don’t know what to look for. I’m grateful for HCR, for R Maddow, Woodward and Bernstein, Ellsberg, all journalists, writers and historians, the list is endless, who research, dig. And present to the public. At their risk. Why are so many people angry or afraid of the press?
“Join Glenn Kirschner, NBC News/MSNBC legal analyst and former Assistant U.S. Attorney at the D.C. U.S Attorney's Office as he brings analysis and insight to legal issues of the day, drawing from his ... “says in YouTube and website casts, “Justice Matters.”
thank you Heather... so frightening, all. so damn discouraging.
Man did I need the news about Chocolate and Chip in a daily barrage of traitors and skullduggery. 🦃🦃🦃🦃🍗🍗🍗🍗🥕🥕🥕🥕🧅🧅🧅🧅🍂🍂🍂🍂🍁🍁🍁🍁