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It is early Sunday morning here in Germany.

Yesterday, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to the nation.

A lot has happened since the corona virus began spreading, Merkel said.

At the beginning of the year, she said, we were still dealing with a completely unknown virus. "Today we know so much more about the paths of infection, about the possibilities of protecting oneself, about symptoms and treatment options. Vaccines are being developed in record time. "We can assume that one or more vaccines will be available, not just sometime in the future, but in the foreseeable future.

This is due to the "great spirit of research" of the people, Merkel explained. "If this pandemic has anything good at all, it is this: It shows what we humans are capable of if we take our hearts in our hands, if we act with perseverance and creativity - and most importantly: if we work together across borders. But it is not only scientists who are in the game. "No, we can all do something. Each and every one of us can do something," said the Chancellor, referring to hygiene rules such as wearing masks, maintaining a safe distance and ventilation.

We recently reached the one million mark of Corona infections, 311,000 of which are active, and our death toll has now reached 15, 964. In a country of 80 million souls, these numbers are painful, but it could have been much worse.

Winter is nearly upon us and Merkel’s government has imposed new restrictions. They are not popular with everyone – we are all tired of this - and there are some who, as in the US, are actively protesting the measures as restrictions on personal freedom. But by and large, the people trust the government and are following the new rules.

No small part of whatever success Germany has experienced is due to Chancellor Merkel’s decision to square with the people, to tell them the hard truth. Trust isn’t built overnight, it takes time to develop and it takes courage to speak the truth, even when it isn’t pleasant to hear.

Americans have lived through four years of lies and self-dealing. The people are wary of trusting the government and many have turned to other sources for “alternative facts”. The incoming Administration has its work cut out for it but I am hopeful, even confident, that if they speak the truth consistently, and act to better the lives of all the people, that trust can be earned and the nation can begin to move forward united.

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I wanted to address the idea of Trump's alternate reality, and one commenter's objections to naming it a reality at all, but this got long-winded, so I am putting out out here in the main thread where perhaps it will see more light for a moment or two than it would as a response to a single comment.

I can only offer my own view on what merits the name, obviously, but I do not think it is a complete stretch to call Trump's constructed cognitive universe an alternate reality. If the narratives he were pushing had all originated with him, were completely aberrant and inexplicible in their appeal, I would be more inclined simply to call them fictions and let it go at that, but much of what he says only amplifies what an extremely vocal minority of US citizens actually do believe is true. And dismissing their realities as fictions would be a dangerous understatement.

I grew up in the Deep South and deep within Christian Fundamentalism, where much the world of today's evangelical movement was itself constructed, and the standards of testing of reality are entirely different for those who are enthralled by their leaders to have faith in a version of the Gospels that extols individual righteousness as a matter of conviction, of what feels right, or, as my mother would put it, they "just know"--despite any and all empirical evidence to the contrary.

I could go into the abusive methods of mind control used in fundamentalisms of all sorts: they are as cult-like as those we often regard as so beyond the pall of consensual reality that they have no legitimacy at all. The main difference in fundamentalist Christianity is that it is a splinter group of one of the largest religions in the world today, and as such evangelicals can draw on a history that we actually do share with them if we were brought up in the US or another European-descended culture.

But I want to emphasize here that this alternative reality is as real to those inside of it as our reality is to us. To not understand that is to not understand what we are up against. Trump's fantasies are not just Trump's fantasies: they belong to white supremacy, to authoritarianism, to a narcissism that is not the isolated symptom of one person who might be labeled mentally ill. There is, inside of our very own culture, a tendency to buy into exactly the things he has bought into. Why is that?

There is no single answer to that question, and I have certainly not even begun to uncover them all, but it concerns at least the origins of the authoritarian sensibilities of the far right. It also concerns the question of what narcissism is and where it begins: myself, I would start with familial/cultural cycles of deep narcissistic injury that are remnants of Calvinistic, Puritan, and, I think to some degree, old English and Germanic approaches to child-rearing (see Alice Miller's "Drama of the Gifted Child" for a very interesting, if underappreciated, exposition of a kind of emotional stoicism and repression that has roots in certain European beliefs about "discipline").

And that is just where I would begin to think about this. As much as I agree with Heather that we have a chance to rewrite a number of endings to the repeated uprisings of fascism, of authoritarianism, of exclusion and brutality in the cultures that we share--and that we must seize this moment to do so, I am not optimistic that we will succeed at all quickly. We may not succeed at all.

At the very least, we--and as usual I am mainly addressing those of us who are relatively privileged in the US: white (that would be me), of middle-class origins (if not still particularly financially well-off, maybe once upon a time, or perhaps our parents were able to wrest off a piece of the American Dream while it was still available to certain white families even if we have not been able to keep ahold of it), mostly well-educated (also me), able-bodied (not anymore, no), and probably overwhelmingly cisgendered and heterosexual (never was, no chance of it happening!), and even at least nominally Christian (also not me for years)--we have to look at the degree of our own complicity in the multiple alternative realities that have been circulating amongst us for so long that many of them are simply thought of as The Way Things Are.

Can we question our own assumptions? Have we? Are we willing to listen to BIPOC, to disabled people, to queer and trans people? If we don't, we won't be able to shake off the centuries-old heirarchical ways of thinking that are often considered to be "common sense".

Common to whom? Is it possible that some of our realities are also fictions? And if so--or even if not--can fiction be dismissed, or is it too powerful as a world-building tool for us to, well, write it off? Or cross it out, or try to erase it?

I don't wish to rain on whatever parades we might be able to pull together right now. As a collection of many communities and as the nation we apparently constitute, we certainly need something positive to build towards. But I do think it necessary to understand that we did not end up with Trump by accident.

We who call ourselves The Left are extremely diverse. Finding commonality among ourselves can be a tall order. But there are many, many, many, many people right here living among us who have had no alternative but to analyze the workings of what is called Western culture because they have been under its collective thumb for hundreds of years. And the far right is frightened to death that they/we will have their/our voices heard. But I really do think that listening may well be our only chance for pulling this off.

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So much to take in. But I have an anecdote.

My cattleman brother who is as GOP old school as they come spent Thanksgiving with his daughter’s in laws. This is all up in “Jefferson State”. Bundy Country. The in laws are new school, Tea Party, militia type Republicans. Well, after a long afternoon listening to their “theories” he was shocked and awed. And concerned. Finally!!! Maybe some shared time with the base is what it’s going to take to shake up moderate Republicans who vote for Trump and his type of politicians. My brother who doesn’t use the internet just kept saying “where do they hear this stuff?”.

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Thank you, Heather! Right now, I feel that I am a victim of abuse...Trump does that to me. Your letters are my support network right now.

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There is such compelling medical and scientific evidence of fatalities resulting from coronavirus. There is also abundant evidence of elected officials denying this and encouraging behaviors that lead to more deaths. Is there no legal theory/case, criminal or civil, by individuals or class, to charge/sue the president and senators who are complicit in the conspiracy to spread knowingly false health information? If nothing else, to scare the shit out of them for what their legal liability could be? Even just to get discovery about what they actually know, believe and are communicating? If Trump and cronies can get so much national coverage with these BS suits, why not flood the legal zone with charges or negligent homicide? Channeling my "there oughta be a law!" outrage.

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"Trump is trying to rush through regulations and pack positions with loyalists before he leaves office." @HeatherCoxRichardson can you explain even if Trump packs positions with loyalists, why can't Biden fire them when he takes office, or won't all appointees have to resign and be rehired, or won't Trump loyalists, who tend not to have much experience in the post they are appointed to or may no longer be interested in serving after Trump leaves office, not be interested in holding these positions after Trump leaves the White House? Why is this such a risk? Please explain. Thank you.

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Thank you so much, Heather, for being my lifeline to sanity and hope.

If I were conspiracy theory-minded, I could almost believe the handling of the Coronavirus was deliberate. Aside from the enormous cost of medical care, one could theorize that the virus is a perfect solution to reducing the cost of Social Security and welfare programs, by killing off the elderly and the poor recipients. I remember reading that Jared’s group was on the verge of deploying testing and PPE early in the pandemic, but was told to stand down, because only the blue states were being affected.

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Thanks Heather for unpacking another day in hell for this Country. It's a needed dose for those of us that chose to deal with reality.

As I stand by helplessly watching Trump burn this Country to the ground I am reminded of a night decades ago when my family was traveling to Battle Creek Michigan. We drove on the highway above Detroit during the riots watching the City being burned and ransacked. I remember my Father saying to me as we were able to get away from the City, "I pray to God you never get to see anything like this again. Those poor people have nothing left."

Little did he know I would have to watch an American President do the same to the citizens of this Country. I am grateful he is not here today to see what this Nation has become.

Stay safe, stay well.

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I read Pope Francis's editorial yesterday and found myself agreeing with him, which is unusual. I am hoping that HCR will clarify whether Biden can undo the flurry of executive actions that are being rushed through with his own executive actions-for example the new category of government employees who are handpicked, not approved by anyone and are not supposed to be partisan or at least not to be replaced with change in administration-OMB and GSA, at least, if I understand correctly. I am so ready to have adults in charge again, but for now, staying focused on the GA elections. Please donate time, money, make phone calls, write postcards to help get out the vote for Warnock and Ossoff. Watch Suppression 2020 to see what Brian Kemp has been up to to keep the democratic vote from being counted-chilling.

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This article keeps cycling. Even Jill Wine Banks reposted it, and it would be good for discussion if the "majority leader" position has a chance of being overruled by the VP: https://newsflector.com/how-vp-harris-can-sideline-moscow-mitch/?fbclid=IwAR3qcJXIGTjFBHjkXf4mFVrBj_cCDMbYn6m3q6F991R2d23EqpIYhiUOyNo

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Heather, I’m impressed and inspired by your intention to push the re-implementation of the Fairness Doctrine (or revised version?)

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fairness-Doctrine

I am wondering if our community can help? Do you have a plan to formalize this effort? Would you please provide more education regarding the history, effect, and repeal of the Doctrine?

Please count me in to assist in any way I can.

Is anyone else interested in learning more and joining in this effort?

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Question:

It’s been noted that Trump filed for 2020 re-election on the day of his inauguration in January 2017. That move seemed unprecedented since most incumbents wait until their third year in office to file.

Also, connecting the dots, we learned that all money received into the campaign after formally filing, according to our laws, can be used to pay legal expenses. Trump, during his presidency, took major advantage of that loophole.

If Trump follows course and files for 2024 election on Biden’s Inauguration Day, can he as a candidate (a regular citizen, not incumbent president) use campaign funds for legal expenses?

If so, I hope the media shines a light on that so that Trump supporters know where their money is going.

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Thanks for this blog but thanks even more for the truthful Thanksgiving story. A Truth all need to hear.

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Wow. A lot of hate speak in here today. Full moon on Monday. Brace for impact.

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If only the virus would kill all the Right people, i.e., all those on the right: the Trump morons who don't believe it's real, the fundamentalist idiots, and all the others who flunk evolution's IQ test: are you intelligent enough to take the information and alter your behavior in such a way as to maximize your likelihood of survival?

I'm sorry, I have no pity whatsoever for those fools who think it doesn't exist even as they're being intubated. In fact, I would institute a rule that if you don't believe it's real, we won't waste valuable limited resources on your worthless self. The mayor of Longmont Colorado got the city council to pass an ordinance restricting acceptance of patients at the local hospitals to those from communities where the virus is taken seriously and people act to prevent it to the extent possible. Let the morons die. Evolution's been short-circuited and there are no more saber tooth tigers to eat the idiots, so we produce too many of them. We've gone from Homo Sapiens to Homo Sap.

So far as Drumpty's fantasy about 2024, holding a rally for his morons on the day Biden takes office is stupid enough, silly enough, malicious enough, mean enough and at the same time pathetic enough to be exactly right for that sack of shit. I pray every day that his age, obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise will finally allow Reality to catch up with his worthless ass and kill him. It's the only way we're ever going to be rid of him.

And I hope all the morons continue to believe the votes are rigged and decide not to participate since it's obviously meaningless. Watched that pigface bimbo Ronna Romney McDaniel trying to tell people in Georgia that the presidential election was rigged but all the votes for the two senators that were on the same ballots were good. The scum are all hoist on their own petards.

If America was depopulated by 73 million, we really could Make America Great Again. And you know which 73 million I mean. The idiots, morons, losers and scum.

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Thank you, HCR. Usually, I read first thing; tonight, it’s last thing. As I turn out the light, Pope Francis’ words are a comfort. As are your Letters. ❤️🤍💙

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