While President Joe Biden quietly tried to fix the congestion at ports that is causing supply chain issues, the news today has been consumed by one story after another showing the increasing radicalization of those Republicans in charge of the national party.
So I had an interesting conversation with my son the other day.
He's against Biden. He's also against The Former Guy.
I watched a video some time back of Nancy Pelosi man-splaining to a very articulate young man how, no, the Democrats could not move any further to the left because we (Americans) are capitalists. Two things occurred to me: first that, no, "we" are not all capitalists, as plainly evidenced by the young man standing in front of her. D'oh. But the second was more important: the young outlive the old. If we haven't sold our point of view to them on merit, then our point of view dies with us. If we cannot make a compelling argument of merit for capitalism, "we" will not be capitalists in the next generation.
My point is not to argue for or against capitalism, but to recognize that the next generation takes over. Right or wrong. Brilliant or stupid. Sane or crazy. And my son is dead-set against Biden. So I dug a little deeper.
Most of us here had grandparents who were in the middle of the labor movements that preceded FDR. Many of us "younger elders" grew up in the full bloom of FDR's legacy, which I feel hit a symbolic peak when we landed on the moon. I built the models. I watched the TV coverage from the comfort of a new house in the suburbs. We ran around the neighborhood without adult supervision all summer long. We've all clung to that image.
My son is the generation that never saw the bloom. He was born after the moon landing had degenerated into Reagan's cynical "Star Wars" project, and by the time he started to become politically aware, it was the middle of the Shrub years and the rise of the security state and perpetual Condition Orange. He saw Edward Snowden as a whistle-blowing hero who was pursued to the ends of the earth by the US security state, and eventually driven into exile in Russia.
He did not grow up in the brand-new house in a brand-new suburb that I did: he grew up in an aging house from that era, with aging fences and crumbling asphalt and cracked sidewalks and regular plumbing repairs. He was looking at higher education just as it was becoming prohibitively expensive and predatory. He learned about the US torture camps at GITMO and remote CIA facilities in Romania. He watched the Great Hope of Obama take a stand against this, and then not close GITMO. It took Obama to the end of both terms to get us out of Iraq. He watched national health care acts kneecapped and turned into the Affordable Care Act. He knows he'll live to see that 1.5 degree increase in temperature, if it isn't 2.5 degrees. Or 3.5. He sees no confidence that the US Government, as a whole, is capable of running the nation anywhere except into the ground.
In his view, the Democrats and Republicans are just two different dancers in the same dance, both miming each other's moves. Biden, in his view, is just dancing the dance.
So I asked him, what DOES he support? He said, it's a good question: he'd let me know if he found anything.
I can see his point, but more importantly, I see his conviction that the whole system is frozen. Everyone here has been asking it, too, in one form or another. Why isn't the DOJ moving faster? Why are the courts so slow that all of the perpetrators will be dead of old age before the lawyers stop gaming the system? Why can we do nothing about the propaganda system that is shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre? Why do armed vigilantes run free in the streets if they are white, but joggers get gunned down by police if they are black? Why do the rich get so damned much richer, while everyone else just puts up with inflation?
I'm seeing my son as representative of a large block of his generation. They are tired of the excuses.
John Mcentee, Trump's former baggage handler, pretty much sums up the thuggish Trump Presidency. I honestly feel like I'm reading about a third-world, tinpot dictatorship when I read about the Trump Administration, because that's exactly what it was, and it will take a long time to cleanse this filth away.
And of course McCarthy won't do or say anything about white supremacist, Gosar, as this weasel has tied his fate to Trump's; moreover, a few months ago McCarthy threatened to clobber Nancy Pelosi with a gavel.
So this is the party of Trump: authoritarian, misogynistic and just plain vile.
Also, two thumbs up for the Federal judge who read Trump the riot act (no pun intended).
Laurence Tribe, the Harvard constitutional law professor, said tonight on MSNBC that Merrick Garland may have been waiting on Judge Chutkan's ruling to seek criminal charges against Steve Bannon. Tribe, who taught Garland and is upset that his former student has been slow to act, said the attorney general now has no justification to not take seek charges against Bannon for refusing to testify to the House select committee. In fact, Tribe said that given the legal cover the judge's ruling provides, Garland would be guilty of obstructing the committee's investigation not to force Bannon to testify.
It. Is. Time. As per John Dean, who knows from crooks: "...[W]ith Judge Chutkan’s powerful ruling on Trump’s claim of Executive Privilege (a claim without merit) if AG Garland does not act on the prosecution of Bannon for contempt of Congress, then Garland himself is obstructing Congress! Lawrence Tribe on MSNBC: "There are no more ducks". (As in, stop saying just give Merrick Garland time to get all his ducks in a row.)
If you aren't convinced about how MG is obstructing Congress, then consider this. It is clear that Jeffrey Clark feels no compunction to testify fully and is likely emboldened by the lack of DOJ inaction. Every day there is no action by DOJ, means the clock runs further out and precious time and effort is wasted. Not a single one of the witnesses subpoenaed in the past few days will take them seriously until there is DOJ action.
In a blink, it will be the anniversary of January 6 with nary a DOJ action.
To say nothing of the FBI. Not a single press conference about Jan 6. Where is Christopher Wray? Comey had two, count 'em, announcements about "but her e-mails". But, let's allow the DOJ and FBI to tread lightly to avoid appearing to be too political.
Interestingly, anime fans today pointed out that in the original of the anime Gosar's IT moron used for the cut-and-paste, the character Gosar's face is pasted on is the traitor of the story. How appropriate! And they're so fucking stupid, they didn't watch the whole thing and discover that.
But we have to remember, "clowns with flamethrowers, still have flamethrowers."
Just before the 2020 election, a caravan of punk bullies tried to run the Biden campaign bus off the road in Texas. The 45th President of the United States of America defended it. “In my opinion, these patriots did nothing wrong,” Trump said in the tweet. “Instead, the FBI & Justice should be investigating the terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA." Marco Rubio also quickly praised them.
What has happened for secure justice in that case? We all saw pictures of the giant red bus calling people to DC in January. A rather large piece of evidence in this painstaking slow case. The punks held another rally in DC they called Justice for January 6. Steve Brannon walks around free smirking the smirk.
Failed humanbeing45 and his punks have no right to be associated with words like patriot and justice. Whatever is holding up the end of the filibuster, stop agonizing and let’s roll.
Governor Abbott called me earlier today (Tuesday) via recorded message to invite me to his Town Hall this evening (Wednesday). He said he was going to talk about Biden's overreach. Can't wait to hear how that makes any sense at all. He'll take some questions and I've been trying to think of a few. Things like how are you coming with your promise of eliminating rape in Texas and are you going add incest and date rape to your program. I think I'm somehow on a Republican list. I did declare being a Republican in 2016 so I could vote in the primary against tfg. I'm even thinking if it is worthwhile to vote in the Republican primary to keep the extreme right crazy part of the party from winning the Republican nominations. Looking forward to reading David Pepper's new book "Laboratories of Autocracy" for the particular state offices to pay particular attention to -- like the one in charge of counting the votes. In Texas with its gerrymandering the winner of the Rep. primary is the likely winner of the general election. I do think I'll get on the call this evening and report back on it in the next LFAA. Also checked that Texas will get over $35 billion from the infrastructure bill that no Texas Republican Representative or Senator voted for! Pure obstruction and hate is their only game as far as I can tell.
Here's the letter I sent to my state representatives district manager which is a way my message has a very good chance of being read by my representative.
The letter:
I’ve been thinking about all the disturbing scenes at school board meetings and the misguided legislation on “critical race theory” (whatever that is).
In the vein of being constructive rather than critical, I’d like to propose that what is really needed is “positive education” which teaches well-being and resilience. Resilience is a needed mental and emotional skill to give us the strength to address the problems all of us have to face in our lifetime’s. I’m quite worried that not teaching history by cutting out major lessons that must not be repeated because we might feel uncomfortable and shamed is the wrong approach. To me that makes for weaker people that will whine about anything and everything and feel totally entitled and will repeat the lessons of history that they weren’t taught about. If they don’t have resilience they will be never feel good about themselves and be less successful in life and our society will deteriorate as a consequence. (It already is deteriorating, in my opinion.)
The answer is to teach history as it is and from many perspectives and, obviously appropriate to the age/development level of the children, and also teach the positive psychology of resilience!
Here is an article of resilience for educators which explains it well.
There is no reason to be shamed by what our ancestors did or didn’t do. I strongly feel one cannot take people out of the context of their time. We can’t judge people living two hundred years ago with our views today. Hopefully, it shows we have moved forward in our views.
Here is an article by Dr. Peggy MacIntosh who wrote the seminal paper on Privilege. She introduces this article with:
“When white people tell deep, honest stories of knowing both oppression and privilege, and when these stories are honored, my experience is that white people can open themselves to facing race, without blame, shame or guilt.”
Here is her TED talk. You’ll enjoy her fun way of presenting this. I have had the privilege of knowing Peggy and being a guest in her home. She is an incredible person and certainly worth listening to!
I’m a big proponent of measuring the health (mental, emotion, spiritual and physical) of individuals and our communities with a Well-being Index. Great Britain is already doing this and requires every government policy and piece of legislation to show how it improves the well-being of the People much like the GNP measures the economic health of a country. Dr. Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, has a theory of well-being that I find wonderful. He has actually set up resilience training in the U.S. Army in his Soldier and Family Fitness Program. They have measured very positive results of the program. So this kind of program can be scaled to millions.
Damn, President Biden is trying to make America great agaIn. Maybe Dems could check out Frank Luntz’ missives about how to use words to lie, and tie them to truth this time. If only the MSM would blast the truth as far and wide as Rupert blasts the lies…
I cannot count the number of times I thought the poor excuse for republicans had jumped the shark. I hate to think what it will take…or if anything will…
Milton Mayer, “They Thought They Were Free. The Germans 1933-45” “Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained, or on occasion, regretted, that unless one what the whole thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’ must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day, than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing - each act is worse than the last but only a little worse. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join you in resisting somehow.
You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone, you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds, or thousands, will join you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinemas, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves, when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things your father could never have imagined. “
Riveting stuff! Thank you, dear Heather, for all of tonight's information, but especially for Judge Tanya Chutkan's amazing response to 45's whines:
“'Plaintiff does not acknowledge the deference owed to the incumbent President’s judgment…. His position that he may override the express will of the executive branch appears to be premised on the notion that his executive power ‘exists in perpetuity,’.... But Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President....The court…holds that Plaintiff’s assertion of privilege is outweighed by President Biden’s decision not to uphold the privilege.'"
How, I would have enjoyed being in the courtroom at that moment in time!
I'd like to commend Liz Cheney for maintaining her sanity and moral clarity in a party gone bonkers. She is a unlikely hero but it takes real guts to speak out against the people you've worked with for years especially when you have no longer have a home in either party. My question is why is she able to see so clearly the threat to democracy and the rule of law posed by the Trump cult while her fellows become ever more shackled to a deranged personality.
It appears we the people have entered the U.S. Era of the Big Ugly. I join many, scratching our heads and asking, "What on earth has happened to our country?" Numerous pundits have joined that chorus of "WTF's". Posting animes of killing Members of Congress likely would put most of us on an FBI watch list. Representative Gosar, a Nazi-fied nutcase, finds humor in his vile, repugnant offenses. His own family has disowned him. If only the Republican Party would disown him! Of course, Gosar diverted his anti-AOC anime to an immigrant matter. Yesterday, watching a clip of his remarks in Congress, it was apparent the man is challenged mentally; suffering. One must wonder how and why so many hardcore angry men have populated the Republican Party. The mental health of our country is, in fact, at risk. I say that not from hysteria or hyperbole; rather, from factual observations.
One would hope the Democrats might censure Gosar and those like him. But, no. The Democrats simply wring their hands silently hoping "all this will go away" on its own. Well, it won't! While representatives such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger offer hope, the Republican Party has become the cheering squad for the enemy of the people. Consummate EVIL has taken a seat at the table of our Republic. It has matastasized throughout the body politic and much of our citizen population.
It occurs to me that if our country wasn’t such an easy place for rich people to flout the rule of law, the threat of trump would have been neutralized decades ago and we wouldn’t be in this pickle right now.
Also, I wonder if Cheney is going to run as a Republican or if the work of building a viable 3rd party is happening behind the scenes. Especially in light of the announcements by some of the less
radicalized GOPers that they will not run for re-election.
A couple of days ago, I discovered Chris Hedges, and I read and listened, spellbound.
When I first started to read these Letters, I had little understanding of US history or politics. Much of what I read and heard in the media was confusing and didn't hold together because I had no background to attach it to. Heather gave me that - and you all - and that was tremendous. I begin to see and understand, and I'm driven to see and understand even better.
I have been reading a lot, usually spurred by references in these comments, with investigations branching wildly from there. Chris Hedges speaks differently than anything I have read or heard before. This 2-hr video - 1 hour talk and then a question-and-answer session - has just kicked me into another realm. I look back at the snarl of politics from this new viewpoint, and I see a carnival sideshow. Idiocy. A waste of precious time. I'd be very curious to know what others here think of Hedges' ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxSN4ip_F6M
Our choir is singing "Draw the Circle Wider" meant to include more in the love and fellowship of 'Christ. I am reinterpreting it today as the wider circle will eventually reach the originators of January 6. Then the expanding circles will be drawn up in a net capturing all who conspired with TFG. Vengeance is mine, I will repay; saith the Lord. Romans 12: 19 KJ This may be God's plan. After all, God works through mortals. Let us pray that those investigating and prosecuting stay strong to finish this work.
November 9, 2021
So I had an interesting conversation with my son the other day.
He's against Biden. He's also against The Former Guy.
I watched a video some time back of Nancy Pelosi man-splaining to a very articulate young man how, no, the Democrats could not move any further to the left because we (Americans) are capitalists. Two things occurred to me: first that, no, "we" are not all capitalists, as plainly evidenced by the young man standing in front of her. D'oh. But the second was more important: the young outlive the old. If we haven't sold our point of view to them on merit, then our point of view dies with us. If we cannot make a compelling argument of merit for capitalism, "we" will not be capitalists in the next generation.
My point is not to argue for or against capitalism, but to recognize that the next generation takes over. Right or wrong. Brilliant or stupid. Sane or crazy. And my son is dead-set against Biden. So I dug a little deeper.
Most of us here had grandparents who were in the middle of the labor movements that preceded FDR. Many of us "younger elders" grew up in the full bloom of FDR's legacy, which I feel hit a symbolic peak when we landed on the moon. I built the models. I watched the TV coverage from the comfort of a new house in the suburbs. We ran around the neighborhood without adult supervision all summer long. We've all clung to that image.
My son is the generation that never saw the bloom. He was born after the moon landing had degenerated into Reagan's cynical "Star Wars" project, and by the time he started to become politically aware, it was the middle of the Shrub years and the rise of the security state and perpetual Condition Orange. He saw Edward Snowden as a whistle-blowing hero who was pursued to the ends of the earth by the US security state, and eventually driven into exile in Russia.
He did not grow up in the brand-new house in a brand-new suburb that I did: he grew up in an aging house from that era, with aging fences and crumbling asphalt and cracked sidewalks and regular plumbing repairs. He was looking at higher education just as it was becoming prohibitively expensive and predatory. He learned about the US torture camps at GITMO and remote CIA facilities in Romania. He watched the Great Hope of Obama take a stand against this, and then not close GITMO. It took Obama to the end of both terms to get us out of Iraq. He watched national health care acts kneecapped and turned into the Affordable Care Act. He knows he'll live to see that 1.5 degree increase in temperature, if it isn't 2.5 degrees. Or 3.5. He sees no confidence that the US Government, as a whole, is capable of running the nation anywhere except into the ground.
In his view, the Democrats and Republicans are just two different dancers in the same dance, both miming each other's moves. Biden, in his view, is just dancing the dance.
So I asked him, what DOES he support? He said, it's a good question: he'd let me know if he found anything.
I can see his point, but more importantly, I see his conviction that the whole system is frozen. Everyone here has been asking it, too, in one form or another. Why isn't the DOJ moving faster? Why are the courts so slow that all of the perpetrators will be dead of old age before the lawyers stop gaming the system? Why can we do nothing about the propaganda system that is shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre? Why do armed vigilantes run free in the streets if they are white, but joggers get gunned down by police if they are black? Why do the rich get so damned much richer, while everyone else just puts up with inflation?
I'm seeing my son as representative of a large block of his generation. They are tired of the excuses.
They will outlive us.
John Mcentee, Trump's former baggage handler, pretty much sums up the thuggish Trump Presidency. I honestly feel like I'm reading about a third-world, tinpot dictatorship when I read about the Trump Administration, because that's exactly what it was, and it will take a long time to cleanse this filth away.
And of course McCarthy won't do or say anything about white supremacist, Gosar, as this weasel has tied his fate to Trump's; moreover, a few months ago McCarthy threatened to clobber Nancy Pelosi with a gavel.
So this is the party of Trump: authoritarian, misogynistic and just plain vile.
Also, two thumbs up for the Federal judge who read Trump the riot act (no pun intended).
Thank you for your post
Laurence Tribe, the Harvard constitutional law professor, said tonight on MSNBC that Merrick Garland may have been waiting on Judge Chutkan's ruling to seek criminal charges against Steve Bannon. Tribe, who taught Garland and is upset that his former student has been slow to act, said the attorney general now has no justification to not take seek charges against Bannon for refusing to testify to the House select committee. In fact, Tribe said that given the legal cover the judge's ruling provides, Garland would be guilty of obstructing the committee's investigation not to force Bannon to testify.
Here's Lawrence O'Donnell's interview with Tribe. First, though, you must suffer through an ad. https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/federal-judge-trump-can-t-keep-records-from-jan-6-committee-125833285869
It. Is. Time. As per John Dean, who knows from crooks: "...[W]ith Judge Chutkan’s powerful ruling on Trump’s claim of Executive Privilege (a claim without merit) if AG Garland does not act on the prosecution of Bannon for contempt of Congress, then Garland himself is obstructing Congress! Lawrence Tribe on MSNBC: "There are no more ducks". (As in, stop saying just give Merrick Garland time to get all his ducks in a row.)
If you aren't convinced about how MG is obstructing Congress, then consider this. It is clear that Jeffrey Clark feels no compunction to testify fully and is likely emboldened by the lack of DOJ inaction. Every day there is no action by DOJ, means the clock runs further out and precious time and effort is wasted. Not a single one of the witnesses subpoenaed in the past few days will take them seriously until there is DOJ action.
In a blink, it will be the anniversary of January 6 with nary a DOJ action.
To say nothing of the FBI. Not a single press conference about Jan 6. Where is Christopher Wray? Comey had two, count 'em, announcements about "but her e-mails". But, let's allow the DOJ and FBI to tread lightly to avoid appearing to be too political.
Interestingly, anime fans today pointed out that in the original of the anime Gosar's IT moron used for the cut-and-paste, the character Gosar's face is pasted on is the traitor of the story. How appropriate! And they're so fucking stupid, they didn't watch the whole thing and discover that.
But we have to remember, "clowns with flamethrowers, still have flamethrowers."
Just before the 2020 election, a caravan of punk bullies tried to run the Biden campaign bus off the road in Texas. The 45th President of the United States of America defended it. “In my opinion, these patriots did nothing wrong,” Trump said in the tweet. “Instead, the FBI & Justice should be investigating the terrorists, anarchists, and agitators of ANTIFA." Marco Rubio also quickly praised them.
What has happened for secure justice in that case? We all saw pictures of the giant red bus calling people to DC in January. A rather large piece of evidence in this painstaking slow case. The punks held another rally in DC they called Justice for January 6. Steve Brannon walks around free smirking the smirk.
Failed humanbeing45 and his punks have no right to be associated with words like patriot and justice. Whatever is holding up the end of the filibuster, stop agonizing and let’s roll.
Governor Abbott called me earlier today (Tuesday) via recorded message to invite me to his Town Hall this evening (Wednesday). He said he was going to talk about Biden's overreach. Can't wait to hear how that makes any sense at all. He'll take some questions and I've been trying to think of a few. Things like how are you coming with your promise of eliminating rape in Texas and are you going add incest and date rape to your program. I think I'm somehow on a Republican list. I did declare being a Republican in 2016 so I could vote in the primary against tfg. I'm even thinking if it is worthwhile to vote in the Republican primary to keep the extreme right crazy part of the party from winning the Republican nominations. Looking forward to reading David Pepper's new book "Laboratories of Autocracy" for the particular state offices to pay particular attention to -- like the one in charge of counting the votes. In Texas with its gerrymandering the winner of the Rep. primary is the likely winner of the general election. I do think I'll get on the call this evening and report back on it in the next LFAA. Also checked that Texas will get over $35 billion from the infrastructure bill that no Texas Republican Representative or Senator voted for! Pure obstruction and hate is their only game as far as I can tell.
Here's the letter I sent to my state representatives district manager which is a way my message has a very good chance of being read by my representative.
The letter:
I’ve been thinking about all the disturbing scenes at school board meetings and the misguided legislation on “critical race theory” (whatever that is).
In the vein of being constructive rather than critical, I’d like to propose that what is really needed is “positive education” which teaches well-being and resilience. Resilience is a needed mental and emotional skill to give us the strength to address the problems all of us have to face in our lifetime’s. I’m quite worried that not teaching history by cutting out major lessons that must not be repeated because we might feel uncomfortable and shamed is the wrong approach. To me that makes for weaker people that will whine about anything and everything and feel totally entitled and will repeat the lessons of history that they weren’t taught about. If they don’t have resilience they will be never feel good about themselves and be less successful in life and our society will deteriorate as a consequence. (It already is deteriorating, in my opinion.)
The answer is to teach history as it is and from many perspectives and, obviously appropriate to the age/development level of the children, and also teach the positive psychology of resilience!
Here is an article of resilience for educators which explains it well.
https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/learn/educatorresilience
There is no reason to be shamed by what our ancestors did or didn’t do. I strongly feel one cannot take people out of the context of their time. We can’t judge people living two hundred years ago with our views today. Hopefully, it shows we have moved forward in our views.
Here is an article by Dr. Peggy MacIntosh who wrote the seminal paper on Privilege. She introduces this article with:
“When white people tell deep, honest stories of knowing both oppression and privilege, and when these stories are honored, my experience is that white people can open themselves to facing race, without blame, shame or guilt.”
https://www.whitworth.edu/cms/media/whitworth/documents/administration/diversity-equity--inclusion/peggy-mcintosh-white-people-facing-race.pdf
Here is her TED talk. You’ll enjoy her fun way of presenting this. I have had the privilege of knowing Peggy and being a guest in her home. She is an incredible person and certainly worth listening to!
https://www.ted.com/talks/peggy_mcintosh_how_to_recognize_your_white_privilege_and_use_it_to_fight_inequality?language=en
I’m a big proponent of measuring the health (mental, emotion, spiritual and physical) of individuals and our communities with a Well-being Index. Great Britain is already doing this and requires every government policy and piece of legislation to show how it improves the well-being of the People much like the GNP measures the economic health of a country. Dr. Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, has a theory of well-being that I find wonderful. He has actually set up resilience training in the U.S. Army in his Soldier and Family Fitness Program. They have measured very positive results of the program. So this kind of program can be scaled to millions.
https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/learn/soldiers
Here is his website.
https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/
Damn, President Biden is trying to make America great agaIn. Maybe Dems could check out Frank Luntz’ missives about how to use words to lie, and tie them to truth this time. If only the MSM would blast the truth as far and wide as Rupert blasts the lies…
I cannot count the number of times I thought the poor excuse for republicans had jumped the shark. I hate to think what it will take…or if anything will…
Milton Mayer, “They Thought They Were Free. The Germans 1933-45” “Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained, or on occasion, regretted, that unless one what the whole thing was in principle, what all these ‘little measures’ must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day, than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing - each act is worse than the last but only a little worse. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join you in resisting somehow.
You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone, you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds, or thousands, will join you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinemas, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves, when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things your father could never have imagined. “
We are well down this path.
Riveting stuff! Thank you, dear Heather, for all of tonight's information, but especially for Judge Tanya Chutkan's amazing response to 45's whines:
“'Plaintiff does not acknowledge the deference owed to the incumbent President’s judgment…. His position that he may override the express will of the executive branch appears to be premised on the notion that his executive power ‘exists in perpetuity,’.... But Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President....The court…holds that Plaintiff’s assertion of privilege is outweighed by President Biden’s decision not to uphold the privilege.'"
How, I would have enjoyed being in the courtroom at that moment in time!
I'd like to commend Liz Cheney for maintaining her sanity and moral clarity in a party gone bonkers. She is a unlikely hero but it takes real guts to speak out against the people you've worked with for years especially when you have no longer have a home in either party. My question is why is she able to see so clearly the threat to democracy and the rule of law posed by the Trump cult while her fellows become ever more shackled to a deranged personality.
It appears we the people have entered the U.S. Era of the Big Ugly. I join many, scratching our heads and asking, "What on earth has happened to our country?" Numerous pundits have joined that chorus of "WTF's". Posting animes of killing Members of Congress likely would put most of us on an FBI watch list. Representative Gosar, a Nazi-fied nutcase, finds humor in his vile, repugnant offenses. His own family has disowned him. If only the Republican Party would disown him! Of course, Gosar diverted his anti-AOC anime to an immigrant matter. Yesterday, watching a clip of his remarks in Congress, it was apparent the man is challenged mentally; suffering. One must wonder how and why so many hardcore angry men have populated the Republican Party. The mental health of our country is, in fact, at risk. I say that not from hysteria or hyperbole; rather, from factual observations.
One would hope the Democrats might censure Gosar and those like him. But, no. The Democrats simply wring their hands silently hoping "all this will go away" on its own. Well, it won't! While representatives such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger offer hope, the Republican Party has become the cheering squad for the enemy of the people. Consummate EVIL has taken a seat at the table of our Republic. It has matastasized throughout the body politic and much of our citizen population.
It occurs to me that if our country wasn’t such an easy place for rich people to flout the rule of law, the threat of trump would have been neutralized decades ago and we wouldn’t be in this pickle right now.
Also, I wonder if Cheney is going to run as a Republican or if the work of building a viable 3rd party is happening behind the scenes. Especially in light of the announcements by some of the less
radicalized GOPers that they will not run for re-election.
Never thought I see myself cheering on a Cheney, but Damn!
A couple of days ago, I discovered Chris Hedges, and I read and listened, spellbound.
When I first started to read these Letters, I had little understanding of US history or politics. Much of what I read and heard in the media was confusing and didn't hold together because I had no background to attach it to. Heather gave me that - and you all - and that was tremendous. I begin to see and understand, and I'm driven to see and understand even better.
I have been reading a lot, usually spurred by references in these comments, with investigations branching wildly from there. Chris Hedges speaks differently than anything I have read or heard before. This 2-hr video - 1 hour talk and then a question-and-answer session - has just kicked me into another realm. I look back at the snarl of politics from this new viewpoint, and I see a carnival sideshow. Idiocy. A waste of precious time. I'd be very curious to know what others here think of Hedges' ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxSN4ip_F6M
Our choir is singing "Draw the Circle Wider" meant to include more in the love and fellowship of 'Christ. I am reinterpreting it today as the wider circle will eventually reach the originators of January 6. Then the expanding circles will be drawn up in a net capturing all who conspired with TFG. Vengeance is mine, I will repay; saith the Lord. Romans 12: 19 KJ This may be God's plan. After all, God works through mortals. Let us pray that those investigating and prosecuting stay strong to finish this work.