I very strongly suspect that our fellow human beings in Australia, Great Britain, Norway, etc., are looking at us & saying, "This election is TIED, with these 2 candidates!?! How can that BE??"
" because I would not pander to the vanity of those people,(MAGA) and, least of all, because I will not bow my knee to the degraded creature (trump)who has made the very name of the free press odious to honorable men."
I think it was the first time that Americans really got a chance to understand what it might feel like to have a prosecutor as its president. The fact that it might be a black woman, the prosecutor who ultimately bests the man who is out on bail, a convicted felon is too American even for us, Americans.
Kamala Harris is amazing and I hope she will win the election. But she will have to work much harder on bringing our foreign policy in line with our ideals of democracy and human rights. Our present foreign policy is bringing us down as an admired world leader.
My main interest in in foreign policy after living and travelling for many decades in Western Europe, Central Europe where I learned foreign languages and so made friends and colleagues there, and then teaching in Hungary (where my German helped) and Poland (where my French helped).
Most Americans can't relate to most of these places and it seems like fewer and fewer people in politics have much comfort there either. But the America that came our of WWII as No.1 Hero and leader of the West, while even richer from our capitalism and globalism, has done an awful job in using our power around the world.
Our failures in the Middle East started with the mid-50's removal of the Democratic leader of Iran and imposition of the Shah, got worse with the stupid Iraq war, and then total misunderstanding of how to deal with Afghanistan. Now we are embroiled in Ukraine and the Israeli war on Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon. Smart, well educated, well read young Americans with moral consciousnesses who have strong values are very upset, like I am, with what we are doing abroad. Except for extremists including Zionist Jews in Israel and the US, that is to say the moral and humane Jews, Suni and Shiite Arabs, etc. have found American policy there bewildering, out of touch and extremely immoral and a total failure to achieve what most Americans want, which is peace for all ethnic groups there. Europeans are also starting to turn against our strong support of the Israeli gov't. No one believes Bidens attempts to extress sympathy for Palestinians since his actions totally contradict it.
Bidens policy in Ukraine is also a disaster. Had American politicians understood the history and situation there better they would have encouraged Zelinski a couple of years ago to accept territorial loss of the Donbas and land bridge to Crimea in return for a peace, that would have included Western support for rebuilding Ukraine and providing a very strong defense system, and continued support for it's economy, etc. I very much doubt Russia will want more, mainly because Donbas and the other areas Russia controls now are what it wanted - they are where most residents have always wanted a stronger connection to Russia than to the West and where not only Tschaikowski and Chekov lived during their most productive years, but also where so much other important Russian history took place.
Instead the US has supported wars that have killed millions of people.
We have also contradicted ourselves grieviously. If we are against Russia taking over lands that were not Russian after the Soviet Union fell, why are we giving Israel all the armaments it need to take over lands it was not given with UN resolutions which enabled the founding of Israel?
It is good to read this. I find myself agreeing practically all that you have written. There is much particularly in Foreign Policy that Harris must do to move away form the Biden playbook which has been calamitous
I have listened or read these well articulated, factual, and insightful letters for over a week after they were recommended by my former graduate school roommate as we pursued our PhDs in Clinical Psychology at the University of Texas. We reconnected after about 40 years after our graduation. He lives in Ohio and I live in Montgomery, Alabama. Remarkably, we share the same political views. Heather Cox Richardson clearly echoes our shared opinions on DJT, or rather our views agree with her. I know which way Alabama will vote, but I can add my vote to the popular vote. I can’t understand why so many people can’t see through Trump to his narcissism and divisiveness. There has never been a more dangerous and despicable candidate for the highest office in America, and yet the race appears to be close. I am 79 and established in my practice here and can’t go to Canada or Costa Rico, but I ache for my children and grandchildren if he somehow manages to win the election. As dangerous as he is, I worry even more about JD Vance filling out Trump’s term after his mental decline progresses. Thanks Heather for your insight and outstanding work on voicing the truth. Kim Hamblin, PhD.
My mother always said, “son, the truth always comes out sooner or later.” In this case, I hope it will be sooner rather than later! It’s been a long time coming. Thank you, Heather, for helping bring the truth to the surface!
Apparently, after the interview with Baier, the regulars on Fox took snippets of what she said to show her in a negative light to their viewers. Maybe she didn't accomplish anything by agreeing to appear.
The whole world is watching Trump and what He and his followers are trying to do to our Country, and maybe the majority of them realize better than we do what is happening. For years they have looked to the USA as a model of Democracy. The NATO countries, for example. That might not be the case any longer if Trump is elected. It is a critical time in the history of our Nation and the World in so many ways. Get out and vote!
I very strongly suspect that our fellow human beings in Australia, Great Britain, Norway, etc., are looking at us & saying, "This election is TIED, with these 2 candidates!?! How can that BE??"
Maybe just a little.
Okay … a LOT!!!
Trump, AI, war in the Middle East and Halloween. All scary things. But Trump is the scariest of all.
I have the perfect quote for Fox "News"
" because I would not pander to the vanity of those people,(MAGA) and, least of all, because I will not bow my knee to the degraded creature (trump)who has made the very name of the free press odious to honorable men."
William Howard Russell of the London Times 1861
I think it was the first time that Americans really got a chance to understand what it might feel like to have a prosecutor as its president. The fact that it might be a black woman, the prosecutor who ultimately bests the man who is out on bail, a convicted felon is too American even for us, Americans.
Oh! I love your comment!!... "Too American for even us, Americans."
Kamala Harris is amazing and I hope she will win the election. But she will have to work much harder on bringing our foreign policy in line with our ideals of democracy and human rights. Our present foreign policy is bringing us down as an admired world leader.
My main interest in in foreign policy after living and travelling for many decades in Western Europe, Central Europe where I learned foreign languages and so made friends and colleagues there, and then teaching in Hungary (where my German helped) and Poland (where my French helped).
Most Americans can't relate to most of these places and it seems like fewer and fewer people in politics have much comfort there either. But the America that came our of WWII as No.1 Hero and leader of the West, while even richer from our capitalism and globalism, has done an awful job in using our power around the world.
Our failures in the Middle East started with the mid-50's removal of the Democratic leader of Iran and imposition of the Shah, got worse with the stupid Iraq war, and then total misunderstanding of how to deal with Afghanistan. Now we are embroiled in Ukraine and the Israeli war on Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon. Smart, well educated, well read young Americans with moral consciousnesses who have strong values are very upset, like I am, with what we are doing abroad. Except for extremists including Zionist Jews in Israel and the US, that is to say the moral and humane Jews, Suni and Shiite Arabs, etc. have found American policy there bewildering, out of touch and extremely immoral and a total failure to achieve what most Americans want, which is peace for all ethnic groups there. Europeans are also starting to turn against our strong support of the Israeli gov't. No one believes Bidens attempts to extress sympathy for Palestinians since his actions totally contradict it.
Bidens policy in Ukraine is also a disaster. Had American politicians understood the history and situation there better they would have encouraged Zelinski a couple of years ago to accept territorial loss of the Donbas and land bridge to Crimea in return for a peace, that would have included Western support for rebuilding Ukraine and providing a very strong defense system, and continued support for it's economy, etc. I very much doubt Russia will want more, mainly because Donbas and the other areas Russia controls now are what it wanted - they are where most residents have always wanted a stronger connection to Russia than to the West and where not only Tschaikowski and Chekov lived during their most productive years, but also where so much other important Russian history took place.
Instead the US has supported wars that have killed millions of people.
We have also contradicted ourselves grieviously. If we are against Russia taking over lands that were not Russian after the Soviet Union fell, why are we giving Israel all the armaments it need to take over lands it was not given with UN resolutions which enabled the founding of Israel?
It is good to read this. I find myself agreeing practically all that you have written. There is much particularly in Foreign Policy that Harris must do to move away form the Biden playbook which has been calamitous
I have listened or read these well articulated, factual, and insightful letters for over a week after they were recommended by my former graduate school roommate as we pursued our PhDs in Clinical Psychology at the University of Texas. We reconnected after about 40 years after our graduation. He lives in Ohio and I live in Montgomery, Alabama. Remarkably, we share the same political views. Heather Cox Richardson clearly echoes our shared opinions on DJT, or rather our views agree with her. I know which way Alabama will vote, but I can add my vote to the popular vote. I can’t understand why so many people can’t see through Trump to his narcissism and divisiveness. There has never been a more dangerous and despicable candidate for the highest office in America, and yet the race appears to be close. I am 79 and established in my practice here and can’t go to Canada or Costa Rico, but I ache for my children and grandchildren if he somehow manages to win the election. As dangerous as he is, I worry even more about JD Vance filling out Trump’s term after his mental decline progresses. Thanks Heather for your insight and outstanding work on voicing the truth. Kim Hamblin, PhD.
thought you'd like this poem:
There are no kings in America by Aileen Cassinetto
we are not that kind of country.
We are sanctuary for the hungry,
the homeless, the huddled,
held together by an idea
our immigrant fathers believed in.
Rendered, it meant independence.
Pursued, it kindled war, ordinance,
a fighting chance. Forty thousand
musket balls, by themselves, did not
shape the boundaries on which we
map our days. To draw our borders,
we needed more than firecakes.
More than a pound of meat
with bone and gristle,
or salt fish and a gill of peas.
We needed the faith and grit of people
who were not yet Americans.
To be an American is to
recognize the sacrifice
of the widow and the orphan;
it is to understand the weft of tent
cities expecting caravans,
and the heft of a child in a camp
not meant for children, or sitting
before a judge awaiting judgement.
What do we say to the native
whose lands we now inhabit?
What do we say to our immigrant
fathers who held certain truths
to be self-evident?
Do we now still pledge to each
other our lives, our fortunes,
our sacred honor.
There are no kings in America.
Only gilded men we can topple
again and again.
Copyright © Aileen Cassinetto. This poem originally appeared in Vox Populi (July 4, 2020). Used on Poem-a-day with permission of the author.
My mother always said, “son, the truth always comes out sooner or later.” In this case, I hope it will be sooner rather than later! It’s been a long time coming. Thank you, Heather, for helping bring the truth to the surface!
Apparently, after the interview with Baier, the regulars on Fox took snippets of what she said to show her in a negative light to their viewers. Maybe she didn't accomplish anything by agreeing to appear.
We are all immigrants, except the Native Americans.
The whole world is watching Trump and what He and his followers are trying to do to our Country, and maybe the majority of them realize better than we do what is happening. For years they have looked to the USA as a model of Democracy. The NATO countries, for example. That might not be the case any longer if Trump is elected. It is a critical time in the history of our Nation and the World in so many ways. Get out and vote!
“ A New World In The Morning”- Roger Whitaker
Sorry my fingers don’t work but you get the intent I hope!
You are incredible! I can’t wait got my “hope” minutes each day! Thank you for your cutting thru the Trump Swamp Morass for us!