In a new rule released yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission requires sellers to make it as easy to cancel a subscription to a gym or a service as it is to sign up for one.
I like Harris’ sassiness :) And I hope that Rump has his final meltdown soon, melting away in a puddle of orange goo, on camera, while all of Faux News is watching. And then, something needs to be done about the outlandish lying that is still legal on tv. Freedom of speech is very important, but freedom of blatant lying is not ok, even harmful.
I just had a conversation with a customer of mine and we eventually gravitated to politics in a friendly way. I tried getting her to buy my book but she is hardened toward Trump. There was nothing I could say to convince her. In her mind, Biden raised prices, ignored the border, created war. She is partially correct. The border was indeed ignored for almost 3 years and Harris is now paying the price for this. War could truly been avoided if only we had stated no NATO but we A Erica s are so war-oriented and we never learn that almost every 10 years we find another reason for war support.
She also mentioned prices going up and I tried to convince her that gas prices are down and Covid caused unbalances in world wide economies. Nada. Nothing. I tried explaining the disaster awaiting a Trump presidency. Nothing. She has a wall built around her. I will bet that she too is tired of hearing how privileged she is as a Caucasian immigrant from Greece.
It’s frustrating to listen to people like that but I understand how we pick what we want to reinforce our beliefs and then augment them with selected events. It’s human nature. I’m encouraging optimistic that Harris will pull it off. I’m not optimistic that we are not heading to Tyranny of the right. Remember when only a bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City was the best the far right could muster? And they did it as a response to what I considered Jack-booted thugs of government burning the encampment at Wacco, Texas as feds attacked religious fanatics along with Ruby Ridge. Remember? Well, they have grown and become virtually mainstream. I’m afraid the MAGAs are here to stay until they get a proverbial foot in the door. It will be a permanent foot since autocratic leaders don’t like leaving office.
We need to do some serious soul-searching when Harris gets into office. We need to move away from the left. No seriously. I already can anticipate your negative comments. If we don’t move to the proverbial center, we ultimately lose. It’s ours to lose.
It’s less a center so don’t be preoccupied with my center. But read in full what I have suggested. To understand support of the other side, one must examined oneself and what we easily accept as the norm. The missteps we make can easily come back to haunt us.
Bill Katz, this is a response to your beliefs about Ukraine, from Timothy Snyder.
“ Ukrainians. . .are doing us a lot of good, as we tend to forget. They are holding back a Russian army so that other countries can keep all of their soldiers in the barracks. They are deterring China from invading Taiwan by showing that offensive operations are risky and unpredictable. They are making nuclear war less likely by ignoring Putin's bluffs. They are defending the international order, which is based on states and borders. And, yes, they are defending democracy as such, including our own. They have bought us time since 2022 to recover from Covid and economic collapse by bearing the brunt of this crisis on their own.”
No. VP Harris is not a witch. She is a seasoned politician with common sense, brilliance, compassion and a sense of humor. This combination can be hard to find in American politics today.
Amen. Trump supporters have no idea what they are supporting because they live in a world of misinformation. We will fight these battles until we demand honesty in public media.
I'm in Indiana for a weekend football game. I'm staying in a small town south of Indianapolis. Almost all of the political signs here are for school board. I'm guessing that some book banners and so called white Christian Nationalists are trying to take over the school board so they can tailor the curriculum to their reiligiously intolerant beliefs.
But the weird thing is, I've only seen 2 Trump signs and both are accompanied by pro-life BS. And no Harris-Walz signs at all.
I lived in Indianapolis in the mid-1980's and no offense to Hoosiers, but it is the one state out of the ten I have lived in where I will NEVER live. I actually like visiting Indy for sporting events and food, but I just couldn't live here. Personal preference I guess.
Exactly why I don't have a Harris sign up in Northern Michigan. I did do a really gutzy thing though: I hung a big American flag on my porch railing, right side up.
That’s what happens in my town in Mississippi. I thought strange that I’ve seen only 2 of 3 vehicles with Trump stickers and about the same number of yard signs. My husband advises me not to display any sign of support for fear of retaliation. That’s so sad.
Whatever happened to the Ohio sheriff who called for neighbors in his town to give him the names and addresses of people with Harris/Walz signs.... you know the facist acting guy?
The U. S. Justice Department is sending observers to polling places in his county, Portage County. And instead of sheriff deputies guarding polling places,, it is the local police department instead. He said it was a "joke," but people around here are taking him VERY seriously.
Pat, I am sure that is a factor. We never put out political signs simply because we don't need people stealing them or tramping in our yard. Frankly, I was glad to see the Harris signs next door and down the street. I did notice that people in town who had signs do not have them now which tells me that they were stolen as signs for locals are still there.
I'm one of them, Pat. I live in Indianapolis and have had my Toyota keyed while I was teaching at the Allison Transmmission plant. So, no signs any longer in my yard or on my car except, "I'm voting," with a blue background : )
For at least ten years, my CA neighborhood signs have been exclusively for candidates to local offices like city council. Nothing on precious cars. Harris/Walz signs are showing up this year, though. Even a couple for Trump.
Carol, I didn't even have a sign on my Toyota that was keyed. They did it because it because it was a foreign-made car, not a GM or American made (at the time, several years ago.)
Gary, I did my graduate work at IU-B, which in the 1980s was a blue bastion in a sea of red, but Indiana still managed to honor Birch Bayh and elected his less-than-delightful son Evan (whose laziness was a sign of problems to come for the Dems). Lee Hamilton and Frank McCloskey (former mayor of Bloomington) were fantastic congressmen for south-central Indiana, while the Rethuglicans hollowed out the cities, enriched themselves, and genuflected to Ronnie Ray-gun at every opportunity. And now it is worse. Sigh.
I lived in an Indianapolis city neighborhood with my husband and small children for a few years in the 90s and loved it. But even then I noticed a lack of government services compared to Michigan, where we had moved from.
I didn’t realize McCloskey was a former mayor. I LOVED Bloomington and IU—one of the most gorgeous campuses anywhere. My uncle supervised the development of Lake Monroe. “The Region,” where I come from, provided good jobs as my father liked to remind me. And it did. Once.
ML, southern Indiana is beautiful and Indiana is full of courthouses built of Indiana limestone. I had an elderly friend from Bedford whose grandfather did a lot of stone decoration at IU. Her father was the person who decided where the stone would be cut. The cemetery in Bedford is full of interesting gravestones, one of which shows a stone carver.
Linda, yes it is worse now. I see now and then posts from one of my ex-classmates who is R and of course, a devout Christian. She has lots of friends who agree and then there is me and a couple of others, one in her family, who disagree.
Joy, when I read that, I wondered if any of the adults I knew growing up had been KKK members. I don't think anyone in my immediate family was, but they had friends who might have been. I recommend that book to everyone who wants to understand part of the history of prejudice in this country.
There are Kamala supporters here in NW Indy but unfortunately not enough to counteract the rural vote. I am afraid we will have a MAGA governor soon with his even less qualified Christian Nationalist Lt governor. Just don’t paint us all with the same (red) brush!
I went to a Jennifer McCormick, D candidate for governor, rally a couple of months ago and since have watched her. Polls had her tied with Mike Braun at one point. Her likability rating continues to rise and his to fall. Keeping my fingers crossed. Problem -- the disparity in money.
Gary, I was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana, near South Bend and the Michigan border. I do know people there who are Ds and are appalled at R behavior, but they are in the minority in most places. I loved growing up in Elkhart, but am now so glad that I live in Oregon which the urban population is mostly blue. Go out of town and you will see lots of death star signs. Our next door neighbor, formerly a R pol has Harris/Walz and Salinas (district 6 D) signs up. Saw another Harris sign down the street. Of course, we have some R nut cases here like Art Robinson of send me your urine fame who is now in the legislature. Yesterday the Sec of State's office had to shut down its phone lines because nut jobs, mostly from out of state, were calling about the fact the death star is not in the voter's pamphlet. He is missing because his campaign didn't bother to submit anything and he will be on the ballot. The usual death threats of course. Internet stirring of the pot.
I’m surrounded here in Jacksonville, FL by MAGAts — so I put up a Harris sign anyway — I’ve always been a little imp since I was 4. Not one of them has threatened me over it, or stolen it, and it stood strong through two hurricanes — while all their house draped banners were shredded. Nevertheless, it pays to have a reputation of not tolerating bullies, when you hold your ground.
I live in LA and all I see are Harris Walz signs. I grew up in N. KY and my whole family lives there getting older, I think of moving back but… so many MAGA’s. I love CA and not sure I can do it.
Terry, we were had lunch with friends yesterday who reported that they had seen an interview with MAGA where the person was reminded that Jesus is supposedly about love. Get ready for the MAGA statement of the year: "Jesus is wrong" Well hey, I may say I believe, but I am going total hubris because I can hate anyone I want.
The problem with regulating freedom of speech is that Ruth is not necessarily absolute, especially in politics. Even in our better days, we had two major parties that disagreed on many issues, even sometimes to the extent of what was the truth in a particular scenario. And if that is open to legal challenge, who is to decide WHAT the truth is? I think this is one of the fundamental strengths of our system, i.e. we leave it up to the voters to decide which variation of the truth they believe and which candidate they want to represent them. I would love the "legal" truth to always be what I prefer but is that fair or even true? I can't say for certain. It is what I believe, but others may disagree. And the minute we start to impose what variation of the truth is the "official" version, we enter the realm of the autocrat, a position that is NOT necessarily reserved solely for the right winger, even though we may feel right now that it ought to be.
I disagree, Jon. Differences of opinion are, and should be protected by the First Amendment harmful disinformation, as was expressed by he two stooges (trump and vampire) is not protected by the First Amendment. They deliberately lied and caused irreparable harm to residents of North Carolina at the same time endangering the lives of FEMA agents trying to help those residents. James Madison never would support your position that it's ok to knowingly lie, cause actual harm so that your followers will 'blame the Federal Government for rescue attempts.
I so agree. I am currently a Red Cross volunteer physician deployed to a shelter in Rutherford county North Carolina. We have been advised to not wear Red Cross identification when out in the community out of concern about a few who might associate us with governmental agencies. The community here has been very welcoming and supportive, but the disinformation has been counterproductive.
" Donald Trump and MAGAs rose to power by convincing those left behind by 40 years of supply-side economics that their problem was not the people in charge of the government, but rather the government itself."
Donald Trump and MAGA rose to power on Ronald Reagan convincing people that government is the problem. Reagan's amiable public disparagement and early dismantling of government, fronted for anti-tax, anti regulation, and anti union operatives, and pandered to racist religious extremists.Trump is Reagan writ large and writ vulgar. MAGA is the issue of Movement Conservatism is bed with the Religious Right. Midwifed by the entire right wing apparatus. Which has given us the Reagan's party of god, guns, and greed. Now Trump's party of god, guns, greed, and grift. Repurposing a democratic republic as a corporate clerical fascist state.
Lin, you nailed it. Reagan didn’t have the grift because he was happy holding state dinners with lots of veal and diamonds. The fawning WaPo, which torpedoed Jimmy Carter, put the menu on the front page with breathless stories of who wore what. Civil service workers (and I was one of them) were said to be lazy and overpaid and unnecessary and women who wanted to wear pants to work had to obey the memorandum on how to dress appropriately.
"...Which has given us the Reagan's party of god, guns, and greed. Now Trump's party of god, guns, greed, and grift. Repurposing a democratic republic as a corporate clerical fascist state."
Thank you for what you're doing in NC. I'm so sorry that you're being treated like that. Maybe the idiots who can't stand government aid will be so involved in disrespecting those who have come to help that they will forget to vote.
"The community has been very welcome" ? I imagine as they line up for your free physician services they are welcoming, but you cannot wear your red cross identification outside, in the community? Two "truths". Sad.
The disinformation is way more than counterproductive, it's outright dangerous. Thank you for what you are doing for the people in North Carolina, Dr. McConnell, despite the danger.
I agree - that should be the line - particularly for those who are trying to hold public office. I would have been just as outraged if one side had bragged it was doing a great job when clearly it was not (eg Katrina)
Fay, your position has long, very long, been the law of the land. The 1st Amendment actually bars someone from hunting FEMA works with intent to kill or maim or hurt victims of severe weather.
Fay, I agree with you 100%. The last eight years have been very damaging to this country, and the damage has been done by blatant liars like Trump and his minions, all the way from Democrats abusing and trafficking children in the basement of a pizza parlor to "illegals" stealing and eating domestic animals in Ohio, and now that the desecration of our Capitol on January 6, 2021 was a "day of love," and not an insurrection. These are NOT differences of opinion between reasonable, well-meaning people.
I don’t buy it either Harvey. I think truth is absolute. The first amendment protects people’s ability to voice their opinions. When those opinions are stated as fact, as a form of truth, then there should be a burden of proof. Once the fact is shown to meet the burden of proof, it is certifiably the truth until proven otherwise. Disinformation is the intentional stating that something is factual when there is no foundation for it - with the intent of misleading people.
Not on topic but I think you would be better appreciated if you moved your "Notes/ credits to after these comments. Better yet offer them to the few people who want them. Too time consuming. I have read you for a long time and only today realized I could like or love the first part and I do enjoy reading these comments. I think it would make your heart soar to see how much your articles mean to lazy people like me.
If you are responding to Fay Reid, subscribe to her substack and be enlightened on a regular basis. Most days I start with Heather, then it's a toss up as to whether I next open Hubbell or Fay Reid. I could end the day after those three, but there is so much, so very much available to us on substack.
I often click on one or more of the notes to get a fuller picture of something in HCR's post. Would I even be able to fine the notes if they were after the many comments?
William, I like having the notes easily accessed so that I can delve deeper and also determine the purview of the information. It’s kind of like looking at the original medical study mentioned in the magazine article.
Mary, I admire people like you but right now I'm reading to see if anyone has a solution to the lies and disinformation. We need to counter the GOP with actions that expose the lies to lemmings who have blindfolded themselves to the truth. Only days left to expose what we readers here believe to be true. If we can't shine light on the truth it isn't going to matter how we got here. There will be time to delve if Kamala wins.
Jon is weak and a danger to society. He ate my cat. Sometimes the-right-to-lie must be challenged. Trump commercials are full of lies. Is that the way to inform and solicit votes? What if the rich folks create a TV channel based on disinformation? Or used a false curriculum in schools? We must do better!
Prohibits broadcast licensees or permittees from broadcasting false information concerning a crime or a catastrophe if:
*the licensee knows this information is false;
*it is foreseeable that broadcast of the information will cause substantial public harm; and
*broadcast of the information does in fact directly cause substantial public harm.
Any programming accompanied by a disclaimer will be presumed not to pose foreseeable harm if the disclaimer clearly characterizes the program as a fiction and is presented in a way that is reasonable under the circumstances.
Daniel, is there any notable case law on point per 47 CFR Section 73.1217?
FYI, Thompson Reuters' 'Casetext" search on Section 73.1217 details that "public harm" is NOT limited only damage to "health, safety or property" but, also includes the "diversion of law enforcement or other public health & safety" which has, in fact, occurred in North Carolina after the historic deluge.
Last night, right after the ABC World News, there was a disclaimer, read by an announcer, saying something like "ABC has to broadcast this, because it is a political ad. Nothing said is the opinion of ABC News." Then the "commercial" (and to call something this horrific a "commercial" is to stretch the meaning) showed aborted black babies, picture after picture, introduced by a black minister. Then some white guy, obviously a fringe candidate for president (I didn't catch his name) came on asking for votes. Then the disclaimer was read again. Does anyone know anything about this?
This law is directed at broadcast licenses and has been upheld as valid because broadcast licenses are limited due to bandwidth availability. This has nothing to do at all with the right of a political candidate to exercise the right to free speech (even deliberate misleading speech) which is absolutelyprotected by the first amendment. If you ask want to destroy the protections of the constitution, you are entitled but I will point out that is exactly what trump wants to do too so you are advocating the same thing he is. Sorry if that hurts but it is absolutely true.
Republication rises to the same level. Defamation, hate, "fighting words" are not "speech." E.G. Telling someone that FEMA will steal their property is a crime.
I'm sure that the insurance carriers are telling media clients not to publish blatant lies without a disclaimer.
Meanwhile the discovery obtained in Fox vs Dominion puts constant pressure on broadcasters. There are currently several shareholder derivative suits against Fox that could force a hostile takeover. Also challenges to licenses.
I am assuming you are a lawyer so please explain to me how defamation is a crime? It is certainly actionable as a tort but I have never seen a criminal law which c could put you in jail for such speech. Lying to the public as a political statement is not a crime that I can find in the statutes unless there is actual provable harm done to someone. There are exceptions as I well know but from my analysis none of the lies told by Trump are actionable criminally. Please enlighten me as to where you find such justification.
I am totally in favor of people who are harmed by his lies suing for damages (as Dominion did) but that is a far cry from saying someone had broken the law criminally by doing so.
That is already happening in schools across the country, i.e., in Florida where climate change can't be mentioned or history of civil rights has to be changed. Also, where books are banned in schools or libraries. Also, I totally agree with you that Jon is weak.
Advocating to destroy the rights protected by the constitution is the weakest position anyone can take. And to call me out for supporting the constitution is even weaker. You should all get an actual lesson in the constitutional protections which I took in law school.
Jon - the national car dealers association will be calling you to defend puffery when we finally get around to correcting that error made by the supreme court decades ago. Why has lying been legalized in the interest of commerce?
Interesting conversation going on here. I don't think you're weak Jon, for stating realities that aren't pleasant to hear. What about creating regulations like the fairness doctrine that applies to Internet, cable/ satellite/ streaming TV ECT?
I too, see how easily a section of our population has accepted misinformation and disinformation to our country's own detremient.
Of course the Fairness Doctrine is long gone (1987 via the "wisdom" of Ronald Reagan). And the Fairness Doctrine was (in order to end run the 1st amendment) limited to broadcast licensees under the theory that broadcast licenses were limited (several per city back in the 1960s). Once media started to expand (cable, internet, etc,) they decided that Fairness wasn't needed anymore. Lots of options, lots of difference of opinion.
I am honestly not sure if the answer. Smarter more educated knowledgeable citizens? Is that just a pipe dream? If people are unable to understand when they are being lied to (or don't care) I am not sure there IS a solution. Sigh...
There are valid points being made on both sides of this issue and we must look at all of them. Sticking our heads in the sand because we don't like the reality of something is what has led us to where we currently are, IMO. Put downs and name calling will not help us in finding a solution to this problem folks.
What is significant is how we arrive at mutable truths. And the recognition that many truths are mutable. The Founders translated the Scientific Method into government protocols. We are to arrive at our operative and amendable truths by coming to consensus through reasoned debate of empirical evidence - in the judiciary, legislative, and even executive branches, and in the transfer of power. Their separating church and state was not only to keep absolutist and authoritarian religious creed out of government policies but also to keep irrational habits of mind out of government procedures. The politics of faith has been the undoing of the democratic body politic - poisoned by such as plutocrat bagman, piety influencer and court capture operative Leonard Leo who has insinuated religion into Supreme Court decisions with the novel and unconstitutional notion that any individual notion of religious sentiment overrides all our shared constitutional civil rights. Because if our government will not protect equality before the law and equal representation, it cannot administer equitable taxation and reasonable regulation. Perpetuating economic injustice is one motive of repurposing a democratic republic as a corporate ChristoFascist state. Especially in this but in all contexts the Constitution allows for reasonable limits on 'free speech.' It is the very nature of the Constitution to reject absolutes.
Once again, beautifully said. Because of the propensity of people to believe a whopper of a lie if they read it enough, the law must curb nonfactual speech meant to disinformation and harm. By the way, I’ve grown to extremely dislike the phrase “No smoke without fire “
The phrase 'the politics of faith' precedes GW Bush's usage - which insinuates the religious leap of faith into politics, putting belief over empirical evidence. Undoing even Reagan's popularization of the Russian term 'trust but verify' - allowing Bush to base government policy decisions on unsupported assertions (ie invading Iraq on the basis of unverified and false claims of weapons of mass destruction.)
I think 'the politics of faith' was introduced by English philosopher and political theorist Michael Oakeshott, who meant it in a very different way as the "faith in the human ability to ascertain and grasp some universal good."
"In his posthumously published The Politics of Faith and the Politics of Scepticism Oakeshott describes enterprise associations and civil associations in different terms. In politics, an enterprise association is based on a fundamental faith in human ability to ascertain and grasp some universal good (leading to the Politics of Faith), and civil association is based on a fundamental scepticism about human ability to either ascertain or achieve this good (leading to the Politics of Scepticism). Oakeshott considers power (especially technological power) as a necessary prerequisite for the Politics of Faith, because it allows people to believe that they can achieve something great and to implement the policies necessary to achieve their goal. The Politics of Scepticism, on the other hand, rests on the idea that government should concern itself with preventing bad things from happening, rather than enabling ambiguously good events. Oakeshott was presumably dissatisfied with this book, which, like much of what he wrote, he never published. It was evidently written well before On Human Conduct."
Responsibility!!? Mainstream media sugar coats chumps lies, distortions and mental incompetence! Yes, where is the responsibility! HCR interviewed the guy who made chump the Apprentice! Now, now, now he asks forgiveness! Responsibility is buried in the dictionary behind bonus, annual bonus for creating a show with high ratings; behind the words cash, money, for a budget, and greed!
I doubt collegiate TV media production curricula include a course in ‘broadcast ethics’!
Rickey, I'm jealous. I spent 20 min composing a wordy response to Jon's post, and you summarized what I personally felt in a couple of sentences. I wish I had your skill.
There is no requirement under the first amendment to "prove" anything. It doesn't say "the right to freedom of speech is granted if you can prove what you say" . It just says you are guaranteed the right to free speech. We all know (hopefully you are all smart enough to know this) that there are exceptions but political speech especially by candidates for office is one of the strongest protections. The founders correctly decided it should be up to the electorate to make the decision who to believe and who to vote for.
All of you advocating for this kind of nonsense need to go back to school and learn about your constitution
I stand with the right of free speech. But Maureen just asked the critical question. Instead of arguing "Constitutionality" (a good thing to do) we need to figure out how to set standards. Is it really OK to lie as a public official in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? Especially when it harms others?
Of course not.
Here is my answer: We need a publicly funded media that reports on everything. It would be established and regulated by a bipartisan panel. There will always be people who won't believe it and the Trumps will demonize it if they don't like it. You can't eliminate evil intent. But you can call it out.
We need a totally independent (not privately owned) source of news and commentary that is generally considered a reliable source for facts. Picture a PBS/NPR on steroids. A CNN for the public with breaking news 24/7.
Again, it must be overseen by a group that is a rotating panel from all elements of our political spectrum. Truth, facts and fairness would be its beacons. After each major story, the "Fact Checker" bell would go off. And the truth would be told.
If we trust the government with a myriad of responsibilities from defense and national emergencies to providing education for our young to care for our elderly to providing safe air travel to protecting our sources of food and water... we could certainly have an agency or department that provided accurate trustworthy news and analysis.
"Oh, no trust the government?!" I say yes! Because we do already. It ain't perfect. In fact, it's got a lot of problems. But currently we are relying on money grubbing private enterprise "news" to lead us around on leashes. That wasn't the case when news sources like TV had separate news divisions that were not profit centers.
I am a free enterprise loving retired business guy. But if we think we can trust profit driven enterprises to be totally truthful we are fools dreaming a nightmare written by the oligarchs.
I would have no argument if the purpose was to expose lies. That is already done by many organizations. The issue is "WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT"? The Constitution is pretty clear... except in cases of direct harm to others, speech can not be abridged. So we can announce the lies from the highest mountain tops. I have no argument with that. Write papers. Get every journalist you can to reveal the depth of the falsehoods.
But that's it. You can't jail someone or prosecute them or even require that they not run for office. None of those things would pass constitutional muster. Free speech is free speech.
If you think we should change that, go ahead and try. But I will actively oppose such an idea because the day you get that changed is the day they will come after me (and you) because they don't like what we say. The very reason we can write what we write here is because of the first amendment. Revoke that and Substack disappears. And none of us should want that to happen.
Jon ~ I guess the question should be when does the first amendment right cross the line and poses a threat to others? How should society respond to that threat?
There are obvious "lines" that can be crossed. An actual call to illegal conduct that could result in harm to others is certainly crossing a line. The classic example is "yelling fire in a crowded theatre" when there is no fire which could cause a panic. Interestingly the opposite, i.e. yelling there is NO fire when there is in fact an obvious fire is protected because it is assumed people could see that there IS a fire.
When you get into politics or can be muddy but as a I have noted elsewhere usually political speech will be protected with the assumption that people should understand that politicians sometimes say outrageous and even untruthful things and it should be up to each individual to be easy about what they believe. Even politicians can cross lines but in our democracy we try to err on the side of protecting speech due to the First Amendment. But it is not absolute.
Jon, Your condescending attitude of your posts when people are voicing exactly what you say they have a right to do is laughable. Perhaps the "Right to Free Speech" is too broad. Perhaps there should be limits when one person's right to say what they want incites or injures others that will act because they think it would please that person. But, we have never heard a president say he wanted to call out the military or the national guard against people who protest against or disagree with him before Traaaaaamp. It must be lonely up on that pulpit.
The truth has been put thru a grinder by repubs for decades. Chump made them proud of “alternative facts”. Orwell flipping in his grave at the stupidity of those who say, I don’t know what to believe. Start with not believing anything that Fox says. Duh!
The fact that Fox News had to pay nearly $800 million to the voting machine company for lying about the accuracy of its equipment and that the people in the small town whose children were killed in their school were awarded over $1 billion from Alex Jones (who claimed the school shooting was faked) is proof that it is possible to protect the public from lies… proof that what it the truth can be decided in a court of law. I believe we cannot leave what is the truth up to public opinion alone.
Dominion was a lawsuit. There is a HUGE difference between bringing a lawsuit for damages due to libel or slander and asking for a political candidate to be forced (somehow) to not express their views even if those views are misleading. The former is a legitimate way to resolve a dispute and be awarded damages if you win. The latter is censorship and mostly not permitted under the 1st amendment.
I agree partly with you. There shouldn't be an "agenda" which determines what is true and what is not; it reeks of authoritarianism, and: if what is considered true, turns out to be untrue (because of new insights), you cannot change it anymore and so it chokes progress.
But: it shouldn't be possible to lie about blatant facts or make up blatant lies AND get away with it, without any repercussions or responsibilities. "Not knowing better" is one thing, but lying whilst KNOWING you are lying is another thing. And yes, many "truths" are up for discussion and escape the realm of the "absolute truths", but you cannot go around and change people's skin colour "because I say so, and it's my freedom of speech". Or say that Haitian immigrants eat kittens without any proof. Or accuse FEMA of confiscating private property.
I’m definitely not a lawyer, but lawsuits are a means of accountability. If someone is harmed they can sue. Criminalizing certain types of speech (other than actual threats) is not the only means of holding people responsible.
There is accountability. We should be identifying all of his lies. We should be promoting that. We shoulds get the vote out to defeat him.
But should we take legal criminal action to stop him? Absolutely not. We give up our country if we do that. Then we are no better than authoritarianism ourselves.
"I may be offended by what you say but i will defend to the death your right to say it. "
Jon, there's political truth, which is soft and changeable, and there is empirical truth, which is based on actual events, whether in a lab, nature, or history, that are observed and documented. Trump's January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol happened. Biden's election to the presidency happened, and Trump's lawyers' lawsuits about its legitimacy failed over 60 times because there was no evidence. The American economy is booming by any measure by any non-MAGA observer. Russia attacked Ukraine.
Should I go on? Your assertion that macro truth (not quantum truth) is based on the observer is demonstrably false and, as evidenced by MAGA embrace of violence based Trump's lies, and is dangerous.
Now, I quite agree that a person's mindset, mood, and expectations will affect their perceptions. The only way to counteract that is to focus on empirically observed events and actions, not on the emotional responses encouraged by media's opinion machines. Ideally, such focused assessment is done by the observer, the individual, not by others telling that individual that they've been wrong, and that's one of the challenges we face - helping more people to see beyond their emotions towards objective empirical truth.
Jerry, even “actual facts” may not be clear or absolute. I know it’s risky to bring this up, but how far is a national leader allowed to go to protect its sovereignty? Is there a fact that resolves that question? A fact that’s indisputable? Is there an immutable truth there?
Clearly...some things are lies. Saying....their eating the dogs, their eating the pets, and FEMA will take your land are lies. Let's don't 'sanewash' this issue or nitpick into justification. I see lie after lie in political ads...that can be easily proven. IT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED. To allow it, harms people. It tricks them into voting against themselves.
So you want to change the constitution so that lies are not protected speech. really? I wonder what everyone here will say when Trump is elected and HE chooses to try to get the first amendment revoked so he can arrest people for what they say.
Yelling fire in a crowded theatre when there is not fire is not a first amendment right. Lies that endanger people are NOT protected by the constitution.
You obviously didn't read my posts carefully. I totally agree and said as much. The "yelling fire in a crowded theatre" exception ţo free speech is well known. What I said was the OPPOSITE (yelling there is no fire when there obviously is) would be protected because it would rarely cause any harm... people should be able to see a fire and run for safety.
Truth is NOT required by the first amendment. "Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech." It doesn't say "except for untruthful speech.". It is with a few specific exceptions (none of which apply to Trump) absolute. It was written that way to protect EVERYONE'S right especially political candidates.
If two people or two groups disagree, then there is an inconvenient truth beneath the disagreement, and each party must choose between one of three options. Option 1 involves a multi-step resolution of the dilemma wherein the two parties work together to discover the inconvenient truth that, when discovered, serves not one party or the other, but the more important third party, their relationship. Option 2 involves treating the disagreement like it's a problem with a one-step "I'm right, you're wrong, and this conversation is over" solution. And Option 3 is there is no Option 3.
But what to do when, hypothetically speaking, Party D chooses Option 1 and Party R chooses Option 2? "When we are no longer able to challenge a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." —Viktor Frankl (1905–1997).
We rely too much on government, the law, and money instead of resolving our dilemmas because too many people are insufficiently mature, and the party that chooses Option 2 is insufficiently mature.
For the record, Viktor Frankl was the guy who suggested a statue of responsibility for the left coast.
Fact check... write opinion pieces. Call out the lies. But under no circumstance should we be wanting to make it illegal to express those lies.. for me the cure will be worse than the disease.
Well, juries call out lies really well. Those jury decisions are not opinions often not humble --- they are verdicts civil as well as criminal & do decide what conduct is illegal.
Judge Chutkan took a big step yesterday deciding to unseal Jack Smith's "Appendix" which contain a mountain admissible facts of many Wreck crimes.
Mostly agree with you here but it should be pointed out that juries do NOT decide what is criminal. They take the facts as presented and apply the law as given by the judge. Judges almost never interfere with a jury's holding on the facts but they can and do sometimes decide that the jury made a mistake in applying the law. I follow the Washington DC case against Trump closely so yes I saw the installing of the evidence. I sure hope it holds up but given the current SCOTUS I am not holding my breath.
Judges make mistakes of law instructing the jury as to matters of law sometimes or worse failing to grant a pre-trial morion "Motion in Limine' aka a 'MIL'.
I had to take over the post trial motions of a civil verdict that would have bankrupted a family business & the breadwinners of an extended family of 42 so I had to file a post trial motion to reverse the jury verdict with plenty to say.
On the day the motion was heard & to my immense respect to the Judge's ethics & his belief in rule of law, the Judge reversed the verdict. From the bench, Judgment was ordered entered in favor of my client the defendant.
That was the last day in court for my retiring co-counsel. Memorable for everyone. Even the offense respected the correct ruling.
Jon, I find myself in agreement with you in this discussion, but I do have a question. Should there be (or is there) a legal definition of "news?" I find it extremely troubling that all of these rightwing propaganda outlets (Fox, OANN, etc) are able to call themselves "news" when they do not hold themselves to the truth at all. That has set up half of the country to believe harmful nonsense. They think they are being told some kind of "truth."
You can go back hundred of years and there has never been a legal definitive of news. There have always been news sources that were unreliable, which often took outrageous positions. Research journalism in the 1800s and early 1900s (the Hearst family had a huge "tradition" in "yellow" journalism). There is nothing new here in that regard. I think what makes it so frustrating is that modern media with its extensive reach via the internet and cable and broadcast makes it easier to spread misinformation and to gather people who will "buy" the BS. I imagine arguments could be made to support more restrictions on the media but I also question whether that would actually do any good. Vulnerable and gullible people will always accept what they want to hear. That is nothing new. And as has been said by many over a long period of time, democracy is fragile. It requires education and attention and understanding. Maybe we HAVE outlived the benefits that the founders embedded in our Constitution. I certainly hope not but I fear I may be wrong.
Elon Musk has donated $75 million to get Trump reelected. He is donating to America PAC which is working to buy 18 Congressional seats across the country including Heather's district - ME-2.
Her district has voted for Trump in the last two cycles but has also elected a Democrat to the House. He is trying to woo the Trump voters to hold his seat, but I think he may be driving away some of his base.
The things you could have done with those 75 million bucks... Water management projects in Africa, reforestation in Brazil, humanitarian aid in Gaza and Jemen... But noooo, Darth Musk threw it all away in the Trump dumpster in hopes of gaining more power. Asshole.
Well, Golden's home town--Lewiston--experienced a horrifying massacre just a year ago. Eighteen people were shot and thirteen others were wounded in two different attacks, because a National Guardsman, who had been documented by his unit as unstable and had already showed worrying signs of a mental crisis, slipped through the cracks.
Golden responded by changing his mind about his thoughts and promises on gun control, rescinding his statement that he would never advocate requiring assault-type automatic and semi-automatic rifles to be registered and other sensible regulations controlling such weapons.
Now the NRA is blanketing the rural parts of the state, trying scaare people into worrying that the Dems are "going to take away our guns". Sigh. As though having such a massacre happen in one's own town shouldn't cause any second thoughts about gun control.
Fortunately, his opponent is a smug little insect who was the choice of smirking little cretin Mike Johnson, so he already comes with a extremist MAGA label. He tried to block government functioning with a shut down that threatened a Navy contract at one of Maine's biggest employers (BIW, owned by General Dynamics). He claims to be able to stand against his "more extreme" brethren in the matter of an abortion ban, but I very much doubt many Maine women are buying it. I think Jared will win, but it shows how desperate are the Repubbies.
Agreed, Dutch Mike. In a return survey to League of Women voters I wrote in candidates' lying as the #1 problem right now in our voting process. I layed the blame ultimately at the feet of media and stated that fact-checking needs to be every time a candidate speaks. It's irresponsible to let blatant lies go out on the airways and the media needs to be held accountable for allowing it. They are the transmitters to the public and choose what to broadcast.
Yeah, it’s blatant propaganda of the worst kind like yelling “Fire” in a closed auditorium just to watch people panic, Repetition of lies is something a normal group of people anywhere would never permit for a day or a minute. Try lying on your taxes for a few years and see what happens or lying every time you play golf? .Children and adults in every culture, society and group from the Inuits, Mesopotamians, Chinese and Neanderthals knew that lying was wrong. Because it just is, wrong. Its is in the 10 Commandments, too. Liars pay for their lies…don’t lie. Earn your victories and own your failures. I like that one.
I've said it before: the Rump cultists love him because he teaches them that it's completely ok to be a misogynistic, racist and narcissistic asshole just like him.
"President Joe Biden set out to prove that democracy could deliver for the ordinary people who had lost faith in it. " This is the key statement ahd Harris should not hesitate to say she wants to contiue this Biden vision for competion.
Yes, but as I said above, I don't think he commands the MAGA crowds the way the Convicted Orange Felon does. I think Harris has an even better chance of winning when the Orange Inciter is gone.
Harvey, first of all the Fairness Doctrine only applied to broadcast licensees i.e. television and radio stations which are licensed by the federal government due to limited bandwidth availability. Since only a few stations exist in any geographical area it was decided that stations awarded licenses needed to insure Fairness in their reporting and political coverage.
That said, the Fairness Doctrine was removed from the law in 1987, almost 40 years ago, by the Reagan FCC. Plenty of people have argued it should be reinstated and even expanded, but that has never happened.
Ah i just realized your last comment included RR which I assume meant Reagan so you obviously understand all this. Sorry I wasn't trying to insult you just to add a few words of explanation.
Professor, I’ve read your letters since early 2020. I’ve watched as your nightly scribes morphed from chronicling, to concern, to crisis. But always with a good dose of hope
I for one am glad you are sounding the alarm. I’ve seen the criticism from some that your “place” as an historian is solely to provide context, not opinion. In normal times that may hold some water, but these are not normal times.
Keep pushing forward with the fight. Our children and grandchildren deserve a future of possibilities. Your words of inspiration reach millions, and make a difference.
Yes, Herb Klinker, I share your opinion of Heather. Her historical context of current events has helped me face each tough day we have lived through in this Democracy-on-Trial moment. Many MAGA claim the whole system needs to crash and be broken, and therefore lying, disinformation, hoodwinking, conning, grifting, and bullying are acceptable behavior. I believe Heather champions our deep belief that although our history and current iteration of Democracy is not perfect, we favor treating it like the beautiful Japanese ceramic art of Kintsugi. It’s a technique that uses gold to highlight cracks in broken pottery. So rather than toss away the vessel, mend the cracks, paint them with gold to acknowledge the flaw, and continue to use and improve the vessel. Because it holds our hopes and dreams.
Yet history is little more than a curiosity unless it illuminates our present and offers clues to our future. Advanced memory and logic skills are much of our evolutionary advantage. That said, any projection of future events beyond Newtonian mechanics is likely to involve some degree of interpretation. Interpretation is legitimate so long as it does not claim to be more than a reasonable projection of relevant evidence.
Indeed. It is in the field of projections about our future and it’s interpreted multiplicities that cultural creatives and rational scientists always inhabit the same space.
All fiction and non-fiction ever written are really about the time they were written in. Using them to illuminate some aspect of the present is really their best use. Pretending to do do otherwise is just a futile act.
Just for the record I have never suggested that Heather as a historian shouldn't provide her opinions. I personally devour her opinions because they are almost always in total agreement with mine. What I have said is that she isn't a journalist because journalists do NOT provide opinions, they provide facts. They should call out the candidates ( and the good ones like NYT do) when they lie but they should not offer their opinion on whose positions are better. Historians do that... commentators do that... journalists should not.
What are you talking about? The NYT "overthrown by an autocrat"? The NYT is owned and published by the Sulzberger family as it has been since the late 1800s. Please enlighten me if you actually have some facts relating to this strange accusation which at least to my knowledge is just total nonsense.
Oh, come on. The NYT has been sane-washing a potential fascist dictator because Sulzberger has his panties in a bunch because Harris won’t give him the exclusive that he feels he’s entitled to. He’s in dereliction of duty based on his ego. Oh, and maybe a little bit of the bottom line comes into play as well.
You're smoking pretty good crack dude or you are just making shit up. They have actively supported Harris TWICE in two weeks. You are just spreading lies, much like the opposition in the presidential race. Please stop it. It is not a good look.
Also, take just 10 seconds to think about how the NYT covered Biden's age/questions about his cognition, and what they are doing as Trump decompensates before our eyes, canceling interviews nearly daily, swaying on stage for 30 minutes, spouting ever more gibberish. It's shocking.
Final point... re Biden... Biden's cognitive decline was obvious to anyone who was looking. It demanded attention and got it. When it was the major story it had is effect which was to finally get Biden to step aside something he should have done himself long before this. Trump is clearly just as impaired maybe worse but he will never step aside. But it is constantly in the press due to his outrageous statements. I agree that when the press finally started taking the Biden issue serially after the debate they focused on him. Probably not the best look for the press but I don't think it showed any ridiculous anti Biden bias. And in the end he did step aside. I certainly wish trump would step aside too but that isn't going to happen..
Point two. The NYT headline nonsense is just nonsense. Read the times. I do every day. There is no evidence for this accusation that holds water. Sure some of their headlines are slightly lop sideds but they do it both ways. When I saw the post I was hoping to see actual references to NYT articles but instead I got a reference to a Substack which has IMHO a lot less credibility than the Nyt itself.
Point one. The NYT has been avidly supporting Harris (they wrote TWO very major editorials sipportting her) so I don't see where anyone who actually READS the paper as I do every single day could rationally say they are promoting trump. That is just not true.
Journalists should know the facts of statements which is pretty easy these days to verify. So they should provide facts when disinformation is being said. Little old me can discern facts from disinformation but don't always have them at my finger tips but journalists should know and have the facts at their finger tips.
I like it when historians weigh into current politics. Why? Because they tend to bring the receipts, the proof, the facts. Particularly if they are allowed to lay out the case, without undue interference by the egocentric moderators on TV. Ari Melber comes to mind. And there are way too many following his lead.
Democracy is a good system. It has its flaws in all its forms but still is better than alternatives. America, you scared us all half to death. You aren't out of the woods yet but the future looks better than it has for a long time. Harris/Walz are the best team. Vote Blue down the line. This Canadian is cheering for you.
"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’
Allen, so good to see your name here. I hope all is well with you and your family after your harrowing journey. I am so hoping our country goes blue. It seems the only sane decision but sanity is hard to hold on to in this abnormal campaign. Your experience, which you so generously shared with all of us, is a stark reminder of what could be at stake here. But I like your hope, and for our sake, your sake and the sake of the global community let it be blue!
Betsy, loved the way she acknowledged the hecklers & called them out, but did not disparage them and did NOT suggest that they should be roughed-up as TFFFG has done. Brassy, sassy and smart!
I would've been great if Harris has invited them to stay...for inclusion's sake. Or asked them what their biggest concern is with her being President? Face it head on.
That was the first thing that came to my mind. Inviting them to stay. Saying something like, You felt hopeless at the rally down the street and decided to join us here for some fine examples of how this can all work……Hindsight is 20/20
Harris can discipline a child or a roomful of Republicans with a look. She's scared me when she's stared down hecklers.
Yet, she never comes off as being a mean spirited bitch. Even the Republicans haven't effectively been able to label her as a bitch or a c-word.
Her handling of Bret was masterful. I'm sure he lost the respect from many journalists with his horrible performance in the Harris interview. But, he kept his job at Fox. I guess that's all that mattered to him.
Agree with your comment and add: Vice President Harris has stated that if elected, she will be a President for all Americans.
(that means even those who did not elect her)
She would honor all that is good about America as our President. Along with her brilliance is her sense of justice for all...not cruelty, not dominance. It is her stated desire to "Lift up!....not to put down".
Her Presidency would honor the position of "President of the United States of America."
She is a person of great character. She will fight for all of us and she will listen to those who cry out ..... in sincere need.
Thx, she does it all with grace and a smile! She also has a great sense of humor, and let's note that her angry, whiner opponent has no sense of humor AT ALL.
She has a lovely sense of humor, yes, but she also knows when to bring out the “Mom means business” and prosecutor side when it’s called for. Watching her spar with Brett Baier was a thing of beauty. I thought she was close to giving him a time out!
''Speaking as a “born-and-bred Republican,” Miller warned: “If you believe that Trump will be better for you or better for the country, that is an illusion, much like The Apprentice was.” He strongly urged people to vote for Kamala Harris. “The country will be better off and so will you.”''
Anne-Louise, this is a SubStack from just over 4 years ago, an interview w/ someone—Noel Casler—who worked on The Apprentice and broke his NDA to speak publicly. Found it enlightening and, um, icky too: https://gregolear.substack.com/p/full-disclosure-an-interview-with
Ah, interesting! As a lifelong non-TV-watching office employee, I didn't know about The Office, which sounds somewhat less aggressive than a show where the punch line is "You're fired".
The producer of "The Apprentice" apologized, so I was just referencing another division of NBC... plus it's the TV news I watched most often... so if it applies to other news networks, sure. But hell will freeze over before Fox Spews apologizes!
FT 5 and Movement Labs are still registering Democrats in selected states. Yesterday texted to unregistered Pennsylvanians. https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/
Place comments on social media...."Not suckers or losers" to vets groups, military, military dependents, history sites. Vote vets has thousands of testimonials of 2020 Trump voters that flipped. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans or active duty members on Facebook, and 12.5 million family members of veterans or active duty members on Facebook.
John Miller was my big boss when I worked at NBC. He is the ultimate straight shooter. A conservative from the Midwest, who almost never let anyone know what he was really thinking and feeling, deep down.
Well, now we all know how he feels.
He’s taken some flak for not speaking out earlier. IMO, his timing is good. Three weeks before the election. Like any good promo guy, he timed the release of this piece carefully, first on FB, then it go picked up by US News, then Axios, The Wrap, Deadline, and now Heather.
Personally it would have been better for this country if Miller hadn't aligned himself with Trump as the producer of his outrageously disgusting show. You can accolade him for speaking out now but his silence over the years may have cost this country its freedoms. I am outraged by the applause for those who repeatedly ignored Trump's own outrages over the years only to speak out more on the verge of his re ascendancy to power. As many Jews found out in World War 2, silence may lead to one's own death.
Whoa. Slow your roll. Miller wasn't the producer of The Apprentice. That was Mark Burnett. Miller was, like all the rest of us, the Promo Guy. Programming handed Promo the shows and Promo did what was necessary to get the eyeballs to the screen to watch.
Please take some time, draw a breath (or two) and understand how television promotion works before you excoriate someone for doing his job. Promo has no say in what goes on the air or its content.
Be as outraged as you wanna be, just be outraged in the right direction.
Heather neatly sandwiches news of the Nobel in Economics to three U.S. economists.
They show, as Heather stresses how "'[s]ocieties with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better,' while democracies do."
And today, elsewhere, Timothy Snyder posted a video for related Q: why is the opposite of democracies (at its Trumpiest, fascism) bad?
His answer – how all in fascism (or any variant cultism) turn out to be nobodies, all nothing more than replicating characters in Leader’s story – nobody else having one’s own story. Thus for Leader the violence. Death of institutions. Death of law.
What’s the opposite, aside from the economic whose Nobel Heather cites today? What's necessary to jettison the cults, the fascism, to start to have one’s own story? Love. One loves someone else – more than oneself. It’s individual, personal. Very personal.
I pay attention, lots, to writings and videos on authoritarianism. There are many. One thing none gets is how schools have already predisposed most to cults, blind following. Their standardized testing has aborted the individual, the personal. The tests only abstract life so everything is measurable. By categories. By linear systems. No individuals. Nothing personal.
Yes to Timothy Snyder. Yes to Anne Applebaum. Yes to Yuval Noah Harari. And the three good new Nobel laureates.. But no to all who still cannot see how so many schools (around the world) so normally have become manufacturers of the niche, silo-set, living dead.
Phil-FYI-Massachusetts has a ballot question related to eliminating standardized testing as a graduation requirement. At least a YES to this question will place less emphasis on testing-next step may be eliminating the test altogether. This will allow a return to educators leading the way for the teaching and learning process.
No surprise-the business community is opposing this ballot initiative and urging people to vote no.
Sadly, I won't be making the trip to Nagasaki to play tuba with my orchestra in St. Paul and our Nagasaki sister orchestra. It was just too much given continued financial uncertainty at my job and also needing to take along family to keep me on track with my bipolar disorder (keeping me on schedule given sedating medications). I might have gone for it, but we aren't playing Mahler like the last time.
Let me know if you want to attend the joint orchestra concert however!
Matt and Phil - Yesterday, when I was on the shuttle bus to the terminal in Newark two men got on the shuttle each carrying a large oddly shaped packed in a soft case. Not wanting to be too nosy most of us just tried to ignore them. Fortunately another passenger came on and she asked what was in the cases.
And you guys already know the answer--Tubas.
It was hilarious. They were very good natured about the whole spectacle and it made my trip more enjoyable. (If only they had played for us).
Thanks for relaying this story. I go to one of my bands with a friend who plays flute/piccolo. She has a little carry bag. I have a large carry bag (music, tuba rest, valve oil, stand light) and my tuba in a soft gig bag. We look like Mutt and Jeff.
It's a long, long trip here, Matt. Consider it a blessing that you're spared that.
I have kids (some adults, too) every late afternoon, evening (great people, all), so no side trips for me to Nagasaki, beautiful though that mountain-&-ocean bay city is.
I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but... in the original Star Trek series, there is an episode, "Patterns of Force," in which a Federation officer is drugged and made into a figurehead for a neo-Nazi (complete with uniforms) regime on an alien planet. As deranged and feeble as Trump is, we must also be wary that if he is elected, some of his lieutenants (think Stephen Miller) could brandish power in ways brutal and horrific, while Trump, barely conscious continues to provide PR. As bad as Trump is, HE is the key to the gate with his unique persona. Once the mooks are inside, far WORSE people could take hold of the reins. Absolutely something we need to be cognizant of
I voted straight blue yesterday. I think she’s going to win. By a lot. The polls have been wrong since Covid. I’m still concerned about the after. But D. Earl Stephens said President Biden is readying for his last great part in his presidency. No one knows better the levers of power. He knows who to talk to. They’ll be implementing a plan. Much of these nasty events will stop (ie the hunting of FEMA workers, etc) when the vile orange hate agent loses his megaphone. This time a presidential criminal needs to be restricted and confined. So mote it be.
I voted for Biden because I knew he was experienced, steady, and would fix what Trump f'd up. I'm sure he'll have a plan in place. Biden has had one of the most difficult presidencies in U.S. history and he has handled it very well. One of the best presidents we've ever had IMO.
Other News From The Middle-East: 17-OCT-2025: It has been announced that Sinwar has been killed in Gaza, let's see if that makes a difference in Israel's actions... Netanyahu just gave a blustery Speech declaring that it will not... If not then Netanyahu's A*S-Saving Wars will go on... There is now a movement among Israeli Settlers to Seize Southern Lebanon... What is not widely appreciated is that the more we back Netanyahu, the Weaker the USA appears to the International Community... The USA loses Soft-Power... Putin Smiles, as does Xi....
From NYT: Thomas Freidman:
"Let me repeat: a diplomatic initiative to end the war along these lines — and engineer a Saudi-Israel normalization and Arab peacekeeping force — will eventually require Israeli commitment to a pathway to Palestinian statehood. That will trigger virulent opposition from Netanyahu’s extremist messianic right-wing partners, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. They will foolhardily see the killing of Sinwar and the collapse of Hamas as an opportunity to think they can kill every last Hamas member in Gaza in order to carry out their agenda of putting Jewish settlements into Gaza and expanding them in the West Bank. Netanyahu has long wanted to show that he is a historic figure, not just a tactician always maneuvering to stay alive politically — but never ready to take a big risk to change history. Well, this is his moment. Will he cross the Rubicon or do what he usually does — just dog paddle in the middle of it and tell those on each side that he is coming their way?"
I am sitting here in the south of Sweden listening to explosions from a nearby military training facility. (One of our cats just came in seeking cover.) The 17 such sites in Sweden are partially(entirely?) under the jurisdiction of the US as a consequence of the rushed decision to join NATO after decades of resisting that alliance. It is a long history, with a foreshortened urgency. My point? The international context of this election is tremendous …not only for the global economic reasons mentioned by HRC..and what is happening/will happen in the Middle East and in Ukraine is tethered to what happens between now and January 6, 2025 in the United States. I understand that for most Americans domestic issues are a priority but as you point out, Apache, there is going to be a whole world of woe should the Trump cum Vance ticket lie their way into office.
A possible betrayal of the Ukraine by DJT/JD, and the spread of Invasion to NATO would be Unspeakable Horrors... Peace Is Always Better... Putin Only Respects Strength...
Thx for stating this. I've been very concerned about the world ramifications if Trump were to become president again. The ripple effect would be wide and deep.
You touch a particular cord there as I am unable to compartmentalize the harm to other living creatures from the harm to humans. I just came back from my walk and though I try to revel in the beautiful nature around us I feel such a melancholic guilt because of what we are doing to the habitat of the nonhuman creatures of the earth, sky and water, not to mention the plants/trees fungi, coral earth, sky and water.
Thank you KSC. And even slime, which can teach us about communication with those next to us versus a top down command system. Surprised me. The earth and its critters are beyond fascinating. We ignore at our peril.
Netanyahu is a reckless leader, but digging his position in as long as possible, because, like Trump, Netanyahu has a history of crimes at his heels. The Middle East needs peace as soon as possible!
Yes Kathaleen, I am hesitant to attempt any comment on the Israel response as I am not sufficiently informed about the extreme complexity of that situation. On a personal level I am very distressed by what is happening to civilians (particularly children) in Gaza and, now, Lebanon. What I do know a bit about having done substantial course work and writing on International Human Rights, is the history and mission of the United Nations. Today, Israel again denounced the UN because it did not expressly “welcome the elimination” of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and continues to bar Guterres (and I am guessing other high level UN envoys) from entering the country. This really troubles me.
You know, too, dear Rabbi, that it's not just Netanyahu the U.S. is backing.
It's the far-right settlers, 700,000 or so of them, who have seized West Bank land for themselves, insulting the Palestinians from whom they stole it, harassing, road-blocking -- and what was the language the three Nobels in economics used in their study of democracy? Oh, yes, it was in regard to how "[s]ocieties with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population" -- we can add "exploit" the Palestinians to "poor rule of law and institutions," given that all these settlers are in flagrant violation of international law.
So many good Israelis. Maybe they can take their country back from would-be-authoritarian Netanyahu. Maybe they can take their schools back, too -- and start real human dialogue with their many decent Palestinian counterparts.
Recall Auden's lines, Victoria: "Those to whom evil is done / do evil in return."
The far-right settlers stealing West Bank land only sowed bitterness from the Palestinians from whom they stole. That bitterness grew Hamas.
Just as U.S. support for that cruel, cruel Shah -- and training and arming of his savage secret police, Savak -- only sowed the Iranian bitterness, which in turn spurred Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis.
Notice, Victoria, in all these equations, the total lack of schools in any of the let's-grow-hate scenarios?
Two weeks away from Election Day and the MAGA voters don't realize that a vote for the GOP is a vote to give away our democracy to the ultra-rich on the Republican party.
We need Harris to explain to the MSM like that rude Bret Baier on Fox yesterday, that the reason Trump might be getting as much support as Harris is not because he's a better leader...the GOP's lawyers and Heritage Foundation has been planning this regime power grab for years - and they are hiding their true Agenda 47 in the form of a 922-pg document they know their MAGA followers won't read.
"Anne Applebaum on the dictators who want to run the world” on YouTube
My heart swells with pride when I contemplate the future with Kamala Harris as President of the United States. She is proving all the naysayers to be obtusely wrong, and with such panache! She is smart, witty, measured, experienced, and tough yet compassionate. What more could we ask for?
I am consistently impressed by the ability of Dr. Richardson to put complex phenomena together into concise, coherent paragraphs. Here she weaves (sorry) the four components of the MAGAsphere: Trump, the religious nuts, the tech bros and the MAGAts themselves into a single, rancid whole. The first three want to destroy the government for particular ends, while the fourth just wants revenge.
I like Harris’ sassiness :) And I hope that Rump has his final meltdown soon, melting away in a puddle of orange goo, on camera, while all of Faux News is watching. And then, something needs to be done about the outlandish lying that is still legal on tv. Freedom of speech is very important, but freedom of blatant lying is not ok, even harmful.
"Look what you've done!! I'm melting, melting."
"witch hunt" LOL
He keeps hollering about witch hunts but we keep finding witches
I just had a conversation with a customer of mine and we eventually gravitated to politics in a friendly way. I tried getting her to buy my book but she is hardened toward Trump. There was nothing I could say to convince her. In her mind, Biden raised prices, ignored the border, created war. She is partially correct. The border was indeed ignored for almost 3 years and Harris is now paying the price for this. War could truly been avoided if only we had stated no NATO but we A Erica s are so war-oriented and we never learn that almost every 10 years we find another reason for war support.
She also mentioned prices going up and I tried to convince her that gas prices are down and Covid caused unbalances in world wide economies. Nada. Nothing. I tried explaining the disaster awaiting a Trump presidency. Nothing. She has a wall built around her. I will bet that she too is tired of hearing how privileged she is as a Caucasian immigrant from Greece.
It’s frustrating to listen to people like that but I understand how we pick what we want to reinforce our beliefs and then augment them with selected events. It’s human nature. I’m encouraging optimistic that Harris will pull it off. I’m not optimistic that we are not heading to Tyranny of the right. Remember when only a bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City was the best the far right could muster? And they did it as a response to what I considered Jack-booted thugs of government burning the encampment at Wacco, Texas as feds attacked religious fanatics along with Ruby Ridge. Remember? Well, they have grown and become virtually mainstream. I’m afraid the MAGAs are here to stay until they get a proverbial foot in the door. It will be a permanent foot since autocratic leaders don’t like leaving office.
We need to do some serious soul-searching when Harris gets into office. We need to move away from the left. No seriously. I already can anticipate your negative comments. If we don’t move to the proverbial center, we ultimately lose. It’s ours to lose.
What exactly does the "center" do? what does the center" stand for?
Who is in the center? Has there ever been a center in American politics?
It’s less a center so don’t be preoccupied with my center. But read in full what I have suggested. To understand support of the other side, one must examined oneself and what we easily accept as the norm. The missteps we make can easily come back to haunt us.
Bill Katz, this is a response to your beliefs about Ukraine, from Timothy Snyder.
“ Ukrainians. . .are doing us a lot of good, as we tend to forget. They are holding back a Russian army so that other countries can keep all of their soldiers in the barracks. They are deterring China from invading Taiwan by showing that offensive operations are risky and unpredictable. They are making nuclear war less likely by ignoring Putin's bluffs. They are defending the international order, which is based on states and borders. And, yes, they are defending democracy as such, including our own. They have bought us time since 2022 to recover from Covid and economic collapse by bearing the brunt of this crisis on their own.”
Kamala must be the good witch of the North.
No. VP Harris is not a witch. She is a seasoned politician with common sense, brilliance, compassion and a sense of humor. This combination can be hard to find in American politics today.
I was about to correct you but AI confirmed Glinda was the good witch from the north. The west bore the wicked witch.
Caught in his own trap!
What a world! What a world!
🤣
"Ahhhhhhh! What a world what a world what a world!"
Exactly what I was thinking!!
Amen. Trump supporters have no idea what they are supporting because they live in a world of misinformation. We will fight these battles until we demand honesty in public media.
I'm in Indiana for a weekend football game. I'm staying in a small town south of Indianapolis. Almost all of the political signs here are for school board. I'm guessing that some book banners and so called white Christian Nationalists are trying to take over the school board so they can tailor the curriculum to their reiligiously intolerant beliefs.
But the weird thing is, I've only seen 2 Trump signs and both are accompanied by pro-life BS. And no Harris-Walz signs at all.
I lived in Indianapolis in the mid-1980's and no offense to Hoosiers, but it is the one state out of the ten I have lived in where I will NEVER live. I actually like visiting Indy for sporting events and food, but I just couldn't live here. Personal preference I guess.
I know a lot of Harris-Walz supporters who are simply afraid to put out a sign. The violent rhetoric has them afraid of repercussions. How sad.
Exactly why I don't have a Harris sign up in Northern Michigan. I did do a really gutzy thing though: I hung a big American flag on my porch railing, right side up.
In my small town, Harris-Walz signs are being stolen right off of people's lawns. 😠 The opposition must be scared.
That’s what happens in my town in Mississippi. I thought strange that I’ve seen only 2 of 3 vehicles with Trump stickers and about the same number of yard signs. My husband advises me not to display any sign of support for fear of retaliation. That’s so sad.
Whatever happened to the Ohio sheriff who called for neighbors in his town to give him the names and addresses of people with Harris/Walz signs.... you know the facist acting guy?
The U. S. Justice Department is sending observers to polling places in his county, Portage County. And instead of sheriff deputies guarding polling places,, it is the local police department instead. He said it was a "joke," but people around here are taking him VERY seriously.
Pathetic
Pat, I am sure that is a factor. We never put out political signs simply because we don't need people stealing them or tramping in our yard. Frankly, I was glad to see the Harris signs next door and down the street. I did notice that people in town who had signs do not have them now which tells me that they were stolen as signs for locals are still there.
I'm one of them, Pat. I live in Indianapolis and have had my Toyota keyed while I was teaching at the Allison Transmmission plant. So, no signs any longer in my yard or on my car except, "I'm voting," with a blue background : )
For at least ten years, my CA neighborhood signs have been exclusively for candidates to local offices like city council. Nothing on precious cars. Harris/Walz signs are showing up this year, though. Even a couple for Trump.
Carol, I didn't even have a sign on my Toyota that was keyed. They did it because it because it was a foreign-made car, not a GM or American made (at the time, several years ago.)
Oh yes - I believe that is true in every red state or red locality. And if that is really true, that is good news. Fingers crossed.
Gary, I did my graduate work at IU-B, which in the 1980s was a blue bastion in a sea of red, but Indiana still managed to honor Birch Bayh and elected his less-than-delightful son Evan (whose laziness was a sign of problems to come for the Dems). Lee Hamilton and Frank McCloskey (former mayor of Bloomington) were fantastic congressmen for south-central Indiana, while the Rethuglicans hollowed out the cities, enriched themselves, and genuflected to Ronnie Ray-gun at every opportunity. And now it is worse. Sigh.
I lived in an Indianapolis city neighborhood with my husband and small children for a few years in the 90s and loved it. But even then I noticed a lack of government services compared to Michigan, where we had moved from.
I didn’t realize McCloskey was a former mayor. I LOVED Bloomington and IU—one of the most gorgeous campuses anywhere. My uncle supervised the development of Lake Monroe. “The Region,” where I come from, provided good jobs as my father liked to remind me. And it did. Once.
ML, southern Indiana is beautiful and Indiana is full of courthouses built of Indiana limestone. I had an elderly friend from Bedford whose grandfather did a lot of stone decoration at IU. Her father was the person who decided where the stone would be cut. The cemetery in Bedford is full of interesting gravestones, one of which shows a stone carver.
Linda, yes it is worse now. I see now and then posts from one of my ex-classmates who is R and of course, a devout Christian. She has lots of friends who agree and then there is me and a couple of others, one in her family, who disagree.
Just finished Timothy Egan’s Fever in the Heartland about the KKK’s plot to take over the country and that would give you a clear idea about Indiana!
Joy, when I read that, I wondered if any of the adults I knew growing up had been KKK members. I don't think anyone in my immediate family was, but they had friends who might have been. I recommend that book to everyone who wants to understand part of the history of prejudice in this country.
There are Kamala supporters here in NW Indy but unfortunately not enough to counteract the rural vote. I am afraid we will have a MAGA governor soon with his even less qualified Christian Nationalist Lt governor. Just don’t paint us all with the same (red) brush!
I went to a Jennifer McCormick, D candidate for governor, rally a couple of months ago and since have watched her. Polls had her tied with Mike Braun at one point. Her likability rating continues to rise and his to fall. Keeping my fingers crossed. Problem -- the disparity in money.
Gary, I was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana, near South Bend and the Michigan border. I do know people there who are Ds and are appalled at R behavior, but they are in the minority in most places. I loved growing up in Elkhart, but am now so glad that I live in Oregon which the urban population is mostly blue. Go out of town and you will see lots of death star signs. Our next door neighbor, formerly a R pol has Harris/Walz and Salinas (district 6 D) signs up. Saw another Harris sign down the street. Of course, we have some R nut cases here like Art Robinson of send me your urine fame who is now in the legislature. Yesterday the Sec of State's office had to shut down its phone lines because nut jobs, mostly from out of state, were calling about the fact the death star is not in the voter's pamphlet. He is missing because his campaign didn't bother to submit anything and he will be on the ballot. The usual death threats of course. Internet stirring of the pot.
If you’ve lived there, you know it is a misplaced southern state. (Go Big Red!) ☺️
Yes, it's sometimes called Northern Kentucky!
Yep.
I’m surrounded here in Jacksonville, FL by MAGAts — so I put up a Harris sign anyway — I’ve always been a little imp since I was 4. Not one of them has threatened me over it, or stolen it, and it stood strong through two hurricanes — while all their house draped banners were shredded. Nevertheless, it pays to have a reputation of not tolerating bullies, when you hold your ground.
💙💙💙🌺
I live in LA and all I see are Harris Walz signs. I grew up in N. KY and my whole family lives there getting older, I think of moving back but… so many MAGA’s. I love CA and not sure I can do it.
The sooner we have a discussion about and a clearer understanding of what constitutes free speech in a functional democracy in 2024 the better.
Terry, with you I will fight the battles with you!
Terry, we were had lunch with friends yesterday who reported that they had seen an interview with MAGA where the person was reminded that Jesus is supposedly about love. Get ready for the MAGA statement of the year: "Jesus is wrong" Well hey, I may say I believe, but I am going total hubris because I can hate anyone I want.
😱
The problem with regulating freedom of speech is that Ruth is not necessarily absolute, especially in politics. Even in our better days, we had two major parties that disagreed on many issues, even sometimes to the extent of what was the truth in a particular scenario. And if that is open to legal challenge, who is to decide WHAT the truth is? I think this is one of the fundamental strengths of our system, i.e. we leave it up to the voters to decide which variation of the truth they believe and which candidate they want to represent them. I would love the "legal" truth to always be what I prefer but is that fair or even true? I can't say for certain. It is what I believe, but others may disagree. And the minute we start to impose what variation of the truth is the "official" version, we enter the realm of the autocrat, a position that is NOT necessarily reserved solely for the right winger, even though we may feel right now that it ought to be.
I disagree, Jon. Differences of opinion are, and should be protected by the First Amendment harmful disinformation, as was expressed by he two stooges (trump and vampire) is not protected by the First Amendment. They deliberately lied and caused irreparable harm to residents of North Carolina at the same time endangering the lives of FEMA agents trying to help those residents. James Madison never would support your position that it's ok to knowingly lie, cause actual harm so that your followers will 'blame the Federal Government for rescue attempts.
I so agree. I am currently a Red Cross volunteer physician deployed to a shelter in Rutherford county North Carolina. We have been advised to not wear Red Cross identification when out in the community out of concern about a few who might associate us with governmental agencies. The community here has been very welcoming and supportive, but the disinformation has been counterproductive.
ThankYou for your good work and witness.
" Donald Trump and MAGAs rose to power by convincing those left behind by 40 years of supply-side economics that their problem was not the people in charge of the government, but rather the government itself."
Donald Trump and MAGA rose to power on Ronald Reagan convincing people that government is the problem. Reagan's amiable public disparagement and early dismantling of government, fronted for anti-tax, anti regulation, and anti union operatives, and pandered to racist religious extremists.Trump is Reagan writ large and writ vulgar. MAGA is the issue of Movement Conservatism is bed with the Religious Right. Midwifed by the entire right wing apparatus. Which has given us the Reagan's party of god, guns, and greed. Now Trump's party of god, guns, greed, and grift. Repurposing a democratic republic as a corporate clerical fascist state.
Lin, you nailed it. Reagan didn’t have the grift because he was happy holding state dinners with lots of veal and diamonds. The fawning WaPo, which torpedoed Jimmy Carter, put the menu on the front page with breathless stories of who wore what. Civil service workers (and I was one of them) were said to be lazy and overpaid and unnecessary and women who wanted to wear pants to work had to obey the memorandum on how to dress appropriately.
The rich made out like bandits.
Another criminal enterprise as well…remember ‘arms for hostages.’
"...Which has given us the Reagan's party of god, guns, and greed. Now Trump's party of god, guns, greed, and grift. Repurposing a democratic republic as a corporate clerical fascist state."
SPOT ON, lin•
Ah yes the G’s of the GOP! Guts, Glory, and god-awful!
Thank you for what you're doing in NC. I'm so sorry that you're being treated like that. Maybe the idiots who can't stand government aid will be so involved in disrespecting those who have come to help that they will forget to vote.
"The community has been very welcome" ? I imagine as they line up for your free physician services they are welcoming, but you cannot wear your red cross identification outside, in the community? Two "truths". Sad.
Most of the people wouldn’t care about the uni. Its the RWNJ
Sadly, it only takes one.
The disinformation is way more than counterproductive, it's outright dangerous. Thank you for what you are doing for the people in North Carolina, Dr. McConnell, despite the danger.
Wish the supportive community was able to tell the conspiracy-laden militias to get out of Dodge for good.
Tragic! Perhaps Red Cross cammo!
I agree - that should be the line - particularly for those who are trying to hold public office. I would have been just as outraged if one side had bragged it was doing a great job when clearly it was not (eg Katrina)
Fay, your position has long, very long, been the law of the land. The 1st Amendment actually bars someone from hunting FEMA works with intent to kill or maim or hurt victims of severe weather.
Fay, I agree with you 100%. The last eight years have been very damaging to this country, and the damage has been done by blatant liars like Trump and his minions, all the way from Democrats abusing and trafficking children in the basement of a pizza parlor to "illegals" stealing and eating domestic animals in Ohio, and now that the desecration of our Capitol on January 6, 2021 was a "day of love," and not an insurrection. These are NOT differences of opinion between reasonable, well-meaning people.
Correct. This falls under the SCOTUS decision that ruled you can’t yell fire in a crowded theatre.
Among many other SCOTUS cases not to mention Tom Paine's 'Common Sense'.
Scott Dworkin’s interview(~ 25 min) with attorney, and former federal prosecutor,Subodh Chandra representing the Haitian Bridge Alliance.
https://www.dworkinsubstack.com/p/exclusive-video-lawyer-behind-trumps?r=fqsxl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I totally agree Fay.
So facts and the truth are fungible?
I don’t buy it either Harvey. I think truth is absolute. The first amendment protects people’s ability to voice their opinions. When those opinions are stated as fact, as a form of truth, then there should be a burden of proof. Once the fact is shown to meet the burden of proof, it is certifiably the truth until proven otherwise. Disinformation is the intentional stating that something is factual when there is no foundation for it - with the intent of misleading people.
That's a perfect definition, William.
Not on topic but I think you would be better appreciated if you moved your "Notes/ credits to after these comments. Better yet offer them to the few people who want them. Too time consuming. I have read you for a long time and only today realized I could like or love the first part and I do enjoy reading these comments. I think it would make your heart soar to see how much your articles mean to lazy people like me.
If you are responding to Fay Reid, subscribe to her substack and be enlightened on a regular basis. Most days I start with Heather, then it's a toss up as to whether I next open Hubbell or Fay Reid. I could end the day after those three, but there is so much, so very much available to us on substack.
I often click on one or more of the notes to get a fuller picture of something in HCR's post. Would I even be able to fine the notes if they were after the many comments?
William, I like having the notes easily accessed so that I can delve deeper and also determine the purview of the information. It’s kind of like looking at the original medical study mentioned in the magazine article.
Mary, I admire people like you but right now I'm reading to see if anyone has a solution to the lies and disinformation. We need to counter the GOP with actions that expose the lies to lemmings who have blindfolded themselves to the truth. Only days left to expose what we readers here believe to be true. If we can't shine light on the truth it isn't going to matter how we got here. There will be time to delve if Kamala wins.
I would suggest that the Notes be left at the end of the article…BUT for the love of god please don’t include them in the read aloud.
Amen
Jon is weak and a danger to society. He ate my cat. Sometimes the-right-to-lie must be challenged. Trump commercials are full of lies. Is that the way to inform and solicit votes? What if the rich folks create a TV channel based on disinformation? Or used a false curriculum in schools? We must do better!
47 C.F.R. § 73.1217.
Prohibits broadcast licensees or permittees from broadcasting false information concerning a crime or a catastrophe if:
*the licensee knows this information is false;
*it is foreseeable that broadcast of the information will cause substantial public harm; and
*broadcast of the information does in fact directly cause substantial public harm.
Any programming accompanied by a disclaimer will be presumed not to pose foreseeable harm if the disclaimer clearly characterizes the program as a fiction and is presented in a way that is reasonable under the circumstances.
Daniel, is there any notable case law on point per 47 CFR Section 73.1217?
FYI, Thompson Reuters' 'Casetext" search on Section 73.1217 details that "public harm" is NOT limited only damage to "health, safety or property" but, also includes the "diversion of law enforcement or other public health & safety" which has, in fact, occurred in North Carolina after the historic deluge.
Last night, right after the ABC World News, there was a disclaimer, read by an announcer, saying something like "ABC has to broadcast this, because it is a political ad. Nothing said is the opinion of ABC News." Then the "commercial" (and to call something this horrific a "commercial" is to stretch the meaning) showed aborted black babies, picture after picture, introduced by a black minister. Then some white guy, obviously a fringe candidate for president (I didn't catch his name) came on asking for votes. Then the disclaimer was read again. Does anyone know anything about this?
This law is directed at broadcast licenses and has been upheld as valid because broadcast licenses are limited due to bandwidth availability. This has nothing to do at all with the right of a political candidate to exercise the right to free speech (even deliberate misleading speech) which is absolutelyprotected by the first amendment. If you ask want to destroy the protections of the constitution, you are entitled but I will point out that is exactly what trump wants to do too so you are advocating the same thing he is. Sorry if that hurts but it is absolutely true.
Republication rises to the same level. Defamation, hate, "fighting words" are not "speech." E.G. Telling someone that FEMA will steal their property is a crime.
I'm sure that the insurance carriers are telling media clients not to publish blatant lies without a disclaimer.
Meanwhile the discovery obtained in Fox vs Dominion puts constant pressure on broadcasters. There are currently several shareholder derivative suits against Fox that could force a hostile takeover. Also challenges to licenses.
This is enlightening Daniel. Thanks. Wouldn’t wanna be the new Risk Manager at Fox these days. The last one lost Fox a $787.5M bet.
I am assuming you are a lawyer so please explain to me how defamation is a crime? It is certainly actionable as a tort but I have never seen a criminal law which c could put you in jail for such speech. Lying to the public as a political statement is not a crime that I can find in the statutes unless there is actual provable harm done to someone. There are exceptions as I well know but from my analysis none of the lies told by Trump are actionable criminally. Please enlighten me as to where you find such justification.
I am totally in favor of people who are harmed by his lies suing for damages (as Dominion did) but that is a far cry from saying someone had broken the law criminally by doing so.
That is already happening in schools across the country, i.e., in Florida where climate change can't be mentioned or history of civil rights has to be changed. Also, where books are banned in schools or libraries. Also, I totally agree with you that Jon is weak.
Advocating to destroy the rights protected by the constitution is the weakest position anyone can take. And to call me out for supporting the constitution is even weaker. You should all get an actual lesson in the constitutional protections which I took in law school.
Jon - the national car dealers association will be calling you to defend puffery when we finally get around to correcting that error made by the supreme court decades ago. Why has lying been legalized in the interest of commerce?
Interesting conversation going on here. I don't think you're weak Jon, for stating realities that aren't pleasant to hear. What about creating regulations like the fairness doctrine that applies to Internet, cable/ satellite/ streaming TV ECT?
I too, see how easily a section of our population has accepted misinformation and disinformation to our country's own detremient.
Of course the Fairness Doctrine is long gone (1987 via the "wisdom" of Ronald Reagan). And the Fairness Doctrine was (in order to end run the 1st amendment) limited to broadcast licensees under the theory that broadcast licenses were limited (several per city back in the 1960s). Once media started to expand (cable, internet, etc,) they decided that Fairness wasn't needed anymore. Lots of options, lots of difference of opinion.
I am honestly not sure if the answer. Smarter more educated knowledgeable citizens? Is that just a pipe dream? If people are unable to understand when they are being lied to (or don't care) I am not sure there IS a solution. Sigh...
There are valid points being made on both sides of this issue and we must look at all of them. Sticking our heads in the sand because we don't like the reality of something is what has led us to where we currently are, IMO. Put downs and name calling will not help us in finding a solution to this problem folks.
If you are a lawyer, hope you paid your malpractice premium.
For what reason? I am not practicing law here, I am just expressing my opinions. As is my right. And you are welcome to disagree.
They already did. It’s called FOX
"What if the rich folks create a TV channel based on disinformation?"
Craig, do you mean like FOX News, Newsmax and OAN.
AT&T financially supported OAN and then lied about it. Since then, OAN has been dying a slow death.
I take it your comments were tongue in cheek, but all of what you state is true.
Twitter/X is exactly that. A false/dis/miss information and radicalization machine for profit and for propaganda.
What is significant is how we arrive at mutable truths. And the recognition that many truths are mutable. The Founders translated the Scientific Method into government protocols. We are to arrive at our operative and amendable truths by coming to consensus through reasoned debate of empirical evidence - in the judiciary, legislative, and even executive branches, and in the transfer of power. Their separating church and state was not only to keep absolutist and authoritarian religious creed out of government policies but also to keep irrational habits of mind out of government procedures. The politics of faith has been the undoing of the democratic body politic - poisoned by such as plutocrat bagman, piety influencer and court capture operative Leonard Leo who has insinuated religion into Supreme Court decisions with the novel and unconstitutional notion that any individual notion of religious sentiment overrides all our shared constitutional civil rights. Because if our government will not protect equality before the law and equal representation, it cannot administer equitable taxation and reasonable regulation. Perpetuating economic injustice is one motive of repurposing a democratic republic as a corporate ChristoFascist state. Especially in this but in all contexts the Constitution allows for reasonable limits on 'free speech.' It is the very nature of the Constitution to reject absolutes.
Post of the day award winner.🏆
Well said!
lin-
Once again, beautifully said. Because of the propensity of people to believe a whopper of a lie if they read it enough, the law must curb nonfactual speech meant to disinformation and harm. By the way, I’ve grown to extremely dislike the phrase “No smoke without fire “
Yes.
'Blowing Smoke' would be accurate.
Gonna print this and tape it to the fridge. A+
"...the politics of faith..." another winner.
The phrase 'the politics of faith' precedes GW Bush's usage - which insinuates the religious leap of faith into politics, putting belief over empirical evidence. Undoing even Reagan's popularization of the Russian term 'trust but verify' - allowing Bush to base government policy decisions on unsupported assertions (ie invading Iraq on the basis of unverified and false claims of weapons of mass destruction.)
I think 'the politics of faith' was introduced by English philosopher and political theorist Michael Oakeshott, who meant it in a very different way as the "faith in the human ability to ascertain and grasp some universal good."
"In his posthumously published The Politics of Faith and the Politics of Scepticism Oakeshott describes enterprise associations and civil associations in different terms. In politics, an enterprise association is based on a fundamental faith in human ability to ascertain and grasp some universal good (leading to the Politics of Faith), and civil association is based on a fundamental scepticism about human ability to either ascertain or achieve this good (leading to the Politics of Scepticism). Oakeshott considers power (especially technological power) as a necessary prerequisite for the Politics of Faith, because it allows people to believe that they can achieve something great and to implement the policies necessary to achieve their goal. The Politics of Scepticism, on the other hand, rests on the idea that government should concern itself with preventing bad things from happening, rather than enabling ambiguously good events. Oakeshott was presumably dissatisfied with this book, which, like much of what he wrote, he never published. It was evidently written well before On Human Conduct."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Oakeshott
Thanks for the info, lin•
How about responsibility? Being able to prove what you say.
Responsibility!!? Mainstream media sugar coats chumps lies, distortions and mental incompetence! Yes, where is the responsibility! HCR interviewed the guy who made chump the Apprentice! Now, now, now he asks forgiveness! Responsibility is buried in the dictionary behind bonus, annual bonus for creating a show with high ratings; behind the words cash, money, for a budget, and greed!
I doubt collegiate TV media production curricula include a course in ‘broadcast ethics’!
Rickey, I'm jealous. I spent 20 min composing a wordy response to Jon's post, and you summarized what I personally felt in a couple of sentences. I wish I had your skill.
There is no requirement under the first amendment to "prove" anything. It doesn't say "the right to freedom of speech is granted if you can prove what you say" . It just says you are guaranteed the right to free speech. We all know (hopefully you are all smart enough to know this) that there are exceptions but political speech especially by candidates for office is one of the strongest protections. The founders correctly decided it should be up to the electorate to make the decision who to believe and who to vote for.
All of you advocating for this kind of nonsense need to go back to school and learn about your constitution
I stand with the right of free speech. But Maureen just asked the critical question. Instead of arguing "Constitutionality" (a good thing to do) we need to figure out how to set standards. Is it really OK to lie as a public official in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary? Especially when it harms others?
Of course not.
Here is my answer: We need a publicly funded media that reports on everything. It would be established and regulated by a bipartisan panel. There will always be people who won't believe it and the Trumps will demonize it if they don't like it. You can't eliminate evil intent. But you can call it out.
We need a totally independent (not privately owned) source of news and commentary that is generally considered a reliable source for facts. Picture a PBS/NPR on steroids. A CNN for the public with breaking news 24/7.
Again, it must be overseen by a group that is a rotating panel from all elements of our political spectrum. Truth, facts and fairness would be its beacons. After each major story, the "Fact Checker" bell would go off. And the truth would be told.
If we trust the government with a myriad of responsibilities from defense and national emergencies to providing education for our young to care for our elderly to providing safe air travel to protecting our sources of food and water... we could certainly have an agency or department that provided accurate trustworthy news and analysis.
"Oh, no trust the government?!" I say yes! Because we do already. It ain't perfect. In fact, it's got a lot of problems. But currently we are relying on money grubbing private enterprise "news" to lead us around on leashes. That wasn't the case when news sources like TV had separate news divisions that were not profit centers.
I am a free enterprise loving retired business guy. But if we think we can trust profit driven enterprises to be totally truthful we are fools dreaming a nightmare written by the oligarchs.
I would have no argument if the purpose was to expose lies. That is already done by many organizations. The issue is "WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT"? The Constitution is pretty clear... except in cases of direct harm to others, speech can not be abridged. So we can announce the lies from the highest mountain tops. I have no argument with that. Write papers. Get every journalist you can to reveal the depth of the falsehoods.
But that's it. You can't jail someone or prosecute them or even require that they not run for office. None of those things would pass constitutional muster. Free speech is free speech.
If you think we should change that, go ahead and try. But I will actively oppose such an idea because the day you get that changed is the day they will come after me (and you) because they don't like what we say. The very reason we can write what we write here is because of the first amendment. Revoke that and Substack disappears. And none of us should want that to happen.
Lies welcome in our society, now that the megaphone is bought by evil. One does wonder about “smarts,” and not just MAGAts.
Jon ~ I guess the question should be when does the first amendment right cross the line and poses a threat to others? How should society respond to that threat?
There are obvious "lines" that can be crossed. An actual call to illegal conduct that could result in harm to others is certainly crossing a line. The classic example is "yelling fire in a crowded theatre" when there is no fire which could cause a panic. Interestingly the opposite, i.e. yelling there is NO fire when there is in fact an obvious fire is protected because it is assumed people could see that there IS a fire.
When you get into politics or can be muddy but as a I have noted elsewhere usually political speech will be protected with the assumption that people should understand that politicians sometimes say outrageous and even untruthful things and it should be up to each individual to be easy about what they believe. Even politicians can cross lines but in our democracy we try to err on the side of protecting speech due to the First Amendment. But it is not absolute.
Jon, Your condescending attitude of your posts when people are voicing exactly what you say they have a right to do is laughable. Perhaps the "Right to Free Speech" is too broad. Perhaps there should be limits when one person's right to say what they want incites or injures others that will act because they think it would please that person. But, we have never heard a president say he wanted to call out the military or the national guard against people who protest against or disagree with him before Traaaaaamp. It must be lonely up on that pulpit.
The truth has been put thru a grinder by repubs for decades. Chump made them proud of “alternative facts”. Orwell flipping in his grave at the stupidity of those who say, I don’t know what to believe. Start with not believing anything that Fox says. Duh!
There is truth and there are facts. Truth may apply to philosophical beliefs, but facts are reality. They can be seen, heard and experienced.
Got that right Terry. Around my law office we called them "factoids" but, I never used that word with a jury or judge.
The fact that Fox News had to pay nearly $800 million to the voting machine company for lying about the accuracy of its equipment and that the people in the small town whose children were killed in their school were awarded over $1 billion from Alex Jones (who claimed the school shooting was faked) is proof that it is possible to protect the public from lies… proof that what it the truth can be decided in a court of law. I believe we cannot leave what is the truth up to public opinion alone.
Dominion was a lawsuit. There is a HUGE difference between bringing a lawsuit for damages due to libel or slander and asking for a political candidate to be forced (somehow) to not express their views even if those views are misleading. The former is a legitimate way to resolve a dispute and be awarded damages if you win. The latter is censorship and mostly not permitted under the 1st amendment.
I agree partly with you. There shouldn't be an "agenda" which determines what is true and what is not; it reeks of authoritarianism, and: if what is considered true, turns out to be untrue (because of new insights), you cannot change it anymore and so it chokes progress.
But: it shouldn't be possible to lie about blatant facts or make up blatant lies AND get away with it, without any repercussions or responsibilities. "Not knowing better" is one thing, but lying whilst KNOWING you are lying is another thing. And yes, many "truths" are up for discussion and escape the realm of the "absolute truths", but you cannot go around and change people's skin colour "because I say so, and it's my freedom of speech". Or say that Haitian immigrants eat kittens without any proof. Or accuse FEMA of confiscating private property.
I’m definitely not a lawyer, but lawsuits are a means of accountability. If someone is harmed they can sue. Criminalizing certain types of speech (other than actual threats) is not the only means of holding people responsible.
There is accountability. We should be identifying all of his lies. We should be promoting that. We shoulds get the vote out to defeat him.
But should we take legal criminal action to stop him? Absolutely not. We give up our country if we do that. Then we are no better than authoritarianism ourselves.
"I may be offended by what you say but i will defend to the death your right to say it. "
Jon, there's political truth, which is soft and changeable, and there is empirical truth, which is based on actual events, whether in a lab, nature, or history, that are observed and documented. Trump's January 6 2021 attack on the Capitol happened. Biden's election to the presidency happened, and Trump's lawyers' lawsuits about its legitimacy failed over 60 times because there was no evidence. The American economy is booming by any measure by any non-MAGA observer. Russia attacked Ukraine.
Should I go on? Your assertion that macro truth (not quantum truth) is based on the observer is demonstrably false and, as evidenced by MAGA embrace of violence based Trump's lies, and is dangerous.
Now, I quite agree that a person's mindset, mood, and expectations will affect their perceptions. The only way to counteract that is to focus on empirically observed events and actions, not on the emotional responses encouraged by media's opinion machines. Ideally, such focused assessment is done by the observer, the individual, not by others telling that individual that they've been wrong, and that's one of the challenges we face - helping more people to see beyond their emotions towards objective empirical truth.
Jerry, even “actual facts” may not be clear or absolute. I know it’s risky to bring this up, but how far is a national leader allowed to go to protect its sovereignty? Is there a fact that resolves that question? A fact that’s indisputable? Is there an immutable truth there?
Clearly...some things are lies. Saying....their eating the dogs, their eating the pets, and FEMA will take your land are lies. Let's don't 'sanewash' this issue or nitpick into justification. I see lie after lie in political ads...that can be easily proven. IT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED. To allow it, harms people. It tricks them into voting against themselves.
So you want to change the constitution so that lies are not protected speech. really? I wonder what everyone here will say when Trump is elected and HE chooses to try to get the first amendment revoked so he can arrest people for what they say.
Because y know it works both ways.
Yelling fire in a crowded theatre when there is not fire is not a first amendment right. Lies that endanger people are NOT protected by the constitution.
You obviously didn't read my posts carefully. I totally agree and said as much. The "yelling fire in a crowded theatre" exception ţo free speech is well known. What I said was the OPPOSITE (yelling there is no fire when there obviously is) would be protected because it would rarely cause any harm... people should be able to see a fire and run for safety.
Jon, you confuse subjective with objective. Truth is unlike beauty not in the eyes of the beholder. Also it is not up to a vote.
Truth is NOT required by the first amendment. "Congress shall make no law abridging freedom of speech." It doesn't say "except for untruthful speech.". It is with a few specific exceptions (none of which apply to Trump) absolute. It was written that way to protect EVERYONE'S right especially political candidates.
"Who is to decide what the truth is?"
If two people or two groups disagree, then there is an inconvenient truth beneath the disagreement, and each party must choose between one of three options. Option 1 involves a multi-step resolution of the dilemma wherein the two parties work together to discover the inconvenient truth that, when discovered, serves not one party or the other, but the more important third party, their relationship. Option 2 involves treating the disagreement like it's a problem with a one-step "I'm right, you're wrong, and this conversation is over" solution. And Option 3 is there is no Option 3.
But what to do when, hypothetically speaking, Party D chooses Option 1 and Party R chooses Option 2? "When we are no longer able to challenge a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." —Viktor Frankl (1905–1997).
We rely too much on government, the law, and money instead of resolving our dilemmas because too many people are insufficiently mature, and the party that chooses Option 2 is insufficiently mature.
For the record, Viktor Frankl was the guy who suggested a statue of responsibility for the left coast.
James, we already have a "statue" of responsibility at the mouth of the New York harbor. 🗽
Bryan, I agree with you, but I also agree with Frankl because too may people conflate "justice for all" and "justice for me."
I agree—Ruth is not absolute. No one is.
Except Ruth Ginsberg?
Lol yeah that was a typo... thank for the laugh!
We’ve somehow moved from exaggeration and spin of the issues and the opponent to OUTRIGHT LIES. Idk what to go about that.
Fact Check Kimberly on "OUTRIGHT LIES": TRUE.
Although I still favor "Sea of Mendacity". Hat Tip to Tennessee Williams. : --- )
Fact check... write opinion pieces. Call out the lies. But under no circumstance should we be wanting to make it illegal to express those lies.. for me the cure will be worse than the disease.
Well, juries call out lies really well. Those jury decisions are not opinions often not humble --- they are verdicts civil as well as criminal & do decide what conduct is illegal.
Judge Chutkan took a big step yesterday deciding to unseal Jack Smith's "Appendix" which contain a mountain admissible facts of many Wreck crimes.
Mostly agree with you here but it should be pointed out that juries do NOT decide what is criminal. They take the facts as presented and apply the law as given by the judge. Judges almost never interfere with a jury's holding on the facts but they can and do sometimes decide that the jury made a mistake in applying the law. I follow the Washington DC case against Trump closely so yes I saw the installing of the evidence. I sure hope it holds up but given the current SCOTUS I am not holding my breath.
Judges make mistakes of law instructing the jury as to matters of law sometimes or worse failing to grant a pre-trial morion "Motion in Limine' aka a 'MIL'.
I had to take over the post trial motions of a civil verdict that would have bankrupted a family business & the breadwinners of an extended family of 42 so I had to file a post trial motion to reverse the jury verdict with plenty to say.
On the day the motion was heard & to my immense respect to the Judge's ethics & his belief in rule of law, the Judge reversed the verdict. From the bench, Judgment was ordered entered in favor of my client the defendant.
That was the last day in court for my retiring co-counsel. Memorable for everyone. Even the offense respected the correct ruling.
Food for thought and thoughtfully expressed.
Jon, I find myself in agreement with you in this discussion, but I do have a question. Should there be (or is there) a legal definition of "news?" I find it extremely troubling that all of these rightwing propaganda outlets (Fox, OANN, etc) are able to call themselves "news" when they do not hold themselves to the truth at all. That has set up half of the country to believe harmful nonsense. They think they are being told some kind of "truth."
You can go back hundred of years and there has never been a legal definitive of news. There have always been news sources that were unreliable, which often took outrageous positions. Research journalism in the 1800s and early 1900s (the Hearst family had a huge "tradition" in "yellow" journalism). There is nothing new here in that regard. I think what makes it so frustrating is that modern media with its extensive reach via the internet and cable and broadcast makes it easier to spread misinformation and to gather people who will "buy" the BS. I imagine arguments could be made to support more restrictions on the media but I also question whether that would actually do any good. Vulnerable and gullible people will always accept what they want to hear. That is nothing new. And as has been said by many over a long period of time, democracy is fragile. It requires education and attention and understanding. Maybe we HAVE outlived the benefits that the founders embedded in our Constitution. I certainly hope not but I fear I may be wrong.
Mike you are so, so right. We have a lot of work to do.
Elon Musk has donated $75 million to get Trump reelected. He is donating to America PAC which is working to buy 18 Congressional seats across the country including Heather's district - ME-2.
Her district has voted for Trump in the last two cycles but has also elected a Democrat to the House. He is trying to woo the Trump voters to hold his seat, but I think he may be driving away some of his base.
The things you could have done with those 75 million bucks... Water management projects in Africa, reforestation in Brazil, humanitarian aid in Gaza and Jemen... But noooo, Darth Musk threw it all away in the Trump dumpster in hopes of gaining more power. Asshole.
Government for sale, buyer a cretin, desperate for more power.
Well, Golden's home town--Lewiston--experienced a horrifying massacre just a year ago. Eighteen people were shot and thirteen others were wounded in two different attacks, because a National Guardsman, who had been documented by his unit as unstable and had already showed worrying signs of a mental crisis, slipped through the cracks.
Golden responded by changing his mind about his thoughts and promises on gun control, rescinding his statement that he would never advocate requiring assault-type automatic and semi-automatic rifles to be registered and other sensible regulations controlling such weapons.
Now the NRA is blanketing the rural parts of the state, trying scaare people into worrying that the Dems are "going to take away our guns". Sigh. As though having such a massacre happen in one's own town shouldn't cause any second thoughts about gun control.
Fortunately, his opponent is a smug little insect who was the choice of smirking little cretin Mike Johnson, so he already comes with a extremist MAGA label. He tried to block government functioning with a shut down that threatened a Navy contract at one of Maine's biggest employers (BIW, owned by General Dynamics). He claims to be able to stand against his "more extreme" brethren in the matter of an abortion ban, but I very much doubt many Maine women are buying it. I think Jared will win, but it shows how desperate are the Repubbies.
much as I'd like a very public, very shame-filled meltdown, just think who'd have to step up. JD is worse than T.
Yes, but I don't think he commands the MAGA cultists as much as Rump does. I'd wager that Harris has even better chances of winning when Rump is gone.
Seems trump is slinking behind the curtain
Like a fat demented Wizard of Oz
Agreed, Dutch Mike. In a return survey to League of Women voters I wrote in candidates' lying as the #1 problem right now in our voting process. I layed the blame ultimately at the feet of media and stated that fact-checking needs to be every time a candidate speaks. It's irresponsible to let blatant lies go out on the airways and the media needs to be held accountable for allowing it. They are the transmitters to the public and choose what to broadcast.
Can you just imagine Trump's reaction when he saw the clip of Harris taunting the hecklers?!!
LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!
I hope he self-explodes out of sheer anger.
Yeah, it’s blatant propaganda of the worst kind like yelling “Fire” in a closed auditorium just to watch people panic, Repetition of lies is something a normal group of people anywhere would never permit for a day or a minute. Try lying on your taxes for a few years and see what happens or lying every time you play golf? .Children and adults in every culture, society and group from the Inuits, Mesopotamians, Chinese and Neanderthals knew that lying was wrong. Because it just is, wrong. Its is in the 10 Commandments, too. Liars pay for their lies…don’t lie. Earn your victories and own your failures. I like that one.
Keep going, Vote! Vinceramos!
People want/need to be lied to, to assuage the fears and hatred. How else could tRump gain so much support?
I've said it before: the Rump cultists love him because he teaches them that it's completely ok to be a misogynistic, racist and narcissistic asshole just like him.
Dutch Mike, this has been my realization as well, just as the opposition to Obama's election was the flashpoint for this "revolt".
Propaganda works, and this feed proves it…
Texas lies with the fervor of a missionary. Push back desperately needed.
"President Joe Biden set out to prove that democracy could deliver for the ordinary people who had lost faith in it. " This is the key statement ahd Harris should not hesitate to say she wants to contiue this Biden vision for competion.
That leaves only Vance, he’s way too dangerous to be standing alone. Scary stuff.
Yes, but as I said above, I don't think he commands the MAGA crowds the way the Convicted Orange Felon does. I think Harris has an even better chance of winning when the Orange Inciter is gone.
Guess we will find out, I think it’s very possible, he will self implode before 11-5…
So much for the Fair Doctrine = required presenting information from diffeing perspectives. Thank you RR.
Harvey, first of all the Fairness Doctrine only applied to broadcast licensees i.e. television and radio stations which are licensed by the federal government due to limited bandwidth availability. Since only a few stations exist in any geographical area it was decided that stations awarded licenses needed to insure Fairness in their reporting and political coverage.
That said, the Fairness Doctrine was removed from the law in 1987, almost 40 years ago, by the Reagan FCC. Plenty of people have argued it should be reinstated and even expanded, but that has never happened.
Ah i just realized your last comment included RR which I assume meant Reagan so you obviously understand all this. Sorry I wasn't trying to insult you just to add a few words of explanation.
Professor, I’ve read your letters since early 2020. I’ve watched as your nightly scribes morphed from chronicling, to concern, to crisis. But always with a good dose of hope
I for one am glad you are sounding the alarm. I’ve seen the criticism from some that your “place” as an historian is solely to provide context, not opinion. In normal times that may hold some water, but these are not normal times.
Keep pushing forward with the fight. Our children and grandchildren deserve a future of possibilities. Your words of inspiration reach millions, and make a difference.
Thank you.
With information comes power.
With power comes responsibility.
Heather Cox Richardson has been the best educator and I am so grateful for her guidance in such a time as this!
YES!!
Well said, Herb!
I agree!... although, I prefer to follow the perspective of, with responsibility comes power.
Yes, Herb Klinker, I share your opinion of Heather. Her historical context of current events has helped me face each tough day we have lived through in this Democracy-on-Trial moment. Many MAGA claim the whole system needs to crash and be broken, and therefore lying, disinformation, hoodwinking, conning, grifting, and bullying are acceptable behavior. I believe Heather champions our deep belief that although our history and current iteration of Democracy is not perfect, we favor treating it like the beautiful Japanese ceramic art of Kintsugi. It’s a technique that uses gold to highlight cracks in broken pottery. So rather than toss away the vessel, mend the cracks, paint them with gold to acknowledge the flaw, and continue to use and improve the vessel. Because it holds our hopes and dreams.
That is a beautiful analogy.
Perfect!
Beautifully said!
Yet history is little more than a curiosity unless it illuminates our present and offers clues to our future. Advanced memory and logic skills are much of our evolutionary advantage. That said, any projection of future events beyond Newtonian mechanics is likely to involve some degree of interpretation. Interpretation is legitimate so long as it does not claim to be more than a reasonable projection of relevant evidence.
Indeed. It is in the field of projections about our future and it’s interpreted multiplicities that cultural creatives and rational scientists always inhabit the same space.
All fiction and non-fiction ever written are really about the time they were written in. Using them to illuminate some aspect of the present is really their best use. Pretending to do do otherwise is just a futile act.
Just for the record I have never suggested that Heather as a historian shouldn't provide her opinions. I personally devour her opinions because they are almost always in total agreement with mine. What I have said is that she isn't a journalist because journalists do NOT provide opinions, they provide facts. They should call out the candidates ( and the good ones like NYT do) when they lie but they should not offer their opinion on whose positions are better. Historians do that... commentators do that... journalists should not.
Perhaps once upon a time NYT was a "good one". Since they were overthrown by an autocrat, not so much anymore. IMHO.
What are you talking about? The NYT "overthrown by an autocrat"? The NYT is owned and published by the Sulzberger family as it has been since the late 1800s. Please enlighten me if you actually have some facts relating to this strange accusation which at least to my knowledge is just total nonsense.
Oh, come on. The NYT has been sane-washing a potential fascist dictator because Sulzberger has his panties in a bunch because Harris won’t give him the exclusive that he feels he’s entitled to. He’s in dereliction of duty based on his ego. Oh, and maybe a little bit of the bottom line comes into play as well.
You're smoking pretty good crack dude or you are just making shit up. They have actively supported Harris TWICE in two weeks. You are just spreading lies, much like the opposition in the presidential race. Please stop it. It is not a good look.
While I wouldn't say they have been overthrown by an autocrat, the NYT seems hellbent on unequal coverage in this election. And then when you think back to the 2016 election, and the Iraq war, it starts to seem like a pattern. Here's just one example: https://margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/about-those-new-york-times-headlines?r=apy04&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true
Also, take just 10 seconds to think about how the NYT covered Biden's age/questions about his cognition, and what they are doing as Trump decompensates before our eyes, canceling interviews nearly daily, swaying on stage for 30 minutes, spouting ever more gibberish. It's shocking.
Final point... re Biden... Biden's cognitive decline was obvious to anyone who was looking. It demanded attention and got it. When it was the major story it had is effect which was to finally get Biden to step aside something he should have done himself long before this. Trump is clearly just as impaired maybe worse but he will never step aside. But it is constantly in the press due to his outrageous statements. I agree that when the press finally started taking the Biden issue serially after the debate they focused on him. Probably not the best look for the press but I don't think it showed any ridiculous anti Biden bias. And in the end he did step aside. I certainly wish trump would step aside too but that isn't going to happen..
Point two. The NYT headline nonsense is just nonsense. Read the times. I do every day. There is no evidence for this accusation that holds water. Sure some of their headlines are slightly lop sideds but they do it both ways. When I saw the post I was hoping to see actual references to NYT articles but instead I got a reference to a Substack which has IMHO a lot less credibility than the Nyt itself.
Point one. The NYT has been avidly supporting Harris (they wrote TWO very major editorials sipportting her) so I don't see where anyone who actually READS the paper as I do every single day could rationally say they are promoting trump. That is just not true.
I think "journalists" have become really loose in their reporting of facts and opinions... Or opinions as facts.
Journalists should know the facts of statements which is pretty easy these days to verify. So they should provide facts when disinformation is being said. Little old me can discern facts from disinformation but don't always have them at my finger tips but journalists should know and have the facts at their finger tips.
I like it when historians weigh into current politics. Why? Because they tend to bring the receipts, the proof, the facts. Particularly if they are allowed to lay out the case, without undue interference by the egocentric moderators on TV. Ari Melber comes to mind. And there are way too many following his lead.
Democracy is a good system. It has its flaws in all its forms but still is better than alternatives. America, you scared us all half to death. You aren't out of the woods yet but the future looks better than it has for a long time. Harris/Walz are the best team. Vote Blue down the line. This Canadian is cheering for you.
A return cheer to Canada for unmasking Tucker as a Russian pr agent,
"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…’
- Churchill,
Allen, so good to see your name here. I hope all is well with you and your family after your harrowing journey. I am so hoping our country goes blue. It seems the only sane decision but sanity is hard to hold on to in this abnormal campaign. Your experience, which you so generously shared with all of us, is a stark reminder of what could be at stake here. But I like your hope, and for our sake, your sake and the sake of the global community let it be blue!
Your support for freedom over fascism is appreciated Allen. We need all the help we can get.
Thank You, Allen!
Harris has a sense of humor and a big smile. Trump just has a mean streak and a smirk. Not the same thing at all.
Betsy, loved the way she acknowledged the hecklers & called them out, but did not disparage them and did NOT suggest that they should be roughed-up as TFFFG has done. Brassy, sassy and smart!
She clobbered them with the truth.
She called out the fake video thing. I would’ve suckered right into that bullshit had she not pointed it out so clearly. 👏👏👏
Trump always comes off as a whiny little bitch when he addresses hecklers.
But apparently that's what MAGA's want and expect.
I would've been great if Harris has invited them to stay...for inclusion's sake. Or asked them what their biggest concern is with her being President? Face it head on.
That was the first thing that came to my mind. Inviting them to stay. Saying something like, You felt hopeless at the rally down the street and decided to join us here for some fine examples of how this can all work……Hindsight is 20/20
That would've been a great response
Exactly why they find her a threat and emasculating…to which I say, bring it on!
Harris can discipline a child or a roomful of Republicans with a look. She's scared me when she's stared down hecklers.
Yet, she never comes off as being a mean spirited bitch. Even the Republicans haven't effectively been able to label her as a bitch or a c-word.
Her handling of Bret was masterful. I'm sure he lost the respect from many journalists with his horrible performance in the Harris interview. But, he kept his job at Fox. I guess that's all that mattered to him.
Gary Loft,
Agree with your comment and add: Vice President Harris has stated that if elected, she will be a President for all Americans.
(that means even those who did not elect her)
She would honor all that is good about America as our President. Along with her brilliance is her sense of justice for all...not cruelty, not dominance. It is her stated desire to "Lift up!....not to put down".
Her Presidency would honor the position of "President of the United States of America."
She is a person of great character. She will fight for all of us and she will listen to those who cry out ..... in sincere need.
You cant really lose something you never really had
Right wing 'Conservative' humor only punches down.
That's how you deal with bullies.
Politely make fun of them.
Wish I could see a video of that.
As for the donvict, I'm not worried about him winning.
He lost last time, and he hasn't tried to get new voters because he thinks he's going to win through the courts.
But if Georgia is any indication, judges aren't to give him what he wants.
Can't wait to say Madame President.
Here’s the video clip of Kamala from Heather’s citations. It’s great:
https://x.com/KamalaHQ/status/1847026957407449361
Thx, she does it all with grace and a smile! She also has a great sense of humor, and let's note that her angry, whiner opponent has no sense of humor AT ALL.
Humor is a sign of intelligence. Stupid is stupid.
She has a lovely sense of humor, yes, but she also knows when to bring out the “Mom means business” and prosecutor side when it’s called for. Watching her spar with Brett Baier was a thing of beauty. I thought she was close to giving him a time out!
Perfect.
Thanks, Ellie! My dad would have said, "She's a classy dame!"
He thinks he is going to win though corruption (some of which is some of the courts). Kamala's got his number (P01135809).
And for your musical spoof entertainment (riff on the Tommy Tutone song of the ‘80’s): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mKmyOT4LC9k
Love it!
Well done! Gotta forward that!
Thank You, Barbara!
Well put, JL!
Morning, Lynell! I also love that number. Hoping for another one soon!
laughing
I don't see him hawking that under his mug shot!
Ditto Beth; Has a wonderful ring to it, "Madame President".
https://youtu.be/Cm9bdvmIbF8?si=rzseiQa147qRjwjI
Here’s your link to see her takedown. Enjoy.
The SC is still in his pocket, sad to say
'Donvict', I love it!
- Pulled Quote -
''Speaking as a “born-and-bred Republican,” Miller warned: “If you believe that Trump will be better for you or better for the country, that is an illusion, much like The Apprentice was.” He strongly urged people to vote for Kamala Harris. “The country will be better off and so will you.”''
Vote. Democracy wins on November 5th!
That's a shattering exposé of The Apprentice. I particularly like knowing that the office was a TV set.
Anne-Louise, this is a SubStack from just over 4 years ago, an interview w/ someone—Noel Casler—who worked on The Apprentice and broke his NDA to speak publicly. Found it enlightening and, um, icky too: https://gregolear.substack.com/p/full-disclosure-an-interview-with
The deeper you dig, the muddier it gets.
This should have made a much bigger splash. Mark Barnett knows where the bodies are buried, page has kept the lip on Pandora’s Box…
Greg is awesome, enlightening in more ways than one can count and about more than one expects.
As distinguished from "The Office", especially the original British show. A paper trail matters! (Paper was what The Office company provided.)
Ah, interesting! As a lifelong non-TV-watching office employee, I didn't know about The Office, which sounds somewhat less aggressive than a show where the punch line is "You're fired".
Yes, I haven't watched TV for years. Too much to do, as also I have to sleep off bipolar meds sedating side effects.
But The Office, both the British and American (take off) shows are very funny!
Some resemblance to offices I have worked in. Mix of bizarre and competence
Yes. It should be in a more widely-read outlet. How about it, NYT? WaPo? This needs to be shared everywhere.
I wish NBC News would issue a similar apology for helping to "create a monster"! 🤔
Why limit it to NBC?
The producer of "The Apprentice" apologized, so I was just referencing another division of NBC... plus it's the TV news I watched most often... so if it applies to other news networks, sure. But hell will freeze over before Fox Spews apologizes!
Finally the truth is coming out, like a crack in the dam let the flood of truth cover the land
Spread it. Post Heather on web sites.
More we can do.
FT 5 and Movement Labs are still registering Democrats in selected states. Yesterday texted to unregistered Pennsylvanians. https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/
DNC Anytime Training signup link (call on your schedule!) Share the link with your own message in an email or text: https://events.democrats.org/event/551644/
To share on any platform, just click on the link and share from there!
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/reel/8700220780030813
BlueSky
https://bsky.app/profile/call-crew-dems.bsky.social/post/3l6i7ek7ar422
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@call_crew_dems/video/7425650523291897134?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7424214167135847966
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBG_lriP8g0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Threads
https://www.threads.net/@call.crew.dems/post/DBG_rxuPmXf?xmt=AQGzH2vwgsu0KMyELxy40VA_BGr_rfvPhmMhy7wZvrz0aQ
YouTube
https://youtube.com/shorts/md3j9XPeOeA?feature=shared
We have the capacity to flip Trump 2020 voters. . https://rvat.org/
Place comments on social media...."Not suckers or losers" to vets groups, military, military dependents, history sites. Vote vets has thousands of testimonials of 2020 Trump voters that flipped. According to Facebook, there are 4 million veterans or active duty members on Facebook, and 12.5 million family members of veterans or active duty members on Facebook.
Trump hates dogs. Pet/animal charity sites.
Trump stole from kids with cancer.
Don't slit your own throat.
In your gut you know he's nuts.
About time
John Miller was my big boss when I worked at NBC. He is the ultimate straight shooter. A conservative from the Midwest, who almost never let anyone know what he was really thinking and feeling, deep down.
Well, now we all know how he feels.
He’s taken some flak for not speaking out earlier. IMO, his timing is good. Three weeks before the election. Like any good promo guy, he timed the release of this piece carefully, first on FB, then it go picked up by US News, then Axios, The Wrap, Deadline, and now Heather.
Man’s got mad promo skills. Always did.
Personally it would have been better for this country if Miller hadn't aligned himself with Trump as the producer of his outrageously disgusting show. You can accolade him for speaking out now but his silence over the years may have cost this country its freedoms. I am outraged by the applause for those who repeatedly ignored Trump's own outrages over the years only to speak out more on the verge of his re ascendancy to power. As many Jews found out in World War 2, silence may lead to one's own death.
Whoa. Slow your roll. Miller wasn't the producer of The Apprentice. That was Mark Burnett. Miller was, like all the rest of us, the Promo Guy. Programming handed Promo the shows and Promo did what was necessary to get the eyeballs to the screen to watch.
Please take some time, draw a breath (or two) and understand how television promotion works before you excoriate someone for doing his job. Promo has no say in what goes on the air or its content.
Be as outraged as you wanna be, just be outraged in the right direction.
Thanks for the clarification. I missed the distinction in this case but I am well aware of the difference.
Agreed...Bob Woodward is in that list. IMO
Thanks for input, hope the word spreads as fast as bull Schitt flies.
👍
Heather neatly sandwiches news of the Nobel in Economics to three U.S. economists.
They show, as Heather stresses how "'[s]ocieties with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better,' while democracies do."
And today, elsewhere, Timothy Snyder posted a video for related Q: why is the opposite of democracies (at its Trumpiest, fascism) bad?
His answer – how all in fascism (or any variant cultism) turn out to be nobodies, all nothing more than replicating characters in Leader’s story – nobody else having one’s own story. Thus for Leader the violence. Death of institutions. Death of law.
What’s the opposite, aside from the economic whose Nobel Heather cites today? What's necessary to jettison the cults, the fascism, to start to have one’s own story? Love. One loves someone else – more than oneself. It’s individual, personal. Very personal.
I pay attention, lots, to writings and videos on authoritarianism. There are many. One thing none gets is how schools have already predisposed most to cults, blind following. Their standardized testing has aborted the individual, the personal. The tests only abstract life so everything is measurable. By categories. By linear systems. No individuals. Nothing personal.
Yes to Timothy Snyder. Yes to Anne Applebaum. Yes to Yuval Noah Harari. And the three good new Nobel laureates.. But no to all who still cannot see how so many schools (around the world) so normally have become manufacturers of the niche, silo-set, living dead.
Phil-FYI-Massachusetts has a ballot question related to eliminating standardized testing as a graduation requirement. At least a YES to this question will place less emphasis on testing-next step may be eliminating the test altogether. This will allow a return to educators leading the way for the teaching and learning process.
No surprise-the business community is opposing this ballot initiative and urging people to vote no.
Good to know, Gina.
Though I'm not too sure about that term, "the business community" -- it makes them appear near-civilized.
Sadly, I won't be making the trip to Nagasaki to play tuba with my orchestra in St. Paul and our Nagasaki sister orchestra. It was just too much given continued financial uncertainty at my job and also needing to take along family to keep me on track with my bipolar disorder (keeping me on schedule given sedating medications). I might have gone for it, but we aren't playing Mahler like the last time.
Let me know if you want to attend the joint orchestra concert however!
Matt and Phil - Yesterday, when I was on the shuttle bus to the terminal in Newark two men got on the shuttle each carrying a large oddly shaped packed in a soft case. Not wanting to be too nosy most of us just tried to ignore them. Fortunately another passenger came on and she asked what was in the cases.
And you guys already know the answer--Tubas.
It was hilarious. They were very good natured about the whole spectacle and it made my trip more enjoyable. (If only they had played for us).
Thanks for relaying this story. I go to one of my bands with a friend who plays flute/piccolo. She has a little carry bag. I have a large carry bag (music, tuba rest, valve oil, stand light) and my tuba in a soft gig bag. We look like Mutt and Jeff.
It's a long, long trip here, Matt. Consider it a blessing that you're spared that.
I have kids (some adults, too) every late afternoon, evening (great people, all), so no side trips for me to Nagasaki, beautiful though that mountain-&-ocean bay city is.
Deprogramming necessary for love to seep in, sad to say
Is there some way to activate my ability to click on Like?
Good to hear of your effort, anyway, Craig.
There are times that the "like" button glitches. It's a system error.
I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, but... in the original Star Trek series, there is an episode, "Patterns of Force," in which a Federation officer is drugged and made into a figurehead for a neo-Nazi (complete with uniforms) regime on an alien planet. As deranged and feeble as Trump is, we must also be wary that if he is elected, some of his lieutenants (think Stephen Miller) could brandish power in ways brutal and horrific, while Trump, barely conscious continues to provide PR. As bad as Trump is, HE is the key to the gate with his unique persona. Once the mooks are inside, far WORSE people could take hold of the reins. Absolutely something we need to be cognizant of
Putin in the shadows, waiting…
I voted straight blue yesterday. I think she’s going to win. By a lot. The polls have been wrong since Covid. I’m still concerned about the after. But D. Earl Stephens said President Biden is readying for his last great part in his presidency. No one knows better the levers of power. He knows who to talk to. They’ll be implementing a plan. Much of these nasty events will stop (ie the hunting of FEMA workers, etc) when the vile orange hate agent loses his megaphone. This time a presidential criminal needs to be restricted and confined. So mote it be.
I voted for Biden because I knew he was experienced, steady, and would fix what Trump f'd up. I'm sure he'll have a plan in place. Biden has had one of the most difficult presidencies in U.S. history and he has handled it very well. One of the best presidents we've ever had IMO.
So hope you’re spot on!
He will continue to have a megaphone until he is put behind bars without his social media devices or he leaves this world entirely.
Other News From The Middle-East: 17-OCT-2025: It has been announced that Sinwar has been killed in Gaza, let's see if that makes a difference in Israel's actions... Netanyahu just gave a blustery Speech declaring that it will not... If not then Netanyahu's A*S-Saving Wars will go on... There is now a movement among Israeli Settlers to Seize Southern Lebanon... What is not widely appreciated is that the more we back Netanyahu, the Weaker the USA appears to the International Community... The USA loses Soft-Power... Putin Smiles, as does Xi....
From NYT: Thomas Freidman:
"Let me repeat: a diplomatic initiative to end the war along these lines — and engineer a Saudi-Israel normalization and Arab peacekeeping force — will eventually require Israeli commitment to a pathway to Palestinian statehood. That will trigger virulent opposition from Netanyahu’s extremist messianic right-wing partners, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. They will foolhardily see the killing of Sinwar and the collapse of Hamas as an opportunity to think they can kill every last Hamas member in Gaza in order to carry out their agenda of putting Jewish settlements into Gaza and expanding them in the West Bank. Netanyahu has long wanted to show that he is a historic figure, not just a tactician always maneuvering to stay alive politically — but never ready to take a big risk to change history. Well, this is his moment. Will he cross the Rubicon or do what he usually does — just dog paddle in the middle of it and tell those on each side that he is coming their way?"
I am sitting here in the south of Sweden listening to explosions from a nearby military training facility. (One of our cats just came in seeking cover.) The 17 such sites in Sweden are partially(entirely?) under the jurisdiction of the US as a consequence of the rushed decision to join NATO after decades of resisting that alliance. It is a long history, with a foreshortened urgency. My point? The international context of this election is tremendous …not only for the global economic reasons mentioned by HRC..and what is happening/will happen in the Middle East and in Ukraine is tethered to what happens between now and January 6, 2025 in the United States. I understand that for most Americans domestic issues are a priority but as you point out, Apache, there is going to be a whole world of woe should the Trump cum Vance ticket lie their way into office.
A possible betrayal of the Ukraine by DJT/JD, and the spread of Invasion to NATO would be Unspeakable Horrors... Peace Is Always Better... Putin Only Respects Strength...
Thx for stating this. I've been very concerned about the world ramifications if Trump were to become president again. The ripple effect would be wide and deep.
Hej KSC. Great to have you in NATO! Please know that Harris/Walz supporters believe international issues are critical!!
And as you mention, animals of all stripes will suffer untold hell, like they always do…
You touch a particular cord there as I am unable to compartmentalize the harm to other living creatures from the harm to humans. I just came back from my walk and though I try to revel in the beautiful nature around us I feel such a melancholic guilt because of what we are doing to the habitat of the nonhuman creatures of the earth, sky and water, not to mention the plants/trees fungi, coral earth, sky and water.
Thank you KSC. And even slime, which can teach us about communication with those next to us versus a top down command system. Surprised me. The earth and its critters are beyond fascinating. We ignore at our peril.
Netanyahu is a reckless leader, but digging his position in as long as possible, because, like Trump, Netanyahu has a history of crimes at his heels. The Middle East needs peace as soon as possible!
I believe he also wants to see Trump elected, and will hang on, refusing to consider peace, at least until after our election for that reason.
He and chump are evil twins. Joe can’t separate them, but, hopefully, we can.
Yes Kathaleen, I am hesitant to attempt any comment on the Israel response as I am not sufficiently informed about the extreme complexity of that situation. On a personal level I am very distressed by what is happening to civilians (particularly children) in Gaza and, now, Lebanon. What I do know a bit about having done substantial course work and writing on International Human Rights, is the history and mission of the United Nations. Today, Israel again denounced the UN because it did not expressly “welcome the elimination” of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and continues to bar Guterres (and I am guessing other high level UN envoys) from entering the country. This really troubles me.
You know, too, dear Rabbi, that it's not just Netanyahu the U.S. is backing.
It's the far-right settlers, 700,000 or so of them, who have seized West Bank land for themselves, insulting the Palestinians from whom they stole it, harassing, road-blocking -- and what was the language the three Nobels in economics used in their study of democracy? Oh, yes, it was in regard to how "[s]ocieties with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population" -- we can add "exploit" the Palestinians to "poor rule of law and institutions," given that all these settlers are in flagrant violation of international law.
So many good Israelis. Maybe they can take their country back from would-be-authoritarian Netanyahu. Maybe they can take their schools back, too -- and start real human dialogue with their many decent Palestinian counterparts.
Why did the Palestinians allow Hama's to infiltrate/infect their country for nearly 2 decades?
Recall Auden's lines, Victoria: "Those to whom evil is done / do evil in return."
The far-right settlers stealing West Bank land only sowed bitterness from the Palestinians from whom they stole. That bitterness grew Hamas.
Just as U.S. support for that cruel, cruel Shah -- and training and arming of his savage secret police, Savak -- only sowed the Iranian bitterness, which in turn spurred Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis.
Notice, Victoria, in all these equations, the total lack of schools in any of the let's-grow-hate scenarios?
Ditch Netanyahu if the Israelis won’t
I have already commented about the implications for the world, but for those interested in this topic I have just come across this much more astute and probative piece: https://open.substack.com/pub/michaelmcfaul/p/our-allies-in-europe-are-nervous?r=4445c&utm_medium=ios
Great again Dr Richardson,
Two weeks away from Election Day and the MAGA voters don't realize that a vote for the GOP is a vote to give away our democracy to the ultra-rich on the Republican party.
We need Harris to explain to the MSM like that rude Bret Baier on Fox yesterday, that the reason Trump might be getting as much support as Harris is not because he's a better leader...the GOP's lawyers and Heritage Foundation has been planning this regime power grab for years - and they are hiding their true Agenda 47 in the form of a 922-pg document they know their MAGA followers won't read.
"Anne Applebaum on the dictators who want to run the world” on YouTube
https://youtu.be/s6n0PHhChzU?si=7Q5iqQJ42qPxwuse
Money buys anything that is for sale, including politicians
I hope the Bautista/Kimmel ‘ad’ goes viral. I highly recommend those who haven’t seen it to watch it. Great stuff!
My heart swells with pride when I contemplate the future with Kamala Harris as President of the United States. She is proving all the naysayers to be obtusely wrong, and with such panache! She is smart, witty, measured, experienced, and tough yet compassionate. What more could we ask for?
I am consistently impressed by the ability of Dr. Richardson to put complex phenomena together into concise, coherent paragraphs. Here she weaves (sorry) the four components of the MAGAsphere: Trump, the religious nuts, the tech bros and the MAGAts themselves into a single, rancid whole. The first three want to destroy the government for particular ends, while the fourth just wants revenge.
Yes, well said!
Nicely put, James. This is the Professor's strength. That, and weaving (not sorry) the past and the present together to show the common threads.