''The facts of the case begin with a damning statement: “When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office.”''
The answer to this question is how we elect our political leaders. Most members of Congress are owned and paid for by special interests, working both sides of the aisle depending on which business or institutional clients they represent. There is no concern for the health and stability of our nation: the focus is only on creating laws to increase profits for their clients and shareholders. The country is a capitalist corporation business vying for profits, not services.
Patriotism is the opiate for the masses to calm the exploited population. We the People are damned. The unmitigated influence of money is a rarity in other democracies. A British journalist lamented about our health care system and asked, “Why don’t you Americans rise up in rage and change things?” Because, as I had explained to him, we have been divided, beaten and conquered. How can one fix anything including gun control laws when money always wins and laws are purchased by the highest bidder?
In 2002, Senator John McCain sponsored and passed the McCain/Feingold bill limiting soft money influencing elections. But then the trusty ole conservative majority of the Supreme Court, who purport to support individual rights (until it restricts the super wealthy from gobbling up more wealth), decided that political spending was a form of free speech in Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Commission in 2010. This court created new ways of corrupting the political process.
Trump is simply the personification of government gone wrong because money has become the only decider. No principles, ideology. No ethics. And now we have a near dysfunctional, dystopian society in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. The blue collar worker now fears having a reduced income or no income at all. This worker seeks to augment his income with a part-time job to make-up for the middle income wage he once earned. As his puppet strings are yanked, he pulls the lever (the wrong voting lever) that opens the trapdoor on which he stands with a rope around his gullet.
Very powerful summation, Counselor. There was a time when I might have said it was hyperbole, but the past few years have shown me that every word you say is true. And thank you, Dr. Richardson, for once again laying out the whole ugly treasonous plot in plain language.
I second that. For the first time I really understand the sequence of events and to be honest better appreciate the courage of Pence and all of the parties who were threatened and harassed for such a long period of time. It was too easy for me to become numb from reading bits and pieces of accounts. Seeing it all laid out so logically and powerfully terrifies me. I needed to come out of denial. Brilliant as always, Professor!
Kathleen, not a fan of Pence usually, but he did the right thing and was courageous despite the threats. Story on the news last night about the hardening of vote counting areas like bullet proof glass and panic buttons. And already election officials are being threatened. This is fascism in practice and death star is calling for his storm troopers. It is disgusting that this election is even close.
I'm glad Pence finally did one right thing after 4 years of standing by as Trump brought further down our wobbly democracy. But I refuse to crown him a hero. Is he not also allied with the Heritage Foundation, authors of Project 2025? He was just a little less corrupted than Trump and his sycophants, but still just another traitor.
Why thank you, ma’am. I have a whole book full of the narrative Infamous Four Years and beyond. I’m just an uneducated ole fool who likes to express himself.
Bull, it is exactly what David Pepper writes about in Laboratories of Autocracy. Term limits do not work, as people are lead to belive, as we actually have a process for term limits called elections. Without money (unlimited contrcontributions) politicians are then responsible to their voters. Want to stay in office? Do what the majority of your voters want.
Want tyranny? Have politicians forced to raise money to stay in office. Then we have Tyranny of the Minority, another great book.
I'm with you Rickey, term limits is about as lazy as it gets. That mentality is exactly why we're in this mess we're in today, ie., lack of voter enthusiasm and appreciation for all this country has done for them. Morons. And, let me ad that eliminating the ability to read and write Cursive is the tip of the educational iceberg. We're not a failed nation, but we're a lazy bunch riding on the backs of the working poor - meaning the folks whose wages have been suppressed the past fifty years. They're on strike, and I don't blame them. Trouble is, they're being led by degenerates (U-name em), like Vance etc who put up signs reading "trump - Low prices". And, "those folks" are convinced that 'libtards/liberals/Democrats are sucking up their hard-earned tax dollars. That's what term limits gets for ya. It feeds the "my vote won't count" jerkwads. Vote!
The "my vote doesn't count" folks are right. It's the electoral college, and those who set up the current system in 1877 were well aware that it would discourage people from voting.
I absolutely agree that the Electoral College has to go, but I do think every vote counts in the sense that it reveals the truth of who we are and where we stand. If you don’t vote you participate in obscuring the truth. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote against Donald Trump in 2016 and that matters even though Trump won the flawed Electoral College. It’s better, not enough but still better, to know Hillary Clinton won the majority of the votes and lost the presidency than to think Trump actually won in a fair majority rule election. The truth matters even if it doesn’t result in power. Every vote matters because it reveals the truth of who we are as a country. Vote—I sure as heck will, and I do not live in a swing state.
I disagree with the statement that term limts gets you lazy folks and tyranny--altho, I may have misinterpreted that. I think TERM LIMITS is a good thing because it eliminates the need for legislators to constantly raise money to keep getting re-elected and can finally do some legislating in their last term anyway, without being beholden to donors. Especially big ones whose agenda they have to fulfill, not the agenda of the voters who elect them. And yeah, CURSIVE shud be brought back. Signatures on legal documents is mandatory. Harder to forge cursive than first grade printing!
Mad....i have argued against term limits for years. Lots of people want simplistic solutions instead of understanding that they need to vote and help get out the vote. I also argue that we don't need to change the numbers of Senators because that is not based on population. I wish the elephant in the room had not existed when the Constitution was written, but it did and we are stuck with the results. It would be nice to get rid of the Electoral College, but we can be sure that somehow Rs would undermine the process.
I put both books on my listening list. The first one is not an audio (I only listen to books) but thanks for the suggested reading material. I will add this type book into my lineup
I was once told that elected federal representatives were expected to go to an obscure office on Capitol Hill with no trappings save for a desk, chair, and telephone. On the desk was a list of names and telephone numbers. The Rep was expected to call the names on the list and ask for political contributions. If she/he refused to do this, her/his support from the national party would dry up in an effort to compromise the Rep's ability to mount a successful re-election campaign and thus, lose the upcoming election. What with computers and mobile phones I don't know if this process continues or not.
"Capitalism, as Adam Smith envisioned it, has always been about people. What is now (beginning in the 1970s) referred to as capitalism is a bastardized version, one that Smith could never have imagined. It values shareholder supremacy at the expense of people. Capitalism isn’t the problem. It’s the story we tell and give the name 'Capitalism'." —Simon Sinek.
I can't over emphasis how important this is. The idea that capitalism is about "the person with the most money wins," or that the Republican party is still conservative, or that RvW was overturned by conservative justices, is part of the con.
Capitalism is based on Adam Smith's theory of moral sentiments, and not on Milton Friedman's theory of immoral sentiments. Conservatives and progressives are openminded and skeptical (except conservatives are more skeptical and progressives are less skeptical). Today's Republican party is cynical and naive, which is to say that they've gone to the dark side. Today's Democratic party is skeptical and openminded, which is to say that they are enlightened. And that is the only reason why, in the last 4 years, crime is down, the economy is better, the border crisis has abated, and wannabe dictators are worried.
Shareholder supremacy is the bullsh!t responsible for the present mess. What is important is "stakeholders". Shareholders can easily liquidate their shares and run to another commodity. Stakeholders are those customers who bought the product, who live in the neighborhood, who remain involved regardless of what shareholders do.
Precisely. But I just remembered the other essential element of the con. The Gospel message, repeated over and over again in all four Gospels, is that the thing we now call Christianity is based on the moral "treat others the way you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot" principle.
There is a reason Mike Pence is so incredibly naive, and that reason is because someone conned him into believing that Christianity is based on the immoral "I'm right, you're wrong, and this conversation is over" principle.
Skepticism and open mindedness are the bonds that keep us attached to reality. Pence's cynicism and naivety is a symptom of the extent to which he is detached from reality. The only difference between Pence and the rest of the Republican party is that they've travelled further and faster.
Restore the Fairness Doctrine in media. Repeal Citizens United. Support a vigorous system of science and fact based regulations and safety rules. I see one of the main roles of the federal government as its ability and duty to rein in capitalism. I’m a capitalist, but without regulation, profit becomes the only decider and that’s not healthy for society.
Rants about the ruination of the country go back to Jefferson’s Democratic Republican version - that Hamilton and the Federalists were all closet monarchists while Jefferson himself was touting the French Revolution even when it devolved into a self-destructive murder spree.
As one who has taught American history for over 40 years, I suspect the real problem is that far too many of us simply don’t understand what we were designed to be.
My solution, naive as it may seem, is that every child in America be given a thorough grounding in the Constitution. It would have to happen in the last year or so of high school because that is the last time they would be a captive audience. Needless to say, this does not happen with any kind of consistency. or rigor, so it is no surprise that so many of us simply don’t know what it means to be an American. That ignorance, combined with an overwhelming belief in many quarters that individual rights are somehow detached from an equivalent sense of responsibility to the society as a whole is our single greatest problem.
Not only a thorough grounding in the constitution, which I believe should start in elementary school , but also teach ethics, critical thinking is a must, and like they are teaching in Findland, how to spot fake/fraud/scams.
I started in 6th grade, but of course there are concepts that kids that age aren’t ready for. Nonetheless, like good math and English teaching, one builds year to year.
I shouldn’t probably respond since I’m only casually studied in American history. The second paragraph says it all. We are bifurcated. So many hide behind Rights. Others regurgitate enslavement forever blaming privilege as I have been blamed. And I’m tired of being singled out. The original migrants looked down at then recent arrivals. Too many Irish invading our shores they once spoke.
Add into the mix social media that has poisoned the young minds of not one but two generations. (I observed two kids at an event once with their parents sitting beside them and every minute or so, they picked up their cells and peeked. They were certainly addicted and not seemingly too interactive and parents in my opinion, have made a big mistake.) The insidious infiltration of bad actors serving to divide us and keep us confused. Now the brilliance of AI to suspend reality and turn us into drooling fools at the ballot box. I’m sorry professor, democracy is a fragile system which in my humble opinion, will not survive under the current strains as outlined.
"Patriotism is the opiate for the masses to calm the exploited population." Great stuff, Bill. I think that the last several years will be studied very carefully, with the MAGA movement's motivation explained not by political historians, but by psychologists.
Good line in its accurate and frightening poetry: "Trump is simply the personification of government gone wrong because money has become the only decider."
Perhaps this election will retrospectively be noted as the historical moment to mark a change of tide that saved our democracy.
Nutz Bill! Walz should have simply responded with: "That's it., there's no point in debating this guy. Have a nice evening. Call me, bye bye." And, walked off the stage. Game over - bbbBoink!
Fact checking terrifies the GOP and the candidates! Doesn’t matter if the moderators fact checked or not…it doesn’t change the mindset of the MAGA cult members. You can tell them the kool aid will kill them and they will still drink it.
This could be the obituary for the UNITED states of America. And guess who has done more to divide, beat and conquer than good old Ronnie import Rupert Murdoch. A British journalist should know that the Brits had their go around with Rupert and kicked his arse. In the good ole USA, we let him run amok and show other rich bastards how easy it is to suck the tit ad nauseam. Of course, Mitch had set the stage with the SC on the ready to finish the job. All we needed was for the Roy Cohn disciple chump to bring his mob skills to the political stage. The Dems finally woke up. But, as you say, the noose is in place and the stage is set.
I sometimes recite in my mind /and even pullout the old album) of Bob Dylan’s John Wesley Hardin and his song, “As I Went Out One Morning.” I know it by memory.
This is not a finished process — that is WHY we are struggling to keep MAGA out of the White House — AND to hold the Senate and make more inroads in the House. To maintain our constitutional democracy — and continuing to pressure the Democrats away from the “money is speech” idea is part of it …
The government is NOT a corporate owner of power {are you spouting some Curtis Yarvin baloney, here?}. We DO recognize that the power of money has grown too great {mostly by virtue of its infusion through lobbying, and SCOTUS declaration that is is speech, which idea needs to be remedied so money is money and a tool but NOT speech}. And those of us resistig MAGA still PLAN to work on a fix for that imbalance of mone-v-votes. And work HARD.
If undoing the imbalance of the power of money is NOT what we are about, then what do you think resisting MAGA IS about — merely setting up a Left Wing Democratic version of the Money Machine? That’s just as dark and perverted as MAGA — and if you think that voters resisting Donald Trump and the Heritage Society and Project 2025 still leaves us with a corporate hegemony and no real Democracy remaining in America, then WHAT ARE WE STRUGGLING FOR?
What you describe is the DANGER in front of us — what we need to AVOID — not the final fait accomplis. And it’s important for us to see what COULD become our constant reality — THIS IS WHY SOME OF US POUND ON THE REALITY THAT WE CAN’T JUST VOTE AND WAIT FOR THE CHANGES WE WANT. We need to stay in the fray and keep working and voting, from the grassroots upward, to put things to rights …
Never forget that the "Citizens United" case was ginned up by an anti-Hillary group cleverly /S/ named "Citizens United Not Terrified." Trump himself is a puppet being used by some really horrible people (Bannon, Miller, et al.)
I totally agree that trump is merely the vehicle for his handlers' agenda in carrying out their manifesto. They latched onto him pre-2015 because of his bombastic, but charismatic reputation and have used that ever since. And the MAGAs have fallen for it. If he should be reelected, I'd love to be in the room when he gets the news that vance has just invoked the 25th Amendment and will remove him from office.
Sorry to be a downer here, but this rant is as dystopian, misinformed and as full of substituting your opinion for fact as Trump’s inaugural address in 2017.
“Patriotism is an opiate for the masses”? A truly offensive statement. “The unmitigated influence of money is a rarity in other democracies”? Ignorant and anti-factual.
I dare to say that any British journalist of the last ten years would be so full of criticisms for the sorry state of the National Health Service after it’s been gutted by every PM from Cameron on to notice much about American Healthcare.
I share your frustration that money sometimes motivates the actions of Congress. I abhor five of the Supreme Court as more radicalized politicians than impartial judges. And I agree that Trump is a big problem.
You’re clearly impressed with your own way with words. But nowhere do I see any solutions offered, not even a concept of a plan.
To my absolute astonishment. They studied Mein Kampf for decades, and Dems never noticed the creeping treachery that started seeping in before the traitors got a grip.
Who ever thought that in this country we would have the likes of tRump? He is the world's biggest loser who in the face of defeat lacks the dignity, honesty, and integrity to accept reality. And that goes for all of those who joined him in his delusions. They, all of them, are discussing, despicable and as Hillary said deplorable. Characters who have no compunction to CHEAT AND LIE. How unAmerican is that?
Roy Cohn, was the teacher and role model for tRump et al. MO. As a quick reminder here are the 5 key lessons that the lead deplorable and his disciples follow religiously:
#1: All publicity is good regardless of how negative it is.
#2: When attacked attacked back harder. When sued counter sue for more.
#3: NEVER apologize.
#4: Whatever happens claim victory.
#5: You do not have to believe what you say.
He was a horrible stupid student, but he did learn these simple and effective rules.
Listen to Rachael Maddow’s pod casts. Think she is on her third season of past times when our government escaped being overthrown by the skin of our teeth and one or two honorable people who were threatened and ruined. The honorable persons’ names have been forgotten. Many of them lost jobs, and some their lives. Look up Leroy Gore. One of my heroes.
Let’s see, we have had Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Huey Long, Roger Tanney, John Roberts, J Edgar Hoover, Horatio Gates, James Wilkinson, George Mitchell, Bob Haldemann, John Erlichman, etc., etc., etc.
I add this, feeling acknowledgement is due. This letter underscores the integrity and courage of VP Pence through the events of 2020. Despite his life in danger and that now he likely must live with heightened security for the rest of his life, Pence deserves to be added to the likes of Liz Cheney and the many Republicans who have stood for truth and democracy. If we live under a two party system, these are the type of leaders, whether we always support their beliefs or not, that make up what America stands for. Bravo to Pence, who could have possibly made the election transition uglier and more complicated -- but did not.
That may be true however, Pence said he will not vote for either candidate, that he would write another person's name in when he votes. Former speaker Paul Ryan said the same thing. Their literally given their away instead of saving our Democracy and putting their country first over politics.
What a cop out. Both Pence and Ryan have no future. Liz Cheney has demonstrated so much more character and conviction than these two morally, ethically depleted men.
Integrity would include testifying at the J6 Congressional hearing and the impeachment. Pence did what he did to avoid legal jeopardy for himself. He didn’t go far enough, just enough to save his own ass.
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
US Criminal Code
18 U.S. Code § 2381 - Treason
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
If convicted by the charges re-filed by Special Counsel Smith, would inciting the Capitol riot of 06jan21 be tantamount to levying war against the United States?
That argument has been made, certainly with respect to those who broke into the Capitol. Trump could been seen as providing aid and comfort - at the least - and thereby also culpable.
Could treason apply to Super PACs and Citizens United somehow? Can’t foreigners and foreign governments donate dark money ( have to prove it) to the PACs, PACs to candidates. “ American billionaires have more in common with foreign billionaires than they do with regular Americans.” -Tim Snyder
It’s basically what we see in Trump’s Ukraine /Russia appeasement policy is it not? The trumps just following orders for his billionaire benefactors Mercer, Koch, Theil, Musk, Putin, MBS, Orban.
Interesting question. Treason technically only applies when the country is at war which we officially are not since an Authorization for the use of Military Force isn't a declaration of war. What happened on Jan. 6 was certainly insurrection, but the nuances are a hard sell.
"Treason" is a much overused word these days and used incorrectly as well. It's defined in the Constitution and has to do with taking up arms in times of war.
The act requires deliberation and conviction and may circumstantially even be regarded as heroic; von Stauffenberg, for instance.
Robert E. Lee was a traitor. The person of whom you speak is not a traitor, but rather something much worse for he has no convictions and serves no cause other than his own ego.
An armed insurrection, such as the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, could potentially be considered "levying war" under the constitutional definition of treason, but it's complicated. Historically, courts have interpreted "levying war" to involve organized, armed action against the authority of the government. I think the people can decide for themselves.
BTW, a traitor is someone who betrays a cause, trust, or allegiance they were once loyal to. In the context of ethics, it’s turning away from principles you once claimed to uphold.
An armed insurrection, such as the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, could potentially be considered "levying war" under the constitutional definition of treason, but it's complicated. Historically, courts have interpreted "levying war" to involve organized, armed action against the authority of the government. I think the people can decide for themselves.
Not even with companion liar Vance. Nor an entire Republican party lapping up, covering for the lies. Nor with the Clarence court adding its corruption.
It’s the schools.
Tens of millions of our fellow Americans got “educated” to pass as normal the orange felon’s bragging about his repeat impunity in grabbing pussy and related assault – to pass as normal his repeat sets of business fraud, his approval of mass murders by AR-15s more than daily, to ride the floods of hate on billionaires’ social media sites, normal that the orange felon fete the world’s worst dictators, normal that jobs still got offshored during his watch, normal that many die daily by Fentanyl, that income inequality gap widens, that women lose their rights.
It's the schools. And something they’re all doing regularly, normally.
They could do the opposite. Could teach students to see others as individuals, and write essays connecting them to each other, by their issues, and the arts.
We need to teach non-white washed history, civics, critical thinking, science, literature and the arts. Never leave out the arts which strengthen everything.
The arts is where truth is placed with plausible deniability so that it can lay low where people who know what they are looking for can find it. An example is would be the "folk songs" of enslaved people in the southern US before emancipation. Many of those songs were instructions on how to find help in finding your way north to freedom for those escaping slavery. Because they were written in such a way as to perhaps be "spirituals", the word "freedom" could be interpreted as the Christian concept of the afterlife in heaven where believers are freed from their life on earth and the ensuing trials and tribulations, when actually the "freedom" in the songs was a reference to freedom from slavery in the north. All forms of the arts have the potential for subversion. That is one reason art always survives somewhere, somehow.
Written down by white people, first published in 1928. That does not mean it didn't exist before that, it is just means that the "standard of proof" cannot be met.
And logic. Every speech that Trump and Vance give are filled not only with lies but also with logic errors. Trump is barely coherent these days, but even when he was his logic was often flawed.
As an educator, I feel these skills are the ones you gain by a college education. Look at the stats on most polls and you’ll see that Trump supporters are more likely non-college educated.
Very true. Perhaps those skills should be introduced in middle school and refined every year in high school. Especially since college is being recognized now as only one of the choices that leads to a career and a good paying job. College is terrific for many. It is a waste of time and money for others.
If I were to have a second shot at a human life, I would have gone to a trade school and become a plumber. By now, I would have sold my plumbing business and bought a vacation home.
Even in elementary school, we ask our students "How do you know that?" - whether it's determining what happened at recess, whether it's analyzing "Poppy and Rye" or "Numbering the Stars", or whether it's proving 3x4=12.
I agree, Bonnie, but I did learn skills in logic in my high school geometry class, having to logically prove theorems. Perhaps that class is only required for college prep, though. I took a drafting class in high school because I wanted to be an architect, and some of the guys in that class were not college bound, but could definitely have appreciated geometry. Students were either on a college track or non-college track, which separated us for the most part. Not convinced that was right. Of course, I went to high school in the early '60s, and things were different then. We were taught civics and critical thinking skills.
Speaking of advertisements, we should all learn the psychology of advertising and the techniques of salesmanship. My husband has long been able to resist sales pitches, but one car salesman found his way in, after trying many other approaches. Essentially, you will get a better price than other people.
(I wanted the car, so I didn’t object. He later learned the salesman lied about it being less than book value.)
The political ads also lack logical flow. They cherry-pick clips, one asking Kamala a question followed by one of her giggling. The “policeman” blaming Ka MA la for a murder in Texas wasn’t well trained in pronunciation (other that mimicking Fox “newscasters” and the lies “
Yes, Craig. TV ads certainly deserve our attention. Also, let’s consider the potential role of Fox, Newsmax, and other DAILY sources of misinformation, bias, and propaganda regarding Trump and his fitness for office.
Remember when CONservative business leaders wanted that critical thinking taught? I do. Liberal arts education teaches that and it is why those types of schools get targeted as "leftist". Critical thinking is a bad thing as it exposes the good and bad of free markets, trickle down economics, business practices and government policy. After 35 years in the public sector and now almost 2 years in a corporate low level job, education of the workforce is a bad thing for corporate America as it teaches people to think about how they are treated in pay and conditions. The powers at the top do want workers to be able to think about nothing but their tasks at hand. Work them hard and long.
"Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen threatened to resign along with many other top officials at the DoJ. Trump backed down in the face of this unified resistance. "
is why Pence did his extremely minimal job. No "courage" involved. Once Queens Man wimped out over the DOJ pushback, his thinking minions knew they'd be sticking their necks out all on their own. Pence saw it, applied critical thinking, said 'nope nope nope', and moved on.
And seeing is personal. Everyone brings one's history of experience, key traumas or fears one has lived through, complications from family life -- and more, more. Which we can learn to see (inside us) as well as, in artful tandem with what's "out there."
So, how to negotiate this lumber with what may also appear to be objectively out there?
The answer our schools have come up with depends on the total conceits of standardized testing. And here, nothing personal may ever enter. Only neutered information -- but not so fast. The neutering relies on more conceits; specifically, those of keeping all information in categories (yeah! prep for group think) and also in linear, step-by-step chronology.
Computers can measure -- can detect our "skills" in handling of info (no one anymore needs anymore human beings to grade results).
So it all reduces to a relentless game of processing the humanly and naturally meaningless.
Critical thinking, Karen? Don't you agree, it starts, stays, and wraps with the human (and the natural).
I live in the “bluest” county in the blue state of Washington and I went ballistic the other day when I saw a sign “veterans for trump” As a veteran of the Viet Nam disaster, I was shocked (call me naive) considering the long list of anti military trump behavior…draft dodger, disrespecting Gold Star families and John Mc Cain, the repeated references to “suckers and losers”….a long list of ugly behavior. I’m praying that the undecided finally realize that trump the loser, for the sake of our democracy, loses again. So get out and vote for Harris.
Well, conservative operatives killed the “critical thinking” part by turning universities into overpriced career factories and forcing the defunding of Liberal Arts programs. That sentiment “trickled down” to America’s public education sector. And when Republican leaders control the Department of Education, curriculum development bends towards Christianity and away from History and Literature.
It turns out that "teach them critical thinking" is a much tougher act than most of us here likely realize. You can research it. Michael Shermer, who heads eSkeptic et al. It's really all about trusted sources, they really do have a grip on our minds.
While I’m 1000% behind you when it comes to improving our educational system with comprehensive civics, art, music, rhetoric & logic … it just can’t be poor education. I know tRump supporters who are perfectly capable of being reasonable and logical people when it comes to going to work, paying their bills and even taking care of our dog when we go on a trip. Yet they seem to lose connection to reality and write a “blank check” of support for this lying criminal. This weird Jekyll & Hyde / Reality vs Conspiracy Theory personality-type didn’t come out of nowhere. DECADES of disinformation have truly radicalized a significant portion of Americans. As George Conway has pointed out, it starts with defeating tRump and his ilk — but then the *real work* of deprogramming our family & friends that drank this treasonous kool-aid begins …
Well said. The lost connection to reality exhibited by so many otherwise decent people is even more disappointing, infuriating and heartbreaking when those people are loved ones. Democracy will survive but many relationships will not.
Well said, double aught. I have a former work cohort (we are all retired cops) that believes that everything the RepubliKKKan ticket spits out is truth, and that all Harris does is lie. One of them (a former supervisor of mine, and later a coworker when we worked a courthouse security detail together as retirees) told me that killing an infant that had been born and then "aborted by a mother who changed her mind at the very end" was a lawful abortion. I pointed out that the generally accepted definition of homicide is that of a "person who was born and alive at the time of the act". His reply? "Not when they call it abortion." Complete and utter brainwashing.
I think that the appeal that fpotus has for this group is that he has made it both OK to hate the "other" (us alphabet folks: BIPOC and LGBTQ+, plus non-white immigrants) and to "return" white, male, Christian, cisgender, heteronormative people to their "rightful" place as dominant in culture, with any women meeting the other four criterion a subservient second with no control over their own anatomy or medical needs.
I used to believe that at some point, cognitive dissonance would set in, but I have come to the realization that there is no dissonance in the garbage that the RepubliKKKans are spewing. THEY WANT IT. WIth all their stony hearts.
This morning I finished reading Richard Power’s new book, Playground. Phil, I can’t help worrying that with AI unleashed we are headed in the complete opposite direction from what you counsel. It is frightening. The Fins with their outstanding example in approaching a more critical approach to digital media and information may be the last ones standing (if Putin doesn’t get them first).
I'm going to visit my son in Sebastopol, northern California, early January. Many fine bookstores all around there. So I can look at it then (maybe also buy a copy).
Whoa there, Phil. Almost sounds like you blame teachers. It goes back to CONservative leaders of today that control the schools. This coming from a retired educator. Schools teach what the legislatures direct these days. Forcing public schools to teach to certain things, leave out other's. It is the CONservative, Handmaid's Tale leaning leaders that dream of Gilead that are the problem.
Yes, Rickey. Started with the Powell memo (Aug. 23, 1971).
Teachers K-12 got turned into prep adjuncts for the standardized testing. No humanities need apply anywhere.
Instructors in higher ed got slotted in neutered silos -- two-thirds doing the undergrad teaching: ill-paid "contingent labor," zero or few benefits.
It was a deliberate, serious plan the Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institute, and ALEC all addressed to the Powell memo's killing and diminishing of humanities, for the reign of the worst conceits in standardized testing and other forms of neutering.
No accident we've got MAGA and all its liars as a consequence.
Please. Let’s not oversimplify and blame teachers for the behavior and lies of Trump and Vance, the cowardice of elected Republicans, or gullibility of the MAGA cult.
Depends on where you went to school. The first 7 years of grade school was spent in a catholic school. The nuns always told us that we were 2 grades ahead of public schools. By 7th grade, I was expelled for so many reasons. When I registered at my local public school, what the nuns had told us was true. High school was so boring for me that I requested to accumulate credits to graduate in 3 years and they allowed me to do it. My cynical side says to close secondary schools and save the trillions. It’s a waste. But of course I jest. Summer vacation grew from a time when farming communities needed all family hands working the crops. So I’m told.
And Project 2025 would dismantle the Department of Education. What we SHOULD be doing is teaching civics, problem solving, and yes, the creative arts. Along with compassion, empathy and decency. That's what makes us human.
I don't know how the schools can teach compassion and empathy. It seems to me that it's a role for parents and caregivers, and it starts very early in a child's life.
Ellen, it is taught in literature classes, by discussing the various characters in well written books. And yes, that starts early by the choices of books to be read (which is why the book banning brigade infuriates me). Also, teachers themselves ought to be exemplifying compassion and empathy in how they treat their students. I believe most do, although there are always outliers. Young people learn by example. And educators choose that profession because they generally are compassionate people who care about the welfare of their students.
I agree with everything you said, Carol. Young people also learn by example from their parents. I guess I am thinking about how children learn tolerance and acceptance. How do some people grow up to become virulent racists? They must learn hatred somewhere.
Many places. Churches, groups, workplace environments, social clubs.
I also believe that hardwiring plays a part. There are studies that say that self-identified liberal people utilize the frontal cortex when making complex decisions, while self-identified conservative people utilize the midbrain. Both areas of the brain are necessary for survival, and as humans we could not exist without both of them.
You are absolutely right that those qualities - behaviors if you will - should be taught by parents and caregivers and should start early. A teacher is a caregiver. As both a teacher and school principal I often had to show empathy when a child's sister was killed for example. Or a pet died or was lost. Or even the loss of homework. Body language as well as the spoken word models and thus teaches compassion and empathy. Decency and integrity comes along with.
Probably for good reason, public education best stick to civics, not embroil itself in political bias. Standardized testing has nothing to do with it. Both loyal Magas and radical Dems have all gone through standardized testing. When i was a kid, 65 years or so ago, in calm Canada, religious ie Christian prayers were just taken for granted, and the maps of the British Empire were patriotically pulled down for all of us to see. No oath of allegiance, but certainly the God Save our Gracious Queen. I believe the Lord's Prayer was played across the school speakers each morning. Standardized testing galone. Yet somehow before the end of schooling my allegiance to my Baptist upbringing was dissolving, i became a kind of pro science teenager, disparaged the usual political speech making.... when i was nine I happily drew nuclear mushroom clouds inside my school books, by the time i was 16 or so had read Nevil Shute's On the Beach, what a stoner that was! Also, kids who went into universities to learn science, history etc what a shock to their school days patriotic general education, depending of course, what they signed up for. I came out a secular, non-believing, somewhat naive I admit proponent of all the good science would bring! lol
I agree with all that you say, Frank. Also, my age and upbringing are similar to yours, and I, too, read On the Beach in (I think) tenth grade -- it had a huge impact on my thinking. I drifted from the Catholic church about the same time and left religion completely while still in my teens. My wife likes to say of me that I "take the scientific view" of life's questions.
I was a Plant Science major (BS) in college -- 3 semesters of chem; classes in soil science, botany, genetics, physiology, pathology, entomology, even weed science (yup, that's what it was called, but it was really about weeds) etc.
Science teaches one to think empirically, and that benefited me as an adult.
Except yours that "Standardized testing has nothing to do with it."
Please read Sarah Smarsh's most recent collection of essays "Bone of the Bone." Makes the apt point of how our fellow libs totally lost touch with the tens of millions hurt by the systematic offshoring of working-class jobs. The standardized testing brought in totally new conceits, along with killing off school humanities.
For more on the latter: Diane Ravitch, "The Language Police."
Thanks, Phil . Can't get into the weeds on standardized testing, all I said was regardless of ST, the many flavours of outlooks including here percolated to the surface. I have heard criticisms of excessive streaming on account of ST.
Phil, Please do not oversimplify and blame “schools” for something that was done by one man and his co-conspirators on Jan 6. The majority of Americans have received excellent elementary, secondary, and postgrad training or education along with parental socialization that has enabled us to sort out right from wrong
Unless you count Louis Powell, who wrote that 1971 essay putting in motion all the worst of an organized, super-well funded coalition of far-right foundations and lobbyists.
Right, Phil. I didn’t say it was one man. Rather, I said it was one man and his co-conspirators. I assume HCR readers know who his “co-conspirators” were.
Phil, you grabbed top comment slot today, and I haven't even begun to scroll down to see what others think of your post, but when you blame all the problems in the US to the schools, it's almost like Trump/Vance blaming every ill in this nation on Immigrants.
Having 2 daughters and 3 nieces employed as teachers, I am gritting my teeth as I type this. I am SO TIRED of teachers having to deal with your type of opinion. I have listened to all the "teachers work 6 hour days for 9 months a year and get paid too much" for a number of years. Then came COVID and teachers were blamed for students learning remotely and the consequential drops in learning. You try teaching kids who barely pay attention IN A CLASSROOM setting, and have them tune in to watch over Mom's smartphone in a rural McDonalds where they might be able to pick up cell service!
Teachers are either so undervalued that any random parent can homeschool better than a college educated and certified teacher---or in FL, because you or your spouse was in the military, somehow THAT is sufficient training to be an educator. Then tomorrow, you will be blamed for being a mastermind evil being that is trying to indoctrinate you to be trans, gay or identify as an animal. All the while, you have irate parents harass you for their child's failure after the report cards come out--even though you have repeatedly contacted the parent by phone, mail, email (and yes, finally by tagging their social media as a last resort) and ignored. With one eye always looking towards the hallways for a child totting their parents AK-47, and making sure you don't miss any signs of abuse which you legally must report or be held accountable. But not be too sympathetic to any child, even the bullied ones, because you could be accused of sexual misconduct.
Oh, and btw---in many, many areas teachers are paid well, especially in wealthy suburban areas, but if you teach in a more rural area--let's hope that the WalMart has a shift you can squeeze in so you make enough money to support your own family, and pay for the all the supplies your school district can't fund, AND keep snacks on your desk for children who are hungry. Because, you know, hungry kids don't learn well and tax payers can't be expected to FEED students, too!!
How about YOU go volunteer at your local school? I DID it for many years before my kids decided to become teachers. I guess they noticed how much I valued education and those who taught them, so they thought it was a good gig.
I'm done. But I suggest all of the readers who enthusiastically agree with Phil either run for school board (I didn't even touch of what teachers have to deal with, with school boards) or volunteer at the schools. See far you get and how long you last.
I had to go back and edit the above. Now add to all of the above issues, AI. Phil, you want the teachers to teach critical thinking, and they have kids cheating using AI and internet. Try and pry those phones out of their hands, and they will get their parents riled up and at the school board meeting screaming about rights and that their kids NEED those phones in case of an active shooter. And if you do try to pry a phone away, hopefully it won't be from a kid like the teen boy that shoved his phone between his ass and the chair and dared my daughter to "go ahead and grab it." YUP, that happened. She instead sent him to the dean (who would do nothing) so not only did that kid learn nothing that day, neither did anyone else in that classroom.
There is no doubt that it is way more than the guys atop the R ticket. As in the classic tale, one must look behind the curtains to see who is running the show. Propaganda is a powerful tool. I expect that the schools could do better; however, I don't agree that changing curricula is a magic fix. Young people learn how to behave and how to be "successful" by watching adult behaviour, especially when they are out of school and faced with the prospects of making their own living. What they see in runaway capitalism with unregulated accumulation of wealth (and influence) by those who see only that as a holy grail is not very pretty IMO.
Ah Phil, when in doubt play the ‘it’s the schools card’!
Not 1970 anymore! A secondary student is in class approximately 225 minutes a day!! The distorted us of the internet by the greedy social media companies expose that same student to nearly 24/7 memes and propaganda!
Where’s the parents in your ‘it’s the schools’ folly? Recent mass shooting, parent bought the gun for their teen!
Phil, I see that lots of people "like" your comment, but I think it's myopic and over-simplifies the source of the issues that plague the U.S. It's a bit lazy to scapegoat "the schools" without specifying which schools. I don't disagree that education, in general, is not working for our students and ultimately for our nation, but your comment is much like a doctor blaming her patient for being sick without investigating what caused the illness.
So ... which schools aren't serving us well? Why? What caused those schools to fail us? And would you agree that education – or lack thereof – isn't the only factor that has contributed to a lack of discernment in a large portion of the U.S. population? What about religion, for instance?
Jen, it has been proven there are many different learning styles. Why not embrace schools that may not follow the typical memorize and regurgitate system.? Charter schools in MA did a lot of group learning. What a wonderful way to promote the exchange of ideas, working within a group to solve problems and arrive at a solution, while simultaneously learning to deal with different personalities. A scenario they will often need in a work environment after graduation. Our ultimate goal should be for all children is to learn and thrive and grow into good citizens. If charter schools offer a path to success for many, why not? Many of the most successful minds in the US today did not follow the traditional public education path. As our country quickly falls behind the rest of the world in education isn’t it time to think outside of the box in our approach?
It’s not just the public schools (though I dare say they contribute) but it’s the g-dammed television that got us into this mess! If tRump hadn’t done tv for years, people would have little knowledge of who he is (or purports to be), he’d have less brand recognition and not be popular. Maybe poor public education helped that rise, people can’t see beyond the stars in their eyes, but Hollywood has a hand in creating and perpetrating this orange buffoon.
Trump is saying over and over that he wants to be POTUS again.
And the answer from the American people should be "So what?" ... as they vote in overwhelming numbers for Kamala Harris.
I think we're going to have a blow-out election... but only if we all do everything we can to make that happen! I'm going to participate in the Women of Trek for Kamala" event tonight. (Yes, men are permitted to attend.)
All Vance had to do to 'win' was to look like Yalie author of a thousand book tours rather than Trump's MiniMe yap dog. And he nailed it. Crown Prince of Peter Thiel's dystopian Camelot.
Unforced moderator errors - not cutting off Vance's mike immediately on the 'fact check.' Also, they ought to have introduced the debate with a précis of the veep role - to derail specious assertions about '3.5 year Harris administration.'
Unforced Walz error - not just saying he'd visited Tiananmen in the immediate aftermath.
Despite appearances, Walz had many excellent minutes. And won on substance and sincerity. Some critics are asking too much when they complain that it was Walz's responsibility to 'de-normalize' the Vance iteration of MAGA. It was Walz's job to speak for the Harris Walz ticket - and he did. In detail.
MAGA is the new 'normal' of the Republican party. It is on all of us to build a new normal which marginalizes MAGA. One postcard, text, phone call, door knock at a time until Nov. One vote at a time - on Day 1 of your state.
Thanks for raising the issue of the “Harris administration.” She is not (yet) the president, and constant references to her “administration” are clearly intended to place full responsibility on things she can’t/didn’t control.
I cringed every time JD said “her administration.” She is NOT the president! That comment should have been called out each and every time it was made. By the moderators and Walz. Civics class…JD, or did you miss that one, eh?
I read critics praising the mods for cutting off Vance's mic when, in fact, they let him spew more lies for almost a minute then cut off both mics when Walz attempted to set the record straight.
You are right about substance and sincerity. Walz could have used his Tiananamen misspeak to say he so passionately opposes autocratic governments like Communism and Fascism that as a young man he over identified with the martyrs with their statue of liberty model., Yet that was long ago and although his rhetoric was careless, and he apologizes for it, he unlike JD does not like dictators and has not praised Orban’s tactics, nor those of Franco or Pinochet as his opponent has.
Slick evidently didn’t study Faust. What dark role is Thiel’s in this rendition?
At least Usha taught him to pronounce Kamala.
Since we didn’t have the responsibilities of a VP laid out prior, I wish Walz had schooled Vance in them when he made his silly attributions of every move and responsibility as hers. But Walz did a creditable and credible debate. All and all, he’s a patriotic cornball, as am I We will sleep well again with him supporting Harris in WH. If the unthinkable happens: we will have Project 2025 champion Slick Vance as potus by spring.
And this comment “…"And yet sitting members of Congress who participated in the whole thing, remain seated and un-prosecuted." sums up a huge moral failure on the part of
Trump lacks any redeeming qualities. He sees others as pawns to be manipulated to serve his needs. He has no conscience, no empathy, no ability to love anyone but himself. He is so deeply flawed that people around him need to attempt to normalize him in an effort to be able to accept that which is so abhorrent.
His “followers” hear only the “siren’s song” when he speaks.
"To have total power is to have power over truth and fact and history and to reach for it over dreams and thoughts and emotions." - Rebecca Solnit, Orwell's Roses, p. 226, where she continues by quoting Orwell:
"From the totalitarian point of view history is something to be created rather than learned. A totalitarian state is an effect a theocracy and its ruling caste, in order to keep its position, has to be thought of as infallible. But since, in practice, no one is infallible, it is frequently necessary to rearrange past events in order to show that this or that mistake was not made, or that this or that imaginary triumph actually happened. ... Totalitarianism demands, in fact, the continuous alteration of the past, and in the long run probably demands a disbelief in the very existence of objective truth."
Solnit then points out that "[this] is significantly a language problem at a storytelling problem that can be fought to some extent with language -- with the language of history that is not manipulable by the regime, independent journalism uncovering the current situation, logic and scientific method demanding a basis for statements, and the language of ideas that invite people to find their own concepts and principles and to look at the world critically, with the commitment to honor the contracts that words make. With the language of love and fellowship that builds back relationships and drives away loneliness. With the poetry that captures nuance of experience and unexpected alignments. All these things require either the freedom to do them safely or the courage to do them when they are dangerous."
Thank you, Heather, for being part of the solution to MAGA totalitarianism.
I just finished reading 'Orwell's Roses' last month. It's such an outstanding book, masterfully written and researched. Rebecca Solnit is really an amazing writer and essayist, as is Heather Cox Richardson, and so was George Orwell himself...
The Republican Party has veered so far to the right that they have been subsumed and supplanted by Trump and the MAGAmaniacs. Not counting votes or manipulating the results to get the outcome a petulant tyrant or Project 2025 authoritarians want is much like the Party of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four':
"the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense"...
Thanks so much for pulling that wonderful wisdom from Solnit. I am in awe of her insight and nearly unmatched ability to weave these essays. There is a crucial connection between this comment and that in education started by Phil Balla, infra. Will there be enough people engaging with the alternative stories to save the human race, especially as AI is further unleashed. (I highly recommend Richard Power’s new “Playground” contribution as one of these alternative stories …and warnings).)
Yesterday, I started Solnit’s “Orwell’s Roses,” and find it, as you have, so powerfully relevant to this moment in our presidential election. What a note able coincidence that you quote her here today and fun that other Solnit admirers are chiming in. For those of you who have yet to read “Orwell’s Roses,” you have something to look forward to!
So, they feel that the debate will be forgotten, have lots of criticism of it, and say what needs to happen going forward. My daughter and I vote from abroad, and got, filled out and mailed our ballots. We are team Harris-Walz all the way.
None of this would be happening now had more people done what they were supposed to do. Jack Smith would not have had to clarify what is "Official" and what is not if the so-called SCOTUS had had done the right thing and treated the criminal defendant correctly and not been partisan. Same goes for the GOP had they voted correctly knowing he had committed crimes untenable of the Oval office and full impeachment would have kept him out of any further elections. Bad people have been doing bad things to protect him for a long time now.
The fix has been in by the GOP and they're going to try it again in 33 days. We MUST Stop Them!
Politicians are like worms; they have no backbone. The quest for power is so great that they slither onto whatever meal ticket keeps them in the office of power.
You reminded me of the punishment for crooked financiers who crashed the economy in the early 19th century. They put them into a bag of snakes and threw them overboard.
No, really? If Mt. T were put into a rather large bag of snakes and dropped overboard, the snakes and he would soon be collaborating on an underwater motel.
The opening scenes of this PBS Frontline special are almost, in themselves, enough to expose the aberrant threat and deceitful strategy behind Trump’s lie about the stolen election. First, they contrast Trump starkly with every candidate prior conceding their loss in the election and pledging to stand behind their opponent, the new president-elect chosen by the people. They then survey Trump’s strategy of denying the validity of election and selection results. All within the first 5-7 min, clips of these two related issues should be turned into campaign ads, social media posts, and more. Well worth the watch.
A woman reading my substack has repeatedly written me in BLOCK LETTERS that I am unfairly hard on Trump. My basic assumption, as I told her, is that his actions in trying to overthrow the USG and the will of the people disqualified him for office, much less the presidency. I don’t understand why the Colorado case to remove him from the ballot went as it did. I see no indication he cares a whit about the country nor do those trying to put him forward so they can pursue Project 2025. I want someone who does something other than lie.
Cynthia - did nobody ever explain to you that writing things in block letters makes them more TRUE!!! Personally, I send all my explanations in block letters. "THE CHECK IS IN THE POST! MY GRANDMOTHER HAS DIED! YES I KNOW, IT IS THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR!"etc.etc.
"Yesterday was yet another reminder that the Republican ticket is a hideous and embarrassing blight on the American experiment and the American character."
These all-too-true words appear in the last paragraph of Noah Berlatsky's Public Notice post for which Dr. Richardson provides a link above. I'd urge other HCR fans to click on it. It appears that the moral degradation which Agent Orange represents is now accompanied by an equivalent mental deterioration. With 35 days to go, I wonder if the MSM is ever going to latch on to this critically important process. The reporters are starting to ask questions that make DJT's mental issues more evident. They're not stupid. But their reports are not being turned into the major story they should be. It can't just be money. Is it a kind of cognitive dissonance in MSM management?
I read recently that LFAA has a circulation that is approaching that of WaPo (can't remember the source, or I'd cite it). If that is the case, WaPo may become, like NYT, regarded as a source for puzzles, games, recipes, "lifestyle" features, and the occasional interesting column, and not as a reliable national NEWS paper. And that is a loss for us all. Dr. Richardson's excellent essays enrich us all, by putting current events into a historical context (like today), but they're not news.
I believe it was Rebecca Solnit in the Guardian about 2 weeks ago who reported the magnitude of readers of Letters From an American. I couldn’t successfully search for it on my phone or I’d link it for you. Robert Hubbell linked to it at the time also.
It opens up old wounds and revives indignation to read this summary of that period/those days and weeks while these lies and ploys played out. Hindsight…and a clearer picture of the outright premeditation and malicious motives…only adds to the psychological dissonance. It is so scary to think we are going to have to go through version 2.0 in just over as month. I know there is still time to work to make the results so clear that it will be harder for Trump’s cronies and followers to mount a tenable counter attack but it feels like the country (and the world) is/are heading into a post-election reckoning if an existential magnitude. Thanks again Heather for tying the history to the present and motivating us to fight harder for the future.
You are writing history. Thank you. Our children, grandchildren and generations thereafter will have the best recording of the truth. You are quite special.
Post truth anything is scary as hell for everyone on this planet. Combine this with the ravages of long denied climate change and potential shenanigans of AI and were all smack in the middle of dark times. Yesterday and the day before my choice was no tv news at all. I could tell my dog found it strange. I still hope and pray the Harris/Walz ticket is a winner. And I’ve done what I can do to make a difference. Let decency and democracy prevail in our dear country.
I'd rather see both of them ridiculed to death publicly. Or maybe a solitary cell, obviously padded. Maybe with physical writing materials but definitely no cell phone. Any other suggestions anyone?
A march of “shame, shame, shame” accompanied by the ringing of bells a la Game of Thrones? But please god not naked there isn’t enough brain bleach in the world for that.
- Pulled Quote -
''The facts of the case begin with a damning statement: “When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office.”''
Treason.
Treason used to be punishable by death, no, lol?
Why Are We Screaming at Each Other?
(From "Donald's Vanity Tantrums")
The answer to this question is how we elect our political leaders. Most members of Congress are owned and paid for by special interests, working both sides of the aisle depending on which business or institutional clients they represent. There is no concern for the health and stability of our nation: the focus is only on creating laws to increase profits for their clients and shareholders. The country is a capitalist corporation business vying for profits, not services.
Patriotism is the opiate for the masses to calm the exploited population. We the People are damned. The unmitigated influence of money is a rarity in other democracies. A British journalist lamented about our health care system and asked, “Why don’t you Americans rise up in rage and change things?” Because, as I had explained to him, we have been divided, beaten and conquered. How can one fix anything including gun control laws when money always wins and laws are purchased by the highest bidder?
In 2002, Senator John McCain sponsored and passed the McCain/Feingold bill limiting soft money influencing elections. But then the trusty ole conservative majority of the Supreme Court, who purport to support individual rights (until it restricts the super wealthy from gobbling up more wealth), decided that political spending was a form of free speech in Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Commission in 2010. This court created new ways of corrupting the political process.
Trump is simply the personification of government gone wrong because money has become the only decider. No principles, ideology. No ethics. And now we have a near dysfunctional, dystopian society in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. The blue collar worker now fears having a reduced income or no income at all. This worker seeks to augment his income with a part-time job to make-up for the middle income wage he once earned. As his puppet strings are yanked, he pulls the lever (the wrong voting lever) that opens the trapdoor on which he stands with a rope around his gullet.
Very powerful summation, Counselor. There was a time when I might have said it was hyperbole, but the past few years have shown me that every word you say is true. And thank you, Dr. Richardson, for once again laying out the whole ugly treasonous plot in plain language.
I second that. For the first time I really understand the sequence of events and to be honest better appreciate the courage of Pence and all of the parties who were threatened and harassed for such a long period of time. It was too easy for me to become numb from reading bits and pieces of accounts. Seeing it all laid out so logically and powerfully terrifies me. I needed to come out of denial. Brilliant as always, Professor!
Kathleen, not a fan of Pence usually, but he did the right thing and was courageous despite the threats. Story on the news last night about the hardening of vote counting areas like bullet proof glass and panic buttons. And already election officials are being threatened. This is fascism in practice and death star is calling for his storm troopers. It is disgusting that this election is even close.
I now have far greater respect for the courage of Mike Pence. The pressure on him must have been enormous.
I'm glad Pence finally did one right thing after 4 years of standing by as Trump brought further down our wobbly democracy. But I refuse to crown him a hero. Is he not also allied with the Heritage Foundation, authors of Project 2025? He was just a little less corrupted than Trump and his sycophants, but still just another traitor.
Why thank you, ma’am. I have a whole book full of the narrative Infamous Four Years and beyond. I’m just an uneducated ole fool who likes to express himself.
Bull, it is exactly what David Pepper writes about in Laboratories of Autocracy. Term limits do not work, as people are lead to belive, as we actually have a process for term limits called elections. Without money (unlimited contrcontributions) politicians are then responsible to their voters. Want to stay in office? Do what the majority of your voters want.
Want tyranny? Have politicians forced to raise money to stay in office. Then we have Tyranny of the Minority, another great book.
I'm with you Rickey, term limits is about as lazy as it gets. That mentality is exactly why we're in this mess we're in today, ie., lack of voter enthusiasm and appreciation for all this country has done for them. Morons. And, let me ad that eliminating the ability to read and write Cursive is the tip of the educational iceberg. We're not a failed nation, but we're a lazy bunch riding on the backs of the working poor - meaning the folks whose wages have been suppressed the past fifty years. They're on strike, and I don't blame them. Trouble is, they're being led by degenerates (U-name em), like Vance etc who put up signs reading "trump - Low prices". And, "those folks" are convinced that 'libtards/liberals/Democrats are sucking up their hard-earned tax dollars. That's what term limits gets for ya. It feeds the "my vote won't count" jerkwads. Vote!
The "my vote doesn't count" folks are right. It's the electoral college, and those who set up the current system in 1877 were well aware that it would discourage people from voting.
I absolutely agree that the Electoral College has to go, but I do think every vote counts in the sense that it reveals the truth of who we are and where we stand. If you don’t vote you participate in obscuring the truth. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote against Donald Trump in 2016 and that matters even though Trump won the flawed Electoral College. It’s better, not enough but still better, to know Hillary Clinton won the majority of the votes and lost the presidency than to think Trump actually won in a fair majority rule election. The truth matters even if it doesn’t result in power. Every vote matters because it reveals the truth of who we are as a country. Vote—I sure as heck will, and I do not live in a swing state.
I disagree with the statement that term limts gets you lazy folks and tyranny--altho, I may have misinterpreted that. I think TERM LIMITS is a good thing because it eliminates the need for legislators to constantly raise money to keep getting re-elected and can finally do some legislating in their last term anyway, without being beholden to donors. Especially big ones whose agenda they have to fulfill, not the agenda of the voters who elect them. And yeah, CURSIVE shud be brought back. Signatures on legal documents is mandatory. Harder to forge cursive than first grade printing!
Mad....i have argued against term limits for years. Lots of people want simplistic solutions instead of understanding that they need to vote and help get out the vote. I also argue that we don't need to change the numbers of Senators because that is not based on population. I wish the elephant in the room had not existed when the Constitution was written, but it did and we are stuck with the results. It would be nice to get rid of the Electoral College, but we can be sure that somehow Rs would undermine the process.
I put both books on my listening list. The first one is not an audio (I only listen to books) but thanks for the suggested reading material. I will add this type book into my lineup
I was once told that elected federal representatives were expected to go to an obscure office on Capitol Hill with no trappings save for a desk, chair, and telephone. On the desk was a list of names and telephone numbers. The Rep was expected to call the names on the list and ask for political contributions. If she/he refused to do this, her/his support from the national party would dry up in an effort to compromise the Rep's ability to mount a successful re-election campaign and thus, lose the upcoming election. What with computers and mobile phones I don't know if this process continues or not.
"Capitalism, as Adam Smith envisioned it, has always been about people. What is now (beginning in the 1970s) referred to as capitalism is a bastardized version, one that Smith could never have imagined. It values shareholder supremacy at the expense of people. Capitalism isn’t the problem. It’s the story we tell and give the name 'Capitalism'." —Simon Sinek.
I can't over emphasis how important this is. The idea that capitalism is about "the person with the most money wins," or that the Republican party is still conservative, or that RvW was overturned by conservative justices, is part of the con.
Capitalism is based on Adam Smith's theory of moral sentiments, and not on Milton Friedman's theory of immoral sentiments. Conservatives and progressives are openminded and skeptical (except conservatives are more skeptical and progressives are less skeptical). Today's Republican party is cynical and naive, which is to say that they've gone to the dark side. Today's Democratic party is skeptical and openminded, which is to say that they are enlightened. And that is the only reason why, in the last 4 years, crime is down, the economy is better, the border crisis has abated, and wannabe dictators are worried.
Shareholder supremacy is the bullsh!t responsible for the present mess. What is important is "stakeholders". Shareholders can easily liquidate their shares and run to another commodity. Stakeholders are those customers who bought the product, who live in the neighborhood, who remain involved regardless of what shareholders do.
Precisely. But I just remembered the other essential element of the con. The Gospel message, repeated over and over again in all four Gospels, is that the thing we now call Christianity is based on the moral "treat others the way you would want to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot" principle.
There is a reason Mike Pence is so incredibly naive, and that reason is because someone conned him into believing that Christianity is based on the immoral "I'm right, you're wrong, and this conversation is over" principle.
Skepticism and open mindedness are the bonds that keep us attached to reality. Pence's cynicism and naivety is a symptom of the extent to which he is detached from reality. The only difference between Pence and the rest of the Republican party is that they've travelled further and faster.
Key words: skepticism and open mindedness. Hurray for pointing that out, James!!
Thanks for the logical and sensible analysis. "shareholder supremacy". Our country is under the control of quarterly reports.
Agreed on shareholder supremacy as the root of the problem. How to get rid of it ?????
Restore the Fairness Doctrine in media. Repeal Citizens United. Support a vigorous system of science and fact based regulations and safety rules. I see one of the main roles of the federal government as its ability and duty to rein in capitalism. I’m a capitalist, but without regulation, profit becomes the only decider and that’s not healthy for society.
"The country is a capitalist corporation business vying for profits, not services." Nailed it.
Rants about the ruination of the country go back to Jefferson’s Democratic Republican version - that Hamilton and the Federalists were all closet monarchists while Jefferson himself was touting the French Revolution even when it devolved into a self-destructive murder spree.
As one who has taught American history for over 40 years, I suspect the real problem is that far too many of us simply don’t understand what we were designed to be.
My solution, naive as it may seem, is that every child in America be given a thorough grounding in the Constitution. It would have to happen in the last year or so of high school because that is the last time they would be a captive audience. Needless to say, this does not happen with any kind of consistency. or rigor, so it is no surprise that so many of us simply don’t know what it means to be an American. That ignorance, combined with an overwhelming belief in many quarters that individual rights are somehow detached from an equivalent sense of responsibility to the society as a whole is our single greatest problem.
Not only a thorough grounding in the constitution, which I believe should start in elementary school , but also teach ethics, critical thinking is a must, and like they are teaching in Findland, how to spot fake/fraud/scams.
I started in 6th grade, but of course there are concepts that kids that age aren’t ready for. Nonetheless, like good math and English teaching, one builds year to year.
At the end of that class all eligible students register to vote.
James,
“…individual rights are somehow detached from an equivalent sense of responsibility to the society as a whole is our single greatest problem.”
This comment really resonated with me. Thank you!
I shouldn’t probably respond since I’m only casually studied in American history. The second paragraph says it all. We are bifurcated. So many hide behind Rights. Others regurgitate enslavement forever blaming privilege as I have been blamed. And I’m tired of being singled out. The original migrants looked down at then recent arrivals. Too many Irish invading our shores they once spoke.
Add into the mix social media that has poisoned the young minds of not one but two generations. (I observed two kids at an event once with their parents sitting beside them and every minute or so, they picked up their cells and peeked. They were certainly addicted and not seemingly too interactive and parents in my opinion, have made a big mistake.) The insidious infiltration of bad actors serving to divide us and keep us confused. Now the brilliance of AI to suspend reality and turn us into drooling fools at the ballot box. I’m sorry professor, democracy is a fragile system which in my humble opinion, will not survive under the current strains as outlined.
"Patriotism is the opiate for the masses to calm the exploited population." Great stuff, Bill. I think that the last several years will be studied very carefully, with the MAGA movement's motivation explained not by political historians, but by psychologists.
Religion and patriotism are witless children of the same father: ignorance.
Good line in its accurate and frightening poetry: "Trump is simply the personification of government gone wrong because money has become the only decider."
Perhaps this election will retrospectively be noted as the historical moment to mark a change of tide that saved our democracy.
Nutz Bill! Walz should have simply responded with: "That's it., there's no point in debating this guy. Have a nice evening. Call me, bye bye." And, walked off the stage. Game over - bbbBoink!
Why did the Harris handlers ever agree to a no fact check debate?
They did not need to give Vance more time to LIE on tv!
Fact checking terrifies the GOP and the candidates! Doesn’t matter if the moderators fact checked or not…it doesn’t change the mindset of the MAGA cult members. You can tell them the kool aid will kill them and they will still drink it.
I wondered that. Insane. Glad Vance blabbed it out.
Or, MadRussian12A, perhaps Margaret Brennan should have replied “that agreement to not factcheck was also a lie!"
Made me laff out loud! Thanks, John M!
Good one.
This could be the obituary for the UNITED states of America. And guess who has done more to divide, beat and conquer than good old Ronnie import Rupert Murdoch. A British journalist should know that the Brits had their go around with Rupert and kicked his arse. In the good ole USA, we let him run amok and show other rich bastards how easy it is to suck the tit ad nauseam. Of course, Mitch had set the stage with the SC on the ready to finish the job. All we needed was for the Roy Cohn disciple chump to bring his mob skills to the political stage. The Dems finally woke up. But, as you say, the noose is in place and the stage is set.
So much truth here, Bill. The country has been unable to keep government clearly separate from the influence of greed.
I sometimes recite in my mind /and even pullout the old album) of Bob Dylan’s John Wesley Hardin and his song, “As I Went Out One Morning.” I know it by memory.
As I went out one morning
To breath the air around Tom Paine
I spied the fairest damsel
That ever did walk in chains
I offered her my hand
She took me by the arm
I knew that very instant
She meant to do me harm
“I beg you sir” she pleaded
From the corners of her mouth
I will secretly accept you
And together we’ll fly south
Depart from me this moment
I told her with my voice
Said she “But I don’t wish too”
Said I but you have no choice.
Just then Tom Paine himself
Came running from across the field
Shouting at this lovely girl
And commanding her to yield
And as she was lettting go her grip
Up Tom Paine did run
“I’m sorry sir,” he said to me
“I’m sorry for what she’s done.”
This is not a finished process — that is WHY we are struggling to keep MAGA out of the White House — AND to hold the Senate and make more inroads in the House. To maintain our constitutional democracy — and continuing to pressure the Democrats away from the “money is speech” idea is part of it …
The government is NOT a corporate owner of power {are you spouting some Curtis Yarvin baloney, here?}. We DO recognize that the power of money has grown too great {mostly by virtue of its infusion through lobbying, and SCOTUS declaration that is is speech, which idea needs to be remedied so money is money and a tool but NOT speech}. And those of us resistig MAGA still PLAN to work on a fix for that imbalance of mone-v-votes. And work HARD.
If undoing the imbalance of the power of money is NOT what we are about, then what do you think resisting MAGA IS about — merely setting up a Left Wing Democratic version of the Money Machine? That’s just as dark and perverted as MAGA — and if you think that voters resisting Donald Trump and the Heritage Society and Project 2025 still leaves us with a corporate hegemony and no real Democracy remaining in America, then WHAT ARE WE STRUGGLING FOR?
What you describe is the DANGER in front of us — what we need to AVOID — not the final fait accomplis. And it’s important for us to see what COULD become our constant reality — THIS IS WHY SOME OF US POUND ON THE REALITY THAT WE CAN’T JUST VOTE AND WAIT FOR THE CHANGES WE WANT. We need to stay in the fray and keep working and voting, from the grassroots upward, to put things to rights …
Never forget that the "Citizens United" case was ginned up by an anti-Hillary group cleverly /S/ named "Citizens United Not Terrified." Trump himself is a puppet being used by some really horrible people (Bannon, Miller, et al.)
I totally agree that trump is merely the vehicle for his handlers' agenda in carrying out their manifesto. They latched onto him pre-2015 because of his bombastic, but charismatic reputation and have used that ever since. And the MAGAs have fallen for it. If he should be reelected, I'd love to be in the room when he gets the news that vance has just invoked the 25th Amendment and will remove him from office.
Sorry to be a downer here, but this rant is as dystopian, misinformed and as full of substituting your opinion for fact as Trump’s inaugural address in 2017.
“Patriotism is an opiate for the masses”? A truly offensive statement. “The unmitigated influence of money is a rarity in other democracies”? Ignorant and anti-factual.
I dare to say that any British journalist of the last ten years would be so full of criticisms for the sorry state of the National Health Service after it’s been gutted by every PM from Cameron on to notice much about American Healthcare.
I share your frustration that money sometimes motivates the actions of Congress. I abhor five of the Supreme Court as more radicalized politicians than impartial judges. And I agree that Trump is a big problem.
You’re clearly impressed with your own way with words. But nowhere do I see any solutions offered, not even a concept of a plan.
Bill Katz, you have correctly analyzed the extent of corruption in America. We have allowed huge sums of money to enter the political scene.
Death is so simple though. How about we just lock him in a cell with 1000 Big Macs and let nature take its course.
Why condemn Big Macs to an ignominious end.
It's what they do best!
What better…
lol Trump for sure!
It still is.
Still is.
Well, that’s what his people say, isn’t it …
What amazes me..... and the world..... is that you are letting him do it again!
To my absolute astonishment. They studied Mein Kampf for decades, and Dems never noticed the creeping treachery that started seeping in before the traitors got a grip.
Jan 6 changed everything. Trump has been underperforming in polling during the primaries and his base is vulnerable. Blue tsunami?
Please send "not suckers or losers" to military, veterans' orgs, historical sites as comments daily to flip Trump 2020 voters. https://votevets.orgs
Hitler’s other book, a summary of his speeches with analysis. “My new World Order”. It is apparently obvious Trump studied this as well.
Who ever thought that in this country we would have the likes of tRump? He is the world's biggest loser who in the face of defeat lacks the dignity, honesty, and integrity to accept reality. And that goes for all of those who joined him in his delusions. They, all of them, are discussing, despicable and as Hillary said deplorable. Characters who have no compunction to CHEAT AND LIE. How unAmerican is that?
Harvey
As unAmerican as Roy Cohn, Roger Stone, Bannon, Nixon, Stephen Miller, Joseph Mccarthy.... I would say.
And that list can be very long
Roy Cohn, was the teacher and role model for tRump et al. MO. As a quick reminder here are the 5 key lessons that the lead deplorable and his disciples follow religiously:
#1: All publicity is good regardless of how negative it is.
#2: When attacked attacked back harder. When sued counter sue for more.
#3: NEVER apologize.
#4: Whatever happens claim victory.
#5: You do not have to believe what you say.
He was a horrible stupid student, but he did learn these simple and effective rules.
There is no correlation between intelligence and integrity.
Listen to Rachael Maddow’s pod casts. Think she is on her third season of past times when our government escaped being overthrown by the skin of our teeth and one or two honorable people who were threatened and ruined. The honorable persons’ names have been forgotten. Many of them lost jobs, and some their lives. Look up Leroy Gore. One of my heroes.
Apparently not “unAmerican” at all ! Sadly..
Trump is a reflection of the many things our county lacks in 38% or more of our people.
Let’s see, we have had Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Huey Long, Roger Tanney, John Roberts, J Edgar Hoover, Horatio Gates, James Wilkinson, George Mitchell, Bob Haldemann, John Erlichman, etc., etc., etc.
Hardly limited to Trump.
I add this, feeling acknowledgement is due. This letter underscores the integrity and courage of VP Pence through the events of 2020. Despite his life in danger and that now he likely must live with heightened security for the rest of his life, Pence deserves to be added to the likes of Liz Cheney and the many Republicans who have stood for truth and democracy. If we live under a two party system, these are the type of leaders, whether we always support their beliefs or not, that make up what America stands for. Bravo to Pence, who could have possibly made the election transition uglier and more complicated -- but did not.
That may be true however, Pence said he will not vote for either candidate, that he would write another person's name in when he votes. Former speaker Paul Ryan said the same thing. Their literally given their away instead of saving our Democracy and putting their country first over politics.
What a cop out. Both Pence and Ryan have no future. Liz Cheney has demonstrated so much more character and conviction than these two morally, ethically depleted men.
Integrity would include testifying at the J6 Congressional hearing and the impeachment. Pence did what he did to avoid legal jeopardy for himself. He didn’t go far enough, just enough to save his own ass.
I'm told treason only applies in times of war..not to disagree, though, in spirit!
US Constitution
Article III, Section 3, Clause 1:
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
US Criminal Code
18 U.S. Code § 2381 - Treason
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
If convicted by the charges re-filed by Special Counsel Smith, would inciting the Capitol riot of 06jan21 be tantamount to levying war against the United States?
That argument has been made, certainly with respect to those who broke into the Capitol. Trump could been seen as providing aid and comfort - at the least - and thereby also culpable.
Aid and comfort was given in Helsinki, somebody needs to squeal
I already have. It’s in… well you know where, lol.
Could treason apply to Super PACs and Citizens United somehow? Can’t foreigners and foreign governments donate dark money ( have to prove it) to the PACs, PACs to candidates. “ American billionaires have more in common with foreign billionaires than they do with regular Americans.” -Tim Snyder
It’s basically what we see in Trump’s Ukraine /Russia appeasement policy is it not? The trumps just following orders for his billionaire benefactors Mercer, Koch, Theil, Musk, Putin, MBS, Orban.
Hmmm, do we need to change that law? Because Trump and Vance and their Libertarian post truth fin$ backers are still as treasonous as the Rosenbergs.
https://time.com/3720514/rosenberg-execution/
Changing the law now won’t affect charges against them. The constitution prohibits ex post facto application of the law.
Interesting question. Treason technically only applies when the country is at war which we officially are not since an Authorization for the use of Military Force isn't a declaration of war. What happened on Jan. 6 was certainly insurrection, but the nuances are a hard sell.
I don’t think it will be that hard to sell j6 to a jury.
Pardon me for going off-topic to disseminate this interesting fact-check of the V.P. debate.
https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/oct/02/vp-debate-fact-check-walz-vance-2024/
Thank you for your patience.
"Treason" is a much overused word these days and used incorrectly as well. It's defined in the Constitution and has to do with taking up arms in times of war.
The act requires deliberation and conviction and may circumstantially even be regarded as heroic; von Stauffenberg, for instance.
Robert E. Lee was a traitor. The person of whom you speak is not a traitor, but rather something much worse for he has no convictions and serves no cause other than his own ego.
An armed insurrection, such as the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, could potentially be considered "levying war" under the constitutional definition of treason, but it's complicated. Historically, courts have interpreted "levying war" to involve organized, armed action against the authority of the government. I think the people can decide for themselves.
TREASON
BTW, a traitor is someone who betrays a cause, trust, or allegiance they were once loyal to. In the context of ethics, it’s turning away from principles you once claimed to uphold.
An armed insurrection, such as the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, could potentially be considered "levying war" under the constitutional definition of treason, but it's complicated. Historically, courts have interpreted "levying war" to involve organized, armed action against the authority of the government. I think the people can decide for themselves.
Not quite, but close.
"LSMFT"
BMMBP. Big Money Makes Bad Politicians
Translate pls
It’s not just the orange felon.
Not even with companion liar Vance. Nor an entire Republican party lapping up, covering for the lies. Nor with the Clarence court adding its corruption.
It’s the schools.
Tens of millions of our fellow Americans got “educated” to pass as normal the orange felon’s bragging about his repeat impunity in grabbing pussy and related assault – to pass as normal his repeat sets of business fraud, his approval of mass murders by AR-15s more than daily, to ride the floods of hate on billionaires’ social media sites, normal that the orange felon fete the world’s worst dictators, normal that jobs still got offshored during his watch, normal that many die daily by Fentanyl, that income inequality gap widens, that women lose their rights.
It's the schools. And something they’re all doing regularly, normally.
They could do the opposite. Could teach students to see others as individuals, and write essays connecting them to each other, by their issues, and the arts.
And teach them critical thinking. Not to mention basic civics. Both of those went out the window under Reagan with Bill Bennett
We need to teach non-white washed history, civics, critical thinking, science, literature and the arts. Never leave out the arts which strengthen everything.
Yes, yes, yes. I would add a mandatory section presented at every grade level:
"Fact checking." News source research. "Who is telling you that?"
The arts is where truth is placed with plausible deniability so that it can lay low where people who know what they are looking for can find it. An example is would be the "folk songs" of enslaved people in the southern US before emancipation. Many of those songs were instructions on how to find help in finding your way north to freedom for those escaping slavery. Because they were written in such a way as to perhaps be "spirituals", the word "freedom" could be interpreted as the Christian concept of the afterlife in heaven where believers are freed from their life on earth and the ensuing trials and tribulations, when actually the "freedom" in the songs was a reference to freedom from slavery in the north. All forms of the arts have the potential for subversion. That is one reason art always survives somewhere, somehow.
Just a fact-check... While escape routes were certainly part of slave culture, "Follow The Drinking Gourd" was written in 1931.
Written down by white people, first published in 1928. That does not mean it didn't exist before that, it is just means that the "standard of proof" cannot be met.
So true Susan.
Yes! Bravo, Susan!
And logic. Every speech that Trump and Vance give are filled not only with lies but also with logic errors. Trump is barely coherent these days, but even when he was his logic was often flawed.
Gary, Let’s not blame schools for Trump’s serious personality disorder AND obvious signs of worsening dementia.
Yes, yes, yes! Brava Bonnie! If the schools had the same influence as social media, sanity would be the hall mark of our culture!
THANK YOU!!!!! (from a retired public school teacher)
I understand that schools do not set their curriculum. It's amazing to me that I can recall only one class where they covered logic and logic falsies.
We constantly see logic errors in advertisements and even news stories.
As an educator, I feel these skills are the ones you gain by a college education. Look at the stats on most polls and you’ll see that Trump supporters are more likely non-college educated.
Very true. Perhaps those skills should be introduced in middle school and refined every year in high school. Especially since college is being recognized now as only one of the choices that leads to a career and a good paying job. College is terrific for many. It is a waste of time and money for others.
If I were to have a second shot at a human life, I would have gone to a trade school and become a plumber. By now, I would have sold my plumbing business and bought a vacation home.
Even in elementary school, we ask our students "How do you know that?" - whether it's determining what happened at recess, whether it's analyzing "Poppy and Rye" or "Numbering the Stars", or whether it's proving 3x4=12.
I agree, Bonnie, but I did learn skills in logic in my high school geometry class, having to logically prove theorems. Perhaps that class is only required for college prep, though. I took a drafting class in high school because I wanted to be an architect, and some of the guys in that class were not college bound, but could definitely have appreciated geometry. Students were either on a college track or non-college track, which separated us for the most part. Not convinced that was right. Of course, I went to high school in the early '60s, and things were different then. We were taught civics and critical thinking skills.
Speaking of advertisements, we should all learn the psychology of advertising and the techniques of salesmanship. My husband has long been able to resist sales pitches, but one car salesman found his way in, after trying many other approaches. Essentially, you will get a better price than other people.
(I wanted the car, so I didn’t object. He later learned the salesman lied about it being less than book value.)
The political ads also lack logical flow. They cherry-pick clips, one asking Kamala a question followed by one of her giggling. The “policeman” blaming Ka MA la for a murder in Texas wasn’t well trained in pronunciation (other that mimicking Fox “newscasters” and the lies “
Yes, Craig. TV ads certainly deserve our attention. Also, let’s consider the potential role of Fox, Newsmax, and other DAILY sources of misinformation, bias, and propaganda regarding Trump and his fitness for office.
What is so frustrating and frightening is that this race is soo tight. I can't believe several people believe the rhetoric of lies!
Remember when CONservative business leaders wanted that critical thinking taught? I do. Liberal arts education teaches that and it is why those types of schools get targeted as "leftist". Critical thinking is a bad thing as it exposes the good and bad of free markets, trickle down economics, business practices and government policy. After 35 years in the public sector and now almost 2 years in a corporate low level job, education of the workforce is a bad thing for corporate America as it teaches people to think about how they are treated in pay and conditions. The powers at the top do want workers to be able to think about nothing but their tasks at hand. Work them hard and long.
Re: Critical thinking, this reminder:
"Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen threatened to resign along with many other top officials at the DoJ. Trump backed down in the face of this unified resistance. "
is why Pence did his extremely minimal job. No "courage" involved. Once Queens Man wimped out over the DOJ pushback, his thinking minions knew they'd be sticking their necks out all on their own. Pence saw it, applied critical thinking, said 'nope nope nope', and moved on.
This is definitely true.
Critical thinking, Karen, just means how to see.
And seeing is personal. Everyone brings one's history of experience, key traumas or fears one has lived through, complications from family life -- and more, more. Which we can learn to see (inside us) as well as, in artful tandem with what's "out there."
So, how to negotiate this lumber with what may also appear to be objectively out there?
The answer our schools have come up with depends on the total conceits of standardized testing. And here, nothing personal may ever enter. Only neutered information -- but not so fast. The neutering relies on more conceits; specifically, those of keeping all information in categories (yeah! prep for group think) and also in linear, step-by-step chronology.
Computers can measure -- can detect our "skills" in handling of info (no one anymore needs anymore human beings to grade results).
So it all reduces to a relentless game of processing the humanly and naturally meaningless.
Critical thinking, Karen? Don't you agree, it starts, stays, and wraps with the human (and the natural).
Phil, you are ‘photo bombing’ the Professors comment section! Keep it short and sweet and link to your full diatribe, if necessary!
I live in the “bluest” county in the blue state of Washington and I went ballistic the other day when I saw a sign “veterans for trump” As a veteran of the Viet Nam disaster, I was shocked (call me naive) considering the long list of anti military trump behavior…draft dodger, disrespecting Gold Star families and John Mc Cain, the repeated references to “suckers and losers”….a long list of ugly behavior. I’m praying that the undecided finally realize that trump the loser, for the sake of our democracy, loses again. So get out and vote for Harris.
Phil, I appreciate this post, thank you.
Well, conservative operatives killed the “critical thinking” part by turning universities into overpriced career factories and forcing the defunding of Liberal Arts programs. That sentiment “trickled down” to America’s public education sector. And when Republican leaders control the Department of Education, curriculum development bends towards Christianity and away from History and Literature.
Fox lies “teach” by brainwashing.
The art of propaganda: if you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. And they have.
It turns out that "teach them critical thinking" is a much tougher act than most of us here likely realize. You can research it. Michael Shermer, who heads eSkeptic et al. It's really all about trusted sources, they really do have a grip on our minds.
While I’m 1000% behind you when it comes to improving our educational system with comprehensive civics, art, music, rhetoric & logic … it just can’t be poor education. I know tRump supporters who are perfectly capable of being reasonable and logical people when it comes to going to work, paying their bills and even taking care of our dog when we go on a trip. Yet they seem to lose connection to reality and write a “blank check” of support for this lying criminal. This weird Jekyll & Hyde / Reality vs Conspiracy Theory personality-type didn’t come out of nowhere. DECADES of disinformation have truly radicalized a significant portion of Americans. As George Conway has pointed out, it starts with defeating tRump and his ilk — but then the *real work* of deprogramming our family & friends that drank this treasonous kool-aid begins …
Well said. The lost connection to reality exhibited by so many otherwise decent people is even more disappointing, infuriating and heartbreaking when those people are loved ones. Democracy will survive but many relationships will not.
So true.
Well said, double aught. I have a former work cohort (we are all retired cops) that believes that everything the RepubliKKKan ticket spits out is truth, and that all Harris does is lie. One of them (a former supervisor of mine, and later a coworker when we worked a courthouse security detail together as retirees) told me that killing an infant that had been born and then "aborted by a mother who changed her mind at the very end" was a lawful abortion. I pointed out that the generally accepted definition of homicide is that of a "person who was born and alive at the time of the act". His reply? "Not when they call it abortion." Complete and utter brainwashing.
I think that the appeal that fpotus has for this group is that he has made it both OK to hate the "other" (us alphabet folks: BIPOC and LGBTQ+, plus non-white immigrants) and to "return" white, male, Christian, cisgender, heteronormative people to their "rightful" place as dominant in culture, with any women meeting the other four criterion a subservient second with no control over their own anatomy or medical needs.
I used to believe that at some point, cognitive dissonance would set in, but I have come to the realization that there is no dissonance in the garbage that the RepubliKKKans are spewing. THEY WANT IT. WIth all their stony hearts.
This morning I finished reading Richard Power’s new book, Playground. Phil, I can’t help worrying that with AI unleashed we are headed in the complete opposite direction from what you counsel. It is frightening. The Fins with their outstanding example in approaching a more critical approach to digital media and information may be the last ones standing (if Putin doesn’t get them first).
Playground is on my nightstand now. Also “Nexus” by Yuval Noah Harari, which I’m listening to on Audible.
I am 200 plus pages into Nexus..having started that first…but Playground book pulled me in so now it back to nonfiction 🙃.
Thank you for the note, KSC.
I'm going to visit my son in Sebastopol, northern California, early January. Many fine bookstores all around there. So I can look at it then (maybe also buy a copy).
Phil, if you have the time for a cup of tea (me), we could meet up then. I live fairly close by.
Very good area, Robin. Please use EssDiff@gmail.com .
Some here dislike communication not germane to Heather's lead.
Phil, utilizing the "messenger" aspect of substack works to get your email off of the public part of the page.
Whoa there, Phil. Almost sounds like you blame teachers. It goes back to CONservative leaders of today that control the schools. This coming from a retired educator. Schools teach what the legislatures direct these days. Forcing public schools to teach to certain things, leave out other's. It is the CONservative, Handmaid's Tale leaning leaders that dream of Gilead that are the problem.
Yes, Rickey. Started with the Powell memo (Aug. 23, 1971).
Teachers K-12 got turned into prep adjuncts for the standardized testing. No humanities need apply anywhere.
Instructors in higher ed got slotted in neutered silos -- two-thirds doing the undergrad teaching: ill-paid "contingent labor," zero or few benefits.
It was a deliberate, serious plan the Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institute, and ALEC all addressed to the Powell memo's killing and diminishing of humanities, for the reign of the worst conceits in standardized testing and other forms of neutering.
No accident we've got MAGA and all its liars as a consequence.
Please. Let’s not oversimplify and blame teachers for the behavior and lies of Trump and Vance, the cowardice of elected Republicans, or gullibility of the MAGA cult.
Agreed, Bonnie.
American teachers got the shaft, big-time. Totally opposite to how the Finns elevated their teachers.
Depends on where you went to school. The first 7 years of grade school was spent in a catholic school. The nuns always told us that we were 2 grades ahead of public schools. By 7th grade, I was expelled for so many reasons. When I registered at my local public school, what the nuns had told us was true. High school was so boring for me that I requested to accumulate credits to graduate in 3 years and they allowed me to do it. My cynical side says to close secondary schools and save the trillions. It’s a waste. But of course I jest. Summer vacation grew from a time when farming communities needed all family hands working the crops. So I’m told.
Thank you. I soundly chastised Phil and I imagine I'll get an inadequate defense and no apologies.
And Project 2025 would dismantle the Department of Education. What we SHOULD be doing is teaching civics, problem solving, and yes, the creative arts. Along with compassion, empathy and decency. That's what makes us human.
I don't know how the schools can teach compassion and empathy. It seems to me that it's a role for parents and caregivers, and it starts very early in a child's life.
Ellen, it is taught in literature classes, by discussing the various characters in well written books. And yes, that starts early by the choices of books to be read (which is why the book banning brigade infuriates me). Also, teachers themselves ought to be exemplifying compassion and empathy in how they treat their students. I believe most do, although there are always outliers. Young people learn by example. And educators choose that profession because they generally are compassionate people who care about the welfare of their students.
I agree with everything you said, Carol. Young people also learn by example from their parents. I guess I am thinking about how children learn tolerance and acceptance. How do some people grow up to become virulent racists? They must learn hatred somewhere.
Many places. Churches, groups, workplace environments, social clubs.
I also believe that hardwiring plays a part. There are studies that say that self-identified liberal people utilize the frontal cortex when making complex decisions, while self-identified conservative people utilize the midbrain. Both areas of the brain are necessary for survival, and as humans we could not exist without both of them.
You are absolutely right that those qualities - behaviors if you will - should be taught by parents and caregivers and should start early. A teacher is a caregiver. As both a teacher and school principal I often had to show empathy when a child's sister was killed for example. Or a pet died or was lost. Or even the loss of homework. Body language as well as the spoken word models and thus teaches compassion and empathy. Decency and integrity comes along with.
Schools should exist to instruct in the basics and stay out of lifestyle issues. There, fixed it.
Probably for good reason, public education best stick to civics, not embroil itself in political bias. Standardized testing has nothing to do with it. Both loyal Magas and radical Dems have all gone through standardized testing. When i was a kid, 65 years or so ago, in calm Canada, religious ie Christian prayers were just taken for granted, and the maps of the British Empire were patriotically pulled down for all of us to see. No oath of allegiance, but certainly the God Save our Gracious Queen. I believe the Lord's Prayer was played across the school speakers each morning. Standardized testing galone. Yet somehow before the end of schooling my allegiance to my Baptist upbringing was dissolving, i became a kind of pro science teenager, disparaged the usual political speech making.... when i was nine I happily drew nuclear mushroom clouds inside my school books, by the time i was 16 or so had read Nevil Shute's On the Beach, what a stoner that was! Also, kids who went into universities to learn science, history etc what a shock to their school days patriotic general education, depending of course, what they signed up for. I came out a secular, non-believing, somewhat naive I admit proponent of all the good science would bring! lol
I agree with all that you say, Frank. Also, my age and upbringing are similar to yours, and I, too, read On the Beach in (I think) tenth grade -- it had a huge impact on my thinking. I drifted from the Catholic church about the same time and left religion completely while still in my teens. My wife likes to say of me that I "take the scientific view" of life's questions.
I was a Plant Science major (BS) in college -- 3 semesters of chem; classes in soil science, botany, genetics, physiology, pathology, entomology, even weed science (yup, that's what it was called, but it was really about weeds) etc.
Science teaches one to think empirically, and that benefited me as an adult.
Like all you say here, Frank.
Except yours that "Standardized testing has nothing to do with it."
Please read Sarah Smarsh's most recent collection of essays "Bone of the Bone." Makes the apt point of how our fellow libs totally lost touch with the tens of millions hurt by the systematic offshoring of working-class jobs. The standardized testing brought in totally new conceits, along with killing off school humanities.
For more on the latter: Diane Ravitch, "The Language Police."
Thanks, Phil . Can't get into the weeds on standardized testing, all I said was regardless of ST, the many flavours of outlooks including here percolated to the surface. I have heard criticisms of excessive streaming on account of ST.
On the Beach had a huge impact on me as well, which I also read around the time I was in high school. I still shudder to think of it!
Hit the bull’s eye, Phil. The Rethuglicans knew exactly what they were doing when they took over the school boards.
Phil, Please do not oversimplify and blame “schools” for something that was done by one man and his co-conspirators on Jan 6. The majority of Americans have received excellent elementary, secondary, and postgrad training or education along with parental socialization that has enabled us to sort out right from wrong
Actually, Bonnie, the assault on public education goes as far back as Reagan. Read “After the Ivory Towers Fall” by Will Bunch/
Wasn't just one man, Bonnie.
Unless you count Louis Powell, who wrote that 1971 essay putting in motion all the worst of an organized, super-well funded coalition of far-right foundations and lobbyists.
Right, Phil. I didn’t say it was one man. Rather, I said it was one man and his co-conspirators. I assume HCR readers know who his “co-conspirators” were.
Phil, you grabbed top comment slot today, and I haven't even begun to scroll down to see what others think of your post, but when you blame all the problems in the US to the schools, it's almost like Trump/Vance blaming every ill in this nation on Immigrants.
Having 2 daughters and 3 nieces employed as teachers, I am gritting my teeth as I type this. I am SO TIRED of teachers having to deal with your type of opinion. I have listened to all the "teachers work 6 hour days for 9 months a year and get paid too much" for a number of years. Then came COVID and teachers were blamed for students learning remotely and the consequential drops in learning. You try teaching kids who barely pay attention IN A CLASSROOM setting, and have them tune in to watch over Mom's smartphone in a rural McDonalds where they might be able to pick up cell service!
Teachers are either so undervalued that any random parent can homeschool better than a college educated and certified teacher---or in FL, because you or your spouse was in the military, somehow THAT is sufficient training to be an educator. Then tomorrow, you will be blamed for being a mastermind evil being that is trying to indoctrinate you to be trans, gay or identify as an animal. All the while, you have irate parents harass you for their child's failure after the report cards come out--even though you have repeatedly contacted the parent by phone, mail, email (and yes, finally by tagging their social media as a last resort) and ignored. With one eye always looking towards the hallways for a child totting their parents AK-47, and making sure you don't miss any signs of abuse which you legally must report or be held accountable. But not be too sympathetic to any child, even the bullied ones, because you could be accused of sexual misconduct.
Oh, and btw---in many, many areas teachers are paid well, especially in wealthy suburban areas, but if you teach in a more rural area--let's hope that the WalMart has a shift you can squeeze in so you make enough money to support your own family, and pay for the all the supplies your school district can't fund, AND keep snacks on your desk for children who are hungry. Because, you know, hungry kids don't learn well and tax payers can't be expected to FEED students, too!!
How about YOU go volunteer at your local school? I DID it for many years before my kids decided to become teachers. I guess they noticed how much I valued education and those who taught them, so they thought it was a good gig.
I'm done. But I suggest all of the readers who enthusiastically agree with Phil either run for school board (I didn't even touch of what teachers have to deal with, with school boards) or volunteer at the schools. See far you get and how long you last.
I had to go back and edit the above. Now add to all of the above issues, AI. Phil, you want the teachers to teach critical thinking, and they have kids cheating using AI and internet. Try and pry those phones out of their hands, and they will get their parents riled up and at the school board meeting screaming about rights and that their kids NEED those phones in case of an active shooter. And if you do try to pry a phone away, hopefully it won't be from a kid like the teen boy that shoved his phone between his ass and the chair and dared my daughter to "go ahead and grab it." YUP, that happened. She instead sent him to the dean (who would do nothing) so not only did that kid learn nothing that day, neither did anyone else in that classroom.
There is no doubt that it is way more than the guys atop the R ticket. As in the classic tale, one must look behind the curtains to see who is running the show. Propaganda is a powerful tool. I expect that the schools could do better; however, I don't agree that changing curricula is a magic fix. Young people learn how to behave and how to be "successful" by watching adult behaviour, especially when they are out of school and faced with the prospects of making their own living. What they see in runaway capitalism with unregulated accumulation of wealth (and influence) by those who see only that as a holy grail is not very pretty IMO.
Ah Phil, when in doubt play the ‘it’s the schools card’!
Not 1970 anymore! A secondary student is in class approximately 225 minutes a day!! The distorted us of the internet by the greedy social media companies expose that same student to nearly 24/7 memes and propaganda!
Where’s the parents in your ‘it’s the schools’ folly? Recent mass shooting, parent bought the gun for their teen!
Not the schools Phil!
Curious a dot is your icon???
Please see my reply to Phil which is posted a bit above your comment.
Phil, I see that lots of people "like" your comment, but I think it's myopic and over-simplifies the source of the issues that plague the U.S. It's a bit lazy to scapegoat "the schools" without specifying which schools. I don't disagree that education, in general, is not working for our students and ultimately for our nation, but your comment is much like a doctor blaming her patient for being sick without investigating what caused the illness.
So ... which schools aren't serving us well? Why? What caused those schools to fail us? And would you agree that education – or lack thereof – isn't the only factor that has contributed to a lack of discernment in a large portion of the U.S. population? What about religion, for instance?
dale, I don't want to copy/paste, so please see my reply to Phil that ended up a few above yours.
And yet we have new funding for more charter schools, from our federal tax dollars, with no accountability or standards. At least in Colorado
Jen, it has been proven there are many different learning styles. Why not embrace schools that may not follow the typical memorize and regurgitate system.? Charter schools in MA did a lot of group learning. What a wonderful way to promote the exchange of ideas, working within a group to solve problems and arrive at a solution, while simultaneously learning to deal with different personalities. A scenario they will often need in a work environment after graduation. Our ultimate goal should be for all children is to learn and thrive and grow into good citizens. If charter schools offer a path to success for many, why not? Many of the most successful minds in the US today did not follow the traditional public education path. As our country quickly falls behind the rest of the world in education isn’t it time to think outside of the box in our approach?
It’s not just the public schools (though I dare say they contribute) but it’s the g-dammed television that got us into this mess! If tRump hadn’t done tv for years, people would have little knowledge of who he is (or purports to be), he’d have less brand recognition and not be popular. Maybe poor public education helped that rise, people can’t see beyond the stars in their eyes, but Hollywood has a hand in creating and perpetrating this orange buffoon.
We need a quick fix with a chance to revamp the source of the problem. Times a wasting..
It's been an historic day in America. Even Fox News reported that Trump "resorted to crime in a bid to cling to power".. .
https://badchoicesmakegoodstories.substack.com/p/fox-news-says-former-president-trump
My take on all this...
Trump is saying over and over that he wants to be POTUS again.
And the answer from the American people should be "So what?" ... as they vote in overwhelming numbers for Kamala Harris.
I think we're going to have a blow-out election... but only if we all do everything we can to make that happen! I'm going to participate in the Women of Trek for Kamala" event tonight. (Yes, men are permitted to attend.)
https://womenofstartrek.com/
If Fox switches sides then maybe….it might all ride on how the current trust dispute betwixt the Murdochs is decided 🙃!
All Vance had to do to 'win' was to look like Yalie author of a thousand book tours rather than Trump's MiniMe yap dog. And he nailed it. Crown Prince of Peter Thiel's dystopian Camelot.
Unforced moderator errors - not cutting off Vance's mike immediately on the 'fact check.' Also, they ought to have introduced the debate with a précis of the veep role - to derail specious assertions about '3.5 year Harris administration.'
Unforced Walz error - not just saying he'd visited Tiananmen in the immediate aftermath.
Despite appearances, Walz had many excellent minutes. And won on substance and sincerity. Some critics are asking too much when they complain that it was Walz's responsibility to 'de-normalize' the Vance iteration of MAGA. It was Walz's job to speak for the Harris Walz ticket - and he did. In detail.
MAGA is the new 'normal' of the Republican party. It is on all of us to build a new normal which marginalizes MAGA. One postcard, text, phone call, door knock at a time until Nov. One vote at a time - on Day 1 of your state.
Thanks for raising the issue of the “Harris administration.” She is not (yet) the president, and constant references to her “administration” are clearly intended to place full responsibility on things she can’t/didn’t control.
I cringed every time JD said “her administration.” She is NOT the president! That comment should have been called out each and every time it was made. By the moderators and Walz. Civics class…JD, or did you miss that one, eh?
I read critics praising the mods for cutting off Vance's mic when, in fact, they let him spew more lies for almost a minute then cut off both mics when Walz attempted to set the record straight.
You are right about substance and sincerity. Walz could have used his Tiananamen misspeak to say he so passionately opposes autocratic governments like Communism and Fascism that as a young man he over identified with the martyrs with their statue of liberty model., Yet that was long ago and although his rhetoric was careless, and he apologizes for it, he unlike JD does not like dictators and has not praised Orban’s tactics, nor those of Franco or Pinochet as his opponent has.
Slick evidently didn’t study Faust. What dark role is Thiel’s in this rendition?
At least Usha taught him to pronounce Kamala.
Since we didn’t have the responsibilities of a VP laid out prior, I wish Walz had schooled Vance in them when he made his silly attributions of every move and responsibility as hers. But Walz did a creditable and credible debate. All and all, he’s a patriotic cornball, as am I We will sleep well again with him supporting Harris in WH. If the unthinkable happens: we will have Project 2025 champion Slick Vance as potus by spring.
As Don Winslow so aptly states
"And yet sitting members of Congress who participated in the whole thing, remain seated and un-prosecuted."
So much of this is so errily similar to the 1930s and 40s as documented in Prequel and ULTRA by Rachel Maddow.
Never forget that this was all made possible by a complicit Republican legislature.
I have no ability to select “like”. Did my subscription run out?
And this comment “…"And yet sitting members of Congress who participated in the whole thing, remain seated and un-prosecuted." sums up a huge moral failure on the part of
the GOP and the judiciary of our country.
Exactly
Trump lacks any redeeming qualities. He sees others as pawns to be manipulated to serve his needs. He has no conscience, no empathy, no ability to love anyone but himself. He is so deeply flawed that people around him need to attempt to normalize him in an effort to be able to accept that which is so abhorrent.
His “followers” hear only the “siren’s song” when he speaks.
Trump’s loyalists think that he will be loyal to them. A falsehood.
"To have total power is to have power over truth and fact and history and to reach for it over dreams and thoughts and emotions." - Rebecca Solnit, Orwell's Roses, p. 226, where she continues by quoting Orwell:
"From the totalitarian point of view history is something to be created rather than learned. A totalitarian state is an effect a theocracy and its ruling caste, in order to keep its position, has to be thought of as infallible. But since, in practice, no one is infallible, it is frequently necessary to rearrange past events in order to show that this or that mistake was not made, or that this or that imaginary triumph actually happened. ... Totalitarianism demands, in fact, the continuous alteration of the past, and in the long run probably demands a disbelief in the very existence of objective truth."
Solnit then points out that "[this] is significantly a language problem at a storytelling problem that can be fought to some extent with language -- with the language of history that is not manipulable by the regime, independent journalism uncovering the current situation, logic and scientific method demanding a basis for statements, and the language of ideas that invite people to find their own concepts and principles and to look at the world critically, with the commitment to honor the contracts that words make. With the language of love and fellowship that builds back relationships and drives away loneliness. With the poetry that captures nuance of experience and unexpected alignments. All these things require either the freedom to do them safely or the courage to do them when they are dangerous."
Thank you, Heather, for being part of the solution to MAGA totalitarianism.
I just finished reading 'Orwell's Roses' last month. It's such an outstanding book, masterfully written and researched. Rebecca Solnit is really an amazing writer and essayist, as is Heather Cox Richardson, and so was George Orwell himself...
The Republican Party has veered so far to the right that they have been subsumed and supplanted by Trump and the MAGAmaniacs. Not counting votes or manipulating the results to get the outcome a petulant tyrant or Project 2025 authoritarians want is much like the Party of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four':
"the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense"...
Thanks so much for pulling that wonderful wisdom from Solnit. I am in awe of her insight and nearly unmatched ability to weave these essays. There is a crucial connection between this comment and that in education started by Phil Balla, infra. Will there be enough people engaging with the alternative stories to save the human race, especially as AI is further unleashed. (I highly recommend Richard Power’s new “Playground” contribution as one of these alternative stories …and warnings).)
Love Rebecca Solnit--and have done from her essay "Men Explain Things to Me" . . . And she is a huge fan of HCR as well.
Yesterday, I started Solnit’s “Orwell’s Roses,” and find it, as you have, so powerfully relevant to this moment in our presidential election. What a note able coincidence that you quote her here today and fun that other Solnit admirers are chiming in. For those of you who have yet to read “Orwell’s Roses,” you have something to look forward to!
Both DT and JDV are very scary people who will stop at nothing to gain the White House. Wonder about the polling. Here are former Republican campaigners who have switched to supporting the Harris-Walz ticket. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/so-much-rage?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=87281&post_id=149718409&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack%2Cwatch-video&r=f0qfn&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
So, they feel that the debate will be forgotten, have lots of criticism of it, and say what needs to happen going forward. My daughter and I vote from abroad, and got, filled out and mailed our ballots. We are team Harris-Walz all the way.
None of this would be happening now had more people done what they were supposed to do. Jack Smith would not have had to clarify what is "Official" and what is not if the so-called SCOTUS had had done the right thing and treated the criminal defendant correctly and not been partisan. Same goes for the GOP had they voted correctly knowing he had committed crimes untenable of the Oval office and full impeachment would have kept him out of any further elections. Bad people have been doing bad things to protect him for a long time now.
The fix has been in by the GOP and they're going to try it again in 33 days. We MUST Stop Them!
“…by whatever means necessary…” Malcolm X
Politicians are like worms; they have no backbone. The quest for power is so great that they slither onto whatever meal ticket keeps them in the office of power.
Jamie Raskin? Sheldon Whitehouse? And quite a few others......
You reminded me of the punishment for crooked financiers who crashed the economy in the early 19th century. They put them into a bag of snakes and threw them overboard.
No, really? If Mt. T were put into a rather large bag of snakes and dropped overboard, the snakes and he would soon be collaborating on an underwater motel.
That was a Roman form of execution for traitors. It was LONG gone by the 19th Century.
“Many politicians are like worms…”. Fixed it for ya
The opening scenes of this PBS Frontline special are almost, in themselves, enough to expose the aberrant threat and deceitful strategy behind Trump’s lie about the stolen election. First, they contrast Trump starkly with every candidate prior conceding their loss in the election and pledging to stand behind their opponent, the new president-elect chosen by the people. They then survey Trump’s strategy of denying the validity of election and selection results. All within the first 5-7 min, clips of these two related issues should be turned into campaign ads, social media posts, and more. Well worth the watch.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/lies-politics-and-democracy/
I agree. The documentary shows how Trump became a liar who will never admit defeat.
Read “Lucky Loser.” He was a terrorist even as a toddler. No one ever stopped him. We see the result.
A woman reading my substack has repeatedly written me in BLOCK LETTERS that I am unfairly hard on Trump. My basic assumption, as I told her, is that his actions in trying to overthrow the USG and the will of the people disqualified him for office, much less the presidency. I don’t understand why the Colorado case to remove him from the ballot went as it did. I see no indication he cares a whit about the country nor do those trying to put him forward so they can pursue Project 2025. I want someone who does something other than lie.
Cynthia - did nobody ever explain to you that writing things in block letters makes them more TRUE!!! Personally, I send all my explanations in block letters. "THE CHECK IS IN THE POST! MY GRANDMOTHER HAS DIED! YES I KNOW, IT IS THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR!"etc.etc.
Silly me.
Lol, Lady.
Excuse me, Gloria. If you REALLY meant that, it would be "LOL!!!"
Remember it was Republicans that brought the case to keep Trump off the ballot in Colorado
But of course that is true. Thanks.
"Yesterday was yet another reminder that the Republican ticket is a hideous and embarrassing blight on the American experiment and the American character."
These all-too-true words appear in the last paragraph of Noah Berlatsky's Public Notice post for which Dr. Richardson provides a link above. I'd urge other HCR fans to click on it. It appears that the moral degradation which Agent Orange represents is now accompanied by an equivalent mental deterioration. With 35 days to go, I wonder if the MSM is ever going to latch on to this critically important process. The reporters are starting to ask questions that make DJT's mental issues more evident. They're not stupid. But their reports are not being turned into the major story they should be. It can't just be money. Is it a kind of cognitive dissonance in MSM management?
I read recently that LFAA has a circulation that is approaching that of WaPo (can't remember the source, or I'd cite it). If that is the case, WaPo may become, like NYT, regarded as a source for puzzles, games, recipes, "lifestyle" features, and the occasional interesting column, and not as a reliable national NEWS paper. And that is a loss for us all. Dr. Richardson's excellent essays enrich us all, by putting current events into a historical context (like today), but they're not news.
I believe it was Rebecca Solnit in the Guardian about 2 weeks ago who reported the magnitude of readers of Letters From an American. I couldn’t successfully search for it on my phone or I’d link it for you. Robert Hubbell linked to it at the time also.
LFAA?
It opens up old wounds and revives indignation to read this summary of that period/those days and weeks while these lies and ploys played out. Hindsight…and a clearer picture of the outright premeditation and malicious motives…only adds to the psychological dissonance. It is so scary to think we are going to have to go through version 2.0 in just over as month. I know there is still time to work to make the results so clear that it will be harder for Trump’s cronies and followers to mount a tenable counter attack but it feels like the country (and the world) is/are heading into a post-election reckoning if an existential magnitude. Thanks again Heather for tying the history to the present and motivating us to fight harder for the future.
You are writing history. Thank you. Our children, grandchildren and generations thereafter will have the best recording of the truth. You are quite special.
Post truth anything is scary as hell for everyone on this planet. Combine this with the ravages of long denied climate change and potential shenanigans of AI and were all smack in the middle of dark times. Yesterday and the day before my choice was no tv news at all. I could tell my dog found it strange. I still hope and pray the Harris/Walz ticket is a winner. And I’ve done what I can do to make a difference. Let decency and democracy prevail in our dear country.
I just want to see him swinging by his ankles from a gas station sign.
I'd rather see both of them ridiculed to death publicly. Or maybe a solitary cell, obviously padded. Maybe with physical writing materials but definitely no cell phone. Any other suggestions anyone?
Both together in one small, unpadded cell. No cell phone.
No ability to talk to the public—only each other.
Hum… how about tar and feathering and a head shave? That autta do it.
Head shave! Head shave! Face soaped clean!
A march of “shame, shame, shame” accompanied by the ringing of bells a la Game of Thrones? But please god not naked there isn’t enough brain bleach in the world for that.
TCinLA, seeing him swinging by his ankles from a gas station sign would be a cherished memory for the rest of my life!
Tarred and feathered, made to walk down the center of 5th avenue from one end to the other barefoot in the dead of winter
You blocked me from liking you? Wow no kidding.
Sometimes the like button gets blocked up. It's happened to me several times.
There is a glitch in Substack - the 'like' buttons don't work for me on any Substack!
Me, either.