I am profoundly appreciative of your work Professor Richardson – thank you.
It’s all coming into view this week isn’t it – the fascist playbook? Polls so close that no matter whether Harris wins by a small or large margin the GOP will cry foul ; local election boards that are corrupted ; a whole range of legal teams the GOP has lined up t…
I am profoundly appreciative of your work Professor Richardson – thank you.
It’s all coming into view this week isn’t it – the fascist playbook? Polls so close that no matter whether Harris wins by a small or large margin the GOP will cry foul ; local election boards that are corrupted ; a whole range of legal teams the GOP has lined up to challenge the election’s legality ; a stacked Supreme Court ; threats of violence against election officials ; the odious Elon Musk putting his thumb heavily on the scale ; the collusion with Putin and the compromising of our national security as Trump and Musk connive with a murderous dictator ; the desire of that same dictator for revenge, which is nothing less than the destruction of the US.
What will the US do without access to health care for women ? What will it do once the Right imposes its perverse view of history and education on our schools and universities, when the Florida model of repression goes national ? What will families do with no social security ? What misery will be visited on them when tarifs cause untold stress on already tight household budgets ? What environmental damage will come from a know-nothing attitude towards climate change, and the gutting if not outright elimination of NOAA and the early warning system for hurricanes ?
What will happen if they succeed in building their camps, and deport millions ? How will they try to hide the likely humanitarian catastrophe that will ensue ? What will happen to basic rights when police departments are further militarized and given a green light to arbitrarily treat citizens as they please ? What will happen as a lawless president pardons January 6th rioters ? Will he also pardon militia members who intimidate or even shoot peaceful protesters ? How long will people endure armed repression coupled with economic misery, before they themselves organize against it ?
What will the economy look like as the US exits NATO and leaves Europe to Putin ? What will happen to the US as the EU, an entity that helps sustain a robust US economy, is plunged into war as Putin gobbles up the Ukraine, the Baltics, and makes a play for Poland ? What will the nuclear powers of France and Britain do as remaining fellow NATO members are invaded ?
But the most important questions I have are more philosophical and humanistic : How can so many well-educated people be so cruel and reckless as to entrust these monsters – a Trump, a Musk, and at this late date, a Putin – with their futures ? How can the historic memory of Boomers be so short and insouciant as to forget the lessons of the 1930s and 1940s ? How can people be filled with such blind hate that they will die on the hill of a Trump, rather than on the hill that will expand rights, economic opportunity, and keep the planet livable ?
If you think this is hyperventilating, that is merely because I have taught about this sort of thing my entire life. Authoritarians will lie about everything – their racism, their sexism are based on lies, their patriotism and their piety utterly false. But the cruelty they tell you they intend to inflict ? That is almost always the only truth they tell.
Steve, you stated the case for voting for democracy very well. Even if democracy wins this election, the autocrats will still be there. We can only hope that after democracy wins, enough people will understand how important democracy is. Hatred will always be around but we must learn how to make people understand differences.
I found a website for [ H. RES. 1386 ] that puts our name on a petition to Mike Johnson to stand against the dangerous agenda regarding the policies of Project 2025.
I forgot about H.RES.1386 from some August notes within an older Jessica's CHOP WOOD, CARRY WATER Substack - and I put my name on the petition - if you want, here's the link:
Johnson is a fascist. Fascists don’t give a damn about petitions nor any other form of advice from the people about what’s best for the country. The only hope is to outvote them, make it stick, make laws that curtail their operations (especially voter suppression and violations of civil rights), and vigorously enforce those laws. We can remove these fascists from power, but it will take a lot of persistent effort for a long time.
Johnson isn't a mere fascist, he's a Christofascist. I won't add my name to any petition for two reasons:
- It's a waste of time. Members of Congress only listen to their constituents and even then not always. It was beyond disheartening to see 85 boxes of petitions addressed to Speaker Paul Ryan with hundreds of thousands of signatures be rejected by his office; imagine the effort, the paper, the shipping costs to get those petitions to DC only to have them summarily dismissed.
- If Trump is elected and Project 2025 is implemented, I don't want to give them a reason to send me to the hooscow. Yes, that's extreme but we can't fool ourselves into believing that all will be normal, that maximum caution isn't required.
Christofascist, very apt phrase to describe Johnson, and hardly just him. Extremist Evangelicals are the driving centre of those praying endlessly for the Lord to end "secular tyranny", agents of Satan, in the USA. They have been dreaming of this for years now. The downfall of RvW has simply spurred them on, and an appetite for more to come is much of their minds.
I am a Catholic Christian, and don’t find anything remotely Christian about them. They simply want to misuse Jesus’s name as an excuse for a power grab.
The 1943 description of the fascism we were fighting is a perfect description of Trump and his MAGA followers. I don't know why that is so hard for so many Americans to understand!
And some of them don't believe it -- they consider everything they hear from non-Trump sources to be lies, and they've have been told that it's Biden and Dems who are the fascists. That's what we're up against. I have MAGA family members. They believe Trump is being persecuted, that there has been a 'plot' against him all along. It's just heartbreaking.
According to polls, Andy. Most normal people do not answer phone calls or texts from people they don’t know. Years ago I answered a poll which turned out to be a money making scam. So the result is polls of 1000 people or less extrapolate for what millions believe. The media used to say how many were polled and they don’t anymore.
And consider the questions— do you think the country is going in the wrong direction? Hell yes, I would answer because a degenerate crazy former president is running to be re- elected and has the Supreme Court supporting him. 🎃🤡💩🤮🤬💔
I’m reading Dr Fauci’s book ON CALL. start with the recent part first. The swill from tfg’s fascist mouth makes us forget facts—4,000 people a day were dying from COVID when Biden took office. When MAGats say what has Biden done for me, there it is. Donnie mismanaged it and didn’t care. Made masks political.
Andy, it does seem that you are right. Both of my parents participated in WW2 and I grew up hearing all about it. Now, in 2024, WW2 is ancient history to a majority of Americans who have thought very little about it.
As Sinclair Lewis put it: "It Can't Happen Here." I read that after the 2016 election and it seemed beyond imagining. But it seems a bit more prescient now that we have actual Nazis clawing at the doors of the federal government.
It’s hard for many Americans to understand, David Clark, because they can’t get past their top political priority, which is electing people to office who promise to preserve the systemic advantages of white Americans.
Too many of them do not know — they are the ones fooled by the claims of “communism” and the fear mongering. It’s so hard to get the clarity out there thaat is needed.
It's quite fashionable among democrats right now to compare Trump to Hitler (always a last-ditch, losing argument in any political discussion) and inaccurately call him a Fascist. The true definition of Fascism is government control of private business, in other words, public-private partnership. Democrats calling Trump Fascist is projection. The democrats are the ones who have partnered up with big business and the war machine to censor Americans, in direct violation of their constitutional rights to free speech, and in contradiction to their traditional values. Our founding fathers told us that free speech was the cornerstone of democracy and the Democratic party is the one trying to eliminate it. This is how all dictatorships begin.
I've voted Democrat all my life, but the Dems have changed for the worse and I will not support them again until they change back.
David, you're confused about the difference between Republican fascism and the soft "socialism" of the Democrats ("socialism" like organized and regulated mail delivery, the military in all forms, transportation and road repair, social security created by the life-long input of hundreds of thousands of working people who couldn't afford retirement funds). You've sipped too much of their "free" Koolaide. Government oversight (soft socialism) came into play under Roosevelt to try to create protected space for people working for a living on farms, in hospitals, etc. Protection from the rapaciousness and gluttony of the wealthy. Personally, I believe very wealthy people who insist on piling up more wealth are mentally ill. Is there nothing more important in life than the Almighty Dollar? The Dems are trying to maintain that protection, which has definitely been eroded by the millionaire+ interests who are pretty much insane, IMHO. And very dangerous to the rest of us whom they regard as their prey and fodder from whom to wrest their exorbitant profits.
Yes, they used to try to do that. But in the past several years they have enabled the rapacious gluttony of the Bill Gates', Blackrocks and Pfizer's of the world by labeling anything remotely critical of their big pharma, big Ag, big military agenda as 'misinformation' and proceeding to force social media to eliminate the voices of those who are bold enough to call out the truth and campaign against those wealthy interests you're talking about. That's not democratic, or socially democratic. It's blatant dictatorship. I'm for social democracy, under the protection of our constitution. The dems have left the constitution behind in the dust. It's now the Republicans who are our best hope of fighting against Oligarchy, mostly because they've welcomed Robert F. Kennedy into their fold.
Fascism is a FAR-RIGHT, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism, fascism is placed on the far right-wing within the traditional left–right spectrum. (h/t Wikipedia).
It's not the Democrats who have written a 900-page document that details how they will turn the US into an autocracy that will destroy the public education system and replace it with schools that will look more and more like the dreaded madrasas, disable the federal agencies that protect the public from bad medicines, bad food, bad investments, that will dismantle NOAA, defund FEMA, and, ultimately, ban all abortions, no exceptions. Even just a summary of their game plan should be enough to make you understand how dangerous would be a Trump second term. Which is to say that not voting or voting third party is a vote for Trump and the implementation this evil scheme.
MisTBlu, thanks for your considered opinion. I grew up on just such thinking but have changed my mind.
I don't believe any more that the federal agencies are protecting us, nor that they're even trying. They are captured by Big Industry and the Military Industrial Complex, which in turn are owned by uber-wealthy families who have been jockeying to control world politics and carry out their eugenicist ideology for several generations. I don't trust the NY Times, given it's history in promoting propaganda supporting the agenda of these elites.
The other news organizations are by and large as corrupt as the times, being owned by the same people that own Big Industry. Are you hearing about all these dire eventualities from the legacy media? Each side vilifies and distorts the intentions of the other. The Dems lie as often and as egregiously as the Republicans.
If the dems cared at all about any of this they would have welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr with open arms. He has the will and the knowledge to stop the out-of-control corporate capture that has obliterated our democracy. But instead, they have coerced social media to censor Kennedy and anybody else who offers discussion that throws doubt on this agenda. Their behavior is unconstitutional. They deserve to lose for this alone. They are captured as well.
Project 2025 seems pretty benign to me - not exactly everything I'd like to see, but certainly not disastrous. The devil is quite possibly in the details. But the first priority is to reclaim the free-speech that the dems, etc. have tried to take away, and spread the knowledge of how our government has turned into the political arm of international corporate power. Without free speech, you wouldn't even be able to criticize Project 2025 without having your bank account shut down. They could say you were spreading misinformation. Is that the country you want to live in?
I stand with Robert F. Kennedy because he has immense personal integrity and clear, workable ideas for making these changes. Trump has enlisted Kennedy to do these things and Kennedy trusts Trump. I never thought I'd be here, but here I am.
Nope. No such thing as paranoid-schizophrenic. They are 2 sides of polar opposite continuums of extremist tendencies. @Pol Pot executed anyone wearing eyeglasses.
Slow down a little. Consider reading Mein Kamph (The Struggle-1925) in the original 557 pages. -a hard difficult read with poor prose and lots of wandering but the purpose was to overthrow the German Republic. Hitler's fascist policies aimed to take over all forms of industry & commerce while promoting nationalism allowing no dissent .On this platform Hitler embraced racism to pit groups against each other. We know that led to: WW11.
Now think about the Republican Party embracing Project 2025 (Heritage Foundation). The end of American Democracy as we know it?
The first thing any aspiring dictator does, is to control the media and limit the ability of the opposition to express their views. I see the Democrats doing this, not the Republicans. The same entities who have taken over the democratic party in our country have already taken over all forms of industry & commerce. It's been happening for decades already.
"Oh please . . .?" That's the best you can do, Steve? Are you feeling uncomfortable about your indulgence of this rotten system with which we live that profits some at the expense of most others?
It is true 1984 was written contra to socialism. It can happen on either extreme of the political spectrum. There's no such thing as a paranoid/schizophrenic, only a continuum of paranoia-schizophrenia. People here forget that.
I suspect there is a significant anti-abortion Catholic constituency, to wit Amy Coney Barrett. Much of Christianity has moved into a more liberal outlook. But just read the original fanaticism of the New Testament, this is what Evangelicals, Baptists draw their basic inspiration from. A world ruled by Satan, all the other religions are ruled by demons or make believe, ONLY the good followers of Jesus have it right, and the true followers are assaulted from within by heretics, and the Second Coming of Jesus and judgement are right on the horizon. Liberally minded Christians tone all this down, often treating the virgin birth for example as purely legendary in nature. Most seminaries, except for the fundamentalists, pretty much have taught it this way for some time now.
Frank, I don't know to what seminaries you are referring when you use that too often used word, "most." Speaking as one who has graduated from one such seminary, the word "some" would be far more accurate. The seminary I attended and many more whose students I discuss this stuff with, taught people to read the words of the New Testament critically, and in historical context---not just because they are more "liberally minded." It's critical examination and study--not just "liberalism." The Roman Catholic Church would have followers believe its edicts are equal to scripture as part of its tradition. The Virgin Birth isn't just legendary. The idea performs a serious function in the theology of the Church and so has power of its own.
In Canada denominations such as the United Church, the largest Protestant, are considered liberal in nature, downplaying and/or denying the the miraculous in the NT. I've met more than one church member who literally disbelieve in things such as the virgin birth, treating it as purely legendary, an education head in a local church in the early 90s who treated it in the same way. Better, here's Wiki on the topic of liberal Christianity in general. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Liberal_Christianity
My source for "most" would be Bart Ehrman, he's put things that way for a couple generations now, his Introduction to the New Testament is based on a textbook in use at Chapel Hill, NC theology dept for about a quarter century now. If you think he's wrong, without stats and research I won't argue the point. I believe the Atlantic School of Theology in Nova Scotia, Canada takes this approach, studying the Bible using "critical" methods, putting theology in a historical context, but also leaving various denominations a place for their own interpretations. Thanks for the notes on how the RCC still deals with the story of virgin birth and her divine status in the Catholic tradition.
Catholics (including, I’m sure, you, Kathy Hughes) are, on the average, far better Christians than white evangelicals. Ironically, however, even the average Catholic falls shorter of living up to Christian ideals than the average atheist.
Yes, and he smirks all the time. He was just here in Oregon to campaign for the local R in House District 5 who has an excellent opponent. Then he went across the Columbia to fundraise and campaign for angry Joe Kent, who is fascist to the core, and trying to unseat the incumbent D female who is an auto mechanic and hardly far left.
This is long. It is the editorial in today's edition of the Orland Sentinel. Christofascism is alive, well and flourishing in America.
ORLANDO SENTINEL EDITORIAL
How would Jesus vote?
Today, the weight of the pending election is on the minds of many across Central Florida— including those who are sitting in church pews or temples, listening to faith leaders exhorting them (subtly or not so much) to cast their ballots one way or another.
In a perfect — or even functional — society, that sermonizing would prompt an examination of how candidates’ conduct and viewpoints align with the core tenets of each voter’s faith. But for a growing number of Americans, this guidance will offer comfort and support that it’s OK to vote for people whose morals might appear questionable to the unenlightened. That it’s a bad idea to question leaders who exploit their voter-given power to marginalize and scapegoat groups of people as general threats to their own existence, and to paint those who disagree as villainous liars.
That it’s acceptable to ignore some of the great principles espoused by the world’s religious traditions: To comfort the afflicted, to welcome the stranger, to seek justice, to revere the truth. This is Christian nationalism at work — in Florida, and across the nation. And there is very little that is Christlike about it. Rather, this is the cancer our forefathers sought to prevent when they created the fundamental firewalls between government and religion — the walls that many of today’s leaders are seeking to tear down.
Know them by their works
Not many politicians openly proclaim themselves to be Christian nationalists, but they aren’t hard to spot. Gov. Ron DeSantis is a prime example. He often explains his actions (particularly those that misappropriate funding, incorporate dishonesty or gather power to himself that outstrips the boundaries of his role) by lashing out at some group that has “forced” him into extraordinary action. Consider his recent veto of the state’s entire cultural arts 10/27/24, 1:01 PM Orlando Sentinel https://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=7f2e94da-42a6-42b3-91be-f4782530a2d0&edid=1046e43e-d6… 1/5 grant program — a move that saved taxpayers a relatively paltry $32 million, but one that has devastated community arts programs including small theaters, visual-arts spaces and music programs. These programs brought joy to many and did no harm; some of them will not survive the loss of funding they depended on.
Magnifying his cruelty, DeSantis and like-minded people have repeatedly lied about asylum seekers, branding them as “illegals” who want to sell fentanyl to high-schoolers, rape housewives and steal jobs from deserving Americans. The only presidential debate this year featured the same callous dishonesty, when former president Donald Trump slandered Haitian immigrants as pet abducting dog-eaters. The president and his debate-prep team almost certainly knew they were repeating social-media rumors that had already been proven false. In each of these cases, what side do you think Jesus would have taken? Or Solomon, Mohammed, Buddha? If you need a reference, check out Leviticus 19:34: The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
The truly sad thing is that, even as we write this, we can think of so many other examples where DeSantis, Trump or legislative candidates demonized vulnerable people, usually as a distraction to draw voters’ attention away from their own failures to fix property insurance, repair crumbling infrastructure and help Florida’s increasingly desperate working class. Here’s just one more: The infamous 2023 hearing of the state House Education Committee, where Rep. Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, listened to transgender adults and youth plead for protection against invasion into their intimate lives, then responded: “The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and all of your demons and all of 10/27/24, 1:01 PM Orlando Sentinel https://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=7f2e94da-42a6-42b3-91be-f4782530a2d0&edid=1046e43e-d6… 2/5 your imps will come and parade before us. That’s right — I called you demons and imps.”
Barnaby is on the ballot Nov. 5, facing Rosemarie Latham, a nurse-practitioner who wants to expand health care to low-income workers. May his cruel pride go before a fall. Praying to false gods In a recent edition of the NPR talk show 1A, a panel of experts explored the psychology of Christian nationalism and why so many Americans are seduced into believing that these actions are godly, or even acceptable in a polite society — and how they can revere a creature like Trump, the serial adulterer with a miles-long record of cheating his business partners, exploiting public resources and spewing lies about political rivals.
And that was before he became president. Since then, fact-checking organizations have documented thousands of outright lies — while Trump cozied up to some of the world’s cruelest and most oppressive regimes and stood by while a mob broke into the U.S. Capitol in pursuit of his attempt to steal the 2020 election. None of it seems to matter to the subset of voters who see Trump as their golden idol — capable of no wrong. Others vote for him because they don’t care about the lies, and believe he’ll be better for their bottom line. Even rational Republicans, who are repulsed by his arrogance and greed, fear to speak up against him. How can this be? As described by the panelists, it’s definitely not by accident. In fact, the current Christian nationalist movement appears to be the end game of a “deeply networked organizational infrastructure” that’s been working for years to dismantle critical checks and balances — including the much vaunted separation of church and state, but also reaching to mechanisms intended to keep power distributed and thus, resistant to abuse.
In Florida, DeSantis has emasculated the state Legislature and systematically undermined the independence of the court system. Not to sound too conspiratorial, but it’s all part of the plan. Powerful, ultra-conservative ministers are definitely playing their role, lacing their sermons with partisan themes and using political stunts as fundraising props. Groups like the pro-book-banning Moms for Liberty clutch cloaks of virtue while they work to destabilize Americans’ perception of what is true and acceptable in society. A close look at the books they’ve targeted include many that had no whiff of sexual or sinful content. Instead, these stories worked to build empathy and understanding of people who were from other cultures, or related the historic struggle for human equality and dignity. 10/27/24, 1:01 PM Orlando Sentinel https://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=7f2e94da-42a6-42b3-91be-f4782530a2d0&edid=1046e43e-d6… 3/5 Removing those books, and rejecting other efforts to foster empathy, makes it easier to vilify groups of people who have few defenses. They are the perfect targets — and having enemies is essential in the Christian Nationalist playbook. “One aspect of movement that’s become much more salient in the last decade or so is the idea of spiritual warfare. This idea that God and Satan are really active and directly involved in American political campaigns, and God has chosen to anoint one candidate.
So within this mindset, it’s important to understand they see Trump not so much as a politician. They don’t look at his personal history, but they see him as an anointed one sent from on high,” Katherine Stewart, who recently wrote a book about the movement, told 1A. To question Trump is to question God. That’s the message. It’s so wrong, but so powerful. What voice will you follow? So how do Christians and other people who are sincere in the core tenets of their faith fight back against this co-opting of religion? Many local churches are already doing this work. There are pastors in this community who speak compellingly of Christ’s imperatives toward kindness, respect and humility. Their congregations work to lift up marginalized people, heal the sick, care for those in need. They pray for justice, and for truth. They should do more, remembering that Jesus himself was not content just to preach and hope. He was a fiery voice challenging the power structure — a dangerous voice, in the end, but one that has echoed through millennia.
We’ll close with something the Rev. Jim Wallis, director of the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, who has been rebuking the ultraconservative high-jacking of faith for decades: “Jesus said, you’ll know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Now as I dig into that text in times like this, it tells me that the opposite of truth isn’t just lies, it’s captivity. It’s captivity. And a whole lot of people have become captive to these lies.” As they consider their choices in this election, we urge readers of faith to look past the political alliances that have been forged between the powerful elite of this nation and the Philistines who offer to cloak greed and division in Godly vestments. Look to the core works of your faith: The Torah. The Koran. The Bible. And pray. This nation has never needed it more. 10/27/24, 1:01 PM Orlando Sentinel https://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=7f2e94da-42a6-42b3-91be-f4782530a2d0&edid=1046e43e-d6… 4/5
Years ago, someone in an online discussion group used the term, "christofascist." I was impressed by how perfectly it described members of my family and people I grew up with, so I began using it from then on.
Unlike mainline Protestantism, which focuses on loving God and neighbor, Evangelicalism is animated by fear. Evangelicals awaken every morning, overcome with a thousand different fears: fear of Satan, fear of committing a sin, fear of an angry God, fear of being condemned to hell, fear of criticism by fellow believers, fear of people who do not believe as they do, worship as they do, love as they do and live as they do. In humans, uncontrolled fear is transformed into hate. This makes evangelicals the ideal targets for fascism.
The smarter fascists who direct Trump have used him to attract and dominate evangelicals, bringing them to heel in service to the fascist drive for power and control.
Evangelicals, fearing secularism, eschew public education. Thus, they are unable to think critically, or sort fact from fiction. In fact, they have abetted the campaign to discredit and defund public education in favor of "Christian" and charter schools.
Sinclair Lewis did NOT write "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." But whoever first wrote this aphorism was right.
No, he didn't, but he wrote plenty of things that suggest he would have been OK with it. For instance, from IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE (which I want to reread, but not till after the election): "But he saw too that in America the struggle was befogged by the fact that the worst fascists were they who disowned the word ‘fascism’ and preached enslavement to capitalism under the style of constitutional and traditional Native American liberty."
Yeah! You're right. Glad it's happening in your country, not mine! But at least you're prepared to be the canary in the coal-mine for the rest of the English-speaking world. And Rupert; he's now your problem.
While there will be unhappy losers, I expect something more like the failure of the supposed fear inspiring Nazi Werewolf plans. Seems they chose to slink away and not impale themselves on their swords after losing the war.
Trump followers would be well advised to follow something more like the Werewolf actual lack of actions and get on with the rest of their lives.
Johnson is also a hypocrite hiding his lust for power and control behind his "religious righteousness," MisTBlu. Let's just hope there are enough women who don't want anyone to boss us around to get rid of these theocratic punks.
I completely agree. I stopped adding my name to any political request or poll. Those that do are putting a bullseye on themselves. Win, lose or draw this election is a losing proposition for all involved.
Stated somewhere in the Harry Potter series by Professor Dumbledore. The villain of the series split his soul by murdering, to avoid death, and he did it many times.
So, I assume you're at that age where no one cares what you say, and you're naïve enough to think you're somehow protected from the information and surveillance state that will be wielded by Trump's oncoming regime. I would bet you're either elderly, or infantile??
Wow! I knew that Trump and his cronies-in-crime were up to no good, but as I was reading Heather's letter today, it became crystal clear. Everything she quoted went right to the cold heart of Donald Trump.
Two statements stood out to me as describ8ng MAGA. Women are only useful for "children, kitchen, and the church." MAGA's sentiments exactly.
The bull's eye truth of Trump's whole movement is this quote- "Getting men to hate rather than to think."
Pam, I opened the US Army link Heather provided, and this part jumped out at me when reading page 1: "They make their own rules and change them when they choose. If you don't like it, it's "T.S." ".
I think it's pretty easy to deduce what "T.S." stands for! 😁
If trump becomes president, every day that passes, Vance will be a day closer to be president himself due death or greater incapacitated of the former....
I think there is a real plan behind this--formulated by Thiel and Musk. If tffg wins, let him have the throne for a while, but soon use the 25th Amendment to get rid of him. Then Thiel and Musk and the rest of the oligarchs have a clear field.
Yes, Pam, that stood out to me as well. I think, hope, as a nation, we are past this thinking and rhetoric. Most of us anyway.
I appreciate you not using the word "fascist" even though clearly this is a part of that definition. I tire of our use of this word (frequently) as it mirrors the simplistic and degrading tone of DT and I hope we are better than that. Still I realize we must give voice to the truth. Truth to power.
Everything Heather said is correct. I am just as concerned why the people will blindly follow that is clearly designed to harm them. Yet perhaps they’ve already been harmed.
Sometime in 1993 or 1994, Bill Clinton signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement. On that day, I paused and wondered how great this would affect American workers; workers in manufacturing who had little formal education. A few years later in my travels as an art dealer driving across the country, I drove to Seattle and stopped in Richmond, Indiana to stay at an Airbnb. The Victorian house was as ornate as the Mark Twain house in my hometown of Hartford, CT. I paid about $50 for the night to stay in the mini mansion . I asked the owner at breakfast if he minded telling me what the value of the house was. He reported around $125,000. I gasped. He then told me how that rust belt area had become filled with deserted plants and had shut down to set up off-shore. Workers no longer had those solid middle income factory jobs. A few decades later, his wife ran for president and in her run, called those MAGA supporters of Trump “The Deplorables,” mostly white, uneducated, now lower income the same group that lost their solid middle incomes under Bill Clinton. That group formed the bases of Trump’s base.
When Joe Biden refused to stem the tide of hundreds of thousands rushing the border, it became a political issue. It’s no wonder that this group is so hardened against a political party that ruined them and will not listen to reason. They have been thoroughly abandoned and insulted by the party that once supported them and their once good paying jobs.
This is the explanation to my fellow hard-headed dense democrats that just don’t understand why a large segment of the population will support a facist-like movement that does not have their interests at heart. It’s a bit confounding isn’t it — both sides, one side being the wronged and the other side being unable to grasp what the hell has happened. Go ahead ladies and gentlemen, have at me. I tell the truth.
I think the immigration problem is overplayed, legal and otherwise, they commit fewer crimes than average Americans, play a vital role in esp the agricultural sector, doing jobs most Americans refuse to do. Studies show they provide a net economic gain, pay taxes, and so on. So Americans scream they're stealing jobs when in fact USA is in virtual full employment. Murdering criminal millions, give us a break! The immigration system does need fixing, simply staunching the inflow of mainly economic migrants with walls et al won't solve the problem. USA needs to figure out better how to meet its own employment needs when its native population cannot adequately step up to the plate. Their is a solid reason why mainly economic migration from Mexican and Latino countries has been a "thorn" for more than a couple generations now. Trump and Maga have made perceived grievances a major touchstone of their campaign. Sadly, it's paid off dividends, in spades. Sounds to me it's more about racism, than economics.
It is. Tom Schiller and Paul Waldman recently published a book titled “The Roots of White Rural Rage.” People in rural areas listen to different media outlets that city people, and they have been red a constant stream of culture war propaganda that has encouraged them to vote against their economic interests. Rural areas are badly hit when farms consolidate into mega farms, factories close, young people leave for cities, and they vote for the very people who cause these problems. The propagandists have no interest in solving these problems, but want to exploit them on their behalf.
Which is why Blue Tennessee (www.bluetennessee.org) among others is addressing rural needs. Jess Piper did a great interview this week with Tom Vilsack, discussing rural issues and how they can be addressed.
I grew up on a farm, working in the fields. My parents aspired to more for me than manual labor in the fields, which simply does not pay enough to eat and live indoors at the same time. In eastern NC, where I live, there are a large number of factory farms and meat processing plants. Those jobs are dirty and physically demanding. The locals, who already lived in the area, didn’t want to work at meat processing plants. Is that what you would want for your child? Immigrants came to fill those jobs. They didn’t take jobs from locals. Deport those immigrants, and who will do those difficult jobs?
Right on Frank. Of course it's about racism and the hate and divisiveness that accompanies it.
But the economy will suffer as a consequence of closing the borders. And is it even possible to deport even 10,000 migrants? Who is going to accept them and if we just dump them in Venezuela, Haiti and Central America for starters these countries will all turn them away. If they do accept them, they will be harshly dealt with in all of the usual ways a dictatorship deals with them.
I have worked with literally hundreds of immigrants as a computer consultant, plus we have hired several dozen more to work at our home. We would still be waiting for a roof in Florida if not for immigrants and the quality of work is as good or better than native born Americans. Y2K opened the door for Indian programmers (and other nationalities) with the H2B programs. It was an ugly transition in the 1990's because of the communication barrier.
Anyway, if you deport brown people you lose a large portion of our productive workforce in almost EVERY occupation. My primary care doctor is an immigrant from Columbia. She actually saved my life plus she is fluent in several languages. It is actually selfish of me, to use her when there are relatively few doctors that serve the Hispanic community.
We all know they can't deport immigrants, legal or illegal, and we likely can't even put them in camps. So is the alternative the Fascist solution to just kill them?
Thanks for all that info, Gary! I suspect you mean 10 million, and Trump has been gaslighting 20-30 million. The logistics and the reaction of foreign governments will make a mockery of these threats.
Gary Loft: Under TFG, he'll allow the military to do just that-that way no expense for food, water, etc. Whether the military will blindly follow orders, even if unlawful, is unknowable.Think of the psychic trauma that will be inflicted on those soldiers.
Agreed, Frank. As usual, Mr. Katz simply repeats what trompy and the rest of the MAGAs want everybody to be talking about instead of issues that are greater threats to us all. Immigration is certainly important, but it's far less so than the loss of basic rights, freedoms, safety, etc. And if it were more important, then the Republicans would have taken up and voted to approve the bipartisan-drafted bill that Biden said he's signed, am I right?
Biden was absent for almost 3 years on topic. And as usual, Mr. Katz repeats the unblemished truths about our politics which is that we are a fractured society and perfectly timed to get worked by the hidden puppeteers that are also pulling your strings, too.
Please tell me in very simple words how President Biden was absent for three years Bill. Are you saying this country, that has completely recovered from the pandemic economic slump the entire world experienced, has at the same time, stood still? All the leading economic indicators would have to challenge your words here. People are always going to bitch and main about gas and food prices-like when haven’t they? As for NAFTA, the idea began in the Reagan administration, at first as an agreement between Canada and the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement?wprov=sfti1#Negotiation,_signing,_ratification,_and_revision_(1988%E2%80%9394)
It ended up on Pres. Clinton’s desk after Mexico, Central and South America were added by Bush, Sr.
All the off shoring to so many other countries didn’t happen because of NAFTA.
Yes, exactly - and meanwhile he can explain to us his deep wisdom about these hidden puppeteers of which he has such privileged knowledge. Please, do discourse and enlighten us poor unwashed and barefoot pilgrims.
Per recommendation of my physician, I can’t get near you least I become infected with unknown diseases. And I left my bullhorn at home. Next time, though.
SPW, I am of course addressing the border issue only not the very good legislation he enacted. I don’t spend all day watching news but I get my feeds from New York Times, public TV News Hours, CBS and NBC Nightly news, Mother Jones and other places but not Fox for sure. And they all reported at various times, incursions at the border. That’s how I reasoned that Biden did little for three years on the border issue. At one time I even foolishly sent comments on an approach to helping to address issues by proposing with our Central American friends a Marshall-like plan to help build and stabilize Central America. I was also in favor of a multinational force to invade and overthrow the rogue Venezuelan government. I still believe that should be an option to consider. Now do I sound better?
We have no "open borders" in America! We have thousands of border agents working throughout America who protect our border. Yes, many immigrants are arriving but also many are being caught and sent back. People just see the flow into our country but ignore the sizable number of immigrants who return via deportation or their personal decision ... millions!
The only entity that is broadcasting an "open border" are Republicans and their complicit media outlets like Fox or social media platforms. NO Democrat has uttered the word. Biden at many times discouraged any immigrants from crossing our border. Blame Republicans for higher number of immigrants, NOT democrats. AND realize the majority immigrants crossing our border are doing it LEGALLY and state their asylum status ... a legal process in present laws. Want to change the laws and upgrade our immigration laws? Have the GOP pass the comprehensive immigration reform bill they have ignored to sign via bad advice from Trump.
comment from Wa-Po comment section about Elon Musk being here illegally, working on a student visa.
Unfortunately I think you are wrong on the illegal vs legal border crossings during the first three years of Biden's administration. Those were the three years Biden was "absent" on border policy which Bill refers to. The statistics are pretty clear. This was intentional policy on the part of the Biden administration. It changed just about a year ago when the 2024 election loomed and Biden decided to change positions.
For me his change only made things worse. I clearly disagree with Bill on this. For me, the ONLY sensible option is to open the borders. Trying to "solve" the border problems by making it harder to get into the US will only increase the number of people trying to get in illegally and increase the pressure. It will also cause an inequitable problem between people trying to get in and those already here illegally. And increasing the deportations will just make matters worse.
Believe it or not by our border with Mexico used to pretty much be open. Migrant workers came and went with the growing seasons. Both Reagan and Bush I granted amnesty to several thousands and that was in spite of Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No to drugs. This country will dry up and die without migrant labor. The trick is to have a controlled flow and pathway to citizenship if it’s wanted. Where the issue gets (deliberately)confusing is with those seeking amnesty, which is totally legal.
I have concluded that Mr. Katz is a one-trick pony (or perhaps, Trojan horse) who comes here to repeat ad nauseam the same Republican talking points in order to derail thoughtful conversations. I engaged with him once and have resolved never to do it again, no matter how much he needs rebuttal.
Agree, Monsieur, most definitely I agree on not contacting you again. As to one-trick phony? You must have eaten your morning wheaties with McDonald’s tainted onions.
Ooof, could you be more pretentious than to use Monsieur when you probably don't even know French, and beside the point, can you offer anything of substance for rebuttal beyond snide ad hominem deflections?
It's the fear mongering that Trump does. Saying "illegal alliens" will come into your kitchen and slit your throat! Everyone knows this is not true but say it enough and people believe them. Do you think the people who support MAGA see or hear info like what you stated on your comment? Absolutely not. My husband is a Trump supporter Fox watcher. The drumbeat on Fox is fear. They do portray Democrats as communists as well as equal to the devil. People who watch this don't see any other source of "news" as I'm sure you know. I've got my husband watching a Spectrum News channel for bipartisan info but it doesn't change his mind. He was a housepainter and lost his job to those who would accept pay @ half what he received and they happened to be immigrants. People like him have a grudge and Trump feeds it. So sorry for venting but I'm so terrified of fascism.
To be slightly objective here, the immigrant "problem" is quite real. There are in fact at least several million possibly almost ten million undocumented immigrants in the US today. Under the current law, almost every one of those people are subject to arrest and deportation. This is absolutely without regard to ANY logical or rational justification for enforcing the law. Enforcing the law is always theoretically the right thing to do unless you believe the law is unconstitutional. And in general our immigration laws are not unconstitutional, just unenforced.
So trump, if elected will be completely within his rights and in fact may be legally correct to massively enforce the immigration laws. Will he be "right" in the moral sense? Maybe not. Will he be right in the political sense? That remains to be seen. But he will almost certainly be right in the legal sense. And that is technically all the justification he needs to carry out his draconian plan. It is difficult to see any court which would halt his ability to do that (and if they did, I would expect the Supreme Court as it currently exists to reverse quite quickly.
This is why i believe that the best course of action is to repeal all immigration laws and essentially open the borders to anyone with the exception of demonstrable criminals. This would make it much more difficult to attempt mass deportations. By removing the legal basis for such deportations, it would at least become an unlawful act to arbitrarily deport people based on status.
Jon, the undocumented you speak of have jobs and families, with citizen children (assuming they were born here.) Many, if not most, pay taxes and have SS/FICA withheld without access to benefits. Deportation (which you don't advocate, thankfully) would be extremely expensive to the taxpayers and the economy, but opening the borders isn't a solution either. I believe that those presently here (unless they were/are criminals of one sort of another) should be on a path to recognition as citizens. We need a sane, fair and manageable immigration solution without saying "Come one, Come all."
Sorry I don't believe you can really have it " both ways". This just another repeat of the various forgiveness strategies that have been repeated over and over. Don't keep immigrants out because we really DO want them and need them (they obviously take jobs that most Americana don't want) let them sneak in and get settled and then a few years later when there is a political "need" to get even, throw some of them out but let the large majority have amnesty, give them some path to legitimacy, then say "we're closing the borders down now", rinse and repeat. It's getting pretty tiring. In some ways it gives credence to Trump's philosophy, build a huge wall and throw them all out and keep them out. At least he is consistent if terribly wrong IMHO.
You really can't have it both ways. You either have to deport those who are her e illegally or you have to acknowledge that our policies don't work and do trying to keep them out. The rinse and repeat concept of looking the other way for a while, then granting some kind of amnesty for those who were able to get through the obstacles and take up illegal residence is wrong and unfair. I have seen this done several times in my lifetime and I am sick of it. Either do what Trump says and deport every one who is here illegally or cancel the laws and permit unrestricted immigration. I see no other fair and decent alternatives. You know which one I think is right.
The economic reality in my state is that many of the agricultural jobs, on which much of our economy is based, no longer pay enough or appeal to white workers. Nor do the nonunion construction jobs. My neighbor is having his roof replaced down to the trusses and the entire crew is comprised of Spanish speaking workers even though our minimum wage is $15 an hour and there is a construction boom to accommodate all the growth we are experiencing. Without migrant workers, our economy would collapse and your supply of fresh fruit would cost far more than you would want to pay. The town where I grew up was called the fruit bowl of the nation and it got that way because every year migrant workers came to harvest its bounty. It’s now a major producer of wine grapes. So enjoy what our state and its workers provide and stfu with your nonsense.
Wait a holy minute. Are you trying to make me into an anti immigrant voice? Are you kidding? Not at all. Two points I have try to make clear on this issue. First, there is a legal way in and laws should be honored. But even more importantly, the optics bugs the heck out of me and if we think that allowing hundreds of thousands running over hot sand sells to the general public, I have a Brooklyn Bridge for you to buy. I want to say my country. The runners over hot sand must come second to the salvation of my form of government. Sorry if this bothers you.
I won't believe my country is serious about enforcing immigration laws until I see some serious enforcement that aims at preventing them from getting employment. And there's a thermometer or barometer to check that. If you can still find a place in your city where men can stand around openly on the corners in certain areas waiting to be picked up to work, you know that the immigration law is not being enforced. We need to figure out how to keep them from finding employment. Then they will not take ridiculously huge loans in order to get here on the chance they will be able to pay off the loan with the wonderfully high salaries we have. I'm being cynical sorry. Because they mainly live in conditions many of us would find subpar, because they are sending most of their money home hoping to build up in big enough nest egg to be able to go back and eventually retire there, since they won't be able to retire decently in this country on their earnings.
I disagree with the commonly heard statement that the jobs they are filling are jobs Americans don't want. What has happened is it has become impossible for a contractor in certain fields, starting with landscaping and I'm sure going into plenty of other fields, to make any money without hiring illegals because if they don't they will be underbid by those who do. I saw this change personally in the 1990s and 2000s when I was a licensed landscape contractor myself.
And I enjoyed having the Latins on my crews. They were usually willing workers (especially the newly-arrived ones) and fast learners.
Yep this is why I favor an open border policy. Get rid of the immigration laws and you get rid of these problems. The very fact that millions of undocumented immigrants can actually get into the country and take up illegal residence without causing a huge serious problem suggests to me that open borders will work much better than deportation. Look at the European union. They opened all they're borders to any one in the union and now their economies are mostly much more vibrant than ours. We need workers and immigrants do a lot of work that most Americans aren't interested in doing.
The town I grew up in turned 400 last year. In that time its economy has gone from extractive ship mast production and fishing, to hard scrabble farming and wool production, to weaving, tanning, shoe and brick manufacturing, and finally making plastic auto parts. All of these went away, with the ensuing pain that always follows economic transitions. The transitions didn't make themselves, however, they required a lot of effort by gritty, determined, fairly well educated people. It now has a very diverse economy that includes being the headquarters of a large insurance company.
NAFTA and globalization facilitated a race to the bottom where almighty capital won, is still winning, despite nearly losing it all in 2008 - when we literally printed money to save overextended (greedy) financial institutions. My town survived globalization because it stopped being a one or two industry town decades ago. The rust belt seems to be diversifying as well, through a lot of hard work and creativity. I just hope they can avoid the 'one industry town' trap that makes us vulnerable to greedy capitalists in the first place.
Supply side economics laid the groundwork for globalization, which hollowed out American manufacturing, which laid the groundwork for the Tea Party, the opioid epidemic (which is dwarfed by the epidemic of alcohol - but we don't talk about that), and a fascist bid to take over our country. Vote Harris/Walz in November.
If you listen to podcasts, Unf*cking the Republic had a really interesting take on the financial crisis: the crazy surge in oil prices driven by financial institutions. Worth a listen.
I am not laughing at you; there is a lot of truth in what you say. Those same rust belt areas were then flooded with opioids and in a way that is what Trump is still doing with his fake promises. I think Harris is recognizing this and trying valiantly to break through that mindset and level the playing field, as it were. Another 4 years of Trump would be a nightmare for this country and the world-just like Hitler was. Last night, I re-watched Gary Oldman as Churchill in His Darkest Hour and there was a line there that struck a chord with me-he that never changes his mind, never changes anything. I am heartened by the number of Republicans who are publicly endorsing Harris and hope we can get to a 54% Dem win so there is no doubt who has won this election-and then the work begins.
Republicans lying again. Biden has largely continued Trump’s migrant policies, but doesn’t separate families. Trump got the Republicans to withdraw their support from an immigration bill so he could use it as a political stalking horse, and they lie about immigrant caravans the way Elise Stefanik did the other day on X. The Republicans have replaced their oaths of office to uphold the constitution and laws of the United States with a private oath of loyalty to an incompetent wannabe dictator.
Speaking of Stefanik - I guess it wouldnt be surprising to hear the views of people who live in and around her district! Another politician who only "serves" herself & tffg and makes it very obvious!
Right?? The politicization of this issue began LONG, L O N G before Joe Biden took office. And it seems that there WAS a bi-partisan bill proposed during Joe’s administration that was denied even being brought up for a vote because Mr Trump rejected the appearance of any kind of win for Democrats before the 2024 election. Hmmm. This issue is largely manufactured as a political argument for campaigning just as abortion WAS and look what ham-handedly handling that looks like! I was never a fan of NAFTA but I believe Joe Biden has done more to right that grievous wrong than anyone since so the argument that Democrats won’t hear what the struggling middle class has to say is faulty also. They’re listening and working to make it better but MAGA is turning their noses up to all of it over an opportunity to make us pay for their losses.
In my reply to Mr Katz, I referred to Wikipedia about the original intent of NAFTA and discovered that NAFTA was the brainchild of the Reagan administration. It’s a fascinating reminder that people could perhaps benefiting by reading.
From CoPilot: Yes, Ronald Reagan first proposed the idea of a North American free trade agreement during his 1980 presidential campaign1
. However, it was during the administration of George H. W. Bush that negotiations began, and the agreement was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 19931
. So, while Reagan planted the seed, it took a few administrations to bring NAFTA to life.
It's an interesting comment isn't it? Sprinkled with a little skewed history. Always as if the person woke up in 1990 and thought everything was brand new.
Candace, Mr. Katz propagates this MAGA assertion frequently (despite my belief he's not MAGA.)
I can only surmise that trompy's statement in 2015 after descending the escalator must have made a favorable impression on him, because that's what he often talks about.
Apparently, I offended him which was not my intention. I was giving my opinion of why he puts forth the opinions that he does. He sent a snarky reply my way. Usually when people on this forum disagree, they do it rather respectfully. He does sometimes make good points, but they are too often (again, in my opinion!) harping on the same point. It reminds me a bit of Trump continuing to beat a dead horse, and I tired of it. I could spend hours reading the comments, so I'm come to mostly just search out people that I am familiar with who I greatly respect. There are some really intelligent people on this forum and I feel like they raise my IQ a point or two by considering their viewpoints.
Miselle, I agree that there’s no place for snarky on Heather’s substack. That kind of adolescent junk belongs in that other grp of t and his three billion blind mice. HCR, you and others deserve the respect you all provide.
Let’s all simply ignore those others who can’t and won’t.
As much as Katz and Phil both about me, your argument is nonsense. They have a much right to be here as you and I and we should at least acknowledge that without proposing turning a deaf ear. That's what "they" do. We become much less of we do the same thing. Argue back, criticize, but acknowledge that they are entitled to disagree just as we are. Sorry this is the kind of approach that makes me feel this is so useless at times. Because people do not want to listen to what they dislike.
Well, I hit a nerve. Maybe he's having a bad day, who knows? I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I have nice conversations and discussions with lots of people on the forum, and every now and then, people have different opinions. To me, some of his statements seem to be intentionally inflammatory. I don't care for those type and saw them so frequently that I skip over his posts. That was the issue with his substack as well, which is why I unsubscribed. Perhaps it's my own nerves being on edge these days as well, but I am trying to avoid stuff that I find too upsetting.
Pretty much every one (or at least most) of Phil's comments includes direct attacks on the standardized testing in modern schools and the "elimination" (his words) of humanities from school curriculum. It isn't completely wrong either, but it gets monotonous. At least to me.
This is an important reminder of where we got where we are, but you seem to have left out the role of Reagan, the supply-siders, and decades of Republican dominance. Why are they forgiven? Why does all the blame fall on Bill and Hillary in your telling?
The problem, to my mind, is always the desire for corporate power. And that lies in the apologies of economics, which isn't a science, as much as they try to make it one.
The laws are written around the rights of property owners, not stakeholders. Shareholders, not stakeholders. Shareholders have nothing in the game but money, and can fleewith it on any whim.
Stakeholders are the customers, employees, residents. Those who bought the products, supply the parts, live with the factory.
Shareholders should be the last in line, not the first.
Well I certainly disagree with this. Shareholders are the life blood of a capitalist economy I don't love it but it's true. Without their money the companies would cease to exist. I agree stakeholders are important too and have been ignored for too long but putting shareholders last would be tragic to the economy. Better would be to include both at the same level of importance. That would be a better capitalist solution, acknowledging the importance of stakeholders without relegating the people whose money makes it possible to last place. (And this from a communist like myself LOL).
Consider that the prolific Bill Katz seems to be a white man, so he prefers to focus on very recent U.S. history. He might benefit from going back to the time of the War Department memo, March 1945, and acknowledging that fascism's first cousin was already entrenched in the U.S. South under the name of Jim Crow, and its influence affected the national government and the country at large. It greatly influenced the New Deal before WW2 and the GI Bill after it.
exactly! IMO it started with the sham trickle-down economics theory from Reagan, Thatcher and Mulroney. Prior to that we had vibrant cities, lots of union jobs, healthy middle class. But the oligarchs needed more money and then of course they then needed even more and along came NAFTA. Forty + years of a bs economic theory and the chickens have come home to roost. And the oligarchs keep gaslighting the public to believe it's the immigrants' fault ,those on welfare and maje you turn a blind eye to those who ate actually gouging us...corporations. The oligarchs are running the show in America and globally
You only mentioned the migration “crisis” because there is no real crisis. If there were, the bipartisan border bill would have been signed instead of squashed under trump’s demand because it was an issue he could run on. He inflates numbers and exaggerates small issues that could be dealt with under normal circumstances but because the House is tied into MAGA knots and the Senate pretty close to the same, very little can happen. Don’t even get me going on the Supreme Court; and I use the descriptor of “supreme” very loosely.
In a simplified fashion, I drew a line between the downside of NAFTA (American workers losing income) and her “deplorables.” We would have been better without them in my opinion, of course.
@ Bill Katz, in Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” speech, she didn’t call Trump supporters who were in despair because they had lost their good jobs “deplorables.” In fact, she said “those are people we have to understand and empathize with.” She specifically defined “the basket of deplorables” as half of Trump’s supporters who were “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people – now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks – they are irredeemable, but thankfully, they are not America.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket_of_deplorables
But the "basket of deplorables" was such a wonderful gift/phrase for the Repubs! Three words out of an entire paragraph/statement! Just like the clips that faux and its "followers" pick up on today. I think that there should be better comebacks from the Dems. They do lack a bit of that kind of reaction.
Thanks Ellen for the link - HERE IS THE ACTUAL SPEECH!
At an LGBT campaign fundraising event in New York City on September 9, Clinton gave a speech and said the following:[11]
I know there are only 60 days left to make our case – and don't get complacent; don't see the latest outrageous, offensive, inappropriate comment and think, "Well, he's done this time". We are living in a volatile political environment.
You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. (Laughter/applause) Right? (Laughter/applause) They're racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people – now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks – they are irredeemable, but thankfully, they are not America.
But the "other" basket – the other basket – and I know because I look at this crowd I see friends from all over America here: I see friends from Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and Texas and – as well as, you know, New York and California – but that "other" basket of people are people who feel the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures; and they're just desperate for change. It doesn't really even matter where it comes from. They don't buy everything he says, but – he seems to hold out some hope that their lives will be different. They won't wake up and see their jobs disappear, lose a kid to heroin, feel like they're in a dead-end. Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.
And just in case you might think I’m a troll Russian plant, I spent 3 struggling years writing about the evils of Donald Trump. My credentials are clean.
I agree, Bill. When I was working as a lobbyist in Michigan, I sat stunned as our Democratic governor Granholm announced in a meeting that our auto workers would be sent back to college to learn how to be computer technicians. With that, she denigrated a whole, hard working class of Michiganders. Over the next decade, Trump had ready recruits.
So what’s the problem with learning new information if that will enable a person to make a better living? Were such folks just being hard-headed or stupid? Many of us have done the very same things on our own. Good lord! What an ignorant excuse for being short-sighted or lazy.
You must then be trolling in support of the Navalnyites. Bravo ! We will win because we must. 1776 was a very tough year, too as were 1777, 78…. Until the Treaty of Paris. We must always boldly look at what we have wrought and be willing to say: “How little I truly know” and correct course with honesty and humility. We can all do this when we don’t care who is right. The who part doesn’t matter to me, does it matter to any of you? I don’t think it ever mattered to BEN franklin, either.
No person is perfect, no President is perfect. Some of Bill Clintons' presidential decisions were wrong. I have always believed that Hillary is the smarter half of that couple.
But, that aside, nothing Bill Clinton did was as harmful to our middle class as what Ronald Regan did during his presidency. You ever rant about that?
Bill...I would argue that Hillary Clinton's mistake was giving Donald and his team something to twist. Here is what she said, what she called out. I fully agreed with her and then some.
1) It was twisted into she is calling all of you (maga) deplorable and they believed it.
2) those who are deplorable didn't like being called out.
So anytime this came up in conversation I was having I would say #1? or #2?, which are you? I usually got blank stares.
Immigration...been a problem for a very long time. And it will get worse because the climate is a changing!
Although just the other day I talked with a coworker who is from Ecuador. She came here legally. Took her 5 years. She is not happy with people who enter and stay illegally. I get that, but she wasn't too sympathetic to those running for their lives. She told me that she was running for her life. Her father was a politician who was murdered. To her there is no excuse.
I agree 100% - very well said. Clinton’s NAFTA signing was the beginning of a whole-hearted embrace by the Democratic Party of a capitalist system that prioritizes wealth concentration by a few rather than the well-being of many - especially rural white communities. While I don’t think Trump’s policies will help them one bit (will in fact hurt them) he speaks in language that acknowledges the real economic struggle they feel.
Both parties (IMO) engage in a “don’t look up” strategy to prevent people from noticing that we live under an economic system that has created an unprecedented concentration of wealth at the top … a system of unregulated capitalism that leaves most of us now vulnerable to the impact of venture funds buying up our health care systems, our housing, food sources, vets, (the list goes on and on). Funds that are required to worship at the alter of fiduciary duty (financial return) rather than the well-being of us all. The fact that Kamala couldn’t answer Anderson Cooper’s question about how she was going to address the high price of milk (her answer talked about regulating price gauging during times of crisis - nothing about during regular times) is a perfect example of why this race is so close! It was such a prime opportunity for her to speak to these broader economic issues at play.
Kate, I suppose if I were running for President, I wouldn’t expound on why it’s not possible for me to succeed in solving that (or many other legitimate issues because….rich people, Capitalism, corruption amongst SCOTUS and GOP, etc. I would think, rightly, that voters wouldn’t want to hear about all the things I can’t do when my opponent says he can fix everything.
You’re right - it’s not an easy answer. But I think her ability to speak to people about this type of issue is critical to her succeeding - and she doesn’t seem to be able to do it (I’m not sure why - she could craft an answer that makes people feel “heard”). My guess is that guy asking the question about milk prices sat down unconvinced she would do anything about it. That makes it a lost opportunity.
And the 3 strikes your out program which incarcerated more African American males. And the “ending welfare as we have known it” program. Well that program wasn’t that ill conceived since it forced my lazy sister of social welfare and to go get a job.
"Refused to stem the tide" of immigrants. As someone who reads Heathers work, you cannot be so uninformed as to think this tide of immigrants is new. Or that we can interfere with their travel in other countries. Or that there isn't a good reason they are fleeing the fascism and economic destruction in their own countries.
Otherwise your comments re NADTA are well placed. I'd propose the idea that it was the turnover of our national interest to corporations to benefit their shareholders and CEOs, who pillage their companies with stock bonuses that were actually illegal until Reagan. Governing for the benefit of the wealthy has never turned out well. And here we are again.
It all comes down to money, and the greed of those who, like Musk and dumpty and all the rest, already have more than enough but hunger for yet more.
While he is not a troll, I think he sometimes writes to rile people up to get responses and gin up subscribers for his own substack. He certainly spends a LOT of time putting many, many comments on the forum. I often reply to folks on this forum, many who write their own substacks, and when I replied to him, I was surprised to get a message asking me to subscribe to his!
I skip past all of his diatribes now, in fact, the only reason I stopped her was as I scrolled I noticed your first sentence and went back to see who you were replying to.
Well I’m glad you didn’t sign up. How’s dat. Those of us who write, are always promoting themselves. Stop being silly. If your not a writer, you wouldn’t understand and I guess you’re not.
Y’all seem to have blanked out the time period 2021 through 2023. The nightly news broadcasts. The News Hour and so on and it’s as if this period where Biden was not interested satisfying the public’s need to see him act and y’all have the blinders on because think you are correct and everyone else is wrong. So if Trump wins, I welcome you to the New Snazzy Nazi States of America. Enjoy. If you link arms on the dance floor and in unison, kick you legs up as high as they will go, and do what you are told, you will be alright otherwise, you will be sent to detainment camps to be re-educated.
So, Bill, any President is able to make sweeping changes ALL BY HIMSELF?
Really? Going against the Repubs & sadly some of his own party and just DOING it.
There are many issues that I disagree with Biden on, some issues I disagreed with Obama on - but a president isnt KING! It requires cooperation from far too many different individuals and groups. You know this!
And, yeah - tffg will correct that if he gets in. And will "king" himself and his vp. Do we all have to march in locked step behind Biden or Harris? NOPE - but thats what the dumpster will demand.
So, you know what? Democrats need to stick together - somehow they always have factions that pull them apart - why is it that Repubs dont? We are seeing the locked steps in that party right now.
You do know that NAFTA was written and negotiated by GHW Bush, following an initiative by Ronald Reagan, right? Clinton brought it across the finish line…yet he is given full credit for its impact on America. And the other drivers of rust belt decline, including globalization, the buyout boom and financialization of deregulated capital markets, and the collapse of the union movement…all predated his signature on that line. The anecdote you tell draws wrong conclusions from the faulty recollection of history…the narrative that Republicans are the better stewards of America’s economic prosperity and that Democratic spending leads to a decline in “freedom” is one the GOP had used effectively since Reagan showed up.
Oh my God no. I understand and understood that Reagan was a complete disaster. I don’t have all the historic answers. I don’t come from academia. I’m not a historian nor social scientist. But I do try to think for myself outside the boundaries of partisanship. And I do adjust my beliefs when necessary. A side note, in 2015, Senator Sherrod Brown was showing signs of running for president. In my humble opinion he would have made a great president. And he would have won.
I couldn't agreed more with you regarding the devastating effects of Clinton's policies, but since in the democracy there's always room for correction and change of course as Biden- Harris had done to revert the situation you described. The only thing left is to apologize and push forward.
On “The Dragon’s Den” TV show investors consistently told inventors that they would support their manufactured product ideas only if they were made in China. Cheap labor meant high profit margins. “Dollar” stores sprung up everywhere. Happy days. Everyone likes a deal, me too, but we just can’t admit that we all sat back as the rugs under our feet were yanked away.
There's no argument that will ever convince the people who were harmed by NAFTA that they should support a Democrat, because Clinton was in office when it was signed? Do they know that the idea was largely Republican originated and supported by Reagan and Bush Sr,? Do they understand that if Republicans get their way, Unions will be eliminated, and labor protections and safety regulations will be a thing of the past? What do you think Democrats need to do to win them over, given that their major grievance against Democrats is a Republican policy?
Louise, if I could answer the questions you pose I think I would package them and sell them. As I’ve said before, people vote emotional they rarely vote using reason. They will vote themselves right into the hands of their executioners. This struggle on the right mostly, is only about money and power. Money through power. Nothing else is important. But it’s important for democrats to try and guess which programs should be pulled back because they don’t sell. For instance, Reparations will never sell. They are even losing support of Black men who woulda thought. We need to stop the foolishness of allowing bio men or trans women whatever, into girls showers. No nonono. Give them their own shower stall if needed but keep them out of the girls room. And don’t misunderstand maiming facor or rights for all but particularly women’s rights.
"In place of something which distinguishes itself from other things, imagine something which distinguishes itself-and yet, in distinguishing itself it does not distinguish itself from the others."
I would love to see this pamphlet reprinted and widely available. The polarization is palpable and likely to assume greater strength regardless of the election's victor.
I’m still on that wagon Ruth..still believing we can learn how to be happier with ‘enough’, we’ve certainly had enough of war, hatred, my way or the highway people.
You ask the Q, Steve, "How can so many well-educated people be so cruel and reckless . . . ?"
Answer: by the Powell memo plan issued August 23, 1971, and its phalange of far-right foundations such as The Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institute, ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council, and eventually many more, all filthy-rich-mega-funded, up to and including The Federalist Society.
Yeah, Phil, they’ve been working on this for a long long time. Still think Will Rogers had the right idea to give the money to poor because it will end up in the hands of the rich soon enough…..given to the rich, mostly they don’t share the wealth & no “trickle down” happens. Fascinating to study, but crap to actually live through. Sigh.
There are nations in which a few families are mega rich, while most live in squalor. Reagan's promised utopia (literally no-place) has never existed, and their was never a reasonable argument it ever would. Big Lies and Republican enabled plutocratic takeover of the "free press" have brought us to our current dilemma
As an example, it was the poverty in El Salvador, with 16 families owning most of the wealth, that caused the people to support revolution in the late 1970s. Reagan could not look beneath the Communist-Capitalist dichotomy to see what the root causes were. The late Jeane Kirkpatrick shamefully attacked the memories of the three sisters and one lay worker who were murdered by Salvadoran soldiers we ourselves had trained. St. Óscar Romero was murdered as he said Mass by Roberto D’Aubuisson for the “crime” of thinking the Salvadoran people deserved lives of dignity.
I would add Phil that Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a one page essay when imprisoned by the Nazis in 1943 that I did not mention called On Human Stupidity, which explains how intelligent people can believe the most foolish things. You should be able to find it online - it is worth a read.
The other concerning fears I have is for the elimination of basic public goods like the NEH, NEA, and NPR, not to mention the Department of Education and possibly EPA. The looming horror I didn't mention, beyond obvious nuclear destruction, is if Putin attacks Poland then Europe - particularly Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, will be in for a massive refugee crisis.
Any one or all of the things mentioned in my comment above, plus the ones here, would be catastrophic in and of itself.
thank you for sharing this! As a side note: in the city of Muenster, Germany there is a district where my aunt lived where there is Bonhoeffer Strasse and other streets named after those that tried to defend democracy during WWII.
Thx for referencing Dietrich Bonhoeffer-one of my personal heroes and a Lutheran saint of blessed memory. I’m an ELCA pastor-ordained almost 40 years ago. I’m proud of the statement our Conference of Bishops put out recently condemning the normalization of lies and disinformation. (I wish it had come out sooner, but grateful nonetheless). Silence is complicity-and democracy dies not only in darkness, but also in silence. Our task is to boldly speak out against the hatred that has become regularized and continue to pursue democracy, kindness, compassion, decency, and integrity that create a better community for all. Again, thanks, Steve. Bonhoeffer was and is a gift to the world. (And folks, the new movie is a bastardization of his legacy-his family has written a letter condemning it as a political tool for the extremist right.)
I wish the USCCB would condemn Trump. They try to paper over their internal differences, but the reality is that too many of them want us to vote to agree with a candidate over pelvic politics, and some have become Trump groupies. I can’t in good conscience ignore Trump’s general unsuitability to be president. He will end 235 years of Constitutional government, which admittedly wasn’t always present for marginalized people.
There is a street in Muenster Germany named Bonhoeffer Strasse, in a district with other streets names after resistors in WWII . A city my aunt lived and where I once worked
Definately elimination of the EPA as well. My dad, an environmental engineer for Dow Chemical, represented the Chemical Manufacturing Association when EPA was formed, and worked with Anne Gorsuch and Rita Lavelle to implement the Superfund law, a law which neither Anne or Rita supported.. He thought that little Neil was very nice, though.
I worry about that as well. Eric Metaxas is a Trump groupie and Christian Nationalist writer who published a very flawed and panned Bonhoeffer biography. I think he should read the essay and ponder it, but I doubt he will. Metaxas’s Bonhoeffer biography was panned by Bonhoeffer scholars because they understood that he hadn’t read a lot of Bonhoeffer’s work, and had not read it in detail. The book is rather less about the historical Bonhoeffer than it is about Metaxas’s views. He labors under the misconception the Democratic Party is totalitarian, when it’s his own Republican Party that has ceased to believe in government of, for and by the people. He and his buddy Sean Feucht get mad at the use of the term Christian Nationalism, but it accurately describes their views.
Phil, you did not mention the august institution that (literally) crowned all these efforts: the US Supreme Court, the guardian of the Constitution and the rule of law.
I was deeply shocked by my own assertion that the Justices' recent decision protecting the rights and privileges of the President by granting immunity for official acts in effect restated the central Nazi tenet, Führerprinzip, according to which the leader can do no wrong, being above the Law.
While one can see some counter-arguments, I'd feel safer if someone could persuade me conclusively that my statement is mistaken.
* * *
As for today's Letter from an American, how can it be distributed to all members of the armed forces? Perhaps via an official organ? In any case, readers should send it to all military personnel they know.
This letter does indeed merit a far broader circulation.
* * *
I am familiar with Pastor Bonhoeffer's essay which I read with great interest as I have long held my own views on the same subject.
I agree wholeheartedly with Sonia Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion in U.S. v. Trump. Any decision that places a president above the law is blatantly ignoring the Constitutional limits the founders intended for the presidency. They never intended for presidents to be above the law, but here we are. The names of the justices who supported this shameless power grab deserve to live in infamy.
Phil- Roberts has been on this executive power- theocratic side for decades. The only difference is that now he has a majority and no longer needs to be incremental about it. Read American Crusade by Seidel. It’s the Roberts Court unleashed.
Once again Peter I agree with you that this letter in particular needs to be spread deep and far especially to military personnel.
I still cannot believe the signs I see around here: Vets for T…..
I’ve been reading S Lewis’ It Can’t Happen Here on kindle. I also have Bonhoeffer in my k library, which because of your post, I’ll return to and read on today.
You and others are educating me in the best and most profound way at this critical time. Thank you.
From the project2025[dot]org website: “Advisory Board - A broad coalition of over 100 conservative organizations has come together to form the project pillars.”
Actually, now over 110 groups with successful track records, including the ones you mentioned. The vast right-wing conspiracy isn’t hiding.
But for decades -- even as they hired 1,000s of lobbyists swamping Washington, D.C. -- no one knew how organized these post-Powell memo far-right foundations were.
Wendell Berry, Diane Ravitch, Kurt Andersen, and several others who wrote seminal books on the damages being done -- not any of them for a long, long time knew how these damages were all orchestrated by that Powell memo, how all those far-right foundations were all along working in concert.
I just completed a whirlwind "discussion" on CoPilot (Microsoft's AI) re the Powell Memo. The memo leads directly to Project 2025. Thanks for pointing to the memo.
These various funded institutions are not official government foundations, and all have come up with various ways to empower billionaires and corporations at the expense of everyone else.
Always, always these American privateers -- or, better, call them pirates -- playing the alternative government, answerable only to big money and often undermining, even sabotaging the work of the Federal Government...
Thank you for putting it so plainly. One more question. For those of us who have children and grandchildren - what do we tell them that we did to fight this nightmare existence?
Another department that Project 2025 will eliminate is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, known as NOAA - as in NOAA Weather! Yes - the agency that tracks hurricanes & tornadoes & sends out the weather bulletins to TV & radio stations. That department will be privatized!
My husband & I were sailors for well over 20 years. And before we ever left our house in Maine to drive down to our mooring in Southwest Harbor, we always listened to NOAA radio on our Weather One Radio, to hear the forecast of the winds, tides & other crucial information that NOAA provides to fishermen, lobstermen & pleasure- boaters like us that might literally save our lives.
Now some private company will monetize the weather report.
KMD, my Dad was a meteorologist; trained as a MetTech in WWII, he had a 30+ year career in the Weather Bureau, then NOAA. He was one of the first on the west coast trained in the use of Doppler radar for forecasting.
Its already happened. All of the alternate weather services are platformed off the original NOAA service. I think it was done thru questionable legal means and appropriations in court.
Ed Bernays, Walter Lippman fine-tuned the techniques of "persuasion", examined later by Ed Herman & Chomsky in "Manufacturing Consent" and "Necessary Illusions", broadcast on the Canadian CBC Massey Lecture series, 1988.
This is a powerful description of the many deleterious things that realistically might happen IF Trump/MAGA Republicans get into power after the November election. The first step of problem solving is to identify the problem. Then we figure out ways to solve it, or better yet, prevent it. Such is the task we’ve been facing for years now, and most urgently, have another 9 days ahead.
Even with the best outcome of Democrats in control of the Presidency and Congress, MAGA and their moneyed supporters will not disappear. We will need to fill in the cracks, bolster the norms routinely exploited by Trump and his minions. The longer term answer of mitigating this fascist movement is to educate the people—starting with children—about civics, history, responsibility, empathy, egalitarianism, and constructive life-affirming constructive problem solving. Education happens both in schools and in families’ homes.
With the worst outcome of MAGA control, we refresh our understanding of Timothy Snyder’s short book, On Tyranny, starting with “Do not obey in advance,” and do resistance, individually and organized. (Independent book sellers—no more Amazon.)
In any case, as Heather periodically says in her Facebook chats, we have the numbers and the power of the majority. MAGA and Trump are loud bullies who revel in attention and fear mongering. The Harris-Walz campaign has been terrific at calling them out, shrinking them. Our challenge is to continue to mobilize our numbers and build our strength. We have the momentum.
I hate to tell you his, Ellie, but Amazon is the only place that treats authors fairly. They always sell everything they buy, no returns (which are financed from the author's royalties), and they always pay the publisher on time - none of that gets done by the so-called independent bookstores, which are usually under-capitalized and many of them finance their purchases with "return credit." And they don't always pay on time. And their selection is hardly ever "everything." And "no more Amazon" won't hurt Amazon. But you'll get to feel righteous over having less. I wish I was wrong but I'm not.
Tom Part of me is revolted by Bezos and Amazon and the impact of local bookstores. I have fond memories of hours in Foyles in London and Kramer in D. C. Discovering Abe Books (now owned by Amazon) permitted me to obtain rare books in Australia and elsewhere.
The raw truth is that when I wish to buy a book (or search for a book), I go to Amazon. The book arrives within several days and, with Prime, I don’t pay shipping.
Also, though I do it less now than in past years, I have reviewed many dozens of books on Amazon.
My wife laments that she doesn’t buy books from a fine local bookstore. So do I. But the availability of so many books on Amazon, the reviews of these books, and swift delivery render me an Amazon devotee.
You've described it. If people want to hate a "piggy booksore" that really is piggy, hate Barnes & Noble, which does every one of the things I listed above - they over-order and then finance their new purchases with "return credit," they hardly ever pay on time. It wasn't Amazon that killed the good bookstores, it was B&N that bought out and killed Borders and Crown and all the others.
This is accurate. Having created a successful booksellers global market, aren’t Amazon trying to recalibrate their corporate e market model by opening local bricks and mortar bookshops ? I believe starting in Seattle.
I did not know that they had chosen such a narrow literary bandwidth to sell. Failed deservedly then. Pity, as they could have used their position to reverse the global monopolization paradigm in book selling.
TC, all of us who have to deal with publishers these days are stuck with Amazon, as is anyone who wants to see better television than the muck produced here in the USA, because services like BritBox and Acorn work with Amazon (which has long been an international company, so simply not using it here in the US does nothing). Indeed, I consider the publishers themselves to be the ones who are abusing authors, as in academic and academic-adjacent publishing we get a pittance in royalties on books that are priced at obscene levels no academic can actually afford--and libraries are no longer willing to pay. And why? Because those publishers find they can make a whole lot more money breaking books up and selling them chapter by chapter as e-book "packets" to readers and students. This is also why the market for not-quite-illegal online libraries (like Z-brary) exist. Moreover, unlike the Walton family and all those old brick and mortar mega bookstores like B&N, Amazon (which also owns Whole Foods) pays their employees very well and provides them with excellent benefits. Granted: this tactic is designed to discourage them from joining unions, but I have people in my life whose ability to survive is dependent on Amazon and so I keep on using them. When I was living in a very rural area and the nearest decent bookstore (a Borders) was 100 miles away, I, along with everyone else at the university where I was teaching, were utterly dependent on Amazon. So yes, it sucks that we have to deal with a hypocritical arse like Bezos, but he is getting the heat because he owns a newspaper. What about all the companies that are bending the knee to CFDT who are out of the spotlight but still essential to our survival?
My main point was, after sounding the alarm, take the next step of problem solving. “No more Amazon” is one idea among many, and all of these ideas are subject to ongoing adjustments according to what is and is not working.
Siva Vaidhyanathan (via Rebecca Skolnit via Robert Hubbell reader Kathleen Berry) pointed out that Bezos’s profits come from 7,500 government offices and agencies tied to Amazon Web Services—so that’s where we follow the money more effectively:
Knowing that you are a successful author, I appreciate your insights, and I believe you.
I am an unpublished writer. I have written three manuscripts since the start of COVID. One was professionally edited by an editor who was recommended to me by a midlist author of over 25 novels.(Another published author who I met and have exchanged emails offered an introduction to her editor as well.)
The editor gave me insightful criticisms, some flattering praise, and ultimately said he gages my work worthy of publishing, but I am stymied at the task of securing the absolutely required agent. I never knew HOW many genres of literature exists and how agents often represent only one type of work. (For example, just in "romance" there is "sweet" romance (Amish type, no sex) YA (which might have a bit of sex) LGBTQ+ (which has every subgenre that exists in that community) Regency romance (royalty) and interspecies (Twilight series). I'm sure you know this, Tom, I include that for any others who might read this comment.
I have toyed with going via Amazon--but everywhere I research, I hear the sad truth that the average self published author sells about 200 books. Depressing thought, when the editing cost me $6000 (I had come into a tiny bit of money to fund this, and truly, it was worth every penny). Also, to have a quality, custom designed cover--how many of us judge a book by it's cover?-- and wordsmithing for Amazon would cost another $5000. (Totally true of the two self published authors I know.) Maybe I will consider Amazon. Amazon is also daunting, but I respect your opinions. In the years I've been reading LFAA, your posts are occasionally salty, but IMHO are never wrong.
Actually, Amazon does that better than many but their booklist is so huge they can be hard to find--and they use the same systems as Google and FB when it comes to the logarithms for promoting books to readers. Independent bookstores are good for niche audiences: here in KC there are a number of them that sponsor author readings, focus on BIPOC authors, or LGBTQ+ authors. Supporting them by attending readings and purchasing from them is a good strategy, but in reality the authors don't make any more from books that are sold at full price than they do when Amazon (or B&N) sells at a discount. The retail price means nothing to authors. The publisher's price to bookstores is what counts for royalties. The one thing that does promote books and gets notice is advance pre-sales and pre-orders. And most independent bookstores don't engage in that kind of thing. If you order in advance from the publisher directly or through a vendor like Amazon or one of the independent booksellers that takes pre-orders you are genuinely supporting the authors. Really, the book industry on all levels is pretty much a boondoggle with authors as the victims. I should know: I have published a lot in academic presses that sell commercially and the system totally sucks, no matter the benevolence of a series editor or acquisitions editor.
I have Tim Snyder’s book, and must reread it. The owners of the LA Times and the Washington Post ignored Snyder’s first rule, do not consent in advance.
Good questions, all. Read Philip Roth's little gem, The Plot Against America, a novel that imagines Lindbergh beat Roosevelt in 1940 and made a deal with Hitler. It illustrates how we are one election away from fascism, which we are now. Even if Kamala Harris wins, she and her administration face a daunting task re-educating all of the far right's "patriots."
Trump followers have experienced democracy is not working for improving their lives, because of wealth inequality. Tax cut in the name of stimulating economy is the disguised beginning of the fascism in America. It began with the Reagan administration, I understand.
There is a long history of the work to kill the goose that insisted on laying golden eggs. It’s very clear now that the few big bois want all those eggs for themselves at the expense of the poor goose.
As I said, there are groups in the US who do not care about democracy at all. The Christian Nationalists are ruled by fascists so quite comfortable with fascism in their churches and their lives. They do not care about the Constitution, but the "word of God" as they understand it. In order to get to heaven they feel Trump will enforce the dictates they want to see in place which they believe will get the Lord to take them to heaven. See Andra Watkins,
Then there are the White Power Militias. They also don't care about democracy and want to replace our constitution with their own, after getting rid of non-White, non-Christian, and LGBTQ+ people from the US and then the planet. They want to have a global White Power Nation state that erases the rest of us from this earth. That includes women who are not subservient to them. They see Trump as their ticket to that goal. Hear what Prof. Kathleen Belew, expert on Modern White Power movements says about it in this Fresh Air Interview or read the transcript. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/605661710
Even better is reading her book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. Once you read it, you can see how what she is discussing of the newer plans of the movement is coming alive under Trump. That is the move to enter politics and take over the government from within, still intending to destroy the constitution, but to tone down their racist rhetoric to do so, and to decry immigrants instead of Blacks, and Brown skinned Americans, with the intention of getting rid of the latter but calling them immigrants because anyone who is not White is considered an illegal immigrant.
And, we have the super wealthy, who also don't care about the constitution and are fascists as long as they are the ones in power with their wealth. They see Trump as a means to paying little to no taxes on their accumulating wealth, and allowing their businesses to exploit the rest of us with no interference from the government. There is overlap between all of the groups, and SCOTUS has 6 justices who are members of the first group, and perhaps the last as well.
We have to believe that our country would not be as successful as it is, without there being more people who will support Democracy and Freedom. Fascism is not good for business, not good for economies, not good for creativity, not good for people. We have to believe that once having had a taste of Trump, more people will recognize that he will not be good for them. We have before in 2020. We can do it again.
As their religious leaders are interpreting it to them.
See this latest ProPublica article about Christian Nationalists. It discusses the evolution of CNs and the evolution of the New Apostolic Reformation, tying it into their support of Donald Trump as the leaders tell them to.
As one previously hypnotized by religious zealots, I know the process. Fortunately, it was not around every corner then. There were some sane options. Now, as you document, the organized “Elmer Gantry’s” are family and friends.
Lord, so am I. Cults are anything but fun. It is fear, wrapped in envy, wrapped in hate for anything “other.” Didn’t take me long to decide that anything other was better…
So what do we do? I got to hear Harris and Michelle Obama speak here in Michigan yesterday and a part of me wished to never have to leave the auditorium. How can so many be mislead by Trump and his minions? You outline so well everything I fear. I have volunteered and donated to the Harris campaign and am hoping and although I am not particularly religious, praying that Kamala is elected.
Well said. I'm concern we will never get our freedoms back. Unfortunately, as an old baby boomer, I feel like I'm talking to deaf and blind people. They say stupid things like he doesn't mean that. I'm frustrated that they ignore everything Trump, Vance, Musk are saying and doing. They just blindly follow.....right off a cliff. Will people ever trust each other enough to overthrow fascism? Cuba couldn't. God bless America.
Dear Steve: Unfortunately, although you write clearly and I do not enjoy correcting you on this, YOU HAVE SWALLOWED THE COOL-AID of the Oligarchs and the Autocracy. Yes, I read what you said, and I urge you not to give in to their manufactured and propagandized feeling and sense of INEVITABILITY. As many before Tim Snyder have said: In our existence, there is no such thing as inevitable as long as we each maintain our Autonomy and seek new ways to move through and forward. This is what we must all do together now, even if the worst happens on November 5th. This is not a one shot fight, and yes the election is of critical importance, and yes we may still be surprised by the US vote. This will be long term fight and we need to be prepared for it mentally.
For what it is worth I do not think this inevitable. I think it very possible, but not inevitable. I also hold out that we could be in for a pleasant surprise and Harris over-performs and wins substantially. The US will still be in for a rough time, because the GOP will not peacefully respect the results and again much of the country will still not see a Harris presidency as legitimate, no matter how many international observers attest that it is - as was the case for the last election.
But as for the long term, I for one am aware that we are possibly entrusting someone with the temperament and character of a Caligula with the nuclear codes. There may be no "long term". I can never forgive the American electorate for even flirting with this. And on that score, I am on the same page as any sentient, responsible parent on this planet.
Yes. Who knew that so many educated people would be without vision of what catastrophic actions can be expected from a mentally impaired cruel felon and his waiting in the wings VP? A horror show
Sadly, there are many Americans who think the Dems' accusation of fascism are exaggerated, just another partisan ploy. Oddly, one of the networks gave voice to a 40 something male who is voting for the first time, and it's for Trump. I also watched an NBC Charts episode last night where educated business types are voting Trump although they know his economy policies, namely cross the board tariffs and massive immigrant deportations, would be ruinous for the American economy, why it was ruminated, because they don't believe Trump would actually carry through. A LOT of Americans may think Washington is infected with "deep state" radical socialists as Trump rages on about, let alone the sheer to the roof invective he's hurtling at the "stolen election", by this date, quadrupling down on his Big Lie. And, face it, many Americans are indeed virtual Christian nationalists - "God and nation" esp white. And not just men.
Bonhoeffer was right, “under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or rather, they allow this to happen to them.” Propaganda works in the intellectually astute as well as the intellectually vapid. I feel a tinge of misogyny as well, in many who would be incensed at such a statement.
The power of your comment made me cry…literally cry. You have expressed all the fears I have been living with all these many months. I do not have faith in the common sense of the people to work for the common good of all people. When I look at all the younger people at the felon’s rallies who have fallen prey to his hateful rhetoric, I cry all over again. Hate is the legacy that the convicted felon leaves behind.
Thank you for your succinct summary of the core issues which must always be kept in mind as we walk through the next 2 weeks, 2 months, and decades hence. Here’s one grateful shoutout to the teachers who choose to light the way towards clarity in alarming times.
I am profoundly appreciative of your work Professor Richardson – thank you.
It’s all coming into view this week isn’t it – the fascist playbook? Polls so close that no matter whether Harris wins by a small or large margin the GOP will cry foul ; local election boards that are corrupted ; a whole range of legal teams the GOP has lined up to challenge the election’s legality ; a stacked Supreme Court ; threats of violence against election officials ; the odious Elon Musk putting his thumb heavily on the scale ; the collusion with Putin and the compromising of our national security as Trump and Musk connive with a murderous dictator ; the desire of that same dictator for revenge, which is nothing less than the destruction of the US.
What will the US do without access to health care for women ? What will it do once the Right imposes its perverse view of history and education on our schools and universities, when the Florida model of repression goes national ? What will families do with no social security ? What misery will be visited on them when tarifs cause untold stress on already tight household budgets ? What environmental damage will come from a know-nothing attitude towards climate change, and the gutting if not outright elimination of NOAA and the early warning system for hurricanes ?
What will happen if they succeed in building their camps, and deport millions ? How will they try to hide the likely humanitarian catastrophe that will ensue ? What will happen to basic rights when police departments are further militarized and given a green light to arbitrarily treat citizens as they please ? What will happen as a lawless president pardons January 6th rioters ? Will he also pardon militia members who intimidate or even shoot peaceful protesters ? How long will people endure armed repression coupled with economic misery, before they themselves organize against it ?
What will the economy look like as the US exits NATO and leaves Europe to Putin ? What will happen to the US as the EU, an entity that helps sustain a robust US economy, is plunged into war as Putin gobbles up the Ukraine, the Baltics, and makes a play for Poland ? What will the nuclear powers of France and Britain do as remaining fellow NATO members are invaded ?
But the most important questions I have are more philosophical and humanistic : How can so many well-educated people be so cruel and reckless as to entrust these monsters – a Trump, a Musk, and at this late date, a Putin – with their futures ? How can the historic memory of Boomers be so short and insouciant as to forget the lessons of the 1930s and 1940s ? How can people be filled with such blind hate that they will die on the hill of a Trump, rather than on the hill that will expand rights, economic opportunity, and keep the planet livable ?
If you think this is hyperventilating, that is merely because I have taught about this sort of thing my entire life. Authoritarians will lie about everything – their racism, their sexism are based on lies, their patriotism and their piety utterly false. But the cruelty they tell you they intend to inflict ? That is almost always the only truth they tell.
Steve, you stated the case for voting for democracy very well. Even if democracy wins this election, the autocrats will still be there. We can only hope that after democracy wins, enough people will understand how important democracy is. Hatred will always be around but we must learn how to make people understand differences.
I found a website for [ H. RES. 1386 ] that puts our name on a petition to Mike Johnson to stand against the dangerous agenda regarding the policies of Project 2025.
I forgot about H.RES.1386 from some August notes within an older Jessica's CHOP WOOD, CARRY WATER Substack - and I put my name on the petition - if you want, here's the link:
https://www.mikejohnson2025.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Here is where I vetted H.RES.1386:
Congress.gov
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/1386/text
Johnson is a fascist. Fascists don’t give a damn about petitions nor any other form of advice from the people about what’s best for the country. The only hope is to outvote them, make it stick, make laws that curtail their operations (especially voter suppression and violations of civil rights), and vigorously enforce those laws. We can remove these fascists from power, but it will take a lot of persistent effort for a long time.
Johnson isn't a mere fascist, he's a Christofascist. I won't add my name to any petition for two reasons:
- It's a waste of time. Members of Congress only listen to their constituents and even then not always. It was beyond disheartening to see 85 boxes of petitions addressed to Speaker Paul Ryan with hundreds of thousands of signatures be rejected by his office; imagine the effort, the paper, the shipping costs to get those petitions to DC only to have them summarily dismissed.
- If Trump is elected and Project 2025 is implemented, I don't want to give them a reason to send me to the hooscow. Yes, that's extreme but we can't fool ourselves into believing that all will be normal, that maximum caution isn't required.
Christofascist, very apt phrase to describe Johnson, and hardly just him. Extremist Evangelicals are the driving centre of those praying endlessly for the Lord to end "secular tyranny", agents of Satan, in the USA. They have been dreaming of this for years now. The downfall of RvW has simply spurred them on, and an appetite for more to come is much of their minds.
I am a Catholic Christian, and don’t find anything remotely Christian about them. They simply want to misuse Jesus’s name as an excuse for a power grab.
The 1943 description of the fascism we were fighting is a perfect description of Trump and his MAGA followers. I don't know why that is so hard for so many Americans to understand!
Simple. Nearly half of all Americans want what Trump is offering.
And some of them don't believe it -- they consider everything they hear from non-Trump sources to be lies, and they've have been told that it's Biden and Dems who are the fascists. That's what we're up against. I have MAGA family members. They believe Trump is being persecuted, that there has been a 'plot' against him all along. It's just heartbreaking.
We have to keep trying and keeping hoping. No other choice.
I am hoping…
According to polls, Andy. Most normal people do not answer phone calls or texts from people they don’t know. Years ago I answered a poll which turned out to be a money making scam. So the result is polls of 1000 people or less extrapolate for what millions believe. The media used to say how many were polled and they don’t anymore.
And consider the questions— do you think the country is going in the wrong direction? Hell yes, I would answer because a degenerate crazy former president is running to be re- elected and has the Supreme Court supporting him. 🎃🤡💩🤮🤬💔
I’m reading Dr Fauci’s book ON CALL. start with the recent part first. The swill from tfg’s fascist mouth makes us forget facts—4,000 people a day were dying from COVID when Biden took office. When MAGats say what has Biden done for me, there it is. Donnie mismanaged it and didn’t care. Made masks political.
Indeed they do, Andy.
Andy, it does seem that you are right. Both of my parents participated in WW2 and I grew up hearing all about it. Now, in 2024, WW2 is ancient history to a majority of Americans who have thought very little about it.
As Sinclair Lewis put it: "It Can't Happen Here." I read that after the 2016 election and it seemed beyond imagining. But it seems a bit more prescient now that we have actual Nazis clawing at the doors of the federal government.
It’s hard for many Americans to understand, David Clark, because they can’t get past their top political priority, which is electing people to office who promise to preserve the systemic advantages of white Americans.
Too many of them do not know — they are the ones fooled by the claims of “communism” and the fear mongering. It’s so hard to get the clarity out there thaat is needed.
Hoping, people. I keep hoping!!!
It's quite fashionable among democrats right now to compare Trump to Hitler (always a last-ditch, losing argument in any political discussion) and inaccurately call him a Fascist. The true definition of Fascism is government control of private business, in other words, public-private partnership. Democrats calling Trump Fascist is projection. The democrats are the ones who have partnered up with big business and the war machine to censor Americans, in direct violation of their constitutional rights to free speech, and in contradiction to their traditional values. Our founding fathers told us that free speech was the cornerstone of democracy and the Democratic party is the one trying to eliminate it. This is how all dictatorships begin.
I've voted Democrat all my life, but the Dems have changed for the worse and I will not support them again until they change back.
David, you're confused about the difference between Republican fascism and the soft "socialism" of the Democrats ("socialism" like organized and regulated mail delivery, the military in all forms, transportation and road repair, social security created by the life-long input of hundreds of thousands of working people who couldn't afford retirement funds). You've sipped too much of their "free" Koolaide. Government oversight (soft socialism) came into play under Roosevelt to try to create protected space for people working for a living on farms, in hospitals, etc. Protection from the rapaciousness and gluttony of the wealthy. Personally, I believe very wealthy people who insist on piling up more wealth are mentally ill. Is there nothing more important in life than the Almighty Dollar? The Dems are trying to maintain that protection, which has definitely been eroded by the millionaire+ interests who are pretty much insane, IMHO. And very dangerous to the rest of us whom they regard as their prey and fodder from whom to wrest their exorbitant profits.
Yes, they used to try to do that. But in the past several years they have enabled the rapacious gluttony of the Bill Gates', Blackrocks and Pfizer's of the world by labeling anything remotely critical of their big pharma, big Ag, big military agenda as 'misinformation' and proceeding to force social media to eliminate the voices of those who are bold enough to call out the truth and campaign against those wealthy interests you're talking about. That's not democratic, or socially democratic. It's blatant dictatorship. I'm for social democracy, under the protection of our constitution. The dems have left the constitution behind in the dust. It's now the Republicans who are our best hope of fighting against Oligarchy, mostly because they've welcomed Robert F. Kennedy into their fold.
David, you couldn't be more wrong if you tried.
Fascism is a FAR-RIGHT, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism, fascism is placed on the far right-wing within the traditional left–right spectrum. (h/t Wikipedia).
It's not the Democrats who have written a 900-page document that details how they will turn the US into an autocracy that will destroy the public education system and replace it with schools that will look more and more like the dreaded madrasas, disable the federal agencies that protect the public from bad medicines, bad food, bad investments, that will dismantle NOAA, defund FEMA, and, ultimately, ban all abortions, no exceptions. Even just a summary of their game plan should be enough to make you understand how dangerous would be a Trump second term. Which is to say that not voting or voting third party is a vote for Trump and the implementation this evil scheme.
What I Learned When I Read 887 Pages of Project 2025 by Carlos Lozada: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/opinion/project-2025-trump-administration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z00.KRo_.N-RzukcU6Z0W&smid=url-share
MisTBlu, thanks for your considered opinion. I grew up on just such thinking but have changed my mind.
I don't believe any more that the federal agencies are protecting us, nor that they're even trying. They are captured by Big Industry and the Military Industrial Complex, which in turn are owned by uber-wealthy families who have been jockeying to control world politics and carry out their eugenicist ideology for several generations. I don't trust the NY Times, given it's history in promoting propaganda supporting the agenda of these elites.
https://www.thegrayladywinked.com/
The other news organizations are by and large as corrupt as the times, being owned by the same people that own Big Industry. Are you hearing about all these dire eventualities from the legacy media? Each side vilifies and distorts the intentions of the other. The Dems lie as often and as egregiously as the Republicans.
If the dems cared at all about any of this they would have welcomed Robert F. Kennedy Jr with open arms. He has the will and the knowledge to stop the out-of-control corporate capture that has obliterated our democracy. But instead, they have coerced social media to censor Kennedy and anybody else who offers discussion that throws doubt on this agenda. Their behavior is unconstitutional. They deserve to lose for this alone. They are captured as well.
Project 2025 seems pretty benign to me - not exactly everything I'd like to see, but certainly not disastrous. The devil is quite possibly in the details. But the first priority is to reclaim the free-speech that the dems, etc. have tried to take away, and spread the knowledge of how our government has turned into the political arm of international corporate power. Without free speech, you wouldn't even be able to criticize Project 2025 without having your bank account shut down. They could say you were spreading misinformation. Is that the country you want to live in?
I stand with Robert F. Kennedy because he has immense personal integrity and clear, workable ideas for making these changes. Trump has enlisted Kennedy to do these things and Kennedy trusts Trump. I never thought I'd be here, but here I am.
Fascism is not phenomenal of both extremes. There is no paranoid-schizophrenia, only two poles: the schizophrenic and the paranoid.
Nope. No such thing as paranoid-schizophrenic. They are 2 sides of polar opposite continuums of extremist tendencies. @Pol Pot executed anyone wearing eyeglasses.
Slow down a little. Consider reading Mein Kamph (The Struggle-1925) in the original 557 pages. -a hard difficult read with poor prose and lots of wandering but the purpose was to overthrow the German Republic. Hitler's fascist policies aimed to take over all forms of industry & commerce while promoting nationalism allowing no dissent .On this platform Hitler embraced racism to pit groups against each other. We know that led to: WW11.
Now think about the Republican Party embracing Project 2025 (Heritage Foundation). The end of American Democracy as we know it?
The first thing any aspiring dictator does, is to control the media and limit the ability of the opposition to express their views. I see the Democrats doing this, not the Republicans. The same entities who have taken over the democratic party in our country have already taken over all forms of industry & commerce. It's been happening for decades already.
Oh please . . . fergawdsake . . .
Steve, dismissal is not an argument.
"Oh please . . .?" That's the best you can do, Steve? Are you feeling uncomfortable about your indulgence of this rotten system with which we live that profits some at the expense of most others?
Nixon, Bush 41, Bush 43. Did you all last take history before November 22, 1963? Cause that's the feeling I'm getting here...
"Gawd," sadly, has been deleted from the system, so bring Gawd back into it, by all means.
It is true 1984 was written contra to socialism. It can happen on either extreme of the political spectrum. There's no such thing as a paranoid/schizophrenic, only a continuum of paranoia-schizophrenia. People here forget that.
When a MAGA can say Jesus is wrong, than it's full steam ahead with hatred and divisiveness.
I suspect there is a significant anti-abortion Catholic constituency, to wit Amy Coney Barrett. Much of Christianity has moved into a more liberal outlook. But just read the original fanaticism of the New Testament, this is what Evangelicals, Baptists draw their basic inspiration from. A world ruled by Satan, all the other religions are ruled by demons or make believe, ONLY the good followers of Jesus have it right, and the true followers are assaulted from within by heretics, and the Second Coming of Jesus and judgement are right on the horizon. Liberally minded Christians tone all this down, often treating the virgin birth for example as purely legendary in nature. Most seminaries, except for the fundamentalists, pretty much have taught it this way for some time now.
Frank, I don't know to what seminaries you are referring when you use that too often used word, "most." Speaking as one who has graduated from one such seminary, the word "some" would be far more accurate. The seminary I attended and many more whose students I discuss this stuff with, taught people to read the words of the New Testament critically, and in historical context---not just because they are more "liberally minded." It's critical examination and study--not just "liberalism." The Roman Catholic Church would have followers believe its edicts are equal to scripture as part of its tradition. The Virgin Birth isn't just legendary. The idea performs a serious function in the theology of the Church and so has power of its own.
In Canada denominations such as the United Church, the largest Protestant, are considered liberal in nature, downplaying and/or denying the the miraculous in the NT. I've met more than one church member who literally disbelieve in things such as the virgin birth, treating it as purely legendary, an education head in a local church in the early 90s who treated it in the same way. Better, here's Wiki on the topic of liberal Christianity in general. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Liberal_Christianity
My source for "most" would be Bart Ehrman, he's put things that way for a couple generations now, his Introduction to the New Testament is based on a textbook in use at Chapel Hill, NC theology dept for about a quarter century now. If you think he's wrong, without stats and research I won't argue the point. I believe the Atlantic School of Theology in Nova Scotia, Canada takes this approach, studying the Bible using "critical" methods, putting theology in a historical context, but also leaving various denominations a place for their own interpretations. Thanks for the notes on how the RCC still deals with the story of virgin birth and her divine status in the Catholic tradition.
Catholics (including, I’m sure, you, Kathy Hughes) are, on the average, far better Christians than white evangelicals. Ironically, however, even the average Catholic falls shorter of living up to Christian ideals than the average atheist.
Alleluia!
Yes, and he smirks all the time. He was just here in Oregon to campaign for the local R in House District 5 who has an excellent opponent. Then he went across the Columbia to fundraise and campaign for angry Joe Kent, who is fascist to the core, and trying to unseat the incumbent D female who is an auto mechanic and hardly far left.
This is long. It is the editorial in today's edition of the Orland Sentinel. Christofascism is alive, well and flourishing in America.
ORLANDO SENTINEL EDITORIAL
How would Jesus vote?
Today, the weight of the pending election is on the minds of many across Central Florida— including those who are sitting in church pews or temples, listening to faith leaders exhorting them (subtly or not so much) to cast their ballots one way or another.
In a perfect — or even functional — society, that sermonizing would prompt an examination of how candidates’ conduct and viewpoints align with the core tenets of each voter’s faith. But for a growing number of Americans, this guidance will offer comfort and support that it’s OK to vote for people whose morals might appear questionable to the unenlightened. That it’s a bad idea to question leaders who exploit their voter-given power to marginalize and scapegoat groups of people as general threats to their own existence, and to paint those who disagree as villainous liars.
That it’s acceptable to ignore some of the great principles espoused by the world’s religious traditions: To comfort the afflicted, to welcome the stranger, to seek justice, to revere the truth. This is Christian nationalism at work — in Florida, and across the nation. And there is very little that is Christlike about it. Rather, this is the cancer our forefathers sought to prevent when they created the fundamental firewalls between government and religion — the walls that many of today’s leaders are seeking to tear down.
Know them by their works
Not many politicians openly proclaim themselves to be Christian nationalists, but they aren’t hard to spot. Gov. Ron DeSantis is a prime example. He often explains his actions (particularly those that misappropriate funding, incorporate dishonesty or gather power to himself that outstrips the boundaries of his role) by lashing out at some group that has “forced” him into extraordinary action. Consider his recent veto of the state’s entire cultural arts 10/27/24, 1:01 PM Orlando Sentinel https://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=7f2e94da-42a6-42b3-91be-f4782530a2d0&edid=1046e43e-d6… 1/5 grant program — a move that saved taxpayers a relatively paltry $32 million, but one that has devastated community arts programs including small theaters, visual-arts spaces and music programs. These programs brought joy to many and did no harm; some of them will not survive the loss of funding they depended on.
Magnifying his cruelty, DeSantis and like-minded people have repeatedly lied about asylum seekers, branding them as “illegals” who want to sell fentanyl to high-schoolers, rape housewives and steal jobs from deserving Americans. The only presidential debate this year featured the same callous dishonesty, when former president Donald Trump slandered Haitian immigrants as pet abducting dog-eaters. The president and his debate-prep team almost certainly knew they were repeating social-media rumors that had already been proven false. In each of these cases, what side do you think Jesus would have taken? Or Solomon, Mohammed, Buddha? If you need a reference, check out Leviticus 19:34: The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
The truly sad thing is that, even as we write this, we can think of so many other examples where DeSantis, Trump or legislative candidates demonized vulnerable people, usually as a distraction to draw voters’ attention away from their own failures to fix property insurance, repair crumbling infrastructure and help Florida’s increasingly desperate working class. Here’s just one more: The infamous 2023 hearing of the state House Education Committee, where Rep. Webster Barnaby, R-Deltona, listened to transgender adults and youth plead for protection against invasion into their intimate lives, then responded: “The Lord rebuke you, Satan, and all of your demons and all of 10/27/24, 1:01 PM Orlando Sentinel https://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=7f2e94da-42a6-42b3-91be-f4782530a2d0&edid=1046e43e-d6… 2/5 your imps will come and parade before us. That’s right — I called you demons and imps.”
Barnaby is on the ballot Nov. 5, facing Rosemarie Latham, a nurse-practitioner who wants to expand health care to low-income workers. May his cruel pride go before a fall. Praying to false gods In a recent edition of the NPR talk show 1A, a panel of experts explored the psychology of Christian nationalism and why so many Americans are seduced into believing that these actions are godly, or even acceptable in a polite society — and how they can revere a creature like Trump, the serial adulterer with a miles-long record of cheating his business partners, exploiting public resources and spewing lies about political rivals.
And that was before he became president. Since then, fact-checking organizations have documented thousands of outright lies — while Trump cozied up to some of the world’s cruelest and most oppressive regimes and stood by while a mob broke into the U.S. Capitol in pursuit of his attempt to steal the 2020 election. None of it seems to matter to the subset of voters who see Trump as their golden idol — capable of no wrong. Others vote for him because they don’t care about the lies, and believe he’ll be better for their bottom line. Even rational Republicans, who are repulsed by his arrogance and greed, fear to speak up against him. How can this be? As described by the panelists, it’s definitely not by accident. In fact, the current Christian nationalist movement appears to be the end game of a “deeply networked organizational infrastructure” that’s been working for years to dismantle critical checks and balances — including the much vaunted separation of church and state, but also reaching to mechanisms intended to keep power distributed and thus, resistant to abuse.
In Florida, DeSantis has emasculated the state Legislature and systematically undermined the independence of the court system. Not to sound too conspiratorial, but it’s all part of the plan. Powerful, ultra-conservative ministers are definitely playing their role, lacing their sermons with partisan themes and using political stunts as fundraising props. Groups like the pro-book-banning Moms for Liberty clutch cloaks of virtue while they work to destabilize Americans’ perception of what is true and acceptable in society. A close look at the books they’ve targeted include many that had no whiff of sexual or sinful content. Instead, these stories worked to build empathy and understanding of people who were from other cultures, or related the historic struggle for human equality and dignity. 10/27/24, 1:01 PM Orlando Sentinel https://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=7f2e94da-42a6-42b3-91be-f4782530a2d0&edid=1046e43e-d6… 3/5 Removing those books, and rejecting other efforts to foster empathy, makes it easier to vilify groups of people who have few defenses. They are the perfect targets — and having enemies is essential in the Christian Nationalist playbook. “One aspect of movement that’s become much more salient in the last decade or so is the idea of spiritual warfare. This idea that God and Satan are really active and directly involved in American political campaigns, and God has chosen to anoint one candidate.
So within this mindset, it’s important to understand they see Trump not so much as a politician. They don’t look at his personal history, but they see him as an anointed one sent from on high,” Katherine Stewart, who recently wrote a book about the movement, told 1A. To question Trump is to question God. That’s the message. It’s so wrong, but so powerful. What voice will you follow? So how do Christians and other people who are sincere in the core tenets of their faith fight back against this co-opting of religion? Many local churches are already doing this work. There are pastors in this community who speak compellingly of Christ’s imperatives toward kindness, respect and humility. Their congregations work to lift up marginalized people, heal the sick, care for those in need. They pray for justice, and for truth. They should do more, remembering that Jesus himself was not content just to preach and hope. He was a fiery voice challenging the power structure — a dangerous voice, in the end, but one that has echoed through millennia.
We’ll close with something the Rev. Jim Wallis, director of the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, who has been rebuking the ultraconservative high-jacking of faith for decades: “Jesus said, you’ll know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Now as I dig into that text in times like this, it tells me that the opposite of truth isn’t just lies, it’s captivity. It’s captivity. And a whole lot of people have become captive to these lies.” As they consider their choices in this election, we urge readers of faith to look past the political alliances that have been forged between the powerful elite of this nation and the Philistines who offer to cloak greed and division in Godly vestments. Look to the core works of your faith: The Torah. The Koran. The Bible. And pray. This nation has never needed it more. 10/27/24, 1:01 PM Orlando Sentinel https://digitaledition.orlandosentinel.com/html5/desktop/production/default.aspx?pubid=7f2e94da-42a6-42b3-91be-f4782530a2d0&edid=1046e43e-d6… 4/5
Thank you. Very powerful. Fingers crossed that it doesn't fall on eyes deadened to truth.
They tend to listen even more to the lobbyists who give them checks, thanks to Citizens United.
Citizens United will go down in history as this century's Dred Scott.
The first half of this shameful Court's Dred Scott, the second being Dobbs.
Roberts started by gutting the Voting Rights Act. That led to renewed and more effective voter suppression in red states.
But at least those decisions have pleased the Christian Nationalist amongst us and the majority of the SCOTUS
At MOST. And only the fascists among us, some of whom are also Xtian Nationalists.
Well.... yes. There is that. Tucker Carlson'd acolytes living the dream.
Years ago, someone in an online discussion group used the term, "christofascist." I was impressed by how perfectly it described members of my family and people I grew up with, so I began using it from then on.
Unlike mainline Protestantism, which focuses on loving God and neighbor, Evangelicalism is animated by fear. Evangelicals awaken every morning, overcome with a thousand different fears: fear of Satan, fear of committing a sin, fear of an angry God, fear of being condemned to hell, fear of criticism by fellow believers, fear of people who do not believe as they do, worship as they do, love as they do and live as they do. In humans, uncontrolled fear is transformed into hate. This makes evangelicals the ideal targets for fascism.
The smarter fascists who direct Trump have used him to attract and dominate evangelicals, bringing them to heel in service to the fascist drive for power and control.
Evangelicals, fearing secularism, eschew public education. Thus, they are unable to think critically, or sort fact from fiction. In fact, they have abetted the campaign to discredit and defund public education in favor of "Christian" and charter schools.
Sinclair Lewis did NOT write "When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." But whoever first wrote this aphorism was right.
No, he didn't, but he wrote plenty of things that suggest he would have been OK with it. For instance, from IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE (which I want to reread, but not till after the election): "But he saw too that in America the struggle was befogged by the fact that the worst fascists were they who disowned the word ‘fascism’ and preached enslavement to capitalism under the style of constitutional and traditional Native American liberty."
Yeah! You're right. Glad it's happening in your country, not mine! But at least you're prepared to be the canary in the coal-mine for the rest of the English-speaking world. And Rupert; he's now your problem.
If, heaven forbid, Trump gets back in and they don’t come after me, I’ll be embarrassed and angry.
I am still upset I was not on Nixon's list. Hum...same party but on steroids.
Jon, Steve, it could get serious. Trump's followers are filled with hate and aching for revenge. Be careful.
While there will be unhappy losers, I expect something more like the failure of the supposed fear inspiring Nazi Werewolf plans. Seems they chose to slink away and not impale themselves on their swords after losing the war.
Trump followers would be well advised to follow something more like the Werewolf actual lack of actions and get on with the rest of their lives.
See https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/nazi-werewolves-who-terrorized-allied-soldiers-end-wwii-180970522/
Johnson is also a hypocrite hiding his lust for power and control behind his "religious righteousness," MisTBlu. Let's just hope there are enough women who don't want anyone to boss us around to get rid of these theocratic punks.
I completely agree. I stopped adding my name to any political request or poll. Those that do are putting a bullseye on themselves. Win, lose or draw this election is a losing proposition for all involved.
No. That's what "they" want--to make you afraid to stand up for what you believe. There are things to fear that are worse than death.
Stated somewhere in the Harry Potter series by Professor Dumbledore. The villain of the series split his soul by murdering, to avoid death, and he did it many times.
Agreed, MisTBlu. Just use your name to VOTE BLUE.
So, you put yourself on record as a coward, than?
I prefer to control where and how my personally identifiable information is used. At my age and in my circumstances it's the prudent thing to do.
So, I assume you're at that age where no one cares what you say, and you're naïve enough to think you're somehow protected from the information and surveillance state that will be wielded by Trump's oncoming regime. I would bet you're either elderly, or infantile??
Wow. You assume much. Good luck with that.
Oh, I only meant infantile or senile as metaphor for in denial and confused.
Now, on second thought, if simple metaphor eludes you, maybe I should reconsider my diagnosis, though.
Thanks!
Wow! I knew that Trump and his cronies-in-crime were up to no good, but as I was reading Heather's letter today, it became crystal clear. Everything she quoted went right to the cold heart of Donald Trump.
Two statements stood out to me as describ8ng MAGA. Women are only useful for "children, kitchen, and the church." MAGA's sentiments exactly.
The bull's eye truth of Trump's whole movement is this quote- "Getting men to hate rather than to think."
Pam, I opened the US Army link Heather provided, and this part jumped out at me when reading page 1: "They make their own rules and change them when they choose. If you don't like it, it's "T.S." ".
I think it's pretty easy to deduce what "T.S." stands for! 😁
Yes. Trump Stinks.☺️
… imagine this individual as POTUS: JD “keep em barefoot and pregnant” Vance!?!?!
If trump becomes president, every day that passes, Vance will be a day closer to be president himself due death or greater incapacitated of the former....
I think there is a real plan behind this--formulated by Thiel and Musk. If tffg wins, let him have the throne for a while, but soon use the 25th Amendment to get rid of him. Then Thiel and Musk and the rest of the oligarchs have a clear field.
Bingo.
Or Vance's use of the 25th amendment.
Sadly true!!!
Please read today's Jennifer Rubin's opinion piece about Vance. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/28/trump-vance-election/?fbclid=IwY2xjawGMp49leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHR-JU8SqXve5dEiB_OYf6P-_wIRSLgFYG20DdXThTtFmmoiEk-LibYMlKw_aem_8Rg42i9XDsdbgsKTsZyhbQ
Yes, Pam, that stood out to me as well. I think, hope, as a nation, we are past this thinking and rhetoric. Most of us anyway.
I appreciate you not using the word "fascist" even though clearly this is a part of that definition. I tire of our use of this word (frequently) as it mirrors the simplistic and degrading tone of DT and I hope we are better than that. Still I realize we must give voice to the truth. Truth to power.
He's even more dangerous than a fascist, he's a religious zealot. And a misogynist.
He shares an app with his son to hold each other "accountable" for their porn habits.
How disgusting this man is.
I do not think he is a religious zealot - he is not religious. He knows how to manipulate and make relgious zealots support what he wants.
Blue to stop a coup means you, LOTS of yous -VOTING BLUE💙 - and hold your representatives to guard the coop against further coups. Enough is enough.
Agreed, Rex.
Thank you, Kathleen, for this information. I hadn’t known about this petition. I’ve just signed it. I’m going to post the site on Facebook.
Sorry to break the news—on-line petitions are worthless.
Write your congressional rep—use a relative’s address if necessary to write to a Republican one. Or call their local and Washington offices.
Signed. Thank you for sharing.
Many thanks
Wow! Thank you Kathleen B Parker!
Signed. Thank you for doing the research and providing the link
Don’t be naive that stuff has no importance unless you can plunk down 5 million on his next campaign.
They're anarchists. This is click-bait fascism.
Everything Heather said is correct. I am just as concerned why the people will blindly follow that is clearly designed to harm them. Yet perhaps they’ve already been harmed.
Sometime in 1993 or 1994, Bill Clinton signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement. On that day, I paused and wondered how great this would affect American workers; workers in manufacturing who had little formal education. A few years later in my travels as an art dealer driving across the country, I drove to Seattle and stopped in Richmond, Indiana to stay at an Airbnb. The Victorian house was as ornate as the Mark Twain house in my hometown of Hartford, CT. I paid about $50 for the night to stay in the mini mansion . I asked the owner at breakfast if he minded telling me what the value of the house was. He reported around $125,000. I gasped. He then told me how that rust belt area had become filled with deserted plants and had shut down to set up off-shore. Workers no longer had those solid middle income factory jobs. A few decades later, his wife ran for president and in her run, called those MAGA supporters of Trump “The Deplorables,” mostly white, uneducated, now lower income the same group that lost their solid middle incomes under Bill Clinton. That group formed the bases of Trump’s base.
When Joe Biden refused to stem the tide of hundreds of thousands rushing the border, it became a political issue. It’s no wonder that this group is so hardened against a political party that ruined them and will not listen to reason. They have been thoroughly abandoned and insulted by the party that once supported them and their once good paying jobs.
This is the explanation to my fellow hard-headed dense democrats that just don’t understand why a large segment of the population will support a facist-like movement that does not have their interests at heart. It’s a bit confounding isn’t it — both sides, one side being the wronged and the other side being unable to grasp what the hell has happened. Go ahead ladies and gentlemen, have at me. I tell the truth.
I think the immigration problem is overplayed, legal and otherwise, they commit fewer crimes than average Americans, play a vital role in esp the agricultural sector, doing jobs most Americans refuse to do. Studies show they provide a net economic gain, pay taxes, and so on. So Americans scream they're stealing jobs when in fact USA is in virtual full employment. Murdering criminal millions, give us a break! The immigration system does need fixing, simply staunching the inflow of mainly economic migrants with walls et al won't solve the problem. USA needs to figure out better how to meet its own employment needs when its native population cannot adequately step up to the plate. Their is a solid reason why mainly economic migration from Mexican and Latino countries has been a "thorn" for more than a couple generations now. Trump and Maga have made perceived grievances a major touchstone of their campaign. Sadly, it's paid off dividends, in spades. Sounds to me it's more about racism, than economics.
It is. Tom Schiller and Paul Waldman recently published a book titled “The Roots of White Rural Rage.” People in rural areas listen to different media outlets that city people, and they have been red a constant stream of culture war propaganda that has encouraged them to vote against their economic interests. Rural areas are badly hit when farms consolidate into mega farms, factories close, young people leave for cities, and they vote for the very people who cause these problems. The propagandists have no interest in solving these problems, but want to exploit them on their behalf.
Which is why Blue Tennessee (www.bluetennessee.org) among others is addressing rural needs. Jess Piper did a great interview this week with Tom Vilsack, discussing rural issues and how they can be addressed.
So true Kathy. Paul Waldman was or is with the WAPO. I wonder how he reacted to Bezos pulling of the Harris endorsement?
"Dirt Road Revival"
Worth a read.
https://yadontknow.blogspot.com/2024/09/rural-democracy.html
I grew up on a farm, working in the fields. My parents aspired to more for me than manual labor in the fields, which simply does not pay enough to eat and live indoors at the same time. In eastern NC, where I live, there are a large number of factory farms and meat processing plants. Those jobs are dirty and physically demanding. The locals, who already lived in the area, didn’t want to work at meat processing plants. Is that what you would want for your child? Immigrants came to fill those jobs. They didn’t take jobs from locals. Deport those immigrants, and who will do those difficult jobs?
Right on Frank. Of course it's about racism and the hate and divisiveness that accompanies it.
But the economy will suffer as a consequence of closing the borders. And is it even possible to deport even 10,000 migrants? Who is going to accept them and if we just dump them in Venezuela, Haiti and Central America for starters these countries will all turn them away. If they do accept them, they will be harshly dealt with in all of the usual ways a dictatorship deals with them.
I have worked with literally hundreds of immigrants as a computer consultant, plus we have hired several dozen more to work at our home. We would still be waiting for a roof in Florida if not for immigrants and the quality of work is as good or better than native born Americans. Y2K opened the door for Indian programmers (and other nationalities) with the H2B programs. It was an ugly transition in the 1990's because of the communication barrier.
Anyway, if you deport brown people you lose a large portion of our productive workforce in almost EVERY occupation. My primary care doctor is an immigrant from Columbia. She actually saved my life plus she is fluent in several languages. It is actually selfish of me, to use her when there are relatively few doctors that serve the Hispanic community.
We all know they can't deport immigrants, legal or illegal, and we likely can't even put them in camps. So is the alternative the Fascist solution to just kill them?
Thanks for all that info, Gary! I suspect you mean 10 million, and Trump has been gaslighting 20-30 million. The logistics and the reaction of foreign governments will make a mockery of these threats.
Trump has suggested nuking Mexico.
Gary Loft: Under TFG, he'll allow the military to do just that-that way no expense for food, water, etc. Whether the military will blindly follow orders, even if unlawful, is unknowable.Think of the psychic trauma that will be inflicted on those soldiers.
Agreed, Frank. As usual, Mr. Katz simply repeats what trompy and the rest of the MAGAs want everybody to be talking about instead of issues that are greater threats to us all. Immigration is certainly important, but it's far less so than the loss of basic rights, freedoms, safety, etc. And if it were more important, then the Republicans would have taken up and voted to approve the bipartisan-drafted bill that Biden said he's signed, am I right?
Biden was absent for almost 3 years on topic. And as usual, Mr. Katz repeats the unblemished truths about our politics which is that we are a fractured society and perfectly timed to get worked by the hidden puppeteers that are also pulling your strings, too.
Please tell me in very simple words how President Biden was absent for three years Bill. Are you saying this country, that has completely recovered from the pandemic economic slump the entire world experienced, has at the same time, stood still? All the leading economic indicators would have to challenge your words here. People are always going to bitch and main about gas and food prices-like when haven’t they? As for NAFTA, the idea began in the Reagan administration, at first as an agreement between Canada and the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement?wprov=sfti1#Negotiation,_signing,_ratification,_and_revision_(1988%E2%80%9394)
It ended up on Pres. Clinton’s desk after Mexico, Central and South America were added by Bush, Sr.
All the off shoring to so many other countries didn’t happen because of NAFTA.
Yes, exactly - and meanwhile he can explain to us his deep wisdom about these hidden puppeteers of which he has such privileged knowledge. Please, do discourse and enlighten us poor unwashed and barefoot pilgrims.
Per recommendation of my physician, I can’t get near you least I become infected with unknown diseases. And I left my bullhorn at home. Next time, though.
SPW, I am of course addressing the border issue only not the very good legislation he enacted. I don’t spend all day watching news but I get my feeds from New York Times, public TV News Hours, CBS and NBC Nightly news, Mother Jones and other places but not Fox for sure. And they all reported at various times, incursions at the border. That’s how I reasoned that Biden did little for three years on the border issue. At one time I even foolishly sent comments on an approach to helping to address issues by proposing with our Central American friends a Marshall-like plan to help build and stabilize Central America. I was also in favor of a multinational force to invade and overthrow the rogue Venezuelan government. I still believe that should be an option to consider. Now do I sound better?
We have no "open borders" in America! We have thousands of border agents working throughout America who protect our border. Yes, many immigrants are arriving but also many are being caught and sent back. People just see the flow into our country but ignore the sizable number of immigrants who return via deportation or their personal decision ... millions!
The only entity that is broadcasting an "open border" are Republicans and their complicit media outlets like Fox or social media platforms. NO Democrat has uttered the word. Biden at many times discouraged any immigrants from crossing our border. Blame Republicans for higher number of immigrants, NOT democrats. AND realize the majority immigrants crossing our border are doing it LEGALLY and state their asylum status ... a legal process in present laws. Want to change the laws and upgrade our immigration laws? Have the GOP pass the comprehensive immigration reform bill they have ignored to sign via bad advice from Trump.
comment from Wa-Po comment section about Elon Musk being here illegally, working on a student visa.
Unfortunately I think you are wrong on the illegal vs legal border crossings during the first three years of Biden's administration. Those were the three years Biden was "absent" on border policy which Bill refers to. The statistics are pretty clear. This was intentional policy on the part of the Biden administration. It changed just about a year ago when the 2024 election loomed and Biden decided to change positions.
For me his change only made things worse. I clearly disagree with Bill on this. For me, the ONLY sensible option is to open the borders. Trying to "solve" the border problems by making it harder to get into the US will only increase the number of people trying to get in illegally and increase the pressure. It will also cause an inequitable problem between people trying to get in and those already here illegally. And increasing the deportations will just make matters worse.
Believe it or not by our border with Mexico used to pretty much be open. Migrant workers came and went with the growing seasons. Both Reagan and Bush I granted amnesty to several thousands and that was in spite of Nancy Reagan’s Just Say No to drugs. This country will dry up and die without migrant labor. The trick is to have a controlled flow and pathway to citizenship if it’s wanted. Where the issue gets (deliberately)confusing is with those seeking amnesty, which is totally legal.
I have concluded that Mr. Katz is a one-trick pony (or perhaps, Trojan horse) who comes here to repeat ad nauseam the same Republican talking points in order to derail thoughtful conversations. I engaged with him once and have resolved never to do it again, no matter how much he needs rebuttal.
Agree, Monsieur, most definitely I agree on not contacting you again. As to one-trick phony? You must have eaten your morning wheaties with McDonald’s tainted onions.
Ooof, could you be more pretentious than to use Monsieur when you probably don't even know French, and beside the point, can you offer anything of substance for rebuttal beyond snide ad hominem deflections?
Buddy, one ad hominem deflection was deserving of another. I see you have nothing better to do with yourself besides posting stupid remarks.
It's the fear mongering that Trump does. Saying "illegal alliens" will come into your kitchen and slit your throat! Everyone knows this is not true but say it enough and people believe them. Do you think the people who support MAGA see or hear info like what you stated on your comment? Absolutely not. My husband is a Trump supporter Fox watcher. The drumbeat on Fox is fear. They do portray Democrats as communists as well as equal to the devil. People who watch this don't see any other source of "news" as I'm sure you know. I've got my husband watching a Spectrum News channel for bipartisan info but it doesn't change his mind. He was a housepainter and lost his job to those who would accept pay @ half what he received and they happened to be immigrants. People like him have a grudge and Trump feeds it. So sorry for venting but I'm so terrified of fascism.
To be slightly objective here, the immigrant "problem" is quite real. There are in fact at least several million possibly almost ten million undocumented immigrants in the US today. Under the current law, almost every one of those people are subject to arrest and deportation. This is absolutely without regard to ANY logical or rational justification for enforcing the law. Enforcing the law is always theoretically the right thing to do unless you believe the law is unconstitutional. And in general our immigration laws are not unconstitutional, just unenforced.
So trump, if elected will be completely within his rights and in fact may be legally correct to massively enforce the immigration laws. Will he be "right" in the moral sense? Maybe not. Will he be right in the political sense? That remains to be seen. But he will almost certainly be right in the legal sense. And that is technically all the justification he needs to carry out his draconian plan. It is difficult to see any court which would halt his ability to do that (and if they did, I would expect the Supreme Court as it currently exists to reverse quite quickly.
This is why i believe that the best course of action is to repeal all immigration laws and essentially open the borders to anyone with the exception of demonstrable criminals. This would make it much more difficult to attempt mass deportations. By removing the legal basis for such deportations, it would at least become an unlawful act to arbitrarily deport people based on status.
Jon, the undocumented you speak of have jobs and families, with citizen children (assuming they were born here.) Many, if not most, pay taxes and have SS/FICA withheld without access to benefits. Deportation (which you don't advocate, thankfully) would be extremely expensive to the taxpayers and the economy, but opening the borders isn't a solution either. I believe that those presently here (unless they were/are criminals of one sort of another) should be on a path to recognition as citizens. We need a sane, fair and manageable immigration solution without saying "Come one, Come all."
Agreed. This might also help your points, Doug. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/citizenship-undocumented-immigrants-boost-u-s-economic-growth/
Sorry I don't believe you can really have it " both ways". This just another repeat of the various forgiveness strategies that have been repeated over and over. Don't keep immigrants out because we really DO want them and need them (they obviously take jobs that most Americana don't want) let them sneak in and get settled and then a few years later when there is a political "need" to get even, throw some of them out but let the large majority have amnesty, give them some path to legitimacy, then say "we're closing the borders down now", rinse and repeat. It's getting pretty tiring. In some ways it gives credence to Trump's philosophy, build a huge wall and throw them all out and keep them out. At least he is consistent if terribly wrong IMHO.
You really can't have it both ways. You either have to deport those who are her e illegally or you have to acknowledge that our policies don't work and do trying to keep them out. The rinse and repeat concept of looking the other way for a while, then granting some kind of amnesty for those who were able to get through the obstacles and take up illegal residence is wrong and unfair. I have seen this done several times in my lifetime and I am sick of it. Either do what Trump says and deport every one who is here illegally or cancel the laws and permit unrestricted immigration. I see no other fair and decent alternatives. You know which one I think is right.
Now you too have gone over the deep end.
Katz
The economic reality in my state is that many of the agricultural jobs, on which much of our economy is based, no longer pay enough or appeal to white workers. Nor do the nonunion construction jobs. My neighbor is having his roof replaced down to the trusses and the entire crew is comprised of Spanish speaking workers even though our minimum wage is $15 an hour and there is a construction boom to accommodate all the growth we are experiencing. Without migrant workers, our economy would collapse and your supply of fresh fruit would cost far more than you would want to pay. The town where I grew up was called the fruit bowl of the nation and it got that way because every year migrant workers came to harvest its bounty. It’s now a major producer of wine grapes. So enjoy what our state and its workers provide and stfu with your nonsense.
Wait a holy minute. Are you trying to make me into an anti immigrant voice? Are you kidding? Not at all. Two points I have try to make clear on this issue. First, there is a legal way in and laws should be honored. But even more importantly, the optics bugs the heck out of me and if we think that allowing hundreds of thousands running over hot sand sells to the general public, I have a Brooklyn Bridge for you to buy. I want to say my country. The runners over hot sand must come second to the salvation of my form of government. Sorry if this bothers you.
I won't believe my country is serious about enforcing immigration laws until I see some serious enforcement that aims at preventing them from getting employment. And there's a thermometer or barometer to check that. If you can still find a place in your city where men can stand around openly on the corners in certain areas waiting to be picked up to work, you know that the immigration law is not being enforced. We need to figure out how to keep them from finding employment. Then they will not take ridiculously huge loans in order to get here on the chance they will be able to pay off the loan with the wonderfully high salaries we have. I'm being cynical sorry. Because they mainly live in conditions many of us would find subpar, because they are sending most of their money home hoping to build up in big enough nest egg to be able to go back and eventually retire there, since they won't be able to retire decently in this country on their earnings.
I disagree with the commonly heard statement that the jobs they are filling are jobs Americans don't want. What has happened is it has become impossible for a contractor in certain fields, starting with landscaping and I'm sure going into plenty of other fields, to make any money without hiring illegals because if they don't they will be underbid by those who do. I saw this change personally in the 1990s and 2000s when I was a licensed landscape contractor myself.
And I enjoyed having the Latins on my crews. They were usually willing workers (especially the newly-arrived ones) and fast learners.
Every federal immigration law has been racist. Starting in 1875 with a law designed to prevent Chinese wives from joining their husbands in the US.
Yep this is why I favor an open border policy. Get rid of the immigration laws and you get rid of these problems. The very fact that millions of undocumented immigrants can actually get into the country and take up illegal residence without causing a huge serious problem suggests to me that open borders will work much better than deportation. Look at the European union. They opened all they're borders to any one in the union and now their economies are mostly much more vibrant than ours. We need workers and immigrants do a lot of work that most Americans aren't interested in doing.
The town I grew up in turned 400 last year. In that time its economy has gone from extractive ship mast production and fishing, to hard scrabble farming and wool production, to weaving, tanning, shoe and brick manufacturing, and finally making plastic auto parts. All of these went away, with the ensuing pain that always follows economic transitions. The transitions didn't make themselves, however, they required a lot of effort by gritty, determined, fairly well educated people. It now has a very diverse economy that includes being the headquarters of a large insurance company.
NAFTA and globalization facilitated a race to the bottom where almighty capital won, is still winning, despite nearly losing it all in 2008 - when we literally printed money to save overextended (greedy) financial institutions. My town survived globalization because it stopped being a one or two industry town decades ago. The rust belt seems to be diversifying as well, through a lot of hard work and creativity. I just hope they can avoid the 'one industry town' trap that makes us vulnerable to greedy capitalists in the first place.
Supply side economics laid the groundwork for globalization, which hollowed out American manufacturing, which laid the groundwork for the Tea Party, the opioid epidemic (which is dwarfed by the epidemic of alcohol - but we don't talk about that), and a fascist bid to take over our country. Vote Harris/Walz in November.
If you listen to podcasts, Unf*cking the Republic had a really interesting take on the financial crisis: the crazy surge in oil prices driven by financial institutions. Worth a listen.
I am not laughing at you; there is a lot of truth in what you say. Those same rust belt areas were then flooded with opioids and in a way that is what Trump is still doing with his fake promises. I think Harris is recognizing this and trying valiantly to break through that mindset and level the playing field, as it were. Another 4 years of Trump would be a nightmare for this country and the world-just like Hitler was. Last night, I re-watched Gary Oldman as Churchill in His Darkest Hour and there was a line there that struck a chord with me-he that never changes his mind, never changes anything. I am heartened by the number of Republicans who are publicly endorsing Harris and hope we can get to a 54% Dem win so there is no doubt who has won this election-and then the work begins.
“ When Joe Biden refused to stem the tide of hundreds of thousands rushing the border, ”???
Republicans lying again. Biden has largely continued Trump’s migrant policies, but doesn’t separate families. Trump got the Republicans to withdraw their support from an immigration bill so he could use it as a political stalking horse, and they lie about immigrant caravans the way Elise Stefanik did the other day on X. The Republicans have replaced their oaths of office to uphold the constitution and laws of the United States with a private oath of loyalty to an incompetent wannabe dictator.
Speaking of Stefanik - I guess it wouldnt be surprising to hear the views of people who live in and around her district! Another politician who only "serves" herself & tffg and makes it very obvious!
Right?? The politicization of this issue began LONG, L O N G before Joe Biden took office. And it seems that there WAS a bi-partisan bill proposed during Joe’s administration that was denied even being brought up for a vote because Mr Trump rejected the appearance of any kind of win for Democrats before the 2024 election. Hmmm. This issue is largely manufactured as a political argument for campaigning just as abortion WAS and look what ham-handedly handling that looks like! I was never a fan of NAFTA but I believe Joe Biden has done more to right that grievous wrong than anyone since so the argument that Democrats won’t hear what the struggling middle class has to say is faulty also. They’re listening and working to make it better but MAGA is turning their noses up to all of it over an opportunity to make us pay for their losses.
In my reply to Mr Katz, I referred to Wikipedia about the original intent of NAFTA and discovered that NAFTA was the brainchild of the Reagan administration. It’s a fascinating reminder that people could perhaps benefiting by reading.
From CoPilot: Yes, Ronald Reagan first proposed the idea of a North American free trade agreement during his 1980 presidential campaign1
. However, it was during the administration of George H. W. Bush that negotiations began, and the agreement was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 19931
. So, while Reagan planted the seed, it took a few administrations to bring NAFTA to life.
It's an interesting comment isn't it? Sprinkled with a little skewed history. Always as if the person woke up in 1990 and thought everything was brand new.
Candace, Mr. Katz propagates this MAGA assertion frequently (despite my belief he's not MAGA.)
I can only surmise that trompy's statement in 2015 after descending the escalator must have made a favorable impression on him, because that's what he often talks about.
I think much of his purpose in life--or at least his purpose in commenting here--is attempting to build up his substack subscribers.
I have sizable things I do in my day jobs and real life I don’t depend on these scribbles to define who I am or what I do. Pa-lease.
I agree--he's also always flogging his "book."
Apparently, I offended him which was not my intention. I was giving my opinion of why he puts forth the opinions that he does. He sent a snarky reply my way. Usually when people on this forum disagree, they do it rather respectfully. He does sometimes make good points, but they are too often (again, in my opinion!) harping on the same point. It reminds me a bit of Trump continuing to beat a dead horse, and I tired of it. I could spend hours reading the comments, so I'm come to mostly just search out people that I am familiar with who I greatly respect. There are some really intelligent people on this forum and I feel like they raise my IQ a point or two by considering their viewpoints.
Miselle, I agree that there’s no place for snarky on Heather’s substack. That kind of adolescent junk belongs in that other grp of t and his three billion blind mice. HCR, you and others deserve the respect you all provide.
Let’s all simply ignore those others who can’t and won’t.
As much as Katz and Phil both about me, your argument is nonsense. They have a much right to be here as you and I and we should at least acknowledge that without proposing turning a deaf ear. That's what "they" do. We become much less of we do the same thing. Argue back, criticize, but acknowledge that they are entitled to disagree just as we are. Sorry this is the kind of approach that makes me feel this is so useless at times. Because people do not want to listen to what they dislike.
Thank you thank you.
Augustine: "Hear the other side, see the other side" (even if it's from yourselves, and your party.)
Or, Chris Hitchens: "Seek argument and disposition for the sake of it.
THE GRAVE WILL SUPPLY PLNRY OF TIME FOR SILENCE."
Well, I hit a nerve. Maybe he's having a bad day, who knows? I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I have nice conversations and discussions with lots of people on the forum, and every now and then, people have different opinions. To me, some of his statements seem to be intentionally inflammatory. I don't care for those type and saw them so frequently that I skip over his posts. That was the issue with his substack as well, which is why I unsubscribed. Perhaps it's my own nerves being on edge these days as well, but I am trying to avoid stuff that I find too upsetting.
Well, that's one way of.enabling fascism!!
I feel the same way about Phil and his flogging of the "humanities" horse. It gets tiring hearing the same drone. sigh.
I do read stuff from Phil and I can't recall what you refer to, but I'll probably notice it now.
Pretty much every one (or at least most) of Phil's comments includes direct attacks on the standardized testing in modern schools and the "elimination" (his words) of humanities from school curriculum. It isn't completely wrong either, but it gets monotonous. At least to me.
Me too that was a bullshit line for sure, the rest of what he said made a lot of sense.
Seriously! He left in place most of trump’s border policy.
That seems to be Bill's fallback position.
This is an important reminder of where we got where we are, but you seem to have left out the role of Reagan, the supply-siders, and decades of Republican dominance. Why are they forgiven? Why does all the blame fall on Bill and Hillary in your telling?
The problem, to my mind, is always the desire for corporate power. And that lies in the apologies of economics, which isn't a science, as much as they try to make it one.
The laws are written around the rights of property owners, not stakeholders. Shareholders, not stakeholders. Shareholders have nothing in the game but money, and can fleewith it on any whim.
Stakeholders are the customers, employees, residents. Those who bought the products, supply the parts, live with the factory.
Shareholders should be the last in line, not the first.
Well I certainly disagree with this. Shareholders are the life blood of a capitalist economy I don't love it but it's true. Without their money the companies would cease to exist. I agree stakeholders are important too and have been ignored for too long but putting shareholders last would be tragic to the economy. Better would be to include both at the same level of importance. That would be a better capitalist solution, acknowledging the importance of stakeholders without relegating the people whose money makes it possible to last place. (And this from a communist like myself LOL).
Consider that the prolific Bill Katz seems to be a white man, so he prefers to focus on very recent U.S. history. He might benefit from going back to the time of the War Department memo, March 1945, and acknowledging that fascism's first cousin was already entrenched in the U.S. South under the name of Jim Crow, and its influence affected the national government and the country at large. It greatly influenced the New Deal before WW2 and the GI Bill after it.
exactly! IMO it started with the sham trickle-down economics theory from Reagan, Thatcher and Mulroney. Prior to that we had vibrant cities, lots of union jobs, healthy middle class. But the oligarchs needed more money and then of course they then needed even more and along came NAFTA. Forty + years of a bs economic theory and the chickens have come home to roost. And the oligarchs keep gaslighting the public to believe it's the immigrants' fault ,those on welfare and maje you turn a blind eye to those who ate actually gouging us...corporations. The oligarchs are running the show in America and globally
No argument here. I only mention the migration crises since it sells poorly in any nation in any era.
You only mentioned the migration “crisis” because there is no real crisis. If there were, the bipartisan border bill would have been signed instead of squashed under trump’s demand because it was an issue he could run on. He inflates numbers and exaggerates small issues that could be dealt with under normal circumstances but because the House is tied into MAGA knots and the Senate pretty close to the same, very little can happen. Don’t even get me going on the Supreme Court; and I use the descriptor of “supreme” very loosely.
In a simplified fashion, I drew a line between the downside of NAFTA (American workers losing income) and her “deplorables.” We would have been better without them in my opinion, of course.
Ellen: 💯💯💯🎯🎯🎯
@ Bill Katz, in Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” speech, she didn’t call Trump supporters who were in despair because they had lost their good jobs “deplorables.” In fact, she said “those are people we have to understand and empathize with.” She specifically defined “the basket of deplorables” as half of Trump’s supporters who were “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people – now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks – they are irredeemable, but thankfully, they are not America.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basket_of_deplorables
But the "basket of deplorables" was such a wonderful gift/phrase for the Repubs! Three words out of an entire paragraph/statement! Just like the clips that faux and its "followers" pick up on today. I think that there should be better comebacks from the Dems. They do lack a bit of that kind of reaction.
Thanks Ellen for the link - HERE IS THE ACTUAL SPEECH!
At an LGBT campaign fundraising event in New York City on September 9, Clinton gave a speech and said the following:[11]
I know there are only 60 days left to make our case – and don't get complacent; don't see the latest outrageous, offensive, inappropriate comment and think, "Well, he's done this time". We are living in a volatile political environment.
You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. (Laughter/applause) Right? (Laughter/applause) They're racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic – you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people – now have 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks – they are irredeemable, but thankfully, they are not America.
But the "other" basket – the other basket – and I know because I look at this crowd I see friends from all over America here: I see friends from Florida and Georgia and South Carolina and Texas and – as well as, you know, New York and California – but that "other" basket of people are people who feel the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures; and they're just desperate for change. It doesn't really even matter where it comes from. They don't buy everything he says, but – he seems to hold out some hope that their lives will be different. They won't wake up and see their jobs disappear, lose a kid to heroin, feel like they're in a dead-end. Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.
— Hillary Clinton, CBS News[12]
And just in case you might think I’m a troll Russian plant, I spent 3 struggling years writing about the evils of Donald Trump. My credentials are clean.
I agree, Bill. When I was working as a lobbyist in Michigan, I sat stunned as our Democratic governor Granholm announced in a meeting that our auto workers would be sent back to college to learn how to be computer technicians. With that, she denigrated a whole, hard working class of Michiganders. Over the next decade, Trump had ready recruits.
So what’s the problem with learning new information if that will enable a person to make a better living? Were such folks just being hard-headed or stupid? Many of us have done the very same things on our own. Good lord! What an ignorant excuse for being short-sighted or lazy.
You must then be trolling in support of the Navalnyites. Bravo ! We will win because we must. 1776 was a very tough year, too as were 1777, 78…. Until the Treaty of Paris. We must always boldly look at what we have wrought and be willing to say: “How little I truly know” and correct course with honesty and humility. We can all do this when we don’t care who is right. The who part doesn’t matter to me, does it matter to any of you? I don’t think it ever mattered to BEN franklin, either.
No person is perfect, no President is perfect. Some of Bill Clintons' presidential decisions were wrong. I have always believed that Hillary is the smarter half of that couple.
But, that aside, nothing Bill Clinton did was as harmful to our middle class as what Ronald Regan did during his presidency. You ever rant about that?
Rachel: Exactly! It goes back to St Ronald & that POS Gingrich
Bill...I would argue that Hillary Clinton's mistake was giving Donald and his team something to twist. Here is what she said, what she called out. I fully agreed with her and then some.
1) It was twisted into she is calling all of you (maga) deplorable and they believed it.
2) those who are deplorable didn't like being called out.
https://time.com/4486502/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables-transcript/
So anytime this came up in conversation I was having I would say #1? or #2?, which are you? I usually got blank stares.
Immigration...been a problem for a very long time. And it will get worse because the climate is a changing!
Although just the other day I talked with a coworker who is from Ecuador. She came here legally. Took her 5 years. She is not happy with people who enter and stay illegally. I get that, but she wasn't too sympathetic to those running for their lives. She told me that she was running for her life. Her father was a politician who was murdered. To her there is no excuse.
I agree 100% - very well said. Clinton’s NAFTA signing was the beginning of a whole-hearted embrace by the Democratic Party of a capitalist system that prioritizes wealth concentration by a few rather than the well-being of many - especially rural white communities. While I don’t think Trump’s policies will help them one bit (will in fact hurt them) he speaks in language that acknowledges the real economic struggle they feel.
Both parties (IMO) engage in a “don’t look up” strategy to prevent people from noticing that we live under an economic system that has created an unprecedented concentration of wealth at the top … a system of unregulated capitalism that leaves most of us now vulnerable to the impact of venture funds buying up our health care systems, our housing, food sources, vets, (the list goes on and on). Funds that are required to worship at the alter of fiduciary duty (financial return) rather than the well-being of us all. The fact that Kamala couldn’t answer Anderson Cooper’s question about how she was going to address the high price of milk (her answer talked about regulating price gauging during times of crisis - nothing about during regular times) is a perfect example of why this race is so close! It was such a prime opportunity for her to speak to these broader economic issues at play.
Kate, I suppose if I were running for President, I wouldn’t expound on why it’s not possible for me to succeed in solving that (or many other legitimate issues because….rich people, Capitalism, corruption amongst SCOTUS and GOP, etc. I would think, rightly, that voters wouldn’t want to hear about all the things I can’t do when my opponent says he can fix everything.
You’re right - it’s not an easy answer. But I think her ability to speak to people about this type of issue is critical to her succeeding - and she doesn’t seem to be able to do it (I’m not sure why - she could craft an answer that makes people feel “heard”). My guess is that guy asking the question about milk prices sat down unconvinced she would do anything about it. That makes it a lost opportunity.
it wasn't all NAFTA
IMO blame all starts with Reagan, Thatcher and Mulroney...bs trickle-down economics theory
And the 3 strikes your out program which incarcerated more African American males. And the “ending welfare as we have known it” program. Well that program wasn’t that ill conceived since it forced my lazy sister of social welfare and to go get a job.
"Refused to stem the tide" of immigrants. As someone who reads Heathers work, you cannot be so uninformed as to think this tide of immigrants is new. Or that we can interfere with their travel in other countries. Or that there isn't a good reason they are fleeing the fascism and economic destruction in their own countries.
Otherwise your comments re NADTA are well placed. I'd propose the idea that it was the turnover of our national interest to corporations to benefit their shareholders and CEOs, who pillage their companies with stock bonuses that were actually illegal until Reagan. Governing for the benefit of the wealthy has never turned out well. And here we are again.
It all comes down to money, and the greed of those who, like Musk and dumpty and all the rest, already have more than enough but hunger for yet more.
While he is not a troll, I think he sometimes writes to rile people up to get responses and gin up subscribers for his own substack. He certainly spends a LOT of time putting many, many comments on the forum. I often reply to folks on this forum, many who write their own substacks, and when I replied to him, I was surprised to get a message asking me to subscribe to his!
I skip past all of his diatribes now, in fact, the only reason I stopped her was as I scrolled I noticed your first sentence and went back to see who you were replying to.
Well I’m glad you didn’t sign up. How’s dat. Those of us who write, are always promoting themselves. Stop being silly. If your not a writer, you wouldn’t understand and I guess you’re not.
Actually, Bill, I did--and then I unsubscribed as I found it to be pretty much the same stuff you post daily in the comments.
Y’all seem to have blanked out the time period 2021 through 2023. The nightly news broadcasts. The News Hour and so on and it’s as if this period where Biden was not interested satisfying the public’s need to see him act and y’all have the blinders on because think you are correct and everyone else is wrong. So if Trump wins, I welcome you to the New Snazzy Nazi States of America. Enjoy. If you link arms on the dance floor and in unison, kick you legs up as high as they will go, and do what you are told, you will be alright otherwise, you will be sent to detainment camps to be re-educated.
So, Bill, any President is able to make sweeping changes ALL BY HIMSELF?
Really? Going against the Repubs & sadly some of his own party and just DOING it.
There are many issues that I disagree with Biden on, some issues I disagreed with Obama on - but a president isnt KING! It requires cooperation from far too many different individuals and groups. You know this!
And, yeah - tffg will correct that if he gets in. And will "king" himself and his vp. Do we all have to march in locked step behind Biden or Harris? NOPE - but thats what the dumpster will demand.
So, you know what? Democrats need to stick together - somehow they always have factions that pull them apart - why is it that Repubs dont? We are seeing the locked steps in that party right now.
Try an executive order if the drama needs to be lessened of the Insurrection Act and if only to show the people he meant business.
You do know that NAFTA was written and negotiated by GHW Bush, following an initiative by Ronald Reagan, right? Clinton brought it across the finish line…yet he is given full credit for its impact on America. And the other drivers of rust belt decline, including globalization, the buyout boom and financialization of deregulated capital markets, and the collapse of the union movement…all predated his signature on that line. The anecdote you tell draws wrong conclusions from the faulty recollection of history…the narrative that Republicans are the better stewards of America’s economic prosperity and that Democratic spending leads to a decline in “freedom” is one the GOP had used effectively since Reagan showed up.
Oh my God no. I understand and understood that Reagan was a complete disaster. I don’t have all the historic answers. I don’t come from academia. I’m not a historian nor social scientist. But I do try to think for myself outside the boundaries of partisanship. And I do adjust my beliefs when necessary. A side note, in 2015, Senator Sherrod Brown was showing signs of running for president. In my humble opinion he would have made a great president. And he would have won.
Part of the truth…
I couldn't agreed more with you regarding the devastating effects of Clinton's policies, but since in the democracy there's always room for correction and change of course as Biden- Harris had done to revert the situation you described. The only thing left is to apologize and push forward.
On “The Dragon’s Den” TV show investors consistently told inventors that they would support their manufactured product ideas only if they were made in China. Cheap labor meant high profit margins. “Dollar” stores sprung up everywhere. Happy days. Everyone likes a deal, me too, but we just can’t admit that we all sat back as the rugs under our feet were yanked away.
There's no argument that will ever convince the people who were harmed by NAFTA that they should support a Democrat, because Clinton was in office when it was signed? Do they know that the idea was largely Republican originated and supported by Reagan and Bush Sr,? Do they understand that if Republicans get their way, Unions will be eliminated, and labor protections and safety regulations will be a thing of the past? What do you think Democrats need to do to win them over, given that their major grievance against Democrats is a Republican policy?
Louise, if I could answer the questions you pose I think I would package them and sell them. As I’ve said before, people vote emotional they rarely vote using reason. They will vote themselves right into the hands of their executioners. This struggle on the right mostly, is only about money and power. Money through power. Nothing else is important. But it’s important for democrats to try and guess which programs should be pulled back because they don’t sell. For instance, Reparations will never sell. They are even losing support of Black men who woulda thought. We need to stop the foolishness of allowing bio men or trans women whatever, into girls showers. No nonono. Give them their own shower stall if needed but keep them out of the girls room. And don’t misunderstand maiming facor or rights for all but particularly women’s rights.
Who would've thought that 2016 would mark the beginning of the end of US democracy if Putin had his way?
Been grinding my teeth ever since that day tfg was elected seeing daily that survival of democracy was on a knifes edge
Ruth, understanding differences? Only when people become less insecure. It is easy to see differences; the challenge is to see similarities.
"In place of something which distinguishes itself from other things, imagine something which distinguishes itself-and yet, in distinguishing itself it does not distinguish itself from the others."
-Gilles Deleuze
I would love to see this pamphlet reprinted and widely available. The polarization is palpable and likely to assume greater strength regardless of the election's victor.
I’m still on that wagon Ruth..still believing we can learn how to be happier with ‘enough’, we’ve certainly had enough of war, hatred, my way or the highway people.
You ask the Q, Steve, "How can so many well-educated people be so cruel and reckless . . . ?"
Answer: by the Powell memo plan issued August 23, 1971, and its phalange of far-right foundations such as The Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institute, ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council, and eventually many more, all filthy-rich-mega-funded, up to and including The Federalist Society.
Yeah, Phil, they’ve been working on this for a long long time. Still think Will Rogers had the right idea to give the money to poor because it will end up in the hands of the rich soon enough…..given to the rich, mostly they don’t share the wealth & no “trickle down” happens. Fascinating to study, but crap to actually live through. Sigh.
There are nations in which a few families are mega rich, while most live in squalor. Reagan's promised utopia (literally no-place) has never existed, and their was never a reasonable argument it ever would. Big Lies and Republican enabled plutocratic takeover of the "free press" have brought us to our current dilemma
As an example, it was the poverty in El Salvador, with 16 families owning most of the wealth, that caused the people to support revolution in the late 1970s. Reagan could not look beneath the Communist-Capitalist dichotomy to see what the root causes were. The late Jeane Kirkpatrick shamefully attacked the memories of the three sisters and one lay worker who were murdered by Salvadoran soldiers we ourselves had trained. St. Óscar Romero was murdered as he said Mass by Roberto D’Aubuisson for the “crime” of thinking the Salvadoran people deserved lives of dignity.
I would add Phil that Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a one page essay when imprisoned by the Nazis in 1943 that I did not mention called On Human Stupidity, which explains how intelligent people can believe the most foolish things. You should be able to find it online - it is worth a read.
The other concerning fears I have is for the elimination of basic public goods like the NEH, NEA, and NPR, not to mention the Department of Education and possibly EPA. The looming horror I didn't mention, beyond obvious nuclear destruction, is if Putin attacks Poland then Europe - particularly Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, will be in for a massive refugee crisis.
Any one or all of the things mentioned in my comment above, plus the ones here, would be catastrophic in and of itself.
Found this link for starters; other links in the article on Bonhoeffer.
Many thanks! I had not known of this essay.
Link:
https://sproutsschools.com/bonhoeffers-theory-of-stupidity/
thank you for sharing this! As a side note: in the city of Muenster, Germany there is a district where my aunt lived where there is Bonhoeffer Strasse and other streets named after those that tried to defend democracy during WWII.
Thx for referencing Dietrich Bonhoeffer-one of my personal heroes and a Lutheran saint of blessed memory. I’m an ELCA pastor-ordained almost 40 years ago. I’m proud of the statement our Conference of Bishops put out recently condemning the normalization of lies and disinformation. (I wish it had come out sooner, but grateful nonetheless). Silence is complicity-and democracy dies not only in darkness, but also in silence. Our task is to boldly speak out against the hatred that has become regularized and continue to pursue democracy, kindness, compassion, decency, and integrity that create a better community for all. Again, thanks, Steve. Bonhoeffer was and is a gift to the world. (And folks, the new movie is a bastardization of his legacy-his family has written a letter condemning it as a political tool for the extremist right.)
I wish the USCCB would condemn Trump. They try to paper over their internal differences, but the reality is that too many of them want us to vote to agree with a candidate over pelvic politics, and some have become Trump groupies. I can’t in good conscience ignore Trump’s general unsuitability to be president. He will end 235 years of Constitutional government, which admittedly wasn’t always present for marginalized people.
There is a street in Muenster Germany named Bonhoeffer Strasse, in a district with other streets names after resistors in WWII . A city my aunt lived and where I once worked
Definately elimination of the EPA as well. My dad, an environmental engineer for Dow Chemical, represented the Chemical Manufacturing Association when EPA was formed, and worked with Anne Gorsuch and Rita Lavelle to implement the Superfund law, a law which neither Anne or Rita supported.. He thought that little Neil was very nice, though.
My early am laugh, Anne certainly trained her son in her own image
I worry about that as well. Eric Metaxas is a Trump groupie and Christian Nationalist writer who published a very flawed and panned Bonhoeffer biography. I think he should read the essay and ponder it, but I doubt he will. Metaxas’s Bonhoeffer biography was panned by Bonhoeffer scholars because they understood that he hadn’t read a lot of Bonhoeffer’s work, and had not read it in detail. The book is rather less about the historical Bonhoeffer than it is about Metaxas’s views. He labors under the misconception the Democratic Party is totalitarian, when it’s his own Republican Party that has ceased to believe in government of, for and by the people. He and his buddy Sean Feucht get mad at the use of the term Christian Nationalism, but it accurately describes their views.
Absolute honor, Steve, that my name appear in sentence with that of Dietrich Bonhoeffer also.
Will look up the essay of his you kindly mention.
Phil, you did not mention the august institution that (literally) crowned all these efforts: the US Supreme Court, the guardian of the Constitution and the rule of law.
I was deeply shocked by my own assertion that the Justices' recent decision protecting the rights and privileges of the President by granting immunity for official acts in effect restated the central Nazi tenet, Führerprinzip, according to which the leader can do no wrong, being above the Law.
While one can see some counter-arguments, I'd feel safer if someone could persuade me conclusively that my statement is mistaken.
* * *
As for today's Letter from an American, how can it be distributed to all members of the armed forces? Perhaps via an official organ? In any case, readers should send it to all military personnel they know.
This letter does indeed merit a far broader circulation.
* * *
I am familiar with Pastor Bonhoeffer's essay which I read with great interest as I have long held my own views on the same subject.
I agree wholeheartedly with Sonia Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion in U.S. v. Trump. Any decision that places a president above the law is blatantly ignoring the Constitutional limits the founders intended for the presidency. They never intended for presidents to be above the law, but here we are. The names of the justices who supported this shameless power grab deserve to live in infamy.
Yes... but to have imposed Führerprinzip, Hitler's basic outlook that the leader is above the law and always right...
Consequently, all criticism, all resistance to his actions is criminal.
Here, you have, readymade, the makings of a Nazi dictatorship.
Peter, I totally agree with your comment that this letter be more widely circulated, especially to the military. Great idea!
Ah, indeed, Peter -- though I've now long been calling it only the Clarence court.
Yes, they push fascism, this court of the deeply corrupt, the massively perjured.
Phil- Roberts has been on this executive power- theocratic side for decades. The only difference is that now he has a majority and no longer needs to be incremental about it. Read American Crusade by Seidel. It’s the Roberts Court unleashed.
Once again Peter I agree with you that this letter in particular needs to be spread deep and far especially to military personnel.
I still cannot believe the signs I see around here: Vets for T…..
I’ve been reading S Lewis’ It Can’t Happen Here on kindle. I also have Bonhoeffer in my k library, which because of your post, I’ll return to and read on today.
You and others are educating me in the best and most profound way at this critical time. Thank you.
More like thank YOU.
From the project2025[dot]org website: “Advisory Board - A broad coalition of over 100 conservative organizations has come together to form the project pillars.”
Actually, now over 110 groups with successful track records, including the ones you mentioned. The vast right-wing conspiracy isn’t hiding.
Yes, Jonathan, not hiding now.
But for decades -- even as they hired 1,000s of lobbyists swamping Washington, D.C. -- no one knew how organized these post-Powell memo far-right foundations were.
Wendell Berry, Diane Ravitch, Kurt Andersen, and several others who wrote seminal books on the damages being done -- not any of them for a long, long time knew how these damages were all orchestrated by that Powell memo, how all those far-right foundations were all along working in concert.
https://billmoyers.com/content/the-powell-memo-a-call-to-arms-for-corporations/
An excellent resource on the emergence of corporate political power.
I just completed a whirlwind "discussion" on CoPilot (Microsoft's AI) re the Powell Memo. The memo leads directly to Project 2025. Thanks for pointing to the memo.
These various funded institutions are not official government foundations, and all have come up with various ways to empower billionaires and corporations at the expense of everyone else.
Always, always these American privateers -- or, better, call them pirates -- playing the alternative government, answerable only to big money and often undermining, even sabotaging the work of the Federal Government...
Thank you for putting it so plainly. One more question. For those of us who have children and grandchildren - what do we tell them that we did to fight this nightmare existence?
What do YOU tell yours? That's the salient question each of us must ask ourselves.
Propaganda works…it works really well on the disaffected and ignorant.
This is why Project 2025, if implemented,plans to shut down the Dept. of Education.
Another department that Project 2025 will eliminate is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, known as NOAA - as in NOAA Weather! Yes - the agency that tracks hurricanes & tornadoes & sends out the weather bulletins to TV & radio stations. That department will be privatized!
My husband & I were sailors for well over 20 years. And before we ever left our house in Maine to drive down to our mooring in Southwest Harbor, we always listened to NOAA radio on our Weather One Radio, to hear the forecast of the winds, tides & other crucial information that NOAA provides to fishermen, lobstermen & pleasure- boaters like us that might literally save our lives.
Now some private company will monetize the weather report.
KMD, my Dad was a meteorologist; trained as a MetTech in WWII, he had a 30+ year career in the Weather Bureau, then NOAA. He was one of the first on the west coast trained in the use of Doppler radar for forecasting.
And minimize any possible connection of weather to climate change. Weather with a political bias.
Its already happened. All of the alternate weather services are platformed off the original NOAA service. I think it was done thru questionable legal means and appropriations in court.
Almost daily, a stink on the wind...
Yes they are. AccuWeather is one.
Ronald Reagan tried to do away with the Dept. of Education!
A ridiculously stupid idea. Education is so crucial to the health and growth of our country!!!
Ed Bernays, Walter Lippman fine-tuned the techniques of "persuasion", examined later by Ed Herman & Chomsky in "Manufacturing Consent" and "Necessary Illusions", broadcast on the Canadian CBC Massey Lecture series, 1988.
This is a powerful description of the many deleterious things that realistically might happen IF Trump/MAGA Republicans get into power after the November election. The first step of problem solving is to identify the problem. Then we figure out ways to solve it, or better yet, prevent it. Such is the task we’ve been facing for years now, and most urgently, have another 9 days ahead.
Even with the best outcome of Democrats in control of the Presidency and Congress, MAGA and their moneyed supporters will not disappear. We will need to fill in the cracks, bolster the norms routinely exploited by Trump and his minions. The longer term answer of mitigating this fascist movement is to educate the people—starting with children—about civics, history, responsibility, empathy, egalitarianism, and constructive life-affirming constructive problem solving. Education happens both in schools and in families’ homes.
With the worst outcome of MAGA control, we refresh our understanding of Timothy Snyder’s short book, On Tyranny, starting with “Do not obey in advance,” and do resistance, individually and organized. (Independent book sellers—no more Amazon.)
In any case, as Heather periodically says in her Facebook chats, we have the numbers and the power of the majority. MAGA and Trump are loud bullies who revel in attention and fear mongering. The Harris-Walz campaign has been terrific at calling them out, shrinking them. Our challenge is to continue to mobilize our numbers and build our strength. We have the momentum.
I hate to tell you his, Ellie, but Amazon is the only place that treats authors fairly. They always sell everything they buy, no returns (which are financed from the author's royalties), and they always pay the publisher on time - none of that gets done by the so-called independent bookstores, which are usually under-capitalized and many of them finance their purchases with "return credit." And they don't always pay on time. And their selection is hardly ever "everything." And "no more Amazon" won't hurt Amazon. But you'll get to feel righteous over having less. I wish I was wrong but I'm not.
Tom Part of me is revolted by Bezos and Amazon and the impact of local bookstores. I have fond memories of hours in Foyles in London and Kramer in D. C. Discovering Abe Books (now owned by Amazon) permitted me to obtain rare books in Australia and elsewhere.
The raw truth is that when I wish to buy a book (or search for a book), I go to Amazon. The book arrives within several days and, with Prime, I don’t pay shipping.
Also, though I do it less now than in past years, I have reviewed many dozens of books on Amazon.
My wife laments that she doesn’t buy books from a fine local bookstore. So do I. But the availability of so many books on Amazon, the reviews of these books, and swift delivery render me an Amazon devotee.
You've described it. If people want to hate a "piggy booksore" that really is piggy, hate Barnes & Noble, which does every one of the things I listed above - they over-order and then finance their new purchases with "return credit," they hardly ever pay on time. It wasn't Amazon that killed the good bookstores, it was B&N that bought out and killed Borders and Crown and all the others.
If only Bezos wasn’t afflicted with that greed/power bug.
This is accurate. Having created a successful booksellers global market, aren’t Amazon trying to recalibrate their corporate e market model by opening local bricks and mortar bookshops ? I believe starting in Seattle.
They're not successful, since they only stock "Amazon top sellers" - which isn't as big a market as they thought. The one in Santa Monica closed.
I did not know that they had chosen such a narrow literary bandwidth to sell. Failed deservedly then. Pity, as they could have used their position to reverse the global monopolization paradigm in book selling.
Oh honey you pay shipping. You pay it on the front end, like I do, to be a Prime member. I like Amazon. Bezos... not so much.
TC, all of us who have to deal with publishers these days are stuck with Amazon, as is anyone who wants to see better television than the muck produced here in the USA, because services like BritBox and Acorn work with Amazon (which has long been an international company, so simply not using it here in the US does nothing). Indeed, I consider the publishers themselves to be the ones who are abusing authors, as in academic and academic-adjacent publishing we get a pittance in royalties on books that are priced at obscene levels no academic can actually afford--and libraries are no longer willing to pay. And why? Because those publishers find they can make a whole lot more money breaking books up and selling them chapter by chapter as e-book "packets" to readers and students. This is also why the market for not-quite-illegal online libraries (like Z-brary) exist. Moreover, unlike the Walton family and all those old brick and mortar mega bookstores like B&N, Amazon (which also owns Whole Foods) pays their employees very well and provides them with excellent benefits. Granted: this tactic is designed to discourage them from joining unions, but I have people in my life whose ability to survive is dependent on Amazon and so I keep on using them. When I was living in a very rural area and the nearest decent bookstore (a Borders) was 100 miles away, I, along with everyone else at the university where I was teaching, were utterly dependent on Amazon. So yes, it sucks that we have to deal with a hypocritical arse like Bezos, but he is getting the heat because he owns a newspaper. What about all the companies that are bending the knee to CFDT who are out of the spotlight but still essential to our survival?
Exactly right on all Linda. Thanks for reminding me again why I opted not to pursue a career in Acadamania.
You are correct, TC.
My main point was, after sounding the alarm, take the next step of problem solving. “No more Amazon” is one idea among many, and all of these ideas are subject to ongoing adjustments according to what is and is not working.
Siva Vaidhyanathan (via Rebecca Skolnit via Robert Hubbell reader Kathleen Berry) pointed out that Bezos’s profits come from 7,500 government offices and agencies tied to Amazon Web Services—so that’s where we follow the money more effectively:
https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/sunday-morning-comments-video-wjay?utm_source=direct&r=6pp8t&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=74278435
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Knowing that you are a successful author, I appreciate your insights, and I believe you.
I am an unpublished writer. I have written three manuscripts since the start of COVID. One was professionally edited by an editor who was recommended to me by a midlist author of over 25 novels.(Another published author who I met and have exchanged emails offered an introduction to her editor as well.)
The editor gave me insightful criticisms, some flattering praise, and ultimately said he gages my work worthy of publishing, but I am stymied at the task of securing the absolutely required agent. I never knew HOW many genres of literature exists and how agents often represent only one type of work. (For example, just in "romance" there is "sweet" romance (Amish type, no sex) YA (which might have a bit of sex) LGBTQ+ (which has every subgenre that exists in that community) Regency romance (royalty) and interspecies (Twilight series). I'm sure you know this, Tom, I include that for any others who might read this comment.
I have toyed with going via Amazon--but everywhere I research, I hear the sad truth that the average self published author sells about 200 books. Depressing thought, when the editing cost me $6000 (I had come into a tiny bit of money to fund this, and truly, it was worth every penny). Also, to have a quality, custom designed cover--how many of us judge a book by it's cover?-- and wordsmithing for Amazon would cost another $5000. (Totally true of the two self published authors I know.) Maybe I will consider Amazon. Amazon is also daunting, but I respect your opinions. In the years I've been reading LFAA, your posts are occasionally salty, but IMHO are never wrong.
What genre do you write in? If you've been judged "publishable" perhaps I can help you get that agent, but I have to know your genre. DM me.
But isn’t it true that independent bookstores support the publishing industry’s willingness to publish less “commercially viable” content and authors?
Actually, Amazon does that better than many but their booklist is so huge they can be hard to find--and they use the same systems as Google and FB when it comes to the logarithms for promoting books to readers. Independent bookstores are good for niche audiences: here in KC there are a number of them that sponsor author readings, focus on BIPOC authors, or LGBTQ+ authors. Supporting them by attending readings and purchasing from them is a good strategy, but in reality the authors don't make any more from books that are sold at full price than they do when Amazon (or B&N) sells at a discount. The retail price means nothing to authors. The publisher's price to bookstores is what counts for royalties. The one thing that does promote books and gets notice is advance pre-sales and pre-orders. And most independent bookstores don't engage in that kind of thing. If you order in advance from the publisher directly or through a vendor like Amazon or one of the independent booksellers that takes pre-orders you are genuinely supporting the authors. Really, the book industry on all levels is pretty much a boondoggle with authors as the victims. I should know: I have published a lot in academic presses that sell commercially and the system totally sucks, no matter the benevolence of a series editor or acquisitions editor.
So true again.
I have Tim Snyder’s book, and must reread it. The owners of the LA Times and the Washington Post ignored Snyder’s first rule, do not consent in advance.
Good questions, all. Read Philip Roth's little gem, The Plot Against America, a novel that imagines Lindbergh beat Roosevelt in 1940 and made a deal with Hitler. It illustrates how we are one election away from fascism, which we are now. Even if Kamala Harris wins, she and her administration face a daunting task re-educating all of the far right's "patriots."
And without Ike.
Trump followers have experienced democracy is not working for improving their lives, because of wealth inequality. Tax cut in the name of stimulating economy is the disguised beginning of the fascism in America. It began with the Reagan administration, I understand.
And with the Powell Memo in 1971.
There is a long history of the work to kill the goose that insisted on laying golden eggs. It’s very clear now that the few big bois want all those eggs for themselves at the expense of the poor goose.
As I said, there are groups in the US who do not care about democracy at all. The Christian Nationalists are ruled by fascists so quite comfortable with fascism in their churches and their lives. They do not care about the Constitution, but the "word of God" as they understand it. In order to get to heaven they feel Trump will enforce the dictates they want to see in place which they believe will get the Lord to take them to heaven. See Andra Watkins,
https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/p/what-is-a-christian-nationalist
https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/p/what-is-the-new-apostolic-reformation
Then there are the White Power Militias. They also don't care about democracy and want to replace our constitution with their own, after getting rid of non-White, non-Christian, and LGBTQ+ people from the US and then the planet. They want to have a global White Power Nation state that erases the rest of us from this earth. That includes women who are not subservient to them. They see Trump as their ticket to that goal. Hear what Prof. Kathleen Belew, expert on Modern White Power movements says about it in this Fresh Air Interview or read the transcript. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/605661710
Even better is reading her book, Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America. Once you read it, you can see how what she is discussing of the newer plans of the movement is coming alive under Trump. That is the move to enter politics and take over the government from within, still intending to destroy the constitution, but to tone down their racist rhetoric to do so, and to decry immigrants instead of Blacks, and Brown skinned Americans, with the intention of getting rid of the latter but calling them immigrants because anyone who is not White is considered an illegal immigrant.
And, we have the super wealthy, who also don't care about the constitution and are fascists as long as they are the ones in power with their wealth. They see Trump as a means to paying little to no taxes on their accumulating wealth, and allowing their businesses to exploit the rest of us with no interference from the government. There is overlap between all of the groups, and SCOTUS has 6 justices who are members of the first group, and perhaps the last as well.
We have to believe that our country would not be as successful as it is, without there being more people who will support Democracy and Freedom. Fascism is not good for business, not good for economies, not good for creativity, not good for people. We have to believe that once having had a taste of Trump, more people will recognize that he will not be good for them. We have before in 2020. We can do it again.
It’s not the “word of God” as they understand it, but as they have rewritten it
As their religious leaders are interpreting it to them.
See this latest ProPublica article about Christian Nationalists. It discusses the evolution of CNs and the evolution of the New Apostolic Reformation, tying it into their support of Donald Trump as the leaders tell them to.
https://projects.propublica.org/christian-nationalism-origins/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=feature
As one previously hypnotized by religious zealots, I know the process. Fortunately, it was not around every corner then. There were some sane options. Now, as you document, the organized “Elmer Gantry’s” are family and friends.
JD I am glad you are no longer hypnotized.
Lord, so am I. Cults are anything but fun. It is fear, wrapped in envy, wrapped in hate for anything “other.” Didn’t take me long to decide that anything other was better…
Exactly.
So what do we do? I got to hear Harris and Michelle Obama speak here in Michigan yesterday and a part of me wished to never have to leave the auditorium. How can so many be mislead by Trump and his minions? You outline so well everything I fear. I have volunteered and donated to the Harris campaign and am hoping and although I am not particularly religious, praying that Kamala is elected.
Well said. I'm concern we will never get our freedoms back. Unfortunately, as an old baby boomer, I feel like I'm talking to deaf and blind people. They say stupid things like he doesn't mean that. I'm frustrated that they ignore everything Trump, Vance, Musk are saying and doing. They just blindly follow.....right off a cliff. Will people ever trust each other enough to overthrow fascism? Cuba couldn't. God bless America.
That is what Kamala faces every day, and all of us, sadly. You described it exactly.
Dear Steve: Unfortunately, although you write clearly and I do not enjoy correcting you on this, YOU HAVE SWALLOWED THE COOL-AID of the Oligarchs and the Autocracy. Yes, I read what you said, and I urge you not to give in to their manufactured and propagandized feeling and sense of INEVITABILITY. As many before Tim Snyder have said: In our existence, there is no such thing as inevitable as long as we each maintain our Autonomy and seek new ways to move through and forward. This is what we must all do together now, even if the worst happens on November 5th. This is not a one shot fight, and yes the election is of critical importance, and yes we may still be surprised by the US vote. This will be long term fight and we need to be prepared for it mentally.
For what it is worth I do not think this inevitable. I think it very possible, but not inevitable. I also hold out that we could be in for a pleasant surprise and Harris over-performs and wins substantially. The US will still be in for a rough time, because the GOP will not peacefully respect the results and again much of the country will still not see a Harris presidency as legitimate, no matter how many international observers attest that it is - as was the case for the last election.
But as for the long term, I for one am aware that we are possibly entrusting someone with the temperament and character of a Caligula with the nuclear codes. There may be no "long term". I can never forgive the American electorate for even flirting with this. And on that score, I am on the same page as any sentient, responsible parent on this planet.
Thanks for you clarification, Steve...it means a lot...as the Post switches to anticipated Obedience.
Spot on...
“The people run democratic governments, but fascist governments run the people.”
And Brecht suggested to the Communist East German government... that they should dissolve the people and elect another... Cfr. Die Lösung
Yes. Who knew that so many educated people would be without vision of what catastrophic actions can be expected from a mentally impaired cruel felon and his waiting in the wings VP? A horror show
Sadly, there are many Americans who think the Dems' accusation of fascism are exaggerated, just another partisan ploy. Oddly, one of the networks gave voice to a 40 something male who is voting for the first time, and it's for Trump. I also watched an NBC Charts episode last night where educated business types are voting Trump although they know his economy policies, namely cross the board tariffs and massive immigrant deportations, would be ruinous for the American economy, why it was ruminated, because they don't believe Trump would actually carry through. A LOT of Americans may think Washington is infected with "deep state" radical socialists as Trump rages on about, let alone the sheer to the roof invective he's hurtling at the "stolen election", by this date, quadrupling down on his Big Lie. And, face it, many Americans are indeed virtual Christian nationalists - "God and nation" esp white. And not just men.
Bonhoeffer was right, “under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or rather, they allow this to happen to them.” Propaganda works in the intellectually astute as well as the intellectually vapid. I feel a tinge of misogyny as well, in many who would be incensed at such a statement.
Saw and heard from a distance, the CN women about a week ago in DC.
Passionate, scary philosophy and group.
The power of your comment made me cry…literally cry. You have expressed all the fears I have been living with all these many months. I do not have faith in the common sense of the people to work for the common good of all people. When I look at all the younger people at the felon’s rallies who have fallen prey to his hateful rhetoric, I cry all over again. Hate is the legacy that the convicted felon leaves behind.
Thank you for your succinct summary of the core issues which must always be kept in mind as we walk through the next 2 weeks, 2 months, and decades hence. Here’s one grateful shoutout to the teachers who choose to light the way towards clarity in alarming times.