I don't think it should be taken literally. Using 'radical' with 'left' is just a perjorative correctly designed to encourage Americans to believe that the left is dangerous, irrational, exteme. It works because many believe this effective lie.
I would consider it hate speech. He is effectively making the left hateful dangerous people. And therefore, since his 'base' is taking it literally, his speech is dangerous.
P J, I am conservative because I believe in common sense solutions and compromise to reach mutually beneficial solutions, not backwards thinking ideas that have failed numerous times in the past. I am proudly WOKE because I realize that women, people of color i.e. all human beings are my equal and deserve all the rights, benefits and respect of white males. And I believe the government has no place deciding who is allowed to love whom, or the right to oppress bodily autonomy. If that makes me 'radical'...so be it.
Thank you for being the way you are. I too believe in common sense solutions, however, lately I haven't seen many from our Congress lately or our leaders because from where I stand none of them believe in any of the above. Maybe you need to run for office get in there and try to convince the rest of the right that they need to compromise. If not stay radical and help us turn this runaway train around.
There are folks who have more experience with weapons than I do who say there's no way that the assassination was a rogue actor. It is too smooth; looks more like a well-trained sharpshooter. Some have questioned the weapon and ammunition type as well. Can't trust what's being shown to us in pictures without verifying that against other data.
I think that there are people that are radical on both sides. People who go so far and take it to an unreasonable level. This isn’t you or me. I have met them on both sides. They are generally irrational in any political discussion or activity.
I've decided it's something made up that moderates, even moderate progressives fear. I asked that myself. At one time I referred to myself as a "rabid" liberal. But I think "radical" is violent or extreme. I can't find much evidence of left violence, like ever. And, if believing in a fair, healthy society is too radical for some, too bad.
The past has a way of speaking to us, if we are willing to listen. Today’s headlines echo moments that once led the world into catastrophe. Russian drones over Poland, the activation of NATO’s Article 4, and the rhetoric of strongmen should remind us of the perils that come when aggression is met with hesitation or denial. History warns that authoritarians probe for weakness, and silence invites bolder moves.
The North Atlantic Treaty was born from the rubble of war. Its architects believed that rules, alliances, and vigilance could prevent new tyrannies from rising. Harry Truman spoke of a “shield against aggression” and trusted that free people would choose peace over servitude. That faith is being tested again. When democracies fracture or drift toward isolation, the door opens for those who thrive on intimidation.
Domestic violence also mirrors historic patterns. The murder of a political figure and another school shooting underscore how unchecked anger corrodes civic life. In times of strain, hatred can be weaponized. The language of scapegoats and “enemies within” has never led to safety, only to repression and loss.
We stand at a crossroads. Pretending that these events are isolated or that past lessons no longer matter is a dangerous illusion. The price of ignoring history is written in the ruins of cities and the silence of the oppressed. To preserve peace and freedom, we must remember how fragile they are and meet threats, foreign and domestic, with resolve grounded in principle. History’s echoes grow louder when we refuse to hear them.
I have never had a god. I was brought up Lutheran, but never bought it.
If I did have a god, would be like the American Indians: nature.
There is no element in nature as destructive as the humans. Evolution should have stopped with the monkeys. They have war like natures but they do not destroy the offspring or the breeders. Or, their environment.
My cat is a far better person than anyone. Considerate and loving. He was "fixed" at age 4 months. He has a definite personality and It didn't alter his ability to go after mice....he just no interest in fighting for the girls.
That's what should be done with the male humans. It would cut down on wars.
I have been trying to figure out the Jews for years. Why they were pogromed, why they can't be trusted. Now, why they are determined to be hated. They have a belief that it's necessary to be totally hated, for their ultimate survival. This is the kind of crazy crap that humans are capable of running their lives on.
I knew since Oct 7,'23 that they did not give a damn about the "hostages". The IDF had started bombing that very day. Then it came out that the Hannibal Directive killed many hundreds being taken or possibly being taken into Gaza.
The Hostages were just handy for propaganda.
Finally, the real experts are coming to the conclusion that these people are abandoned. Tough on their relatives.....
I understand your feelings. Legions of our number feel and believe as you do.
Please keep in mind that the Israelis are the same subset of humanity as we Americans. And they are behaving the same way as the USA, albeit with a good bit more blood and energy. Both cultures have a peaceful side that doesn't make the headlines because there is no blood to display in profitable news reporting and effective control of our thinking.
Look closer for the truth and exercise some skepticism toward those who try to sell you something for their own benefit. They have already shown their skills in such enterprises.
If I could donate to Yemen, I would. those are Good people.
As far as selling me anything...I am in Mexico and they sure know how to steal...Not all of them. The fellow who works for me two 4 hour times a week would never steal....Mateo, he's from Chiapas. I'm leaving him some $$.
I have been told that the Maya people think they should steal since they have a raw deal....and, the gringos are too rich. If I were Maya, I would steal. They fought the Spaniards from north Yucatan many years ago and beat them. No one would dare go south ...until Cancun was "discovered in 1960. Now there's a train running through the whole peninsular.
I did business in NYC..and boy did I get cheated and stolen from...14 times ....similar reasons...bigger numbers...like 3-40K, etc. and unknown numbers from real estate.... from brokers, business partners, lawyers and friends!
But, now that I am 86, I don't buy anything except groceries and wine....and repairs to my 86 year old casa.
Time: already had my fare share ( I wonder, has death is forgotten me?).....space: more than I need.
One thing: the older I get the more I like myself. And, pain free, just slower.
Reach out to as many in the Senate and House as you can about the Epstein files. This is bigger than a “I only represent my constituents” issue.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
1) Responsible restraint by a nation's leader -- "Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk told the Polish parliament: 'I have no reason to claim we’re on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed. This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II...
2) Lack of responsible restraint/use of inflammatory rhetoric from our nation's leader that a) can contribute to more violence b) possibly to justify escalation of this Administration's authoritarian tactics by deploying ICE and other Federal law enforcement + National Guard, possibly to declare a state of emergency to stop the midterm elections from happening -- ...Although nothing more is currently known about the event, President Trump in an address from the Oval Office blamed 'the radical left' for the shooting and vowed that his administration 'will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.'
Trump listed incidents of what he called 'radical left political violence.' As The Guardian noted, absent from his list was violence against Democrats, including the murder in June of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband by a man who had a hit list of 45 Democratic elected officials.
3) Less than an hour after the Kirk shooting, during the third week of school, a shooter at Evergreen High School in Colorado wounded two students—one critically—before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound."
It seemed that Trump was trying to provoke a violent reaction with ICE, but when this Charlie Kirk assassination fell into his lap, it was serendipity for him. I've written that we will see the NEXT TEN STEPS of the Trump administration and the Autocracy, Inc. machine (sorry, Anne Applebaum) mirror exactly the events and actions following the "Burning of the Reichstag" on February 27, 1933.
"The Reichstag fire of February 27, 1933, was an arson attack on the German parliament building in Berlin that the Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler, exploited to dismantle democracy and establish a dictatorship. While Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested as the lone arsonist, many historians believe the Nazis either orchestrated the fire or used it as a pretext to implement the Reichstag Fire Decree. This decree suspended civil liberties, and combined with the later Enabling Act, allowed Hitler to seize absolute power, paving the way for Nazi Germany and subsequent atrocities like the Holocaust."
Whether Trump will be successful or not is maybe in doubt, but that he'll attempt the same actions is not.
In other news, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) explained a recent bill in a floor speech in which the Senate Majority will now be able to confirm nominees en masse, tens or hundreds at a time, instead of doing each confirmation hearing individually. There will be no need for minority party input. The machinery is quickly falling into place.
scary but... was Kirk a sacrificial lamb? Hitler said he did not burn the Reichstag.. and from what I have read, there has never been any proof he did... but... and yet we (mostly) all believe he orchestrated it. I believe that this is exactly what the Heritage Foundation and Miller wanted to happen to go to the next phase. Are we headed towards a civil war?
Naw. I'm leaning more to the idea that it was just a random event that Trump is likely to capitalize on in the same way that the Reichstag 1933 was merely capitalized on. For what you're talking about, the response by Putin to the alleged 'Chechen bombing' of Guryanova Street in Moscow on September 9, 1999, is a more apt analogy. It is widely believed that Putin staged it as a red flag incident, and he ended up flying to the APEC summit (and a meeting with Bill Clinton) instead of Yeltsin, leading eventually to Putin succeeding Yeltsin.
Well Heather, so much for making America great again. Come on tRumploni get out of putins pocket, our true allies need us to back them up. The MSM has failed us yet again, even the BBC was more concerned about the shooting of a right-wing zealot then another school shooting 🔫, sad day all around. Violence of this sort is never acceptable but to ignore it is worse. The gun lobby has far to much influence, time we got big money 💰 the f out of our politics I've been saying this for what seems like forever , how many shootings are we willing to tolerate? tRumploni won't do anything, 18 year olds should not be able to go into Walmart and buy a gun their brains are not fully developed yet.
Thank you, once again, for clear, somber, caring response to and historical perspective on these awful violent acts (including the violence inflicted upon Poland.) After the assault and confusing distraction of a crazy response from the man in the Oval Office, your words are a grounding reminder of what is a 'normal' and effective response to these events.
Today something I’ve been curious about came to light. Our president, Donald J Trump, actually showed empathy. It was shown for a young man who I was a father and a husband. This never should’ve happened, no matter who he was, but empathy was never shown when the lawmakers in Minnesota were gunned down - he rarely makes comments about school shootings. I had really wondered if he was just a block of ice dressed in a suit with the red tie, but it seems that Charlie Kirk, a young man who supported Trump, was worthy of empathy on the part of Donald J Trump. Not only that, it appears he was worthy of one of our nation’s highest honors and flags being flown at half mast across the country. I’m not condoning this act. I’m just saying that the reaction to it from the White House is more than he that has been shown to any of these other shootings that have occurred.
Empathy? If true, could it be any more misdirected? Kirk was the enemy of empathy who professed that gun deaths are necessary to preserve the 2nd amendment. BTW, do you believe he was "worthy" of the "Medal Of Freedom?" Actually, it no longer has any true meaning after he awarded it to sycophants like Jim Jordan and another racist, misogynist evil POS named Rush Limbaugh.
"I can't stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that — it does a lot of damage."
I would be careful about attributing any genuinely human emotions to Trump (apart from anger and resentment). This killing has given him a huge opportunity both to deflect people's attention away from his long association with America's most notorious paedophile and to advance his own pernicious agenda. What you call 'empathy' is Trump milking Charlie Kirk's death for all it is worth. For example, in a post on X, the deputy secretary of state Chris Landau has said that he’s directed consular officials to “undertake appropriate action” against any “foreigners who glorify violence and hatred”. Stephen Miller, Trump's new eminence grise, spoke of “an ideology at war with family and nature”. He claimed that the killer supported “an ideology that looks upon the perfect family with bitter rage while embracing the serial criminal with tender warmth” and that “the fate of millions depends upon the defeat of this wicked ideology”.
Two Republican members of the House also appear to know little about this odious man Kirk while expressing faux outrage about his death. Andrew Clyde and Anna Paulina Luna have both called for a statue of Kirk to be placed in the Capitol building. Clyde told a reporter “we have a statue of MLK in the Capitol, don’t we?” This is what Kirk said about MLK.
"“MLK was awful...He's not a good person....I have a very, very radical view on this, but I can defend it, and I’ve thought about it...We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.”
That's always a strange, throw-away question with no purpose other than to push narratives. It's pushed more by CCP Wumao 五毛 rather than Kremlin RuBots, surprisingly.
Not a bot or a ruskie someone who cares about American democracy and basic human decency and thinks HCR can positively impact both the us and the people of Gaza by commenting on it.
Ok. HCR is an American Civil War Historian who tries to help us understand present-day America in the context of American history. Do you believe the topic that's near and dear to your heart and which you believe everybody should have at the forefront of their every waking thought to the exclusion of all other discussions is appropriate in this setting? Can you see why I may have mistaken you for a bot without the ability to read a room? Just a thought.
You dont get it man - to the exclusion of all other discussions? I have been a paying supporter of HC for years. You are making assumptions. But you can't answer a simple question. She covers everything from the colonial period to the Cold War ww2 to economic imperialism and all topics important to domestic politics of today but .... no Gaza. Why?
Sir, clearly you don't read her letters. I have them all, and I did a search for the word "Gaza." It turned up so many results that I cant even cite them all.
Of course she gets to choose. I get to ask. You get to overlook the electoral, moral and geopolitical implications of the US paying for a genocide and so does HCR. That doesn't mean she should or that she is deserving of the faith so many people have placed in her.
Well, I'm not her. I do think Peter Zeihan's position, that Gaza and Israel are an amplified regional war with no real material relevance to the rest of the world, has merit. If both dropped off the face of the planet tomorrow, would anybody really be affected? Would anyone really notice (except that the geopolitical scene seemed a bit quieter than usual)? I suggest going out to touch some grass and breathe. Perspective can be a wonderful thing.
Good to know you are a sociopath. But even in your world in which genocide of some people is irrelevant other people care and will punish the democrats by expressing their disgust and staying home rather than working for the party supporting candidates and voting. That's just a reality. I suggest you be a little more careful about exposing your lack of empathy. Your slip is showing.
Gaza is central to American politics and the midterms for the following reasons: 70% or so democrats want to stop funding the killing, the Dems are way out of step with their base, if the Democrats were actually fighting Trump, offering anti oligarchic new deal policy expansions etc then I guess some could overlook the moral question of our moment for the sake of real politrik. But Israel and Gaza support is bad politics as well as immoral, is a direct result of American foreign policy and given her expertise HCR’s silence is complicity. She can spend time on South Park but ignore gaza? Her silence and the Dems continued support for genocide will probably lead to continued political disaster as well as the completion of a genocide. She has power and responsibility and is abusing one by ignoring the other.
she is both a historian and a pundit, and I have been a subscriber for a few years with one gap after a few months post oct 7. She has mentioned Gaza. She has not focused on Gaza as an important domestic political or moral issue. Why don’t you ask her why?
I have been a subscriber for years except for a hiatus about this issue. Have searched read daily ... she avoids the topic and her few comments have been basically meaningless. Also FFS she is not a powerful pundit? Come on now ....
John, Heather is U.S. politics. I value her expertise and her commitment to teaching us what we can do.
I started studying Gaza on Oct 7. This after 86 years of almost no history or politics.
The Gaza situations stretches all over the world and back in history. The United States has a history of committing and supporting and financing genocide. It's a genocidal country. It 100% supports it's attack dog Israel in it's use of extermination to get it's way and to finish off any country that isn't an oil rich slave to the USA. It's showing the world that it's an acceptable political tool. Other countries are learning what they can get away with, esp. now with over population. No reason to keep it a secret like the Nazis did.
Mini-genocides like erasing our immigrant workers using secret masked agents.
The homeless won't get "homes'; they will get "put away".
This can stretch to trans folks.
And, so on.
I hope you're tuned into Youtube where many independent experts (hundreds) discuss this.
I pay for no ads. Best investment; better than The NYTimes, or any commercial media "experts".
What I would like to know is when people on the left became "radical"? I've never been radical in my whole life!
I keep wanting to quote "The Princess Bride" at him every time he says radical left.
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
I'm sure it's like all the rest of the nicknames that he gives people. It's kind of like a 6 year old.
Good point
Or a two year old.
The g
I don't think it should be taken literally. Using 'radical' with 'left' is just a perjorative correctly designed to encourage Americans to believe that the left is dangerous, irrational, exteme. It works because many believe this effective lie.
I would consider it hate speech. He is effectively making the left hateful dangerous people. And therefore, since his 'base' is taking it literally, his speech is dangerous.
Yes, hate speech
Exactly.
he has also said he 'hates democrats'.
He "hates" everyone! He is full of nothing but hate.
P J, I am conservative because I believe in common sense solutions and compromise to reach mutually beneficial solutions, not backwards thinking ideas that have failed numerous times in the past. I am proudly WOKE because I realize that women, people of color i.e. all human beings are my equal and deserve all the rights, benefits and respect of white males. And I believe the government has no place deciding who is allowed to love whom, or the right to oppress bodily autonomy. If that makes me 'radical'...so be it.
Thank you for being the way you are. I too believe in common sense solutions, however, lately I haven't seen many from our Congress lately or our leaders because from where I stand none of them believe in any of the above. Maybe you need to run for office get in there and try to convince the rest of the right that they need to compromise. If not stay radical and help us turn this runaway train around.
Your common sense would not keep a mouse alive let alone a human being.
Liberals don't shoot people!
Maybe Kirk was having an affair with the shooters wife.
Or, he wanted Kirk's wife......not everything is political.
There are folks who have more experience with weapons than I do who say there's no way that the assassination was a rogue actor. It is too smooth; looks more like a well-trained sharpshooter. Some have questioned the weapon and ammunition type as well. Can't trust what's being shown to us in pictures without verifying that against other data.
See. He wasn't even a liberal.
In Amerika, people shoot people because that's what we do.
Not necessary to have a rhyme or reason.
I think that there are people that are radical on both sides. People who go so far and take it to an unreasonable level. This isn’t you or me. I have met them on both sides. They are generally irrational in any political discussion or activity.
Radicalized by the notion that all people are created equal.
I've decided it's something made up that moderates, even moderate progressives fear. I asked that myself. At one time I referred to myself as a "rabid" liberal. But I think "radical" is violent or extreme. I can't find much evidence of left violence, like ever. And, if believing in a fair, healthy society is too radical for some, too bad.
Heather, you speak the truth, I have learned so much by listening to you. Please Be Careful out there. Our world is no longer safe.
QUICK! Change the subject.
ECHOES OF HISTORY AND THE DANGERS WE IGNORE
The past has a way of speaking to us, if we are willing to listen. Today’s headlines echo moments that once led the world into catastrophe. Russian drones over Poland, the activation of NATO’s Article 4, and the rhetoric of strongmen should remind us of the perils that come when aggression is met with hesitation or denial. History warns that authoritarians probe for weakness, and silence invites bolder moves.
The North Atlantic Treaty was born from the rubble of war. Its architects believed that rules, alliances, and vigilance could prevent new tyrannies from rising. Harry Truman spoke of a “shield against aggression” and trusted that free people would choose peace over servitude. That faith is being tested again. When democracies fracture or drift toward isolation, the door opens for those who thrive on intimidation.
Domestic violence also mirrors historic patterns. The murder of a political figure and another school shooting underscore how unchecked anger corrodes civic life. In times of strain, hatred can be weaponized. The language of scapegoats and “enemies within” has never led to safety, only to repression and loss.
We stand at a crossroads. Pretending that these events are isolated or that past lessons no longer matter is a dangerous illusion. The price of ignoring history is written in the ruins of cities and the silence of the oppressed. To preserve peace and freedom, we must remember how fragile they are and meet threats, foreign and domestic, with resolve grounded in principle. History’s echoes grow louder when we refuse to hear them.
Further disgraced Lisa Murkowski!!!
https://substack.com/@cttr/note/c-154830946?r=1kncci&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
God, Help Us All...
God is helping us in ways both visible and mysterious. Resist.
Is God helping us exterminate Palestinians? Sure looks that way.
Somebody's "god" is killing palestinians. Sure isn't mine or yours.
The evolution of the human species has not been a nice picture.
I have never had a god. I was brought up Lutheran, but never bought it.
If I did have a god, would be like the American Indians: nature.
There is no element in nature as destructive as the humans. Evolution should have stopped with the monkeys. They have war like natures but they do not destroy the offspring or the breeders. Or, their environment.
My cat is a far better person than anyone. Considerate and loving. He was "fixed" at age 4 months. He has a definite personality and It didn't alter his ability to go after mice....he just no interest in fighting for the girls.
That's what should be done with the male humans. It would cut down on wars.
I have been trying to figure out the Jews for years. Why they were pogromed, why they can't be trusted. Now, why they are determined to be hated. They have a belief that it's necessary to be totally hated, for their ultimate survival. This is the kind of crazy crap that humans are capable of running their lives on.
I knew since Oct 7,'23 that they did not give a damn about the "hostages". The IDF had started bombing that very day. Then it came out that the Hannibal Directive killed many hundreds being taken or possibly being taken into Gaza.
The Hostages were just handy for propaganda.
Finally, the real experts are coming to the conclusion that these people are abandoned. Tough on their relatives.....
check this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtBIPF2aMys
I understand your feelings. Legions of our number feel and believe as you do.
Please keep in mind that the Israelis are the same subset of humanity as we Americans. And they are behaving the same way as the USA, albeit with a good bit more blood and energy. Both cultures have a peaceful side that doesn't make the headlines because there is no blood to display in profitable news reporting and effective control of our thinking.
Look closer for the truth and exercise some skepticism toward those who try to sell you something for their own benefit. They have already shown their skills in such enterprises.
Time and space are our friends. Use them wisely.
We are guilty also. Very guilty.
If I could donate to Yemen, I would. those are Good people.
As far as selling me anything...I am in Mexico and they sure know how to steal...Not all of them. The fellow who works for me two 4 hour times a week would never steal....Mateo, he's from Chiapas. I'm leaving him some $$.
I have been told that the Maya people think they should steal since they have a raw deal....and, the gringos are too rich. If I were Maya, I would steal. They fought the Spaniards from north Yucatan many years ago and beat them. No one would dare go south ...until Cancun was "discovered in 1960. Now there's a train running through the whole peninsular.
I did business in NYC..and boy did I get cheated and stolen from...14 times ....similar reasons...bigger numbers...like 3-40K, etc. and unknown numbers from real estate.... from brokers, business partners, lawyers and friends!
But, now that I am 86, I don't buy anything except groceries and wine....and repairs to my 86 year old casa.
Time: already had my fare share ( I wonder, has death is forgotten me?).....space: more than I need.
One thing: the older I get the more I like myself. And, pain free, just slower.
I'm in Los Angeles today for business and saw a scattering of flags at half mast.
I’m like REALLY?
9/11
Reach out to as many in the Senate and House as you can about the Epstein files. This is bigger than a “I only represent my constituents” issue.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
1) Responsible restraint by a nation's leader -- "Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk told the Polish parliament: 'I have no reason to claim we’re on the brink of war, but a line has been crossed. This situation brings us the closest we have been to open conflict since World War II...
2) Lack of responsible restraint/use of inflammatory rhetoric from our nation's leader that a) can contribute to more violence b) possibly to justify escalation of this Administration's authoritarian tactics by deploying ICE and other Federal law enforcement + National Guard, possibly to declare a state of emergency to stop the midterm elections from happening -- ...Although nothing more is currently known about the event, President Trump in an address from the Oval Office blamed 'the radical left' for the shooting and vowed that his administration 'will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.'
Trump listed incidents of what he called 'radical left political violence.' As The Guardian noted, absent from his list was violence against Democrats, including the murder in June of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband by a man who had a hit list of 45 Democratic elected officials.
3) Less than an hour after the Kirk shooting, during the third week of school, a shooter at Evergreen High School in Colorado wounded two students—one critically—before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound."
It seemed that Trump was trying to provoke a violent reaction with ICE, but when this Charlie Kirk assassination fell into his lap, it was serendipity for him. I've written that we will see the NEXT TEN STEPS of the Trump administration and the Autocracy, Inc. machine (sorry, Anne Applebaum) mirror exactly the events and actions following the "Burning of the Reichstag" on February 27, 1933.
"The Reichstag fire of February 27, 1933, was an arson attack on the German parliament building in Berlin that the Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler, exploited to dismantle democracy and establish a dictatorship. While Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested as the lone arsonist, many historians believe the Nazis either orchestrated the fire or used it as a pretext to implement the Reichstag Fire Decree. This decree suspended civil liberties, and combined with the later Enabling Act, allowed Hitler to seize absolute power, paving the way for Nazi Germany and subsequent atrocities like the Holocaust."
Whether Trump will be successful or not is maybe in doubt, but that he'll attempt the same actions is not.
In other news, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) explained a recent bill in a floor speech in which the Senate Majority will now be able to confirm nominees en masse, tens or hundreds at a time, instead of doing each confirmation hearing individually. There will be no need for minority party input. The machinery is quickly falling into place.
scary but... was Kirk a sacrificial lamb? Hitler said he did not burn the Reichstag.. and from what I have read, there has never been any proof he did... but... and yet we (mostly) all believe he orchestrated it. I believe that this is exactly what the Heritage Foundation and Miller wanted to happen to go to the next phase. Are we headed towards a civil war?
Naw. I'm leaning more to the idea that it was just a random event that Trump is likely to capitalize on in the same way that the Reichstag 1933 was merely capitalized on. For what you're talking about, the response by Putin to the alleged 'Chechen bombing' of Guryanova Street in Moscow on September 9, 1999, is a more apt analogy. It is widely believed that Putin staged it as a red flag incident, and he ended up flying to the APEC summit (and a meeting with Bill Clinton) instead of Yeltsin, leading eventually to Putin succeeding Yeltsin.
I could not agree more that we should go after those who threaten our judges. Start by getting the worst offender out of our white house.
Well Heather, so much for making America great again. Come on tRumploni get out of putins pocket, our true allies need us to back them up. The MSM has failed us yet again, even the BBC was more concerned about the shooting of a right-wing zealot then another school shooting 🔫, sad day all around. Violence of this sort is never acceptable but to ignore it is worse. The gun lobby has far to much influence, time we got big money 💰 the f out of our politics I've been saying this for what seems like forever , how many shootings are we willing to tolerate? tRumploni won't do anything, 18 year olds should not be able to go into Walmart and buy a gun their brains are not fully developed yet.
Thank you, once again, for clear, somber, caring response to and historical perspective on these awful violent acts (including the violence inflicted upon Poland.) After the assault and confusing distraction of a crazy response from the man in the Oval Office, your words are a grounding reminder of what is a 'normal' and effective response to these events.
Thank you for reading today Michael!
Today something I’ve been curious about came to light. Our president, Donald J Trump, actually showed empathy. It was shown for a young man who I was a father and a husband. This never should’ve happened, no matter who he was, but empathy was never shown when the lawmakers in Minnesota were gunned down - he rarely makes comments about school shootings. I had really wondered if he was just a block of ice dressed in a suit with the red tie, but it seems that Charlie Kirk, a young man who supported Trump, was worthy of empathy on the part of Donald J Trump. Not only that, it appears he was worthy of one of our nation’s highest honors and flags being flown at half mast across the country. I’m not condoning this act. I’m just saying that the reaction to it from the White House is more than he that has been shown to any of these other shootings that have occurred.
Do not believe that DJT has empathy for Kirk or his family. The assassination of a useful supporter is what he most likely mourns.
Empathy? If true, could it be any more misdirected? Kirk was the enemy of empathy who professed that gun deaths are necessary to preserve the 2nd amendment. BTW, do you believe he was "worthy" of the "Medal Of Freedom?" Actually, it no longer has any true meaning after he awarded it to sycophants like Jim Jordan and another racist, misogynist evil POS named Rush Limbaugh.
Charlie Kirk once said this about empathy:
"I can't stand the word empathy, actually. I think empathy is a made-up, new age term that — it does a lot of damage."
I would be careful about attributing any genuinely human emotions to Trump (apart from anger and resentment). This killing has given him a huge opportunity both to deflect people's attention away from his long association with America's most notorious paedophile and to advance his own pernicious agenda. What you call 'empathy' is Trump milking Charlie Kirk's death for all it is worth. For example, in a post on X, the deputy secretary of state Chris Landau has said that he’s directed consular officials to “undertake appropriate action” against any “foreigners who glorify violence and hatred”. Stephen Miller, Trump's new eminence grise, spoke of “an ideology at war with family and nature”. He claimed that the killer supported “an ideology that looks upon the perfect family with bitter rage while embracing the serial criminal with tender warmth” and that “the fate of millions depends upon the defeat of this wicked ideology”.
Two Republican members of the House also appear to know little about this odious man Kirk while expressing faux outrage about his death. Andrew Clyde and Anna Paulina Luna have both called for a statue of Kirk to be placed in the Capitol building. Clyde told a reporter “we have a statue of MLK in the Capitol, don’t we?” This is what Kirk said about MLK.
"“MLK was awful...He's not a good person....I have a very, very radical view on this, but I can defend it, and I’ve thought about it...We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s.”
Why are you silent on Gaza?
That's always a strange, throw-away question with no purpose other than to push narratives. It's pushed more by CCP Wumao 五毛 rather than Kremlin RuBots, surprisingly.
Not a bot or a ruskie someone who cares about American democracy and basic human decency and thinks HCR can positively impact both the us and the people of Gaza by commenting on it.
Ok. HCR is an American Civil War Historian who tries to help us understand present-day America in the context of American history. Do you believe the topic that's near and dear to your heart and which you believe everybody should have at the forefront of their every waking thought to the exclusion of all other discussions is appropriate in this setting? Can you see why I may have mistaken you for a bot without the ability to read a room? Just a thought.
You dont get it man - to the exclusion of all other discussions? I have been a paying supporter of HC for years. You are making assumptions. But you can't answer a simple question. She covers everything from the colonial period to the Cold War ww2 to economic imperialism and all topics important to domestic politics of today but .... no Gaza. Why?
Sir, clearly you don't read her letters. I have them all, and I did a search for the word "Gaza." It turned up so many results that I cant even cite them all.
I have been a long time subscriber. I have also searched them. Go ahead and do point them out so we can all see how she handles the issue.
HCR ignores Gaza but has time for everything from Ukraine to South Park. What is your explanation?
This is HCR’s blog and she gets to choose what she brings here for discussion. End of.
Go to a blog where Gaza is foremost and get over yourself.
Of course she gets to choose. I get to ask. You get to overlook the electoral, moral and geopolitical implications of the US paying for a genocide and so does HCR. That doesn't mean she should or that she is deserving of the faith so many people have placed in her.
Well, I'm not her. I do think Peter Zeihan's position, that Gaza and Israel are an amplified regional war with no real material relevance to the rest of the world, has merit. If both dropped off the face of the planet tomorrow, would anybody really be affected? Would anyone really notice (except that the geopolitical scene seemed a bit quieter than usual)? I suggest going out to touch some grass and breathe. Perspective can be a wonderful thing.
Good to know you are a sociopath. But even in your world in which genocide of some people is irrelevant other people care and will punish the democrats by expressing their disgust and staying home rather than working for the party supporting candidates and voting. That's just a reality. I suggest you be a little more careful about exposing your lack of empathy. Your slip is showing.
Gaza is central to American politics and the midterms for the following reasons: 70% or so democrats want to stop funding the killing, the Dems are way out of step with their base, if the Democrats were actually fighting Trump, offering anti oligarchic new deal policy expansions etc then I guess some could overlook the moral question of our moment for the sake of real politrik. But Israel and Gaza support is bad politics as well as immoral, is a direct result of American foreign policy and given her expertise HCR’s silence is complicity. She can spend time on South Park but ignore gaza? Her silence and the Dems continued support for genocide will probably lead to continued political disaster as well as the completion of a genocide. She has power and responsibility and is abusing one by ignoring the other.
Just do a search FFS! She's addressed it several times. BTW, she is an historian, not a pundit.
she is both a historian and a pundit, and I have been a subscriber for a few years with one gap after a few months post oct 7. She has mentioned Gaza. She has not focused on Gaza as an important domestic political or moral issue. Why don’t you ask her why?
I have been a subscriber for years except for a hiatus about this issue. Have searched read daily ... she avoids the topic and her few comments have been basically meaningless. Also FFS she is not a powerful pundit? Come on now ....
John, Heather is U.S. politics. I value her expertise and her commitment to teaching us what we can do.
I started studying Gaza on Oct 7. This after 86 years of almost no history or politics.
The Gaza situations stretches all over the world and back in history. The United States has a history of committing and supporting and financing genocide. It's a genocidal country. It 100% supports it's attack dog Israel in it's use of extermination to get it's way and to finish off any country that isn't an oil rich slave to the USA. It's showing the world that it's an acceptable political tool. Other countries are learning what they can get away with, esp. now with over population. No reason to keep it a secret like the Nazis did.
Mini-genocides like erasing our immigrant workers using secret masked agents.
The homeless won't get "homes'; they will get "put away".
This can stretch to trans folks.
And, so on.
I hope you're tuned into Youtube where many independent experts (hundreds) discuss this.
I pay for no ads. Best investment; better than The NYTimes, or any commercial media "experts".
I’m so happy or giddy whenever I find something Heather has written. I’m sure it will widen my perspective or charge the old batteries!! I’m blessed.
Martha