I have spent some time going through today's footnotes and emerged with both a fresh appreciation for HCR's diligence...and for her risk of toxic contamination by the fetid excrement she must wallow through to bring us such understanding. Heather, please consider wearing a hazmat jumpsuit during your deep dives into source material!
Every day we learn something despicable about Trump. Every day Heather helps us keep track of and digest it all.
For me, it adds up to an election that transcends politics. Anyone who votes for Trump, whether they realize it or not, sanctions every grotesque character flaw, everything he does and says, and everything he strives for — most importantly his desire to establish totalitarian rule.
In 2016, his supporters might not have realized who he really is. That doesn't give them a pass, but did any of us truly understand the extent of the depravity, the corruption, the malevolence? Now, we who oppose him and want democracy preserved truly understand. Those who vote for Trump in November will do because they embraced not policy positions but the darkness and chaos that he personifies.
And if Trump wins, they — like us — will suffer the dire consequences.
This has long puzzled me, but I think a great number of them are racists who were very upset that Obama won. A lot of them have the mentality of the people who laugh at the class clown. Also a surprising number of people are in love with cruelty and destruction. For some, I think the issue is abortion or something in terms of religion. I even had one person diss people for being upset with the super rich even though she and husband work hard to make it. And not one of them bothers to check the credibility or validity of their sources.
The irony is that "And if Trump wins, they — will suffer the dire consequences." Speaking for myself, my measure of suffering pales in comparison to his supporters. I am angry and upset, but somewhat personally immunized (get it?). While I do suffer for my countrymen, I am somewhat protected by my community and Governor.
They knew. It was an intentional vote. For them trump is a feature not a bug. Any future where they aren't punished for what they did is a loss in my book.
“...Trump fixer Michael Cohen confirmed something that many of us have suspected all along. "Trump never thought he was going to win this election, he actually did not want to win this election,” Cohen said. “This was a branding deal. That's all that the presidential campaign started out as, this was a branding opportunity in order to expand worldwide."
I was one who suspected all thru his campaign in 2016 that he did not want to be president, he merely wanted to grandstand on national TV as a contender to feed his ego. He would say the most outrageous things that no serious contender for president would ever say and it escalated toward the end to more bizarre and unbelievable. It was like he was trying to sabotage his chances of winning.
Who knew how many ignorant, gullible, bigoted, racist & misogynists were lurking among us after all these years of hard-won civil rights achievements? I was totally surprised & dismayed that he actually won over an experienced, competent & qualified choice. I was totally disconsolate on Nov. 9, 2016 to realize that the ignorant masses among us had destroyed the nation we had so tediously formed by the 21st Century. And, they are still here, emboldened by the unqualified madman in the Oval Office and the threat more dire.
I share your experience. There were people who REALLY hated HRC. I still don’t understand how trump was a better pick—he was obviously unstable. I often wonder if contempt for Congress’s ridiculous feuding and virulent partisanship and lack of productivity was as big a reason ppl voted for him.
Today I had the good fortune to listen to a video chat by Angela Davis with some high school students. She spoke to a young man on his way to an art school college about how important it is for a movement that the people have fun, joy, as through music, poetry, and art.
That got me thinking about what energizes the trumpists and white supremacists. They appear to have fun and derive joy from hating in so many ways: verbal and written derision, the racist and misogynist propaganda, playing with guns and pepper spray devices, working as federal militia or paramilitary, terrorizing, destroying. It reminds me of the attraction of the Hitler Youth activities--get away from the grown ups, go camping, operate real weapons and anti-aircraft installations, be encouraged to verbally abuse and physically beat up weaker youths and Jews.
How to neutralize that hate energy is the question. Short term, Democrats win this election. Next, continue monitoring as by the FBI and DHS (?!), prosecute transgressions. Long term, education and positive experiences for young people in constructive enterprises.
As to the DHS first draft report about the danger of white supremacists, don't we have to consider the source and all we learned about DHS nefarious operations including federal law enforcement against Portland protesters? Or maybe there are/were a few souls in DHS who still have integrity?
As to E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit, I wondered if one could be pardoned for an alleged crime prior to even being convicted of the crime being pardoned. Not a lawyer, though Michael Cohen is, and he thinks trump's plan is to resign before January inauguration so president Mike Pence can pardon him. Wikipedia says that presidential pardons "may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the jurisdiction." In the U.S., presidential pardons apply only to convictions under federal law; governors do state law convictions. Looks like that would put Ms. Carroll's lawsuit on a long list for Pence. But go, state attorney generals, go!
Both of my parents were in the Hitler Youth and the female mirror, the Bund Deutscher Mädel (Union of German Maidens, like the Girl Scouts). I always enjoy seeing when people draw comparisons to Hitler's Germany, because the comparisons are sure timely right now. Especially since Trump has studied Hitler's 1941 self-evaluation of his oratory strategy and incorporated lessons learned from that study. Source is a fawning 1990 Vanity Fair article, info hiding in the center of a very long puff piece.
Reading Cheryl Strange’s marvelous recounting of her family’s service and heroism — as well as the unforgivable maltreatment they endured — in defense of our country, revived my memories of WWII. Her response to Prof. Richardson’s Sept. 3 Letter… brought to mind the stories told by my older cousins of their experiences driving as part of the “Red Ball Express”, the name given to the transport service that fed and fueled our forces on their daring, headlong drive into the German heartland.
These brave young men, primarily African American, were the lifeline that supported the infantrymen — and most importantly, the tankers of the armored divisions — of George Patton’s Third Army, the “tip of the spear” in the Allies final push to dismantle Hitler’s “Third Reich”. Driving seven days a week, 24 hours a day, they brought the indispensable food, fuel, ammo and much more, to bolster the decisive attacks on the Nazi’s “impregnable” stronghold.
I’m an 81-year-old African American man, born in NYC and raised in Harlem. I like to paraphrase the insurance commercial: I know a few things, because I’ve seen a few things. I can remember the remnants of the Great Depression and have a vivid recollection of that terrible second global conflagration and its impact on the American — and the world’s — psyche.
I’m the grandson of an enslaved couple. My maternal grandfather was born in 1853; my grandmother in 1861. My oldest uncle was lynched around the turn of the 20th Century. My mother, the last of the 10 surviving children, was born in 1904.
To the best of my knowledge, the history of my father’s side of the family is far less turbulent. His father was a Baptist minister and teacher, and my grandmother, a teacher and homemaker. Dad was born in 1901.
But my daydreams of past victories and cherished family history were rudely interrupted by the incessant clamor of our current predicament.
I’ve come to the conclusion that what we’re experiencing is the sum total of the American experience to date. It is the aggregate of all our actions throughout the centuries — the good, the evil, the mundane — and our inaction. As a people we have failed to acknowledge our misdeeds, our hypocrisy; we have ignored our cruelty and inhumanity, and trumpeted our good works and high values instead.
In order to free ourselves from the morass in which we find ourselves, we will need to stare our true history fully and unblinkingly in its face. The time has come to sincerely confront the enslavement of the Africans stolen from their native land, as well as the hereditary bondage of their descendants, and the “neo-slavery” visited upon African Americans over the last 150 years following the failure of Reconstruction.
We must, of course, do everything in our power to ensure a true, a fair and representative vote, and we must also begin to organize our neighborhoods, our communities so that we can reconstruct our communal lives to more closely resemble the stirring words that are supposed to describe our country.
If we fail to make our nation’s venomous past —as well as its glorious history — the talisman of all our efforts, we will see the inevitable ruin of the United States of America as the outcome of all our best intentions. This pandemic, along with the attendant economic tailspin that also afflicts us, has opened numerous unacknowledged, festering sores on the body politic.
This unprecedented emergency calls on all of us to conduct the triage and perform a daringly radical procedure on the patient — our country — if we are to save its life!
My apologies for the length of this essay, but I could not seem to reduce the verbiage and still communicate my thoughts!
Your essay is both thought provoking and inspiring. Thank you for sharing a bit of your personal history as well as your thoughtful and constructive comments about facing our "true history fully". There is so much we have to come to terms with in order to move forward and rebuild.
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and perspective, Bill. Beautifully written and important. “As a people we have failed to acknowledge our misdeeds, our hypocrisy; we have ignored our cruelty and inhumanity, and trumpeted our good works and high values instead.” Indeed, this is so true. We have led the world in arrogance and self-righteousness, and we have harmed too many. There is work to be done and I am hoping that this moment in time, when so many have risen up to say, “Enough!” will truly be a watershed, and that we will make transformative policy changes at every level of our government, in our institutions, and in our communities that will bring meaningful, lasting change.
Thank you HCR. While I find this Letter to be more distressing than most, I appreciate your round up and analysis of yesterday's news.
I had a long comment written and ready to post but then erased it because really, what's the point? No one here needs to be convinced that we're taking on water and those who do need convincing don't or won't pay attention or become alarmed until it's too late.
Exactly. We do end up "preaching to the choir" here most times. But, at the same time it IS a bit cathartic to have a place to come to maybe vent a bit, or to get the feeling that we're not alone, especially those of us in deeply red states or those surrounded by Trumpanistas. If I can't add much to what has been said then I do tend to just read, think, and nod a lot. Though HCR pretty much covers all the bases, which I greatly appreciate, I do also like to read what people are thinking and bathe in their ideas. Even though there's a LOT of doom and gloom (I believe it's called "doom-surfing"), I do often come away with renewed hope. Thank God for all y'all! ("All y'all" is Southern-speak for "everybody"!)
You're right, Bruce; we all need a safe haven, now more than ever. Some might say we're just seeking confirmation bias, and maybe that's a result, but it's not the main thrust, at least not for me.
If I didn't have the feedback of sanity provided here, and the sane and sober distillation of the day's firehose of news provided by Heather, I would be in a rubber room. Or at least on some serious anti-psychotic meds.
And Daria, even if you think your comments might be superflous, post them anyway. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been shown a new POV or way of seeing the same info, posted by someone else.
It may just be me, but these days, every time I see the DOJ mentioned in an article, I do a double-take, then read the reference to this agency over again. To my mind the DOJ is not the DOJ of the past. It should now be renamed the "Department of Barr." It would reflect today's reality.
He had made it clear from the start he did not want a J.O.B. (and Cohen confirmed this), he wanted the power and adoration he assumed would come with being president. He didn't take into account that respect must be earned, and he doesn't even know where to start with that task.
I found the New York Times article about the Trump campaign blowing through 800 million its 1.1 billion dollar war chest with two big months to go very interesting. 11 million spent on Super Bowl ads to rival Bloomberg, 1.1 million spent on ads in Washington DC (to placate Trump, as he watches hours of TV every day), 4 million funneled into Trump businesses and this list goes on. Rachel Maddow asked Cohen whether Trump would pay campaign expenses out of his own pocket as he said he would. Cohen laughed and said that would be a big fat hairy NO (paraphrasing). He remarked several times how cheap Trump is.
Thank you, HCR, for putting on your hip-waders every day to find the important stories in the flood of daily news.
I'm sure you are correct about his desire for power/adoration - clearly he didn't take into account that this is a JOB - that actual WORK would be required and expected.
After having giving a brief look over of the Homeland Security paper included in the footnotes does it not strike anyone as peculiar and upsetting that instead of referring to our country not as America but as "the Homeland"? While a minor point it reminded me too much of the way the Nazi and the Russians referred to their countries. I will be reading the DHS paper in more depth later today.
I have noticed and been disturbed by the use of the word “Homeland”, too, starting with its introduction right after 9/11, when the Department of Homeland Security was established. It rings a hypernationalist tone, and puts me in mind of 1930s Germany; now, 19 years after its introduction into common use here it still rings of Aryan supremacist fanaticism.
The Propaganda began 9/11. After suffering the loss of some on my staff, bosses, and colleagues, my greatest pain arose from seeing the Revenge Lust around me.
From the moment I read David's article, I could not get Leonard Cohen's voice out of my head.
I searched for the lyrics to Everybody Knows (from his album I'm Your Man, 1988) and found these selected lines rather earth-shattering during this time of the pandemic:
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long-stem rose
Everybody knows
And everybody knows that the plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows.
Yes. Everybody knows. I just hope everybody VOTES BLUE. Thanks for all you do, Heather Cox Richardson, to help us understand this remarkable test of our democracy.
Once again, Mr. Cohen was prescient. That man has been top of my list of spiritual minds since I was given his first album in 1967 or '68. Check out "The Story of Isaac", for those who haven't heard it. It's one of his early ones.
So disgusting. Each day some new and worse information about the corruption at the top, the frantic attempts to shield this morally bankrupt president, and it becomes more difficult to find the words sufficient to express the depth of our condemnation of all that is going on at the White House and DOJ.
For him, the ends justify the means. Just wait until he meets his Maker and finds out how it really works. That's the Department of the Almighty and metes out Justice.
The good ol’ DNA sample! If we learned anything from Pres. Clinton it is to hold onto the DNA evidence. Hope it hits it’s mark.
It all comes down to, he never wanted the job and stinks at it! Too many details and moving parts for his feeble cerebral impaired brain. Can’t even surround himself with people who can take up the slack for him! Two year degree? Lordy!
Thank you, Heather! For keeping me informed each and every day!
I pay my taxes on time, and next week quarterly estimated taxes are due. For at least this entire year, I have to grit my teeth to write my federal tax check, knowing that my taxes are going into the pot that Trump and his people believe is their personal slush fund.
Why pay your taxes on time? Why pay estimated taxes at all. Starve the beast? (My fantasy is for Trump to push NY too far and find out how the national debt is rolled over).
I have never paid my Quarterly Estimated Tax. My advisor is retired as the head of a major Wall Street Law firm. His specialty is taxes. He helped revise the Code. Take your own tax advice from where you get it. It works for me, but maybe not for your case.
I have a friend who told me she made an estimated tax payment on time;the check never cleared and she was charged interest. Same thing happened to someone she knew but the interest was much larger. This is what happens when you hollow out the government. You pay twice.
Please note that I am not offering tax advice. I asked why Ms Howe grits her teeth for the entire year and then does something she's against. I then offered my personal experience with tax payments. Did you know that many people do things that go against their moral compass, but never question?
Also, I agree that hollowing out the government is bad, but must point out that it is nothing I propose. Think resistance, not Republican Ideology.
It’s a quandary for me every tax season, actually. I consider not paying, and then cannot say how that would make me any different from the tax evaders at the very top.
UGH. Quarterly estimated payments had fallen totally from my radar. I can at least take small comfort that my payment will be much less than originally forecast owing to a Main St economy that remains in the hopper.
After reading this, I don't understand why I get so many f--k you, f--k off, and Trump 2020 responses when I do my text banking. Granted, it probably, because I am text banking in a very conservative area. I can't bear to tell my mom about all the negative texts I get. She is 81 and hates Trump. This news would deflate her. I have a Trumpster friend who announced yesterday that she was leaving Facebook until the end of 2020 maybe longer. She posts a lot of misinformation as truth and Facebook has taken down a lot of her posts. To be honest, I reported a few. She even posted satire posts as true. That said as an act of resistance I ordered a ticket to a Trump rally being held at a local airport that I have no intention of using. A friend suggested it would make me feel better. It did😊
Lee Hurd, you are given a question and a list of numbers to text. The question was do you plan to vote absentee and Democratic. Yesterday, I had 400 numbers. It done through a site called Thru Text. It goes pretty quick. When the responses come back, you enter how they plan to vote and what party. I usually recorded the f--k you and f--off responses as strong Republican. You also get a lot of opt outs.
I text with Indivisible. We actually have semi-conversations with voters. I have gotten a number of FOs, but I have actually been heartened by the number of favorable responses! Some campaigns are for a particular candidate; some are GOTV; some are statewide VBM. (As an aside, what has surprised me is that women seem to have the pottiest mouths Of all.)
I thought that with the text bank efforts the texts were only going to registered Democrats and Independents. It’s disconcerting that in that group there are a lot who are actually strong Republicans. Sounds intense. Perhaps I made the right decision to write postcards and letters instead.
Why hasn't Congress stepped up to impeach Barr, or, at the very least, subpoena him to appear, and when he refuses, throw him in jail for contempt! He is a tRump thug, and should be jailed with the rest of them. I started the Cohen book yesterday, and can tell he has nothing but disdain for his former boss. He admits his own guilt in the being the top thug for a while, and is paying the price...except the book may earn him tons! As for the whole mocking of the military, this will certainly come back to haunt tRump in ways he can't imagine. Can't wait to have those military "losers" and "suckers" be the ones dragging him from the WH!
Yep, Barr is basically a criminal. We know that. BUT, as long as the Senate is controlled by Republicans, any impeachment of anybody ain't gonna happen...PERIOD.
Heather, thank you for this dissection of a notably disturbing newsday. This country's Administration is positively rank with deception and it is beyond my comprehension how it continues to plow over facts with fiction on a daily basis.
I have spent some time going through today's footnotes and emerged with both a fresh appreciation for HCR's diligence...and for her risk of toxic contamination by the fetid excrement she must wallow through to bring us such understanding. Heather, please consider wearing a hazmat jumpsuit during your deep dives into source material!
Every day we learn something despicable about Trump. Every day Heather helps us keep track of and digest it all.
For me, it adds up to an election that transcends politics. Anyone who votes for Trump, whether they realize it or not, sanctions every grotesque character flaw, everything he does and says, and everything he strives for — most importantly his desire to establish totalitarian rule.
In 2016, his supporters might not have realized who he really is. That doesn't give them a pass, but did any of us truly understand the extent of the depravity, the corruption, the malevolence? Now, we who oppose him and want democracy preserved truly understand. Those who vote for Trump in November will do because they embraced not policy positions but the darkness and chaos that he personifies.
And if Trump wins, they — like us — will suffer the dire consequences.
This has long puzzled me, but I think a great number of them are racists who were very upset that Obama won. A lot of them have the mentality of the people who laugh at the class clown. Also a surprising number of people are in love with cruelty and destruction. For some, I think the issue is abortion or something in terms of religion. I even had one person diss people for being upset with the super rich even though she and husband work hard to make it. And not one of them bothers to check the credibility or validity of their sources.
The irony is that "And if Trump wins, they — will suffer the dire consequences." Speaking for myself, my measure of suffering pales in comparison to his supporters. I am angry and upset, but somewhat personally immunized (get it?). While I do suffer for my countrymen, I am somewhat protected by my community and Governor.
They knew. It was an intentional vote. For them trump is a feature not a bug. Any future where they aren't punished for what they did is a loss in my book.
Me. I knew.
THIS:
“...Trump fixer Michael Cohen confirmed something that many of us have suspected all along. "Trump never thought he was going to win this election, he actually did not want to win this election,” Cohen said. “This was a branding deal. That's all that the presidential campaign started out as, this was a branding opportunity in order to expand worldwide."
I was one who suspected all thru his campaign in 2016 that he did not want to be president, he merely wanted to grandstand on national TV as a contender to feed his ego. He would say the most outrageous things that no serious contender for president would ever say and it escalated toward the end to more bizarre and unbelievable. It was like he was trying to sabotage his chances of winning.
Who knew how many ignorant, gullible, bigoted, racist & misogynists were lurking among us after all these years of hard-won civil rights achievements? I was totally surprised & dismayed that he actually won over an experienced, competent & qualified choice. I was totally disconsolate on Nov. 9, 2016 to realize that the ignorant masses among us had destroyed the nation we had so tediously formed by the 21st Century. And, they are still here, emboldened by the unqualified madman in the Oval Office and the threat more dire.
I share your experience. There were people who REALLY hated HRC. I still don’t understand how trump was a better pick—he was obviously unstable. I often wonder if contempt for Congress’s ridiculous feuding and virulent partisanship and lack of productivity was as big a reason ppl voted for him.
Rob, at least now they have been exposed for who and what they are. No more need to speculate. They're out in broad daylight.
Today I had the good fortune to listen to a video chat by Angela Davis with some high school students. She spoke to a young man on his way to an art school college about how important it is for a movement that the people have fun, joy, as through music, poetry, and art.
That got me thinking about what energizes the trumpists and white supremacists. They appear to have fun and derive joy from hating in so many ways: verbal and written derision, the racist and misogynist propaganda, playing with guns and pepper spray devices, working as federal militia or paramilitary, terrorizing, destroying. It reminds me of the attraction of the Hitler Youth activities--get away from the grown ups, go camping, operate real weapons and anti-aircraft installations, be encouraged to verbally abuse and physically beat up weaker youths and Jews.
How to neutralize that hate energy is the question. Short term, Democrats win this election. Next, continue monitoring as by the FBI and DHS (?!), prosecute transgressions. Long term, education and positive experiences for young people in constructive enterprises.
As to the DHS first draft report about the danger of white supremacists, don't we have to consider the source and all we learned about DHS nefarious operations including federal law enforcement against Portland protesters? Or maybe there are/were a few souls in DHS who still have integrity?
As to E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit, I wondered if one could be pardoned for an alleged crime prior to even being convicted of the crime being pardoned. Not a lawyer, though Michael Cohen is, and he thinks trump's plan is to resign before January inauguration so president Mike Pence can pardon him. Wikipedia says that presidential pardons "may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the jurisdiction." In the U.S., presidential pardons apply only to convictions under federal law; governors do state law convictions. Looks like that would put Ms. Carroll's lawsuit on a long list for Pence. But go, state attorney generals, go!
Maybe we can bring back the young woman putting a daisy in the end of the rifle? https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/07/jan-rose-kasmir-anti-vietnam-rally-pentagon or
Protest in the 60's was social. Being among like-minded and meeting new people!
According to the Supreme Court, accepting a pardon is a confession of guilt!
The Supreme Court stated in Burdick v. United States that acceptance of a pardon carries an "imputation of guilt" and is a confession to such guilt.
Both of my parents were in the Hitler Youth and the female mirror, the Bund Deutscher Mädel (Union of German Maidens, like the Girl Scouts). I always enjoy seeing when people draw comparisons to Hitler's Germany, because the comparisons are sure timely right now. Especially since Trump has studied Hitler's 1941 self-evaluation of his oratory strategy and incorporated lessons learned from that study. Source is a fawning 1990 Vanity Fair article, info hiding in the center of a very long puff piece.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-adolf-hitler-books-bedside-cabinet-ex-wife-ivana-trump-vanity-fair-1990-a7639041.html
Reading Cheryl Strange’s marvelous recounting of her family’s service and heroism — as well as the unforgivable maltreatment they endured — in defense of our country, revived my memories of WWII. Her response to Prof. Richardson’s Sept. 3 Letter… brought to mind the stories told by my older cousins of their experiences driving as part of the “Red Ball Express”, the name given to the transport service that fed and fueled our forces on their daring, headlong drive into the German heartland.
These brave young men, primarily African American, were the lifeline that supported the infantrymen — and most importantly, the tankers of the armored divisions — of George Patton’s Third Army, the “tip of the spear” in the Allies final push to dismantle Hitler’s “Third Reich”. Driving seven days a week, 24 hours a day, they brought the indispensable food, fuel, ammo and much more, to bolster the decisive attacks on the Nazi’s “impregnable” stronghold.
I’m an 81-year-old African American man, born in NYC and raised in Harlem. I like to paraphrase the insurance commercial: I know a few things, because I’ve seen a few things. I can remember the remnants of the Great Depression and have a vivid recollection of that terrible second global conflagration and its impact on the American — and the world’s — psyche.
I’m the grandson of an enslaved couple. My maternal grandfather was born in 1853; my grandmother in 1861. My oldest uncle was lynched around the turn of the 20th Century. My mother, the last of the 10 surviving children, was born in 1904.
To the best of my knowledge, the history of my father’s side of the family is far less turbulent. His father was a Baptist minister and teacher, and my grandmother, a teacher and homemaker. Dad was born in 1901.
But my daydreams of past victories and cherished family history were rudely interrupted by the incessant clamor of our current predicament.
I’ve come to the conclusion that what we’re experiencing is the sum total of the American experience to date. It is the aggregate of all our actions throughout the centuries — the good, the evil, the mundane — and our inaction. As a people we have failed to acknowledge our misdeeds, our hypocrisy; we have ignored our cruelty and inhumanity, and trumpeted our good works and high values instead.
In order to free ourselves from the morass in which we find ourselves, we will need to stare our true history fully and unblinkingly in its face. The time has come to sincerely confront the enslavement of the Africans stolen from their native land, as well as the hereditary bondage of their descendants, and the “neo-slavery” visited upon African Americans over the last 150 years following the failure of Reconstruction.
We must, of course, do everything in our power to ensure a true, a fair and representative vote, and we must also begin to organize our neighborhoods, our communities so that we can reconstruct our communal lives to more closely resemble the stirring words that are supposed to describe our country.
If we fail to make our nation’s venomous past —as well as its glorious history — the talisman of all our efforts, we will see the inevitable ruin of the United States of America as the outcome of all our best intentions. This pandemic, along with the attendant economic tailspin that also afflicts us, has opened numerous unacknowledged, festering sores on the body politic.
This unprecedented emergency calls on all of us to conduct the triage and perform a daringly radical procedure on the patient — our country — if we are to save its life!
My apologies for the length of this essay, but I could not seem to reduce the verbiage and still communicate my thoughts!
Bill,
Your essay is both thought provoking and inspiring. Thank you for sharing a bit of your personal history as well as your thoughtful and constructive comments about facing our "true history fully". There is so much we have to come to terms with in order to move forward and rebuild.
With deepest respect,
Daria Wilber
thank you for writing this
Bill,
Please don't apologize. Love your message.
Roland
Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and perspective, Bill. Beautifully written and important. “As a people we have failed to acknowledge our misdeeds, our hypocrisy; we have ignored our cruelty and inhumanity, and trumpeted our good works and high values instead.” Indeed, this is so true. We have led the world in arrogance and self-righteousness, and we have harmed too many. There is work to be done and I am hoping that this moment in time, when so many have risen up to say, “Enough!” will truly be a watershed, and that we will make transformative policy changes at every level of our government, in our institutions, and in our communities that will bring meaningful, lasting change.
Thank you HCR. While I find this Letter to be more distressing than most, I appreciate your round up and analysis of yesterday's news.
I had a long comment written and ready to post but then erased it because really, what's the point? No one here needs to be convinced that we're taking on water and those who do need convincing don't or won't pay attention or become alarmed until it's too late.
Exactly. We do end up "preaching to the choir" here most times. But, at the same time it IS a bit cathartic to have a place to come to maybe vent a bit, or to get the feeling that we're not alone, especially those of us in deeply red states or those surrounded by Trumpanistas. If I can't add much to what has been said then I do tend to just read, think, and nod a lot. Though HCR pretty much covers all the bases, which I greatly appreciate, I do also like to read what people are thinking and bathe in their ideas. Even though there's a LOT of doom and gloom (I believe it's called "doom-surfing"), I do often come away with renewed hope. Thank God for all y'all! ("All y'all" is Southern-speak for "everybody"!)
You're right, Bruce; we all need a safe haven, now more than ever. Some might say we're just seeking confirmation bias, and maybe that's a result, but it's not the main thrust, at least not for me.
If I didn't have the feedback of sanity provided here, and the sane and sober distillation of the day's firehose of news provided by Heather, I would be in a rubber room. Or at least on some serious anti-psychotic meds.
And Daria, even if you think your comments might be superflous, post them anyway. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been shown a new POV or way of seeing the same info, posted by someone else.
It may just be me, but these days, every time I see the DOJ mentioned in an article, I do a double-take, then read the reference to this agency over again. To my mind the DOJ is not the DOJ of the past. It should now be renamed the "Department of Barr." It would reflect today's reality.
Or the DDT...Department of Defense of Trump!
DDT is also a pesticide! So fitting.
And banned throughout the world for its disastrous impact on man and nature. An appropriate reponse indeed!
He had made it clear from the start he did not want a J.O.B. (and Cohen confirmed this), he wanted the power and adoration he assumed would come with being president. He didn't take into account that respect must be earned, and he doesn't even know where to start with that task.
I found the New York Times article about the Trump campaign blowing through 800 million its 1.1 billion dollar war chest with two big months to go very interesting. 11 million spent on Super Bowl ads to rival Bloomberg, 1.1 million spent on ads in Washington DC (to placate Trump, as he watches hours of TV every day), 4 million funneled into Trump businesses and this list goes on. Rachel Maddow asked Cohen whether Trump would pay campaign expenses out of his own pocket as he said he would. Cohen laughed and said that would be a big fat hairy NO (paraphrasing). He remarked several times how cheap Trump is.
Thank you, HCR, for putting on your hip-waders every day to find the important stories in the flood of daily news.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/07/us/politics/trump-election-campaign-fundraising.html
Just watched Rachel’s interview with Cohen. Very interesting!
I'm sure you are correct about his desire for power/adoration - clearly he didn't take into account that this is a JOB - that actual WORK would be required and expected.
After having giving a brief look over of the Homeland Security paper included in the footnotes does it not strike anyone as peculiar and upsetting that instead of referring to our country not as America but as "the Homeland"? While a minor point it reminded me too much of the way the Nazi and the Russians referred to their countries. I will be reading the DHS paper in more depth later today.
I have noticed and been disturbed by the use of the word “Homeland”, too, starting with its introduction right after 9/11, when the Department of Homeland Security was established. It rings a hypernationalist tone, and puts me in mind of 1930s Germany; now, 19 years after its introduction into common use here it still rings of Aryan supremacist fanaticism.
One step away from "Fatherland/Vaterland" and "sieg heil!"...
The Propaganda began 9/11. After suffering the loss of some on my staff, bosses, and colleagues, my greatest pain arose from seeing the Revenge Lust around me.
From the moment I read David's article, I could not get Leonard Cohen's voice out of my head.
I searched for the lyrics to Everybody Knows (from his album I'm Your Man, 1988) and found these selected lines rather earth-shattering during this time of the pandemic:
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long-stem rose
Everybody knows
And everybody knows that the plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows.
Yes. Everybody knows. I just hope everybody VOTES BLUE. Thanks for all you do, Heather Cox Richardson, to help us understand this remarkable test of our democracy.
Once again, Mr. Cohen was prescient. That man has been top of my list of spiritual minds since I was given his first album in 1967 or '68. Check out "The Story of Isaac", for those who haven't heard it. It's one of his early ones.
So disgusting. Each day some new and worse information about the corruption at the top, the frantic attempts to shield this morally bankrupt president, and it becomes more difficult to find the words sufficient to express the depth of our condemnation of all that is going on at the White House and DOJ.
Barr professes to be this strict Catholic who deplores the immorality in society. Wonder if he’s looked in the mirror lately.
For him, the ends justify the means. Just wait until he meets his Maker and finds out how it really works. That's the Department of the Almighty and metes out Justice.
Department of the Almighty... I love that! 😙
What can one say? The Barr has been set very low.
The good ol’ DNA sample! If we learned anything from Pres. Clinton it is to hold onto the DNA evidence. Hope it hits it’s mark.
It all comes down to, he never wanted the job and stinks at it! Too many details and moving parts for his feeble cerebral impaired brain. Can’t even surround himself with people who can take up the slack for him! Two year degree? Lordy!
Thank you, Heather! For keeping me informed each and every day!
I pay my taxes on time, and next week quarterly estimated taxes are due. For at least this entire year, I have to grit my teeth to write my federal tax check, knowing that my taxes are going into the pot that Trump and his people believe is their personal slush fund.
Why pay your taxes on time? Why pay estimated taxes at all. Starve the beast? (My fantasy is for Trump to push NY too far and find out how the national debt is rolled over).
The IRS can levy a substantial penalty on those who do not pay estimated taxes on time or who pay less than 90% of the tax due.
I have never paid my Quarterly Estimated Tax. My advisor is retired as the head of a major Wall Street Law firm. His specialty is taxes. He helped revise the Code. Take your own tax advice from where you get it. It works for me, but maybe not for your case.
I have a friend who told me she made an estimated tax payment on time;the check never cleared and she was charged interest. Same thing happened to someone she knew but the interest was much larger. This is what happens when you hollow out the government. You pay twice.
Please note that I am not offering tax advice. I asked why Ms Howe grits her teeth for the entire year and then does something she's against. I then offered my personal experience with tax payments. Did you know that many people do things that go against their moral compass, but never question?
Also, I agree that hollowing out the government is bad, but must point out that it is nothing I propose. Think resistance, not Republican Ideology.
It’s a quandary for me every tax season, actually. I consider not paying, and then cannot say how that would make me any different from the tax evaders at the very top.
UGH. Quarterly estimated payments had fallen totally from my radar. I can at least take small comfort that my payment will be much less than originally forecast owing to a Main St economy that remains in the hopper.
After reading this, I don't understand why I get so many f--k you, f--k off, and Trump 2020 responses when I do my text banking. Granted, it probably, because I am text banking in a very conservative area. I can't bear to tell my mom about all the negative texts I get. She is 81 and hates Trump. This news would deflate her. I have a Trumpster friend who announced yesterday that she was leaving Facebook until the end of 2020 maybe longer. She posts a lot of misinformation as truth and Facebook has taken down a lot of her posts. To be honest, I reported a few. She even posted satire posts as true. That said as an act of resistance I ordered a ticket to a Trump rally being held at a local airport that I have no intention of using. A friend suggested it would make me feel better. It did😊
I have no idea what text banking is...please explain!
Lee Hurd, you are given a question and a list of numbers to text. The question was do you plan to vote absentee and Democratic. Yesterday, I had 400 numbers. It done through a site called Thru Text. It goes pretty quick. When the responses come back, you enter how they plan to vote and what party. I usually recorded the f--k you and f--off responses as strong Republican. You also get a lot of opt outs.
I text with Indivisible. We actually have semi-conversations with voters. I have gotten a number of FOs, but I have actually been heartened by the number of favorable responses! Some campaigns are for a particular candidate; some are GOTV; some are statewide VBM. (As an aside, what has surprised me is that women seem to have the pottiest mouths Of all.)
I thought that with the text bank efforts the texts were only going to registered Democrats and Independents. It’s disconcerting that in that group there are a lot who are actually strong Republicans. Sounds intense. Perhaps I made the right decision to write postcards and letters instead.
Text banking is worth doing. You can check out victory2020 for a start, but there are many other options.
Why hasn't Congress stepped up to impeach Barr, or, at the very least, subpoena him to appear, and when he refuses, throw him in jail for contempt! He is a tRump thug, and should be jailed with the rest of them. I started the Cohen book yesterday, and can tell he has nothing but disdain for his former boss. He admits his own guilt in the being the top thug for a while, and is paying the price...except the book may earn him tons! As for the whole mocking of the military, this will certainly come back to haunt tRump in ways he can't imagine. Can't wait to have those military "losers" and "suckers" be the ones dragging him from the WH!
Yep, Barr is basically a criminal. We know that. BUT, as long as the Senate is controlled by Republicans, any impeachment of anybody ain't gonna happen...PERIOD.
I realize the republican won’t impeach Barr, but the House could at least bring up articles to Embarrass him and serve notice come Nov.
YES!!
Like you I look forward to when the US Marines frog-march his ass out of the White House on January 20.
Heather, thank you for this dissection of a notably disturbing newsday. This country's Administration is positively rank with deception and it is beyond my comprehension how it continues to plow over facts with fiction on a daily basis.