thank you for this recap, Professor Reich. i watched the J6 event live online and was unable to process the astounding events i was seeing.
but now that i've had time to think about it all (still thinking, actually, and continuing investigations are helpful), i've come to one conclusion, with other conclusions still pending: WE MUST GET R…
thank you for this recap, Professor Reich. i watched the J6 event live online and was unable to process the astounding events i was seeing.
but now that i've had time to think about it all (still thinking, actually, and continuing investigations are helpful), i've come to one conclusion, with other conclusions still pending: WE MUST GET RID OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE ASAP. it's a racist tradition that takes away most peoples' votes, regardless of what skin color they have. if we all enjoyed a one-person-one-vote system, things would be far fairer for all citizens.
It was a terrible decision from the right wing USSC to decide that money was Free Speech and it has been easy to see how it has corrupted everything that the money has touched. Political campaign finance reform must be accomplished absolutely before politics is to return to normalcy.
Let’s be more specific here; Mitch Mc Connell fronted for the Koch Bros and Mc Connell ushered the case through the, even then (!) Supreme Court... in a nutshell.
And Trump would never have “won” or taken office in 2016. He lost the popular vote both times. The Electoral College is an absurd, anti-democratic, tyrannical, outmoded system that should have been abolished 100 years ago. It benefits the same people it always benefitted: the traitors.
JC displeasure with the EC is certainly warranted. It benefits the landed and wealthy as it was designed to do. It is an anachronism and sits high on the list of amendments that need to be reformed/enacted; right after Equal Rights; Voting Rights; Bearing Arms; Reproductive Rights; and the absurd notion that corporations are "persons," with the same rights as individuals. That ruling has ensured the buying of representatives is no longer considered bribery; it is now freedom of speech!? ANV
i also looked up the definition of a cult, since you mention it here when you say: "The Republican Party is close to becoming a cult whose central animating idea is that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump."
according to my online dictionary, a cult is "a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous. a satanic cult." another definition is 1. a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object. 2. a person or thing that is popular or fashionable among a particular group or section of society.
which makes me wonder what aspect of trump is not cultish?
I live in a small red community in a blue state. This is a dying small town with an aging community that sees their mission as fighting spiritual warfare on the front lines. They are bigots, homophobics, misogynistic church members. They live in fear based on their daily doses of fear based media. They are union members that vote Republican. They are about guns and God. Most don't care politics. They like the malignant/sociopath because he normalized their prejudices. He said, it's ok to be an abuser like me. Over 60 million people suffer from Narcissist Abuse. In this country we blame the abused not the abuser. Too many rape apologists. Do these people recognize the abusers in their own lives? Probably not. Why would they acknowledge him. Abusers are everywhere. I believe the lack of emotional intelligence amongst humans is bringing us down. Compassion is a sign of higher intelligence.
I recently looked up what experts in the field had to say about cult leader traits. Experts in field said that charismatic people often share some of the same traits of cult leaders. One main trait separates charasmstic people from cult leaders. "Cult leaders hurt people." IMO, openly condoning violence against people who disagree meets the main distinguishing trait.
Yes. Jonestown was textbook. 1, Hide behind a church for authority and credentials. 2, Use the Bible to project superior knowledge to manipulate. 3, Isolate followers from family and friends who really love them for complete control. 4, Attack (and hurt) those who question the cult leader's legitimacy. #3 & 4 reveal the leader's ego-manical, self-serving, evil intentions.
Danny, that man was pure evil. You could just see it emanating from him!! What was even scarier was how blindly those people followed him without question!! If somebody handed me a cup of kool aid and people around me were dropping like flies, you can safely bet I wouldn't take even a sip!! I'd be looking for the nearest exit!!
I have to wonder why the followers did not recognize the cult leader's actions to isolate themselves and hurt people. I suppose it's difficult to question leaders associated with a Christianity or a church.
In 3rd grade, I witnessed a Priest verbally assault a nun. She was in tears. He destroyed her emotionally. I remember it like yesterday. The Priest's beet red face and unimaginable anger. The agony and helplessness on the Sister's face. The Priest stormed out of the small office. I sympathized for the Sister, the Principle.
Shortly later, the Priest took extreme measures to hurt my character in front of the entire congregation. Cult leaders do not tolerate those who can expose him/her as a phony Christian leader. Cult leaders have no problem hurting good people to maintain their authority.
As I recall, it was nearly impossible to think that the leader of the church could be mean and hurtful. In fact, it was unfathomable. It wasn't until the Priest berated the replacement Sister-Principle to tears that I could grasp that something was wrong with the Priest. After the 2nd Sister was hurt to tears, I knew the Priest was not acting with the love and compassion of Jesus.
To me, the choice is larger than the choice between Biden and Trump. It is the choice between looking forward to a progressive future with a government that serves it citizens, or a failing capitalistic form of democracy that fails to provide even the basic economic purchasing power for all citizens. Today, democracy as it now operates is failing to do this most basic of functions. It is this failure that allows a fascist party and candidate to gain so much support among the voting public. If our democracy were not so weakened, we would not be in such a condition. It is like the condominium building in Surfside, Florida that just collapsed in 2021 because the structural components had become dangerously weakened by neglect and the resident/owners did not undertake to repair the understructure of the building in a timely fashion. On June 24th 2021 at 1:22 a.m., the building simply collapsed and 98 people died because of the failure to address the underlying problems. https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › surfside_condominium_collapse
We the resident/owners of the United States are at that same critical juncture. Despite the clear and present danger of our democracy collapsing, we continue to ignore erosion of our economic structure caused by capitalism trumping democracy. We must be willing to undertake the pressing task to design and implement a system that is the better alternative to capitalism and save our country before it meets the same fate as the collapsed condominium building in surfside, Florida. No matter which candidate wins the November election, the risk of collapse remains. Unbridled capitalism allowed by fascism will speed the inevitable collapse, but even under our existing democracy hobbled by runaway capitalism, the risk remains.
There are progressive thinkers who have brought forward plans for the next level of an economically sound democracy, “Economic Democracy” based on the Progressive Utilization Theory. If planning and action are taken now, much human suffering and injustice can be averted. When the Soviet Union collapsed seemingly overnight, it was because as the economic and government underpinnings were rotting, no one had planned for that eventuality and the Russia that emerged has caused great suffering as a result. No plan was made for the likely chance for a wildfire to reach Lahaina and that town on Maui was totally destroyed in a matter of hours resulting in deaths, economic devastation, and total dispersion of the once cohesive community and culture of that town. We cannot afford to ignore the possibility of the same type of inferno engulfing the United States. We cannot afford to follow the example of Lahaina, the Soviet Union or the collapsed condominium in Florida. We must lay plans now for a structural overhaul. For a short essay see https://www.proutinstitute.org/policy-solutions/economic-democracy-the-alternative-to-corporate-rule
Popular voting and the elimination of the antiquated Electoral College including GERRYMANDERING would level up the field and accomplish what is needed for our elections.
You wrote, “WE MUST GET RID OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE.” Unfortunately that would require a Constitutional Amendment. As long as The Electoral College gives Republicans a disproportionate advantage, they will oppose it. Only if a Democrat wins The Electoral College while losing the popular vote will the Republicans support such an Amendment.
thank you for this recap, Professor Reich. i watched the J6 event live online and was unable to process the astounding events i was seeing.
but now that i've had time to think about it all (still thinking, actually, and continuing investigations are helpful), i've come to one conclusion, with other conclusions still pending: WE MUST GET RID OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE ASAP. it's a racist tradition that takes away most peoples' votes, regardless of what skin color they have. if we all enjoyed a one-person-one-vote system, things would be far fairer for all citizens.
GrrlScientist ; Yes, and get money out of politics by ending Citizens United!
It was a terrible decision from the right wing USSC to decide that money was Free Speech and it has been easy to see how it has corrupted everything that the money has touched. Political campaign finance reform must be accomplished absolutely before politics is to return to normalcy.
Let’s be more specific here; Mitch Mc Connell fronted for the Koch Bros and Mc Connell ushered the case through the, even then (!) Supreme Court... in a nutshell.
And Trump would never have “won” or taken office in 2016. He lost the popular vote both times. The Electoral College is an absurd, anti-democratic, tyrannical, outmoded system that should have been abolished 100 years ago. It benefits the same people it always benefitted: the traitors.
JC displeasure with the EC is certainly warranted. It benefits the landed and wealthy as it was designed to do. It is an anachronism and sits high on the list of amendments that need to be reformed/enacted; right after Equal Rights; Voting Rights; Bearing Arms; Reproductive Rights; and the absurd notion that corporations are "persons," with the same rights as individuals. That ruling has ensured the buying of representatives is no longer considered bribery; it is now freedom of speech!? ANV
No to the filibuster forever.
Spot on!
Amen.
i also looked up the definition of a cult, since you mention it here when you say: "The Republican Party is close to becoming a cult whose central animating idea is that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump."
according to my online dictionary, a cult is "a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous. a satanic cult." another definition is 1. a system of religious veneration and devotion directed towards a particular figure or object. 2. a person or thing that is popular or fashionable among a particular group or section of society.
which makes me wonder what aspect of trump is not cultish?
I live in a small red community in a blue state. This is a dying small town with an aging community that sees their mission as fighting spiritual warfare on the front lines. They are bigots, homophobics, misogynistic church members. They live in fear based on their daily doses of fear based media. They are union members that vote Republican. They are about guns and God. Most don't care politics. They like the malignant/sociopath because he normalized their prejudices. He said, it's ok to be an abuser like me. Over 60 million people suffer from Narcissist Abuse. In this country we blame the abused not the abuser. Too many rape apologists. Do these people recognize the abusers in their own lives? Probably not. Why would they acknowledge him. Abusers are everywhere. I believe the lack of emotional intelligence amongst humans is bringing us down. Compassion is a sign of higher intelligence.
👍
I recently looked up what experts in the field had to say about cult leader traits. Experts in field said that charismatic people often share some of the same traits of cult leaders. One main trait separates charasmstic people from cult leaders. "Cult leaders hurt people." IMO, openly condoning violence against people who disagree meets the main distinguishing trait.
I remember Jim Jones! Pure evil!!
Yes. Jonestown was textbook. 1, Hide behind a church for authority and credentials. 2, Use the Bible to project superior knowledge to manipulate. 3, Isolate followers from family and friends who really love them for complete control. 4, Attack (and hurt) those who question the cult leader's legitimacy. #3 & 4 reveal the leader's ego-manical, self-serving, evil intentions.
Danny, that man was pure evil. You could just see it emanating from him!! What was even scarier was how blindly those people followed him without question!! If somebody handed me a cup of kool aid and people around me were dropping like flies, you can safely bet I wouldn't take even a sip!! I'd be looking for the nearest exit!!
I have to wonder why the followers did not recognize the cult leader's actions to isolate themselves and hurt people. I suppose it's difficult to question leaders associated with a Christianity or a church.
In 3rd grade, I witnessed a Priest verbally assault a nun. She was in tears. He destroyed her emotionally. I remember it like yesterday. The Priest's beet red face and unimaginable anger. The agony and helplessness on the Sister's face. The Priest stormed out of the small office. I sympathized for the Sister, the Principle.
Shortly later, the Priest took extreme measures to hurt my character in front of the entire congregation. Cult leaders do not tolerate those who can expose him/her as a phony Christian leader. Cult leaders have no problem hurting good people to maintain their authority.
As I recall, it was nearly impossible to think that the leader of the church could be mean and hurtful. In fact, it was unfathomable. It wasn't until the Priest berated the replacement Sister-Principle to tears that I could grasp that something was wrong with the Priest. After the 2nd Sister was hurt to tears, I knew the Priest was not acting with the love and compassion of Jesus.
To me, the choice is larger than the choice between Biden and Trump. It is the choice between looking forward to a progressive future with a government that serves it citizens, or a failing capitalistic form of democracy that fails to provide even the basic economic purchasing power for all citizens. Today, democracy as it now operates is failing to do this most basic of functions. It is this failure that allows a fascist party and candidate to gain so much support among the voting public. If our democracy were not so weakened, we would not be in such a condition. It is like the condominium building in Surfside, Florida that just collapsed in 2021 because the structural components had become dangerously weakened by neglect and the resident/owners did not undertake to repair the understructure of the building in a timely fashion. On June 24th 2021 at 1:22 a.m., the building simply collapsed and 98 people died because of the failure to address the underlying problems. https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › surfside_condominium_collapse
We the resident/owners of the United States are at that same critical juncture. Despite the clear and present danger of our democracy collapsing, we continue to ignore erosion of our economic structure caused by capitalism trumping democracy. We must be willing to undertake the pressing task to design and implement a system that is the better alternative to capitalism and save our country before it meets the same fate as the collapsed condominium building in surfside, Florida. No matter which candidate wins the November election, the risk of collapse remains. Unbridled capitalism allowed by fascism will speed the inevitable collapse, but even under our existing democracy hobbled by runaway capitalism, the risk remains.
There are progressive thinkers who have brought forward plans for the next level of an economically sound democracy, “Economic Democracy” based on the Progressive Utilization Theory. If planning and action are taken now, much human suffering and injustice can be averted. When the Soviet Union collapsed seemingly overnight, it was because as the economic and government underpinnings were rotting, no one had planned for that eventuality and the Russia that emerged has caused great suffering as a result. No plan was made for the likely chance for a wildfire to reach Lahaina and that town on Maui was totally destroyed in a matter of hours resulting in deaths, economic devastation, and total dispersion of the once cohesive community and culture of that town. We cannot afford to ignore the possibility of the same type of inferno engulfing the United States. We cannot afford to follow the example of Lahaina, the Soviet Union or the collapsed condominium in Florida. We must lay plans now for a structural overhaul. For a short essay see https://www.proutinstitute.org/policy-solutions/economic-democracy-the-alternative-to-corporate-rule
Thank you for this response, Marc. Your spot -on three examples are perfect and aid in understanding in a visual manner.
Always appreciate you comments Marc. Thanks for that.
Very well said!
Popular voting and the elimination of the antiquated Electoral College including GERRYMANDERING would level up the field and accomplish what is needed for our elections.
End the filibuster.
Filibuster has no place in any civilized government. Debate accomplishes so much more.
You wrote, “WE MUST GET RID OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE.” Unfortunately that would require a Constitutional Amendment. As long as The Electoral College gives Republicans a disproportionate advantage, they will oppose it. Only if a Democrat wins The Electoral College while losing the popular vote will the Republicans support such an Amendment.