He sure turned into a sucker when he threw away his honor and enrolled in the trump bandwagon even though he surely was smart enough to know trump was worse than a jerk.
Thank you, Karla Von Huben; I feel your pain; not knowing "how to feel" is indeed frustrating for me, too. That phrase is an appropriate description of very intense, painful dissatisfaction - which leads me to a tendency to react with unhelpful disturbed emotions like strong anger and to wishing harm to befall those who are causing this unnecessary suffering and death of so many innocent, descent, hard-working people.
Yet, I now know that directly facing my feelings is the only way to counter my propensity to react in ways that are not beneficial to myself nor anyone else. I am fortunate to have discovered scientifically-supported methods that are effective when I use them.
The primary method that works for many of us is "mindfulness meditation" as explained by numerous sources such as: "Buddha's Brain" by neuroscientist Rick Hanson, Ph.D. & neurologist Richard Mendius, M.D. as well as: "Altered Traits" by Daniel Goleman and "The Mind's Own Physician" by Jon Kabat-Zin.
These books, by the way, are neither particularly "Buddhist" nor about "Buddhism" nor any other "spiritual path" per se. May you and all sensate beings be free of suffering & the cause of suffering. - Frank Talk, jr
Frank, I feel that Prof. Reich has a strong handle on mindfulness as he shows gratitude for the hard work of his colleagues to promote the 'democratic principle'.
I would call his attitude one of tempered realism more than open optimism, recognizing that to repair the damage done by trump, his cult, and big money may take decades. The wisdom of the 'People's Will' must prevail as the shade is lifted from before us. Thank you for the references.
Thank you, Dennis King! I agree with your comments and will add that the walk that Robert "Bob" Reich took is an excellent method to use for the practice of meditation, in my experience...
Hadn’t Graham just returned from Ukraine, where he had a meeting with President Zelenskyy? Wouldn’t mind betting they’ll try to pin it on him. That’s the kind of stuff they do.
They will blame Obama and Biden. I think it was because he was returning from Ukraine and a Russian spy poisoned him. Maybe that was what Putin and Trump were talking about prior to the NATO summit.
I hope the ONLY thing Trump feels today is the same blind panic I've known since Jan. '25, and to a lesser degree since that day on the golden escalator when he had to pay people $50 each to wear Trump t-shirts..
No problem. 😊 I admire your ability to recognize people by abbreviations. English isn't my mothertongue, and detecting all these abbreviatons was a big surprise when I first came to substack. I like your name, but I read it "fooch"... 😉 hope that's okay..
...the building, responsibility, his Nuremberg Defense, anyone who ever saw him in even a moment of vulnerability (even cash-inspired, and EVERYone knows.)
That had to be a sad life for anyone to choose; pseudo-power over pseudo-honesty. We all die alone, but he may have died too quickly to notice any nuance, or experience any growth.
I fully expect a firestorm of accusations and conspiracy theories - the inconvenient sudden death of a strong ally of Israel and President Donald J Pondscum. Even I think it fishy! On the other hand, Graham just returned from a visit to Ukraine, where he expressed his support and announced that he was presently involved with crafting a new sanctions bill against Putin. Indeed, the style of his demise looks more Russian to me. By contrast, I'd expect some kind of Islamic hit to be more violent and more local to Ukraine.
-
Upon later reflection, I'll speculate that some similar thought is crossing minds in Ukraine, too. Just sayin'.
-
In this later clip, Ms Blevins kindly includes video documentation that supports my assertion that if Graham was a hit, it was more likely Russian than Iranian or anyone in the Levant. Besides, if it happened in the US, the Russians have more access to US soil than any of the other possible players:
Or, maybe he was just an old fart with a lifetime psychological disorder that flooded his brain with so much hatred and bigotry that the constant stress hormones caused a heart attack.
I'll always scarcely almost remember "Ladybug Lindsey" and his final automated reply to my request, sent to his office by email, that he not be the monster he has proven himself to be ever since he decided that maybe "fascism isn't to bad after all. It certainly pays well!"
Until I need more space, I mean. Then I'll be forced by my need for a tiny extra speck of drive space to remember him marginally less.
I was surprised to see that interview after the Ukraine visit... it was 'as if' he made an about turn in his position RE: Putin and Russia. And the next day he's dead.
Neither DJT nor Putin would've been pleased with Graham's interview.
Wow -- I hardly listened to the news today for a change . . . So I missed that. What did he die of? Maybe he got food poisoning? At least glad he went to Ukraine to lend his support to them. That's sure a lot more than Trump has been doing!
Karma is already busy as can be, foofaraw & Chiquita! McConnell, Graham, innumerable losses in court, loss of money, allies turning their backs, community after community standing strong against data centers, never ending wars, etc. etc. The list is getting so long now. Karma has decided these corrupt grifters need to be dealt with and she is dealing the blows at a rapid pace!
Yours is the first comment that has anything to do with today’s topic. Rather than take a moment to breathe, the comments did what they usually do; Trump, Trump, Trump. I am tired of Trump, however, the more we focus on him the more we disempower ourselves. It is time to step boldly into the future. It is easy to make a list of what is wrong, everyone constantly repeats it.
There is great promise in our future after the Trump regime implodes.
It will not take a generation to repair the damage. Trump has done. If we have a plan for what we want our future to be, and we begin taking steps to implement it, we can change the future as quickly as was accomplished with the implementation of the evil Project 2025.
Robert Reich has shared a few things where he feels gratitude. There are others on this Substack who can see and articulate positive visions for the post Trump regime era. We are missing an opportunity to share the things we do feel gratitude for. Trump, Vance and Steven Miller are not our future! I am seeing the opposition to the regime begin to articulate their vision for a positive future.. I am seeing significant races being won by progressive candidates who are able to articulate a clear platform that improves the life of all their constituents. I am seeing numerous changes and events that I feel grateful for. We could utilize this forum too follow the examples of those who articulate a brighter future and then apply themselves to bring it about.
Ah Mark! You are on it again. Both you and Robert are pressing for us to find our way to a resilient democratic future. And not just the "What" but the "How" and the "Why." I, and I sense we, think it must be democratic because as those who originally understood complexity, like Hasan Ozbekhan, and more recently, Eric Michaels, have understood, we no longer have single nature problems that will respond to single solutions by experts. We now have systems of problems or meta-systems of problems or "predicaments "or in Ozbekhan's language "problematiques," that have outcomes with which we must co-evolve.
If we try to solve predicaments as single purpose problems we only add to the
complexity. We need to think and act more locally because our communities are dependent on natural systems and the mutual interdependence among communities and natural systems depends on the richness of our understanding on how those relationships work This understanding resides in the diversity of our people, the plurality of their perspectives, the literacy of their lived experience, the range of their informed creative imaginations and their capacity to address predicaments by learning and thinking together as rapidly as specific contexts require. Our dilemma is not having the knowledge. Neither is it that we lack the capacities to learn and think together as groups. Our dilemma is that we do have the legislated social constructions capable of enabling us to learn from each other and the world we inhabit and process the information fast enough and do it consistently and sufficiently enough to design the agency sufficient to address the urgencies with which we are confronted. As I understand it, your work with Neo-Humanism is a step in that direction. Now to Robert's point on Compassion,. that I think is an essential insight.
Recently, I pulled Joshph Campbell's book "Thou art That" off the shelf. The Editor's Forward tells of how fond Campbell was of asking Schopenhauer's question. "How is it possible that suffering that is neither my own nor of my concern should immediately affect me as if it were my own, and with such force that it moves me to action/" In short strokes there is the suggestion in the Upanishads and in various ways in most of the "Axial religions " and I would suggest in the core themes in indigenous ethics that compassion has its origins in recognition. This is to suggest that we feel in the other's predicament that if circumstances were otherwise, it could be I who is at risk. I would suggest that it is this recognition in our humanity that when ignored produces tragedy in social systems and worse. This tragedy is a metaphysical reality that represents itself in the various characteristics of grief like the anger we see in these dialogues. I am beginning to think that these expressions of grief distract us from recognizing the tragedy for what it is. I think that this is where we really get in trouble. Because the real tragedy is that we do not see the tragedy. Ironically, we distract ourselves from seeing the tragedy by using the same form of speech- the declarative-that the Royal consciousness uses to express its certainties Doing this we deprive ourselves of the portal to transformations that that the interrogatory and the subjunctive forms of discourse invite. There is a social intelligence in the social system routed in relationships that are based in recognition and are manifest in behaviors like compassion that have largely been purges by a civilization that I think Heidegger once characterized as Cartesian thought annexed to the will to power, and has created the ethos of indifference and victimization for which we are blaming each other. It is time for our humanity to name it for what it is and convert the ethos of despair to one of hope. this is more that I thought i Had in me when I began. I suspect I have offended some. If I have, I apologize.
And when we take this country back, we will build an economic system that ensures everyone has the opportunity to earn enough purchasing power to support themselves and their families without taking on two or more jobs. One well articulated proposal for changing our economy is called ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY.
Also, when we take our country back, we will implement a system, originally envisioned in the Declaration of Independence. That is a government by the people and for the people, and we will ensure that “it will not perish from the Earth.”
Optimism and positive plans are particularly appreciated! Thank you to everyone who is promoting them. We must believe in ourselves as Americans, in the integrity of many people within our population, and that goodness prevail.
Right on, Marc! A major point is that our current problem is not just Trump, but even more, is the oligarchs who are manipulating him. If we lose sight of that fact, and continue to support anyone in either party who has been bought, we will not resolve the underlying problems of wealth inequality and too much influence of money in politics.
(Proud to say it took me 5 minutes to think of it. I actually considered wearing my "Leningrad Lindsey" t-shirt to church before I considered what a win this will be for America to lose 2 powerful GOP Senators. But I'm a South Carolinian, and that came first.)
I hear you friend. I live in Indiana so it is much the same here although it has gotten slightly better the last couple of years. We have great Resistance groups here thank goodness.
Well, Robert, the gratitude you feel is boosted by the joy on the streets that we see in inflatable frogs, and the thousands of Americans able to successfully protect the Latino families in their neighborhoods.
History will celebrate the force that is rising among us. The #SimpletonSycophants spread throughout the Cabinet and across all governmental agencies thanks to the firings by Musk will populate the wall of shame when their judgment comes at the hands of a #BlueHouseOversightRampage.
Starting next January investigations will lead to impeachments and resignations flying like confetti over a future #2ndIndependenceDay parade. Imagine the gratitude then…
I have been a fan of Dr. Annie Andrews who is running to defeat the now deceased Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. She is a terrific candidate. I hope this does not in any way distract or somehow diminish her campaign.
R. Reich mentions a list of people he admires(admired) with whom he worked; some on that list I find admirable, some not, but it's his list, not mine. One person on the list died far too soon and his death was a great loss to America and that was Minnesota's Paul Wellstone. Paull Wellstone and Wisconsin's Russ Feingold who lost his last election in 2010 were both very promising politicians and good minds.
I think an appropriate acknowledgement of Lindsey Graham's death would be for everyone to lend some support to Dr. Annie Andrews campaign. She's a good one!
'We will take this country back. There are far more of us than there are of them.'
For all our sakes, I hope you are right.
The problem is that 'they' have unlimited money and money = power.
Power to buy and control the mainstream media.
Power to buy and control social media.
Power buy and develop powerful algorithmic tools like so-called AI and to build their ruling class biases into them.
Power to challenge scientific truth and replace it with fake science.
Power to roll back all those institutions that FDR established in the wake of the failure of feral capitalism in the first part of the 20th century.
Power to flaunt the law and the rules of decency via monsters like Epstein.
Power to roll back the modest gains that people of colour and women have made over the last 50 years.
And perhaps worst of all, power to sabotage efforts to save the environment on which all human life depends.
In short, there's a reactionary revolution taking place, and if we don't win we will lose everything that made life tolerable for the working and middle classes in the West in the period from 1945 to the 1980s.
But we also must be prepared for tragedy in countless new forms.
Our parents did that for us, and now we prepare the next generation for wars, giant men of half vision (at best), deep-sucking whirlpools and witches having turned men into pigs.
But "it can't happen here" is out as well. The US has caused what may grow into a nightmare for the world and my grandsons. That is why I struck a dark tone...
Your perceptiveness, resilience and resistance give me hope. Wondering if SC has a Jimmy Carter like candidate to replace Lindsey? When he was running for governor he told his non-racist supporters that they would hear him say some things but once he got elected he would act for them.
The entire country did not cause the turmoil or the hatred. The majority of the country is peace loving and kind. We must be prepared to solve and to counter problems somehow, and we are grateful for everyone who can help uphold our ideals with dignity, legality, positivity, and caring.
I didn’t mean that you should look away from the disaster in the US. Learn from it. Raise awareness in your country. Protect your democracy. Don’t let billionaire oligarchs gain power. Fight for equality.
If the people who did not see the truth have learned to recognize it by now, that will help.
Some people still do not see the truth, the connections, the causes and effects, the foreshadowing, the inferences, the encouraged yet baseless prejudices, and the manipulations they have somehow found acceptable.
People in any part of that category are not willing to listen and are further brainwashed by their chosen news sources, whether audio, printed, or televised.
Thank you for these words of gratitude, Professor Reich. Glad you took that walk. My daily walks are the antidote for the constant stress, fear, and anger of living in this fascist dystopia, and giving in to the hopeless feeling that they have finally won. Gained complete control of the government and the media. They have kept the sleeping giant asleep for a woefully long time.
But as you said, it is waking up. Even people who consider "woke" to be an insult are now awakening, because they are being seriously hurt by trump's policies and no longer believe his BS that it's all Biden and Obama's fault.
My son was gassed by trump's thugs marching with BLM in Portland in 2020. He was in college then. He's a high school teacher now. He has led his classes out of school for the Mayday Strong no school, no work, no buy actions, and his students have ardently participated.
The legacy of those great public servants you named, to which I will add your name, lives on in our younger generations. I'm very grateful for that. And for what you continue to do.
I know at the local level people are taking their country back by protecting their towns from data centers. Local officials that got in bed with the companies building data centers are being recalled or voted out of office. Many of the deals made to build data centers were made without the public's consent or knowledge. They don't find out until their utility bills go up and find their water polluted or no water. The companies building these data centers think it is perfectly OK to pollute air and water and put pressure on the electrical grid. Small price for them to pay when there is money to be made. Not so small a price for the residents who have to absord higher costs and in some cases go without. During the recent heat wave, many residents were told to set their AC's to 78 degrees because of the strain on the electrical grid. This will only get worse if data centers are allowed to be built all over the country with no oversight. This is not a left vs right issue as all people no matter what their political leanings are being adversely affected.
Teresa, you are so right about significant costs of data centers to the people and environments , and about the urgent need to prevent them.
Also at high risk are communities where wind farms are and/or data centers are being proposed, particularly in areas with a history of tornado damage. It is extremely shortsighted that any community within the affected areas of the New Madrid fault line, and therefore being at risk of having earthquakes or even tremors, as well as being at risk of repeated devastating tornadoes, are places where data centers and wind farms both are being proposed!
Long ago, the quake caused by the New Madrid Fault was felt from coast to coast and beyond. Who can be safe if there are tremors, or worse, yet quakes from that fault, which just said to me of greater concern than faults in California area? Imagine the risks to life and property if any of the windmills were to go down from a tremor, a quake, or a tornado!
I suppose we will have to hit rock bottom before the pendulum starts to swing back, although the bottom is far deeper and murkier than i ever imagined.
Trump is gonna be more angry at Lindsey for getting all the week's attention than he EVER was at us Dems.
Karma will be busy.
He's probably pissed that the news came out before they could pretend they were having phone conversations with him.
Hopefully they'll have many intimate conversations soon.
Heated discussions, no doubt.
Maybe he and Mitch are talking about why the door is stuck at the pearly gates.
caused by heat welling up from below.
Haven't they learned to go into the light? I heard the flames shine bright I hoped I will never find out how bright.
Time to enjoy this little story from the U.K. again? 😉😂
Rowan Atkinson as "Toby the devil" abour reserved 'chairs'!
// Toby the Devil - We Are Most Amused and Amazed
> https://youtu.be/VrwIs10XvKA?si=jZ_gLb1d8H9vygdO
Lindsay will not be anywhere near the pearly gates!
I can't imagine trump being ANYTHING other than angry at Lindsey right now.
That first "Truth" could be a DOOZY!
He probably thinks Lindsay is a sucker, which he may well be.
He sure turned into a sucker when he threw away his honor and enrolled in the trump bandwagon even though he surely was smart enough to know trump was worse than a jerk.
Always wondered what John would have thought!
LOL! I don't know how to feel, except that it will be interesting to see how the RW propaganda machine comes up with a way to pin it on Obama.
Thank you, Karla Von Huben; I feel your pain; not knowing "how to feel" is indeed frustrating for me, too. That phrase is an appropriate description of very intense, painful dissatisfaction - which leads me to a tendency to react with unhelpful disturbed emotions like strong anger and to wishing harm to befall those who are causing this unnecessary suffering and death of so many innocent, descent, hard-working people.
Yet, I now know that directly facing my feelings is the only way to counter my propensity to react in ways that are not beneficial to myself nor anyone else. I am fortunate to have discovered scientifically-supported methods that are effective when I use them.
The primary method that works for many of us is "mindfulness meditation" as explained by numerous sources such as: "Buddha's Brain" by neuroscientist Rick Hanson, Ph.D. & neurologist Richard Mendius, M.D. as well as: "Altered Traits" by Daniel Goleman and "The Mind's Own Physician" by Jon Kabat-Zin.
These books, by the way, are neither particularly "Buddhist" nor about "Buddhism" nor any other "spiritual path" per se. May you and all sensate beings be free of suffering & the cause of suffering. - Frank Talk, jr
Frank, I feel that Prof. Reich has a strong handle on mindfulness as he shows gratitude for the hard work of his colleagues to promote the 'democratic principle'.
I would call his attitude one of tempered realism more than open optimism, recognizing that to repair the damage done by trump, his cult, and big money may take decades. The wisdom of the 'People's Will' must prevail as the shade is lifted from before us. Thank you for the references.
Thank you, Dennis King! I agree with your comments and will add that the walk that Robert "Bob" Reich took is an excellent method to use for the practice of meditation, in my experience...
Thanks for the reminder to use Mindfulness and meditation to calm the waters of chaos and dark night!
Onward and upward as my family says.
HAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Karla!
You're welcome. Talk about a bolt from the blue. I wonder how many secrets will come out now.
This may be the end of an era. Graham bent with the political winds, regardless of who was in power. I feel a sense of relief, hope, and optimism.
"The BLUE!"
I'm not happy. I'm just not sad.....
Lots and it will be from Trump who used them to control Lindsey.
Hadn’t Graham just returned from Ukraine, where he had a meeting with President Zelenskyy? Wouldn’t mind betting they’ll try to pin it on him. That’s the kind of stuff they do.
and Biden
They will blame Obama and Biden. I think it was because he was returning from Ukraine and a Russian spy poisoned him. Maybe that was what Putin and Trump were talking about prior to the NATO summit.
First Mitch McConnell, now Lindsey Graham. I knew the Republicans would find a way to evade accountability.
I hope the ONLY thing Trump feels today is the same blind panic I've known since Jan. '25, and to a lesser degree since that day on the golden escalator when he had to pay people $50 each to wear Trump t-shirts..
Thanks, TBG.
Just went through the entire comment section to find out who "TBG" is. 🤪 I'm Susanne. 😊
Hello, Susanne.
I apologize that as a near-lifetime South Carolinian, I can't be as free with my identity.
No problem. 😊 I admire your ability to recognize people by abbreviations. English isn't my mothertongue, and detecting all these abbreviatons was a big surprise when I first came to substack. I like your name, but I read it "fooch"... 😉 hope that's okay..
That's fine, Suzanne.
I didn't expect to continue posting, but this changes things a bit toward "more hopeful".
Actually, "foofaraw" is a real word, essentially meaning "much ado about nothing", or how I see MAGA.
hahaha! "I read it "fooch"."
If they all choose the way of just up and croaking, I say let them evade!
I hadn't heard... How very excellent of Lindsey to exit stage right!
Actually he left. 😉
...the building, responsibility, his Nuremberg Defense, anyone who ever saw him in even a moment of vulnerability (even cash-inspired, and EVERYone knows.)
That had to be a sad life for anyone to choose; pseudo-power over pseudo-honesty. We all die alone, but he may have died too quickly to notice any nuance, or experience any growth.
There have been plenty of occasions in the recent years when he was fading, so I guess he knew. It was his choice how he lived.
and inadvertently open new doors to Democracy! Bring everything out into the light of day... no more "wonderful secrets" or cover-ups.
Ahhh, YES, “the most transparent administration in history!"
Mitch McConnell hasn't died yet.
There's a good chance he's at the taxidermist now.
Memory flash... Deep Space Nine, Vorta Keevan is reactivated by Nog.
Let him tell that to my face.
But I bet he’s on life support!
Gratitude! Amen to that!
Still. 2 down….
I think we can safely assume that the Epstein Class won't have much success hanging one specific issue on Lindsey.....
I really don’t mind if they all die!
I’d like to get rid of all of them no matter how!
I fully expect a firestorm of accusations and conspiracy theories - the inconvenient sudden death of a strong ally of Israel and President Donald J Pondscum. Even I think it fishy! On the other hand, Graham just returned from a visit to Ukraine, where he expressed his support and announced that he was presently involved with crafting a new sanctions bill against Putin. Indeed, the style of his demise looks more Russian to me. By contrast, I'd expect some kind of Islamic hit to be more violent and more local to Ukraine.
-
Upon later reflection, I'll speculate that some similar thought is crossing minds in Ukraine, too. Just sayin'.
-
In this later clip, Ms Blevins kindly includes video documentation that supports my assertion that if Graham was a hit, it was more likely Russian than Iranian or anyone in the Levant. Besides, if it happened in the US, the Russians have more access to US soil than any of the other possible players:
https://youtu.be/zw4ycoi6TsE?is=Xq-XF-K7VJ2S3Juf
Maybe they shook hands with Vance.
lol
Or, maybe he was just an old fart with a lifetime psychological disorder that flooded his brain with so much hatred and bigotry that the constant stress hormones caused a heart attack.
Agreed. It still appears fishy.
I'll always scarcely almost remember "Ladybug Lindsey" and his final automated reply to my request, sent to his office by email, that he not be the monster he has proven himself to be ever since he decided that maybe "fascism isn't to bad after all. It certainly pays well!"
Until I need more space, I mean. Then I'll be forced by my need for a tiny extra speck of drive space to remember him marginally less.
I was surprised to see that interview after the Ukraine visit... it was 'as if' he made an about turn in his position RE: Putin and Russia. And the next day he's dead.
Neither DJT nor Putin would've been pleased with Graham's interview.
Agreed. That's why it seems fishy to me.
Well, I'm glad for him, that he got to enjoy an ice cream at Disney before he checked out. Just sayin'.
DZK, what are you referring to? Did Lindsey Graham die???
Suddenly, at home after returning from Ukraine where he publicly announced that he was helping bring a new sanctions bill against Russia.
Wow -- I hardly listened to the news today for a change . . . So I missed that. What did he die of? Maybe he got food poisoning? At least glad he went to Ukraine to lend his support to them. That's sure a lot more than Trump has been doing!
Rumor has it Graham died from a sudden attack of conscience. It was most certainly brief, but devastating.
The news said cardiac arrest - after a short illness. Somethin' he ate or drank, maybe? Imagine that!
Yes.
"Death by Ladybugs", perhaps......
(You're better off NOT knowing.)
president pond scum -- love it!
Karma is already busy as can be, foofaraw & Chiquita! McConnell, Graham, innumerable losses in court, loss of money, allies turning their backs, community after community standing strong against data centers, never ending wars, etc. etc. The list is getting so long now. Karma has decided these corrupt grifters need to be dealt with and she is dealing the blows at a rapid pace!
... what Peggy said + Karma is a bitch and paybacks are hell. Stay tuned. Film at 11.
Rumor has it Graham died from a sudden attack of conscience. It was most certainly brief, but devastating.
I'm waiting for the big KARMA
Sad but true!
One down, more to go!
"God's Own Term Limit"
At least someone has a term limit!!!!
You know Trump's rule for fellow Republicans? Even if you toe the line you had better not get your mug in the newspapers or on TV more than I do.
For me--Tomorrow is always a new day.
Donald, congratulations!
Yours is the first comment that has anything to do with today’s topic. Rather than take a moment to breathe, the comments did what they usually do; Trump, Trump, Trump. I am tired of Trump, however, the more we focus on him the more we disempower ourselves. It is time to step boldly into the future. It is easy to make a list of what is wrong, everyone constantly repeats it.
There is great promise in our future after the Trump regime implodes.
It will not take a generation to repair the damage. Trump has done. If we have a plan for what we want our future to be, and we begin taking steps to implement it, we can change the future as quickly as was accomplished with the implementation of the evil Project 2025.
Robert Reich has shared a few things where he feels gratitude. There are others on this Substack who can see and articulate positive visions for the post Trump regime era. We are missing an opportunity to share the things we do feel gratitude for. Trump, Vance and Steven Miller are not our future! I am seeing the opposition to the regime begin to articulate their vision for a positive future.. I am seeing significant races being won by progressive candidates who are able to articulate a clear platform that improves the life of all their constituents. I am seeing numerous changes and events that I feel grateful for. We could utilize this forum too follow the examples of those who articulate a brighter future and then apply themselves to bring it about.
One war monger less is something to be grafefull for.
YES!
Ah Mark! You are on it again. Both you and Robert are pressing for us to find our way to a resilient democratic future. And not just the "What" but the "How" and the "Why." I, and I sense we, think it must be democratic because as those who originally understood complexity, like Hasan Ozbekhan, and more recently, Eric Michaels, have understood, we no longer have single nature problems that will respond to single solutions by experts. We now have systems of problems or meta-systems of problems or "predicaments "or in Ozbekhan's language "problematiques," that have outcomes with which we must co-evolve.
If we try to solve predicaments as single purpose problems we only add to the
complexity. We need to think and act more locally because our communities are dependent on natural systems and the mutual interdependence among communities and natural systems depends on the richness of our understanding on how those relationships work This understanding resides in the diversity of our people, the plurality of their perspectives, the literacy of their lived experience, the range of their informed creative imaginations and their capacity to address predicaments by learning and thinking together as rapidly as specific contexts require. Our dilemma is not having the knowledge. Neither is it that we lack the capacities to learn and think together as groups. Our dilemma is that we do have the legislated social constructions capable of enabling us to learn from each other and the world we inhabit and process the information fast enough and do it consistently and sufficiently enough to design the agency sufficient to address the urgencies with which we are confronted. As I understand it, your work with Neo-Humanism is a step in that direction. Now to Robert's point on Compassion,. that I think is an essential insight.
Recently, I pulled Joshph Campbell's book "Thou art That" off the shelf. The Editor's Forward tells of how fond Campbell was of asking Schopenhauer's question. "How is it possible that suffering that is neither my own nor of my concern should immediately affect me as if it were my own, and with such force that it moves me to action/" In short strokes there is the suggestion in the Upanishads and in various ways in most of the "Axial religions " and I would suggest in the core themes in indigenous ethics that compassion has its origins in recognition. This is to suggest that we feel in the other's predicament that if circumstances were otherwise, it could be I who is at risk. I would suggest that it is this recognition in our humanity that when ignored produces tragedy in social systems and worse. This tragedy is a metaphysical reality that represents itself in the various characteristics of grief like the anger we see in these dialogues. I am beginning to think that these expressions of grief distract us from recognizing the tragedy for what it is. I think that this is where we really get in trouble. Because the real tragedy is that we do not see the tragedy. Ironically, we distract ourselves from seeing the tragedy by using the same form of speech- the declarative-that the Royal consciousness uses to express its certainties Doing this we deprive ourselves of the portal to transformations that that the interrogatory and the subjunctive forms of discourse invite. There is a social intelligence in the social system routed in relationships that are based in recognition and are manifest in behaviors like compassion that have largely been purges by a civilization that I think Heidegger once characterized as Cartesian thought annexed to the will to power, and has created the ethos of indifference and victimization for which we are blaming each other. It is time for our humanity to name it for what it is and convert the ethos of despair to one of hope. this is more that I thought i Had in me when I began. I suspect I have offended some. If I have, I apologize.
Marc, my apologies for my misspelling of your name.
The sun will come out tomorrow . . . .
Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow
You're always a day away.
you are very fortunate
Leslie--that is a debatable subject..
Right on. And today (Sunday) started with a bang!
Great column Professor!! We WILL take this country back. And you know what they say: Bad things happen in 3's. Karma IS busy!! ❤️🇺🇲💙
WE WILL TAKE THIS COUNTRY BACK! LISA, I AM WITH YOU 100%.
And when we take this country back, we will build an economic system that ensures everyone has the opportunity to earn enough purchasing power to support themselves and their families without taking on two or more jobs. One well articulated proposal for changing our economy is called ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY.
Also, when we take our country back, we will implement a system, originally envisioned in the Declaration of Independence. That is a government by the people and for the people, and we will ensure that “it will not perish from the Earth.”
Optimism and positive plans are particularly appreciated! Thank you to everyone who is promoting them. We must believe in ourselves as Americans, in the integrity of many people within our population, and that goodness prevail.
Right on, Marc! A major point is that our current problem is not just Trump, but even more, is the oligarchs who are manipulating him. If we lose sight of that fact, and continue to support anyone in either party who has been bought, we will not resolve the underlying problems of wealth inequality and too much influence of money in politics.
Looks a lot like we'll get the Senate, Lisa...
(Proud to say it took me 5 minutes to think of it. I actually considered wearing my "Leningrad Lindsey" t-shirt to church before I considered what a win this will be for America to lose 2 powerful GOP Senators. But I'm a South Carolinian, and that came first.)
I am drinking from my Moscow Mitch’s tears mug (gift from my son).
And isnt that good news?!! 🥰
Welllllll....
Yeahhhhh.......
(Trying to take Michelle's HIGH road.)
Well you're doing better than I am. My first thought was 2 down, one to go. My PTSD says it's been a very looooong 10 years. 😆
It has, indeed, Lisa.
And living in the belly of the beast has not been easy.
I hear you friend. I live in Indiana so it is much the same here although it has gotten slightly better the last couple of years. We have great Resistance groups here thank goodness.
"We will take this country back. There are far more of us than there are of them."
And you are not alone. There is no country in the world whose people sympathize with trump’s regime. I don’t know of any, do you? You WILL prevail!
.
Trump and his sycophants have awakened a sleeping giant. We The People
Well, Robert, the gratitude you feel is boosted by the joy on the streets that we see in inflatable frogs, and the thousands of Americans able to successfully protect the Latino families in their neighborhoods.
History will celebrate the force that is rising among us. The #SimpletonSycophants spread throughout the Cabinet and across all governmental agencies thanks to the firings by Musk will populate the wall of shame when their judgment comes at the hands of a #BlueHouseOversightRampage.
Starting next January investigations will lead to impeachments and resignations flying like confetti over a future #2ndIndependenceDay parade. Imagine the gratitude then…
Thank you, AG1-8FP.
Today should be a HAPPY day, and you just did much toward making it so.
Praise Robert Reich for his stubborn optimism!
I have been a fan of Dr. Annie Andrews who is running to defeat the now deceased Lindsey Graham in South Carolina. She is a terrific candidate. I hope this does not in any way distract or somehow diminish her campaign.
R. Reich mentions a list of people he admires(admired) with whom he worked; some on that list I find admirable, some not, but it's his list, not mine. One person on the list died far too soon and his death was a great loss to America and that was Minnesota's Paul Wellstone. Paull Wellstone and Wisconsin's Russ Feingold who lost his last election in 2010 were both very promising politicians and good minds.
I think an appropriate acknowledgement of Lindsey Graham's death would be for everyone to lend some support to Dr. Annie Andrews campaign. She's a good one!
Actually, my vote for Doctor Annie was the only midterm primary vote I cast that day.
I still have the sticker, and my FULL sense of purpose. (Paul Wellstone was a great man.)
Thanks, Annie!
You are among my greatest treasures
I so agree. Robert Reich is a national treasure.
'We will take this country back. There are far more of us than there are of them.'
For all our sakes, I hope you are right.
The problem is that 'they' have unlimited money and money = power.
Power to buy and control the mainstream media.
Power to buy and control social media.
Power buy and develop powerful algorithmic tools like so-called AI and to build their ruling class biases into them.
Power to challenge scientific truth and replace it with fake science.
Power to roll back all those institutions that FDR established in the wake of the failure of feral capitalism in the first part of the 20th century.
Power to flaunt the law and the rules of decency via monsters like Epstein.
Power to roll back the modest gains that people of colour and women have made over the last 50 years.
And perhaps worst of all, power to sabotage efforts to save the environment on which all human life depends.
In short, there's a reactionary revolution taking place, and if we don't win we will lose everything that made life tolerable for the working and middle classes in the West in the period from 1945 to the 1980s.
Two words: Victor Orbán.
True. They have suffered a reverse, but they haven't gone away. They never do.
corporate media
mainstream seems bland, harmless, and acceptable
It's anything but!
Looking to the US from Europe, I'm feeling down.
What will happen if some Iranian, with our without commision, fulfills Trumps fears? Will it ignite a new world war?
What will happen when the regime escalates the war and justifies a declaration of national emergency to evade the midterms completely?
What will happen when the midterms are a close call, perverting the fragile grasp of the regime on reality even further?
What will happen when inflation increases? Wall street crashes? The AI bubble explodes?
What will happen when the decent high ranking military collude and take over power?
Yes Bob, in the end, decency will prevail and reconstruction will begin. But it will be a hell of a job. Should I go out for a long walk?
Yes. Take a walk and stop catastrophizing.
Breathe. Look for beauty.
Yes, Jonni, we need to look for beauty.
But we also must be prepared for tragedy in countless new forms.
Our parents did that for us, and now we prepare the next generation for wars, giant men of half vision (at best), deep-sucking whirlpools and witches having turned men into pigs.
If only they were pigs. So much smarter…:)
A walk may be the best option today.
Tom,
If "temporary" is our best hope, then we should make the best of whatever we're offered.
Yes, I go out for a walk and the wether is good.
But "it can't happen here" is out as well. The US has caused what may grow into a nightmare for the world and my grandsons. That is why I struck a dark tone...
Americans once regularly asked, "Could someone like Hifler(sic) take power in a democracy such as America?"
Tom, I haven't heard that question in over a decade, and I don't expect to EVER hear it again.
"Dark tones" can be prudent when attacks can, and will, come from any direction at any time.
Thank you, Tom.
Your perceptiveness, resilience and resistance give me hope. Wondering if SC has a Jimmy Carter like candidate to replace Lindsey? When he was running for governor he told his non-racist supporters that they would hear him say some things but once he got elected he would act for them.
The entire country did not cause the turmoil or the hatred. The majority of the country is peace loving and kind. We must be prepared to solve and to counter problems somehow, and we are grateful for everyone who can help uphold our ideals with dignity, legality, positivity, and caring.
I didn’t mean that you should look away from the disaster in the US. Learn from it. Raise awareness in your country. Protect your democracy. Don’t let billionaire oligarchs gain power. Fight for equality.
If the people who did not see the truth have learned to recognize it by now, that will help.
Some people still do not see the truth, the connections, the causes and effects, the foreshadowing, the inferences, the encouraged yet baseless prejudices, and the manipulations they have somehow found acceptable.
People in any part of that category are not willing to listen and are further brainwashed by their chosen news sources, whether audio, printed, or televised.
Thank you for these words of gratitude, Professor Reich. Glad you took that walk. My daily walks are the antidote for the constant stress, fear, and anger of living in this fascist dystopia, and giving in to the hopeless feeling that they have finally won. Gained complete control of the government and the media. They have kept the sleeping giant asleep for a woefully long time.
But as you said, it is waking up. Even people who consider "woke" to be an insult are now awakening, because they are being seriously hurt by trump's policies and no longer believe his BS that it's all Biden and Obama's fault.
My son was gassed by trump's thugs marching with BLM in Portland in 2020. He was in college then. He's a high school teacher now. He has led his classes out of school for the Mayday Strong no school, no work, no buy actions, and his students have ardently participated.
The legacy of those great public servants you named, to which I will add your name, lives on in our younger generations. I'm very grateful for that. And for what you continue to do.
Thank you; I needed that!
I know at the local level people are taking their country back by protecting their towns from data centers. Local officials that got in bed with the companies building data centers are being recalled or voted out of office. Many of the deals made to build data centers were made without the public's consent or knowledge. They don't find out until their utility bills go up and find their water polluted or no water. The companies building these data centers think it is perfectly OK to pollute air and water and put pressure on the electrical grid. Small price for them to pay when there is money to be made. Not so small a price for the residents who have to absord higher costs and in some cases go without. During the recent heat wave, many residents were told to set their AC's to 78 degrees because of the strain on the electrical grid. This will only get worse if data centers are allowed to be built all over the country with no oversight. This is not a left vs right issue as all people no matter what their political leanings are being adversely affected.
Also, protests against ICE facilities being proposed for their communities...
Teresa, you are so right about significant costs of data centers to the people and environments , and about the urgent need to prevent them.
Also at high risk are communities where wind farms are and/or data centers are being proposed, particularly in areas with a history of tornado damage. It is extremely shortsighted that any community within the affected areas of the New Madrid fault line, and therefore being at risk of having earthquakes or even tremors, as well as being at risk of repeated devastating tornadoes, are places where data centers and wind farms both are being proposed!
Long ago, the quake caused by the New Madrid Fault was felt from coast to coast and beyond. Who can be safe if there are tremors, or worse, yet quakes from that fault, which just said to me of greater concern than faults in California area? Imagine the risks to life and property if any of the windmills were to go down from a tremor, a quake, or a tornado!
Let’s do this!!!
I suppose we will have to hit rock bottom before the pendulum starts to swing back, although the bottom is far deeper and murkier than i ever imagined.