Thank you, Robert. What a rich and compelling argument. I think the damage Trump and the authoritarian Republicans have caused is acute and becoming clearer every day, but it has been growing over decades as a culture of greed. You describe a good test for evaluating leaders and positions and even our own actions - always trying to consider the common good. I know there are many good people who must work together now to defend our country.
Mc Cain wasn't a lawyer.He actually had a checkered history. Took a bribe from Charlie Keating. But he did rise to the occasion re Affordable Care Act.
Naively, I thought that Republican lawyers, maybe even senators, would rise to the occasion. 7 Repbulican senators voted to impeach Trump.
But when Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger came forward, the Republican National Committee censured them for their participation, they lost some of their House responsibilities and their party, in essence destroyed their careers.
Now Trump has 91 criminal counts in 4 seperate jurisdictions. He shoots off his mouth and publicly admits to some of his accusations.
Trump's lawyers have a duty, not only to protect him to the best of their abilities, but to the 4 seperate courts, to make sure that phony BS is not profferred.
(a) False Evidence; Duty to Disclose. A lawyer shall not knowingly:
(1) make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal or fail to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the tribunal by the lawyer;
(2) fail to disclose a material fact to a tribunal when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by the client;
(3) fail to disclose to the tribunal legal authority in the controlling jurisdiction known to the lawyer to be directly adverse to the position of the client and not disclosed by opposing counsel; or
(4) offer evidence that the lawyer knows to be false. A lawyer may not offer testimony that the lawyer knows to be false in the form of a narrative unless so ordered by the tribunal. If a lawyer, the lawyer's client, or a witness called by the lawyer has offered material evidence and the lawyer comes to know of its falsity, the lawyer shall take reasonable remedial measures including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal. A lawyer may refuse to offer evidence that the lawyer reasonably believes is false.
(b) Criminal or Fraudulent Conduct. A lawyer who represents a client in an adjudicative proceeding and who knows that a person intends to engage, is engaging, or has engaged in criminal or fraudulent conduct related to the proceeding shall take reasonable remedial measures, including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal.
...
(d) Extent of Lawyer's Duties. The duties stated in this rule continue beyond the conclusion of the proceeding and apply even if compliance requires disclosure of information otherwise protected by rule 4-1.6.
See ABA Model Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement, Rule of Professional Responsibility 3.3 Candor Toward The Tribunal. Most states have this provision.
This morning, Heather Cox Richardson addressed Romney. He voted twice to impeach. "Romney said that “[a]lmost without exception” his Republican colleagues “shared my view of the president,” but they refused to speak up out of fear that their voters would turn against them. Coppins recounts a weekly caucus lunch at which Republicans gave Trump a standing ovation, listened as he boasted and rambled through remarks, and then burst into laughter as soon as Trump left.
My resposne is that DOJ has been remiss in failing to purt these senators under oath. All were eyewitnessess to January 6. Many ran for their lives.
TFG’s lawyers won’t be able to comport themselves with these requirements without being fired by their client. What a job! Thanks so much, Daniel, for sharing this. Unfortunately it’s too long to skywrite over Mar-A-Lago or the courthouse where TFG’s lawyer might read and obey!
Murdoch had a huge hand in calling the shots. In propagandizing the GOP base to strike fear in their electeds. And it continues. Romney showed leadership in not running and asking others to make room for younger generations (younger being anything below 80 or so--hah.) Yeah, not happy with DOJ. Bad Biden choice in the wuss.
The culture of greed has always been there, but their ability to dominate is due to their capture of our Constitution by their puppet SCOTUS. Citizens United created Corporate Rule and only HJR54 can reverse it and shift the POWER balance back to us and our common good.
Help out at movetoamend.org, or else just stop complaining and accept Fascism as your future.
1. I still think that he knows the odds are virtually nil and will split. Oct 2 nonjury trial in NY. Can lose every asset he has...except in Oman, other foreign locations. In the depo in this case, he expressed his reliance on Saudi money. No extrdition from UAE.
2. I also still think that behind the scenes he's negotiating for a global deal.
3. Garland is a wuss. Could have asked the courts involved to sanction Trump for violation of bail and violation of court orders not to villify the courts, prosecitors, witnesses. I would have asked for stiff fines for every violation. doubling for recidivist violations. Immediate trial in DC.
Daniel...he is indeed in contempt. What is the penalty for contempt? So far it appears to be forgiveness. He cannot keep his mouth shut...what should be done to shut it for him? Will it create civil war? If he gets what the law demands he gets for his crimes there will be civil war. So maybe it is time to get this over with. Or do we allow him to threaten his way to freedom? I cringe at the thought of his call to violence but we all know it is coming because that is his playbook. Talk about destroying the 'common good'.
Did he surrender his passport when he was indicted? Can he just fly his T--- jet to UAE, Russia, North Korea? Would they accept him? (Maybe if the jet is filled with gold bars?)?
Trump has owned as many as 4 casinos. You don't get into the casino business without rubbing elbows with "OC." Maybe we should be looking into Trump's associations in connection to the gambling industry instead of wasting our time on a pitiful false statement given to a gun dealer. What a waste of our government's time and money. Trump is a child and his efforts to enter the adult world have gone by the wayside. He views everything as an assault on his way of life because he has no parameters that control his actions. The man is like a spinning reel with the bail in the cast position, the line is free wilding and will spool off the reel when a fish takes the bait. Trump will wait until the precise moment to set the hook, and then like all the others the poor victim will fall in line like everyone else. Trump is the "Pied Piper of Fools." I think he is in need of a very close inspection. Just maybe Trump's fear factor emanates from Donnie Boy's association with "OC." Let's ask Mr. McCarthy.
For this incarnation of the Яepuблиkan party, selfishness isn't a flaw. It's a feature. It's a feature that's been a long time coming. I just came across a very good piece that puts todays festivities in a relevant perspective:
Thank you kindly Dr. Reich. I needed this tonight, as I grieve my best friend's dog, a regal English Springer Spaniel who passed last evening. I never had any children, but Sir Fleetwood Charlee shall remain forever in my heart. I know this probably seems like a weird response to your essay, but somehow your words always give me hope and reassurance in many ways. As a life long Democrat, I truly admired John McCain and the torture he suffered. I wish we could realize once again how much we miss what holds us together, not that tears us apart. Thank you again for your wisdom. It would have been an honor to take one of your courses. Thanks as well for allowing my somewhat digression in lamenting the passing of a dog responding to your wonderful love of this country. Blessings to you Dr. Reich.
I am so very sorry for your loss. We grieve however we grieve and you should never apologize for that. Sir Fleetwood Charlee must have been an amazing fellow. Professor Reich always makes you feel as though he is speaking directly to you and it touched your heart the way your Springer Spaniel touched your heart.
James Schneider, I am so sorry for the passing of your dear companion, Sir Fleetwood Charlee. He was loved as were you. That is a good life. As a forever dog lover, I feel your pain as having grieved many passings myself. Thank you for letting us share in your grief. Let it stay with you for however long it needs to. Sir Fleetwood Charlee's spirit, his love for you, will be watching over you.
I love your comment. I hope your road of grief eventually becomes positive memories of Sir Fleetwood Charlee. What would he like to do this day? Maybe go somewhere you both liked. I never married or had children and wouldn't unless I owned proerty. I never got divorced either. No regrets. All 4 of my brothers got divorced twice and 2 out of 4 married 3 times. I had a great dog, Marley, half Labrador and Afghan. Lots of people wanted to meet Marley and I'd tell them "I'm just his driver". My comment about Robert's intellectual explanation describing how the common good can function. Politics was never a topic when I grew up in the '60s. My Dad was a Republican and my Mom was a Democrat. I was encouraged to register to vote as soon as I turned 18, and I registered as a Democrat. But when Trump was suddenly all over the news from every from every direction and rally speeches were astronomical lies. My Dad quickly re-registered as a Democrat. My Dad passed peacefully at almost 97. The only time my dad said anything political, he posted a picture of Barack and Michelle Obama while Obama was still President and his caption was: Look, President Obama - No Scandals! I think that should be historical.
My shelter dog is sitting beside me and loves me so much that at times I must escape. And this essay by Robert was amazing and so true. I am old enough to remember when the congress worked across party lines. They had different opinions but were friends. Hopefully our country can achieve this again!
I had in the course of my adult life , many dogs and foundling cats. Three of the dogs were English Springer Spaniels. I loved those sweet lively lovely animals. The first two were females Mia and Maddy and unfortunately they died young .
But Gentleman Jeter lived for fifteen years. He was the most people adoring dog id ever met. He would run and return a tennis ball for hours. H was a tri color Springer, black and white w tan markings, a beautiful fellow and kind to cats. Sadly he had to leave this world when he could no longer go up and down stairs and was so terribly disappointed with his aged bearings. He loved life and people so much he fought his euthanization which was so painful to see but he is at peace . Ill not forget him.
I am as well truly sorry for your loss! As a man of 35 who can no longer work as the result of a TBI in my early 20s, my two dogs are my ENTIRE WORLD.
Just remember: the ONLY way to truly move on from the loss of a beloved pet is to adopt another one after a period of mourning! I suggest a local shelter, as it is where my family found our gorgeous abused mini shar pei girl!
Best of luck, and know we all here, save the trolls, appreciate you being here with us.:)
Greed has been with humans for a very long time, perhaps forever. That is why all religions caution against it. And we Americans have tried to make it into a virtue, somehow exempting ourselves from its consequences. Robert Reich does us an immense favor by calling it out. Let's hope those folks in Detroit are listening today.
I have a theorem (lots actually, testing reality every day hahaa)
** Evolution Cannot See the Future **
She cares not for goodness, only for offspring.
... so she produces a wide range of behaviours and skills for the best chance at some of the parents begetting successful offspring. Hers is a genetic gamble against good or bad times coming.
She fosters greed as well as charity, trust as well as abuse, and provides a range of genetic characteristics to best survive in an unknowable future, e.g. conservative versus liberal.
A billion years of evolution has created a spectrum of humans, from insanely greedy through to hopelessly charitable.
During famine and bad times, the selfish and greedy are perhaps more likely to survive and pass on their (selfish) genes to the future.
During good times and plenty, the charitable build societies and civilisations freely and openly for the good of all, and in such a society most human's genes (including the selfish) are likely to be passed on to the future.
We might not imagine having children with greedy personna, but if we were starving, we might have no choice.
Greed is a natural result of evolution, and the greedy tend to survive and perhaps reproduce more often.
The pressures of evolution both creates and then destroys advanced civilisations.
When science is driven mostly by profit, the greedy will pervert it for more profit, regardless of destructive side effects, and the civilisation destroys itself in pursuit of ever more profit and greed.
Only significant education of the masses can avert this fate, but education of the masses thwarts the power of the super-rich.
The culture of greed has always been there, but their ability to dominate is due to their capture of our Constitution by their puppet SCOTUS. Citizens United created Corporate Rule and only HJR54 can reverse it and shift the POWER balance back to us and our common good.
Help out at movetoamend.org, or else just stop complaining and accept Fascism as your future.
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. - John Kenneth Galbraith
William, thank you for this outstanding quote! It also begs us (probably not the author's intent) to look inside of ourselves, no matter which party we vote for, and see what justifications we employ to name our harmful actions, just and righteous.
The Me First generation are the ones at the helm right now, but the Gen Zs are beginning to come into their own and are more compelled to do what is right for the common good.
“Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men.”
- John Adams, Founding Father, Signer of the Declaration, second US President, first US Vice President.
Sep 15, 2023·edited Sep 15, 2023Liked by Robert Reich
I couldn't agree more. Well said! Thank you! I was at the Capital the night McCain put people before party. It was an amazing night. I met people whose lives were on the line with that vote. It was very moving. The Common Good won on that night. Thank you again, Senator McCain.
"Repeal and replace" was a sham. They had no idea how to replace the ACA. They just wanted to strip people of health care, strip consumers or protections, and let insurance companies have a legalized racket that doesn't provide health care for the Americans who actually need health care. Medicare For All!
YES, MY life and health, and all others' lives and health MUST NOT be ruled by/tied to the psychotically GREEDY whims and desires of insurance company's shithead wealthy shareholders.
These Medicare 'advantage' pure garbage plans do EXACTLY THAT, as I am painfully and detrimentally discovering right now. :(
Senator McCain was a decent man,a war veteran and POW,and you didn't have to agree with everything he believed or said to understand that.He was well known to reach across the aisle,and if not for nutcase Sarah Palin he could have very well became POTUS.I believe he would have made a good president.
Tfg hated him,sadly.He made the remark that he "didn't like people who were captured"(!)and talked so much crap about someone who had the courage to go into a battleground whereas tfg,had "Bonespurs"and his old man paid to keep him out of Vietnam.(I have heard him called Cadet Bonespurs before,lol.)He is a coward and a bully,runs his mouth 90 miles a minute and don't say a damned thing worthwhile,and of late his only platform is all about revenge.Not a goddamn word said about actually serving the people like John McCain would have and did as a Congressman for many years.
I will happily vote for Joe Biden again,and be assured that he will do his duty,as he too has always done,and would try to undermine our country and our Constitution.Trump will rip it to pieces and declare war on all of us.He would do it with that annoying smirk on his ugly face and not care what he has done,just that he got his way like a deranged toddler.
We have to make sure this cannot ever happen.Ever.Our whole way of life is at stake.That can't be stressed firmly enough.
Although his litany of awful things makes it difficult to pick one, I think that it is trump's vile words about John McCain that are at the top of the list. It was inexplicable that trump chose to say and do such horrid things about McCain, unless he was envious that someone could be respected and revered by so many, as McCain was. Follow that with Lindsey Graham having shown his blind fealty to trump by the time of McCain's death and funeral, hearing without retort what his new "best friend" trump was saying about his previous "best friend" McCain. Then even though the McCain's didn't want trump at the funeral, Lindsey Graham took it upon himself to invite and accompany Ivanka trump and Saudi-bud Jared Kushner.
All that cruelty and meanness, hatred and bile - just inexplicable.
I have come to believe trump is more than a sociopath, that he is a psychopath - sometimes used interchangeably, but there are diagnostic differences.
How ANYONE, including even his most rightwingnut supporters. can even listen to that weak, spineless, flip-flopping with the wind, useless POS Lindsey Graham is far beyond merely inexplicable.
They are well past just being brain dead, or ignoramuses, it is as if anyone could ever give them any functioning cerebral cortex matter, their beings would instantly, enzymatically dissolve it. :(
I, too, admired John McCain. No, I didn't always agree with him but I agree with you that he was an honorable decent man who went through torture and hell for our country. Mr. Trump is not a man. He has never left the toddler tantrum stage. I would not vote for him to be the chief sanitation engineer! Keep spreading the word the President Biden is the one to vote for.
Yes, it is perplexing to me that the party, and it's devotees/supporters, which has co-opted/proclaimed themselves to be the sole supporters of our military would embrace, and even WORSHIP as their supreme DESPOT one who not only belittles our military, and those who have served, and those who have suffered or even DIED from their service, but also has never served himself, has 'cowarded' his way out of service, and has never had any family members serve.
Just think about the type and level of duplicitous, hypocritical brainwashing involved with pulling off that 'feat' required on the part of that evil, fascist party, and it's various Goebbels propaganda networks.
(Maybe it was NOT really all that great a 'feat', considering just how brain dead idiotic their viewership, and party members actually are??)
Again though, what is now the 'Muricun NAZI Party is overtly out, loud and PROUD of both it's abject hypocrisy AND projection, not to mention their insidious evil.
They were shopping for a Hitlerian despot for a while, and I guess they figured that SCUMp was as good as anyone for that role, despite (or maybe BECAUSE OF??) his lack of any intellect or brilliance, and because he had a head start from being the star of a popular/populist POS garbage reality TV show.
FULL display of where this country's 'head' is at, sadly.
Minor suggestion, use the space bar after each period and comma, it will make your posts easier to read. Your thoughts are worthy, so avoid the distractions.
Such an articulate explanation of why we cannot let Donald Trump regain the presidency. Trump didn't invent the kind of ruthless, might-makes-right politics that values being "smart" over being good, that has corrupted our national psyche -- it's been developing insidiously for years. But he is its apotheosis. Joe Biden correctly cast his campaign in 2020 as a fight for the soul of our nation. We are still in that fight. Thank you, Robert Reich, for zeroing in on the essential issue we must all address. What values do we want to animate our nation.
President Biden is fighting for the soul of our nation and to save Democracy. I will continue to fight for that; however, I am old and will not be in the fight much longer. I pray that these Gen Zers will carry on the fight!!
Sep 15, 2023·edited Sep 15, 2023Liked by Robert Reich
You once again have penned ( ok, typed out) a poignant and powerful defence of the importance and value of the common good in our daily lives and in its support of democratic functioning. That said, I think you may have succumbed a bit to the passions that this subject justifiably incites in you, as it should in others. When you start your essay telling us “ how America lost its sense of the common good.”, you deny its very real presence amongst a great many, even a significant majority, of Americans. It is not lost - it is under attack. Our collective mission is to rescue it and return it to the central role in the American promise, where it belongs. With so much hyperbolic rhetoric around, let’s work hard to avoid it ourselves as we put our arguements forward.
Yes, Matthew - I strongly agree with you - the sense of Common Good is not lost but under attack. The more clarity we can each have will be helpful to this rescue process. So many aspects of current violations of our Common Good are obfuscated by the media. We have to (somehow) lay this bare.
Sometimes, the 'hyperbole' is an absolutely necessary device used to try to wake up those too complacent to even VOTE for their own well-being, let alone actually work otherwise to help fight back the insidious creeping fascism in this land.
Although maybe nothing can get those unconcerned about anything but the latest doings/posts/tweets (or whatever fascist Herr Musky is calling them now) of their fave celwebrity, or influencer to become concerned about their OWN fate, and our democracy, and involved enough to save it??
Upon reading today's posting it really brought tears to my eyes..reading what McCain said at the start of a speech, his thoughts on Obama while campaigning all show what type of person McCain was..a person for the people..may he rest in peace...as I read on and comprehended all the things that TRUMP said and did during his time in office made me tear up and get angry....he is 100 percent out to completely destroy America...and the Republicans in Washington still stand behind him, the poor everyday person who never gets ahead in life, still stand behind him... I don't understand that, why would anyone in their right mind want the creep that TRUMP is to be in the presidency again? Given that opportunity TRUMP will have us living under China, Russia, or North Korea laws since he thinks the THUGS that rule with an iron fist in those countries are the most wonderful people in the world...Glad I'm older..but pray for my kids and grandkids because they are going to need all the help they can get get....
So many wealthy business people who run for elective office tout their business experience as a superior qualification for government. But government is supposed to be about service and promoting the general welfare, while the goal of present-day business, in the words of its leaders, is accumulating as much wealth as possible for oneself. We should view wealthy business people who run for office, such as Trump, with a healthy dose of skepticism. The people whom Robert Reich praises in his essay had long experience in government.
YES, they ALL put down those who came up in 'politics', and the "Beltway Insiders", but I will take an experienced and dedicated politician over a dumbf**k (as far as the workings of our government goes, and knowledge of our Constitution are concerned) GREED is their only reason for breathing, business critter ANYDAY!
They most certainly HAD TO severely HURT, and/or screw someone, or a big group of people over in order to become that 'successful', which is NOT a good, or desirable trait for the leaders of this nation.
The exception of course being a greedy, compulsively corrupt, totally self-serving politician, which is just as bad as, or maybe even worse than, said assholic corporate shithead.
Thanks Robert for reminding us how important civility is in promoting The Common Good. The difference in behavior between appropriate responses by John McCain and George W. Bush and the totally inappropriate and thuggish ones by TFG are astonishing and outrageous!
Let's not forget Al Gore, whom I wished had fought harder. Having been raised in a political family, though, he behaved in the way he was taught. And when he tried to warn us about the urgency of climate change, we blew him off. Like Jimmy Carter, another Southern gentleman, he lost gracefully to our detriment.
I totally agree with you! While we can admire Al Gore for his civility (and many other things as well) I strongly felt that he should have insisted on a recount in Florida which I'm sure would have given him the election. For one person on the Supreme Court to have decided the outcome was a bad call for democracy. And if there had been no Electoral College Gore would have won by half a million votes.
Yes as a psychologist, Ive been writing about cultural leadership and narcissism - how we select leaders who are highly focussed on self-idealisation, performance and lack empathy, emotional intelligence and relational competence. There are consequences!
In her book, STRONGMEN, Prof. Ben-Ghiat states that what one, certainly not the only one, of the things every strong man shares with all the others, without exception, is a LACK of empathy. This book, written in an academic style, well documented with extensive end notes, is highly recommended.
A sticker seen on the back window of a YOOOGGE (using his SHITler's way of saying it) Expedition truck, also decorated with Vietnam Vet/military and various other SCUMp stickers at a local supermarket parking lot where I use to live in Pennsyltucky;
"FINALLY! Someone with BALLS! TRUMP 2016"
I felt like asking this asswipe if he adored the fact that his putrid orange fuehrer falsely got out of serving in the same exact war HE served in, and that his fave despot, and his fascist party want to take ALL of his various Veteran Benefits away from him and other military members.
THINKING is well beyond the capabilities of way too many in this land, although he does have an excuse/reason for such if he suffered actual brain damage due to that war.
I ordered and read “The Common Good.” It is brilliant. I appreciated the refutation of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of personal greed, which I was raised to admire, but which, as an adult, I reject. This is an important book!
Thank you, Robert. What a rich and compelling argument. I think the damage Trump and the authoritarian Republicans have caused is acute and becoming clearer every day, but it has been growing over decades as a culture of greed. You describe a good test for evaluating leaders and positions and even our own actions - always trying to consider the common good. I know there are many good people who must work together now to defend our country.
Mc Cain wasn't a lawyer.He actually had a checkered history. Took a bribe from Charlie Keating. But he did rise to the occasion re Affordable Care Act.
Naively, I thought that Republican lawyers, maybe even senators, would rise to the occasion. 7 Repbulican senators voted to impeach Trump.
But when Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger came forward, the Republican National Committee censured them for their participation, they lost some of their House responsibilities and their party, in essence destroyed their careers.
Now Trump has 91 criminal counts in 4 seperate jurisdictions. He shoots off his mouth and publicly admits to some of his accusations.
Trump's lawyers have a duty, not only to protect him to the best of their abilities, but to the 4 seperate courts, to make sure that phony BS is not profferred.
(a) False Evidence; Duty to Disclose. A lawyer shall not knowingly:
(1) make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal or fail to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the tribunal by the lawyer;
(2) fail to disclose a material fact to a tribunal when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by the client;
(3) fail to disclose to the tribunal legal authority in the controlling jurisdiction known to the lawyer to be directly adverse to the position of the client and not disclosed by opposing counsel; or
(4) offer evidence that the lawyer knows to be false. A lawyer may not offer testimony that the lawyer knows to be false in the form of a narrative unless so ordered by the tribunal. If a lawyer, the lawyer's client, or a witness called by the lawyer has offered material evidence and the lawyer comes to know of its falsity, the lawyer shall take reasonable remedial measures including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal. A lawyer may refuse to offer evidence that the lawyer reasonably believes is false.
(b) Criminal or Fraudulent Conduct. A lawyer who represents a client in an adjudicative proceeding and who knows that a person intends to engage, is engaging, or has engaged in criminal or fraudulent conduct related to the proceeding shall take reasonable remedial measures, including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal.
...
(d) Extent of Lawyer's Duties. The duties stated in this rule continue beyond the conclusion of the proceeding and apply even if compliance requires disclosure of information otherwise protected by rule 4-1.6.
See ABA Model Rules for Lawyer Disciplinary Enforcement, Rule of Professional Responsibility 3.3 Candor Toward The Tribunal. Most states have this provision.
This morning, Heather Cox Richardson addressed Romney. He voted twice to impeach. "Romney said that “[a]lmost without exception” his Republican colleagues “shared my view of the president,” but they refused to speak up out of fear that their voters would turn against them. Coppins recounts a weekly caucus lunch at which Republicans gave Trump a standing ovation, listened as he boasted and rambled through remarks, and then burst into laughter as soon as Trump left.
My resposne is that DOJ has been remiss in failing to purt these senators under oath. All were eyewitnessess to January 6. Many ran for their lives.
TFG’s lawyers won’t be able to comport themselves with these requirements without being fired by their client. What a job! Thanks so much, Daniel, for sharing this. Unfortunately it’s too long to skywrite over Mar-A-Lago or the courthouse where TFG’s lawyer might read and obey!
Murdoch had a huge hand in calling the shots. In propagandizing the GOP base to strike fear in their electeds. And it continues. Romney showed leadership in not running and asking others to make room for younger generations (younger being anything below 80 or so--hah.) Yeah, not happy with DOJ. Bad Biden choice in the wuss.
The culture of greed has always been there, but their ability to dominate is due to their capture of our Constitution by their puppet SCOTUS. Citizens United created Corporate Rule and only HJR54 can reverse it and shift the POWER balance back to us and our common good.
Help out at movetoamend.org, or else just stop complaining and accept Fascism as your future.
Crimes must be prosecuted.
IF Bunkerboy is NOT imprisoned, then all is lost. It will mean our laws ARE a joke and ONLY for the 99%.
1. I still think that he knows the odds are virtually nil and will split. Oct 2 nonjury trial in NY. Can lose every asset he has...except in Oman, other foreign locations. In the depo in this case, he expressed his reliance on Saudi money. No extrdition from UAE.
2. I also still think that behind the scenes he's negotiating for a global deal.
3. Garland is a wuss. Could have asked the courts involved to sanction Trump for violation of bail and violation of court orders not to villify the courts, prosecitors, witnesses. I would have asked for stiff fines for every violation. doubling for recidivist violations. Immediate trial in DC.
Just discovered that Jack Smith has filed a motion in DC to gag Trump. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/special-counsel-asks-narrow-gag-order-trump-election-interference-case-rcna105365
IMHO should have asked for order to show cause why bail should not be increased, and Trump held in contempt for making threats.
IMHO Trump is deranged and the state prosecutor in Palm Beach County should have him evaluated as a threat to himself and others nased on his recent interviews, https://www.15thcircuit.com/sites/default/files/court-admin/mental-health/baker-act-flyer-6.10.pdf
I do not understand why the judges haven't taken action to shut him up in certain areas. Looks like a double standard to me.
Daniel...he is indeed in contempt. What is the penalty for contempt? So far it appears to be forgiveness. He cannot keep his mouth shut...what should be done to shut it for him? Will it create civil war? If he gets what the law demands he gets for his crimes there will be civil war. So maybe it is time to get this over with. Or do we allow him to threaten his way to freedom? I cringe at the thought of his call to violence but we all know it is coming because that is his playbook. Talk about destroying the 'common good'.
Did he surrender his passport when he was indicted? Can he just fly his T--- jet to UAE, Russia, North Korea? Would they accept him? (Maybe if the jet is filled with gold bars?)?
Organized crime--AKA -"OC"
Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>
10:57 AM (0 minutes ago)
Trump has owned as many as 4 casinos. You don't get into the casino business without rubbing elbows with "OC." Maybe we should be looking into Trump's associations in connection to the gambling industry instead of wasting our time on a pitiful false statement given to a gun dealer. What a waste of our government's time and money. Trump is a child and his efforts to enter the adult world have gone by the wayside. He views everything as an assault on his way of life because he has no parameters that control his actions. The man is like a spinning reel with the bail in the cast position, the line is free wilding and will spool off the reel when a fish takes the bait. Trump will wait until the precise moment to set the hook, and then like all the others the poor victim will fall in line like everyone else. Trump is the "Pied Piper of Fools." I think he is in need of a very close inspection. Just maybe Trump's fear factor emanates from Donnie Boy's association with "OC." Let's ask Mr. McCarthy.
I refer to Trump as the toddler from hell.
Sue--That just made me smile, thanks.
For this incarnation of the Яepuблиkan party, selfishness isn't a flaw. It's a feature. It's a feature that's been a long time coming. I just came across a very good piece that puts todays festivities in a relevant perspective:
- HOW WATERGATE RUINED EVERYTHING:
https://youtu.be/i8dRp2oQL8U?si=k4tFuAh7QXByN64P
True but obstruction of justice, perjury are crimes.
Thank you for sharing this link. Great video.
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Thank you kindly Dr. Reich. I needed this tonight, as I grieve my best friend's dog, a regal English Springer Spaniel who passed last evening. I never had any children, but Sir Fleetwood Charlee shall remain forever in my heart. I know this probably seems like a weird response to your essay, but somehow your words always give me hope and reassurance in many ways. As a life long Democrat, I truly admired John McCain and the torture he suffered. I wish we could realize once again how much we miss what holds us together, not that tears us apart. Thank you again for your wisdom. It would have been an honor to take one of your courses. Thanks as well for allowing my somewhat digression in lamenting the passing of a dog responding to your wonderful love of this country. Blessings to you Dr. Reich.
Deaths of innocents, be it beloved pets or ideals of a society, are cause to grieve. Heartfelt condolences...
Thank you so very much. Empathy from a friendly stranger warms my heart. I appreciate your validation of what I was trying to express.
I am so very sorry for your loss. We grieve however we grieve and you should never apologize for that. Sir Fleetwood Charlee must have been an amazing fellow. Professor Reich always makes you feel as though he is speaking directly to you and it touched your heart the way your Springer Spaniel touched your heart.
James Schneider, I am so sorry for the passing of your dear companion, Sir Fleetwood Charlee. He was loved as were you. That is a good life. As a forever dog lover, I feel your pain as having grieved many passings myself. Thank you for letting us share in your grief. Let it stay with you for however long it needs to. Sir Fleetwood Charlee's spirit, his love for you, will be watching over you.
Thank you very much. I appreciate your kind words. Blessings.
I love your comment. I hope your road of grief eventually becomes positive memories of Sir Fleetwood Charlee. What would he like to do this day? Maybe go somewhere you both liked. I never married or had children and wouldn't unless I owned proerty. I never got divorced either. No regrets. All 4 of my brothers got divorced twice and 2 out of 4 married 3 times. I had a great dog, Marley, half Labrador and Afghan. Lots of people wanted to meet Marley and I'd tell them "I'm just his driver". My comment about Robert's intellectual explanation describing how the common good can function. Politics was never a topic when I grew up in the '60s. My Dad was a Republican and my Mom was a Democrat. I was encouraged to register to vote as soon as I turned 18, and I registered as a Democrat. But when Trump was suddenly all over the news from every from every direction and rally speeches were astronomical lies. My Dad quickly re-registered as a Democrat. My Dad passed peacefully at almost 97. The only time my dad said anything political, he posted a picture of Barack and Michelle Obama while Obama was still President and his caption was: Look, President Obama - No Scandals! I think that should be historical.
My shelter dog is sitting beside me and loves me so much that at times I must escape. And this essay by Robert was amazing and so true. I am old enough to remember when the congress worked across party lines. They had different opinions but were friends. Hopefully our country can achieve this again!
I had in the course of my adult life , many dogs and foundling cats. Three of the dogs were English Springer Spaniels. I loved those sweet lively lovely animals. The first two were females Mia and Maddy and unfortunately they died young .
But Gentleman Jeter lived for fifteen years. He was the most people adoring dog id ever met. He would run and return a tennis ball for hours. H was a tri color Springer, black and white w tan markings, a beautiful fellow and kind to cats. Sadly he had to leave this world when he could no longer go up and down stairs and was so terribly disappointed with his aged bearings. He loved life and people so much he fought his euthanization which was so painful to see but he is at peace . Ill not forget him.
I am as well truly sorry for your loss! As a man of 35 who can no longer work as the result of a TBI in my early 20s, my two dogs are my ENTIRE WORLD.
Just remember: the ONLY way to truly move on from the loss of a beloved pet is to adopt another one after a period of mourning! I suggest a local shelter, as it is where my family found our gorgeous abused mini shar pei girl!
Best of luck, and know we all here, save the trolls, appreciate you being here with us.:)
So sorry for your loss James.
So sorry for your loss. I hope you can think about the joy he brought to your life. My prayers are with you.
GREED is truly the most terrible challenge of our times, and capitalism is its tool, its means to power and more greed.
Greed is a (contagious) mental illness, an unfillable hole, a hunger that denies justice, a brutal expression of broken egos.
Greed is having a million times as much as the poor and still feeling you don't have enough.
Greed consumes the earth without respite, and is a cancer on humanity.
Greed destroys us and our children and their future.
Greed is death.
Greed has been with humans for a very long time, perhaps forever. That is why all religions caution against it. And we Americans have tried to make it into a virtue, somehow exempting ourselves from its consequences. Robert Reich does us an immense favor by calling it out. Let's hope those folks in Detroit are listening today.
I have a theorem (lots actually, testing reality every day hahaa)
** Evolution Cannot See the Future **
She cares not for goodness, only for offspring.
... so she produces a wide range of behaviours and skills for the best chance at some of the parents begetting successful offspring. Hers is a genetic gamble against good or bad times coming.
She fosters greed as well as charity, trust as well as abuse, and provides a range of genetic characteristics to best survive in an unknowable future, e.g. conservative versus liberal.
A billion years of evolution has created a spectrum of humans, from insanely greedy through to hopelessly charitable.
During famine and bad times, the selfish and greedy are perhaps more likely to survive and pass on their (selfish) genes to the future.
During good times and plenty, the charitable build societies and civilisations freely and openly for the good of all, and in such a society most human's genes (including the selfish) are likely to be passed on to the future.
We might not imagine having children with greedy personna, but if we were starving, we might have no choice.
Greed is a natural result of evolution, and the greedy tend to survive and perhaps reproduce more often.
The pressures of evolution both creates and then destroys advanced civilisations.
When science is driven mostly by profit, the greedy will pervert it for more profit, regardless of destructive side effects, and the civilisation destroys itself in pursuit of ever more profit and greed.
Only significant education of the masses can avert this fate, but education of the masses thwarts the power of the super-rich.
See the Drake Equation
https://seti.org/drake-equation-index
Most scientists think "L" (the ultimate lifetime of an advanced civilisation) is only 100-200 years. Throughout the universe.
👍 "The Selfish Gene" : https://academics.lmu.edu/media/lmuacademics/cures/urbanecolab/module12/9.%20Richard%20Dawkins%20-%20The%20Selfish%20Gene%20(1976)%20-%2030th%20Annversary%20edition%20(2006).pdf
Exactly
The culture of greed has always been there, but their ability to dominate is due to their capture of our Constitution by their puppet SCOTUS. Citizens United created Corporate Rule and only HJR54 can reverse it and shift the POWER balance back to us and our common good.
Help out at movetoamend.org, or else just stop complaining and accept Fascism as your future.
This is so true.
yes, but how is it actionable ?
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. - John Kenneth Galbraith
William, thank you for this outstanding quote! It also begs us (probably not the author's intent) to look inside of ourselves, no matter which party we vote for, and see what justifications we employ to name our harmful actions, just and righteous.
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This is quite a challenge ; change the focus from ME First the rest be Damned !
To the idea demonstrated by John McCain that :”we are all in this together “
Let’s bury the hatchet 🪓 and do what’s right for the Nations Common Good.
I hope we can find our way back to path of what’s right For the Nation.
I would sail with John McCain anytime with him at the helm but sadly he is in the past. He left us an example to aspire towards...
The Me First generation are the ones at the helm right now, but the Gen Zs are beginning to come into their own and are more compelled to do what is right for the common good.
Time to get back to the Foundation of America:
“Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men.”
- John Adams, Founding Father, Signer of the Declaration, second US President, first US Vice President.
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Charles Wright, excellent, thank you for bringing these wonderful words forward! How do we teach everyone to believe them?
Believe history? If they need help believing written history, then they need psychological help, . . . and America is doomed.
Yup. And now we"re at a point, where some crazies just make up history and feed it to the children.
I couldn't agree more. Well said! Thank you! I was at the Capital the night McCain put people before party. It was an amazing night. I met people whose lives were on the line with that vote. It was very moving. The Common Good won on that night. Thank you again, Senator McCain.
"Repeal and replace" was a sham. They had no idea how to replace the ACA. They just wanted to strip people of health care, strip consumers or protections, and let insurance companies have a legalized racket that doesn't provide health care for the Americans who actually need health care. Medicare For All!
YES, MY life and health, and all others' lives and health MUST NOT be ruled by/tied to the psychotically GREEDY whims and desires of insurance company's shithead wealthy shareholders.
These Medicare 'advantage' pure garbage plans do EXACTLY THAT, as I am painfully and detrimentally discovering right now. :(
Senator McCain was a decent man,a war veteran and POW,and you didn't have to agree with everything he believed or said to understand that.He was well known to reach across the aisle,and if not for nutcase Sarah Palin he could have very well became POTUS.I believe he would have made a good president.
Tfg hated him,sadly.He made the remark that he "didn't like people who were captured"(!)and talked so much crap about someone who had the courage to go into a battleground whereas tfg,had "Bonespurs"and his old man paid to keep him out of Vietnam.(I have heard him called Cadet Bonespurs before,lol.)He is a coward and a bully,runs his mouth 90 miles a minute and don't say a damned thing worthwhile,and of late his only platform is all about revenge.Not a goddamn word said about actually serving the people like John McCain would have and did as a Congressman for many years.
I will happily vote for Joe Biden again,and be assured that he will do his duty,as he too has always done,and would try to undermine our country and our Constitution.Trump will rip it to pieces and declare war on all of us.He would do it with that annoying smirk on his ugly face and not care what he has done,just that he got his way like a deranged toddler.
We have to make sure this cannot ever happen.Ever.Our whole way of life is at stake.That can't be stressed firmly enough.
Although his litany of awful things makes it difficult to pick one, I think that it is trump's vile words about John McCain that are at the top of the list. It was inexplicable that trump chose to say and do such horrid things about McCain, unless he was envious that someone could be respected and revered by so many, as McCain was. Follow that with Lindsey Graham having shown his blind fealty to trump by the time of McCain's death and funeral, hearing without retort what his new "best friend" trump was saying about his previous "best friend" McCain. Then even though the McCain's didn't want trump at the funeral, Lindsey Graham took it upon himself to invite and accompany Ivanka trump and Saudi-bud Jared Kushner.
All that cruelty and meanness, hatred and bile - just inexplicable.
I have come to believe trump is more than a sociopath, that he is a psychopath - sometimes used interchangeably, but there are diagnostic differences.
How ANYONE, including even his most rightwingnut supporters. can even listen to that weak, spineless, flip-flopping with the wind, useless POS Lindsey Graham is far beyond merely inexplicable.
They are well past just being brain dead, or ignoramuses, it is as if anyone could ever give them any functioning cerebral cortex matter, their beings would instantly, enzymatically dissolve it. :(
Graham has attained peak cowardice, even among his peers he stands out. It's actually funny, funny sad.
a good thing to remind people of before they vote. This really sticks in people's craw.
I, too, admired John McCain. No, I didn't always agree with him but I agree with you that he was an honorable decent man who went through torture and hell for our country. Mr. Trump is not a man. He has never left the toddler tantrum stage. I would not vote for him to be the chief sanitation engineer! Keep spreading the word the President Biden is the one to vote for.
Yes, it is perplexing to me that the party, and it's devotees/supporters, which has co-opted/proclaimed themselves to be the sole supporters of our military would embrace, and even WORSHIP as their supreme DESPOT one who not only belittles our military, and those who have served, and those who have suffered or even DIED from their service, but also has never served himself, has 'cowarded' his way out of service, and has never had any family members serve.
Just think about the type and level of duplicitous, hypocritical brainwashing involved with pulling off that 'feat' required on the part of that evil, fascist party, and it's various Goebbels propaganda networks.
(Maybe it was NOT really all that great a 'feat', considering just how brain dead idiotic their viewership, and party members actually are??)
Again though, what is now the 'Muricun NAZI Party is overtly out, loud and PROUD of both it's abject hypocrisy AND projection, not to mention their insidious evil.
They were shopping for a Hitlerian despot for a while, and I guess they figured that SCUMp was as good as anyone for that role, despite (or maybe BECAUSE OF??) his lack of any intellect or brilliance, and because he had a head start from being the star of a popular/populist POS garbage reality TV show.
FULL display of where this country's 'head' is at, sadly.
Minor suggestion, use the space bar after each period and comma, it will make your posts easier to read. Your thoughts are worthy, so avoid the distractions.
Such an articulate explanation of why we cannot let Donald Trump regain the presidency. Trump didn't invent the kind of ruthless, might-makes-right politics that values being "smart" over being good, that has corrupted our national psyche -- it's been developing insidiously for years. But he is its apotheosis. Joe Biden correctly cast his campaign in 2020 as a fight for the soul of our nation. We are still in that fight. Thank you, Robert Reich, for zeroing in on the essential issue we must all address. What values do we want to animate our nation.
President Biden is fighting for the soul of our nation and to save Democracy. I will continue to fight for that; however, I am old and will not be in the fight much longer. I pray that these Gen Zers will carry on the fight!!
You once again have penned ( ok, typed out) a poignant and powerful defence of the importance and value of the common good in our daily lives and in its support of democratic functioning. That said, I think you may have succumbed a bit to the passions that this subject justifiably incites in you, as it should in others. When you start your essay telling us “ how America lost its sense of the common good.”, you deny its very real presence amongst a great many, even a significant majority, of Americans. It is not lost - it is under attack. Our collective mission is to rescue it and return it to the central role in the American promise, where it belongs. With so much hyperbolic rhetoric around, let’s work hard to avoid it ourselves as we put our arguements forward.
Yes, Matthew - I strongly agree with you - the sense of Common Good is not lost but under attack. The more clarity we can each have will be helpful to this rescue process. So many aspects of current violations of our Common Good are obfuscated by the media. We have to (somehow) lay this bare.
Sometimes, the 'hyperbole' is an absolutely necessary device used to try to wake up those too complacent to even VOTE for their own well-being, let alone actually work otherwise to help fight back the insidious creeping fascism in this land.
Although maybe nothing can get those unconcerned about anything but the latest doings/posts/tweets (or whatever fascist Herr Musky is calling them now) of their fave celwebrity, or influencer to become concerned about their OWN fate, and our democracy, and involved enough to save it??
Upon reading today's posting it really brought tears to my eyes..reading what McCain said at the start of a speech, his thoughts on Obama while campaigning all show what type of person McCain was..a person for the people..may he rest in peace...as I read on and comprehended all the things that TRUMP said and did during his time in office made me tear up and get angry....he is 100 percent out to completely destroy America...and the Republicans in Washington still stand behind him, the poor everyday person who never gets ahead in life, still stand behind him... I don't understand that, why would anyone in their right mind want the creep that TRUMP is to be in the presidency again? Given that opportunity TRUMP will have us living under China, Russia, or North Korea laws since he thinks the THUGS that rule with an iron fist in those countries are the most wonderful people in the world...Glad I'm older..but pray for my kids and grandkids because they are going to need all the help they can get get....
Exactly!!
I don’t understand it either Kelley. I can’t see any
redeeming qualities in tfg’s personality. Trump will never understand John McCain’s integrity or even what integrity is.
So many wealthy business people who run for elective office tout their business experience as a superior qualification for government. But government is supposed to be about service and promoting the general welfare, while the goal of present-day business, in the words of its leaders, is accumulating as much wealth as possible for oneself. We should view wealthy business people who run for office, such as Trump, with a healthy dose of skepticism. The people whom Robert Reich praises in his essay had long experience in government.
Carolyn Herz ; tRump had business "credentials" along with bankruptcies and lawsuits ll
Ike Trump University. He had several lawsuits going as he entered his presidential campaign! The media seemed to give him a big boost!
YES, they ALL put down those who came up in 'politics', and the "Beltway Insiders", but I will take an experienced and dedicated politician over a dumbf**k (as far as the workings of our government goes, and knowledge of our Constitution are concerned) GREED is their only reason for breathing, business critter ANYDAY!
They most certainly HAD TO severely HURT, and/or screw someone, or a big group of people over in order to become that 'successful', which is NOT a good, or desirable trait for the leaders of this nation.
The exception of course being a greedy, compulsively corrupt, totally self-serving politician, which is just as bad as, or maybe even worse than, said assholic corporate shithead.
What a call for decency and moral behavior.
Thanks Robert for reminding us how important civility is in promoting The Common Good. The difference in behavior between appropriate responses by John McCain and George W. Bush and the totally inappropriate and thuggish ones by TFG are astonishing and outrageous!
Let's not forget Al Gore, whom I wished had fought harder. Having been raised in a political family, though, he behaved in the way he was taught. And when he tried to warn us about the urgency of climate change, we blew him off. Like Jimmy Carter, another Southern gentleman, he lost gracefully to our detriment.
I totally agree with you! While we can admire Al Gore for his civility (and many other things as well) I strongly felt that he should have insisted on a recount in Florida which I'm sure would have given him the election. For one person on the Supreme Court to have decided the outcome was a bad call for democracy. And if there had been no Electoral College Gore would have won by half a million votes.
Yes as a psychologist, Ive been writing about cultural leadership and narcissism - how we select leaders who are highly focussed on self-idealisation, performance and lack empathy, emotional intelligence and relational competence. There are consequences!
Dr. Morris:
In her book, STRONGMEN, Prof. Ben-Ghiat states that what one, certainly not the only one, of the things every strong man shares with all the others, without exception, is a LACK of empathy. This book, written in an academic style, well documented with extensive end notes, is highly recommended.
A sticker seen on the back window of a YOOOGGE (using his SHITler's way of saying it) Expedition truck, also decorated with Vietnam Vet/military and various other SCUMp stickers at a local supermarket parking lot where I use to live in Pennsyltucky;
"FINALLY! Someone with BALLS! TRUMP 2016"
I felt like asking this asswipe if he adored the fact that his putrid orange fuehrer falsely got out of serving in the same exact war HE served in, and that his fave despot, and his fascist party want to take ALL of his various Veteran Benefits away from him and other military members.
THINKING is well beyond the capabilities of way too many in this land, although he does have an excuse/reason for such if he suffered actual brain damage due to that war.
Thanks I’ll look it up.
I ordered and read “The Common Good.” It is brilliant. I appreciated the refutation of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of personal greed, which I was raised to admire, but which, as an adult, I reject. This is an important book!