Jerry, Thank you for your astute comment. If I may, I would underscore, while attempts to improve moral, economic, and social conditions typically proceed incrementally, it is impossible to foretell precisely when any of our endeavors will reach critical mass, suddenly creating change.
How do wisdom keepers find each other on Robert's Substack, where there are already 515 comments? Are there people who hang out on this chat all day to be able to follow everything? I have ideas that are unique that I'd love conversation about (see my Substack), but they get lost in the crowd.
Suzanne, Speaking only for myself, I would note I periodically post when I believe I have something of value to contribute. Some of my postings are replies and some are free-standing. There are days fellow subscribers reply and there are days they don’t. Ultimately, the greatest gift are the host of new voices I carry with me into my political work.
In the way of advice, I have noted that people have posted comments from their Substack newsletters when said excerpts have been relevant to a particular thread. I imagine were you to do the same, your voice would become increasingly recognized.
Thanks for taking my case. I post substantive things and get responses but not many, as I'd expect. How do you deal with hundreds of prior posts? Do you stick around here and scroll through all? Or do you just jump in wherever you come in and then respond to people responding to you? Are you on other lists you contribute to and how any of it work when there are so many contributors?
"Dr. King's arc of the moral universe bends towards justice only so long as courageous individuals take hold and continue to bend it." --Jerry W., above
Cheryl, Truthfully, I don’t know what lies ahead. I only know I won’t allow myself to get distracted from the work expected of us between now and the 24 general election.
O dear, no brooding if you are referring to what brooding chickens really means. We need no "offspring" ideologically of these anti-democratarians!! (LOL)
Not proud of it, but I'm savoring tomorrow's little perp walk. For the first time in his life he HAS TO do what he's told. "Face foreword, now turn right." "Put your (tiny) fingers on this scanner." (Sad they don't use ink anymore - to stain his fingers as a souvenir of his big day.)
Wonder if Melania will be expected to stand by her man? How many "peaceful" protesters will get arrested?
Barbara Jo Kreiger ; That is why Professor Reich used the term "shift." These changes may happen gradually ; like a sunrise. Then it seems all at once.
Laurie, I hope you are right about upcoming positive change being like a sunrise. I am hopeful and was when almost no one showed up to mourn Trump's arrest a couple of weeks ago. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow: whether Trump shows up and anyone shows up to stop or even protest it.
Thank you and...."Wisely said" :) I have noted your very positive contributions as well.
It is hard for me to believe that someone can abuse millions of people and a planet without eventually getting his "comeuppance". But if that's our only focus, he/it has gained control of our minds. My latest mantra is to get up to date on "45" and then seek something really positive like Jessica Craven's weekly list of "good stuff".
Barbara and others keep me tethered to a longer more optimistic view of the political and governance landscape. That's also why I read Robert Hubbell last in the morning.
Folks like Fern keep me on an accuracy track. It's a great community!
But I AM raising a glass right now to the dam burst! It's almost 5 o'clock :)
Janet, Thank you for writing. I was particularly struck by your words “We sit, we watch, we wait” because I imagine we would agree that that, of course, makes us more anxious. Hence the question “What are we waiting for?” For me, one of the greatest gifts from this and other Substacks is meeting people like yourself, who, as engaged citizens, amplify, in the words of a remarkable old American gospel song, “We are the ones that we’ve been waiting for.”
On a personal note, there are no words to express my gratitude for the host of voices I carry with me (yours included) as I pursue various political projects.
Dan is from the state of Texas, the old wild, wild West. The mindset of the residents there still sees a gun as defining the status of the man. Mr. Crenshaw wants to put armed guards in all of the schools to serve as a deterrent to prevent school shootings. Currently, I would agree with him until the issue of guns has reached a conclusion. What Dan is suggesting equates to treating the effects without dealing with the cause. No matter how you feel about the gun situation this country can't continue on its present course. No matter how painful it may seem, no matter how distasteful it may be, we have to address the gun issue head-on. The quantity of guns in this country is obscene. Ban citizens from owning military-style weapons, plain and simple. There is no need for them to even own one. As far as the second amendment goes the days of the militia are over. This country has a standing military force that supersedes any need for a private citizen to have a military-style weapon. This country's gun violence remains a problem that will never be solved until we greatly reduce the number of guns kept in the private sector. What we need to ask ourselves, is it more important to own guns or should we dissolve the means by which people are killing our children. If someone had the ability to look into the future and they told me if I kept a gun in my home a member of my family would die because of it. What kind of a father would I be if I didn't rid my home of the impending danger? Aside from hunting weapons and guns used for sport, this country should want to reduce the number of weapons already on hand. It's our children that are dying, have we become so accustomed to their tears that we no longer hear their crying?
I grew up in a hunting family. We had shotguns and rifles. they were in a gun safe. we all knew how to load, shoot and clean the guns. we even made bullets. We took gun safety classes and shot at a gun club. When my nephew had a mental health crisis all of my brother's guns came to my house. And nephew got counseling. Family got counseling. we all learned from the event.. I would never have an automatic weapon that has as its purpose the murder of people in my home. Some of our guns are have been in our family for 4 generations. Some from WWI. No pistols. At least 2 are works of art with carvings and etched metal work. We ate what my grandfathers. father, brothers and nephews shot. We ate what we gathered from the sea and caught from the sea. It was part of our culture and family traditions. We have gardens and bees. We raise chickens. My Uncle raises the family beef. We make wine, mead and root beer. I love our traditions.
I understand people having hunting guns not pistols and automatic weapons. I support required registration, background checks and red flag conditions for owning or selling a gun of any type.
Susan--Our family's history is very similar and it always nice to hear of people that I would consider to be safe gun owners. The only meat my father's family ate while he was growing up was what they shot. I was raised with the love of the outdoors and family hunting trips as well. I live by the simple rule that I instilled in my children, basically because it was taught to me, "there is no such thing as an unloaded gun." Treat every weapon you touch like it was ready to shoot. It just might save someone a lot of heart ache.
YOU ! Susan ! ,are a RESPONSIBLE , Educated OWNER, of " tools of the Trade" ! NOBODY ! Needs ASAULT WEAPONS !! ( a Former Viet Nam Veteran, .....& VERY AWARE, of the KILLING Power of the M 16, and ALL of the SPECS, both WEAPON, and AMMO !
Donald, interesting comments. As a retired public school teacher and current school tutor, I can tell you that police with guns in school is a bad deal no matter who recommends it. It is nearly always happening in the schools in the already-disadvantaged communities and lets kids know that guns are great for intimidating people and are OK for use in controlling people, particularly kids, in my opinion, a really bad message. I do agree, however that there are far far too many guns in private hands with few sensible controls in place to insure safety. guns do not make anyone safe, not even police. It is too bad Republicans, mostly white men, can't see it. Or, they see it and want to use it in their fake "war against crime."
Ruth-- MTG might draw an exception to the ideas surrounding people with guns acting as a deterrent in our public schools. She loves the idea, it sends a terrible message to our young people. I also am a retired teaches, I taught special-ed for a short period of time until I realized the money being offered was as bad as everyone had warned me it would be.
The idea of hiring guards for every school in the US is ridiculous. The only way congress would fund that is by firing teachers and using that money for guards. I don't put that past Rs in congress, but I think it's unlikely.
Just about every issue we face can be improved by getting money out of politics.
PHT--Speaking of the ridiculous, train our policemen and policewomen to become teachers. Assign them to class room duties in full uniform with guns in tow. The positive outcome might be found in the relationships developed with the kids. They might grow up not hating our police agencies. What prospective shooter would pick a target occupied by dozens of armed officers acting as teachers. MTG would be so pleased.
It is not the guns you need to understand that. Our violent crime is one of the lowest in the world. It is mental illness and we can fix it like we did the post office. Younger readers google going postal. If not guns then bombs that what happens. Look at UK and France. They blow stuff up lot more get hurt. Mostly there is one type of person that does the shootings. Mostly young white males. Then think who is in charge mostly old white males so are they going to fix themselves? Start there. Do the research and you will see I am correct. We need to address the underlying issue and it is not the gun. I know the last one was a women but that is really rare and we cannot protect against everything just the most likely thing. Oh Boston marathon was bombing look how many got hurt there. Then the press called them Muslim not white. What was with that. Muslim is a religion not a race.
So wrong on so many things, Tom. I have yet to see a defined idea or solution from the right for the "mental illness" problem you claim is at the heart of it all. Do you have a solution for the mental aberrations that have invaded our conservative politics? Invaded our amoral, feral capitalism?
And news flash: the post office is *not* "fixed."
Prof. Robert Altemeyer has studied the topic of authoritarianism. He divided his university students into "high authoritarian" and "low authoritarian," based on a scale he developed over many years. He gave each group separately a "peace game" to solve, the object being to achieve as close to world peace as possible. The "lows" got there after hours of hard work and some casualties. The "highs" blew up the world in half the time allotted. The Prof. tried it again, thinking it was an artifact. They blew up the world even sooner.
Tom, if you're going to attribute "mental illness" to that entire human category, I'd say you're in for a challenge.
Well I am trying to fix the school shooting issue only. I do have a solution and it was in the post. We do the same thing the post office did for people going postal and that fixed there problem with shootings. Google it. If the post office is not fixed for going postal then tell me when was there last mass shooting? You run at the mouth and that is it. For the far right well I can't fix stupid nor am I going to try. So read what I said don't bring me into your dark place of hate. I won't go there. Oh I was in a similar study in college and guess what like most of the BS taught in college (yes I have a degree from a prestigious west coast university), it was the same a bunch of teenagers knowing they can't really blow up a balloon little lone the world will of coarse do what teenagers do. Say they would blow up the world. But they really won't . If you trust the intellectuals to tell what is up you will be down most of the time.
I agree, we need good mental health services. Reagan basically dismantled mental health care in the US and allowed insurance companies to stop paying for it. I was a pediatric psych nurse for years and we had a good program. We had one Social Worker, one Psychiatrist, and one psychologist assigned to a family as well as in house school, a reward system, art and movement therapy, many group therapies, as well as a consistent staff person. This allowed the development of trust and real work toward change. The child usually stayed in house for 3months with family sessions, and then they stayed with the same SW, psychologist, and psychiatrist for another 9 months on average as out patients. This is needed if real change is to happen. Then it got to be insurance companies no longer paid for hospitalization if the pt wasn’t homocidal or suicidal. Change really can’t happen with just out pt services. The CDC has not been allowed to really study the effects of all of these guns and high rate of deaths due to them in the US, ut all o5er. lu tries that have limited guns have much less death from guns. There is no reason to revert to the wild west. Guns are an addiction in this country and they are too often killing us and causing too much fear and anxiety. My son would be alive if his fiancés father in Wyoming didn’t want his son who had schizophrenia to be one of the boys and so bought him a gun, but gave him no training. He thought the gun was unloaded, pointed it at my son and pulled the trigger shooting him in the head behind the L ear. It would appear my son was turning to get away so he must have been afraid. My son is go.me, and Justin will have to forever live with the guilt and pain of killing someone who cared for him and who he cared for. There are so many senseless preventable deaths if we just got rid of all. ut hunting guns.
I am 75, pre-TV until my mother allowed me to watch the Walt Disney space & rocket segments narrated by Werner Von Braun. So when Sputnik first raced over my head in low earth orbit I understood exactly what was going on up there. My father explained Sputnik appeared to the human eye to slow down as the satellite approached the horizon because ... spoiler alert ... wait for it ... the Earth is round.
Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun
.
Along the Long Road and on down the Causeway
Do they still meet there by the Cut
.
There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before times took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay
.
The grass was greener
The light was brighter
When friends surrounded
The nights of wonder
.
Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide
At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world
.
Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times
.
The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river
.
Forever and ever
.
written by David Gilmore
& Polly Samson
.
"And perhaps the simplest way to summarize it is that the singer sees the world as a place where as one ages, the joy of childhood is basically sucked out of life. And this is achieved via both social and individual ideologies of adulthood which are by a never-ending, dulling quest for particular achievements."
I think it's waaaaay too early for euphoria over these clowns getting snagged. These are just the most obnoxious of our crop of profiteers. Notice, I used the word "profiteers." Remember all the corporate profits that have been a result of price-gouging in a time of national emergency. If any of those actors happen to be prosecuted, they're only ever fined, and although the fines are generally quite hefty by the reckoning of us mere mortals, to the corporate interests & plutocrats involved they're just the cost of doing business. That state will continue as long as any possible legal sanction amounts to the cost of doing business. Although not directly for profiteering from the national emergency, the suits against Fox news Alex Jones point in the direction of the kinds of sanctions I have in mind. At that, while Jones is allegedly facing bankruptcy, he still seems to be promoting his "Info Wars." Fox is also making plenty noise about what they face, as well.
Although I'm not a great fan of the Chinese, I think they make a good point in the way they handle their corruption. The sanction must be harsh enough to >really< discourage such behavior. If Chinese justice involves having the perps frog-marched into a courtyard, pinned against a wall, and then shot, far be it from me to express moral outrage! I'll not disapprove any more than I do with how the Reds dealt with Nicholas and Alexandra. (A bit draconian, but totally understandable.) I'd settle for fines starting at 75% of >all< company assets - >and< mandatory, maximum security prison time for all the top executives. (Let 'em experience first-hand from their cell mates what they've profited from doing to the public!)
Like I have been saying since January 7th: If this were 1776 or probably even 1876, Bunkerboy, Gaetz, Crazygreene, Boebert, Hawley and ALL the Insurrectionists WOULD have been HANGED on January 7th.
Agreed. When I was monitoring foster care facilities, a corporation failed to have overnight staff for a full year. I recommended to the State Human Services that the corporation be fined the $$ they saved by not paying overnight staff (including benefits saved) + 10%. The State issued no fine. As long as the fines are less than the profits, why wouldn’t corporations continue to cheat?
No, the countruly has not meaningfully shifted in a significant way. Post-indictment, Trump's poll numbers have soared.
Garland could have slowed the now-metastasized fascism by an indictment on the Mueller obstruction charges soon after he was sworn in, but he chose to focus on 'optics'...now we have book bans, travel bans (for abortion), an uncontrolled SCOTUS and 5th Circuit, weekly mass shootings.
Wray could have taken a stand against white militias and anarchist groups, but instead chose to do little (except for working overtime to downplay the corruption of his chief of counterintelligence.
Musk has openly trafficked with foreign dictators, while suppressing dissident voices in India and China, suppressing Ukraine accounts, and actively spreading propaganda via Twitter. This is deliberate vs 'floundering', yet nothing is done.
Most media outlets remain comfortable with normalizing fascism...even the bland (but formerly reputable) 60 Minutes happily gave MTG a fawning platform in prime time.
Other than Democratic governors, where is the Democratic messaging for 2024? Sitting back and expecting the GOP's extremism to do their work is malpractice. Abortion will drive number of issues, but to date, 70% of rural seats are uncontested. Writing them off is not a strategy.
Will turnout explode in 2024? Will everyone able devote time to GOTV efforts or run for local office and school boards? I remain skeptical. The mayor's race in Chicago, and the supreme court seat in Wisconsin will give us a snapshot of 2024. Do people understand the stakes? Do they care?
Even in the unlikely event that Trump is convicted in multiple jurisdictions, the vast majority of his enablers will not see any 'comeuppance'. Trump will not step foot in a courtroom for a trial before the 2024 elections.
I could write for hours about our frayed institutions, weak leadership, global alliances of dictators, etc, but my point is that, unless large swathes of this country become actively involved in shoring up our democracy, an indictment in Manhattan will be a blip, not a turning of the tide.
HW ; “ trumps poll numbers, have soared”. In this same vein, AR 15 sales soar whenever there is talk of banning assault weapons. Our war on drugs in Columbia, arguably created the mess we have in Mexico. As Milton Freedman was delighted to point out, sometimes we achieve the exact opposite of our stated intent. The Darkside would have a cease and desist. The answer of course is to perhaps re-calibrate and carry-on, regardless.
S Howard ; Friedman pointed to failures and said, take your marbles and go home. I don’t agree with his prescription, but perhaps something can be learned from his observations.
Amidst the gleeful atmosphere surrounding Trumps indictment, we need to soberly consider the consequences. I would want to know, for example, can we totally count on our military branches to put down any widespread violence. Has anyone taken a survey of arms forces members to determine this?
Doing what seems to be the right thing doesn’t necessarily manifest the right result. Proceed with caution.
Those who own the most *things*, possessed of greed beyond avarice, are not sated by their golden perch atop an obscene pile of loot. As they gaze out upon the relatively poor huddled masses, a new goal forms in their minds: They yearn to be the one who owns the most *people*. And to that end, they utilize lawyers and legal structures, they buy politicians and rewrite laws, install judges and reinterpret existing laws to make their advantage permanent and impervious to change. And when they achieve all that within a given country, they look to neighboring countries and think hmmm, how many more people can I own by using weapons of war?
Thanks Jerry for your insightful comment. I would like to think I was”holding and bending” yesterday as I phone banked for WI 4/4 election to flip the WI SC and begin the movement to reform then most terribly gerrymandered state.
Chris, you are exactly the person I was talking about -- you and the millions like you.
We have knocked on doors, made phone calls, distributed literature, sat through endless meetings, marched in the street, written letters, registered voters, and also brought in the pizzas, mopped the floors and turned out the lights at the end of the day. We are the blood that flows through the veins of our system of government, bringing oxygen to all who speak reverently of liberty and justice for all.
Thank you for showing up and doing the work that "holds and bends".
When the election is over, I invite you to check out the network I represent. We have been opposed to Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House since early last December, and have been working to see him replaced ever since. Learn more at:
Thanks Jerry. I will check this out. I am old, but not dead. I routinely connect with my state na US reps and senators to remind them of what dem voters are expecting of their constituents, not the BS spewed by the other party and media.
Professor, in these perilous times you give us hope, that Justice just might prevail. Looking back in history, but not that long ago, we had a sitting president who famously declared “I am not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got.” “Not a crook,” just a liar. And he left the presidency relatively peacefully. No riot. Just corruption. TFG is both crook and liar and he has not even tried to hide his corruption. Hiring his unqualified family members for critical positions, ignoring emoluments requirements, inciting a riot, an insurrection. Turning the Peaceful Transfer of Power into a temporary myth. All In plain sight. Trying to Steal the Presidency. Not enough space to list his crimes. And until today, with one of his most minor crimes, he is at least on the carpet. Will he proudly wear handcuffs or an orange suit? I’m not betting money, but our Democracy is the better for holding him accountable for the first of many crimes he had committed.
Let's not advertise this guy. The ancient Egyptians had the right idea. They said if you speak a person's name they will live forever. The reverse is also true it's a name is not spoken of the person disappears from social memory.
Yes, however he is a clear and present danger to us all. I agree that undo attention should stop but my comment was to underscore his criminality, something that is topical and his sycophants are claiming isn't important, or that these crimes aren't important enough to charge an ex-president (<> Justice, a false argument but being used) . My view is that these financial crimes are serious and that others doing them or considering them will pay attention. Should he admit or be convicted that would undercut his reputation in other manners before juries, a very different fact than trying to impeach him in court where "known liar" cannot be admitted.
Telling the public COVID-19 was 'no worse than a seasonal flu, predicting it would soon disappear and insisting that the U.S. government had it totally under control'
He caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans and life-altering impairments for countless others because he willfully chose to grossly mishandle covid-19.
This is an unknown legacy of the Trump administration.
Today we read, "Long COVID exercise trials proposed by NIH raise alarm" (Nature March 31 2023) NOTE: person shown being treated for long Covid is in 20s or 30s
We all watched as it spread from China throughout the world. While Asia and the Middle East reported the spread and we watched the digging of mass graves in Italy, Trump wasted more than two months inviting disaster before even acknowledging that we had a problem.
Do you think he knew it probably came from the China lab and chose to ignore it, (I know that is a presumed fact on my part) or didn’t know and didn’t want to upset Xi by asking?
Nice paintings. I remember life before TV. As a kid you stood a chance to actually become an adult because you did stuff, created stuff and basically had a life with your friends that didn’t need chaperones. My best friends from early childhood agree that it made us individuals, capable of toughening it out. We didn’t need a babysitter for our minds.
Irenie, you have spoken for me. Thank you. Every day I wonder at the immaturity of our citizens. And I have to calm myself by not looking at any news. That is not the brave thing to do, but I must admit to mental exhaustion and physical repercussions . The beautifully written and directed film “Gaslit”shown on Starz and acted in by Julia Roberts and Shawn Penn tells much about today. It should definitely get awards.
Too many times we like to tell ourselves that we just can’t handle the truth. We hate feeling “DOWN”I wonder what happens when we hit “OUT”! That’s down and out folks. Where we are headed unless we are holding crooks accountable. From Bill Barr to the Koch creeps.... and on and on and on!😱
And the sad scary part is that TFG was a well known liar, crook, woman abuser, white supremacist before he was elected president. A reflection on our own souls?
Trump should be an object lesson. As I said the other day, we don't know what's in the indictment but if I were the judge, as soon as the plea is taken I'd order Trump to show cause why he is not in contempt. Trump has been before the grand jury, in fact, he was formally asked to appear and sent Robert Costello as a witness. Criminal contempt in the second degree (NY PENAL § 215.50: Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree) refers to a variety of disruptions to the normal workings of a court. This can include disrupting a court proceeding such as a trial, but it also applies to court orders and representations of proceedings. Trump knew or had reason to know that as a party, the statute applied to him.
Apparently he also lobbied members of Congress to pressure Bragg and they are trying to intimidate him. That makes them accessories to contempt.
Also, Fox and others are proven to have been aiding and abetting the insurrection. Charge them.
18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Agree. I also think the judge should issue a gag order to so Trump's case doesn't turn into a circus. Trump has already threatened the judge and the prosecutor, and he reportedly plans to give a speech at Mar-a-Lago after he is arraigned. A gag order might also have the effect of discouraging Trump from his habit of dragging the case out as much as possible, because it would increase the time he would be prohibited from talking about it.
At one time, public education was taught by literature and entertainment. Allegorical plays like "Everyman" and texts like "mirror for Magistrates" used to be part of a liberal arts education. The entire concept of a trial in the Anglo-Saxon tradition was to civilize war like people and the decisions, as precedent, were object lessons for society.
Beings with an amygdala either fight or turn tail. IMHO Trump will skip. He has as many as 6 or 7 criminal cases worse than this one and his civil exposure can bankrupt him.
Hopefully the moral of the Trump story will be that the rule of law prevails. I'm hoping this will shock not only the conscience MAGATs, but convert many of them.
And it's not just happening in the US... in Australia, following the NSW State election two weeks ago, the progressive Labor Party (roughly equivalent to the US Democrats) is now in power nationally as well as in all the 6 mainland States and two Territories. Only the state of Tasmania (population roughly 500,000) has a Conservative Government, barely holding on with just a one seat majority.
No, we just disowned him. It's a source of national shame for many Australians that he started off as an Aussie. Now it seems son Lachlan is doing his best to out-Murdoch the old bloke for an international nasty award.
“For a while, it seemed as if all the guardrails were gone — that anyone rich and powerful enough and with sufficient disdain for the common good could get away with doing just about anything.”
All well and good, but the billionaires who bankroll these malefactors and miscreants — the Kochs, Uhleins, Yasses, Wynns, Thieles, Mercers, Fancellis (the list goes on and on) — have not been called to account. Politicians, however mendacious and destructive, come and go, but their financial enablers endure, year after year, generation to generation, hunkered safely under the shield of their great wealth. And, of course, the reason they bankroll the politicians they do has nothing to do with philosophy, principle or social issues, and everything to do with protecting and growing that wealth, whatever the consequences may be for democracy and the welfare of the 99% of the economic pyramid atop which they sit.
UNTIL something is done about them, which obviously means taking the money out of politics, either through laws mandating public funding for all elections or a constitutional amendment exempting elections from First Amendment protections so that election campaigns can last no longer than, say, three months and that outside money may not purchase media buys to push issues, nothing will change. American politics and the nation’s institutions will always be for sale to those with the deepest pockets.
To the corruption, Add Federalist Society, Claremont Institute and Heritage Foundation plus other bogus organizations that support the wrongly named right, plus the Supreme Court, Citizens United and again the Republicans (say their name).
You are right of course. I am always astounded by not looking into the money hounds that are pulling the puppet’s strings. Soon the twice impeached, Covid killing ex president will suck up all the air in the room yet again. He will be the front runner. Win the primary and then all criminal proceedings will stop.
Wake up people, time to start calling and naming all the behind the scenes big money donors that are pulling the strings. When will we learn that campaign reform is the only way out!
Emma Goldman ; It would be great to see the lightning fast legal moves the court has shown recently ! Time is of the essence! tRump should not get away with delay!
Wealth will always equal power, and something must be done to limit the tsunami of money now engulfing our elections. But rather than carving out an exemption from the First Amendment for election speech, we need a Constitutional Amendment clarifying that First Amendment protections apply only to natural persons -- not corporations, and that money is not speech.
That is the essence of a growing movement called "Move To Amend", sponsored in Congress by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Learn more here: https://MoveToAmend.org
Such an amendment, limiting First Amendment protections to individuals, would also serve to invalidate SCOTUS’s Citizens United decision, though I believe there’s already something in the Constitution, so far overlooked, that will do that.
Yes, that's the whole point of the proposed Amendment.
". . . corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their 'personhood' often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."
Avie: Not to be out done is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas taking vacations worth approximately $500,000.00 provided by a real estate oligarch from Dallas. For the last twenty years!
The U.S. Attorneys for the District of Columbia and the Northern District of Texas must open investigations.
The Senate Judiciary Commitee needs to undertake its own investigation.
When Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives its Judiciary Committee must follow suit, with a goal -- if it's where the facts lead -- to articles of impeachment being written.
Should Thomas be found guilty of a crime and/or impeached and convicted, every case that came before SCOTUS during his tenure in which he sat as part of a 5-4 majority must be re-litigated.
Aloha Robert. If the female judge from Milwaukee prevails in Tuesday's Wisconsin vote for state Supreme Court Justice, then I will join you in optimism about some long overdue comeuppance.
GOP evidently will do everything to stop the "comeuppance" -what are they afraid of? what do they have to hide?- and still is one of the main powers in American politics so the battle for justice and Democracy still is continuing. Democracy and justice will be on the ballot in 2024 even more as it was in 2022 and 2020.
Don’t count on it: The billionaire fascists are neonazis. People like Charles Koch were raised by nazi-loving parents and a nazi nanny; tRump can’t read past a 2nd grade level, but his late wife, Ivana, repeatedly said he keeps a copy of Mein Kampf at his bedside.
And ALL those running for elected office should have to pass a compencency test that shows they have read the Constitution & have a knowledge of how our Government works.
If the Republicans allow the United States to enter into catastophic default, do they think people will vote for them? People will lose all the money in their 401K's, Seniors won't get paid SS, people will lose jobs enmasse. How will people put food on the table or a roof over their heads? I remember stories my parents told me about the Great Depression. Its very scary. I will lose my home. I'm too old to live in a tent. This cannot happen!
Positevelypetpartners: unfortunately (an understatement) the far right media bubble continues to lie unabashedly and paints the opposition to raising the debt ceiling as a necessary reaction to the “left’s” irresponsible spending, and will no doubt pin the catastrophic consequences on Democrats. Their Orwellian doublespeak has been working with their base for a very long time, and that base (at least so far) continues to vote against their own—and the country’s—interest. If facts, reason and critical thinking ruled, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.
Yes, my parents told stories, too. When they met, they discovered both their families had been bilked by bankers of the same family, but in separate states. It bonded them.
Your family had money, my parent's moms and dads were poor immigrants. My mom was forced to quit school at 15 to go to work to help support her family. They lived on pasta and beans.
The Great Depression was the worst kind of equalizer. My mother lost her college scholarship in her junior year and tried, with not much success, to making a living teaching piano lessons. My father's father had already gone bankrupt once, so he found himself working pretty much around the clock in the family business (a practice he found difficult to give up.) When we were kids, our parents would frequently eat cornbread and buttermilk mushed together for supper; the meal that sustained them through the Depression. We thought they were absurd, but now I understand.
Slowly the inertia is beginning to shift in the cesspool. One can hope we will see the muck swirling down the drain in our life time. ( just hope it is being purified in the leaching fields of sunlight).
Walgreens is getting a lot of blowback, too, for deciding not to ship LEGAL abortion drugs to some red states, even those where abortion is still legal. It used to be my go-to drugstore. Not any more. A lot of my friends and I are taking our business elsewherel
The zeitgeist shifts, and the wheels of justice turn, only when people commit themselves to the shifting and the turning.
Dr. King's arc of the moral universe bends towards justice only so long as courageous individuals take hold and continue to bend it.
.
Jerry, Thank you for your astute comment. If I may, I would underscore, while attempts to improve moral, economic, and social conditions typically proceed incrementally, it is impossible to foretell precisely when any of our endeavors will reach critical mass, suddenly creating change.
Barbara Jo,
Your wisdom seems to show up everywhere :)
Foretelling is usually a fools game, indeed. Life is about preparing for things that never happen. But we try.
I'm with Robert's spirit of "shifting zeitgeist" today. It's a sunny day here. I'm going to park my pessimism and plant some sugar snap peas.
Bill, Considering how I so often am struck by your wisdom, your opening statement was particularly meaningful. Enjoy your day!
How do wisdom keepers find each other on Robert's Substack, where there are already 515 comments? Are there people who hang out on this chat all day to be able to follow everything? I have ideas that are unique that I'd love conversation about (see my Substack), but they get lost in the crowd.
Suzanne, Speaking only for myself, I would note I periodically post when I believe I have something of value to contribute. Some of my postings are replies and some are free-standing. There are days fellow subscribers reply and there are days they don’t. Ultimately, the greatest gift are the host of new voices I carry with me into my political work.
In the way of advice, I have noted that people have posted comments from their Substack newsletters when said excerpts have been relevant to a particular thread. I imagine were you to do the same, your voice would become increasingly recognized.
I hope I’ve been helpful.
Thanks for taking my case. I post substantive things and get responses but not many, as I'd expect. How do you deal with hundreds of prior posts? Do you stick around here and scroll through all? Or do you just jump in wherever you come in and then respond to people responding to you? Are you on other lists you contribute to and how any of it work when there are so many contributors?
Bravo! I planted some CA natives yesterday, mud slowly drying.
tipping points
find the Fulcrum
give it a Bit of a nudge
wishful thinking is the final refuge.
& pessimism sinks ships
.
"Dr. King's arc of the moral universe bends towards justice only so long as courageous individuals take hold and continue to bend it." --Jerry W., above
.
then let's BEND
that Summabitch
[I Wish we could See
Editied comments
before and after]
[hidden but
Available]
.
[thnx Doc!]
status quo's
Not gonna
tip itself
Bob, it seems to me "wishful thinking" is what helped to get us all in this money and power-grabbing madness. It won't get us out.
Barbara
As my Indiana grandma used to say: "The chickens ALWAYS come home to roost."
These immoral miscreants made their nest. Now it's time to brood in them.
Cheryl, Truthfully, I don’t know what lies ahead. I only know I won’t allow myself to get distracted from the work expected of us between now and the 24 general election.
Now all we have to do is prevent these immoral miscreants from laying anymore eggs.
plugs?
O dear, no brooding if you are referring to what brooding chickens really means. We need no "offspring" ideologically of these anti-democratarians!! (LOL)
You are right, Ruth. 😂 I'm mixing my metaphors.
I meant brooding as in Webster's "think deeply about something that makes one unhappy." The more they brood, the happier we'll all be.
Oh Cheryl, I knew what you meant, but couldn't help myself. Both definitions of the word work there, but as opposites.
Well played, Miss Ruth! 😂
Not proud of it, but I'm savoring tomorrow's little perp walk. For the first time in his life he HAS TO do what he's told. "Face foreword, now turn right." "Put your (tiny) fingers on this scanner." (Sad they don't use ink anymore - to stain his fingers as a souvenir of his big day.)
Wonder if Melania will be expected to stand by her man? How many "peaceful" protesters will get arrested?
Chilling some tonic to go with my gin.
Barbara Jo Kreiger ; That is why Professor Reich used the term "shift." These changes may happen gradually ; like a sunrise. Then it seems all at once.
Laurie, I hope you are right about upcoming positive change being like a sunrise. I am hopeful and was when almost no one showed up to mourn Trump's arrest a couple of weeks ago. It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow: whether Trump shows up and anyone shows up to stop or even protest it.
Ruth Sheets ; Or whether he flees to the UAE or Russia. I think he knows those places may not be in his best interests though.
OMG Laurie, can you imagine Trump in a dictatorship where he gets ordered around by the dictator to show how "democratic" the dictator is!
Y’all are laughing, I can hear from here!
Thank you and...."Wisely said" :) I have noted your very positive contributions as well.
It is hard for me to believe that someone can abuse millions of people and a planet without eventually getting his "comeuppance". But if that's our only focus, he/it has gained control of our minds. My latest mantra is to get up to date on "45" and then seek something really positive like Jessica Craven's weekly list of "good stuff".
Barbara and others keep me tethered to a longer more optimistic view of the political and governance landscape. That's also why I read Robert Hubbell last in the morning.
Folks like Fern keep me on an accuracy track. It's a great community!
But I AM raising a glass right now to the dam burst! It's almost 5 o'clock :)
Janet, Thank you for writing. I was particularly struck by your words “We sit, we watch, we wait” because I imagine we would agree that that, of course, makes us more anxious. Hence the question “What are we waiting for?” For me, one of the greatest gifts from this and other Substacks is meeting people like yourself, who, as engaged citizens, amplify, in the words of a remarkable old American gospel song, “We are the ones that we’ve been waiting for.”
On a personal note, there are no words to express my gratitude for the host of voices I carry with me (yours included) as I pursue various political projects.
thanks for your comment, Jerry 🙏🏼
the zeitgeist shifts... when we learn to regulate digital heroin.
i'd like to put my recent post (re: digital heroin) on your radar. https://opentochange.substack.com/p/growing-up-before-digital-heroin
Thanks for Comment darren meaning the phrase "digital heroin" but, I fear folks "like" the digital fentanyl. :( 🤯
6 of 997
Guns
Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>
Sun, Apr 2, 1:55 PM (17 hours ago)
to reaction
R. Dan Crenshaw.
Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>
1:47 PM (3 minutes ago)
Dan is from the state of Texas, the old wild, wild West. The mindset of the residents there still sees a gun as defining the status of the man. Mr. Crenshaw wants to put armed guards in all of the schools to serve as a deterrent to prevent school shootings. Currently, I would agree with him until the issue of guns has reached a conclusion. What Dan is suggesting equates to treating the effects without dealing with the cause. No matter how you feel about the gun situation this country can't continue on its present course. No matter how painful it may seem, no matter how distasteful it may be, we have to address the gun issue head-on. The quantity of guns in this country is obscene. Ban citizens from owning military-style weapons, plain and simple. There is no need for them to even own one. As far as the second amendment goes the days of the militia are over. This country has a standing military force that supersedes any need for a private citizen to have a military-style weapon. This country's gun violence remains a problem that will never be solved until we greatly reduce the number of guns kept in the private sector. What we need to ask ourselves, is it more important to own guns or should we dissolve the means by which people are killing our children. If someone had the ability to look into the future and they told me if I kept a gun in my home a member of my family would die because of it. What kind of a father would I be if I didn't rid my home of the impending danger? Aside from hunting weapons and guns used for sport, this country should want to reduce the number of weapons already on hand. It's our children that are dying, have we become so accustomed to their tears that we no longer hear their crying?
The only gun in my house shoots staples. I like it that say.
What a coincidence; the only gun in my house melts solder.
Robert-- That would hurt.
magras--I'm right there with ya on that one, the only thing that shoots in my house showers intruders with X's and Y's.
Bryan--you sir, have a dirty mind. LOL Like mine.
Intruders?? Someone's anatomy seems perplexed. ;)
and your right to do so but not your right to have others do the same
I grew up in a hunting family. We had shotguns and rifles. they were in a gun safe. we all knew how to load, shoot and clean the guns. we even made bullets. We took gun safety classes and shot at a gun club. When my nephew had a mental health crisis all of my brother's guns came to my house. And nephew got counseling. Family got counseling. we all learned from the event.. I would never have an automatic weapon that has as its purpose the murder of people in my home. Some of our guns are have been in our family for 4 generations. Some from WWI. No pistols. At least 2 are works of art with carvings and etched metal work. We ate what my grandfathers. father, brothers and nephews shot. We ate what we gathered from the sea and caught from the sea. It was part of our culture and family traditions. We have gardens and bees. We raise chickens. My Uncle raises the family beef. We make wine, mead and root beer. I love our traditions.
I understand people having hunting guns not pistols and automatic weapons. I support required registration, background checks and red flag conditions for owning or selling a gun of any type.
Susan--Our family's history is very similar and it always nice to hear of people that I would consider to be safe gun owners. The only meat my father's family ate while he was growing up was what they shot. I was raised with the love of the outdoors and family hunting trips as well. I live by the simple rule that I instilled in my children, basically because it was taught to me, "there is no such thing as an unloaded gun." Treat every weapon you touch like it was ready to shoot. It just might save someone a lot of heart ache.
YOU ! Susan ! ,are a RESPONSIBLE , Educated OWNER, of " tools of the Trade" ! NOBODY ! Needs ASAULT WEAPONS !! ( a Former Viet Nam Veteran, .....& VERY AWARE, of the KILLING Power of the M 16, and ALL of the SPECS, both WEAPON, and AMMO !
Donald, interesting comments. As a retired public school teacher and current school tutor, I can tell you that police with guns in school is a bad deal no matter who recommends it. It is nearly always happening in the schools in the already-disadvantaged communities and lets kids know that guns are great for intimidating people and are OK for use in controlling people, particularly kids, in my opinion, a really bad message. I do agree, however that there are far far too many guns in private hands with few sensible controls in place to insure safety. guns do not make anyone safe, not even police. It is too bad Republicans, mostly white men, can't see it. Or, they see it and want to use it in their fake "war against crime."
Ruth-- MTG might draw an exception to the ideas surrounding people with guns acting as a deterrent in our public schools. She loves the idea, it sends a terrible message to our young people. I also am a retired teaches, I taught special-ed for a short period of time until I realized the money being offered was as bad as everyone had warned me it would be.
The idea of hiring guards for every school in the US is ridiculous. The only way congress would fund that is by firing teachers and using that money for guards. I don't put that past Rs in congress, but I think it's unlikely.
Just about every issue we face can be improved by getting money out of politics.
PHT--Speaking of the ridiculous, train our policemen and policewomen to become teachers. Assign them to class room duties in full uniform with guns in tow. The positive outcome might be found in the relationships developed with the kids. They might grow up not hating our police agencies. What prospective shooter would pick a target occupied by dozens of armed officers acting as teachers. MTG would be so pleased.
People without guns cannot shoot people.
s. --No, but as things are they still can be shot. We have to find a way to reduce the number of guns in our society.
We have ways to reduce the guns. Those ideas are supported by even most gun owners, but rejected by powerful lobbies and their crony politicians.
It is not the guns you need to understand that. Our violent crime is one of the lowest in the world. It is mental illness and we can fix it like we did the post office. Younger readers google going postal. If not guns then bombs that what happens. Look at UK and France. They blow stuff up lot more get hurt. Mostly there is one type of person that does the shootings. Mostly young white males. Then think who is in charge mostly old white males so are they going to fix themselves? Start there. Do the research and you will see I am correct. We need to address the underlying issue and it is not the gun. I know the last one was a women but that is really rare and we cannot protect against everything just the most likely thing. Oh Boston marathon was bombing look how many got hurt there. Then the press called them Muslim not white. What was with that. Muslim is a religion not a race.
So wrong on so many things, Tom. I have yet to see a defined idea or solution from the right for the "mental illness" problem you claim is at the heart of it all. Do you have a solution for the mental aberrations that have invaded our conservative politics? Invaded our amoral, feral capitalism?
And news flash: the post office is *not* "fixed."
Prof. Robert Altemeyer has studied the topic of authoritarianism. He divided his university students into "high authoritarian" and "low authoritarian," based on a scale he developed over many years. He gave each group separately a "peace game" to solve, the object being to achieve as close to world peace as possible. The "lows" got there after hours of hard work and some casualties. The "highs" blew up the world in half the time allotted. The Prof. tried it again, thinking it was an artifact. They blew up the world even sooner.
Tom, if you're going to attribute "mental illness" to that entire human category, I'd say you're in for a challenge.
Well I am trying to fix the school shooting issue only. I do have a solution and it was in the post. We do the same thing the post office did for people going postal and that fixed there problem with shootings. Google it. If the post office is not fixed for going postal then tell me when was there last mass shooting? You run at the mouth and that is it. For the far right well I can't fix stupid nor am I going to try. So read what I said don't bring me into your dark place of hate. I won't go there. Oh I was in a similar study in college and guess what like most of the BS taught in college (yes I have a degree from a prestigious west coast university), it was the same a bunch of teenagers knowing they can't really blow up a balloon little lone the world will of coarse do what teenagers do. Say they would blow up the world. But they really won't . If you trust the intellectuals to tell what is up you will be down most of the time.
I agree, we need good mental health services. Reagan basically dismantled mental health care in the US and allowed insurance companies to stop paying for it. I was a pediatric psych nurse for years and we had a good program. We had one Social Worker, one Psychiatrist, and one psychologist assigned to a family as well as in house school, a reward system, art and movement therapy, many group therapies, as well as a consistent staff person. This allowed the development of trust and real work toward change. The child usually stayed in house for 3months with family sessions, and then they stayed with the same SW, psychologist, and psychiatrist for another 9 months on average as out patients. This is needed if real change is to happen. Then it got to be insurance companies no longer paid for hospitalization if the pt wasn’t homocidal or suicidal. Change really can’t happen with just out pt services. The CDC has not been allowed to really study the effects of all of these guns and high rate of deaths due to them in the US, ut all o5er. lu tries that have limited guns have much less death from guns. There is no reason to revert to the wild west. Guns are an addiction in this country and they are too often killing us and causing too much fear and anxiety. My son would be alive if his fiancés father in Wyoming didn’t want his son who had schizophrenia to be one of the boys and so bought him a gun, but gave him no training. He thought the gun was unloaded, pointed it at my son and pulled the trigger shooting him in the head behind the L ear. It would appear my son was turning to get away so he must have been afraid. My son is go.me, and Justin will have to forever live with the guilt and pain of killing someone who cared for him and who he cared for. There are so many senseless preventable deaths if we just got rid of all. ut hunting guns.
I am so sorry about your son, Linda . . . no one should have to live with that burden and grief.
Bottom line is that if a mentally ill person can't get a gun, he/she can't mow a group of people down in a few seconds.
we all love our digital drugs, Bryan... i/we remember the before times... the simpler times
I do too. I was a kid in the 1960's and a teen in the 1970's. I am so happy there wasn't social media back then. It really was simpler times.
a time when kids played outside 💚
At age 92 the thought of playing outdoors without the current political atmosphere and corrupt mess is a distant memory.
I am so sorry those of you who are younger never got to enjoy.
Yes! The kids next door to me play in their yard. I love to hear them playing. 😁
I was too. Now you need an app. to get a date. We just went to school or a party or a bar or something and actually meet in person.
I am 75, pre-TV until my mother allowed me to watch the Walt Disney space & rocket segments narrated by Werner Von Braun. So when Sputnik first raced over my head in low earth orbit I understood exactly what was going on up there. My father explained Sputnik appeared to the human eye to slow down as the satellite approached the horizon because ... spoiler alert ... wait for it ... the Earth is round.
Is the Werner Von Braun you were talking about?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro
I will check it out but, my old android tablet run will not run youtube. Have to run it on my Pixel 6.
💚
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3O_Wi9UDfY&ab_channel=HDPinkFloyd
Too bad the vocals are inistinguishable in that video. What is he singing?
Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun
.
Along the Long Road and on down the Causeway
Do they still meet there by the Cut
.
There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before times took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay
.
The grass was greener
The light was brighter
When friends surrounded
The nights of wonder
.
Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide
At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world
.
Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many times
.
The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river
.
Forever and ever
.
written by David Gilmore
& Polly Samson
.
"And perhaps the simplest way to summarize it is that the singer sees the world as a place where as one ages, the joy of childhood is basically sucked out of life. And this is achieved via both social and individual ideologies of adulthood which are by a never-ending, dulling quest for particular achievements."
.
Pink Floyd’s “High Hopes” Lyrics Meaning
BY SMF · PUBLISHED JANUARY 30, 2020
.
Read more at: https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/pink-floyds-high-hopes-lyrics-meaning/
Scary on its own!
Nancy--especially if the ears that ignore the cries are MTG's
Darren - beautiful art and words. we can still hug our loved ones. peace! now!
thanks Susan 🙏🏼
come join us @ open to change
"Digital heroin" . . . great expression, Darren. Your Substack post is appreciated, esp. the visuals!
thanks S.A. 🙏🏼
i look forward to sharing more...
💚
Sweet and sad. I shared. Thanks!
thanks for sharing it Marge 🙏🏼
i look forward to sharing more...
come join us @ open to change
I think it's waaaaay too early for euphoria over these clowns getting snagged. These are just the most obnoxious of our crop of profiteers. Notice, I used the word "profiteers." Remember all the corporate profits that have been a result of price-gouging in a time of national emergency. If any of those actors happen to be prosecuted, they're only ever fined, and although the fines are generally quite hefty by the reckoning of us mere mortals, to the corporate interests & plutocrats involved they're just the cost of doing business. That state will continue as long as any possible legal sanction amounts to the cost of doing business. Although not directly for profiteering from the national emergency, the suits against Fox news Alex Jones point in the direction of the kinds of sanctions I have in mind. At that, while Jones is allegedly facing bankruptcy, he still seems to be promoting his "Info Wars." Fox is also making plenty noise about what they face, as well.
Although I'm not a great fan of the Chinese, I think they make a good point in the way they handle their corruption. The sanction must be harsh enough to >really< discourage such behavior. If Chinese justice involves having the perps frog-marched into a courtyard, pinned against a wall, and then shot, far be it from me to express moral outrage! I'll not disapprove any more than I do with how the Reds dealt with Nicholas and Alexandra. (A bit draconian, but totally understandable.) I'd settle for fines starting at 75% of >all< company assets - >and< mandatory, maximum security prison time for all the top executives. (Let 'em experience first-hand from their cell mates what they've profited from doing to the public!)
Like I have been saying since January 7th: If this were 1776 or probably even 1876, Bunkerboy, Gaetz, Crazygreene, Boebert, Hawley and ALL the Insurrectionists WOULD have been HANGED on January 7th.
Agreed!
They totally should have been, since we have so many photos, videos of their faces why should we not do it today?
Agreed. When I was monitoring foster care facilities, a corporation failed to have overnight staff for a full year. I recommended to the State Human Services that the corporation be fined the $$ they saved by not paying overnight staff (including benefits saved) + 10%. The State issued no fine. As long as the fines are less than the profits, why wouldn’t corporations continue to cheat?
DZK... Thanks for verbalizing your thoughts. I tend to have similar feelings. BF’em all.
No, the countruly has not meaningfully shifted in a significant way. Post-indictment, Trump's poll numbers have soared.
Garland could have slowed the now-metastasized fascism by an indictment on the Mueller obstruction charges soon after he was sworn in, but he chose to focus on 'optics'...now we have book bans, travel bans (for abortion), an uncontrolled SCOTUS and 5th Circuit, weekly mass shootings.
Wray could have taken a stand against white militias and anarchist groups, but instead chose to do little (except for working overtime to downplay the corruption of his chief of counterintelligence.
Musk has openly trafficked with foreign dictators, while suppressing dissident voices in India and China, suppressing Ukraine accounts, and actively spreading propaganda via Twitter. This is deliberate vs 'floundering', yet nothing is done.
Most media outlets remain comfortable with normalizing fascism...even the bland (but formerly reputable) 60 Minutes happily gave MTG a fawning platform in prime time.
Other than Democratic governors, where is the Democratic messaging for 2024? Sitting back and expecting the GOP's extremism to do their work is malpractice. Abortion will drive number of issues, but to date, 70% of rural seats are uncontested. Writing them off is not a strategy.
Will turnout explode in 2024? Will everyone able devote time to GOTV efforts or run for local office and school boards? I remain skeptical. The mayor's race in Chicago, and the supreme court seat in Wisconsin will give us a snapshot of 2024. Do people understand the stakes? Do they care?
Even in the unlikely event that Trump is convicted in multiple jurisdictions, the vast majority of his enablers will not see any 'comeuppance'. Trump will not step foot in a courtroom for a trial before the 2024 elections.
I could write for hours about our frayed institutions, weak leadership, global alliances of dictators, etc, but my point is that, unless large swathes of this country become actively involved in shoring up our democracy, an indictment in Manhattan will be a blip, not a turning of the tide.
HW ; “ trumps poll numbers, have soared”. In this same vein, AR 15 sales soar whenever there is talk of banning assault weapons. Our war on drugs in Columbia, arguably created the mess we have in Mexico. As Milton Freedman was delighted to point out, sometimes we achieve the exact opposite of our stated intent. The Darkside would have a cease and desist. The answer of course is to perhaps re-calibrate and carry-on, regardless.
Milton Friedman? He's the reason we're in the corporate greed mess that we are in today. Why would his name come up in this particular discussion?
S Howard ; Friedman pointed to failures and said, take your marbles and go home. I don’t agree with his prescription, but perhaps something can be learned from his observations.
Amidst the gleeful atmosphere surrounding Trumps indictment, we need to soberly consider the consequences. I would want to know, for example, can we totally count on our military branches to put down any widespread violence. Has anyone taken a survey of arms forces members to determine this?
Doing what seems to be the right thing doesn’t necessarily manifest the right result. Proceed with caution.
Those who own the most *things*, possessed of greed beyond avarice, are not sated by their golden perch atop an obscene pile of loot. As they gaze out upon the relatively poor huddled masses, a new goal forms in their minds: They yearn to be the one who owns the most *people*. And to that end, they utilize lawyers and legal structures, they buy politicians and rewrite laws, install judges and reinterpret existing laws to make their advantage permanent and impervious to change. And when they achieve all that within a given country, they look to neighboring countries and think hmmm, how many more people can I own by using weapons of war?
In spite of everything I am not convinced. We shall see.
After 75 years of life with my eyes & ears open i can provide the history of malignant forces being recognized & set back.
Thanks Jerry for your insightful comment. I would like to think I was”holding and bending” yesterday as I phone banked for WI 4/4 election to flip the WI SC and begin the movement to reform then most terribly gerrymandered state.
Chris, you are exactly the person I was talking about -- you and the millions like you.
We have knocked on doors, made phone calls, distributed literature, sat through endless meetings, marched in the street, written letters, registered voters, and also brought in the pizzas, mopped the floors and turned out the lights at the end of the day. We are the blood that flows through the veins of our system of government, bringing oxygen to all who speak reverently of liberty and justice for all.
Thank you for showing up and doing the work that "holds and bends".
When the election is over, I invite you to check out the network I represent. We have been opposed to Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House since early last December, and have been working to see him replaced ever since. Learn more at:
https://FeathersOfHope.net
.
Thanks Jerry. I will check this out. I am old, but not dead. I routinely connect with my state na US reps and senators to remind them of what dem voters are expecting of their constituents, not the BS spewed by the other party and media.
A couple of hopeful pieces of news:
- Democratic Senator Wants To Use Supreme Court Budget To Force Justices To Follow Code Of Ethics:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democratic-senator-wants-to-use-supreme-court-budget-to-force-justices-to-follow-code-of-ethics/ar-AA19q3UT
And frankly, I don't think this is particularly a bad thing:
- Distraught Fox News panel predicts Americans will stop running for office if Trump is jailed:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/distraught-fox-news-panel-predicts-americans-will-stop-running-for-office-if-trump-is-jailed/ar-AA19qnN6
(Indeed, I'd like to see the hucksters & nut-jobs self-eliminate!)
Your so right Jerry!!! But why are we back here again?
Professor, in these perilous times you give us hope, that Justice just might prevail. Looking back in history, but not that long ago, we had a sitting president who famously declared “I am not a crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got.” “Not a crook,” just a liar. And he left the presidency relatively peacefully. No riot. Just corruption. TFG is both crook and liar and he has not even tried to hide his corruption. Hiring his unqualified family members for critical positions, ignoring emoluments requirements, inciting a riot, an insurrection. Turning the Peaceful Transfer of Power into a temporary myth. All In plain sight. Trying to Steal the Presidency. Not enough space to list his crimes. And until today, with one of his most minor crimes, he is at least on the carpet. Will he proudly wear handcuffs or an orange suit? I’m not betting money, but our Democracy is the better for holding him accountable for the first of many crimes he had committed.
Hoping the orange faced guy gets a matching suit!
Trump is the new Orange.
Let's not advertise this guy. The ancient Egyptians had the right idea. They said if you speak a person's name they will live forever. The reverse is also true it's a name is not spoken of the person disappears from social memory.
tfg djt
works for
me as does i,djt
Yes, however he is a clear and present danger to us all. I agree that undo attention should stop but my comment was to underscore his criminality, something that is topical and his sycophants are claiming isn't important, or that these crimes aren't important enough to charge an ex-president (<> Justice, a false argument but being used) . My view is that these financial crimes are serious and that others doing them or considering them will pay attention. Should he admit or be convicted that would undercut his reputation in other manners before juries, a very different fact than trying to impeach him in court where "known liar" cannot be admitted.
he's the Bad Apple
of the citrus brigade
A color coordinated jump suit.
Telling the public COVID-19 was 'no worse than a seasonal flu, predicting it would soon disappear and insisting that the U.S. government had it totally under control'
https://wapo.st/3ZzXh1V
He caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans and life-altering impairments for countless others because he willfully chose to grossly mishandle covid-19.
This is an unknown legacy of the Trump administration.
Today we read, "Long COVID exercise trials proposed by NIH raise alarm" (Nature March 31 2023) NOTE: person shown being treated for long Covid is in 20s or 30s
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00900-w
We all watched as it spread from China throughout the world. While Asia and the Middle East reported the spread and we watched the digging of mass graves in Italy, Trump wasted more than two months inviting disaster before even acknowledging that we had a problem.
Do you think he knew it probably came from the China lab and chose to ignore it, (I know that is a presumed fact on my part) or didn’t know and didn’t want to upset Xi by asking?
One if his worst ignorant actions that cost innocent people's deaths. The carnage for his errors are historic
Unless he wins the election at which point history will be altered. History is written by the winners
He won't win. He lost in 2020, and he will be even less palatable by this time next year.
thanks for your comment, Irenie 🙏🏼
in these perilous times... we need to regulate digital heroin.
i'd like to put my recent post (re: digital heroin) on your radar. https://opentochange.substack.com/p/growing-up-before-digital-heroin
Digital heroin-what an appropriate description if Fox "News"
it's not just Fox... it refers to all digital screens... the heroin that has us ALL hooked.
at least Substack allows us to connect with respect 🙏🏼
Nice paintings. I remember life before TV. As a kid you stood a chance to actually become an adult because you did stuff, created stuff and basically had a life with your friends that didn’t need chaperones. My best friends from early childhood agree that it made us individuals, capable of toughening it out. We didn’t need a babysitter for our minds.
those were the days, Jane ☀️
thanks for checking out my art 🙏🏼
come join us @ open to change
Irenie, you have spoken for me. Thank you. Every day I wonder at the immaturity of our citizens. And I have to calm myself by not looking at any news. That is not the brave thing to do, but I must admit to mental exhaustion and physical repercussions . The beautifully written and directed film “Gaslit”shown on Starz and acted in by Julia Roberts and Shawn Penn tells much about today. It should definitely get awards.
Too many times we like to tell ourselves that we just can’t handle the truth. We hate feeling “DOWN”I wonder what happens when we hit “OUT”! That’s down and out folks. Where we are headed unless we are holding crooks accountable. From Bill Barr to the Koch creeps.... and on and on and on!😱
And the sad scary part is that TFG was a well known liar, crook, woman abuser, white supremacist before he was elected president. A reflection on our own souls?
Long overdue comeuppance! Let's hope the wheels of justice prevail.
"Wheels of justice." The time has come!
Trump should be an object lesson. As I said the other day, we don't know what's in the indictment but if I were the judge, as soon as the plea is taken I'd order Trump to show cause why he is not in contempt. Trump has been before the grand jury, in fact, he was formally asked to appear and sent Robert Costello as a witness. Criminal contempt in the second degree (NY PENAL § 215.50: Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree) refers to a variety of disruptions to the normal workings of a court. This can include disrupting a court proceeding such as a trial, but it also applies to court orders and representations of proceedings. Trump knew or had reason to know that as a party, the statute applied to him.
Apparently he also lobbied members of Congress to pressure Bragg and they are trying to intimidate him. That makes them accessories to contempt.
Also, Fox and others are proven to have been aiding and abetting the insurrection. Charge them.
18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 808; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147.)
Agree. I also think the judge should issue a gag order to so Trump's case doesn't turn into a circus. Trump has already threatened the judge and the prosecutor, and he reportedly plans to give a speech at Mar-a-Lago after he is arraigned. A gag order might also have the effect of discouraging Trump from his habit of dragging the case out as much as possible, because it would increase the time he would be prohibited from talking about it.
Justice Matters!
May the U. S. Code 2383 be applied to those in Congress and the Courts who aided and abetted the insurrection.
Molly Michael Trump's assistant apparently has implicated him in the Mar a Lago docs case. Justice Dept. said to have more evidence of possible Trump obstruction at Mar-a-Lago. Ex-staffer’s emails, texts are guiding investigators, who increasingly suspect Trump went through boxes after subpoena. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/02/trump-mar-a-lago-obstruction-classified/
I see the wheels of justice as millstones, turning slowly but inexorably once in motion.
At one time, public education was taught by literature and entertainment. Allegorical plays like "Everyman" and texts like "mirror for Magistrates" used to be part of a liberal arts education. The entire concept of a trial in the Anglo-Saxon tradition was to civilize war like people and the decisions, as precedent, were object lessons for society.
Beings with an amygdala either fight or turn tail. IMHO Trump will skip. He has as many as 6 or 7 criminal cases worse than this one and his civil exposure can bankrupt him.
Hopefully the moral of the Trump story will be that the rule of law prevails. I'm hoping this will shock not only the conscience MAGATs, but convert many of them.
We can only hope!👏🏻🎶👏🏻
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
It's coming. Wait for it!
100% agree
And it's not just happening in the US... in Australia, following the NSW State election two weeks ago, the progressive Labor Party (roughly equivalent to the US Democrats) is now in power nationally as well as in all the 6 mainland States and two Territories. Only the state of Tasmania (population roughly 500,000) has a Conservative Government, barely holding on with just a one seat majority.
There is hope...
THAT'S AMAZING NEWS!!! THA K YOU FOR TELLING US!!!
have they Overthrown
Rupert Mudroach yet?
kristofarian ; He certainly has mud on his face!
and how much
Blood on his
greedy
hands?
No, we just disowned him. It's a source of national shame for many Australians that he started off as an Aussie. Now it seems son Lachlan is doing his best to out-Murdoch the old bloke for an international nasty award.
the rottenest apples
fall closest to the
rotted tree.
DEFEAT CON AND TRAITOR REPUBLICONS EVERYWHERE
“For a while, it seemed as if all the guardrails were gone — that anyone rich and powerful enough and with sufficient disdain for the common good could get away with doing just about anything.”
All well and good, but the billionaires who bankroll these malefactors and miscreants — the Kochs, Uhleins, Yasses, Wynns, Thieles, Mercers, Fancellis (the list goes on and on) — have not been called to account. Politicians, however mendacious and destructive, come and go, but their financial enablers endure, year after year, generation to generation, hunkered safely under the shield of their great wealth. And, of course, the reason they bankroll the politicians they do has nothing to do with philosophy, principle or social issues, and everything to do with protecting and growing that wealth, whatever the consequences may be for democracy and the welfare of the 99% of the economic pyramid atop which they sit.
UNTIL something is done about them, which obviously means taking the money out of politics, either through laws mandating public funding for all elections or a constitutional amendment exempting elections from First Amendment protections so that election campaigns can last no longer than, say, three months and that outside money may not purchase media buys to push issues, nothing will change. American politics and the nation’s institutions will always be for sale to those with the deepest pockets.
To the corruption, Add Federalist Society, Claremont Institute and Heritage Foundation plus other bogus organizations that support the wrongly named right, plus the Supreme Court, Citizens United and again the Republicans (say their name).
You are right of course. I am always astounded by not looking into the money hounds that are pulling the puppet’s strings. Soon the twice impeached, Covid killing ex president will suck up all the air in the room yet again. He will be the front runner. Win the primary and then all criminal proceedings will stop.
Wake up people, time to start calling and naming all the behind the scenes big money donors that are pulling the strings. When will we learn that campaign reform is the only way out!
Emma Goldman ; It would be great to see the lightning fast legal moves the court has shown recently ! Time is of the essence! tRump should not get away with delay!
Avie, Wonderful Rant! Filled with concentrated and pointed informational observances. Thanks for your post.
Thanks Avie, for the proverbial bucket of cold water on our temporary sunbath! Your observation is as needed as our constant vigilance!
Avie, you are right of course.
Wealth will always equal power, and something must be done to limit the tsunami of money now engulfing our elections. But rather than carving out an exemption from the First Amendment for election speech, we need a Constitutional Amendment clarifying that First Amendment protections apply only to natural persons -- not corporations, and that money is not speech.
That is the essence of a growing movement called "Move To Amend", sponsored in Congress by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Learn more here: https://MoveToAmend.org
.
Such an amendment, limiting First Amendment protections to individuals, would also serve to invalidate SCOTUS’s Citizens United decision, though I believe there’s already something in the Constitution, so far overlooked, that will do that.
Yes, that's the whole point of the proposed Amendment.
". . . corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their 'personhood' often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."
~Supreme Court Justice Stevens, January 2010
.
I know it, you know it, how the hell do we make it a matter of concern for the rest of our country?
Avie: Not to be out done is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas taking vacations worth approximately $500,000.00 provided by a real estate oligarch from Dallas. For the last twenty years!
As I've written elsewhere:
The U.S. Attorneys for the District of Columbia and the Northern District of Texas must open investigations.
The Senate Judiciary Commitee needs to undertake its own investigation.
When Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives its Judiciary Committee must follow suit, with a goal -- if it's where the facts lead -- to articles of impeachment being written.
Should Thomas be found guilty of a crime and/or impeached and convicted, every case that came before SCOTUS during his tenure in which he sat as part of a 5-4 majority must be re-litigated.
If Scotland still wants to press charges against him, let them store hm in an abandoned castle and then ask, "Donald who?"
They are too civilized for that--we should send tRump to Russia so he can return his plane to Mogilevich and explain how he messed up as a crime boss.
Was just over there and saw a dungeon or two that would work for him. That would be the ideal solution for him.
I'm rootin' for Putin to get his comeuppance as just desserts and not the coeur ala creme he thinks he deserves
Yes! Putin needs to get the “Mussolini treatment” and his wealth should be given to Ukraine for rebuilding.
I like that idea!
Aloha Robert. If the female judge from Milwaukee prevails in Tuesday's Wisconsin vote for state Supreme Court Justice, then I will join you in optimism about some long overdue comeuppance.
GOP evidently will do everything to stop the "comeuppance" -what are they afraid of? what do they have to hide?- and still is one of the main powers in American politics so the battle for justice and Democracy still is continuing. Democracy and justice will be on the ballot in 2024 even more as it was in 2022 and 2020.
Like Nazis, the fall is inevitable.
Don’t count on it: The billionaire fascists are neonazis. People like Charles Koch were raised by nazi-loving parents and a nazi nanny; tRump can’t read past a 2nd grade level, but his late wife, Ivana, repeatedly said he keeps a copy of Mein Kampf at his bedside.
I agree, my daughter told me last night she would not vote for the orange clown ever again, but she couldn’t vote for Biden either. Breaks my heart!
Thanks for the positive reminders Bob. You still rock pretty damn good.
For the overt and flagrant publicity seekers perhaps. For the rest comeuppance does not happen until they change the tax code.
Agreed. And also, get rid of Citizens United decision and the Electoral College; add a Code of Ethics for the Supreme Court, etc.
And ALL those running for elected office should have to pass a compencency test that shows they have read the Constitution & have a knowledge of how our Government works.
YES
Mary A Vosburghi ; Yes, we need better vetting of candidates and their funding sources, too.
I Like this Idea A LOT!!
Oh I’ve said that of all of our citizens ever since that actor that played a president of our country.
That's a big order, especially since some wives are selling off influence as if it were baked goods.
Start with sedition.
progwoman ; Consequences for these wives!
Ole Gianni Thomas comes to mind!
REFORM!💙🥳
If the Republicans allow the United States to enter into catastophic default, do they think people will vote for them? People will lose all the money in their 401K's, Seniors won't get paid SS, people will lose jobs enmasse. How will people put food on the table or a roof over their heads? I remember stories my parents told me about the Great Depression. Its very scary. I will lose my home. I'm too old to live in a tent. This cannot happen!
Positevelypetpartners: unfortunately (an understatement) the far right media bubble continues to lie unabashedly and paints the opposition to raising the debt ceiling as a necessary reaction to the “left’s” irresponsible spending, and will no doubt pin the catastrophic consequences on Democrats. Their Orwellian doublespeak has been working with their base for a very long time, and that base (at least so far) continues to vote against their own—and the country’s—interest. If facts, reason and critical thinking ruled, we wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.
Yes, my parents told stories, too. When they met, they discovered both their families had been bilked by bankers of the same family, but in separate states. It bonded them.
Your family had money, my parent's moms and dads were poor immigrants. My mom was forced to quit school at 15 to go to work to help support her family. They lived on pasta and beans.
The Great Depression was the worst kind of equalizer. My mother lost her college scholarship in her junior year and tried, with not much success, to making a living teaching piano lessons. My father's father had already gone bankrupt once, so he found himself working pretty much around the clock in the family business (a practice he found difficult to give up.) When we were kids, our parents would frequently eat cornbread and buttermilk mushed together for supper; the meal that sustained them through the Depression. We thought they were absurd, but now I understand.
Thanks for sharing the story!
Lots of people did, if they had any at all.
Can Putin be arrested at the UN Security Counsel?
I don't believe so.
Diplomatic immunity.
it doesn't look like it https://asp.icc-cpi.int/states-parties
Slowly the inertia is beginning to shift in the cesspool. One can hope we will see the muck swirling down the drain in our life time. ( just hope it is being purified in the leaching fields of sunlight).
Tomorrow can be the day.
Perhaps a generous dose of Industrial Strength drain cleaner would help!!
Walgreens is getting a lot of blowback, too, for deciding not to ship LEGAL abortion drugs to some red states, even those where abortion is still legal. It used to be my go-to drugstore. Not any more. A lot of my friends and I are taking our business elsewherel
Starbucks and their little coffee too.
I sent Walgreens a postcard telling them why I wouldn't go there any more.