Destroy education, discredit science, kill art, silence the media, end history. These are all well honed techniques of making sure the people are compliant and afraid.
Trump and the regime are using these tools to try to keep us from thinking, to keep us quiet, to put us to sleep.
It’s worked other times, other places. But it’s not going to work this time.
We’re on to you, Trump, Vought, Vance, RFK Jr., Musk and all the others. This time we’re awake.
“And Trump, like past authoritarians, wants to control not just what we do, but also how and what we think.”
We are awake and can see him clearly. I have called my representative in Congress, as was suggested yesterday, to urge protection of our judges, because they are part of the guardrail keeping us in a Democracy. I have written to Chief Justice Roberts urging him to rebuke tRUMP and those in his regime who lie by accusing those who speak truth to power as "treasonous", and suggest that the Presidency "trump's" the other two important branches of power. FAke news! When pigs fly! Ignorance is not bliss, it is evil and unnecessary. We are designed to learn. Curiosity is sanity.
Unfortunately for Trump, a lot of us are already educated, and his attacks on education cannot take that away for us. We MUST resist this tyranny, while we still can, and before his attacks on education bear any fruit.
I would like to add to this that some of us gain knowledge outside of formal education. Personally, I couldn't afford to go to college until I was 58, but long before that I was more well-read and a better critical thinker than most of the people who I came across in my life. Furthermore, just as during Prohibition Americans drank more alcohol than ever, have you noticed that trying to ban books always backfires? Attacking Harvard and Sesame Street will backfire also. Denying science (and rejecting brilliant scientists) will backfire in a major way. The urge toward freedom is too strong to be held down for long. I believe with all my heart that ultimately we will just refuse to be dictated to. Our job is to learn and grow all our lives long and to pass our knowledge along as best we can, leaving at least something in this world better than we found it. We cannot let Trump get in the way, and we also have to acknowledge that once we dislodge him, there will be more like him -- the battle between good and evil is eternal.
This could be my story too. Thanks for sharing it so eloquently but easy to understand. You give me hope to keep reading and learning and sharing on Soc. Media.
I agree with you. I am first member of my family to graduate from college and it does help. But my father had 8th Grade Education and my mother had 6th Grade education. I never heard either of them say derogatory things about minorities nor did either one use derogatory language about minorities! My father marched with Reuther. My mother loved to read and there were always books around me.
My story is very much like yours, but father thought that a girl going to college was a waste of money. (I paid my own way. worked full time and went to school part time evenings ) I'm glad I was strong enough to get it done. I had a long and successful career on banking (VP) and even put extra dollars into my retirement account and glad I did it. Don't ever let ANYONE tell "you" that "you can't"...
So many of us, especially those of us who live off the beaten path, struggle to find ways to actually do something, so thank you for providing this information.
The plan is to cow the education and critical reasoning faction, that part of society that still has and uses it's pre frontral cortex, in quietude or submission, while the brain rot is inflicted on the younger minds. That is, after all, how it went down in Germany.
I'm afraid you are correct, but it's not too late, IMO, to try a little ridicule. You want someone associated with WRESTLING to run the Dept. of Education?!! Surely, you jest. Someone without an active medical degree to take care of the nation's health!! We can't let this go down without pointing out its absurdity. I heard a young woman from ICE on the PBS News Hour tonight. I had to wonder if she ever even listens to the news, but Amna Nawaz was polite and let her embarrass herself by questioning the Guardian as a legitimate news source. These people are so far out of their depth!
American culture. A mixed bag of conflicted feelings. So much to disdain, the narrow minded religious, self righteous, bigoted, intolerance and greed, the apparent lack of humanity, especially in those who profess to be Christians.
Yet if I were to choose which culture in the whole world I would have to live, there is only one culture other than American, and that is Scandinavian, I would choose.
All or almost all other cultures are infected by a religion.
Alan Goldhammer: I bet the Chief Justice gets scared from time to time. Being a minister to a corrupt King can be deadly, but even if he is not fired(which they can't,) he could be killed. And then there is his family. He is riding a tiger, for sure, but would he want to go down in history as the Chief Justice who enabled the worst tyrant in history? Would he want to be the Chief Justice of a Kangaroo Court? Besides , tRUMP is no king.just the biggest criminal in the world, at the moment. And the biggest loser.
@Alan. I’m not so sure. Some Republicans are turning against the tangerine twatwaddle. Among those discredited, dishonorable dickheads on his Cabinet, how long before they start thinking that they are better off without Ole Bone Spur?
Victor, I was replying to another post er who referred to the Chief justice as a "minister' serving a king.( See Alan Goldhammer's post above on this thread.:).
Yes, Laurie, curiosity is sanity; it is an essential part of human nature. So is creativity. You may enjoy reading Zamyatin's classic "We," a precursor to Orwell's "1984."
Stalin allowed Lysenko to reject natural selection in agriculture, replacing it with pseudoscience. Eventually, genetics was outlawed. Crops failed. Sound familiar?
The “doctors' plot” was a Soviet anti-intellectual campaign and conspiracy theory that alleged an anti-Soviet cabal of prominent medical specialists intended to murder leading government and Communist Party officials. Is that coming?
I agree about the parallels and this is because when I was younger I read biographies of Stalin. I doubt very much if Trump has read anything so that means that he is being guided by those have. They must be identified and drummed out of public life.. If the law has been broken they must be called to account. Business people who have enabled it must be dismissed, and their assets taken. In other words there must be something like the de Nazification programme that occurred after WW2 in Germany.
Think of that! The emperor doesn't even read. Anything, including the daily briefing. So where did the Biden robot come from? Last I heard, the former president was living in Delaware and seeking cancer treatment—which robots don't need, but lots of people do!
At this point, there is absolutely nothing rational about tRump. He lives a life not unlike the one he wants to afflict us with. He sits all day absorbing the blather in the reichwing media bubble. He is incapable of any critical thought. He is not planning this take over - that is on Miller and Vought. tRump is being propped up because his only use is firing up the base. Think he'll show up in a dictator's military uniform on June 14th?
Flag Day of all days. He will show up in one of his shoddy suits with extra space for diapers.
OR he will wear some fake-ass uniform he ordered for his draft-dodging, vet hating, felonious self. Then he'll pretend to respect our military. Mark my words.
Stephen, these are my thoughts, exactly, but better stated by you.
i.e. trump is the figurehead, his 'minions/cabal/cabinet of arch loyalists (until 47 implodes?)' are the string handlers and whisper in his ear whenever he says something he'd like to see done, they are the one's that elaborate on those 'schemes' and begin implementation. Case in point = a video of 47 signing E.O.'s and saying when told what was in each one "that's a good one"... I'm now referring to his cabinet as 'the cabal of diabolical evilists"
Prog Woman, it is the dementia being encouraged by his closest and dearest aides: Miller, Vought, and the other Steves, probably more. They know Trump is incompetent, but they need him as their "dummy" for the ventriloquist shows they have him putting on for his MAGAs, the true believers.
Trump's "robot post" was something he re-posted on his stupid "truth" social platform. Evidently it was sent to him from some whackdoodle conspiracy theory junkie. It seems to be circulating amongst the connoisseurs of Qanon-type conspiracy theories.
He (Trump) even claimed last weekend that former President Joseph R. Biden was “executed in 2020” and replaced by a robotic clone. (Reich)
Trump is no longer capable of coherent thought...so, yes, it's others in the regime who are steering this fascist ship. Read any recent transcript or listen to what trump has said publicly; it's all a jumble of disconnected, demented drivel. Very obvious and very disturbing. That's why the WH no longer offers transcripts of his speeches on their website. The 2025 ghouls are doing damage control at this point. They still need him as a figurehead, but he's veering into becoming a huge liability....I wonder what their next move is.
Meanwhile the resistance goes on. My heart goes out to those residents of San Diego, who turned out to repel a visit by the DEI. I saw this on FB reel. They had no badges, no licence plates and were masked up and armed. They looked like one of Putin's special forces. They retreated as they were being filmed. I see that there is an attempt to put the AR15 on the same status as other types of weapon, under amendment no2. SCOTUS should vote this down as it makes armed civil conflict more likely, and makes it easier for MAGA to form paramilitary forces.
Michael, these were very interesting resources! I never thought I would live to see the day when the leader of our country uses role models like stalin and hitler! Or to be buddies with dictators and enemies of our allies! It's like I woke up and am living in an alternate universe! I can't help but wonder if I am the only one walking around with a big question mark over my head!
Peggy, I think most Americans have the question mark over our heads. That does not mean we are helpless, though and so we resist the evil oozing out of the white house, Republicans in Congress, and some judges on the various benches around the country. There are more of us than there are of them, so we need to keep moving forward, when we can.
Michael, and we see what Russia has become. It had some scientists after WWII, but those were nearly all from Germany, although Russia had had a strong science program before Stalin. We rarely hear of students wanting to study in Russia or anyone to do anything there because of the way Putin has locked things up. The oligarchs there don't yet have the courage to do something about it. The oligarchs here want to wreck this nation, but the problem, they don't have a real clue what to do after the fall. These are men who mostly inherited their money, then were lucky enough to grow it. They think their wealth means they are brilliant, just as Trump does, but it does not mean that unless they work to make things better for more than just themselves. We did the Gilded Age crap before and even though people don't remember, most here are not wanting to return to that. We need a few movies showing what life was like back then for everyone but the very rich few. We need some more movies of what life is like for ordinary Americans today and how they struggle. It might wake a few people up. I do have to laugh at Trump wanting to run the Kennedy Center board when he has absolutely no clue what art is. I am sure his daddy drove any sense of it out of him. We need some songs of the movement to get people singing together as during the Civil Rights Movement.
And apparently doing a very good job of it, Maureen. We squandered our opportunities before Putin rose to power. We could have helped guide Russia into a more open and even democratic state. Sigh.
Maureen, now we'll see if the Russians have been sufficiently brainwashed to want it too. I hope not because it was a worse hell than they are living in right now.
Stalin literally means "Man of Steel." Trump just became our "man of steel" by imposing a prohibitive tariff on all imported steel. He is pandering to our steel worker at the very same time that he sells US Steel to a Japanese company. His cynicism knows no bounds, and that sets him apart from Stalin, who was a "true believer." Nevertheless, something very important is happening in Trump's quest for power. During his campaign he followed Hitler's playbook. Now he seeks to consolidate his power by following Stalin's playbook. Project 2025 is is one of his vehicles. Stalin gained uncontested power by filling the state and party bureaucracies with people loyal to him. The assault on the "deep state" will enable Trump to fill all government positions with loyalists. The assault on education, universities and scientific establishments is meant to accomplish the same goal. Stalin controlled the military with the help of the secret police. Trump has appointed loyalists to the FBI, the CIA, and, most importantly, the NSA. Will our civil society be able to withstand this on slough? There is a good chance that it will, because the Soviet Union never had anything like it, and because Trump, unlike Stalin, is dumb.
You are so right, Michael! It is NOT going to work this time! We are America and we will stand up and take our country back! No one is going to tell me what to think. I think for myself! I learn for myself! Keep fighting, America!
Yes, YOU see it. Harvard sees it. Other intellectuals do too. Resist is there. But those that enable Trump are in power. He is a vehicle because of his own greed and narcissism. The administration simply does. They work with fait accompli. It’s done, by the time it’s rolled back, it’s too late. Because other deadly aspects are in place.
And it is a larger plan. The USA might be the best cut but today the Dutch government fell apart because the extreme right wing stepped out. To fight a new battle.
Poland’s new president is another scalp in the belt of the right wing.
The turn to right extremism is being well funded and driven. “They” are in a hurry.
In the USA you need to be beyond being able to see and understand “it”. The time frame for the next step is almost closed.
Soon there will be no source of information you can trust.
Thank you Michael. And what and how we think is the most dangerous peddling that they can possibly do, a slow, calculated but sure way to overtake the people who are unsure of what they are hearing and internalizing. Don’t lose track of the facts! The Truths will set us free.
Call or write your Congress representatives and tell them to protect judges from the increasing threats. And fund improved security in the court houses. Keep home addresses of judges secure and not accessible to the public.. all the suggestions that Robert Reich listed in yesterday's forum. I mentioned his ideas to my Congress critter and in my letter to chief justice John Roberts.'s Chambers, using the address provided. It is in the mail.
Only if Chief Justice Roberts bestirs himself to rebuke tRUMP and his regime who lie about those who dare disagree with our "president", and threaten judges. I wrote in my letter that I am grateful to have justices who do their jobs by following the Constitution and the rule of law, in spite of tRUMP's threats. I thanked him for his service, and ,mentioned that I requested that Congress fund protections for judges and improved security for the courts.
also protecting judges home addresses from the public view.
Thank you Michael. I totally agree with you. I am working with my students to stop being complacent or acting out instead of learning, letting them know they are being used and need to wake up to see what is going on and how they and their families are being abused. I volunteer in a very disadvantaged school where kids bring their neighborhood pains and grievances to school, hoping it will make things better for them when in reality, it won't, but will let them fall victim to Trump's desire to ditch honest education, freedom of speech and the rest. I will keep trying to help as long as I can as I am now in my 70s. I am hoping some of them will become the school leaders and stand up for what is right. Maybe all of them will.
Prog Woman, I do try as do all the teachers in the school where I used to teach and now tutor. We do need some new strategies as well as a way to let the students know they are valuable and their voice matters. Now, getting our district administration to buy in may be a challenge.
A nationwide No Kings Day rally is planned for June 14. Please google it, find a nearby location where one of the rallies will be going on, and join it. We must make our voices heard while we still can.
Let’s remember, too, that slaveholders banned African slaves from using drums, something they feared to be a potential means of long-distance communication. And what happens? Slaveholders, and all of America, get swept away by two of the most powerful forms of music in human history— blues and jazz. So much for repression.
Trump has neither introspection nor analytic capabilities. His authority is nearly without limits, and his "thnking" comes directly from the warped, evil mind of one Stephen Miller, who history will remember as the reincarnation of Joseph Goebels.
It's ironic that Miller considers himself to be a "patriot", as he works to destroy the America that we all grew up loving in unity.
Let's not bother putting him behind bars, Peggy! We the taxpayers don't want to shell out any money supporting him! I'd rather see him hang! He and Trump can hang together!
Donald Trump believes that back in 2020, a clone of Joe Biden was created. Frankly, that should be all anyone needs to know to assess Trump's calamitous mental deterioration and unfitness to be in the Oval Office. The only office he should be in is the psych ward office, wearing the latest in stylish straitjackets, enjoying a taco bowl.
Professor Reich: i've been doing my part to educate myself by reading books about US history. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States was so grim and outraging that it took me awhile to finish it -- i needed a mental health break (nightmares) when i was 3 or 4 chapters from the end. i've read other similar books about the history of the native americans, african americans and slavery -- once again, all grim reading.
with regards to science, well, i've devoted my life to science-ing and (now) to sharing this knowledge with the public and telling people how we know what we know, scientifically. all i can say is that i hope that my efforts are helpful, but it's difficult to know for sure.
This mind control is so blatantly obvious that I’m beginning to think that trump’s followers are robots themselves. Please wake me up from this night of the living dead scenario. Our present political situation just seems like it’s a KGB course in how to take down a rival country. This is their playbook for god’s sake. The gaslighting of a whole nation. I thought our nation was educated and sophisticated than it now appears to be. We on the left are completely befuddled and bewildered. Our dream has been shattered into millions of sharp mirror like pieces. Even our basic morality has been negated. Our basic understanding of governance has been challenged. This is warfare, a jihad, a holy war of desperate survival.
Stephen, I see many many people who are disconnected from what is going on..they didn’t necessarily vote for TACO..some probably didn’t vote. The apathy and disinterest in what is actually happening is horrifying to me. I can’t tell you how many columns I’ve forwarded to friends and family. Some don’t watch any news, or read any papers or ask any questions. My own brother says, Trump will ‘go away’ in 4 years and intimates that will end all this.
"Educated and sophisticated"? Have you ever traveled across the country and engaged locals in any sort of intelligent conversation? Breaker, breaker...
Today's article is another testament to Professor Reich's generosity and inherent goodness. His willingness to share his encyclopedic knowledge and hard-earned wisdom is truly appreciated. With every one of us, freedom-loving patriots giving what we can, big and small, I'm more hopeful than ever that, collectively, we'll be enough to ensure the survival of democracy in America.
This article is right on point. I wrote a VERY detailed explanation, using Orwell's 1984, as to how this type of attack is not unique to Trump, but has been going on for decades. It is called, "The Infantilization of the American Citizen: NewSpeak and The Art of The Deal: a quote from that essay,
"The structure of the dominant model of political talk in the U.S. makes for an extraordinary lesson in how to weaponize the freedom of speech. When you can seduce a people to express their freedom of speech without the exercise of reason, the slogan[14] from Orwell's 1984, which is "Freedom is Slavery", takes on a new reality that is clear as the light of day in the United States. For what good is the freedom of speech in the absence of all reason? Without exercising our capacity to reason our speech becomes no better than the screeching of animals and the genuine human freedom that we find in the rational expression of our speech dies. The Orwellian model of political speech has enslaved most of the United States population to their lowest impulses. We are enslaved because we have learned to freely speak without taking responsibility for giving due diligence to thoughtful reasoning when we speak. Leading us to express our freedom of speech without making sure that our speech has the qualities and powers that come with knowledge and reason is the highest goal of the Orwellian model of U.S. political talk."
Thanks for what you're doing! Much effort must've gone into creating that video comparing gossiping to productive problem-solving. I hadn't thought about gossip in quite that way before.
Thanks, I downloaded your research though I would have responded to Robert Reich’s essay every much along the lines that many Americans are already non-thinking, jingo-spouting, and self-deluded automatons. Have you noticed the same knee-jerk response on Twitter whenever Eric Swalwell posts something? Truly infantile.
I agree with you. Responding to issues and ideas with reduced vocabulary, the avoidance of knowledge and reasoning, and the artificial reduction of the diversity of perspectives (there is only conservative and liberal as the corporate media presents them) is the dominant habit of American political conversation. Billions have been spent by wealthy powers in the US to reinforce this habit and consolidate their power.
He is truly trying to dumb down America. We all need to fight for the education of our children and fight for the students who are in danger of being turned out of colleges/universities due to cuts to programs like TRIO! This is paramount! I truly believe that he is trying to destroy what we all value and hold dear. We simply cannot allow this to happen. Keep on Resisting. Speak up! Stand strong!
Excellent post, Professor Reich! As a retired teacher every single point you made resonated with me! His attempt to rewrite history will not work because parents tell their children the stories that make up our history. Descendents of slaves will never allow their children to forget that history or the brave men and women who fought against slavery. Native Americans will continue to hand down their stories of genocide to their children. The LGBQT+ community will continue to educate their children of their movement to just be. The very fact that the orange smear is trying to gut education is showing all of us the most important aspect we must address when we get our country back is Education. That should be a priority one goal! Public education is an absolute must and we need to bring our education back to world class status! Our kids need to know and understand what it is that makes our country great. We must be sure that our history is truthful and correct - the good as well as the bad. The fact that the orange man has put a moron of a conspiracy theorist in charge of health and scientific growth tells you all you need to know about this regime looking for every way possible to kill us all off! When we get our country back, I will still rely on my substacks for news and information. I am sickened at MSM for quickly kowtowing to this mad wannabe dictator! I just won't be able to trust them anymore. His attacks on PBS, public radio, the Kennedy Center and the National Endowment for the Arts is heinous and will be reversed when we get our country back. We must continue our fight and resistance. We must never let up, even double down with our letters, phone calls, petitions and protests. We must NEVER surrender or give up even when it is so hard and we are so tired. This is our country and we must do everything we possibly can to keep her out of the clutches of that mad man! Make sure you get out there on June 14! Protest! Protest! Protest!
Thank you Peggy for speaking with such clarity and conviction. As someone who also believes education is foundational to a just and thriving society, I agree that protecting and strengthening public education must be a top priority. When our children learn truthful history, develop critical thinking, and are exposed to the arts and sciences, they become empowered participants in democracy. That’s how we build not only resistance—but resilience.
You bet'cha, Michael. Not just me, but everyone on these substacks and in these groups and PACs will fight and resist until our last breath! Thank you for your always enlightening and encouraging comments. We will win and then once we have, that is when the work will really begin. With people like you, Marc Nevas, Indivisible and so many others setting out the blueprint we should follow to build America back even better and stronger than before! Keep fighting, America! This is for our future and our kids! Stay strong and stay safe!
All I can think of is - this is what must have happened in Germany when Hitler came to power. It is horrible to realize that this is happening in the United States and that 77 million people voted for the despicable person that is making this happen.
Destroy education, discredit science, kill art, silence the media, end history. These are all well honed techniques of making sure the people are compliant and afraid.
Trump and the regime are using these tools to try to keep us from thinking, to keep us quiet, to put us to sleep.
It’s worked other times, other places. But it’s not going to work this time.
We’re on to you, Trump, Vought, Vance, RFK Jr., Musk and all the others. This time we’re awake.
“And Trump, like past authoritarians, wants to control not just what we do, but also how and what we think.”
We are awake and can see him clearly. I have called my representative in Congress, as was suggested yesterday, to urge protection of our judges, because they are part of the guardrail keeping us in a Democracy. I have written to Chief Justice Roberts urging him to rebuke tRUMP and those in his regime who lie by accusing those who speak truth to power as "treasonous", and suggest that the Presidency "trump's" the other two important branches of power. FAke news! When pigs fly! Ignorance is not bliss, it is evil and unnecessary. We are designed to learn. Curiosity is sanity.
Unfortunately for Trump, a lot of us are already educated, and his attacks on education cannot take that away for us. We MUST resist this tyranny, while we still can, and before his attacks on education bear any fruit.
I would like to add to this that some of us gain knowledge outside of formal education. Personally, I couldn't afford to go to college until I was 58, but long before that I was more well-read and a better critical thinker than most of the people who I came across in my life. Furthermore, just as during Prohibition Americans drank more alcohol than ever, have you noticed that trying to ban books always backfires? Attacking Harvard and Sesame Street will backfire also. Denying science (and rejecting brilliant scientists) will backfire in a major way. The urge toward freedom is too strong to be held down for long. I believe with all my heart that ultimately we will just refuse to be dictated to. Our job is to learn and grow all our lives long and to pass our knowledge along as best we can, leaving at least something in this world better than we found it. We cannot let Trump get in the way, and we also have to acknowledge that once we dislodge him, there will be more like him -- the battle between good and evil is eternal.
WELL stated! Thank YOU!
This could be my story too. Thanks for sharing it so eloquently but easy to understand. You give me hope to keep reading and learning and sharing on Soc. Media.
I agree with you. I am first member of my family to graduate from college and it does help. But my father had 8th Grade Education and my mother had 6th Grade education. I never heard either of them say derogatory things about minorities nor did either one use derogatory language about minorities! My father marched with Reuther. My mother loved to read and there were always books around me.
My story is very much like yours, but father thought that a girl going to college was a waste of money. (I paid my own way. worked full time and went to school part time evenings ) I'm glad I was strong enough to get it done. I had a long and successful career on banking (VP) and even put extra dollars into my retirement account and glad I did it. Don't ever let ANYONE tell "you" that "you can't"...
Bob,
The time to act is now. Find and join a nearby chapter of a group such as Indivisible https://indivisible.org/ and become a pro-democracy activist. Work toward bringing the 3.5% rule within our reach: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world . It may be our best/last hope of setting things right.
YES! Let’s grow this movement beyond 3.5%!! There are more of us and WE DESERVE BETTER!!!
So many of us, especially those of us who live off the beaten path, struggle to find ways to actually do something, so thank you for providing this information.
Good advice, John!
The plan is to cow the education and critical reasoning faction, that part of society that still has and uses it's pre frontral cortex, in quietude or submission, while the brain rot is inflicted on the younger minds. That is, after all, how it went down in Germany.
I'm afraid you are correct, but it's not too late, IMO, to try a little ridicule. You want someone associated with WRESTLING to run the Dept. of Education?!! Surely, you jest. Someone without an active medical degree to take care of the nation's health!! We can't let this go down without pointing out its absurdity. I heard a young woman from ICE on the PBS News Hour tonight. I had to wonder if she ever even listens to the news, but Amna Nawaz was polite and let her embarrass herself by questioning the Guardian as a legitimate news source. These people are so far out of their depth!
You don't think the Guardian is a legitimate news source? I thought it was an antipode to Fox.
I guess I didn't make it clear that the woman from ICE attacked the Guardian. I'm a loyal subscriber.
William,well said.
Exactly right William. And our American kulture has given Trump a head start. Made it easier.
American culture. A mixed bag of conflicted feelings. So much to disdain, the narrow minded religious, self righteous, bigoted, intolerance and greed, the apparent lack of humanity, especially in those who profess to be Christians.
Yet if I were to choose which culture in the whole world I would have to live, there is only one culture other than American, and that is Scandinavian, I would choose.
All or almost all other cultures are infected by a religion.
That is my job today Laurie! 😉🇺🇸💪
💪 do it!, it will feel good.
Spot on, Laurie. And thank you for everything you do.
Michael Roseman ; Back at you! I like your informative posts.
Y’all aren’t writing to the right person. If you want to behead the king, writing to his ministers is useless.
Alan Goldhammer: I bet the Chief Justice gets scared from time to time. Being a minister to a corrupt King can be deadly, but even if he is not fired(which they can't,) he could be killed. And then there is his family. He is riding a tiger, for sure, but would he want to go down in history as the Chief Justice who enabled the worst tyrant in history? Would he want to be the Chief Justice of a Kangaroo Court? Besides , tRUMP is no king.just the biggest criminal in the world, at the moment. And the biggest loser.
Chief Injustice Roberts.
They really set themselves up by creating this monster, giving him so much broad immunity. This is a man you would not give an inch to.
And don’t we know by now:
Dictators don’t need representatives, senators, judges, lawyers or the SUPREME COURT.
You never satisfy dictators, they’ll do you in every, single time. Betting on a dictator is a guaranteed lose.
@Alan. I’m not so sure. Some Republicans are turning against the tangerine twatwaddle. Among those discredited, dishonorable dickheads on his Cabinet, how long before they start thinking that they are better off without Ole Bone Spur?
Hi. The Keynes quote about markets is "Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent".
Republicans can remain irrational longer than American democracy can remain solvent?
If politics were roulette I’d take my chips off the table on that question! But we have to play this out, fingers crossed and all in …
The point is. He ain't no king, and if justices can be protected, it would be smart to take advantage of the power he
has.besides, who else would be the Right person?
Judges are not ministers. Keep writing!
Victor, I was replying to another post er who referred to the Chief justice as a "minister' serving a king.( See Alan Goldhammer's post above on this thread.:).
He won't see my little letter anyway, but someone who works for him may. Maybe they have him locked up (for his 'protection'(.?
Yes, Laurie, curiosity is sanity; it is an essential part of human nature. So is creativity. You may enjoy reading Zamyatin's classic "We," a precursor to Orwell's "1984."
Stalin may well be one of Trump‘s role models.
During his reign over the Soviet Union, he used photo doctoring to erase people from existence. There are better tools now.
https://www.history.com/articles/josef-stalin-great-purge-photo-retouching
Stalin allowed Lysenko to reject natural selection in agriculture, replacing it with pseudoscience. Eventually, genetics was outlawed. Crops failed. Sound familiar?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism
Scientific research in many fields was banned and suppressed.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repression_of_science_in_the_Soviet_Union
The free press didn’t exist under Stalin. Instead, it was used as a means of controlling the masses.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printed_media_in_the_Soviet_Union
The “doctors' plot” was a Soviet anti-intellectual campaign and conspiracy theory that alleged an anti-Soviet cabal of prominent medical specialists intended to murder leading government and Communist Party officials. Is that coming?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctors%27_plot
I agree about the parallels and this is because when I was younger I read biographies of Stalin. I doubt very much if Trump has read anything so that means that he is being guided by those have. They must be identified and drummed out of public life.. If the law has been broken they must be called to account. Business people who have enabled it must be dismissed, and their assets taken. In other words there must be something like the de Nazification programme that occurred after WW2 in Germany.
It’s not going to be easy, Colin, but yes, these are exactly the things we’re going to have to do. If and when.
I’m sure that Trump doesn’t read. But he has people who do that for him. People who whisper in his ear and help guide his retribution.
Think of that! The emperor doesn't even read. Anything, including the daily briefing. So where did the Biden robot come from? Last I heard, the former president was living in Delaware and seeking cancer treatment—which robots don't need, but lots of people do!
At this point, there is absolutely nothing rational about tRump. He lives a life not unlike the one he wants to afflict us with. He sits all day absorbing the blather in the reichwing media bubble. He is incapable of any critical thought. He is not planning this take over - that is on Miller and Vought. tRump is being propped up because his only use is firing up the base. Think he'll show up in a dictator's military uniform on June 14th?
Flag Day of all days. He will show up in one of his shoddy suits with extra space for diapers.
OR he will wear some fake-ass uniform he ordered for his draft-dodging, vet hating, felonious self. Then he'll pretend to respect our military. Mark my words.
Would not surprise many if he did that. All that gold braid ....he will have golden highlights in his hairdo.maybe even his eye brows.
Stephen, these are my thoughts, exactly, but better stated by you.
i.e. trump is the figurehead, his 'minions/cabal/cabinet of arch loyalists (until 47 implodes?)' are the string handlers and whisper in his ear whenever he says something he'd like to see done, they are the one's that elaborate on those 'schemes' and begin implementation. Case in point = a video of 47 signing E.O.'s and saying when told what was in each one "that's a good one"... I'm now referring to his cabinet as 'the cabal of diabolical evilists"
Meanwhile, Trump should be seeking a brain transplant.
They'll have to look hard to find that brain...
or at least a neural implant from musketeer. he's been getting a little lippy with his boss putin.
Elon has some kind of brain implant that he developed? Yikes!
Michael...They will have to seek a Proctologist to find the brain...
a definite brainfix!!!
Prog Woman, it is the dementia being encouraged by his closest and dearest aides: Miller, Vought, and the other Steves, probably more. They know Trump is incompetent, but they need him as their "dummy" for the ventriloquist shows they have him putting on for his MAGAs, the true believers.
These guys are giving me a bad name!
Trump's "robot post" was something he re-posted on his stupid "truth" social platform. Evidently it was sent to him from some whackdoodle conspiracy theory junkie. It seems to be circulating amongst the connoisseurs of Qanon-type conspiracy theories.
tRUMP'S fake news again!
That President Biden is a robot.
He (Trump) even claimed last weekend that former President Joseph R. Biden was “executed in 2020” and replaced by a robotic clone. (Reich)
Trump is no longer capable of coherent thought...so, yes, it's others in the regime who are steering this fascist ship. Read any recent transcript or listen to what trump has said publicly; it's all a jumble of disconnected, demented drivel. Very obvious and very disturbing. That's why the WH no longer offers transcripts of his speeches on their website. The 2025 ghouls are doing damage control at this point. They still need him as a figurehead, but he's veering into becoming a huge liability....I wonder what their next move is.
It’s not going to be easy, Colin, but yes, these are exactly the things we’re going to have to do. If and when.
Meanwhile the resistance goes on. My heart goes out to those residents of San Diego, who turned out to repel a visit by the DEI. I saw this on FB reel. They had no badges, no licence plates and were masked up and armed. They looked like one of Putin's special forces. They retreated as they were being filmed. I see that there is an attempt to put the AR15 on the same status as other types of weapon, under amendment no2. SCOTUS should vote this down as it makes armed civil conflict more likely, and makes it easier for MAGA to form paramilitary forces.
100% agree, Colin!
Michael, these were very interesting resources! I never thought I would live to see the day when the leader of our country uses role models like stalin and hitler! Or to be buddies with dictators and enemies of our allies! It's like I woke up and am living in an alternate universe! I can't help but wonder if I am the only one walking around with a big question mark over my head!
Peggy, I think most Americans have the question mark over our heads. That does not mean we are helpless, though and so we resist the evil oozing out of the white house, Republicans in Congress, and some judges on the various benches around the country. There are more of us than there are of them, so we need to keep moving forward, when we can.
Always, Ruth!
You’re not alone, Peggy. I have a huge blinking question mark over my head too.
Nope. Our battle is to convince the cud chewing herd to realize that this is real.
Miriam, those magas that are so deeply maga will never be able to tell real from their alternate world. It is sad but the truth.
Michael, and we see what Russia has become. It had some scientists after WWII, but those were nearly all from Germany, although Russia had had a strong science program before Stalin. We rarely hear of students wanting to study in Russia or anyone to do anything there because of the way Putin has locked things up. The oligarchs there don't yet have the courage to do something about it. The oligarchs here want to wreck this nation, but the problem, they don't have a real clue what to do after the fall. These are men who mostly inherited their money, then were lucky enough to grow it. They think their wealth means they are brilliant, just as Trump does, but it does not mean that unless they work to make things better for more than just themselves. We did the Gilded Age crap before and even though people don't remember, most here are not wanting to return to that. We need a few movies showing what life was like back then for everyone but the very rich few. We need some more movies of what life is like for ordinary Americans today and how they struggle. It might wake a few people up. I do have to laugh at Trump wanting to run the Kennedy Center board when he has absolutely no clue what art is. I am sure his daddy drove any sense of it out of him. We need some songs of the movement to get people singing together as during the Civil Rights Movement.
Put on your dancing shoes. By and from the immensely talented John Baptist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YHVC1DcHmo
It's no surprise that Putin is now trying to recreate the cult of Stalin in Russia.
And apparently doing a very good job of it, Maureen. We squandered our opportunities before Putin rose to power. We could have helped guide Russia into a more open and even democratic state. Sigh.
Instead, it appears, post-Putin, that Russia has guided the US into a more closed and undemocratic state.
Absolutely!
That would have been very hard. Russia has no history with democracy. They've always been under dictators and Tsars.
Maureen, now we'll see if the Russians have been sufficiently brainwashed to want it too. I hope not because it was a worse hell than they are living in right now.
Stalin literally means "Man of Steel." Trump just became our "man of steel" by imposing a prohibitive tariff on all imported steel. He is pandering to our steel worker at the very same time that he sells US Steel to a Japanese company. His cynicism knows no bounds, and that sets him apart from Stalin, who was a "true believer." Nevertheless, something very important is happening in Trump's quest for power. During his campaign he followed Hitler's playbook. Now he seeks to consolidate his power by following Stalin's playbook. Project 2025 is is one of his vehicles. Stalin gained uncontested power by filling the state and party bureaucracies with people loyal to him. The assault on the "deep state" will enable Trump to fill all government positions with loyalists. The assault on education, universities and scientific establishments is meant to accomplish the same goal. Stalin controlled the military with the help of the secret police. Trump has appointed loyalists to the FBI, the CIA, and, most importantly, the NSA. Will our civil society be able to withstand this on slough? There is a good chance that it will, because the Soviet Union never had anything like it, and because Trump, unlike Stalin, is dumb.
You are so right, Michael! It is NOT going to work this time! We are America and we will stand up and take our country back! No one is going to tell me what to think. I think for myself! I learn for myself! Keep fighting, America!
No one of us could do this alone, but yes, together we are going to take our country back!
AMEN!
Yes, YOU see it. Harvard sees it. Other intellectuals do too. Resist is there. But those that enable Trump are in power. He is a vehicle because of his own greed and narcissism. The administration simply does. They work with fait accompli. It’s done, by the time it’s rolled back, it’s too late. Because other deadly aspects are in place.
And it is a larger plan. The USA might be the best cut but today the Dutch government fell apart because the extreme right wing stepped out. To fight a new battle.
Poland’s new president is another scalp in the belt of the right wing.
The turn to right extremism is being well funded and driven. “They” are in a hurry.
In the USA you need to be beyond being able to see and understand “it”. The time frame for the next step is almost closed.
Soon there will be no source of information you can trust.
Everyone is vulnerable to manipulation.
The judiciary is next.
You are deep in it.
Thank you for your timely warning, Mary.
Onward and upward!
YES!
We see what you’re doing, Donald Trump. We’re watching you. And we’re going to stop you.
Thank you Michael. And what and how we think is the most dangerous peddling that they can possibly do, a slow, calculated but sure way to overtake the people who are unsure of what they are hearing and internalizing. Don’t lose track of the facts! The Truths will set us free.
Call or write your Congress representatives and tell them to protect judges from the increasing threats. And fund improved security in the court houses. Keep home addresses of judges secure and not accessible to the public.. all the suggestions that Robert Reich listed in yesterday's forum. I mentioned his ideas to my Congress critter and in my letter to chief justice John Roberts.'s Chambers, using the address provided. It is in the mail.
The US Supreme Court may be the iceberg that will sink Trump's Titanic.
Only if Chief Justice Roberts bestirs himself to rebuke tRUMP and his regime who lie about those who dare disagree with our "president", and threaten judges. I wrote in my letter that I am grateful to have justices who do their jobs by following the Constitution and the rule of law, in spite of tRUMP's threats. I thanked him for his service, and ,mentioned that I requested that Congress fund protections for judges and improved security for the courts.
also protecting judges home addresses from the public view.
Truth may be evasive, but if you have firm moral convictions courage may set you free.
Thank you Michael. I totally agree with you. I am working with my students to stop being complacent or acting out instead of learning, letting them know they are being used and need to wake up to see what is going on and how they and their families are being abused. I volunteer in a very disadvantaged school where kids bring their neighborhood pains and grievances to school, hoping it will make things better for them when in reality, it won't, but will let them fall victim to Trump's desire to ditch honest education, freedom of speech and the rest. I will keep trying to help as long as I can as I am now in my 70s. I am hoping some of them will become the school leaders and stand up for what is right. Maybe all of them will.
I would imagine that your efforts are well received. So many kids are struggling.
Prog Woman, I do try as do all the teachers in the school where I used to teach and now tutor. We do need some new strategies as well as a way to let the students know they are valuable and their voice matters. Now, getting our district administration to buy in may be a challenge.
Yeah! Us to Trump: “no chance fucker!”
Thank you for the like. I published a long substack on May 31: The Escalating Assault on Knowledge .
We will prevail!!!
The time to act is now. Find and join a nearby chapter of a group such as Indivisible https://indivisible.org/ and become a pro-democracy activist. Work toward bringing the 3.5% rule within our reach: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world . It may be our best/last hope of setting things right.
A nationwide No Kings Day rally is planned for June 14. Please google it, find a nearby location where one of the rallies will be going on, and join it. We must make our voices heard while we still can.
Yes, we are awake but there are too many asleep that need to be wakened.
Speak loud and clear!
In his mind it’s Trump’s world, we’re just living in it.
I for one, Keith, want to burst out of his skull.
Wrong, Keith. It’s OUR world! We just have to get rid of Trump!
A person after my own heart!!!
WHAT is the "red pill"?
That would be NEVER!
Let’s remember, too, that slaveholders banned African slaves from using drums, something they feared to be a potential means of long-distance communication. And what happens? Slaveholders, and all of America, get swept away by two of the most powerful forms of music in human history— blues and jazz. So much for repression.
Trump has neither introspection nor analytic capabilities. His authority is nearly without limits, and his "thnking" comes directly from the warped, evil mind of one Stephen Miller, who history will remember as the reincarnation of Joseph Goebels.
It's ironic that Miller considers himself to be a "patriot", as he works to destroy the America that we all grew up loving in unity.
We must definitely hold miller to account when we get our country back. He should spend his remaining days on earth behind bars.
Let's not bother putting him behind bars, Peggy! We the taxpayers don't want to shell out any money supporting him! I'd rather see him hang! He and Trump can hang together!
Donald Trump believes that back in 2020, a clone of Joe Biden was created. Frankly, that should be all anyone needs to know to assess Trump's calamitous mental deterioration and unfitness to be in the Oval Office. The only office he should be in is the psych ward office, wearing the latest in stylish straitjackets, enjoying a taco bowl.
Professor Reich: i've been doing my part to educate myself by reading books about US history. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States was so grim and outraging that it took me awhile to finish it -- i needed a mental health break (nightmares) when i was 3 or 4 chapters from the end. i've read other similar books about the history of the native americans, african americans and slavery -- once again, all grim reading.
with regards to science, well, i've devoted my life to science-ing and (now) to sharing this knowledge with the public and telling people how we know what we know, scientifically. all i can say is that i hope that my efforts are helpful, but it's difficult to know for sure.
A lot of what any of us do is known only later but we have to keep om keeping on.
Scientia gratia scientiae, and even better if you’ve done outreach or teaching
This mind control is so blatantly obvious that I’m beginning to think that trump’s followers are robots themselves. Please wake me up from this night of the living dead scenario. Our present political situation just seems like it’s a KGB course in how to take down a rival country. This is their playbook for god’s sake. The gaslighting of a whole nation. I thought our nation was educated and sophisticated than it now appears to be. We on the left are completely befuddled and bewildered. Our dream has been shattered into millions of sharp mirror like pieces. Even our basic morality has been negated. Our basic understanding of governance has been challenged. This is warfare, a jihad, a holy war of desperate survival.
Stephen, I see many many people who are disconnected from what is going on..they didn’t necessarily vote for TACO..some probably didn’t vote. The apathy and disinterest in what is actually happening is horrifying to me. I can’t tell you how many columns I’ve forwarded to friends and family. Some don’t watch any news, or read any papers or ask any questions. My own brother says, Trump will ‘go away’ in 4 years and intimates that will end all this.
Pollyanna-ish if you ask me..
"Educated and sophisticated"? Have you ever traveled across the country and engaged locals in any sort of intelligent conversation? Breaker, breaker...
I'm an F1 snob😉
Today's article is another testament to Professor Reich's generosity and inherent goodness. His willingness to share his encyclopedic knowledge and hard-earned wisdom is truly appreciated. With every one of us, freedom-loving patriots giving what we can, big and small, I'm more hopeful than ever that, collectively, we'll be enough to ensure the survival of democracy in America.
I agree, Hopeful. I eagerly look forward to Professor Reich’s daily words of wisdom. He keeps me from going down the rabbit hole.
This article is right on point. I wrote a VERY detailed explanation, using Orwell's 1984, as to how this type of attack is not unique to Trump, but has been going on for decades. It is called, "The Infantilization of the American Citizen: NewSpeak and The Art of The Deal: a quote from that essay,
"The structure of the dominant model of political talk in the U.S. makes for an extraordinary lesson in how to weaponize the freedom of speech. When you can seduce a people to express their freedom of speech without the exercise of reason, the slogan[14] from Orwell's 1984, which is "Freedom is Slavery", takes on a new reality that is clear as the light of day in the United States. For what good is the freedom of speech in the absence of all reason? Without exercising our capacity to reason our speech becomes no better than the screeching of animals and the genuine human freedom that we find in the rational expression of our speech dies. The Orwellian model of political speech has enslaved most of the United States population to their lowest impulses. We are enslaved because we have learned to freely speak without taking responsibility for giving due diligence to thoughtful reasoning when we speak. Leading us to express our freedom of speech without making sure that our speech has the qualities and powers that come with knowledge and reason is the highest goal of the Orwellian model of U.S. political talk."
https://socraticmethod.net/essays/infantilization/infantilizationEssay_Contents.html
Edited: for puncuation
Thanks for what you're doing! Much effort must've gone into creating that video comparing gossiping to productive problem-solving. I hadn't thought about gossip in quite that way before.
Thanks, I downloaded your research though I would have responded to Robert Reich’s essay every much along the lines that many Americans are already non-thinking, jingo-spouting, and self-deluded automatons. Have you noticed the same knee-jerk response on Twitter whenever Eric Swalwell posts something? Truly infantile.
I agree with you. Responding to issues and ideas with reduced vocabulary, the avoidance of knowledge and reasoning, and the artificial reduction of the diversity of perspectives (there is only conservative and liberal as the corporate media presents them) is the dominant habit of American political conversation. Billions have been spent by wealthy powers in the US to reinforce this habit and consolidate their power.
Saturday Night Live a precursor of Trumpism? Perhaps.
He is truly trying to dumb down America. We all need to fight for the education of our children and fight for the students who are in danger of being turned out of colleges/universities due to cuts to programs like TRIO! This is paramount! I truly believe that he is trying to destroy what we all value and hold dear. We simply cannot allow this to happen. Keep on Resisting. Speak up! Stand strong!
He doesn't have to try at all. His cultists latch onto every word, with no attempts at conversion required.
Excellent post, Professor Reich! As a retired teacher every single point you made resonated with me! His attempt to rewrite history will not work because parents tell their children the stories that make up our history. Descendents of slaves will never allow their children to forget that history or the brave men and women who fought against slavery. Native Americans will continue to hand down their stories of genocide to their children. The LGBQT+ community will continue to educate their children of their movement to just be. The very fact that the orange smear is trying to gut education is showing all of us the most important aspect we must address when we get our country back is Education. That should be a priority one goal! Public education is an absolute must and we need to bring our education back to world class status! Our kids need to know and understand what it is that makes our country great. We must be sure that our history is truthful and correct - the good as well as the bad. The fact that the orange man has put a moron of a conspiracy theorist in charge of health and scientific growth tells you all you need to know about this regime looking for every way possible to kill us all off! When we get our country back, I will still rely on my substacks for news and information. I am sickened at MSM for quickly kowtowing to this mad wannabe dictator! I just won't be able to trust them anymore. His attacks on PBS, public radio, the Kennedy Center and the National Endowment for the Arts is heinous and will be reversed when we get our country back. We must continue our fight and resistance. We must never let up, even double down with our letters, phone calls, petitions and protests. We must NEVER surrender or give up even when it is so hard and we are so tired. This is our country and we must do everything we possibly can to keep her out of the clutches of that mad man! Make sure you get out there on June 14! Protest! Protest! Protest!
Thank you Peggy for speaking with such clarity and conviction. As someone who also believes education is foundational to a just and thriving society, I agree that protecting and strengthening public education must be a top priority. When our children learn truthful history, develop critical thinking, and are exposed to the arts and sciences, they become empowered participants in democracy. That’s how we build not only resistance—but resilience.
Amen, Christy!
With people like you on our side, Peggy, I know we will never surrender. I know we will win. Thank you.
You bet'cha, Michael. Not just me, but everyone on these substacks and in these groups and PACs will fight and resist until our last breath! Thank you for your always enlightening and encouraging comments. We will win and then once we have, that is when the work will really begin. With people like you, Marc Nevas, Indivisible and so many others setting out the blueprint we should follow to build America back even better and stronger than before! Keep fighting, America! This is for our future and our kids! Stay strong and stay safe!
American schooling 2035:
Classes from aged 3 to 10 with a simple exam at the end, which will give students a certificate that reads: "YOU KNOW QUITE ENOUGH ALREADY".
ORGANIZE ORGANIZE ORGANIZE!!!!!
ORGANIZE OVER THE COMMON GOOD DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM. JUST READ THE PLATFORM BULLET POINTS. ORGANIZE!!!!
ALLEGIANCE TO OUR PLATFORM AND THE CANDIDATE THAT PROMOTES OUR PLATFORM!
GOOGLE YOUR STATES DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM TO READ IT!
MAKE AMERICA GRATEFUL AGAIN!
All I can think of is - this is what must have happened in Germany when Hitler came to power. It is horrible to realize that this is happening in the United States and that 77 million people voted for the despicable person that is making this happen.
We now know that the red hat should’ve just been MAM:
#MakeAmericaMediocre
Trump won’t tolerate American exceptionalism. He doesn’t want people to understand that he can’t come near that standard.
But it’s so weird that he’s trying so hard in #SquanderingAmericasGreatness.
That’s kind of a slow process and he doesn’t have that many years left, either physically or coherently.
At least he doesn’t mind dragging down the entire Republican Party on his lead coattails…
Mediocre is not really hitting how badly educated he wants us to be. Misinformed might be better.
In all seriousness--I read every single one of Dr. Reich's posts and this might be one of the most important. It sums up the current crisis PERFECTLY.
Absolutely! I’ve sent it far and wide!