486 Comments

I worry about the Safety of people like you, Dan Rather, Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce White Vance, etc. Will they shut you down, one way or another? Stay safe, and thank you ALL for your clarity, bravery and honesty. ❤️

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I also like NPR/MPR-they try, but funding may become an issue.

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NPR has caved as well. They’ve normalized DJT and don’t push back hard enough to MAGAT apologists. I am very disappointed.

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“Washington Week with the Atlantic” on PBS provides good feisty commentary from a variety of reporters from mostly MSM. Also POV and Frontline - bright spots in the corporate blandness of PBS.

NPR has been very disappointing of late. We need a much more honest and principled source for basic daily news and opinion.

Plus IMHO their new app sucks.

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Washington Week would benefit by adding less mainstream panelists: say Amy Goodman, BTC, and Jim Hightower.

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That's why I took my WAPO and NYT and redirected to them and the Guardian.

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I'm a donor for The Guardian, but I wish they would STOP talking about how Harris lost because of the "poor Biden economy." (As recently as today.)

They're almost always right, but when they're wrong it's easily avoidable with simple research.

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Exactly my thoughts seeing that statement just now!

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I did the same thing. 🇺🇸🩵💙

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I’m wary of NPR because they have a smarmy complicit tone. They repeat Fox tropes. They lionize Trump stuff stories. Just listen to the tone of all the reporters. They all sound alike.😳

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one more occasions than I care to recall....NPR simply repeated trump assertions (lies) as "he said....." with NO qualifier or correction. The net effect of such "journalism" is amplification of the lies.

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A NPR billionaire backed Trump! I quit listening to them.

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They also sanewashed

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A lot. I was really quite shocked... I also noticed a lot of vitriol directed at President Biden.

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I’ve had ethical trouble with NPR since they accepted a big grant from Archer Daniels Midland, and in return censored *all* reporting on them even as the corporation was being accused of (and eventually pled guilty to) price-fixing.

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The billionarie's name?

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Cameron, I am concerned about PBS! The orange man has wanted to get rid of them for a long time!

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The more people who speak out the safer we all are…. Be brave….

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We can't even publish the ERA and you think they are going to be brave. Trumpty and his Mobsters might shut it all down. It is their plan.

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Thousands of years of patriarchy have taught women to be scared, to lose our voices. No doubt patriarchy is all about domination and violence. But patriarchy is crumbling, and the oligarchs know it. That’s not to say they aren’t scary, and won’t get scarier, it is to say, they lack imagination and are on the wrong side of history and our ecological crisis. Nature has her own rules. She doesn’t give a shit about DT, and is likely to school him….

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You have power. We all do. Women have a lot of power, the more we own it and use it. I’m enjoying, for instance, watching Claudia Scheinbaum deal with DT.

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Susan & Peggy, humans are sheeple. When 1/3 of the population believes , values and lives on lies, hate, vindictiveness, the US is in deep trouble of becoming Nazi idiots. The light goes OFF when they take over January. Immediately, OFF. We can't even imagine that! The Congressional Corporatists will bow and kiss the ring. Recall watching Manchin and Sinema screw US!

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Dont worry... we will multiply their efforts until there are thousands and millions of us, just as sharp, just as honorable, and just as impactful. They can't stop 1,000,000 Heather Cox Richardsons! Keep sharing, keep teaching others, keep writing we have no other choice but to breathe life into our dying democracy!

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I agree, Susan. I do worry about these people who stand up to those wastrels. I would hope that all of us would come to their aid should they become targeted by the orange smear and his minions!

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So do I. And I worry about the safety of those truthful outspoken news sources, as well as those who don't bite their tongues on social media. I strongly believe that we are going to have to start communicating trusted circles off of cellphones and the internet. Someone said that if you're solitary, join something now that brings you into contact with other people. For me, that's a catch 22.🫤

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I too worry about you and the above. But also Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert must surely be top of a hit list?

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Could I add Atlantic Monthly to Robert's honor roll of credible journalism?

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Same question here. I was surprised not to see the Atlantic on the list. It is among my top go-to news magazines, along with the New Yorker and the Guardian (and, of course, this substack).

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I'd suggest opening a studio in Canada, Australia or some other sympathetic nation beyond Trump's reach.

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Whistleblowing is not a beloved trait among the Kakistocracy.

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I rely on many of the same you do, but I also find truth on the Meidas Touch Network.

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HCR, Robert Reich, Joyce Vance, Thom Hartmann, Tyler Cohen and recently, Stephen Spoonamore who is sounding the alarm that the election was hacked (has credible reasons).

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I encourage you to add Robert Hubbell’s Substack: Today’s Edition.

Please take note of a recent post by Robert about the election. It is important that we don’t become misled by the current flurry of efforts to explain the election:

https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/addressing-claims-that-the-2024-election?r=39h2h&utm_medium=ios

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And Frontline!

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Marlo--I'll support a challenge, but first positive evidence must be provided, Conspiracy theories are the breakfast food of Republicans. Ignorance lost the last election nothing more.

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Although it’s a fools errand to find the # 1 cause of anything, Donald (most results have multi factorial causes) I do agree with you that the # 1 cause of MAGA winning is ignorance.

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It looks to me like many Democrats did not vote in an effort to teach somebody or other a "lesson."

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Cyrano ; How can we tell who is voting or not voting, with "spoiled" ballots being discarded, and voters being "purged"? Those votes are "disappeared".

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Could it be that there was an effort to convince them to not vote? This was a method used by Cambridge Analytica in the Trinidad and Tobago elections. They were a test ground. You can see it in the Netflix documentary “The Great Hack”. I recommend that you watch it soon in case it’s taken off. You’ll have to use the search tool to find it on Netflix.

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It was ignorance Don. I listened to many people being interviewed and not one of them said a word about how dangerous Trump is . They were and are oblivious. How do we make these people smarter?

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Donald : a whole lot of money bought the election : along with the courts and of course, the media are billionaires, too. With Russia's help, and AI, as well. Positive evidence abounds.

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Thom Hartmann’s retelling of the history of Adams and Jefferson and the Aliens and Sedition Act sounds like today two-hundred years ago…. He retold it this week in his missives …. It’s both chilling AND hopeful…

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I like to listen to Thom, but sometimes he’s fast and loose with his info and it’s not correct. He also does not give context to info at times. So I listen, but cautiously. Always check.

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I haven't heard of any of this. I would like more details on this.

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Search for Spoonamore on Substack. He has written several articles. You’re right. No one is reporting it.

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Thank you, Lynda! I wasn't aware of Meidas Touch.

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Tribalism and fear (insecurity, ego, narcissism, etc) are two big contorters?

What procedures are followed to Assure Quality(aka "QA")?

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There’s a lot of hyperbole in some of the Youtube sources I watch, but there’s also basic background there. Some of today’s comedians are excellent sources of both true events and perspective..

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Meidas Touch, Brian Tyler Cohen, Politics Girl (Leigh McGowan) Daily Kos, David Pakman, Farron Cousins, Jessica Valenti, Jordan Klepper, Walt Masterson, Trae Crowder, Tennessee Brando, Texas Paul and my own ability to think critically.

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I forgot Daily Kos! I subscribe and I enjoy their articles.

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Langit! I forgot BTC in my comment!! Shame he's not sarcastic...*giggle*

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Yeh, I’d like to see BTC loosen up a bit! And yeh, he has some good takes. I like that he publishes here as I prefer to read than watch videos

Thanks for this, Mr Reich, you are a trusted voice.

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I meant "dangit" *sheesh*

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Update: Bookers Squared (instagram).

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Yes Daily kos

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Don’t forget Tokyo Sand!

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Reese Waters.

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Don’t know that person, but I’ll check him/her out. Thanks!

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The Guardian has been my primary source for years, and I support it. I find value in The Atlantic and the New Yorker. And despite Bezos, WAPO has done some very good reporting. It's the editorial stuff that is often terrible. Of course, there are many other internet based media that do a great job. It's just a shame that the bullshit propaganda media is what is consumed by the vast majority, but that has always been true. It's just more dangerously consquential now.

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I dropped the Washington Post because they were favoring traitor Trump! I also dropped the New Yorker because they were also favorable to traitor Trump and did not treat Biden or Harris fairly!

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My favorite cartoonist is with Washington post … Ann Telnaes

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Meidastouch network is factual news.

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I really suggest you add Jeff Tietrich, a fellow substack contributor, to your list of reliable sources. Not only is he reliable but he is one of the funniest reliable sources around right now. If I didn't get a daily dose of Jeff, I probably would have opened my veins by now.

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And the borowitz report

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Alexandra Petri WAPO, satirist, is excellent. And remember Slate politics especially Dahlia Lithwick (Amicus podcast focus on the courts) and Mark Joseph Stern. Also TimothyvSnyder and Sherrilyn Ifill. Rachel Maddow is an important voice as are Chis Hayes, Lawrence O”donnell, Joy Reid and Ari Melber.

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I’ve heard they are going after MSNBC so we don’t know how long they will be there

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Agree!

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4hEdited

I stopped trusting the NYT and WaPo many years ago after moving to Belgium in 1989 and seeing for myself the realities of well-functioning European social democracies. When I’d visit family in the US and see these “liberal” papers’ versions of life in Europe, I realised Americans were being systematically denied balanced information about nations whose systems challenged winner-take-all unbridled capitalism. The stories were mostly about something negative like a storm or a drug bust, rather than about the wonderful quality of life most Europeans enjoy as an everyday reality. For many years, I’ve only trusted the Guardian (although even they participated in throwing Jeremy Corbyn under the bus).

It’s an enormously dangerous situation when the entire populace of a rich and powerful nation is denied knowledge of the rest of the world. Then a demagogue can easily jump into this manufactured reality and manipulate it with fear and further lies. I feel sorry for the true journalists in the US whose only desire was to serve the public and report the news. They must feel very jaded about the companies they’ve chosen to work for and now see no escape.

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I am also very worried about the news in Europe. When I visited in July the people I spoke to all thought that Biden was senile and they had never heard of project 2025. It seems like the press just parroted what the US news was saying. My favorite German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung did an excellent job during the first Trump presidency. These days not so much. Something changed drastically.

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I live in Italy. You’re right that something has changed. Very difficult to get accurate information now. Many issues, like solutions to climate change, are ignored.

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The far-right seem to be gaining power all over. Does that coincide with the change in news?

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Yes, definitely. There has been a big change now although it started before, gradually. I don't know how much is because of an opposition, weak on facts and how much is due to biased editing. There is a lot of yelling opinion on TV and not enough information.

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Don’t forget national broadcasters: The BBC. And CBC in Canada although the election of Pierre Poilievre in about a year will likely see CBC eliminated. Abolishing the CBC is a key plank in his Conservative Party platform. Guess PBS will die under Trump.

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I watch PBS news, but they are being very careful about what they say these days. Trying to stay apolitical.

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They don't want to be eliminated! I don't blame them. They have brought such fantastic shows to us and I don't want to see them taken off the air!

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The best of PBS is Frontline, an investigative reporting program which is excellent. I believe PBS News Hour folks do a great job of reporting on daily happenings. NPR is a thoughtful source for me along with their local affiliates. We must do everything we can to support these folks as well as independent journalism in our states.

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But John NPR has been too careful. Also they reported on the POLLs relentlessly tiresomely I thought because it’s cheap news to cover whereas journalism on the street is expensive. I’m sick to DEATH of polls!

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The BBC may report openly on issue in the US but at home in the UK it has been neutered and is far from being an organization that is able to be seen as an objective news source.

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Even the Guardian is "neutered" on contentious domestic issues. Its coverage of the Troubles in Northern Ireland was a sick joke.

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I agree!

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France 24 is also good if you can get it.

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You can watch it live on youtube in English.

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Good to know. It's included in my Sling Blue subscription, & might be free on Roku, too.

I haven't turned my TV/Roku on since 11/5.

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https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/bbc-under-scrutiny-heres-what-research-tells-about-its-role-uk

An article about media trust in the UK. Includes the BBC and The Guardian

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I worry about PBS, too, Robert! I love their programming and their news hour. I watch PBS every day. Masterpiece Theatre and Walt Presents are two of my favorites!

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I know that you indict the billionaire owned media at length, but I fear that you still don't get it. The very existence of billionaires means that we will have a skewed government, directed at what billionaires want to happen, because they are more powerful than governments. It does no good to cry your eyes out about billionaires owning the media. They do - and will - control everything. Until we destroy the legal ability to accumulate such wealth, we haven't got a chance.

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There is a huge, critical difference between "crying eyes out" and making people aware of the powers that stand behind the media outlets. Not everyone is cognizant of that structure.

Some people like to believe that media institutions exist for the public good.

+1 on the power of the wealthy; as the saying goes, the golden rule is, "those with the gold make the rules."

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Joyce Vance, Robert Hubbel, Jay Kuo on Substack.

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And the podcast “Sisters in Law” Joyce Vance, Barb McQuade, Kimberly Atkins Stohr, Jill Winebanks,

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One of the reasons the pro authoritarian, oligarchical media works so well is the ignorant, gullible public that believes it.

Of which we have no lack.

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You are sadly correct! Americans have turned into worshippers of reality TV entertainment! Facts and the truth seem to be too much for them to handle. Remember critical thinking takes time and energy! They prefer to be “entertained “ with lies and conspiracy theories!

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I’m afraid it’s only going to get worse. For years now, in America, we have been educating the people to get jobs. What does that mean? STEM increased. Liberal Arts decreased. Less history, literature, etc. After the election, some journalists were asking Americans what they think of living under an authoritarian. Many responded by asking, “What’s an authoritarian?” So corporations assured a steady stream of workers, but society is missing something.

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One source I rely on is = = = > https://www.marytrump.org/

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She is very good, Dr. Bloxom. I subscribe to her substack. She is very honest and down to earth. An excellent, reliable source!

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Yes, indeed, and I admire her relevant educational credentials, which make what she says more than simply opinions—they make her reliable, believable, and truthful.

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100% agree!

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I trust Mother Jones too!

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New subscriber to Mother Jones. It only costs $15/year and deep dives into timely and important content in every issue. Extremely readable and well researched. The issue just before the election has pretty much predicted what is currently happening. I highly highly recommend it.

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What about so Associated Press and Al Jazeera ?

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I have found Al Jazeera to be a trusted news source, as they report news, not opinions.

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Not unbiased, however. Based in Qatar and they definitely have an opinion.

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Agreed!

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Thank you for the recommendations for objective information. I agree with all you have to say but for my problem with what constitutes 'truth'. I think that perhaps 'facts' is a better term. I say this because, to me, 'truth' varies according to one's perspective and can encompass a variety of realities across different people. What can't, is the facts of something.

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Would this be the fall of the American Empire and the end of the American democracy after two and a half centuries? America must’ve been much better than this.

Never before in the history of America, the country has ever been in such a state like it is today, until traitor trump was installed in the People’s House by Putin by their meddling in the 2016 presidential election. What would be better than buying an IDIOT, but extremely fraudulent, deceitful, greedy and dangerous criminal traitor who could destroy America from within without firing a shot? NONE.

How in the world could America afford an obviously dangerous criminal traitor, enemy of the country and the people, to set foot in the People’s House the second time? Hasn’t he done enough damage to the country yet? Hasn’t he created enough hatred, violence, division and chaos? He wanted his cronies in Congress NOT to fix the problem at the southern border so that they would have something to talk about! What have they done for the country and the people? Nothing! Not only his cronies in Congress, but those incompetent, unethical, corrupt so-called justices, wearing robes in the SCOTUS also sided with the traitor to elevate him to a dictator! Where is America heading? Is this how it ended up after nearly 250 years of the Declaration of Independence from Britain? No one in the whole world could’ve thought that one day America would’ve been turned out to be this way! That the most crooked, fraudulent, deceitful, idiotic, greedy and dangerous criminal traitor, owned by Putin and Russian oligarchs, could destroy America from within, in the best interest of Russia without firing a shot! No one! May God bless America and us all.

IN GOD WE TRUST

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You must only know US herstory through the eyes of propoganda. The US is founded on destroying every Native that was here, stealing every resource for nothing, importing folks from a different continent for free labor, after watching them die on transport ships in the hold.......

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Further, the US was founded politically by a powerful group of white men who continue to diminish the RIGHTS of everyone else by dragging their feet or tossing us backwards when they can. The rest of us are chattel on slave wages. Then, there is the daily extinction of multiple species as we plunder, destroy other civilizations for our own DESIRES and the DC ones snorting coke and speedballs as they allow lobbyists to write our laws. And, that's just a bit....

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This may be true, Vicki, but you only tell one side. Let’s hear more balance.

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