“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed....”
It has been a tragic, almost surreal Fourth of July for reasons that require no repeating. And after last week’s Supreme Court rulings and the one about elections looming in the fall, “...Governments...deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” feels like an obscure concept.
For me, there is nothing to "like" about the fact that, coming here to probe the words "consent of the governed", I found that you and William G. Whitlash had already done just that.
There is even less to like about a withdrawal of consent on the part of citizens, yet it is plain that anarchists on the extreme right, aided and abetted by a commando placed at key points at the heart of government, are every hour at work sapping both government and the people's consent to it; and that this process has gone so far that the very survival of the State is, or very soon will be, endangered.
It is curious to compare today's very real threat with the drunken paranoid ravings of Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, inflating a "Communist menace" into a Red under every bed, a Red in every crevice of the State. Or with the hysteria that led to the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti and many others a century ago.
Whatever one may think of the anarchist movement at that time -- and I am very aware of general ignorance about it -- these people were motivated by a desire to free the oppressed. Those who are now calling themselves "libertarians" are after a monopoly of freedom, one in which they enjoy limitless liberty, while others glean what they can.
Responsible citizens need now to redefine consent and the limits to consent; and to work hard to re-establish government that merits and is accorded general consent.
No sane being can consent to what took place in Highland Park and is taking place all the time throughout America.
But I myself am even more deeply revolted by yesterday's lynching in Ohio, when a uniformed rabble behaving like foxhounds at the kill, murdered a young unarmed black man plainly caught up by a panic attack.
In a world swept by wildfires of mass psychosis, people can be excused panic attacks. If they aren't white in America, they'd be abnormal not to be terrified of so-called police.
Another concept that is unquestionably meaningless: that of "a well-regulated Militia".
Not just meaningless, a sword of Damocles over every American head.
There appear to be many swords of Damocles hovering over every American head. It's grim, unchartered territory.
Equating "a well-regulated militia" with any random person who wants to legally own a high-tech weapon of war isn't judicial reasoning. It's more like someone brutally assaulting you and laughing while doing it because they know they can get away with it. The brazen lack of intellectual rigor says we've arrived in a place where we can't quite yet get our bearings.
I have said that the Supreme Court is not worldly enough to think on the level they need to be able to to interpret the laws. I would like to add that police acting as henchmen is also NOT "a well-regulated militia," and we need to be examining why it is so terrifying to be living in America for young Black men. I have seen quite a few Black men here in Bremen, Germany where I currently am. I know they have their trials to bear here, but fear of getting shot is not one of them.
Since I live in Chicago, I was horrified to read about the Highland Park shooting, as I have been with each shooting that happens. My daughter quickly texted a classmate who lives in Highland Park to make sure she was alright.
I started keeping a file of the pdfs of all shootings in Chicago and environs on my desktop last August. This past year my daughter had her exchange partner from Austria. When we were in our Zoom meeting with her parents and the supervising teacher where we discuss family norms, I know we came across as really strict because they let their child have free rein to come and go as she pleases. We sounded so uptight having a curfew and saying we pick her up at night. Then,
one dinner when my daughter was arguing with me about my rules about her going out with her exchange partner from Vienna using a transportation route I considered unsafe at a time and place I considered unsafe, and let my qualify that as more unsafe than the general risk any American now has when leaving their home. She told me not to scare her exchange partner. I told them that on the previous weekend there had been 60 shootings with a certain number dead. My husband challenged the number. I went and got my laptop, and found the article and read it to them, showed them the headline. After that I got more credibility. In fact, after several shootings in our local community in the fall, my partner told me her mother was really glad that I made the rules in the house and decided where they could and could not go.
Granted, the communities that have that many shootings in Chicago over the weekends are generally suffering both from the police and the lack of police care , which is not true in the one in which I live. My university community has a private police force and the city police, but there is no "safe community!" Just safer and less safe, which still is a statistical relativity that leaves parents here worried in the ways that parents in Vienna do not generally have to feel. My daughter felt the difference too. She did not want to come back home from her exchange in Vienna, because it felt so good to have the childhood freedom that teens need, that they cannot have here without too much parental interference. That is how her classmates have felt on their exchanges to Germany too. Several of the students in her school are coming to Germany for University, or other European countries like Czech Republic, France, Switzerland because they feel they will be safer. Feeling safe is an important quality of living issue that money cannot buy.
Here is a list of some of the headlines in Chicago papers that I have in my Chicago Crimes File:
August 16, 2021--47 shot, 5 killed in weekend gun violence through Sunday--Chicago Tribune
August 23, 2021--40 shot, 5 killed in weekend gun violence--Chicago Tribune
September 5, 2021--48 people shot in weekend gun violence through Sunday morning, including 10 children and teenagers--Chicago Tribune
September 14, 2021--7 people fatally shote over weekend: Gun violence strikes at least 64 in Chicago, authorities say--Chicago Tribune
September 26, 2021--One gun, 27 shootings; Weapon stolen from small Wisconsin shop linked to string of Chicago violence--Chicago Tribune
October 3,2021--17 shot, 2 killed in gun violence Saturday into Sunday: Teen among 2 fatalities overnight gun violence that left 17 wounded, including 3 injured in the Gold Coast--Chicago Tribune
November 9, 2021--Man Murdered on 54th Place at Ellis: 7th Homicide in Hyde Park-Kenwood This Year--Hyde Park Herald (This is a few blocks from where Barack Obama has his Chicago home, and in my community).
There were 2 more shootings on that day in our community. Each reported in a separate article. By this point I could not wait for my daughter to go to Vienna to school. All of my friends were asking me whether I would miss her, and my overwhelming feelings were of getting her to safety. Then of course, Putin started bombing Ukraine about 1000 Kilometers away from Vienna, but still I felt she was safer there as long as he does not use nuclear weapons. Then she is safe no where.
I salute you and your vigilance for your daughter and her safety. I am not a parent and live in Brooklyn, NY presently in France for a month. Watching what is only becoming more dire across our country from a remove does not now lessen the stinging overwhelming fear for our future. Many have cited Mitt Romney’s Atlantic article, which I will read next, but in it I hear he does not once mention gun controls. As I learned from Robert Hubbell’s post this morning, it is because he is the number 1 senator who has received over $16,676,+++ from the NRA. We as citizens are being held hostage in a veritable shooting gallery. There is NO REASON. For any citizen to privately own assault weapons. I hear your anger and frustration. I fear now that even a clear Democratic win both in the mid-terms and in’24 will not solve this problem. And neither is likely to clearly give Dems those wins anyway.
Thank you Michael. Reading both articles clearly maps how our political landscape and national values have changed. Again, I found Mitt Romney’s piece really lacking in integrity and superficial at best. He needs to be asked about his policy on gun control and the fact that he takes more money than any other senator from the NRA. It doesn’t even make his list worth mentioning.
One of my staff is a white woman married to a black man. For years, all of their vacations have been international in nature, so they were feeling quite housebound during the pandemic. My husband and I rented an RV last summer, and I told her that they might enjoy this as a quick trip. She told me the reason all of their trips are international is that they don't feel safe traveling in the US. I was stunned, first by her comment and then that I would be so unaware. How pathetic a situation is this? A couple in their mid-30s who don't feel they can be safe vacationing in the US.... it's heartbreaking.
Yes it most truly is. And, it is a behavior which is taught. A child has no chance, arriving from within the womb to an atmosphere of such hate. It is not a hopeless situation. We just gotta hold hands, embrace one another, and NOT give up.
"Gun rights are not unlimited. The Second Amendment refers to a “well regulated” militia. Even Second Amendment advocate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the Court’s Heller decision: “It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.” "
Well, Kathy - Scalia is gone - whatever limits he felt were correct are gone. Even here in NYS the SC managed to change a law. I believe our present governor will make every effort to correct that - and I hope she does. I also hope she remains in office for some time to come. I hope & intend to vote for her as I did in the primary. But look around - it is scary. Not unlimited gun rights? Not so much.
And in Chicago SUBURB - yet another 18-25 year old white man has killed six people.
I remember 9-10 years ago when I was still working - one of the men who worked in the shop & lived in PA - was really incensed by my saying something to the effect that no one NEEDS to own an assault weapon. Seems he had at least one and both he and his wife carried guns with them - legal, but seriously?
“Granted, the communities that have that many shootings in Chicago over the weekends are generally suffering both from the police and the lack of police care…”. I would like to add that those communities are often located in food deserts and have very few employment opportunities within the community.
MaryPat, I want to assure you that Chicago is as safe as anywhere in the U.S. What I mean by that is that it only takes one person to pick up a high powered assault weapon and bring tragedy to humanity. Unfortunately, in the U.S. anyone can have any weapon they want. I will be sending my daughter to Michigan in a few weeks for College. She will be attending the same University that I did. I'd like to say I feel safer with her in Michigan than Chicago but I don't think that's true. It just takes one person who was not taught to process their emotions properly.
Scarily true.Two of my kids graduated from U of M. I never feared for their safety. But now? I will continue to work hard to send Democrats to Lansing.
I can't get the "like" feature to work at this moment but I do want to thank you for these excellent observations and for the careful guidance to your daughter.
I'll mention that my old friends in Bremen are members of a group called Night Wanderers, which originated in Sweden but would be unimaginable in the US: a friendly adult presence in places haunted by the young in the small hours... Just relating to people. A catalyst for peace...
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I don't know what it's like now, but Tokyo used to feel marvelously safe, even in the late night areas... Drunks were a problem for themselves, not others...
Peter, I am wondering how safe Europe is going to be from guns given all of the weapons going to Ukraine for the war will at some point potentially be ending up where? I have heard discussed that there has not been that careful inventory, and that there are a lot of White Supremacist mercenaries volunteering to do stints from different countries. Getting their hands on military assault weapons and then going back to their European cities and maybe the US too. If they are in personal vehicles I don't know whether they will be controlled for weapons. Just a thought. I am hoping that these weapons end up back in the militaries of the governments that sent them,
not on the black market on in the hands of mercenaries, because this is a lot of weapons. On the other hands, here are the legally registered guns in the USA.
My state of IL is listed 11 in number of guns owned. I see 6 states with smaller populations ahead of us. Of course, I see NY is larger and way lower than IL in the number of guns. NY must be doing something right. My daughter is in Vienna right now. The typical crime I have noticed them having is that they have had domestic crime where men have killed their wives, girlfriends, ex-wives and often themselves too, or their children as well. This comes up every so often on the news. I believe that each case is mentioned, so the overall statistics are so much lower than ours I suspect. As of June 13, 2022 the title of the Salzburger News reads Already Eleven Cases of Murder and Suicide in Austria. That is a country of just under 9 million people.
So, it is realistic for my daughter and her friends to feel safer in Vienna than in Chicago. Also, I found your group of Night Wanderers. The brochure I found was from 2017. I am going to look into whether they are still in operation. It looks like a great concept. The "it takes a village" idea. https://www.nachtwanderer.net/
Linda How sad that you must defend yourself and your children in the ‘frontier town’ of Chicago. When will Americans realize that Chicago could become Everytown with out safe and sensible gun laws?
I would even accede to ‘originalist’ and, under the 2nd Amendment, permit free access to muskets and other flint guns—-but not AR-15s and Glocks.
If the Democrats end up with 53 senators, they can get around the filibuster and expand the court to 13 justices whom Biden would appoint. And we'd get to watch McConnell melt into a puddle on the Senate floor.
Voting intelligently will remove all republicans from office.
Then America's new fair-minded Congress will initiate removal of those miscreants who are fraudulently sitting in those undeserved cushy leather swivel adjustable height chairs.
Richard “Brazen lack of intellectual rigor” is too kind in speaking of the 74 million who voted for Trump and the 71% of Republicans who agree that the 2020 election was stolen.
Democracy, fair play, Constitution, and ‘established precedent’, and applauding diversity represent the core of today’s America. Nothing ‘intellectual’ about these values. Common sense and integrity—-sounds simple to me, but I remember when America was truly exceptional.
I’m sorry, Keith, but I can’t remember in my eighty-three-and-one-half years on this planet when America wasn’t brutally racist, arrogantly misogynistic, and blindly confident that the centuries of unholy, inhuman assaults on the Indigenous peoples of the continent, as well as the enslaved Africans, never really happened.
Perhaps, though, that is a certain brand of exceptionalism.
Bill In my nearly 89 years, I remember much that is good, bad, horrible, and, at times, exceptional about the United States. Much of what occurred in Central America, Vietnam, and elsewhere was scummy. The Marshall Plan was a brilliant star in restoring post-WW II Europe—perhaps not ‘selfless,’ but marvelous in its result.
Until recently (FDR, me, and Hitler hit center stage the same year)the positive side of our domestic ledger outweighed the negative, though the pace was sluggish and not straight lined. The most recent years leave me frightened for what sort of country my grand kids will inherit.
Jon Meacham wrote about the soul of America in which he noted historical ups, downs, and ups, with an upward trend line. I hope that he is right, though at the moment I have difficulty envisaging this.
Those American Military Heroes who chose to sacrifice their life for our freedom know America is truly exceptional, especially true now for the families of those fallen American Heroes.
See the amazing personal sacrifice of Colonel Alexander Vindman who knows America remains exceptional enough for him to fight for against all those who would destroy American Democracy.
George There was a time in my life when serving one’s country was nothing extraordinary. It was part of our national fabric. When 3300 foreigners (including 5 captured American consulate staff) were under death threat by Congolese rebels, instinctively, as a Foreign Service Officer, I volunteered to return and operate alone (with an M-16 and .45) in rebel-infested provinces.
This was a life-and-death situation. Others in the Congo and elsewhere didn’t think twice about serving our country.
Few of the X, Y, and Z generations have ever volunteered or been provided an opportunity to endure massive personal risks for their country. As for our politicians, those with the loudest voices frequently have yellow spots under their chairs as they demonize those who are national patriots. Colonel Vindman and Cassidy Hutchinson, in distinct ways, deserve the Profile in Courage Award, as Bone Spur Donald ridiculed John McCain—so courageous as a Vietnam POW-, saying that ‘he preferred a hero who wasn’t captured.’
I would like to create a list of Profiles in Lack of Courage, with Cruz, Graham, and Trumpites as charter members.
“Those who are now calling themselves "libertarians" are after a monopoly of freedom, one in which they enjoy limitless liberty, while others glean what they can.”
I once had an argument with a libertarian on a plane to Phoenix. He was totally arrogant and condescending and whenever anyone puts on that label, I know that they vote R. I also think of that dope Ayn Rand and her awful, poorly written novels.
The real tragedy is that most of those who claim to be libertarians or those who generally want to minimize government's level of responsibility in our society and economy are not doing it for malicious reasons. They are not knowing tools of our 'oligarchs.' They honestly believe that lone Minuteman with his rifle standing upright in that statue is a defender of their rights and that the cowboy, practically living in his saddle with his six-shooter, can take care of things all by himself. Democrats face reality and laugh at such fantasies but Republicans are deluded by them, even to the extent of voting for a president who defies the laws and plays by his own rules. Gee, what a wonderful world it would be if everybody made their own rules.
There's a thin line between greed and being an overly successful businessman or investor. Why would someone who earned a few million dollars one year want to earn double that amount the next year? Greed and success can both be addictive.
Michele “Libertarian” and Ayn Rand are poison to American values. These speak to what they oppose, not what they are for. Are these forerunners to authoritarian rule? If these are ‘Christian values,’ then Jesus Christ would opt out.
Oh absolutely Jesus would opt out and a lot of what his so-called followers do would be anathema to him. He would speak against loudly praying and throw the money changers out. Yes, both poison to American values....I struggled though one of her books and thought it was awful even though I was probably a sophomore in college. What appealed and appeals to young people is the idea of doing whatever you want with no constraints.
The difference between 'libertarianism' and 'anarchy' is only a matter of degree. Remember Grover Norquist's preaching 'drowning government in a bathtub' at White House gatherings sponsored by George W. Bush.
I ceased associating with a couple in my town who proudly called themselves "libertarian" while earning paychecks from the state legislature. I ceased because their ravings were nothing short of anarchy. They pretended in public to be "democrats," but those of us who knew them knew how two-faced they were. Imagine. Anarchists, bragging that they are libertarians, announcing that they are democrats, receiving paychecks from a largely GOP state legislature.
It was reported that the suspected shooter of the Highland Park parade massacre when apprehended got out of his car and fled, the reporting went to say he was captured and placed in custody without incident. He was a young white man had he been a young black man asuradadly the outcome would not have been the same.
All of this is first class stuff, very much including Professor Tribe's critique and the reference to David Frum's Roe is the New Prohibition -- a fact that seems painfully obvious.
Especially to the point, the naming of accessories after the fact of mass murder.
I watched the Capitol 4th (while the illegal fireworks were blasting away in the neighborhood) and I felt there was an undertone not acknowledged, but I am sure that the people were aware of what had happened elsewhere. There were the usual patriotic songs, songs about love and unity, but toward the end Gloria Gaynor doing her disco hit, I Will
Survive. There was also a focus on Lincoln (the Memorial is 100 years old) and certain words inscribed on the Memorial wall and how Lincoln led us through dark times and until last year, the last real threat to the unity of the country. I could hardly look at the Capitol Building without seeing the mob. They also honored the Capitol police which I have never seen them do. As I watched (I enjoy the music), I could not help but think about Highland Park and the police, yes lynching by bullets, in Akron.
It was the strangest Capitol 4th I have ever watched. The smiles were a little too wide somehow. The remarks were subtle, but getting at our divided nation.
I can only write words representing the feelings of many...NOT AGAIN!!!! and who is there to soothe the hearts and souls of the ones whose family member, friend... is now gone from their presence forever?
Not a direct response, Emily, to what you have expressed on behalf of all who still feel and care. Only a remark on why this evil is being done to us.
Writing in the mid-18th century, Montesquieu identified the principle underlying each form of government.
Under despotism, fear.
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The Mechanisms
The people are to be kept in a constant state of fear. Fear. Confusion. Total uncertainty. On this conditioning of his subjects the despot's power rests. Thus he manipulates and controls.
What more effective approach could there be to the undermining and overthrow of democracy and its institutions?
Random human sacrifice.
No respite.
All the more effective in that today the Fetish, the seeming "Leader" provides a round-the-clock focal point for all attention and employs it to keep the hellfire of rage, resentment, terror and violent aggression burning, burning.
Whether you are one of his own or you oppose him, it makes no difference: you are in his thrall, he "owns" you.
Vastly multiplying the power of this machinery, the Unknown, the Invisible, the Mystery:
The real forces behind the images seen by all, seen, heard, adored, obeyed,
Behind the "Leader", behind the politicians, behind the propagandists, the ministers of religion, the judges, the police, and other enforcers -- the Unseen.
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Thus, when those who propagate The Lie proclaim that their Drumpf is the true President and Biden, a usurper, such is the potency of the spell their black magic has created that it crystallizes into an "alternative reality", a cuckoo reality takes possession of the nest, the Law, the Truth, the people themselves, their Constitution and all that seemed to protect and uphold them, all are expelled.
In their place, a great tumor and its ever-spreading metastases.
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There.
I have tried to describe The Nightmare, even to give direct insights into its presence, its physiology, its workings.
BUT...
The Nightmare IS a nightmare. A dream. A delusion.
We are being conned.
Even without waking up, even while hating what we're experiencing, IF we know we're in a bad dream, we are already breaking the spell...
Even while still dreaming yet knowing we dream, all that seemed so solid moments before may begin to disintegrate into smoke, fog, vapors...
Sunlight, morning, awakening...and the fog lifts, the clouds scatter.
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Those who see themselves as "realists" will balk at what I have just written, but... my purpose was and is to give a few insights into the mental tricks that can enveigle and enslave. We have only to look at history, we have only to look around us, to see where that can lead:
Hell on earth.
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We are not slaves, we are free, and no one can take that away from us. But they are doing and will do their damnedest.
They -- the ghouls, the enslavers, the servants of darkness -- share the crude belief of the Inquisitors, the Nazis, the mythological Cowboys: that by destroying men's bodies they can destroy all that men stand for -- the spirit.
But... You can put a lid on light -- which is what the enemy is doing -- yet light dispels darkness, darkness conceals but cannot dispel.
Darkness cannot unshine light.
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Now the immediate task is to put a leaden lid on the deluded deluders.
Peter, you are brilliant. Thank you for the gift of words and for the ability to place your thoughts and ideas and truths into such clarity of meaning and usefulness.
I do not have your gift. The great God of all creation did give me insight and sensitivities. Regarding the insight gift; sometimes it is after making bad choices because of course EXPERIENCE is also an excellent teacher.
Peter, I was in a cult and it wasn't one in which its members were drugged and/or sex with its leader was expected. We were money makers and influence builders. The leader spoke at Madison Square Garden. Members of this cult were seving leaders in Congress by their presence and loyalty. We would work for candidates day and night passing out fliers to promote a vote . I and many others prayed and fasted for Nixon under the banner of "Love, Forgive, Unite" in Washington, DC.
In 1976 , this cult was part of the giant Bicentennial . It was also the day my mom kidnapped me. It was also the day my future husband had flown to Washington, DC because he knew cult members would be there and he wanted to see what was going on. He had been recruited in Raleigh, NC but never became a committed member.
He walked the perimenter of the "pool" between the Washington and Lincoln Monuments looking for friends from the cult who were gathered there to be a part of the celebration. He asked mutual friends if I was there.
My mom was taking me "home". The cult had become my home. I really loved the people I worked with every day. They were gifted and talented; they like me were "rescued"in some way and we were united through mission. prayers, through beautiful songs.....
My mom arranged for my "deprogramming"to take place in New England. A doctor had donated his vacation home, (his daughter had been in a cult) and had with help from others organized former cult members to lead. Though I did not want to be there, I began the process of transformation....it was a good and necessary experience. Following my recovery of reason, I was able to share my experience in order to help inform others.
Mark and I were married in '78. Inthe early 1990's our family attended a "Right for Life" rally in Washington, DC. Sitting within my site was one of my most respected team members from The Cult!!!! I mentioned it to Mark but I did not say anything to her. Once more another event supported by the same leader/group.
Delusion is a powerful tool !
P.S. I ask for forgiveness for my writing but hope you learn something from my experience. Deluders are powerful and morph into many forms.
Thank you, Emily -- not for the compliment, but for plainly having received and understood the message in some depth.
Given the timing and the circumstances under which I wrote, it did feel like the proverbial light under a bushel, and even I was uncertain I'd ever be able to recover the text, for I´d buried it even as I wrote it.
Now, I want it to go to -- and belong to -- a broader public.
So, I'm most grateful it was well received, even by a single person, and that I could find it again.
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Having said that, I want to insist that you have no little understanding and you express yourself well. Perhaps even better as a speaker? But, more important, the early experiences of which you tell are precious and I hope you will find the best ways of using and sharing what you have learned from them.
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For the time being I shall simply mention something of the rather less edifying bramble path I followed at the same time as that of which you tell: the mid- and late 1970s.
Around 1974 I asked myself two questions:
1. Are there any true guides in this world or only tricksters and charlatans out for power over others and the advantages in kind that such power gives?
2. Does evil have any intrinsic existence? Is it a force in its own right? In cruder terms, does the Devil exist?
Let's say that a few years later, after a bike accident in 1977 that could easily have brought this life to an early end, I began to receive answers to both questions... in a single package...
In time, I was to learn that one should not underestimate the abilities of charlatans, who are to be found not only on the margins of society but at the summit. The difference between true leaders and misleaders is simple, it is not one of ability but of motivation.
The true leader's motivated by service to others, the trickster is into self-service. Many men's motives are of course mixed, and there are great pitfalls even for those who are gifted and set out to serve...
That said, it seems to me that there is one road only and a single choice: whether we take the way that leads towards truth, letting go of all we are not and moving towards what we truly are, or we take the opposite direction, that of delusion.
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So I've met both true guides and false, and been agreeably surprised by how many of the former are among us. But the misleaders can be dangerous, especially to those who come close and see through them...
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I've said more than enough for the time being but hope this exchange will be useful to you and to others.
Thanks, of course I knew about that. My partner, a 50y/o educator with a Phd, is going to Florida for three weeks. I will be terrified the entire time he is gone. We live in the Virgin Islands of the United States where this would never happen. On the mainland, if you are a person of color, no matter what, you are at much more risk.
Maybe a little more complex... But over 90 bullets fired at one fleeing man...
In a dark place, I was once stuck up by a very scared cop, with shaking hands. I kept my cool, and it worked. But I have often wondered whether I'd be here to tell the tale if I'd been black or an Arab.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Sandy, thank you for posting this. It is a profound document to read right now. And were it but for a nation far away, the fight against would be hard enough. This fight is, once again, with our own people who have gone rogue and have created war against their own people whom they feel superior. The McCarthy era, The Second Red Scare, began when I was yet unborn and was squashed when I was an innocent toddler. Tyrannical Control Dramas inflicted upon the whole of our society. It must be nipped in the bud. It must be our country's premise that people, ALL PEOPLE, are included with rights to be free and with freedom come a great responsibility and maturity. Adults are needed in this country to help it mature into what it can be. That is our continually evolving Great Experiment. This is our Moment.
Superiority and weapons of mass destruction foisted upon us by a rogue party are NOT the direction the majority of people want to take. We are in a moment of our history that requires a very deep imagining of how we got here and how we disentangle this mess so all people and our children can be free to live without fear of our neighbor. Corporations are in charge, as far as the eye can see. They are NOT citizens but they are united. Some are stepping up to help their workers access abortions. They need to step up to help save our democracy and our freedoms NOW. And they need to temper themselves and their impact on the environment and the Whole. Capitalism is now greatly imbalanced on the American pendulum. We need to call on them to help create balance.
Our power lies in vocal withdraw our money from them. Use your consumer powers to and inform them that any entity that has supported, funded, aided and abetted this destruction of our governance will not prosper. The J6 Committee and the DOJ have a due date to reveal the rest of this corruption and uphold justice for the well-being of our republic and the People. We must hold our DOJ accountable to Expel and withdraw power from all seditionous persons incur employ and put them before a tribunal and answer to FACTS. It is time for non-seditious people to stand up and say Enough is Enough. We have seen, they have no shame, Sir. We are at a Reckoning. The greatest weapon they have used against our country is a state of chaos and FEAR...and great planning. It is time for all of us to step up to the plate. There are those in our small village in the northeast who are brazenly taunting us with their giant Fuck Biden and trump flags and signs as equivalent to me as Nazi swastikas. It is unconscionable that our children must see such blatant disrespect of a duly elected official being mocked and a tyrant being promoted just as the mustached tyrant in 1930's Germany. The story posted here this morning of our young people feeling safer to be in the Germany of today than in America is our agonizing reality. It is ringing the final alarm bell as the crack in our Bell of Liberty. In these dark times, that crack is where Our Collective light gets in. Shine your lights brightly on Justice. Let's bring on a new America out of the dark ages some are dragging her back towards. Know that every little thing you do for this "quickening" into the maturation of young America is an important drop in the river that flows to the ocean. Our little drops together can create a Tsunami and flood old, suffocating patriarchal swamp. We are armed in a different way-- even through masks, we breathe with LOVE for one another, for FACTS, LAW and large numbers. Transform your anger and fear into being part of the Tsunami to take back our country from this march towards tyranny in whatever ways work best for you. Everything helps.
And do not forget Gratitude daily for one another and for this little spinning planet that we depend upon and also want to protect. And for our HCR community which breeds sanity for most of us. We must hold hands, walk together and be heard.
Inspiring to read. Thanks. (Even more profound when followed with Kathy Allen's link about the consequences endured by many of the original signers. It took immense courage and conviction wo thought about security. Amazing mostly young men.) Words that jumped out: "Let facts be submitted to a candid world." And, let candid facts continue to be submitted to our populace. That's our job. Letters to the Editors, neighbors, friends, meeting houses, school boards, discussion groups. Some of us so much more skilled at this than others. I am grateful for so many of our commenters and trust they are carrying their loaded arsenal of pertinent facts out among the many. I read this blog almost daily in the hope my arguments strength with your mastery of the history and issues . While "feelings" and impressions remain strong and the memory is not so kind as it once was. Thanks.
Agree! I, too have found no reason to celebrate this year! The Supreme Court has gutted our freedoms in one week and it appears that in the fall session, our Voting Rights will be bastarized! This is a Rogue Court that has no interest in “originalism”! It's only interest is their own agenda. Very scary...they have taken away so many of our rights. How many more will they destroy in the fall session?
I read somewhere last week Thomas said liberals he made his life miserable for 43 years, so now he is going to make theirs miserable for 43 years—that was the gist anyway. This man has looked to me like an angry Buddha since his start on the court.
To me, that sentiment seems about as far from a desired "judicial temperament" as one could possibly desire. And to feel okay about expressing it 'out loud'? Outrageous.
Why hasn't Chief Justice Roberts at least reprimanded him (perhaps he has, but Roberts is such a wet noodle that Thomas has shrugged it off, feeling reinforced by the three Drumpf appointees).
His glaring, impervious wall regarding ethical issues and those of a number of his “team” mates continue to undermine the court’s legitimacy. It feels to me like watching a slow moving multi-car crash with no way to stop it.
George, I must defend myself. Rest assured that voting is not my problem. Canvassing in not my problem. Attending meetings is not my problem. I was describing an impression when watching the court continue to behave in ways that fly in the face of majority opinion and even ethical considerations. Religious extremism co-ordinated with the hard drive end run for far right political power has been stunningly successful against liberalism. As in the take over of SCOTUS. We can't vote these people out no matter how brazenly they choose to merely serve their ideological masters. There is a hard futility in watching this. But fear not, I am not cowering in the dark. Just mad as hell.
So called "Religious extremism" must be more correctly considered Devil Worship. Such blind faith constituents have been sucked into his deception. They are in a fog, distracted into knowing lies are truth.
The ruling elite white wealth is in control if we permit them to win elections.
It is simple.
They, even though possessing uncountable ill-gotten wealth, can easily be defeated by our power to vote them all out of office, and then put the really bad ones in prison or bankruptcy or both, Eh!?
VOTE INTELLIGENTLY & help many others to do the same...Please & thank you
Yes, I understood that was the reference, but the “beyond inappropriate” didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t denigrate any religion or any religious figure. If someone said someone looked like Jesus I wouldn’t be offended. Maybe should have said he looks like a statue of Buddha. At any rate, I don’t get what was “beyond inappropriate.” Perhaps if I were I were an adherent of that faith I’d understand?
I couldn't celebrate either, until last night when I flipped the channel to PBS, and watched - and sang and danced and whooped with - "A Capitol Fourth 2022." A powerful and poignant reminder of what the USA is really all about!
MaryPat, thank you for posting this link. I am in tears seeing the spirit of our country represented in that celebration. The symbols and words that have been usurped by the corrupted and taken back, even to the red ties, was so heartening. I really appreciate your sharing this with us...this is the positive light we need to shine.
I also watched. My response is posted somewhere above. I have long enjoyed the Capitol 4th, but took time out while death star was occupying the WH. As I mentioned above, I had a hard time seeing the Capitol Building.
George, we can vote, but our votes will be gerrymandered into fractions. We might win some unexpected elections, but we are saddled with life time appointments to a far right SCOTUS. The latest disposition of the podcast: "538" set my hair on fire given all we have endured these last years. Sure we can run to the polling booths BUT we must look clear-eyed at the power differentials. Not whining. Practically speaking, and with all due respect, "voting all republicans out of office" sounds more like fantasy cheerleading. I must stay grounded on the issues and how to realistically solve them or I really WILL lose hope. Those of us, who need realistic communication, pursue blogs like this for practical information and ideas. And rest assured we WILL also be at the voting booths, if I am gauging the majority temperament of this group correctly. PS Not whining.
I can not and will never abide with your defeatist enslavement to that which seems impossible to you. America was created not by those who whined it was impossible but those who NEVER gave into the common fear of the unknown. America the brave, Eh!?
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Be brave so we can be free. Politics Girl, Leigh McGowan with thoughts that mirror my own.
Unita! Our nation is the sum of so many parts. Are not those parts united greater than the whole? Remember, each of us, from whence we come. We are all in this together. There is enough to go around. Salud!
If you believe that all persons are created equal, like the Bible, then vote Democratic this year. This concept is what distinguishes Democrats from Republicans. Don't trust me, read the tweets of Tim Cook, wise man & CEO of Apple, one of my favorite stock investments. Can our Constitutional republic, so conceived, long endure? It is up to voting citizens this year.
Well, Michael. I am liking this very assertive game called “53 Pick-Up” outlined in Greg Olear’s Prevail Substack post today. Had to read it a few times to get the rules and the intel. It’s on the very definitive side of consent of the governed NOW before it gets taken away completely. It’s also down to the wire but it seems to me that our country has been there and here before. A bit maddening but perhaps a necessary repeat mode to vanquish madness.
Give a read. I will love to see what others think.
I love it! Funny as hell but devious in the best possible way. It's a street fighter's guide to save democracy. If only those in power would read it aloud like an oath.
I feel as though my heart has been torn out with the actions of the Supreme Court and the actions (and non-action) of Republicans.. Democracy in America is dying, the rule of law no longer exists, civil rights are vanishing. Each of you continue to give me strength, however. I'm not feeling very 'patriotic' these days. Thank you Heather and all of you for your comments and inspiration. You help me to continue to move forward.
Discovered the National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933 that supervised fair trade codes and guaranteed laborers a right to fair bargaining. "The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was enacted by Congress in June 1933 and was one of the measures by which President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to assist the nation's economic recovery during the Great Depression.
The passage of NIRA ushered in a unique experiment in U.S. economic history – the NIRA sanctioned, supported, and in some cases, enforced an alliance of industries. Antitrust laws were suspended, and companies were required to write industry-wide "codes of fair competition" that effectively fixed prices and wages, established production quotas, and imposed restrictions on entry of other companies into the alliances.
The act further called for industrial self-regulation and declared that codes of fair competition – for the protection of consumers, competitors, and employers – were to be drafted for the various industries of the country and were to be subject to public hearings. Employees were given the right to organize and bargain collectively and could not be required, as a condition of employment, to join or refrain from joining a labor organization."
In May 1935, in the case of the Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the compulsory-code system on the grounds that the NIRA improperly delegated legislative powers to the executive and that the provisions of the poultry code (in the case in question) did not constitute a regulation of interstate commerce. (See the Interstate Commerce Act.) In a lengthy and unanimous opinion, the Court seemed to demonstrate a complete unwillingness to endorse Roosevelt's argument that the national crisis of economic depression demanded radical innovation. Later, FDR would use this Court opinion as evidence that the Court was living in the "horse and buggy" era and needed to be reformed." https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/national-industrial-recovery-act.
Also known as the Wagner Act, this bill was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on July 5, 1935. (It's anniversary is today. I wanted to see if Republicans had 'outlawed' this act.) It established the National Labor Relations Board and addressed relations between unions and employers in the private sector.
After the National Industrial Recovery Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, organized labor was again looking for relief from employers who had been free to spy on, interrogate, discipline, discharge, and blacklist union members. In the 1930s, workers had begun to organize militantly, and in 1933 and 1934, a great wave of strikes occurred across the nation in the form of citywide general strikes and factory takeovers. Violent confrontations occurred between workers trying to form unions and the police and private security forces defending the interests of anti-union employers.
In a Congress sympathetic to labor unions, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was passed in July of 1935. The broad intention of the act, commonly known as the Wagner Act after Senator Robert R. Wagner of New York, was to guarantee employees “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection.” The NLRA applied to all employers involved in interstate commerce except airlines, railroads, agriculture, and government.
The constitutionality of the NLRA was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. in 1937. The act contributed to a dramatic surge in union membership and made labor a force to be reckoned with both politically and economically. Women benefited from this shift to unionization as well. By the end of the 1930s, over 800,000 women belonged to unions, a threefold increase from 1929. The provisions of the NLRA were later expanded under the Taft-Hartley Labor Act of 1947 and the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/national-labor-relations-act
Faith will always restore all that is good when we all put forth the required tireless sincere effort to vote intelligently and assist as many others as possible to register and VOTE INTELLIGENTLY...
Don't permit the evil of deception that has enslaved all republicans enslave us into defeatism's deception!
Know in your heart and soul that good ALWAYS overcomes bad, as long as we never loose the vision GOD gave all those before us who struggled against all odds and actually willingly gave up their life, at that single moment of truth, so that we know freedom in America!
Very questionable consent on both of the last two republican "so-called" presidents.
Both lost the popular vote but won the EC. Dubya's election results were rather dubious and indications of vote interference in Florida that eventually had to be settled by the Supreme Court. The race in Florida was so close that state law required a recount. When Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified Bush as the winner by 537 votes, Gore sued, arguing that not all ballots had been counted. There were still piles of punch cards that had been set aside because of voter errors resulting in anomalies called “hanging chads,” “pregnant chads” and “dimpled chads.”
The Florida Supreme Court sided with Gore as the winner, but Bush appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately voted 5 to 4 to reverse the Florida court’s decision and halt the recount. With Florida in hand, Bush won the Electoral College 271 to 266, while Gore ended up getting 500,000 more votes in the popular vote.
The selection of Trump's was even dubious as he projected that if he did not win the 2016 election it would only be because it was rigged. Since we know he projects all his dark deeds onto the other party, we know there was rigging, but not on his opponent's side. She won 2.8 million more votes in the popular vote, despite hostile foreign intervention, propaganda and cyberwarfare. No, the republicans no longer win now without re-districting and cheating and outside help. Hardly what I would call "consent."
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Sandy, I understand why you posted The Declaration of Independence twice (and a third time below, I see). The message bears repeating. There was a time when this document was read out loud every 4th of July on the steps of my state's capitol, but not for many years now. It is my hope that it can guide us, all of us, in the work that lies ahead.
Hi Steve, There are some areas for Sandy, which seem to be fixed/inflexible. I do not understand, however, your encouragement to Sandy for repetitions after he repeated the Declaration 5x at the beginning of the forum. There may be no balancing for Sandy between his self-importance or as he may see it making a point and using an outsized portion of space at the beginning of the forum. What support were you providing Sandy? Cheers! 🟥⬜🟦
Fern...It seems to me you might be well acquainted with our Holy Bible to some extent.
Perhaps you will realize then, upon some self-examination, that the our Bible uses repetition more than any other "book" in history to drive home one point.
Love others as much as you are loved by the only One of pure Love.
GOD uses all of us to actually witness HIS love of us to each other, including talking about HIS Love for each other to each other...never knew that to ever be offensive before.......
When I was a student, I was obliged to memorise and repeat the first part of this... and we all did this... repeatedly....
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Love and honor to you and Buddy, Heather. Deepest gratitude to you for all you do for us, guiding, educating, elucidating, bringing us all to understanding and comprehension. I love who you are and am ever grateful for the privilege of your teaching. Blessings upon us all.
This is what I was reading when HCR's message containing the preamble to the Declaration of Independence and a photo of The Capitol was delivered:
'Parade Shooting Live Updates: Man in Custody After Hunt for Gunman'
'Gunshots rained down from a rooftop onto a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., killing six and injuring dozens. Celebrations were called off across the region amid fears of more violence.'
A fitting juxtaposition between celebration of Independence Day and reality. It is an example of the cruelty at this time in the United States of America.
It especially races to our grandchildren and all of their contemporaries. I feel so guilty to be leaving them with this colossal mess!
What might I have done over the past five or six decades that might have contributed to finding another path for our nation? What can I do now in my eighth decade?
My wife and I are collaborating with a small group of like-minded folk trying conceive of and begin to create sustainable communities. Our oldest daughter is involved in a project to learn how to have meaningful conversations, communications that contribute in concrete ways to the betterment of society. And we are engaged in study circles focusing on the moral and spiritual attributes that can counteract the negativity, the divisiveness, the evil that surrounds us.
The efforts are small in the number of their participants, and the results, if any, will not be apparent for some time. But at least they are covering new, though uncharted, territory.
Please, if you have any other thoughts or ideas, please share them. It will take a momentous and heroic effort by all of us to counteract the vitriol and naked hatred that is poisoning our civilization.
Bill, Thank you for sharing what you, your wife and daughter are doing. You inspire all of us to share what we are up to. We learn from each other. I am trying to encourage local journalism; checking with college campuses and learning about what may be happening online. It bothered me that you are casting any blame on yourself. Everything that you mentioned -- sustainable communities; fostering communication between people … all important ways to grow together.
Thank you for your enlightening efforts of positive collaborations...I am sure you realize a most important category essential to achieving your goal...Money and lots of it.
I appreciate your kind words, George. Not too many years ago I would have agreed with you about the need for huge sums of cash to fund the sorts of efforts I’ve described. Now, though, I’ve begun to realize that an ever-expanding pool of committed individuals can accomplish great things even on a minuscule budget. I suppose it could be called sweat equity, as it is in commercial ventures that startup on a shoestring, and a wing and a prayer.
While these efforts are still in their earliest stages, I see people extending themselves to accomplish encouraging results. I suspect that we can plan carefully and creatively and produce remarkable outcomes.
Stay tuned! Better yet, find or found your own project, find resourceful and creative people, and amaze us…and yourselves!
Bill, I found the following article about Clarence Thomas very informative and startling. Author, Corey Robin, authored the book 'The Enigma of Clarence Thomas'. He is a highly regarded political theorist, Professor, author and journalist. I recommend the article, which was published in The New Yorker last week.
Yes, it is a juxtaposition. After reading about yet another gun killing , this mass murder during a celebration, I wrote to my sons and once again implored them to move their families to Canada. But that’s not easy. Or likely. Maybe for them it’s too late. Is there no escape for us? Do we know who is next and where? Courts and repubs have blocked any sanity in gun laws and accessibility. We once feared weather disasters. Now the devastation is man made. By courts and repubs. I repeat.
Irenie, I think Peter Burnett's comment responding to Michael Bales' earlier is worth reading. He is suggesting ways together through grassroots organizations and lobbying we let the Democratic Party and our representatives know what needs to be done.; to let them know what they have to do to get our votes. We need to grow citizen education, organization and action. Have you been in touch with the League of Women Voters and any other grassroots organizations. Ellie is a great source for that. Salud!
Oh yes, thank you, Fern. I do know the ways to work to make a difference and so does my family. We belong to grassroots organizations and continue to support and work for change. Activism. My 200 postcards to Arizona Den voters are written. And other work. My family isn’t interested in moving. I am! We are all part of the solution in so many ways. However, my friends in Canada, while they have their own struggles, aren’t dealing with the gun violence and the loss of personal rights like we are. Adding it all up. We have one life to live. Each of us. And I’m not moving. Just wishing. Tomorrow I’ll be planting at a local organic farm. One of my local organizations, is Rural Resistance. One of our contributions is to
provide a food table every two weeks where local people, mostly Spanish speaking families, come to share the bounty of local farms and some grocers. All connected with our progressive group. We work with the homeless population also. It’s a positive to be part of this group, but it’s discouraging to see the poverty and inequality in our country. So we continue to do our work. And I’ll continue to complain loud enough through voting and activism.
Irenie, I have reread your comment tonight. Earlier, my attention was given to the people at the parade, including the dead and their families, in Highland Park. There is no way for me to fully absorb how out of control our country is The social fabric has unraveled; the spirit is in protective hiding. You and your family are members of the caring corps. I don't even know if the country is in a holding pattern or worse. Indictments of Trump and lead masterminds of the coup would help in addition to stronger leadership by a couple of younger players would provide more sense of purpose and direction. With appreciation, Irenie.
Hi Fern. I’m sure I knew you in another lifetime. Here so many of us are connected virtually, but in a real world. So much we share, the hope and dreams and I think the absolute sadness and concern for our children and grandchildren here in USA, the world. The shooting is one more that seem endless. I watched HCR on FB today. She gives us hope but is also in the real world. The changes to undo the mess we are in could take longer than our lifetime. How sad, tragic to not leave the world better than we found it. Having a historical perspective is critical for us to understand what’s happening.
I’m a native Californian, but my kids attended university out of state, so that expanded my horizons. Our horizons. I’m now a more international traveler and realize how critical it is for us to honor the diversity of our country. And the world. One of my kids and Family are New Yorkers, so since 2000, I’ve spent much time back and forth. NYC is a different world, isn’t it? My kids have had no problems adapting to life in the city after growing up in a rural area near a lake. I see NYC in your name and we’re from all over. Are you a native? Family ? We have no problem communicating and seem to respect and honor each other. And I think we share that concern in not knowing…even with all our work and commitment to change, it may take many years to get past the repub’s dismantling of our democracy. If we can. I hope our planet survives.
Hand to heart Irenie. My first 7 years Bronx and then to Queens. I graduated from NYU. We do have simpatico Irenie. I'll get back to bio. Tired now and in need of growing better sense of how I will proceed. Full of feeling for people and children who have been shaken by gun violence and hatred. Not enough organization of citizens and too little strength in leadership. I'll be back. Shalom Aleichem.
Freedom to exercise rights without regard for the common good is tyranny. As a kid, I was taught that tyranny is the enemy. Now it’s being called liberty. Sheesh! Our Founders are likely appalled by what’s become of their Declaration.
💔💔💔💔💔The anger I have at the inertia grows daily. The 6 (what I call the committee) stand between democracy and autocracy. That so many Americans and GOP laughed and disparaged them in the beginning - including the dishonest McConnell who now is changing his tune. They are all blackards.
I see it more like it’s Merrill Garland who stands between democracy and autocracy. The 6 have methodically and steadfastly done their work. Just like the TWO impeachment trial presenters. Flip the Script. If ANY of this was done by a Dem, it would be like a black man fleeting an unwarranted traffic stop.
I love my country. I can no longer protect my 23 year old daughter. Unless, I move her to a state that protects her rights. This breaks my heart tonight . July 4 , 2022.
My 83-year-old mother-in-law, who saw horrible things in Hong Kong as a child during the Japanese occupation, told me tonight that she's now afraid to go to the grocery store. "All the shootings," she said.
It's not just the mass shootings around the country but a huge increase in shootings here often related to robberies, drug deals, and so on. Plus, we've had our share of anti-Asian hate crimes.
Standing up to Guns and Weapons of War? Yeah, that’s easy. That’s why they have the guns and weapons of war, because they are the surest way to shut down a reasoned argument against their self-ascribed privilege. I feel the Dems have tried to stand up against this. But each protest, march, and political gathering feels more and more potentially dangerous. I and a few other women were invited to sit down with our Governor to talk about reproductive health and the possibility of Roe being overturned. It was at a local restaurant before opening hours. Media was present. I almost did not go because of fear the place would be shot up or bombed. Before, someone might look at me and say: “That’s a little dramatic don’t you think?!?!” But not now. Not in my State.
What is so sad, Elizabeth, is that we cannot fully protect our children in this country. Now females of any age must struggle for their reproductive rights. These rights are not rights in the eyes of too many states. And how can we protect our children from gun violence when school officers and law enforcement can’t or won’t challenge one gunman in a classroom of children. When they stand outside the door of a classroom for an hour until all is quiet. When guns are available and lawmakers argue about age and waiting periods, while War weapons continue to be sold to the public. And used against us in public gatherings. Where are our personal rights? These rights, personal and safety, are being erased by SCOTUS and repubs. I’m also heartbroken and so sorry for all our children and grandchildren.
Sandy, Is there a reason that you do not want to do it yourself? You wrote it. I think that it is good and that it is most appropriate for the author to mail it. Please tell me why you prefer that I do it before I decide. Thank you.
Sandy, THIS is the perfect accompaniment to your posting of the constitution. I can never get past the “All Men Are Created Equal”, without a surge of rage.
Not only did they knowingly leave out women altogether, they did not REALLY even mean ALL MEN. The document was disingenuous from the start. But the seed of the idea that ALL are born equal and should be governed by the consent of the majority, that they are endowed with the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. The seed of the idea of “We The People” is the flicker of a really precious flame that is very dim at the moment and needs fuel and oxygen. I believe it’s been very hard for the majority of Americans to believe the Republic could really implode. And I’m not talking about frustrated complaining about waiting too long in a DMV line. I’m talking about the institutions grinding to a halt, losing their legitimacy because of the institution’s own actions, the underfunding of critical services, the knowing tolerance for corruption of lawmakers by Dark Money that has more of a Right to Privacy than my own female body. Looking the other way -or aiding and abetting - an Insurrection! Supreme Court Justices bold-face lying to get confirmed on the court, and then unleashing their assault on America. Many people are NOT prepared for this fight. But that doesn’t mean we will not HAVE the fight. It’s HERE. READY OR NOT!
Such a solemn and dark day today, for so many reasons - known well by all who read HCR regularly. And by those who read the news today. Two years from now, we must be able to look back and say that we have given our all to protect our Democracy. May those efforts be successful and our course be true. It’s time for good, honor and our best angels to rise up. Rise up and prevail.
Yes, we have shared in creating the mess we are in and we need to figure a way out of it. In part, WE can look to other countries who have been where we are now and follow their paths. Stay the course.
Thank you, Kathleen, but I am going back to a poet from another country, likewise in deep and urgent need at this time. A universal prayer... that of Rabindranath Tagore.
*
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action –
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Unfortunately, that "dreary desert sand" describes too well the mental dustbowls of today's America, today's world. And the dust devils besetting us. It starts with sterility, it ends in Hell.
Perhaps Americans should celebrate Independence Day by visiting the great war cemeteries where so many bodies lie of young men who died to defend the noble aspirations of that first Declaration.
I know only those in Manila, Cambridge, England, Bastogne, Belgium, and smaller cemeteries in France, where I visited only the British and Commonwealth cemetery near Omaha Beach.
These are places where we are forced to reflect on what matters. And to cast aside what does not.
... maybe instead of 'celebrating' with explosives, booze and unbound gluttony we might well light candles, keep silence, pray and meditate on what could be possible in a 'more perfect union' in a world governed by conscience and integrity - and the work we have today to make it so ... against persistent ignorance and senseless prejudice ... with reverence for lives sacrificed to make the dream come true ... have you seen this?
So grateful you posted this Peter. As much as I love Langston Hughes, Tagore’s phrase; “Where words come out from the depths of truth.... brought tears to my eyes; soul food for this artist. Thank you.
Fern, we have the option to choose - to see beyond the gruesome moment of static 'reality' - dream a better world into being and commit our lives to make it so ... that, or just surrender to the nightmare that surrounds, and trudge on through with no hope ... eyes on the horizon ... sail on, my friend, sail on ....
Kathleen, I deleted my responses to the Tagore a while ago. I was not in the mood for the 'universal prayer', but my question was aggressive and that is why it was deleted. There was no intention to dampen Peter's or your appreciation. Our tastes are not always the same but rush to no judgement about my curiosity, openness or imagination. Dream on....
I was in the process of answering you in some detail, urging you to be consistent with your own very obvious rejection of mediocrity.
But I was an idiot, I drafted directly using the Substack box (as now) and... all too typically when writing in these boxes, the message disappeared unfinished...
Maybe the problem is in my computer, but it would be reassuring if Substack checked their own program, since this accidental censorship is, in my experience, so very frequent.
As in healthy families, both nuclear and extended, there's space here for both harmony and discord, and the dynamic moves up and down from the one to the other. And you know this, because you practice it. This space is our crucible. So we can leave commitment to mediocrity and worse to those forms of pond life that live to serve those things. Likewise, repression and projection onto others.
Our aims are simple, but simple is rarely cheap or easy.
So let's dare dream big dreams and work to make them come true.
Is that not what the best in America has always been about?
I have not experienced any of my comments disappearing unless I've made a mistake on the computer, although comments and replies do move around. Is this post of yours what you intended in the first place? Have you read the dialogue between Kathleen and myself? It appears that you find me to be inconsistent at times. It would be helpful to know what literally you are pointing to. Perhaps, you are not being elliptical here, but I would like to better understand this message.
Fern, I perceived your comment and question as honest and justifiable, considering the weight of apathy we can feel, faced with the ever flowing River of Sh!t ... it often feels incredibly naive to even suggest uplifting perspectives when the world we live in is so filled with corruption and violence ... and yet, how shall we respond? For the longest time, I was apathetic, facetious, and caustic - reinforcing the vile negativity I saw in the world ... seriously, I could not let a minute go by without emphasizing just how bad things were/are and could/can be ....
Somewhere along the line, I realized that (1) we are blessed with the gift of choice and (2) we can influence our reality with focused intent ... it took a while to put it in place, but more and more, I am aware of the power to influence reality with intent to project what can be - rather than reinforce what is ... and yes, feelings are key - I very much understand not being in the mood to hear more denial of reality as it is ... I am great-full now to be in touch with that sense of choice - to emphasize what is possible - even if it seems impossible ... it feels better to know in my heart what can be rather than dwell on what cannot and never will be so long as I focus it there.
I know you are a dreamer too - and how discouragement is part of that equation - so not to judge your curiosity, openness or imagination - just to know you carry the weight of caring deeply in your heart - and encourage the upside ... carry on, one breath at a time - I hope we can get some sleep - that helps!!
One more thought to share, Kathleen. There are moments when a feeling erupts, which lasts just a short time. Eruptions and flashes of emotion or a moody afternoon send signals. The feeling may be uncharted, not of consequence, familiar, passing, or require reflection. Over interpretation, which you may be guilty of here is also a tendency to be aware of.
Kathleen, You are an empathetic person and no doubt that has prompted what I have interpreted as your wish to advise, mentor or guide me. Enough. In my last response you, I explained my seemingly aggressive question and tried to discourage your interpretation of my feelings and needs. You do not 'get' me, Kathleen. I take this last missive as overload. In other words, from my point of view you have gone overboard. Let's stop here. Thank you.
Thank you posting this. So important to read this today and try to connect to the energy and hope that we need to change this death spiral we are in. But also for me, as an older white woman, to contemplate how much drive and determination our black citizens required as individuals and as communities to persevere through unthinkable hardships and persecutions. A profound poem and prayer.
Oh Heather, I am so sad tonight - as a woman, as an African American, as a queer person who was raised to believe that this was the “land of the free.” I cannot celebrate in the sweet and simple way I could as a child, and I mourn that. I trust that we will survive as a species amongst all kindred species, but I’ve lost faith that this great experiment in human freedom has failed (ironic that it did not include women, Black, and Indigenous folks). Perhaps not a bad thing - humans are creative and will undoubtedly come up with the next idea, but for tonight I grieve. Thank you for being such a steady voice in such uncertain times.
I stand right next to you, Akaya. We women grieve together but together, we must empower each other and stand like a brick wall. Impenetrable and solid.
And this wall must include all our allies of all gender identities. We have to face that we are fighting a wall of women, as well as men who worked to strip our rights. Women’s Rights are Human Rights has never been truer
Akaya, these feelings are so important and will help all of us move to take our country forward for All. Many of our citizens are lazy and do not participate in our democracy nor even understand how it works (maybe by design of lack of education...). This is our moment to wake as many of the non-participants up to how close we are to authoritarianism. Get everyone you know to vote.
I am very sorry but I feel like unless you are a white male in this country you do not count. I hate to think that way as I never did before. It is very upsetting and disturbing to see how has this happened over the years and that one man like Hitler was able to fuel the storm. It is a very horrible commentary that the US Supreme Court has come under scrutiny over these latest decisions. What does a decision by that court mean when they can overturn it on a whim of their choice. I truly hate what is happened to this country and how the rest of the world views us. Very sad. I hate to say this but we are headed to the end just like the Romans. I am of the age that hopefully I will not see this happen but is tragic for the younger generation.
I'd like to say that once a country becomes an autocracy, NO ONE is safe, not even white men. Anyone can become an "enemy" at any point. Some people in this country are overjoyed at what's happening, believe it's what they want, from some (not all) wealthy business people to, masses of more ordinary Trump supporters, they believe their way of life, way of doing business is becoming safe now. They seem to have no idea that, if we continue down this road to hell, they could be targeted for ANY capricious reason at any time, and there will be no one to protect them.
So, although it looks like white males are "ok," I don't believe they are.
...and it's very telling that SCOTUS is even considering Moore v. Harper. They are very likely in favor of individual state legislatures being allowed to overturn fair elections and the voters' will-just like #45, Eastman, Jeff Clark and the Insurrectionists wanted to do on Jan. 6 2021.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all PEOPLE are created equal, EVERYWHERE AT ALL TIMES, that they are endowed by their Creator (not THE Creator, or A Creator, but Their Own individual unassailable self determined relationship as they choose) with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Unalienable Rights are for everyone. Not just Americans.
This Aspiration, this Proposition, is America's Vision statement.
Thank you, Kathleen, for posting TCinLA's Substack. He wrote a beautiful story of his ancestors' contributions to this country and invited readers to do the same.
It reminds us how precious it is to have the names, and even stories not captured by an Ancestry.com family tree, as documents are so easily lost or destroyed, and family history horribly eradicated by waves of genocide.
It also reminds me how still the stories of our ancestral women remain in the shadows, for opportunities not allowed and for names changed with marriage in our patrilineal descent patriarchy.
So true, Ellie ... I have no such sense of my family history, except Great Grandfather Crawford on my Mother's side who used to pull candy out of our ears ... doubtless, there are pictures on a wall in some hallowed hall - not a sense of something real ....
I have the same lack of family history. I know some of my Dad's side (thanks to some family members of his that discovered that we are descended from Alfred the Great) but almost nothing from my Mom's side, other than the "it's complicated" versions of who was really the father to whom.
Children were put in a dumpster by their father and told they were playing hide & seek to protect them from an active shooter at an Independence Day Parade in Illinois:
That was incredibly impressive performance - but we are seeing a country (Ukraine) energised by the promise that WAS America - But sadly the source of that promise seems to be in a state of self destruct.
Today, my town’s high school kids protested the Roe decision on the county courthouse steps. Then they marched in the parade with their signs. So proud of them and look forward to them leading us to a better tomorrow. I can’t say I feel very patriotic. I don’t. We are equal in the eyes of our own beholders but not by the 6 illegitimate court justices. Actually, a very sad day.
Marlene, we are seeing that young people are invested in the future. Today young marchers walked from the California Capitol in Sacramento to the freeway, I-5 and shut it down. This is the second time. First was the day of the court decision. Law enforcement managed the traffic. It takes commitment and support, encouragement for people to stand up to power. Especially against SCOTUS.
I didn't hear about that, Irenie, because I never watched the news today. I only saw the news on my phone about yet another mass shooting by yet, another young white guy! But thank you for letting me know this. I love it that they shut the I-5 fwy down!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Marlene, I was at the first protest, too, and the marchers, mostly women, walked that same way to the freeway, stopping traffic on the major freeway at rush hour. These young people are bold and committed. Hope they continue to hold leaders accountable.
How does stopping traffic on the freeway solve the problems we're up against? It shows organizational skills and determination to *do* something. It's the "something" that has me scratching my head.
I was surprised to see the March turn to the freeway. It was after we were walking to our car and we thought the March was over. It was not. And it lasted past dark. Both marches, so it was likely planned. I think the idea was/is to make the public aware of the protest, inform about SCOTUS and the Roe v Wade decision on the news and in public. Possibly cause “good trouble.’ Covered by the evening news in real time. I’ve been part of Sacramento marches many times and this was the first organized by so many young women. They will not be silenced. They want to be seen and heard. I’m just reporting.
Yes yes YES! That is definitely the goal and bless them for having that tenacity and spirit to do whatever it takes to be heard. They, like us, will not be silenced!
My heart is breaking. What has happened to our beloved country? I weep and feel hopeless. Then I read Heather and try to lift my head and heart higher. You are a gift and a light in this dark world. Thank you for your words, your insight and your heart.
I’m ready. One can do an analysis of the key swing states, and the most competetive legislative districts in each of those states. Focus should be on voter registration and turnout, and a mass migration, iinto those districts from safe Blue states, in order to wrest control of the statehouse to non republicans.
A mass migration and mass registration campaign to swing these state legislatures before they can install King Don or Ron or Ted on the throne in 2024. If that’s what it takes, I’ll move there. Not away from these states, towards these states.
If that’s the rules the Supreme Court wants, that’s what we’ll give them. State control, and people voting in record numbers and with moving vans to swing these states.
FYI a group of HCR Substackers has formed to support our grassroots activism. July 17 Zoom will feature Melissa Walker of The States Project. For more info, email:
I really got into it at 10 PM on FB with folks I know who had posted and responded to one of those 2nd Amendment memes showing Minute Men firing muskets and promoting the right of everyone to own any weapon they wanted. The original post was made before the shooting spree started yesterday. These are 3 of my replies to them:
these guys are not worthy of the name "Minute Men" nor share any of their proud traditions. They are little boys playing at being "patriot's" with a focus on the "riot" part of that word.
you want to do something useful with your weapons? Form up a regiment and go to Ukraine and kill Putin's soldiers. That would be helpful. Be the La Fayette Escadrille of the 21st Century. Or the Billy Fiske of the 609 Squadron during the battle of Britain. That would impress me.
are you feeling good about what happened today with those " extrordinarily heavily regulated for nearly a century" weapons today. One of my friends who lives near there had friends whose children witnessed the violence, death and chaos up close. They will NEVER be the same again. Please don't lecture me. I'm done with this thread. You guys are clueless. Call me all the names you want. Hope you sleep well.
After the last 2 of my responses they all shut up. There was none of their clever banter, or skewed history....or calling me names. The f-ing bullies, shut up. But there was no "sorry the children were traumatized" either. Just quiet.
Christine, yes it was rage....and I have taken a deep breath. My wife and I had just hosted the band "Brother & Sister" at our house on Tuesday as they toured up the coast to Peach Fest. Their manager Scott Boyer is the one who posted about his friends children. So this was palpable in a way most of these attrocities are not quite to me....horrible yes...but this one became more personal. My friend who shared the original meme, which he obviously did not create is an older, decent "gentleman" who is Jewish and was a news professional who happens to be a Republican in Baltimore. I've called him out before on posting these memes which are created to throw red meat to the "faithful" and try and make them justify their positions and feel good about them. When I "react" with a different POV or set of facts, I always get called names by the same people and they ask Alan how I could possibly be his friend. Many times he actually comes to my defense and sometimes admits to a point I've made. In this case, so far he has remained quiet along with the bullies who were taking me on. The post took a twist after the shooting occurred and they could not, would not poke at my rage...they had nowhere to go...and my challenge to go fight Russians has just laid there. The guantlet not picked up. Along with being bullies they are cowards. so yes we have to do work for the children.
Your energies should not be wasted on FB. Rather, you should be turning them toward electing people who will fight gun violence, and harness the out-of-control SCOTUS. That would be even more satisfying.
Are you serious, Jack? Those are not wasted energies. Social media is a divided force and needs voices to combat its rising tide of fascism. And just plain “stupidness”.
Jack I totally agree about the voting work. I just happened into the post, made a comment and it escalated. I don't spend hours trolling FB. Most of the time when I'm there is while my video editing projects are rendering for a minute or two. It beats watching the render clock tick down.
I have a couple of conservative friends who I know are decent people at heart. They repost these memes and I respond when I see them. There are a few characters who take great offense that I dare muss up their party...and sometimes it gets interesting. Last night was exceptional and unusual because of the days events crossing into July 4 celebrations. This may be the first time they have allowed me the "final word". It's been totally quiet. Maybe, just maybe, I touched something...
Oh, you touched something all right. It’s the right moment to harvest the turn of many who are suddenly feeling unsure about lies and conspiracy. I see it more as the Jan 6th committee does it’s work as well as the forces preserving the common good. Groundswell!!!
It has been a tragic, almost surreal Fourth of July for reasons that require no repeating. And after last week’s Supreme Court rulings and the one about elections looming in the fall, “...Governments...deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed” feels like an obscure concept.
For me, there is nothing to "like" about the fact that, coming here to probe the words "consent of the governed", I found that you and William G. Whitlash had already done just that.
There is even less to like about a withdrawal of consent on the part of citizens, yet it is plain that anarchists on the extreme right, aided and abetted by a commando placed at key points at the heart of government, are every hour at work sapping both government and the people's consent to it; and that this process has gone so far that the very survival of the State is, or very soon will be, endangered.
It is curious to compare today's very real threat with the drunken paranoid ravings of Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, inflating a "Communist menace" into a Red under every bed, a Red in every crevice of the State. Or with the hysteria that led to the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti and many others a century ago.
Whatever one may think of the anarchist movement at that time -- and I am very aware of general ignorance about it -- these people were motivated by a desire to free the oppressed. Those who are now calling themselves "libertarians" are after a monopoly of freedom, one in which they enjoy limitless liberty, while others glean what they can.
Responsible citizens need now to redefine consent and the limits to consent; and to work hard to re-establish government that merits and is accorded general consent.
No sane being can consent to what took place in Highland Park and is taking place all the time throughout America.
But I myself am even more deeply revolted by yesterday's lynching in Ohio, when a uniformed rabble behaving like foxhounds at the kill, murdered a young unarmed black man plainly caught up by a panic attack.
In a world swept by wildfires of mass psychosis, people can be excused panic attacks. If they aren't white in America, they'd be abnormal not to be terrified of so-called police.
Another concept that is unquestionably meaningless: that of "a well-regulated Militia".
Not just meaningless, a sword of Damocles over every American head.
There appear to be many swords of Damocles hovering over every American head. It's grim, unchartered territory.
Equating "a well-regulated militia" with any random person who wants to legally own a high-tech weapon of war isn't judicial reasoning. It's more like someone brutally assaulting you and laughing while doing it because they know they can get away with it. The brazen lack of intellectual rigor says we've arrived in a place where we can't quite yet get our bearings.
I have said that the Supreme Court is not worldly enough to think on the level they need to be able to to interpret the laws. I would like to add that police acting as henchmen is also NOT "a well-regulated militia," and we need to be examining why it is so terrifying to be living in America for young Black men. I have seen quite a few Black men here in Bremen, Germany where I currently am. I know they have their trials to bear here, but fear of getting shot is not one of them.
Since I live in Chicago, I was horrified to read about the Highland Park shooting, as I have been with each shooting that happens. My daughter quickly texted a classmate who lives in Highland Park to make sure she was alright.
I started keeping a file of the pdfs of all shootings in Chicago and environs on my desktop last August. This past year my daughter had her exchange partner from Austria. When we were in our Zoom meeting with her parents and the supervising teacher where we discuss family norms, I know we came across as really strict because they let their child have free rein to come and go as she pleases. We sounded so uptight having a curfew and saying we pick her up at night. Then,
one dinner when my daughter was arguing with me about my rules about her going out with her exchange partner from Vienna using a transportation route I considered unsafe at a time and place I considered unsafe, and let my qualify that as more unsafe than the general risk any American now has when leaving their home. She told me not to scare her exchange partner. I told them that on the previous weekend there had been 60 shootings with a certain number dead. My husband challenged the number. I went and got my laptop, and found the article and read it to them, showed them the headline. After that I got more credibility. In fact, after several shootings in our local community in the fall, my partner told me her mother was really glad that I made the rules in the house and decided where they could and could not go.
Granted, the communities that have that many shootings in Chicago over the weekends are generally suffering both from the police and the lack of police care , which is not true in the one in which I live. My university community has a private police force and the city police, but there is no "safe community!" Just safer and less safe, which still is a statistical relativity that leaves parents here worried in the ways that parents in Vienna do not generally have to feel. My daughter felt the difference too. She did not want to come back home from her exchange in Vienna, because it felt so good to have the childhood freedom that teens need, that they cannot have here without too much parental interference. That is how her classmates have felt on their exchanges to Germany too. Several of the students in her school are coming to Germany for University, or other European countries like Czech Republic, France, Switzerland because they feel they will be safer. Feeling safe is an important quality of living issue that money cannot buy.
Here is a list of some of the headlines in Chicago papers that I have in my Chicago Crimes File:
August 16, 2021--47 shot, 5 killed in weekend gun violence through Sunday--Chicago Tribune
August 23, 2021--40 shot, 5 killed in weekend gun violence--Chicago Tribune
September 5, 2021--48 people shot in weekend gun violence through Sunday morning, including 10 children and teenagers--Chicago Tribune
September 14, 2021--7 people fatally shote over weekend: Gun violence strikes at least 64 in Chicago, authorities say--Chicago Tribune
September 26, 2021--One gun, 27 shootings; Weapon stolen from small Wisconsin shop linked to string of Chicago violence--Chicago Tribune
October 3,2021--17 shot, 2 killed in gun violence Saturday into Sunday: Teen among 2 fatalities overnight gun violence that left 17 wounded, including 3 injured in the Gold Coast--Chicago Tribune
November 9, 2021--Man Murdered on 54th Place at Ellis: 7th Homicide in Hyde Park-Kenwood This Year--Hyde Park Herald (This is a few blocks from where Barack Obama has his Chicago home, and in my community).
There were 2 more shootings on that day in our community. Each reported in a separate article. By this point I could not wait for my daughter to go to Vienna to school. All of my friends were asking me whether I would miss her, and my overwhelming feelings were of getting her to safety. Then of course, Putin started bombing Ukraine about 1000 Kilometers away from Vienna, but still I felt she was safer there as long as he does not use nuclear weapons. Then she is safe no where.
I salute you and your vigilance for your daughter and her safety. I am not a parent and live in Brooklyn, NY presently in France for a month. Watching what is only becoming more dire across our country from a remove does not now lessen the stinging overwhelming fear for our future. Many have cited Mitt Romney’s Atlantic article, which I will read next, but in it I hear he does not once mention gun controls. As I learned from Robert Hubbell’s post this morning, it is because he is the number 1 senator who has received over $16,676,+++ from the NRA. We as citizens are being held hostage in a veritable shooting gallery. There is NO REASON. For any citizen to privately own assault weapons. I hear your anger and frustration. I fear now that even a clear Democratic win both in the mid-terms and in’24 will not solve this problem. And neither is likely to clearly give Dems those wins anyway.
STOP!
Do not permit the republicans defeat You!
Do not let them distract You from Your duty!
Do not permit their deceptions overpower You goodness!
VOTE INTELLIGENTLY
PLEASE
So important, then, to indict the criminals leading the permaputsch as soon as it can be done... and throw the book at them.
This will mean facing danger, but the alternatives do not bear thinking about.
Whathef....?
I read Romney’s article and I can not remember anything of note in it.
Romney's article was classic "both sides are to blame." As a leader, he pales next to his late father, George Romney. A piece from The Atlantic a decade ago explains how father and son personify the downward arc of the Republican Party. https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/08/how-george-romney-championed-civil-rights-and-challenged-his-church/261073/
Thank you Michael. Reading both articles clearly maps how our political landscape and national values have changed. Again, I found Mitt Romney’s piece really lacking in integrity and superficial at best. He needs to be asked about his policy on gun control and the fact that he takes more money than any other senator from the NRA. It doesn’t even make his list worth mentioning.
One of my staff is a white woman married to a black man. For years, all of their vacations have been international in nature, so they were feeling quite housebound during the pandemic. My husband and I rented an RV last summer, and I told her that they might enjoy this as a quick trip. She told me the reason all of their trips are international is that they don't feel safe traveling in the US. I was stunned, first by her comment and then that I would be so unaware. How pathetic a situation is this? A couple in their mid-30s who don't feel they can be safe vacationing in the US.... it's heartbreaking.
Yes it most truly is. And, it is a behavior which is taught. A child has no chance, arriving from within the womb to an atmosphere of such hate. It is not a hopeless situation. We just gotta hold hands, embrace one another, and NOT give up.
"Gun rights are not unlimited. The Second Amendment refers to a “well regulated” militia. Even Second Amendment advocate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the Court’s Heller decision: “It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.” "
Well, Kathy - Scalia is gone - whatever limits he felt were correct are gone. Even here in NYS the SC managed to change a law. I believe our present governor will make every effort to correct that - and I hope she does. I also hope she remains in office for some time to come. I hope & intend to vote for her as I did in the primary. But look around - it is scary. Not unlimited gun rights? Not so much.
And in Chicago SUBURB - yet another 18-25 year old white man has killed six people.
I remember 9-10 years ago when I was still working - one of the men who worked in the shop & lived in PA - was really incensed by my saying something to the effect that no one NEEDS to own an assault weapon. Seems he had at least one and both he and his wife carried guns with them - legal, but seriously?
“Granted, the communities that have that many shootings in Chicago over the weekends are generally suffering both from the police and the lack of police care…”. I would like to add that those communities are often located in food deserts and have very few employment opportunities within the community.
I think Highland Park is a pretty well to do place.
VERY well-to-do. That is one reason the shooter was in custody so quickly.
My kids live in Chicago...
MaryPat, I want to assure you that Chicago is as safe as anywhere in the U.S. What I mean by that is that it only takes one person to pick up a high powered assault weapon and bring tragedy to humanity. Unfortunately, in the U.S. anyone can have any weapon they want. I will be sending my daughter to Michigan in a few weeks for College. She will be attending the same University that I did. I'd like to say I feel safer with her in Michigan than Chicago but I don't think that's true. It just takes one person who was not taught to process their emotions properly.
Scarily true.Two of my kids graduated from U of M. I never feared for their safety. But now? I will continue to work hard to send Democrats to Lansing.
I can't get the "like" feature to work at this moment but I do want to thank you for these excellent observations and for the careful guidance to your daughter.
I'll mention that my old friends in Bremen are members of a group called Night Wanderers, which originated in Sweden but would be unimaginable in the US: a friendly adult presence in places haunted by the young in the small hours... Just relating to people. A catalyst for peace...
*
I don't know what it's like now, but Tokyo used to feel marvelously safe, even in the late night areas... Drunks were a problem for themselves, not others...
Peter, I am wondering how safe Europe is going to be from guns given all of the weapons going to Ukraine for the war will at some point potentially be ending up where? I have heard discussed that there has not been that careful inventory, and that there are a lot of White Supremacist mercenaries volunteering to do stints from different countries. Getting their hands on military assault weapons and then going back to their European cities and maybe the US too. If they are in personal vehicles I don't know whether they will be controlled for weapons. Just a thought. I am hoping that these weapons end up back in the militaries of the governments that sent them,
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/5/weapons-to-ukraine-which-countries-sent-what
not on the black market on in the hands of mercenaries, because this is a lot of weapons. On the other hands, here are the legally registered guns in the USA.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/guns-per-capita
My state of IL is listed 11 in number of guns owned. I see 6 states with smaller populations ahead of us. Of course, I see NY is larger and way lower than IL in the number of guns. NY must be doing something right. My daughter is in Vienna right now. The typical crime I have noticed them having is that they have had domestic crime where men have killed their wives, girlfriends, ex-wives and often themselves too, or their children as well. This comes up every so often on the news. I believe that each case is mentioned, so the overall statistics are so much lower than ours I suspect. As of June 13, 2022 the title of the Salzburger News reads Already Eleven Cases of Murder and Suicide in Austria. That is a country of just under 9 million people.
https://www.sn.at/panorama/oesterreich/2022-schon-elf-faelle-von-mord-und-selbstmord-in-oesterreich-122739946
Chicago has around 3 million so 1/3 and our murder rate as of July 5, is 321. That is not including suicides.
https://graphics.suntimes.com/homicides/
In Bremen the number of murders in the last 10 years but not including this year yet has reached 26 at the highest point, and was 6 at the lowest year. This is a city of around 675,000 residents. https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/1100489/umfrage/erfasste-faelle-von-mord-in-bremen/
So, it is realistic for my daughter and her friends to feel safer in Vienna than in Chicago. Also, I found your group of Night Wanderers. The brochure I found was from 2017. I am going to look into whether they are still in operation. It looks like a great concept. The "it takes a village" idea. https://www.nachtwanderer.net/
I do not know why such an organization like the night wanderers would be unimaginable in the USA. Please elaborate.
Linda How sad that you must defend yourself and your children in the ‘frontier town’ of Chicago. When will Americans realize that Chicago could become Everytown with out safe and sensible gun laws?
I would even accede to ‘originalist’ and, under the 2nd Amendment, permit free access to muskets and other flint guns—-but not AR-15s and Glocks.
You break my heart. But living in Colorado does too.
Well said, Michael: "brazen lack of intellectual rigor" seems to sum up not only the Supreme Court, but millions upon millions of Americans
There remains one important irrefutable fact:
There MILLIONS more American Citizens that will not permit the overthrow of our American Democracy!
All we need to do is to vote intelligently and support every Democrat incumbent and candidate in Nov
Please
How does voting fix the six evil idiots in the Supreme Court.
If the Democrats end up with 53 senators, they can get around the filibuster and expand the court to 13 justices whom Biden would appoint. And we'd get to watch McConnell melt into a puddle on the Senate floor.
Well...
Let's see.
Voting intelligently will remove all republicans from office.
Then America's new fair-minded Congress will initiate removal of those miscreants who are fraudulently sitting in those undeserved cushy leather swivel adjustable height chairs.
Simple, Eh!?
To say nothing of the vast lack of compassionate hearts and awareness of changing times.
Richard “Brazen lack of intellectual rigor” is too kind in speaking of the 74 million who voted for Trump and the 71% of Republicans who agree that the 2020 election was stolen.
Democracy, fair play, Constitution, and ‘established precedent’, and applauding diversity represent the core of today’s America. Nothing ‘intellectual’ about these values. Common sense and integrity—-sounds simple to me, but I remember when America was truly exceptional.
I’m sorry, Keith, but I can’t remember in my eighty-three-and-one-half years on this planet when America wasn’t brutally racist, arrogantly misogynistic, and blindly confident that the centuries of unholy, inhuman assaults on the Indigenous peoples of the continent, as well as the enslaved Africans, never really happened.
Perhaps, though, that is a certain brand of exceptionalism.
Bill In my nearly 89 years, I remember much that is good, bad, horrible, and, at times, exceptional about the United States. Much of what occurred in Central America, Vietnam, and elsewhere was scummy. The Marshall Plan was a brilliant star in restoring post-WW II Europe—perhaps not ‘selfless,’ but marvelous in its result.
Until recently (FDR, me, and Hitler hit center stage the same year)the positive side of our domestic ledger outweighed the negative, though the pace was sluggish and not straight lined. The most recent years leave me frightened for what sort of country my grand kids will inherit.
Jon Meacham wrote about the soul of America in which he noted historical ups, downs, and ups, with an upward trend line. I hope that he is right, though at the moment I have difficulty envisaging this.
Keith:
Those American Military Heroes who chose to sacrifice their life for our freedom know America is truly exceptional, especially true now for the families of those fallen American Heroes.
See the amazing personal sacrifice of Colonel Alexander Vindman who knows America remains exceptional enough for him to fight for against all those who would destroy American Democracy.
See link:
https://www.msnbc.com/yasmin-vossoughian-reports/watch/alexander-vindman-on-trump-team-intimidating-jan-6-witnesses-this-is-how-they-operate-143325765873
Thank you.
George There was a time in my life when serving one’s country was nothing extraordinary. It was part of our national fabric. When 3300 foreigners (including 5 captured American consulate staff) were under death threat by Congolese rebels, instinctively, as a Foreign Service Officer, I volunteered to return and operate alone (with an M-16 and .45) in rebel-infested provinces.
This was a life-and-death situation. Others in the Congo and elsewhere didn’t think twice about serving our country.
Few of the X, Y, and Z generations have ever volunteered or been provided an opportunity to endure massive personal risks for their country. As for our politicians, those with the loudest voices frequently have yellow spots under their chairs as they demonize those who are national patriots. Colonel Vindman and Cassidy Hutchinson, in distinct ways, deserve the Profile in Courage Award, as Bone Spur Donald ridiculed John McCain—so courageous as a Vietnam POW-, saying that ‘he preferred a hero who wasn’t captured.’
I would like to create a list of Profiles in Lack of Courage, with Cruz, Graham, and Trumpites as charter members.
Solution:
VOTE INTELLIGENTLY
End injustice's justice this November!
Prelease
“Those who are now calling themselves "libertarians" are after a monopoly of freedom, one in which they enjoy limitless liberty, while others glean what they can.”
I’ve observed this as well.
I once had an argument with a libertarian on a plane to Phoenix. He was totally arrogant and condescending and whenever anyone puts on that label, I know that they vote R. I also think of that dope Ayn Rand and her awful, poorly written novels.
The real tragedy is that most of those who claim to be libertarians or those who generally want to minimize government's level of responsibility in our society and economy are not doing it for malicious reasons. They are not knowing tools of our 'oligarchs.' They honestly believe that lone Minuteman with his rifle standing upright in that statue is a defender of their rights and that the cowboy, practically living in his saddle with his six-shooter, can take care of things all by himself. Democrats face reality and laugh at such fantasies but Republicans are deluded by them, even to the extent of voting for a president who defies the laws and plays by his own rules. Gee, what a wonderful world it would be if everybody made their own rules.
I have found that they are acting mainly out of greed.
There's a thin line between greed and being an overly successful businessman or investor. Why would someone who earned a few million dollars one year want to earn double that amount the next year? Greed and success can both be addictive.
Michele “Libertarian” and Ayn Rand are poison to American values. These speak to what they oppose, not what they are for. Are these forerunners to authoritarian rule? If these are ‘Christian values,’ then Jesus Christ would opt out.
Oh absolutely Jesus would opt out and a lot of what his so-called followers do would be anathema to him. He would speak against loudly praying and throw the money changers out. Yes, both poison to American values....I struggled though one of her books and thought it was awful even though I was probably a sophomore in college. What appealed and appeals to young people is the idea of doing whatever you want with no constraints.
The difference between 'libertarianism' and 'anarchy' is only a matter of degree. Remember Grover Norquist's preaching 'drowning government in a bathtub' at White House gatherings sponsored by George W. Bush.
I ceased associating with a couple in my town who proudly called themselves "libertarian" while earning paychecks from the state legislature. I ceased because their ravings were nothing short of anarchy. They pretended in public to be "democrats," but those of us who knew them knew how two-faced they were. Imagine. Anarchists, bragging that they are libertarians, announcing that they are democrats, receiving paychecks from a largely GOP state legislature.
They got theirs. That freed them to become hypocrites and not care anymore.
It was reported that the suspected shooter of the Highland Park parade massacre when apprehended got out of his car and fled, the reporting went to say he was captured and placed in custody without incident. He was a young white man had he been a young black man asuradadly the outcome would not have been the same.
Yes, always. Also by the end of the day, we knew a lot about who he was....a young man fascinated by mass murder and violence and a Trumper.
Sick truth, Skip.
Tragically true, Skip.
Speaking of which ...:
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/naming-names?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
All of this is first class stuff, very much including Professor Tribe's critique and the reference to David Frum's Roe is the New Prohibition -- a fact that seems painfully obvious.
Especially to the point, the naming of accessories after the fact of mass murder.
I watched the Capitol 4th (while the illegal fireworks were blasting away in the neighborhood) and I felt there was an undertone not acknowledged, but I am sure that the people were aware of what had happened elsewhere. There were the usual patriotic songs, songs about love and unity, but toward the end Gloria Gaynor doing her disco hit, I Will
Survive. There was also a focus on Lincoln (the Memorial is 100 years old) and certain words inscribed on the Memorial wall and how Lincoln led us through dark times and until last year, the last real threat to the unity of the country. I could hardly look at the Capitol Building without seeing the mob. They also honored the Capitol police which I have never seen them do. As I watched (I enjoy the music), I could not help but think about Highland Park and the police, yes lynching by bullets, in Akron.
Not "liking", just feeling for Americans.
I understand. I often like something without liking what is being described.
Well, in your description, you are looking beyond the surface, feeling your way towards something deeper. If only more people did that.
It was the strangest Capitol 4th I have ever watched. The smiles were a little too wide somehow. The remarks were subtle, but getting at our divided nation.
I can only write words representing the feelings of many...NOT AGAIN!!!! and who is there to soothe the hearts and souls of the ones whose family member, friend... is now gone from their presence forever?
Not a direct response, Emily, to what you have expressed on behalf of all who still feel and care. Only a remark on why this evil is being done to us.
Writing in the mid-18th century, Montesquieu identified the principle underlying each form of government.
Under despotism, fear.
*
The Mechanisms
The people are to be kept in a constant state of fear. Fear. Confusion. Total uncertainty. On this conditioning of his subjects the despot's power rests. Thus he manipulates and controls.
What more effective approach could there be to the undermining and overthrow of democracy and its institutions?
Random human sacrifice.
No respite.
All the more effective in that today the Fetish, the seeming "Leader" provides a round-the-clock focal point for all attention and employs it to keep the hellfire of rage, resentment, terror and violent aggression burning, burning.
Whether you are one of his own or you oppose him, it makes no difference: you are in his thrall, he "owns" you.
Vastly multiplying the power of this machinery, the Unknown, the Invisible, the Mystery:
The real forces behind the images seen by all, seen, heard, adored, obeyed,
Behind the "Leader", behind the politicians, behind the propagandists, the ministers of religion, the judges, the police, and other enforcers -- the Unseen.
*
Thus, when those who propagate The Lie proclaim that their Drumpf is the true President and Biden, a usurper, such is the potency of the spell their black magic has created that it crystallizes into an "alternative reality", a cuckoo reality takes possession of the nest, the Law, the Truth, the people themselves, their Constitution and all that seemed to protect and uphold them, all are expelled.
In their place, a great tumor and its ever-spreading metastases.
*
There.
I have tried to describe The Nightmare, even to give direct insights into its presence, its physiology, its workings.
BUT...
The Nightmare IS a nightmare. A dream. A delusion.
We are being conned.
Even without waking up, even while hating what we're experiencing, IF we know we're in a bad dream, we are already breaking the spell...
Even while still dreaming yet knowing we dream, all that seemed so solid moments before may begin to disintegrate into smoke, fog, vapors...
Sunlight, morning, awakening...and the fog lifts, the clouds scatter.
*
Those who see themselves as "realists" will balk at what I have just written, but... my purpose was and is to give a few insights into the mental tricks that can enveigle and enslave. We have only to look at history, we have only to look around us, to see where that can lead:
Hell on earth.
*
We are not slaves, we are free, and no one can take that away from us. But they are doing and will do their damnedest.
They -- the ghouls, the enslavers, the servants of darkness -- share the crude belief of the Inquisitors, the Nazis, the mythological Cowboys: that by destroying men's bodies they can destroy all that men stand for -- the spirit.
But... You can put a lid on light -- which is what the enemy is doing -- yet light dispels darkness, darkness conceals but cannot dispel.
Darkness cannot unshine light.
*
Now the immediate task is to put a leaden lid on the deluded deluders.
Peter, you are brilliant. Thank you for the gift of words and for the ability to place your thoughts and ideas and truths into such clarity of meaning and usefulness.
I do not have your gift. The great God of all creation did give me insight and sensitivities. Regarding the insight gift; sometimes it is after making bad choices because of course EXPERIENCE is also an excellent teacher.
Peter, I was in a cult and it wasn't one in which its members were drugged and/or sex with its leader was expected. We were money makers and influence builders. The leader spoke at Madison Square Garden. Members of this cult were seving leaders in Congress by their presence and loyalty. We would work for candidates day and night passing out fliers to promote a vote . I and many others prayed and fasted for Nixon under the banner of "Love, Forgive, Unite" in Washington, DC.
In 1976 , this cult was part of the giant Bicentennial . It was also the day my mom kidnapped me. It was also the day my future husband had flown to Washington, DC because he knew cult members would be there and he wanted to see what was going on. He had been recruited in Raleigh, NC but never became a committed member.
He walked the perimenter of the "pool" between the Washington and Lincoln Monuments looking for friends from the cult who were gathered there to be a part of the celebration. He asked mutual friends if I was there.
My mom was taking me "home". The cult had become my home. I really loved the people I worked with every day. They were gifted and talented; they like me were "rescued"in some way and we were united through mission. prayers, through beautiful songs.....
My mom arranged for my "deprogramming"to take place in New England. A doctor had donated his vacation home, (his daughter had been in a cult) and had with help from others organized former cult members to lead. Though I did not want to be there, I began the process of transformation....it was a good and necessary experience. Following my recovery of reason, I was able to share my experience in order to help inform others.
Mark and I were married in '78. Inthe early 1990's our family attended a "Right for Life" rally in Washington, DC. Sitting within my site was one of my most respected team members from The Cult!!!! I mentioned it to Mark but I did not say anything to her. Once more another event supported by the same leader/group.
Delusion is a powerful tool !
P.S. I ask for forgiveness for my writing but hope you learn something from my experience. Deluders are powerful and morph into many forms.
Thank you, Emily -- not for the compliment, but for plainly having received and understood the message in some depth.
Given the timing and the circumstances under which I wrote, it did feel like the proverbial light under a bushel, and even I was uncertain I'd ever be able to recover the text, for I´d buried it even as I wrote it.
Now, I want it to go to -- and belong to -- a broader public.
So, I'm most grateful it was well received, even by a single person, and that I could find it again.
*
Having said that, I want to insist that you have no little understanding and you express yourself well. Perhaps even better as a speaker? But, more important, the early experiences of which you tell are precious and I hope you will find the best ways of using and sharing what you have learned from them.
*
For the time being I shall simply mention something of the rather less edifying bramble path I followed at the same time as that of which you tell: the mid- and late 1970s.
Around 1974 I asked myself two questions:
1. Are there any true guides in this world or only tricksters and charlatans out for power over others and the advantages in kind that such power gives?
2. Does evil have any intrinsic existence? Is it a force in its own right? In cruder terms, does the Devil exist?
Let's say that a few years later, after a bike accident in 1977 that could easily have brought this life to an early end, I began to receive answers to both questions... in a single package...
In time, I was to learn that one should not underestimate the abilities of charlatans, who are to be found not only on the margins of society but at the summit. The difference between true leaders and misleaders is simple, it is not one of ability but of motivation.
The true leader's motivated by service to others, the trickster is into self-service. Many men's motives are of course mixed, and there are great pitfalls even for those who are gifted and set out to serve...
That said, it seems to me that there is one road only and a single choice: whether we take the way that leads towards truth, letting go of all we are not and moving towards what we truly are, or we take the opposite direction, that of delusion.
*
So I've met both true guides and false, and been agreeably surprised by how many of the former are among us. But the misleaders can be dangerous, especially to those who come close and see through them...
*
I've said more than enough for the time being but hope this exchange will be useful to you and to others.
Thank you again Emily.
Yes. very useful and appreciated!
... oh, you know ... Jesus ...?
Thank you
I can't find anything about a lynching in Ohio yesterday. Can you give a source?
He is talking about the nine cops who mowed down a black man.
It's a figurative lynching: 90 shots fired by 8 police officers, 60 bullets hitting & killing an unarmed, fleeing young black man.
Thanks, of course I knew about that. My partner, a 50y/o educator with a Phd, is going to Florida for three weeks. I will be terrified the entire time he is gone. We live in the Virgin Islands of the United States where this would never happen. On the mainland, if you are a person of color, no matter what, you are at much more risk.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-62032118
Maybe a little more complex... But over 90 bullets fired at one fleeing man...
In a dark place, I was once stuck up by a very scared cop, with shaking hands. I kept my cool, and it worked. But I have often wondered whether I'd be here to tell the tale if I'd been black or an Arab.
This was in Europe...
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Georgia
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
North Carolina
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Massachusetts
John Hancock
Maryland
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Pennsylvania
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
New York
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire
Matthew Thornton
Sandy, thank you for posting this. It is a profound document to read right now. And were it but for a nation far away, the fight against would be hard enough. This fight is, once again, with our own people who have gone rogue and have created war against their own people whom they feel superior. The McCarthy era, The Second Red Scare, began when I was yet unborn and was squashed when I was an innocent toddler. Tyrannical Control Dramas inflicted upon the whole of our society. It must be nipped in the bud. It must be our country's premise that people, ALL PEOPLE, are included with rights to be free and with freedom come a great responsibility and maturity. Adults are needed in this country to help it mature into what it can be. That is our continually evolving Great Experiment. This is our Moment.
Superiority and weapons of mass destruction foisted upon us by a rogue party are NOT the direction the majority of people want to take. We are in a moment of our history that requires a very deep imagining of how we got here and how we disentangle this mess so all people and our children can be free to live without fear of our neighbor. Corporations are in charge, as far as the eye can see. They are NOT citizens but they are united. Some are stepping up to help their workers access abortions. They need to step up to help save our democracy and our freedoms NOW. And they need to temper themselves and their impact on the environment and the Whole. Capitalism is now greatly imbalanced on the American pendulum. We need to call on them to help create balance.
Our power lies in vocal withdraw our money from them. Use your consumer powers to and inform them that any entity that has supported, funded, aided and abetted this destruction of our governance will not prosper. The J6 Committee and the DOJ have a due date to reveal the rest of this corruption and uphold justice for the well-being of our republic and the People. We must hold our DOJ accountable to Expel and withdraw power from all seditionous persons incur employ and put them before a tribunal and answer to FACTS. It is time for non-seditious people to stand up and say Enough is Enough. We have seen, they have no shame, Sir. We are at a Reckoning. The greatest weapon they have used against our country is a state of chaos and FEAR...and great planning. It is time for all of us to step up to the plate. There are those in our small village in the northeast who are brazenly taunting us with their giant Fuck Biden and trump flags and signs as equivalent to me as Nazi swastikas. It is unconscionable that our children must see such blatant disrespect of a duly elected official being mocked and a tyrant being promoted just as the mustached tyrant in 1930's Germany. The story posted here this morning of our young people feeling safer to be in the Germany of today than in America is our agonizing reality. It is ringing the final alarm bell as the crack in our Bell of Liberty. In these dark times, that crack is where Our Collective light gets in. Shine your lights brightly on Justice. Let's bring on a new America out of the dark ages some are dragging her back towards. Know that every little thing you do for this "quickening" into the maturation of young America is an important drop in the river that flows to the ocean. Our little drops together can create a Tsunami and flood old, suffocating patriarchal swamp. We are armed in a different way-- even through masks, we breathe with LOVE for one another, for FACTS, LAW and large numbers. Transform your anger and fear into being part of the Tsunami to take back our country from this march towards tyranny in whatever ways work best for you. Everything helps.
And do not forget Gratitude daily for one another and for this little spinning planet that we depend upon and also want to protect. And for our HCR community which breeds sanity for most of us. We must hold hands, walk together and be heard.
Thank You Sandy.
Inspiring to read. Thanks. (Even more profound when followed with Kathy Allen's link about the consequences endured by many of the original signers. It took immense courage and conviction wo thought about security. Amazing mostly young men.) Words that jumped out: "Let facts be submitted to a candid world." And, let candid facts continue to be submitted to our populace. That's our job. Letters to the Editors, neighbors, friends, meeting houses, school boards, discussion groups. Some of us so much more skilled at this than others. I am grateful for so many of our commenters and trust they are carrying their loaded arsenal of pertinent facts out among the many. I read this blog almost daily in the hope my arguments strength with your mastery of the history and issues . While "feelings" and impressions remain strong and the memory is not so kind as it once was. Thanks.
Agree! I, too have found no reason to celebrate this year! The Supreme Court has gutted our freedoms in one week and it appears that in the fall session, our Voting Rights will be bastarized! This is a Rogue Court that has no interest in “originalism”! It's only interest is their own agenda. Very scary...they have taken away so many of our rights. How many more will they destroy in the fall session?
“Originalísim” is merely a red herring. This court is a disgrace.
They are a disgrace and a bunch of people who are determined to overturn all the hard won progress over the years.
I read somewhere last week Thomas said liberals he made his life miserable for 43 years, so now he is going to make theirs miserable for 43 years—that was the gist anyway. This man has looked to me like an angry Buddha since his start on the court.
Yet without those liberals he would still be sitting in the back of the bus. That is the most absurd comment.
To me, that sentiment seems about as far from a desired "judicial temperament" as one could possibly desire. And to feel okay about expressing it 'out loud'? Outrageous.
Why hasn't Chief Justice Roberts at least reprimanded him (perhaps he has, but Roberts is such a wet noodle that Thomas has shrugged it off, feeling reinforced by the three Drumpf appointees).
His glaring, impervious wall regarding ethical issues and those of a number of his “team” mates continue to undermine the court’s legitimacy. It feels to me like watching a slow moving multi-car crash with no way to stop it.
K Barnes
Sheeesh!
Get real man!
"...no way to stop it..."
That is ridiculous! Whaa, Whaa, Whaa
VOTE to stop it
AND
guess what
VOTE
and
You will stop it!
George, I must defend myself. Rest assured that voting is not my problem. Canvassing in not my problem. Attending meetings is not my problem. I was describing an impression when watching the court continue to behave in ways that fly in the face of majority opinion and even ethical considerations. Religious extremism co-ordinated with the hard drive end run for far right political power has been stunningly successful against liberalism. As in the take over of SCOTUS. We can't vote these people out no matter how brazenly they choose to merely serve their ideological masters. There is a hard futility in watching this. But fear not, I am not cowering in the dark. Just mad as hell.
So called "Religious extremism" must be more correctly considered Devil Worship. Such blind faith constituents have been sucked into his deception. They are in a fog, distracted into knowing lies are truth.
The ruling elite white wealth is in control if we permit them to win elections.
It is simple.
They, even though possessing uncountable ill-gotten wealth, can easily be defeated by our power to vote them all out of office, and then put the really bad ones in prison or bankruptcy or both, Eh!?
VOTE INTELLIGENTLY & help many others to do the same...Please & thank you
REVENGE, and for what. Getting confirmed after a bruising battle, boo hoo.
For a woman daring to hold him to account.
Please do not bring Buddha into this subject or conversation. Beyond inappropriate.
My response too.
Excuse me—what are you talking about?
Someone compared the look of "Justice" Thomas to the look of Buddha.
Yes, MLMinET, what Michele responded is correct.
Yes, I understood that was the reference, but the “beyond inappropriate” didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t denigrate any religion or any religious figure. If someone said someone looked like Jesus I wouldn’t be offended. Maybe should have said he looks like a statue of Buddha. At any rate, I don’t get what was “beyond inappropriate.” Perhaps if I were I were an adherent of that faith I’d understand?
I couldn't celebrate either, until last night when I flipped the channel to PBS, and watched - and sang and danced and whooped with - "A Capitol Fourth 2022." A powerful and poignant reminder of what the USA is really all about!
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-live-a-capitol-fourth-2022
MaryPat, thank you for posting this link. I am in tears seeing the spirit of our country represented in that celebration. The symbols and words that have been usurped by the corrupted and taken back, even to the red ties, was so heartening. I really appreciate your sharing this with us...this is the positive light we need to shine.
INDEED!
Thanks MaryPat Sercu-MI
Finally one who chose NOT TO become deceived by the republican's enslavement to The Great Deceiver Power!
Thank You!!!!
❤Their goal was to show the love!!!💙
They succeeded beautifully! I felt both grief and pride in our people for standing up and promoting our best selves and higher angels.
That's exactly how I felt watching it, Pensa!
I also watched. My response is posted somewhere above. I have long enjoyed the Capitol 4th, but took time out while death star was occupying the WH. As I mentioned above, I had a hard time seeing the Capitol Building.
"They" can be very easily extinguished if the millions of American Patriots simply vote all republicans out of office.
We can do this...
Please stop whining about the bad guys...use you energy to help others to register and vote intelligently...
You can do this...if even one more person is assisted in voting...then the threat against America's Democracy
DO NOT BECOME DEFEATED...
George, we can vote, but our votes will be gerrymandered into fractions. We might win some unexpected elections, but we are saddled with life time appointments to a far right SCOTUS. The latest disposition of the podcast: "538" set my hair on fire given all we have endured these last years. Sure we can run to the polling booths BUT we must look clear-eyed at the power differentials. Not whining. Practically speaking, and with all due respect, "voting all republicans out of office" sounds more like fantasy cheerleading. I must stay grounded on the issues and how to realistically solve them or I really WILL lose hope. Those of us, who need realistic communication, pursue blogs like this for practical information and ideas. And rest assured we WILL also be at the voting booths, if I am gauging the majority temperament of this group correctly. PS Not whining.
I can not and will never abide with your defeatist enslavement to that which seems impossible to you. America was created not by those who whined it was impossible but those who NEVER gave into the common fear of the unknown. America the brave, Eh!?
And "just powers"?
Yes, I should have used more. Added to it. Thanks.
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Georgia
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
North Carolina
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Massachusetts
John Hancock
Maryland
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Pennsylvania
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
New York
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire
Matthew Thornton
Be brave so we can be free. Politics Girl, Leigh McGowan with thoughts that mirror my own.
Unita! Our nation is the sum of so many parts. Are not those parts united greater than the whole? Remember, each of us, from whence we come. We are all in this together. There is enough to go around. Salud!
https://youtu.be/b1i6CpWSycQ
If you believe that all persons are created equal, like the Bible, then vote Democratic this year. This concept is what distinguishes Democrats from Republicans. Don't trust me, read the tweets of Tim Cook, wise man & CEO of Apple, one of my favorite stock investments. Can our Constitutional republic, so conceived, long endure? It is up to voting citizens this year.
That looks pretty self-evident to me. I'll trust you. I don't read tweets, there are still plenty of birds for that, in spite of our efforts.
The only tweet I ever said is when I attempted to say sweet with food in my mouth....
Yup!
Finally some encouragement instead of all the defeatism whining, Eh!?
Defeatism is quicker to fix than defeat itself. Excelsior!
Indeed...
And
As the good David Farragut of the United States Navy during the American Civil War ordered:
"Damn the torpedoes full steam ahead," Eh!?
“…deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed “
Every elected member of the school board, city commission, Governor, Senator, etc., is “deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed “
There is no footnote to the Declaration that says “as long as the governed agree with me”.
Vote at midterms for the people who best represent your point-of-view. There is no other answer to today’s situation. None.
Yup
Well, Michael. I am liking this very assertive game called “53 Pick-Up” outlined in Greg Olear’s Prevail Substack post today. Had to read it a few times to get the rules and the intel. It’s on the very definitive side of consent of the governed NOW before it gets taken away completely. It’s also down to the wire but it seems to me that our country has been there and here before. A bit maddening but perhaps a necessary repeat mode to vanquish madness.
Give a read. I will love to see what others think.
Salud! 🗽
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/53-pick-up?r=l2aa7&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
I love it! Funny as hell but devious in the best possible way. It's a street fighter's guide to save democracy. If only those in power would read it aloud like an oath.
The reincarnated me will write like Olear.
I feel as though my heart has been torn out with the actions of the Supreme Court and the actions (and non-action) of Republicans.. Democracy in America is dying, the rule of law no longer exists, civil rights are vanishing. Each of you continue to give me strength, however. I'm not feeling very 'patriotic' these days. Thank you Heather and all of you for your comments and inspiration. You help me to continue to move forward.
Discovered the National Industrial Recovery Act of June 16, 1933 that supervised fair trade codes and guaranteed laborers a right to fair bargaining. "The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was enacted by Congress in June 1933 and was one of the measures by which President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to assist the nation's economic recovery during the Great Depression.
The passage of NIRA ushered in a unique experiment in U.S. economic history – the NIRA sanctioned, supported, and in some cases, enforced an alliance of industries. Antitrust laws were suspended, and companies were required to write industry-wide "codes of fair competition" that effectively fixed prices and wages, established production quotas, and imposed restrictions on entry of other companies into the alliances.
The act further called for industrial self-regulation and declared that codes of fair competition – for the protection of consumers, competitors, and employers – were to be drafted for the various industries of the country and were to be subject to public hearings. Employees were given the right to organize and bargain collectively and could not be required, as a condition of employment, to join or refrain from joining a labor organization."
In May 1935, in the case of the Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the compulsory-code system on the grounds that the NIRA improperly delegated legislative powers to the executive and that the provisions of the poultry code (in the case in question) did not constitute a regulation of interstate commerce. (See the Interstate Commerce Act.) In a lengthy and unanimous opinion, the Court seemed to demonstrate a complete unwillingness to endorse Roosevelt's argument that the national crisis of economic depression demanded radical innovation. Later, FDR would use this Court opinion as evidence that the Court was living in the "horse and buggy" era and needed to be reformed." https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/national-industrial-recovery-act.
Also known as the Wagner Act, this bill was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on July 5, 1935. (It's anniversary is today. I wanted to see if Republicans had 'outlawed' this act.) It established the National Labor Relations Board and addressed relations between unions and employers in the private sector.
After the National Industrial Recovery Act was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, organized labor was again looking for relief from employers who had been free to spy on, interrogate, discipline, discharge, and blacklist union members. In the 1930s, workers had begun to organize militantly, and in 1933 and 1934, a great wave of strikes occurred across the nation in the form of citywide general strikes and factory takeovers. Violent confrontations occurred between workers trying to form unions and the police and private security forces defending the interests of anti-union employers.
In a Congress sympathetic to labor unions, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was passed in July of 1935. The broad intention of the act, commonly known as the Wagner Act after Senator Robert R. Wagner of New York, was to guarantee employees “the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection.” The NLRA applied to all employers involved in interstate commerce except airlines, railroads, agriculture, and government.
The constitutionality of the NLRA was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. in 1937. The act contributed to a dramatic surge in union membership and made labor a force to be reckoned with both politically and economically. Women benefited from this shift to unionization as well. By the end of the 1930s, over 800,000 women belonged to unions, a threefold increase from 1929. The provisions of the NLRA were later expanded under the Taft-Hartley Labor Act of 1947 and the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/national-labor-relations-act
Faith will always restore all that is good when we all put forth the required tireless sincere effort to vote intelligently and assist as many others as possible to register and VOTE INTELLIGENTLY...
Don't permit the evil of deception that has enslaved all republicans enslave us into defeatism's deception!
Know in your heart and soul that good ALWAYS overcomes bad, as long as we never loose the vision GOD gave all those before us who struggled against all odds and actually willingly gave up their life, at that single moment of truth, so that we know freedom in America!
Please vote intelligently!
And the governed elected Carter and Reagan and Bush and Clinton and Bush and Obama and Trump and Biden.
Is this not the “consent of the governed”?
Very questionable consent on both of the last two republican "so-called" presidents.
Both lost the popular vote but won the EC. Dubya's election results were rather dubious and indications of vote interference in Florida that eventually had to be settled by the Supreme Court. The race in Florida was so close that state law required a recount. When Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified Bush as the winner by 537 votes, Gore sued, arguing that not all ballots had been counted. There were still piles of punch cards that had been set aside because of voter errors resulting in anomalies called “hanging chads,” “pregnant chads” and “dimpled chads.”
The Florida Supreme Court sided with Gore as the winner, but Bush appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately voted 5 to 4 to reverse the Florida court’s decision and halt the recount. With Florida in hand, Bush won the Electoral College 271 to 266, while Gore ended up getting 500,000 more votes in the popular vote.
The selection of Trump's was even dubious as he projected that if he did not win the 2016 election it would only be because it was rigged. Since we know he projects all his dark deeds onto the other party, we know there was rigging, but not on his opponent's side. She won 2.8 million more votes in the popular vote, despite hostile foreign intervention, propaganda and cyberwarfare. No, the republicans no longer win now without re-districting and cheating and outside help. Hardly what I would call "consent."
BRAVO!
No. Just an aspect of consent.
Wake up, vote, celebrate or moan, go back to sleep, leaving life's decisions to specialists in tall ivory towers.
Continue sleeping when the ship of state develops engine trouble.
Continue sleeping when it hits a reef.
Continue sleeping when it develops an ever-increasing list...
Somehow, I don't get the feeling you fully understood what Michael Bales was getting at. Pardon me if I'm being impertinent.
Please!
Continue, loud and clear, by all means.
Thank you!
Not obscure, SUPPRESSED!!😡
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Georgia
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
North Carolina
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Massachusetts
John Hancock
Maryland
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Pennsylvania
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
New York
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire
Matthew Thornton
Sandy, I understand why you posted The Declaration of Independence twice (and a third time below, I see). The message bears repeating. There was a time when this document was read out loud every 4th of July on the steps of my state's capitol, but not for many years now. It is my hope that it can guide us, all of us, in the work that lies ahead.
Hi Steve, There are some areas for Sandy, which seem to be fixed/inflexible. I do not understand, however, your encouragement to Sandy for repetitions after he repeated the Declaration 5x at the beginning of the forum. There may be no balancing for Sandy between his self-importance or as he may see it making a point and using an outsized portion of space at the beginning of the forum. What support were you providing Sandy? Cheers! 🟥⬜🟦
Thank you Ferne!
Hello Fern
Yup
It is me
Again
Fern...It seems to me you might be well acquainted with our Holy Bible to some extent.
Perhaps you will realize then, upon some self-examination, that the our Bible uses repetition more than any other "book" in history to drive home one point.
Love others as much as you are loved by the only One of pure Love.
George E Dobbs,
My practice, along with more LFAA-ers than not is to be succinct and pertinent with comments.
If you are a Christian, you likely accept ALL beings as God’s. Therefore, no need to talk about “your/our” book or love. Simply show it. Live it.
Methinks there’s little appetite for trying to engage LFAA-ers in banter for banter’s sake.
-Ashley (a Jesus Follower, who works daily to be at least civil/respectful with all, even the least of us*.)
*diabolical ones, like evil agent orange and his minions/devotees, are exceptions.
GOD uses all of us to actually witness HIS love of us to each other, including talking about HIS Love for each other to each other...never knew that to ever be offensive before.......
So......
Snarky makes you feel better than a love that seems to escape appreciation.
Fern you are forgiven but never ever trusted.
Sandy, You posted this twice, practically one after the other. Please delete one of them, Thanks.
When I was a student, I was obliged to memorise and repeat the first part of this... and we all did this... repeatedly....
In Congress, July 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Georgia
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton
North Carolina
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn
South Carolina
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton
Massachusetts
John Hancock
Maryland
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Pennsylvania
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross
Delaware
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean
New York
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris
New Jersey
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark
New Hampshire
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple
Massachusetts
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery
Connecticut
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire
Matthew Thornton
Sandy Lewis
EXCELLENT!
Love brave American Patriots!
WHOOOO! HOOOOO!
Letters need say no more...
Wow!
Bless them all....
Thanks
Love and honor to you and Buddy, Heather. Deepest gratitude to you for all you do for us, guiding, educating, elucidating, bringing us all to understanding and comprehension. I love who you are and am ever grateful for the privilege of your teaching. Blessings upon us all.
Well said, Kim!...and thank you🌿
This is what I was reading when HCR's message containing the preamble to the Declaration of Independence and a photo of The Capitol was delivered:
'Parade Shooting Live Updates: Man in Custody After Hunt for Gunman'
'Gunshots rained down from a rooftop onto a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., killing six and injuring dozens. Celebrations were called off across the region amid fears of more violence.'
A fitting juxtaposition between celebration of Independence Day and reality. It is an example of the cruelty at this time in the United States of America.
Yes Fern, and it is a reflection of, and perhaps the culmination of, the barbarism that has occupied too much of our history.
Hello Bill. Does your mind race to our children? I think of those who have worked so hard to get a toehold.
It especially races to our grandchildren and all of their contemporaries. I feel so guilty to be leaving them with this colossal mess!
What might I have done over the past five or six decades that might have contributed to finding another path for our nation? What can I do now in my eighth decade?
My wife and I are collaborating with a small group of like-minded folk trying conceive of and begin to create sustainable communities. Our oldest daughter is involved in a project to learn how to have meaningful conversations, communications that contribute in concrete ways to the betterment of society. And we are engaged in study circles focusing on the moral and spiritual attributes that can counteract the negativity, the divisiveness, the evil that surrounds us.
The efforts are small in the number of their participants, and the results, if any, will not be apparent for some time. But at least they are covering new, though uncharted, territory.
Please, if you have any other thoughts or ideas, please share them. It will take a momentous and heroic effort by all of us to counteract the vitriol and naked hatred that is poisoning our civilization.
Bill, Thank you for sharing what you, your wife and daughter are doing. You inspire all of us to share what we are up to. We learn from each other. I am trying to encourage local journalism; checking with college campuses and learning about what may be happening online. It bothered me that you are casting any blame on yourself. Everything that you mentioned -- sustainable communities; fostering communication between people … all important ways to grow together.
You are sowing the good seed. Watered and nourished, it will germinate, and spread.
And it is here in this News Letter where there is good soil for sowing all that good seed, Eh!? Anne-Louise Luccarini
"We're neither pure nor wise nor good
We'll do the best we know
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow"
Come out and VOTE!!
Let the evil doers see us by the millions saying NO. It is our best and only immediate hope.
YES!
Bill Willis
Thank you for your enlightening efforts of positive collaborations...I am sure you realize a most important category essential to achieving your goal...Money and lots of it.
Thank you.
I appreciate your kind words, George. Not too many years ago I would have agreed with you about the need for huge sums of cash to fund the sorts of efforts I’ve described. Now, though, I’ve begun to realize that an ever-expanding pool of committed individuals can accomplish great things even on a minuscule budget. I suppose it could be called sweat equity, as it is in commercial ventures that startup on a shoestring, and a wing and a prayer.
While these efforts are still in their earliest stages, I see people extending themselves to accomplish encouraging results. I suspect that we can plan carefully and creatively and produce remarkable outcomes.
Stay tuned! Better yet, find or found your own project, find resourceful and creative people, and amaze us…and yourselves!
Bill, I found the following article about Clarence Thomas very informative and startling. Author, Corey Robin, authored the book 'The Enigma of Clarence Thomas'. He is a highly regarded political theorist, Professor, author and journalist. I recommend the article, which was published in The New Yorker last week.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-self-fulfilling-prophecies-of-clarence-thomas
Yes, it is a juxtaposition. After reading about yet another gun killing , this mass murder during a celebration, I wrote to my sons and once again implored them to move their families to Canada. But that’s not easy. Or likely. Maybe for them it’s too late. Is there no escape for us? Do we know who is next and where? Courts and repubs have blocked any sanity in gun laws and accessibility. We once feared weather disasters. Now the devastation is man made. By courts and repubs. I repeat.
Irenie, I think Peter Burnett's comment responding to Michael Bales' earlier is worth reading. He is suggesting ways together through grassroots organizations and lobbying we let the Democratic Party and our representatives know what needs to be done.; to let them know what they have to do to get our votes. We need to grow citizen education, organization and action. Have you been in touch with the League of Women Voters and any other grassroots organizations. Ellie is a great source for that. Salud!
Oh yes, thank you, Fern. I do know the ways to work to make a difference and so does my family. We belong to grassroots organizations and continue to support and work for change. Activism. My 200 postcards to Arizona Den voters are written. And other work. My family isn’t interested in moving. I am! We are all part of the solution in so many ways. However, my friends in Canada, while they have their own struggles, aren’t dealing with the gun violence and the loss of personal rights like we are. Adding it all up. We have one life to live. Each of us. And I’m not moving. Just wishing. Tomorrow I’ll be planting at a local organic farm. One of my local organizations, is Rural Resistance. One of our contributions is to
provide a food table every two weeks where local people, mostly Spanish speaking families, come to share the bounty of local farms and some grocers. All connected with our progressive group. We work with the homeless population also. It’s a positive to be part of this group, but it’s discouraging to see the poverty and inequality in our country. So we continue to do our work. And I’ll continue to complain loud enough through voting and activism.
Irenie, I have reread your comment tonight. Earlier, my attention was given to the people at the parade, including the dead and their families, in Highland Park. There is no way for me to fully absorb how out of control our country is The social fabric has unraveled; the spirit is in protective hiding. You and your family are members of the caring corps. I don't even know if the country is in a holding pattern or worse. Indictments of Trump and lead masterminds of the coup would help in addition to stronger leadership by a couple of younger players would provide more sense of purpose and direction. With appreciation, Irenie.
Hi Fern. I’m sure I knew you in another lifetime. Here so many of us are connected virtually, but in a real world. So much we share, the hope and dreams and I think the absolute sadness and concern for our children and grandchildren here in USA, the world. The shooting is one more that seem endless. I watched HCR on FB today. She gives us hope but is also in the real world. The changes to undo the mess we are in could take longer than our lifetime. How sad, tragic to not leave the world better than we found it. Having a historical perspective is critical for us to understand what’s happening.
I’m a native Californian, but my kids attended university out of state, so that expanded my horizons. Our horizons. I’m now a more international traveler and realize how critical it is for us to honor the diversity of our country. And the world. One of my kids and Family are New Yorkers, so since 2000, I’ve spent much time back and forth. NYC is a different world, isn’t it? My kids have had no problems adapting to life in the city after growing up in a rural area near a lake. I see NYC in your name and we’re from all over. Are you a native? Family ? We have no problem communicating and seem to respect and honor each other. And I think we share that concern in not knowing…even with all our work and commitment to change, it may take many years to get past the repub’s dismantling of our democracy. If we can. I hope our planet survives.
Hand to heart Irenie. My first 7 years Bronx and then to Queens. I graduated from NYU. We do have simpatico Irenie. I'll get back to bio. Tired now and in need of growing better sense of how I will proceed. Full of feeling for people and children who have been shaken by gun violence and hatred. Not enough organization of citizens and too little strength in leadership. I'll be back. Shalom Aleichem.
A friend of mine back in the States said that the repugnicans believe that these slaughters and deaths are the results of 'true freedom. ' Horrific.
Freedom to exercise rights without regard for the common good is tyranny. As a kid, I was taught that tyranny is the enemy. Now it’s being called liberty. Sheesh! Our Founders are likely appalled by what’s become of their Declaration.
💔💔💔💔💔The anger I have at the inertia grows daily. The 6 (what I call the committee) stand between democracy and autocracy. That so many Americans and GOP laughed and disparaged them in the beginning - including the dishonest McConnell who now is changing his tune. They are all blackards.
" The Committee" of 6
I call them The 6. My choice.
I see it more like it’s Merrill Garland who stands between democracy and autocracy. The 6 have methodically and steadfastly done their work. Just like the TWO impeachment trial presenters. Flip the Script. If ANY of this was done by a Dem, it would be like a black man fleeting an unwarranted traffic stop.
Indeed
They are pathological demons.
Horrible and far too common.
I love my country. I can no longer protect my 23 year old daughter. Unless, I move her to a state that protects her rights. This breaks my heart tonight . July 4 , 2022.
My 83-year-old mother-in-law, who saw horrible things in Hong Kong as a child during the Japanese occupation, told me tonight that she's now afraid to go to the grocery store. "All the shootings," she said.
It is unnerving and frightening now. I can’t say that I blame her.
It's not just the mass shootings around the country but a huge increase in shootings here often related to robberies, drug deals, and so on. Plus, we've had our share of anti-Asian hate crimes.
I’m terrified for the same reason. I was a kid in an endless war zone.
I completely understand.
This is just beyond beyond the pale. Why are there not more brave enough to stand against the tide?
Standing up to Guns and Weapons of War? Yeah, that’s easy. That’s why they have the guns and weapons of war, because they are the surest way to shut down a reasoned argument against their self-ascribed privilege. I feel the Dems have tried to stand up against this. But each protest, march, and political gathering feels more and more potentially dangerous. I and a few other women were invited to sit down with our Governor to talk about reproductive health and the possibility of Roe being overturned. It was at a local restaurant before opening hours. Media was present. I almost did not go because of fear the place would be shot up or bombed. Before, someone might look at me and say: “That’s a little dramatic don’t you think?!?!” But not now. Not in my State.
I understand. Dangerous times now. Stay safe. I hope the meeting was hopeful. I🌷
Gailee Walker Wells
It is you who are the brave one.
Don't give into the republican's deception of evilness now!
Fight
Help many others to register and vote intelligently
Please
🌷
What is so sad, Elizabeth, is that we cannot fully protect our children in this country. Now females of any age must struggle for their reproductive rights. These rights are not rights in the eyes of too many states. And how can we protect our children from gun violence when school officers and law enforcement can’t or won’t challenge one gunman in a classroom of children. When they stand outside the door of a classroom for an hour until all is quiet. When guns are available and lawmakers argue about age and waiting periods, while War weapons continue to be sold to the public. And used against us in public gatherings. Where are our personal rights? These rights, personal and safety, are being erased by SCOTUS and repubs. I’m also heartbroken and so sorry for all our children and grandchildren.
Yes. Where ARE OUR rights to be safe?
:’-(
3X seems overdone, Sandy, and depriving others of space
Fern...
They left out WOMEN... and the RIGHT TO VOTE
They left out NEGRO... and ABOLITION OF SLAVERY and the RIGHT TO VOTE
They left out THE POOR...
They left out the MULATTO... and MISCEGENATION
They left out the CHILDREN... of ALL COLORS
They did not authorise PARTY and OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
They did not contemplate SEDITION in a president.. aided by ONE PARTY
They did not address CRIMINAL MISCHIEF IN THE THREE BRANCHES OF OUR GOVERNMENT, SPECIFICALLY and SIMULTANEOUSLY
They did not address the KKK and lynching BLACKS and the COLORED for 100 years...
They did not specifically address a ROGUE SUPREME COURT... and GERRYMANDERING
They DID NOT ADDRESS PREJUDICE AND RACISM AND WHITE SUPREMACY... FASCISM AND DENIAL..
THEY DID NOT ADDRESS PRIVATE CLUBS THAT DOT THE LANDSCAPE AND ROGUE GOVERNORS THAT AUTHORISE VOTER SUPPRESSION
YET, WE HAVE A SUPREME COURT AND ONE PARTY THAT ARE SICK IN MIND, BODY AND SOUL...
LED BY A FORMER PRESIDENT THAT SOLD HIS SOUL THE DAY HE WAS BORN... AND NOW SELLS TO THE DICTATOR IN RUSSIA...
LIES EVERY TIME HE OPENS HIS MOUTH...
AND WE HAVE ONE PARTY THAT BUYS THAT LOAD OF SHIT... AND IS DESTROYING OUR REPUBLIC...
WHEN IN THE COURSE OF HUMAN EVENTS...
I think that you have composed a perfect missive to send to SCOTUS, Sandy.
Send it.
Sandy, Is there a reason that you do not want to do it yourself? You wrote it. I think that it is good and that it is most appropriate for the author to mail it. Please tell me why you prefer that I do it before I decide. Thank you.
Sandy, THIS is the perfect accompaniment to your posting of the constitution. I can never get past the “All Men Are Created Equal”, without a surge of rage.
Not only did they knowingly leave out women altogether, they did not REALLY even mean ALL MEN. The document was disingenuous from the start. But the seed of the idea that ALL are born equal and should be governed by the consent of the majority, that they are endowed with the Right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. The seed of the idea of “We The People” is the flicker of a really precious flame that is very dim at the moment and needs fuel and oxygen. I believe it’s been very hard for the majority of Americans to believe the Republic could really implode. And I’m not talking about frustrated complaining about waiting too long in a DMV line. I’m talking about the institutions grinding to a halt, losing their legitimacy because of the institution’s own actions, the underfunding of critical services, the knowing tolerance for corruption of lawmakers by Dark Money that has more of a Right to Privacy than my own female body. Looking the other way -or aiding and abetting - an Insurrection! Supreme Court Justices bold-face lying to get confirmed on the court, and then unleashing their assault on America. Many people are NOT prepared for this fight. But that doesn’t mean we will not HAVE the fight. It’s HERE. READY OR NOT!
Sandy!
Thank You
Brilliant composition of clear thinking for us to consider and understand.
Thank you!
"...depriving of space..."
Really Fern.
You do comprehend the unlimited digital properties of internet capacity, don't you!?
Sheeesh!
Do you ever SHEEESH, George?
It is time that you did, over and over again.
Repeat it George. It's good therapy.
O. K. Fern baby....
SHEESH, SHEESH, SHEESH, SHEESH, SHEESH, SHEESH, SHEESH, SHEESH, SHEESH, SHEESH....AAH!
I do feel better now Ferny.....
Oh?
Such a solemn and dark day today, for so many reasons - known well by all who read HCR regularly. And by those who read the news today. Two years from now, we must be able to look back and say that we have given our all to protect our Democracy. May those efforts be successful and our course be true. It’s time for good, honor and our best angels to rise up. Rise up and prevail.
Yes, we have shared in creating the mess we are in and we need to figure a way out of it. In part, WE can look to other countries who have been where we are now and follow their paths. Stay the course.
Rise up. It's time for a revolution against this erosion of liberty and against the insanity of our violent society.
Stand beside her, and guide her, through the night from the light from above. We can do this!
... from Langston Hughes:
"Let America Be America Again".
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.
(It never was America to me.)
O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.
(There’s never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)
Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
I am the young man, full of strength and hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!
Of work the men! Of take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.
I am the worker sold to the machine.
I am the Negro, servant to you all.
I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—
Hungry yet today despite the dream.
Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!
I am the man who never got ahead,
The poorest worker bartered through the years.
Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream
In the Old World while still a serf of kings,
Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,
That even yet its mighty daring sings
In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned
That’s made America the land it has become.
O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home—
For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,
And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,
And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came
To build a “homeland of the free.”
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
The millions who have nothing for our pay?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed
And all the songs we’ve sung
And all the hopes we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung,
The millions who have nothing for our pay—
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.
O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.
Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!
O, yes,
I say it plain,
America never was America to me,
And yet I swear this oath—
America will be!
Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!
"Let America Be America Again", Langston Hughes
I hope you have a joyful Fourth of July.
Thank you, Kathleen, but I am going back to a poet from another country, likewise in deep and urgent need at this time. A universal prayer... that of Rabindranath Tagore.
*
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action –
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Powerful!! "... into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;"
Thank you Peter ... reminds me of this:
sandscape
a cold wind blows
in shantytown . . .
tumbleweeds cavort
with barren sands . . .
sad old shacks barely stand
broken down -- boarded up . . .
worn dry bones collapse to dust
horizons' twilight skies . . . .
https://tahomahome.weebly.com/sandscape.html
Thank you again, Kathleen.
Unfortunately, that "dreary desert sand" describes too well the mental dustbowls of today's America, today's world. And the dust devils besetting us. It starts with sterility, it ends in Hell.
Too true.
Perhaps Americans should celebrate Independence Day by visiting the great war cemeteries where so many bodies lie of young men who died to defend the noble aspirations of that first Declaration.
I know only those in Manila, Cambridge, England, Bastogne, Belgium, and smaller cemeteries in France, where I visited only the British and Commonwealth cemetery near Omaha Beach.
These are places where we are forced to reflect on what matters. And to cast aside what does not.
... maybe instead of 'celebrating' with explosives, booze and unbound gluttony we might well light candles, keep silence, pray and meditate on what could be possible in a 'more perfect union' in a world governed by conscience and integrity - and the work we have today to make it so ... against persistent ignorance and senseless prejudice ... with reverence for lives sacrificed to make the dream come true ... have you seen this?
https://michaelwsmith.com/the-sacrifices-made-by-the-declaration-signers/
So grateful you posted this Peter. As much as I love Langston Hughes, Tagore’s phrase; “Where words come out from the depths of truth.... brought tears to my eyes; soul food for this artist. Thank you.
“Let my country awake.”
May we all awake... and remain awake!
Meanwhile, the good company here is heartening.
Fern, we have the option to choose - to see beyond the gruesome moment of static 'reality' - dream a better world into being and commit our lives to make it so ... that, or just surrender to the nightmare that surrounds, and trudge on through with no hope ... eyes on the horizon ... sail on, my friend, sail on ....
Kathleen, I deleted my responses to the Tagore a while ago. I was not in the mood for the 'universal prayer', but my question was aggressive and that is why it was deleted. There was no intention to dampen Peter's or your appreciation. Our tastes are not always the same but rush to no judgement about my curiosity, openness or imagination. Dream on....
I was in the process of answering you in some detail, urging you to be consistent with your own very obvious rejection of mediocrity.
But I was an idiot, I drafted directly using the Substack box (as now) and... all too typically when writing in these boxes, the message disappeared unfinished...
Maybe the problem is in my computer, but it would be reassuring if Substack checked their own program, since this accidental censorship is, in my experience, so very frequent.
As in healthy families, both nuclear and extended, there's space here for both harmony and discord, and the dynamic moves up and down from the one to the other. And you know this, because you practice it. This space is our crucible. So we can leave commitment to mediocrity and worse to those forms of pond life that live to serve those things. Likewise, repression and projection onto others.
Our aims are simple, but simple is rarely cheap or easy.
So let's dare dream big dreams and work to make them come true.
Is that not what the best in America has always been about?
I have not experienced any of my comments disappearing unless I've made a mistake on the computer, although comments and replies do move around. Is this post of yours what you intended in the first place? Have you read the dialogue between Kathleen and myself? It appears that you find me to be inconsistent at times. It would be helpful to know what literally you are pointing to. Perhaps, you are not being elliptical here, but I would like to better understand this message.
Fern, I perceived your comment and question as honest and justifiable, considering the weight of apathy we can feel, faced with the ever flowing River of Sh!t ... it often feels incredibly naive to even suggest uplifting perspectives when the world we live in is so filled with corruption and violence ... and yet, how shall we respond? For the longest time, I was apathetic, facetious, and caustic - reinforcing the vile negativity I saw in the world ... seriously, I could not let a minute go by without emphasizing just how bad things were/are and could/can be ....
Somewhere along the line, I realized that (1) we are blessed with the gift of choice and (2) we can influence our reality with focused intent ... it took a while to put it in place, but more and more, I am aware of the power to influence reality with intent to project what can be - rather than reinforce what is ... and yes, feelings are key - I very much understand not being in the mood to hear more denial of reality as it is ... I am great-full now to be in touch with that sense of choice - to emphasize what is possible - even if it seems impossible ... it feels better to know in my heart what can be rather than dwell on what cannot and never will be so long as I focus it there.
I know you are a dreamer too - and how discouragement is part of that equation - so not to judge your curiosity, openness or imagination - just to know you carry the weight of caring deeply in your heart - and encourage the upside ... carry on, one breath at a time - I hope we can get some sleep - that helps!!
One more thought to share, Kathleen. There are moments when a feeling erupts, which lasts just a short time. Eruptions and flashes of emotion or a moody afternoon send signals. The feeling may be uncharted, not of consequence, familiar, passing, or require reflection. Over interpretation, which you may be guilty of here is also a tendency to be aware of.
Kathleen, You are an empathetic person and no doubt that has prompted what I have interpreted as your wish to advise, mentor or guide me. Enough. In my last response you, I explained my seemingly aggressive question and tried to discourage your interpretation of my feelings and needs. You do not 'get' me, Kathleen. I take this last missive as overload. In other words, from my point of view you have gone overboard. Let's stop here. Thank you.
"Where did that ever exist?"
In the active imagination with guided intent, Fern - where we dream reality into being ... would we be better off without it ...?
Thank you posting this. So important to read this today and try to connect to the energy and hope that we need to change this death spiral we are in. But also for me, as an older white woman, to contemplate how much drive and determination our black citizens required as individuals and as communities to persevere through unthinkable hardships and persecutions. A profound poem and prayer.
Perfect Kathleen…perfect!
Thanks, Kathleen. Says it all.
Oh Heather, I am so sad tonight - as a woman, as an African American, as a queer person who was raised to believe that this was the “land of the free.” I cannot celebrate in the sweet and simple way I could as a child, and I mourn that. I trust that we will survive as a species amongst all kindred species, but I’ve lost faith that this great experiment in human freedom has failed (ironic that it did not include women, Black, and Indigenous folks). Perhaps not a bad thing - humans are creative and will undoubtedly come up with the next idea, but for tonight I grieve. Thank you for being such a steady voice in such uncertain times.
I stand right next to you, Akaya. We women grieve together but together, we must empower each other and stand like a brick wall. Impenetrable and solid.
And this wall must include all our allies of all gender identities. We have to face that we are fighting a wall of women, as well as men who worked to strip our rights. Women’s Rights are Human Rights has never been truer
ABSOLUTELY!!
Dear Akaya, grieve, and then take heart. The alternative is to bow your head, and who among us is going to do that?
Akaya, these feelings are so important and will help all of us move to take our country forward for All. Many of our citizens are lazy and do not participate in our democracy nor even understand how it works (maybe by design of lack of education...). This is our moment to wake as many of the non-participants up to how close we are to authoritarianism. Get everyone you know to vote.
I am very sorry but I feel like unless you are a white male in this country you do not count. I hate to think that way as I never did before. It is very upsetting and disturbing to see how has this happened over the years and that one man like Hitler was able to fuel the storm. It is a very horrible commentary that the US Supreme Court has come under scrutiny over these latest decisions. What does a decision by that court mean when they can overturn it on a whim of their choice. I truly hate what is happened to this country and how the rest of the world views us. Very sad. I hate to say this but we are headed to the end just like the Romans. I am of the age that hopefully I will not see this happen but is tragic for the younger generation.
I'd like to say that once a country becomes an autocracy, NO ONE is safe, not even white men. Anyone can become an "enemy" at any point. Some people in this country are overjoyed at what's happening, believe it's what they want, from some (not all) wealthy business people to, masses of more ordinary Trump supporters, they believe their way of life, way of doing business is becoming safe now. They seem to have no idea that, if we continue down this road to hell, they could be targeted for ANY capricious reason at any time, and there will be no one to protect them.
So, although it looks like white males are "ok," I don't believe they are.
...and it's very telling that SCOTUS is even considering Moore v. Harper. They are very likely in favor of individual state legislatures being allowed to overturn fair elections and the voters' will-just like #45, Eastman, Jeff Clark and the Insurrectionists wanted to do on Jan. 6 2021.
A white "christian" male . . .
Updated:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all PEOPLE are created equal, EVERYWHERE AT ALL TIMES, that they are endowed by their Creator (not THE Creator, or A Creator, but Their Own individual unassailable self determined relationship as they choose) with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Unalienable Rights are for everyone. Not just Americans.
This Aspiration, this Proposition, is America's Vision statement.
Thank you, Doug, for these fine clarification. I am so afraid for our country ( it doesn’t even feel like “my country”. But we just go on…
https://tcinla757.substack.com/p/we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident
Thank you, Kathleen, for posting TCinLA's Substack. He wrote a beautiful story of his ancestors' contributions to this country and invited readers to do the same.
It reminds us how precious it is to have the names, and even stories not captured by an Ancestry.com family tree, as documents are so easily lost or destroyed, and family history horribly eradicated by waves of genocide.
It also reminds me how still the stories of our ancestral women remain in the shadows, for opportunities not allowed and for names changed with marriage in our patrilineal descent patriarchy.
So true, Ellie ... I have no such sense of my family history, except Great Grandfather Crawford on my Mother's side who used to pull candy out of our ears ... doubtless, there are pictures on a wall in some hallowed hall - not a sense of something real ....
I have the same lack of family history. I know some of my Dad's side (thanks to some family members of his that discovered that we are descended from Alfred the Great) but almost nothing from my Mom's side, other than the "it's complicated" versions of who was really the father to whom.
Essential reading. Thank you, Kathleen.
“America” was a great idea
Yes, Doug, "their creator." An important distinction. Thank you.
July 4, 2022:
Ukrainian military orchestra and singers perform "The Star-Spangled Banner:"
https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1543860217380741120?s=20&t=URdoLMBVHj0dNYsxONogpw
Children were put in a dumpster by their father and told they were playing hide & seek to protect them from an active shooter at an Independence Day Parade in Illinois:
https://twitter.com/AshIsHereForIt/status/1544113932113248256?s=20&t=URdoLMBVHj0dNYsxONogpw
Make your plans to support state legislature races in key states, Get Out The Vote, and recruit your friends and family to do the same.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
https://statesproject.org/
Hard to click on a Twitter link without finding more to read. I found this comment superb reading:
https://twitter.com/itsJeffTiedrich/status/1544012669123952640?s=20&t=D926kSzynAhiymncjNYJ8w
Thanks for the GOTV links, too, Ellie!
Yep.
That was incredibly impressive performance - but we are seeing a country (Ukraine) energised by the promise that WAS America - But sadly the source of that promise seems to be in a state of self destruct.
Not past tense.
Millions in the here and now. This is America.
Today, my town’s high school kids protested the Roe decision on the county courthouse steps. Then they marched in the parade with their signs. So proud of them and look forward to them leading us to a better tomorrow. I can’t say I feel very patriotic. I don’t. We are equal in the eyes of our own beholders but not by the 6 illegitimate court justices. Actually, a very sad day.
Marlene, we are seeing that young people are invested in the future. Today young marchers walked from the California Capitol in Sacramento to the freeway, I-5 and shut it down. This is the second time. First was the day of the court decision. Law enforcement managed the traffic. It takes commitment and support, encouragement for people to stand up to power. Especially against SCOTUS.
I didn't hear about that, Irenie, because I never watched the news today. I only saw the news on my phone about yet another mass shooting by yet, another young white guy! But thank you for letting me know this. I love it that they shut the I-5 fwy down!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Marlene, I was at the first protest, too, and the marchers, mostly women, walked that same way to the freeway, stopping traffic on the major freeway at rush hour. These young people are bold and committed. Hope they continue to hold leaders accountable.
The present SCOTUS is a disenfranchised body.
(SHOULD BE...)
In the general psyche now, I think it surely is. Mind you, anyone who loves tfg has warped judgment anyway.
How does stopping traffic on the freeway solve the problems we're up against? It shows organizational skills and determination to *do* something. It's the "something" that has me scratching my head.
I was surprised to see the March turn to the freeway. It was after we were walking to our car and we thought the March was over. It was not. And it lasted past dark. Both marches, so it was likely planned. I think the idea was/is to make the public aware of the protest, inform about SCOTUS and the Roe v Wade decision on the news and in public. Possibly cause “good trouble.’ Covered by the evening news in real time. I’ve been part of Sacramento marches many times and this was the first organized by so many young women. They will not be silenced. They want to be seen and heard. I’m just reporting.
Yes yes YES! That is definitely the goal and bless them for having that tenacity and spirit to do whatever it takes to be heard. They, like us, will not be silenced!
Yes. Those Ukrainian Tweets that Ellie just posted moved me to tears, for more reasons than one.
Me too, Anne-Louise.
Bravo to the high schoolers! We need youth to participate and be heard!
nuf said. Now we must do it. For all time. For everyone.
Today's letter is eloquence itself.
My heart is breaking. What has happened to our beloved country? I weep and feel hopeless. Then I read Heather and try to lift my head and heart higher. You are a gift and a light in this dark world. Thank you for your words, your insight and your heart.
I’m ready. One can do an analysis of the key swing states, and the most competetive legislative districts in each of those states. Focus should be on voter registration and turnout, and a mass migration, iinto those districts from safe Blue states, in order to wrest control of the statehouse to non republicans.
A mass migration and mass registration campaign to swing these state legislatures before they can install King Don or Ron or Ted on the throne in 2024. If that’s what it takes, I’ll move there. Not away from these states, towards these states.
If that’s the rules the Supreme Court wants, that’s what we’ll give them. State control, and people voting in record numbers and with moving vans to swing these states.
Start with targeted state-level donations and Democratic voter registration work:
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
https://statesproject.org/
Excellent !
Yes!! Thank you
Please check out THE STATES PROJECT and consider supporting or joining. Doing just what you suggest since 2017 with success.
FYI a group of HCR Substackers has formed to support our grassroots activism. July 17 Zoom will feature Melissa Walker of The States Project. For more info, email:
heathersherd@gmail.com
I really got into it at 10 PM on FB with folks I know who had posted and responded to one of those 2nd Amendment memes showing Minute Men firing muskets and promoting the right of everyone to own any weapon they wanted. The original post was made before the shooting spree started yesterday. These are 3 of my replies to them:
these guys are not worthy of the name "Minute Men" nor share any of their proud traditions. They are little boys playing at being "patriot's" with a focus on the "riot" part of that word.
you want to do something useful with your weapons? Form up a regiment and go to Ukraine and kill Putin's soldiers. That would be helpful. Be the La Fayette Escadrille of the 21st Century. Or the Billy Fiske of the 609 Squadron during the battle of Britain. That would impress me.
are you feeling good about what happened today with those " extrordinarily heavily regulated for nearly a century" weapons today. One of my friends who lives near there had friends whose children witnessed the violence, death and chaos up close. They will NEVER be the same again. Please don't lecture me. I'm done with this thread. You guys are clueless. Call me all the names you want. Hope you sleep well.
After the last 2 of my responses they all shut up. There was none of their clever banter, or skewed history....or calling me names. The f-ing bullies, shut up. But there was no "sorry the children were traumatized" either. Just quiet.
You did the right thing with your rage. Now breathe.
Let’s move forward. With or without those that sit in impudence.
Always as and for the children!
Salud, Mike! 🗽🇺🇸
Christine, yes it was rage....and I have taken a deep breath. My wife and I had just hosted the band "Brother & Sister" at our house on Tuesday as they toured up the coast to Peach Fest. Their manager Scott Boyer is the one who posted about his friends children. So this was palpable in a way most of these attrocities are not quite to me....horrible yes...but this one became more personal. My friend who shared the original meme, which he obviously did not create is an older, decent "gentleman" who is Jewish and was a news professional who happens to be a Republican in Baltimore. I've called him out before on posting these memes which are created to throw red meat to the "faithful" and try and make them justify their positions and feel good about them. When I "react" with a different POV or set of facts, I always get called names by the same people and they ask Alan how I could possibly be his friend. Many times he actually comes to my defense and sometimes admits to a point I've made. In this case, so far he has remained quiet along with the bullies who were taking me on. The post took a twist after the shooting occurred and they could not, would not poke at my rage...they had nowhere to go...and my challenge to go fight Russians has just laid there. The guantlet not picked up. Along with being bullies they are cowards. so yes we have to do work for the children.
Bravo, compatriot. Right there with you. I will challenge the bully bulwark every time.
Salud, Mike! 🗽
Your energies should not be wasted on FB. Rather, you should be turning them toward electing people who will fight gun violence, and harness the out-of-control SCOTUS. That would be even more satisfying.
Are you serious, Jack? Those are not wasted energies. Social media is a divided force and needs voices to combat its rising tide of fascism. And just plain “stupidness”.
Salud, Jack. Voices for Democracy on all fronts!
🗽
Jack I totally agree about the voting work. I just happened into the post, made a comment and it escalated. I don't spend hours trolling FB. Most of the time when I'm there is while my video editing projects are rendering for a minute or two. It beats watching the render clock tick down.
Bravo Mike!!!!!!! When I feel quite despondent, I’m helped by reading about someone actually pushing back when they get the chance.
I have a couple of conservative friends who I know are decent people at heart. They repost these memes and I respond when I see them. There are a few characters who take great offense that I dare muss up their party...and sometimes it gets interesting. Last night was exceptional and unusual because of the days events crossing into July 4 celebrations. This may be the first time they have allowed me the "final word". It's been totally quiet. Maybe, just maybe, I touched something...
Oh, you touched something all right. It’s the right moment to harvest the turn of many who are suddenly feeling unsure about lies and conspiracy. I see it more as the Jan 6th committee does it’s work as well as the forces preserving the common good. Groundswell!!!
Unidad!