I completely know how I feel about what’s happening . I do not know what to do. What actions besides donating and talking to friends or strangers but it feels inadequate.
I posted this last night on Heather Cox Richardson's Letters to an American Substack. Please pass it on to everyone you know:
How do we fight back? Let me count the ways...
1. Write postcards to encourage people to register to vote and to vote (take your pick and note that on 7/14/24, postcard stamps go up from 53 cents to 56 cents):
2. Support other grassroots efforts to register voters, help voters get required ID, educate voters on their address's ballot, and Get Out The Vote, such as:
5. Remember the possibility of state legislatures in deciding the presidential election, not to mention the "Laboratories of Autocracy" factor per David Pepper. Donate to progressive state legislature candidates in critically flippable/keepable states (AZ, KS, MI, MN, NV, NH, NC, PA, WI), as through The States Project's HCR inspired Giving Circle:
Sign up for DNC phone banks, put up a Biden-Harris sign in your yard, donate as much money as you can. Don’t worry, take action, and never, ever give up!
Ruth, you’ve called it correctly so far! Project 2025, if implemented, will carry out the objectives to fully take over the government and establish authoritarian governance! As I’ve said before, no one can say they weren’t given a heads up! Thank you for your expertise and enlightening work!
The US Supreme Court ruling is what amounts to a “call to arms.” The “arms” are our votes. We must defeat Trump the only way we ever could: Defeat him at the ballot box! Biden deserves our support; he has earned it. And he is needed now more than ever.
Alicemarie, are you serious? Did you watch Trump vs Biden debate? If you were the head of the BOD of a big co and your CEO made a national speech b/4 millions of critically important people, but performed as catastrophically bad as Biden did in said debate, wouldn’t you have argued strongly for the dismissal of the CEO?
Democracy needed to win voters during that debate. Biden represented democracy. Instead, Trump won and shamed the DemParty, so much so that Trump was empowered by Biden’s defeat to such an extend that SCOTUS rewarded him by declaring Trump king; a monarch, immune from prosecution for crimes while acting as president.
Fortunately, even the DNC and Biden himself and his family appear to be reconsidering. We should be doing the same, having a dialogue about Biden’s disastrous performance and acting individually and collectively for what’s best for our country.
Full disclosure: In my view, Biden should resign immediately for health reasons, putting the interests of the Nation above his personal ego and ambition. Otherwise, VP Harris is duty bound to gather the cabinet and declare Biden unfit under Amend’t 25. For the good of the country, Biden should resign as a noble gesture. We could then move rapidly to open and trasparent primaries. This was discussed by a longtime senior member of DNC, today, 7/3, on DemocracyNow.org.
Nancy Pelosi is also concerned, strongly suggesting that both candidates should get tested. These tests, good if independent, delays the inevitable. Also, we can no longer afford a Dem Pres embracing fascist Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people; an opinion also voiced by the DNC member interview by DemocracyNow! this am.
Pres Biden’s complicity in genocide should be disqualifying. It’s threatening, now more than ever, to spread into a regional war w/ U.S. involvement. Are you okay all this? Biden seem to be.
Robert, I’m serious about supporting Biden. He can beat Trump once again (yes, he beat Trump before, remember?). Any other path, especially splitting Democrats, hands an easy victory to Trump. And what does that mean? We’re in the Twilight Zone with Trump. Women are keenly aware of what a second Trump term would mean. The debate was incredibly hard to watch. My questions about it also challenge CNN, their “questioners,” certainly not moderators, the camera angle, Biden’s Mike, etc. Biden was not well, obviously. But, since when do you win a debate on LIES? Where is the check on Trump’s lies, that got bigger and more outlandish as he went? Biden can win. He is elderly, but so is Trump. The cognitive difference goes well beyond the debate. Trump is a narcissist and sociopath (diagnosed by over 100 MDs). Who do you think can take him on? Biden has a stumble and you’re ready to throw him on the scrap heap. If we’re going to beat Trump, Biden can and will do it. But we do need a unified Democrat party to do it. Dems get fearful too easily. You don’t see the R’s splitting. They huddle around a vicious autocrat and invoke Jesus. At least Dems can support their President and stop whining.
I hear you Ruth, I have the same fear about where our country is headed.. Project 2025 is out there for anybody to read.. Believe this crew and what they say in this Project, they want to destroy Democracy and install a Czar to run our country, similar to Putin, Xi, Un and Orban.. Not allowed to question the Dear Leader or his followers… Reminds me of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Red Guards and the mechanisms that Mao used to climb back into power and preserve his power. Thanks for your many and learned insights Ruth.
Just so you know, the Korean dictator's surname is Kim. In China and Korea the surname is the first one listed, followed by the first and middle names.
The world is changing rapidly and deeply. Ibn Kaldoum used to say a couple of centuries ago : Hard times create strong men. Strong men create periods of peace. Periods of peace create weak men. Weak men create difficult times. Life is cycles. To anticipate cycles and its duration does not make us happy men, but wiser and better prepared. Prepared to avoid the past mistakes.
Anthony, allow me to suggest the following friendly editorial suggestion: “Voting Blue [in] Nov. is [one of] the [most important steps] in correcting our sails! THE MOST important step is for Biden to immediately resign followed asap by open and transparent primaries. We would then be able to focus on convicted felon, wannabe dictator, would be king, Trump; instead of “senile” Biden. Do we have the “death wish” that renowned Dr.Bandy X Lee, MD warns us about; seemingly to no avail?
Trump and Bannon have different motivations. Trump is all about satifying Trump and fulfilling his narcissistic requirements. I spent a career as a clinical psychologist, and I know how dangerous and vengeful these type of people typically are.
Bannon's motivations, on the other hand, fit the quote of Alfred Penneyworth from "The Dark Kmight:"
"..some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
Kevin, thank you( a very timely quote. This is why Dems must have the most qualified and the best communicator to lead the party and crush the fascist GOP. Trump should not be our sole focus. We have to be credible, address peoples needs and provide a worthy alternative; not a GOP Iite corporate Dem complicit in war crimes.
There is so much to be concerned and scared about. After yesterday’s Supreme Court debacle-decisions, they were all but certifying Trump’s position as a “King”. In a previous post, I declared that I think Biden should bow-out. I’m not apologetic about that opinion, it is shared by many. However, I said (and still assert) that I will support WHOMEVER runs against Trump. WE MUST WIN in 2024 or we can say “bye-bye” to our country as we know it. The ONLY good news is that Bannon (Mr. Mayhem himself, from the Allstate commercials), is “out of sight” for four-months. I am very interested to see what Judge Tanya Chuytkan might be able to do. Perhaps she can squeeze some lemonade from the lemons that our not-so-supreme-court left her.
At bottom, where does one go when nearly half the population casually accepts lies? When those in power - presidents, Supreme Court justices, legislators - have no problem spewing falsehoods?
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has chosen Donald J. Trump as Master of the Master Race—that small-minded, gleefully lying, proudly ignorant buffoon.
The “base” loves him because he’s entertaining. The Republican Party loves him because he’s bringing back the Confederacy (Fifties version). The Church of Whites Only loves him as God’s Second Son.
Why bother standing up when it’s so much easier to stay sat? Intellectual laziness is where fascism best breeds.
You ask great questions…it’s shocking how stupidity reigns in our country. And if Trump gets in, you can bet that he’ll abolish the Department of Education too…just to keep everyone “stupid”.
Adolfo Bioy Casares (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈðolfo ˈβjoj kaˈsaɾes]; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges. He is the author of the Fantastique novel The Invention of Morel. *******
The best-known novel by Bioy Casares is La invención de Morel (The Invention of Morel). It is the story of a man who, evading justice, escapes to an island said to be infected with a mysterious fatal disease. Struggling to understand why everything seems to repeat, he realizes that all the people he sees there are actually recordings, made with a special machine, invented by Morel, which is able to record not only three-dimensional images, but also voices and scents, making it all indistinguishable from reality. The story mixes realism, fantasy, science fiction and terror. Borges wrote an introduction in which he called it a work of "reasoned imagination" and linked it to H. G. Wells' oeuvre. Both Borges and Octavio Paz described the novel as "perfect". The story is held to be the inspiration for Alan Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad[2] and an influence on the TV series Lost.
I did not watch the debate so it is interesting to know that he would rather be golfing. I would suggest that he is now free to drop out of the race and just spend all his time golfing. I think we'd all be happier - except if we have a Mike Johnson presidency.
Being informed by you makes a huge difference in my life. We must not run in fear about what we see coming. I believe we can and must survive this extremist court and psychopath who is running for president. I appreciate your eyes wide open assessment. All of us must engage and do all we can or all will be lost.
I can see the SCOTUS is doing everything they can to get the country set up for the 2025 project to take hold. I have realized that with all the recent decisions, plus the postponement of the sentencing (which to my mind is ridiculous) have left me feeling really depressed.
I completely know how I feel about what’s happening . I do not know what to do. What actions besides donating and talking to friends or strangers but it feels inadequate.
I just saw a notice that AOC will start impeachment procedures for the SCOTUS.
I posted this last night on Heather Cox Richardson's Letters to an American Substack. Please pass it on to everyone you know:
How do we fight back? Let me count the ways...
1. Write postcards to encourage people to register to vote and to vote (take your pick and note that on 7/14/24, postcard stamps go up from 53 cents to 56 cents):
https://postcardstovoters.org/
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
https://postcards.markersfordemocracy.org/
https://www.turnoutpac.org/postcards/
2. Support other grassroots efforts to register voters, help voters get required ID, educate voters on their address's ballot, and Get Out The Vote, such as:
https://www.lwv.org/
https://www.voteriders.org/
https://bluevoterguide.org/
https://indivisible.org/
3. See Jessica Craven's "Chop Wood, Carry Water" for easy-to-follow actions (Monday-Friday and weekend edition of good news:)
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/chop-wood-carry-water-71-194
4. Donate to Biden/Harris campaign:
https://joebiden.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
5. Remember the possibility of state legislatures in deciding the presidential election, not to mention the "Laboratories of Autocracy" factor per David Pepper. Donate to progressive state legislature candidates in critically flippable/keepable states (AZ, KS, MI, MN, NV, NH, NC, PA, WI), as through The States Project's HCR inspired Giving Circle:
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/-
6. Donate to Marc Elias' law firm which routinely challenges the right wing Christo-fascist laws as they spring up.
https://www.elias.law/team/marc-elias
Other readers here surely have more ideas to add!
As Robert Hubbell says, "We have no time to be complacent, but every reason to be hopeful!"
As Jessica Craven says, "Hope is an action verb!"
As Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together!"
Just forwarded on Facebook. Thanks for the reminder that hope is an action.
Sign up for DNC phone banks, put up a Biden-Harris sign in your yard, donate as much money as you can. Don’t worry, take action, and never, ever give up!
Keep taking action. They want us to be paralyzed in fear.
How do I watch the video? When I click on it it just opens a picture but it won't play. Thanks!
Several links to older posts are not working?
no dear! I checked them all before publishing...
Perhaps my device? So sorry.
Ruth, you’ve called it correctly so far! Project 2025, if implemented, will carry out the objectives to fully take over the government and establish authoritarian governance! As I’ve said before, no one can say they weren’t given a heads up! Thank you for your expertise and enlightening work!
The US Supreme Court ruling is what amounts to a “call to arms.” The “arms” are our votes. We must defeat Trump the only way we ever could: Defeat him at the ballot box! Biden deserves our support; he has earned it. And he is needed now more than ever.
Alicemarie, are you serious? Did you watch Trump vs Biden debate? If you were the head of the BOD of a big co and your CEO made a national speech b/4 millions of critically important people, but performed as catastrophically bad as Biden did in said debate, wouldn’t you have argued strongly for the dismissal of the CEO?
Democracy needed to win voters during that debate. Biden represented democracy. Instead, Trump won and shamed the DemParty, so much so that Trump was empowered by Biden’s defeat to such an extend that SCOTUS rewarded him by declaring Trump king; a monarch, immune from prosecution for crimes while acting as president.
Fortunately, even the DNC and Biden himself and his family appear to be reconsidering. We should be doing the same, having a dialogue about Biden’s disastrous performance and acting individually and collectively for what’s best for our country.
Full disclosure: In my view, Biden should resign immediately for health reasons, putting the interests of the Nation above his personal ego and ambition. Otherwise, VP Harris is duty bound to gather the cabinet and declare Biden unfit under Amend’t 25. For the good of the country, Biden should resign as a noble gesture. We could then move rapidly to open and trasparent primaries. This was discussed by a longtime senior member of DNC, today, 7/3, on DemocracyNow.org.
Nancy Pelosi is also concerned, strongly suggesting that both candidates should get tested. These tests, good if independent, delays the inevitable. Also, we can no longer afford a Dem Pres embracing fascist Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people; an opinion also voiced by the DNC member interview by DemocracyNow! this am.
Pres Biden’s complicity in genocide should be disqualifying. It’s threatening, now more than ever, to spread into a regional war w/ U.S. involvement. Are you okay all this? Biden seem to be.
Robert, I’m serious about supporting Biden. He can beat Trump once again (yes, he beat Trump before, remember?). Any other path, especially splitting Democrats, hands an easy victory to Trump. And what does that mean? We’re in the Twilight Zone with Trump. Women are keenly aware of what a second Trump term would mean. The debate was incredibly hard to watch. My questions about it also challenge CNN, their “questioners,” certainly not moderators, the camera angle, Biden’s Mike, etc. Biden was not well, obviously. But, since when do you win a debate on LIES? Where is the check on Trump’s lies, that got bigger and more outlandish as he went? Biden can win. He is elderly, but so is Trump. The cognitive difference goes well beyond the debate. Trump is a narcissist and sociopath (diagnosed by over 100 MDs). Who do you think can take him on? Biden has a stumble and you’re ready to throw him on the scrap heap. If we’re going to beat Trump, Biden can and will do it. But we do need a unified Democrat party to do it. Dems get fearful too easily. You don’t see the R’s splitting. They huddle around a vicious autocrat and invoke Jesus. At least Dems can support their President and stop whining.
I hear you Ruth, I have the same fear about where our country is headed.. Project 2025 is out there for anybody to read.. Believe this crew and what they say in this Project, they want to destroy Democracy and install a Czar to run our country, similar to Putin, Xi, Un and Orban.. Not allowed to question the Dear Leader or his followers… Reminds me of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Red Guards and the mechanisms that Mao used to climb back into power and preserve his power. Thanks for your many and learned insights Ruth.
Just so you know, the Korean dictator's surname is Kim. In China and Korea the surname is the first one listed, followed by the first and middle names.
“Hostile Takeover of our government” seems important.
These are “domestic enemies” and we have the receipts in their manifesto Project 2025 and, more importantly, we still have a Constitution.
An ancient perspective :
The world is changing rapidly and deeply. Ibn Kaldoum used to say a couple of centuries ago : Hard times create strong men. Strong men create periods of peace. Periods of peace create weak men. Weak men create difficult times. Life is cycles. To anticipate cycles and its duration does not make us happy men, but wiser and better prepared. Prepared to avoid the past mistakes.
Voting Blue is November is the first major step in correcting our sails! We must vote in masses! Trump & his sycophants must go down!
Anthony, allow me to suggest the following friendly editorial suggestion: “Voting Blue [in] Nov. is [one of] the [most important steps] in correcting our sails! THE MOST important step is for Biden to immediately resign followed asap by open and transparent primaries. We would then be able to focus on convicted felon, wannabe dictator, would be king, Trump; instead of “senile” Biden. Do we have the “death wish” that renowned Dr.Bandy X Lee, MD warns us about; seemingly to no avail?
Trump and Bannon have different motivations. Trump is all about satifying Trump and fulfilling his narcissistic requirements. I spent a career as a clinical psychologist, and I know how dangerous and vengeful these type of people typically are.
Bannon's motivations, on the other hand, fit the quote of Alfred Penneyworth from "The Dark Kmight:"
"..some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
I agree, but Bannon is very greedy and lazy - consider his "build the wall" project…
Kevin, thank you( a very timely quote. This is why Dems must have the most qualified and the best communicator to lead the party and crush the fascist GOP. Trump should not be our sole focus. We have to be credible, address peoples needs and provide a worthy alternative; not a GOP Iite corporate Dem complicit in war crimes.
There is so much to be concerned and scared about. After yesterday’s Supreme Court debacle-decisions, they were all but certifying Trump’s position as a “King”. In a previous post, I declared that I think Biden should bow-out. I’m not apologetic about that opinion, it is shared by many. However, I said (and still assert) that I will support WHOMEVER runs against Trump. WE MUST WIN in 2024 or we can say “bye-bye” to our country as we know it. The ONLY good news is that Bannon (Mr. Mayhem himself, from the Allstate commercials), is “out of sight” for four-months. I am very interested to see what Judge Tanya Chuytkan might be able to do. Perhaps she can squeeze some lemonade from the lemons that our not-so-supreme-court left her.
Ok you say "bye bye" and we will fight fascists till hell freezes over, and then with hockey sticks on the ice.
We need energy like THIS, mon ami:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDJ6Wbzgy3E
Bruch: 1. Violinkonzert ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Hilary Hahn ∙ Andrés Orozco-Estrada
And THIS, comprendez-vous?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLehHzoEvmg
The Rolling Stones Live 1998 Buenos Aires Argentina
Btw Notice that Fender Telecasters can play ANYTHING, any music, any musical style tout court. Cf:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25012
The Case of Wagner, Nietzsche Contra Wagner, and Selected Aphorisms. by Nietzsche
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/philosophy_etds/14/
^^^^ This will stimulate your nous, bebe!
Forget Not the Whip! Nietzsche, Perspectivism, and Feminism: A Non-Apologist Interpretation of Nietzsche’s Polemical Axiology Author
Jennifer L. Hudgens, University of Kentucky
Note: Not "Thy whip," [arguendo a mistranslation] but "THE whip."
It's a great PhD thesis...
If that Max Bruch played by Hilary Hahn does get you moving, nothing will. Brilliant music and brilliant musician and orchestra.
HET999, well said; I agree.
At bottom, where does one go when nearly half the population casually accepts lies? When those in power - presidents, Supreme Court justices, legislators - have no problem spewing falsehoods?
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has chosen Donald J. Trump as Master of the Master Race—that small-minded, gleefully lying, proudly ignorant buffoon.
The “base” loves him because he’s entertaining. The Republican Party loves him because he’s bringing back the Confederacy (Fifties version). The Church of Whites Only loves him as God’s Second Son.
Why bother standing up when it’s so much easier to stay sat? Intellectual laziness is where fascism best breeds.
You ask great questions…it’s shocking how stupidity reigns in our country. And if Trump gets in, you can bet that he’ll abolish the Department of Education too…just to keep everyone “stupid”.
Not stupid, poorly educated. Cauliflower is just cabbage with a college education.
When everything looks hopeless you're the hope. And the fight, the legal nonviolent resistance, is going to require energy like this:
Bruch: 1. Violinkonzert ∙ hr-Sinfonieorchester ∙ Hilary Hahn ∙ Andrés Orozco-Estrada
hr-Sinfonieorche
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDJ6Wbzgy3E
And THIS:
0:01 / 2:20:40
The Rolling Stones Live 1998 Buenos Aires Argentina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLehHzoEvmg
Cf.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_Bioy_Casares
Adolfo Bioy Casares (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈðolfo ˈβjoj kaˈsaɾes]; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges. He is the author of the Fantastique novel The Invention of Morel. *******
The best-known novel by Bioy Casares is La invención de Morel (The Invention of Morel). It is the story of a man who, evading justice, escapes to an island said to be infected with a mysterious fatal disease. Struggling to understand why everything seems to repeat, he realizes that all the people he sees there are actually recordings, made with a special machine, invented by Morel, which is able to record not only three-dimensional images, but also voices and scents, making it all indistinguishable from reality. The story mixes realism, fantasy, science fiction and terror. Borges wrote an introduction in which he called it a work of "reasoned imagination" and linked it to H. G. Wells' oeuvre. Both Borges and Octavio Paz described the novel as "perfect". The story is held to be the inspiration for Alan Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad[2] and an influence on the TV series Lost.
*******
Throughout the debate, Trump kept saying he would rather be golfing than running for president.
I believe the coup is ongoing.
SCOTUS did their part, immunity for president.
Trump’s sentencing has been delayed.
I fear a Mike Johnson presidency and an abrupt end to our democracy.
I did not watch the debate so it is interesting to know that he would rather be golfing. I would suggest that he is now free to drop out of the race and just spend all his time golfing. I think we'd all be happier - except if we have a Mike Johnson presidency.
Being informed by you makes a huge difference in my life. We must not run in fear about what we see coming. I believe we can and must survive this extremist court and psychopath who is running for president. I appreciate your eyes wide open assessment. All of us must engage and do all we can or all will be lost.
I can see the SCOTUS is doing everything they can to get the country set up for the 2025 project to take hold. I have realized that with all the recent decisions, plus the postponement of the sentencing (which to my mind is ridiculous) have left me feeling really depressed.