I have a few reliable sages I follow on substack. Joyce, Ruth, Lucian, and Heather.
They make clear all the feelings and concerns I have about our dear country with no hyperbole or finger pointing. Just the facts presented lucidly. Without them I'd be a rudderless ship, so how can I expect those manipulated by Fox etc to see what I see without access to these tools of knowledge?
If you have the email address of an acquaintance who voted for Trump, anonymously get them a subscription to the one whose message best fits that person's concerns. If it's a military retiree, it might be Lucian. If they have a legal background, it might be Joyce. If it's someone with a European heritage, it might be Ruth. It seems that Heather's clearheaded understanding of history fits for nearly all as her admirably extensive reference lists prove her truths.
Rarely will they just cancel that subscription. Instead and on nearly daily basis (which is oh so impressive and I am ever thankful for) they will know what we know. As things turn grim they will have answers and guidance and understandings that will effectively refute the divisive lies that have infested them. It will give them the knowledge and tools of understanding. It's a bit like curing an addict, whether it be sugar or booze or whatever. Joyce and Ruth and Lucian and Heather are those clearheaded safe places they can grab as the unhealthiness of their diet starts to wear on them.
As with the addict, without that safe place what chance do they have? With it, and thanks to the diligent hard work of those folks who I see as close friends they will always have a lifeline.
In all the dystopian sci-fi dramas, we see the broken future aftermath of destruction. It’s an excruciating view of what the world looks like as a dark shadow of its former self. Well, now we are seeing real-time irl how it happens. This is the horror of our present time experiencing humanity spiraling into a hellscape.
Counter-intuitively, I find reading dystopian sci-fi very comforting. Perhaps having what's frightening embodied and therefore knowable, is better than inchoate fear.
If 'Strongmen' had been required reading for all US voters prior to 5 Nov, we'd not be in the mess we're in now. Nobody who has read it would ever want a strongman anywhere near any levers of power.
The multiple mental issues with Trump have been recognized for at least seven years by many psychiatrists/psychologists. Their warnings are well documented in books like “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” (2017), and a recent letter of concern by 233 mental health professionals. This recent letter concludes that Trump is a malignant narcissist. What does this mean? It means that Trump has both antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. How serious are these? It means that he has no conscience, is incapable of love, exists totally outside of the accepted virtues in society, has no remorse, is unlawful, cruel, has a grandiose self-image, is deceitful and is highly manipulative. He is easily a candidate for the 25th Amendment, once in office.
Thank you for your usual clear-eyed analysis. I just left Twitter on Thursday and you were one of my favorite follows there. I hope you consider leaving there soon and posting more frequently on Bluesky instead. In the meantime I just upgraded my subscription, which has been long overdue. Your analysis throughout the election season was indispensable. Thank you.
I do not understand why Biden isn’t doing more in the face of this crisis.
His behavior when he met with Trump this week was inexcusable. You don’t spend years (correctly) talking about the danger someone poses to our democracy and then smile and laugh with him when he visits.
This is absolutely not a normal transition. Biden needs to stop pretending it is.
I also do not understand why Biden seems to be ignoring Russia’s attacks on our election, including its now usual psy-ops warfare on social media and brazen bomb threats phoned in to heavily Blue polling stations. We’re just gonna ignore that?
Also: a President has a MASSIVE array of emergency powers at their disposal, something that has kept me awake at night during Trump’s first term:
I cannot think of a better time to use them than now. Given Trump’s nominations it is evident his aim is to destroy our government.
I also cannot believe that the NSA, CIA, and FBI have picked up absolutely no evidence of treasonous behavior on Trump’s part during this election, with his and Musk’s numerous phone calls to Putin and Orbán literally visiting Mar-a-lago this year.
Again, now is the time to use whatever they found.
Can anything be done to protect our democracy at this point?
Congrats on your best seller Ruth. These nominations are truly comical, but deadly. TFG got away with sedition, inciting a riot, and the Republican Senate is going to let him have his way with these traitors. I am horrified at the Senate going into recess. President Biden needs to arrest TFG for treason before December 6th, but he won't. I used to admire him, but now he is nothing more than a lame duck, hapless and cowardly like the current leader of the DOJ. I fear we will see apartheid instituted.
Trump's cabinet appointments are the ones you'd make if it was your goal to destroy the US government. No real surprise there, unfortunately.
"I’m a Leninist. Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment."
Just an interesting anecdote that happened today… I went to get my flu shot in Walgreens and was told it was a 1 hr + wait! Surprised I looked around and there were about a half dozen parents with kids waiting for their children to get basic shots. One mom with a7wk newborn in her arms told me she couldn’t get her infant’s shots in dr office bc everything booked for weeks. In addition there were about another half dozen adults waiting for other shots
( Covid, flu etc). Very sobering for me as I could see worry and fear in their faces. Small observation compared to major events happening now in our country - I pray it’s not predictive of worst things to come in health care with this current nomination for HHS.
I'm also letting myself be angry at those who haven't engaged, or voted for chaos intentionally. Anger isn't contempt or disdain, as some on the RIGHT say- it's anger. Parents routinely get angry at there children- not out of resentment or disdain, but out of love. We can't fall into a defensive crouch over our justified anger. This is too important.
Clarity is so needed right now. Timothy Snider also elaborated on these picks in a chilling and clear way. As Stacy Abrams shared, it's time to LISTEN, INFORM, and ACT. I'm bracing to start conversations with family and neighbors about POLITICS, because not doing so is irresponsible and dangerous. We're blessed to have such experts like Ruth and Timothy leading the way.
This is bizarro world … played for laughs. Even Hitler and Mussolini choices were straightforward , these lickspittles are only nominated for their amusement factor. Giving them libs another shove … or shiv.
I'm hoping, Ruth, you will help
us form a game plan of
resistance and protection.
You're an expert, along with
Tim Snyder, on authoritarian
fascism. There was an
underground during Mussolini
and Hitler's reigns. We need
your help.
I have a few reliable sages I follow on substack. Joyce, Ruth, Lucian, and Heather.
They make clear all the feelings and concerns I have about our dear country with no hyperbole or finger pointing. Just the facts presented lucidly. Without them I'd be a rudderless ship, so how can I expect those manipulated by Fox etc to see what I see without access to these tools of knowledge?
If you have the email address of an acquaintance who voted for Trump, anonymously get them a subscription to the one whose message best fits that person's concerns. If it's a military retiree, it might be Lucian. If they have a legal background, it might be Joyce. If it's someone with a European heritage, it might be Ruth. It seems that Heather's clearheaded understanding of history fits for nearly all as her admirably extensive reference lists prove her truths.
Rarely will they just cancel that subscription. Instead and on nearly daily basis (which is oh so impressive and I am ever thankful for) they will know what we know. As things turn grim they will have answers and guidance and understandings that will effectively refute the divisive lies that have infested them. It will give them the knowledge and tools of understanding. It's a bit like curing an addict, whether it be sugar or booze or whatever. Joyce and Ruth and Lucian and Heather are those clearheaded safe places they can grab as the unhealthiness of their diet starts to wear on them.
As with the addict, without that safe place what chance do they have? With it, and thanks to the diligent hard work of those folks who I see as close friends they will always have a lifeline.
Give them that, please.
When will we receive the link for tonight’s zoom?
In all the dystopian sci-fi dramas, we see the broken future aftermath of destruction. It’s an excruciating view of what the world looks like as a dark shadow of its former self. Well, now we are seeing real-time irl how it happens. This is the horror of our present time experiencing humanity spiraling into a hellscape.
Counter-intuitively, I find reading dystopian sci-fi very comforting. Perhaps having what's frightening embodied and therefore knowable, is better than inchoate fear.
I always have as well until now. Been a sci-fi fan for decades. Suddenly, it’s all too real.
If 'Strongmen' had been required reading for all US voters prior to 5 Nov, we'd not be in the mess we're in now. Nobody who has read it would ever want a strongman anywhere near any levers of power.
The multiple mental issues with Trump have been recognized for at least seven years by many psychiatrists/psychologists. Their warnings are well documented in books like “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump” (2017), and a recent letter of concern by 233 mental health professionals. This recent letter concludes that Trump is a malignant narcissist. What does this mean? It means that Trump has both antisocial personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. How serious are these? It means that he has no conscience, is incapable of love, exists totally outside of the accepted virtues in society, has no remorse, is unlawful, cruel, has a grandiose self-image, is deceitful and is highly manipulative. He is easily a candidate for the 25th Amendment, once in office.
Ran across this thought:
This really isn't a Cabinet
It's more like a Junk Drawer
Thank you for your usual clear-eyed analysis. I just left Twitter on Thursday and you were one of my favorite follows there. I hope you consider leaving there soon and posting more frequently on Bluesky instead. In the meantime I just upgraded my subscription, which has been long overdue. Your analysis throughout the election season was indispensable. Thank you.
I do not understand why Biden isn’t doing more in the face of this crisis.
His behavior when he met with Trump this week was inexcusable. You don’t spend years (correctly) talking about the danger someone poses to our democracy and then smile and laugh with him when he visits.
This is absolutely not a normal transition. Biden needs to stop pretending it is.
I also do not understand why Biden seems to be ignoring Russia’s attacks on our election, including its now usual psy-ops warfare on social media and brazen bomb threats phoned in to heavily Blue polling stations. We’re just gonna ignore that?
Also: a President has a MASSIVE array of emergency powers at their disposal, something that has kept me awake at night during Trump’s first term:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/opinion/trump-coronavirus-emergency-powers.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aE4.wJUU.uY7Lb_6qJcie&smid=url-share
I cannot think of a better time to use them than now. Given Trump’s nominations it is evident his aim is to destroy our government.
I also cannot believe that the NSA, CIA, and FBI have picked up absolutely no evidence of treasonous behavior on Trump’s part during this election, with his and Musk’s numerous phone calls to Putin and Orbán literally visiting Mar-a-lago this year.
Again, now is the time to use whatever they found.
Can anything be done to protect our democracy at this point?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/15/republican-ads-false-flag/ This POST article was cited by Timothy Snyder in his "THINKING ABOUT" sub stack letter. of Nov. 17th. Please let me know if you've seen it.
Congrats on your best seller Ruth. These nominations are truly comical, but deadly. TFG got away with sedition, inciting a riot, and the Republican Senate is going to let him have his way with these traitors. I am horrified at the Senate going into recess. President Biden needs to arrest TFG for treason before December 6th, but he won't. I used to admire him, but now he is nothing more than a lame duck, hapless and cowardly like the current leader of the DOJ. I fear we will see apartheid instituted.
Thanks again Ruth and love the photos of the cast of characters--Hegseth's tattoos clearly implicate him as a neochristian supremacist.
Trump's cabinet appointments are the ones you'd make if it was your goal to destroy the US government. No real surprise there, unfortunately.
"I’m a Leninist. Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal too. I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment."
-- Steve Bannon, Advisor to President-Elect Trump
Bannon seems to think that fascism will be an improvement over our presently damaged democracy. Lunacy!
Just an interesting anecdote that happened today… I went to get my flu shot in Walgreens and was told it was a 1 hr + wait! Surprised I looked around and there were about a half dozen parents with kids waiting for their children to get basic shots. One mom with a7wk newborn in her arms told me she couldn’t get her infant’s shots in dr office bc everything booked for weeks. In addition there were about another half dozen adults waiting for other shots
( Covid, flu etc). Very sobering for me as I could see worry and fear in their faces. Small observation compared to major events happening now in our country - I pray it’s not predictive of worst things to come in health care with this current nomination for HHS.
Well said. Scary times. Happy to help as a researcher and writer. Keep up the good work.
I'm also letting myself be angry at those who haven't engaged, or voted for chaos intentionally. Anger isn't contempt or disdain, as some on the RIGHT say- it's anger. Parents routinely get angry at there children- not out of resentment or disdain, but out of love. We can't fall into a defensive crouch over our justified anger. This is too important.
Clarity is so needed right now. Timothy Snider also elaborated on these picks in a chilling and clear way. As Stacy Abrams shared, it's time to LISTEN, INFORM, and ACT. I'm bracing to start conversations with family and neighbors about POLITICS, because not doing so is irresponsible and dangerous. We're blessed to have such experts like Ruth and Timothy leading the way.
Progressives such as Stacy Abrams have nothing to offer Democrats now, I am afraid.
Her work on elections has been invaluable. But I agree, it seems powerless now in a way.
This is bizarro world … played for laughs. Even Hitler and Mussolini choices were straightforward , these lickspittles are only nominated for their amusement factor. Giving them libs another shove … or shiv.