Thank you for reminding us of our historic roots and our potential for greater things in the future if only we can rid ourselves of the stigma and scourge that is MAGA‼️✊🏼😆
Wonderful historical account of what a great president does when confronted with world shaking challenges. Sadly, the bar has been lowered to the point of FDR being unrecognizable in today's political sewer. While the Japanese internment camps were insidious, at least FDR wasn't a fan of child predators, sex traffickers, and leniency for crimes against humanity. FDR was a man of the people. trump is a man of the pedophiles.
Kompromat was a term that circulated in the 2017 media when Russiagate was prominent It essentially fingered Cheeto as a Russian agent Now confirmed FBI sources show that Cheeto was a target in the 1980’s by the KGB/GRU(Russian intelligence agency) to recruit him as an agent which happened Russian promises about a Cheeto Moscow hotel property never materialized but Russian internet hacks got Cheeto elected
But it gets deeper Cheeto outbid his buddy Epstein with the help of a Russian oligarch which really pissed off Epstein who threatened Cheeto with public exposure and lawsuits But Epstein thought better of it and eventually Cheeto got paid double what he paid for it by the same Russian oligarch 3y later It’s also rumored that when Cheeto was bankrupted Russian oligarchs bailed him out
All of the above lays the foundation for Cheeto’s chumminess with his buddy dictator Putin Cheeto’s been in bed with the scumbag Putin for years and now Cheeto is meeting his fellow dictator in Alaska
Great column. I just wanted to add a personal anecdote illustrative of the everyday erosion of our trust and regard for one another that Trump&Co are fomenting. A local paper posted a photo of Main Street in this medium sized, near-in suburb of Pittsburgh--a strip of shops, services and restaurants surrounded by high rise residences (most of them not high-end). The accompanying story announced that our township did not allow cycling or skateboarding on the sidewalks in that area. Readers chimed in mocking the rule and the fact that we are a blue dot not far from a lot of red dot communities on the map. I barely succeeded in discouraging my husband from flaming back. But if he had, he would have noted that the sidewalks 'uptown' contain many outdoor cafe tables, are used by any number of fitness walkers, moms and dads pushing strollers and older people with canes and walkers. Not to mention it's abutted by a busy thoroughfare where a biker or boarder could easily be struck after a fall. I hope more and more people are waking up to the fact that we are being manipulated by fascists toward our own demise as a free people!
Fun(!) Fact: There is a 100 MILLION-strong voting bloc in this country. This bloc votes the SAME WAY in EVERY ELECTION. THEY DON'T VOTE. This is the bloc we must tap.
Run on CHANGING THREE THINGS: Healthcare for All, Fair Economy, and Fair Taxes. Dems: MAKE SOME PROMISES. Convince the voters it is in their best interest to vote for us.
The Democrat Tribe is fragmented. We try to respect all as the 'big tent' party, but this creates division. We need to agree on one thing: We are the 99% who are NOT billionaires.
We cannot fall into 'purity test' mode. The Dem leadership MUST manage a transition from the old to the new.
For further reading, I would recommend the book "The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror" by Natan Sharansky and Ron Dermer. Sharansky was a Sovet dissident, and he laid out the case for why fear societies – ones where people are afraid to express views publicly for fear of punishment or reprisal – are much less strong and much more brittle than they may appear on the surface.
Coming at it from a different angle, there's no way that a single person or a small handful of people can efficiently micro-manage a country the size of the U.S., even if they have the best of intentions (which the current Administration clearly doesn't). If you complicate that with a fear society where people are afraid to speak any sort of truth that the regime does not want to hear, you get an "Emperor's New Clothes" scenario where the leadership gets more and more out of touch with reality, because they're getting all of their information from people like the Iraqi Information Minister (remember him?) who will only tell them what they want to hear – no matter how absurd it is.
We cannot wish away the troubles of the times we are in. We must find and use the tools available to us to resolve our problems, because giving into despair only assures that evil will prevail. The French must have thought, “how can this be happening to us?” Now we are facing the same thoughts. The balance between maintaining community, and bonanza seeking and free rein is a difficult one to maintain.
Thank you, Edwin, for lifting up this aspect of FDR's legacy. It helps to remember FDR's quiet words. Words that can help us now in this period where, as you pointed out, "Our moral and mental defenses are fogged by a constant barrage of propaganda." Words reminding us of our humanity and need for moral courage. Keep telling like it is. Take care.
Comparing great presidents to the current simpleton grifter is too stark a contrast to comprehend. FDR also battled with polio which RFK jr. is working to remove the vaccine for. How the hell did we get here?
Then we have Hegseth, who reportedly invited his wife to a Signal chat where operational military plans were being discussed – and who now has amplified posts from pastors who want to repeal women's right to vote!
How is it tolerable to have a Secretary of Defense who does NOT understand (or perhaps does NOT care) that "loose lips sink ships", and who might be agreeable to stripping the right to vote away from half of our adult population?!?
He tells them what they want to hear, especially that their unhappiness with their circumstances in life aren't their own fault, that somebody else is gaining at their expense. And because they desperately want to believe that, they turn a deliberate blind eye to what he really is. These aren't helpless, hapless people. They know what they're doing, and do it anyway.
Thank you for reminding us of our historic roots and our potential for greater things in the future if only we can rid ourselves of the stigma and scourge that is MAGA‼️✊🏼😆
"A consolidating tyranny engulfs our federal government and overwhelms the checks and balances we counted on for protection." This is precisely it.
To this day, Repulblicans hate that the greatest 20th century POTUS was a Democrat.
Wonderful historical account of what a great president does when confronted with world shaking challenges. Sadly, the bar has been lowered to the point of FDR being unrecognizable in today's political sewer. While the Japanese internment camps were insidious, at least FDR wasn't a fan of child predators, sex traffickers, and leniency for crimes against humanity. FDR was a man of the people. trump is a man of the pedophiles.
Cheeto, Russian Kompromat, and Putin
Kompromat was a term that circulated in the 2017 media when Russiagate was prominent It essentially fingered Cheeto as a Russian agent Now confirmed FBI sources show that Cheeto was a target in the 1980’s by the KGB/GRU(Russian intelligence agency) to recruit him as an agent which happened Russian promises about a Cheeto Moscow hotel property never materialized but Russian internet hacks got Cheeto elected
But it gets deeper Cheeto outbid his buddy Epstein with the help of a Russian oligarch which really pissed off Epstein who threatened Cheeto with public exposure and lawsuits But Epstein thought better of it and eventually Cheeto got paid double what he paid for it by the same Russian oligarch 3y later It’s also rumored that when Cheeto was bankrupted Russian oligarchs bailed him out
All of the above lays the foundation for Cheeto’s chumminess with his buddy dictator Putin Cheeto’s been in bed with the scumbag Putin for years and now Cheeto is meeting his fellow dictator in Alaska
Great column. I just wanted to add a personal anecdote illustrative of the everyday erosion of our trust and regard for one another that Trump&Co are fomenting. A local paper posted a photo of Main Street in this medium sized, near-in suburb of Pittsburgh--a strip of shops, services and restaurants surrounded by high rise residences (most of them not high-end). The accompanying story announced that our township did not allow cycling or skateboarding on the sidewalks in that area. Readers chimed in mocking the rule and the fact that we are a blue dot not far from a lot of red dot communities on the map. I barely succeeded in discouraging my husband from flaming back. But if he had, he would have noted that the sidewalks 'uptown' contain many outdoor cafe tables, are used by any number of fitness walkers, moms and dads pushing strollers and older people with canes and walkers. Not to mention it's abutted by a busy thoroughfare where a biker or boarder could easily be struck after a fall. I hope more and more people are waking up to the fact that we are being manipulated by fascists toward our own demise as a free people!
Fun(!) Fact: There is a 100 MILLION-strong voting bloc in this country. This bloc votes the SAME WAY in EVERY ELECTION. THEY DON'T VOTE. This is the bloc we must tap.
Run on CHANGING THREE THINGS: Healthcare for All, Fair Economy, and Fair Taxes. Dems: MAKE SOME PROMISES. Convince the voters it is in their best interest to vote for us.
The Democrat Tribe is fragmented. We try to respect all as the 'big tent' party, but this creates division. We need to agree on one thing: We are the 99% who are NOT billionaires.
We cannot fall into 'purity test' mode. The Dem leadership MUST manage a transition from the old to the new.
THE BBB - THE INVASION OF THE ENTITLEMENT SNATCHERS. https://bsky.app/profile/opsan.bsky.social/post/3lsuhjtmid22t
ICE expansion: the standards are 'relaxed'. https://bsky.app/profile/opsan.bsky.social/post/3lv7xbkygyk2z It's not real. I wish I could find it funny. Less ICE / more immigration judges.
Corporate Media caves for corporate reasons. The CBS Case: Confusion and Mental Anguish? Where's OUR Settlement? https://bsky.app/profile/opsan.bsky.social/post/3lt3wpsaqfc2f
For further reading, I would recommend the book "The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror" by Natan Sharansky and Ron Dermer. Sharansky was a Sovet dissident, and he laid out the case for why fear societies – ones where people are afraid to express views publicly for fear of punishment or reprisal – are much less strong and much more brittle than they may appear on the surface.
Coming at it from a different angle, there's no way that a single person or a small handful of people can efficiently micro-manage a country the size of the U.S., even if they have the best of intentions (which the current Administration clearly doesn't). If you complicate that with a fear society where people are afraid to speak any sort of truth that the regime does not want to hear, you get an "Emperor's New Clothes" scenario where the leadership gets more and more out of touch with reality, because they're getting all of their information from people like the Iraqi Information Minister (remember him?) who will only tell them what they want to hear – no matter how absurd it is.
We cannot wish away the troubles of the times we are in. We must find and use the tools available to us to resolve our problems, because giving into despair only assures that evil will prevail. The French must have thought, “how can this be happening to us?” Now we are facing the same thoughts. The balance between maintaining community, and bonanza seeking and free rein is a difficult one to maintain.
Thank you, Edwin, for lifting up this aspect of FDR's legacy. It helps to remember FDR's quiet words. Words that can help us now in this period where, as you pointed out, "Our moral and mental defenses are fogged by a constant barrage of propaganda." Words reminding us of our humanity and need for moral courage. Keep telling like it is. Take care.
Comparing great presidents to the current simpleton grifter is too stark a contrast to comprehend. FDR also battled with polio which RFK jr. is working to remove the vaccine for. How the hell did we get here?
RFK: We're not Anti-Vax .. we are Pro-Natural Selection. https://bsky.app/profile/opsan.bsky.social/post/3lqllbgji5c2v
Then we have Hegseth, who reportedly invited his wife to a Signal chat where operational military plans were being discussed – and who now has amplified posts from pastors who want to repeal women's right to vote!
How is it tolerable to have a Secretary of Defense who does NOT understand (or perhaps does NOT care) that "loose lips sink ships", and who might be agreeable to stripping the right to vote away from half of our adult population?!?
Trump is an illness inflicted on our nation by voters who misunderstand his malignant narcissist personality.
He tells them what they want to hear, especially that their unhappiness with their circumstances in life aren't their own fault, that somebody else is gaining at their expense. And because they desperately want to believe that, they turn a deliberate blind eye to what he really is. These aren't helpless, hapless people. They know what they're doing, and do it anyway.