In this 250th year of the United States, I’m writing a series called “The Cause.” “The Cause” was the initial name of the war for the independence of the United States.
I watched Senator Whitehouse point out that the slush fund documents were also signed by the current IRS Commissioner and gave this criminal family complete tax amnesty as far back as needed.
The MAGA serfs around us voted for this and it is difficult for me and other reasonable people to find ways to live with them. Clearly, they have no interest in this country.
And it is mind boggling to me that there are people prepared to give Lindsey Graham another six years as Senator or make Tommy Tuberville the next Governor of Alabama.
Can the tax liability and criminal investigations be stopped with only one political appointee signature? This is not a decision based upon evidence presented in courts. This is wrong. How can this be stopped?
Totally agree. Both parties are, with few exceptions, complicit thanks in large part to a politically motivated SCOTUS and their dubious calls, specifically on Citizens United case.
Wow. Just wow. Roosevelt's intellect and understanding were amazing then, and now. We are so very much in the same place. The bullies that hold the money are fashioning for themselves the power over all as well. They will, of course, because of their greed and designs, account for a great fall again, as they did in the '20's. But what pieces will be left to pick up. Thanks for a great post. We have been warned, indeed.
Brilliant, Steve. And thank you for the reminder. Although I still feel Donald Trump has taken this country to a dark place from which we will never recover. I pray that I am wrong.
It’s hard to see the light during this time. When the new sheriff comes to town, these billionaires will be held accountable. Then and only then we will begin to heal.
I am not holding my breath for a new sheriff to hold anyone accountable. I can just see the next democratic administration say that the past is the past, it's time to look forward.
Many Americans are pissed at what they have done. Breaking laws and the constitution. If they choose this route, I will never support or vote for them again.
What terrifies me most isn’t Trump, Biden, MAGA, “the left,” or any single faction.
It’s how many Americans can feel the institutional decay happening in real time and still retreat deeper into tribal identity instead of shared civic responsibility.
That’s how democracies rot.
I wrote recently about how negative partisanship is consuming the country from the inside out because people increasingly vote against enemies instead of for principles:
Starting in Reagan's time, the economic inequality that roils America today started with the cruel hoax of "trickle-down" tax cuts; the theory that industrialists would create more jobs with the wealth they were allowed to keep. Instead, they maintained their tax cut lobbyists and offshored their factories to lower-wage jurisdictions like China, and this hollowed out the rust belt.
Reagan also raised the Republican tent flap and invited the protestant religious fundamentalist evangelicals into the tent. The "moral majority" wasn't moral, and it wasn't a majority. It spoiled American politics anyway. Jerry Falwell can rot in hell.
If there were a Hell I would wish Falwell, Osteen, Franklin Graham, and all the religious grifters to burn for eternity, but there isn't. Thus, I cling to the desperate hope that they and their political counterparts in this incredibly evil and corrupt America will one day stand before the equivalent of the Nuremberg Tribunal and be appropriately punished for the evil they have wrought.
Dante's Inferno is too good for this regime and all its grifters, whether they're Silicon Valley types, Jeff Bezos, or the great unwashed masses of MAGA.
The International Criminal Court, if it were to issue international arrest warrants for some of these reprobates, could seriously hamper their ability to travel internationally, as 125 signatory countries to the Rome Statute created the court. But, post-Trump, America will have to clean its own house.
You are right; it will be America's job to indict, try, and convict those responsible for the corruption and crimes of Trump's regime. My call for an International Tribunal is based on my belief that Trump's attacks on small boats, unconstitutional wars, and revoking of USAID constitute crimes against humanity. Bottom line, I just want these outrageously evil people to answer for what they have done and to be shamed before the entire world.
I would love to see Epstein's ghost actually manage to disgrace Trump. Pedophilia is a line in the sand that the vast majority of humanity won't cross. Trump publicly bragged about groping women, and there is evidence that he raped women. Convicted pedophiles are the costliest to keep alive in prisons, but with Trump, it would be worth ALL it costs.
I would like to ask the MAGAT Cult members and all others who voted a second or even a third time for a pathologically lying, malignantly narcissistic, seditious, sexually predatory, mentally disturbed grifter and psychopath a few questions: Why? Why is it you think so highly of this incompetent mob boss wannabe?
Did you vote for him because you thought he would keep us out of endless war like he said he was going to do? Well, what do you think about that now? He has us involved in a war of whim that he cannot and will not win and that shows no signs of ending any time soon, no matter what the lies du jour are.
Did you vote for him because you thought he would be good for the economy? Did you spend four years bellyaching about the economy under President Biden? Did you want cheaper groceries and less expensive gasoline? Well, how's that working out? Been to the grocery store lately? Have you filled up your gas tank recently? Prices are skyrocketing with the end out of sight.
Did you vote for him because you bought his con that he is your champion, your knight in shining armor? He has already said that he cares neither about your finances, nor about you personally. Face the truth: Agolf Shitler only cares about himself. Period. Full stop. The end. Finis.
Will we ever really know what Putin and Russia have on tRUMP that makes him act like a pet dog? We know what tRUMP has on most republicans that make them act like his pet dog...their fear of losing their power and their job which they choose over the best interest of our country.
The Greatest Generation suffered greatly during their lives. The great depression, WWII, food rationing, blackouts, shortages of everything and death of their loved ones fighting overseas.
They are the builders that us ( baby boomers ) inherited. The finished construction that every other generation also inherited. That the world looked to with awe.
This must always be remembered and honored. Or else all is lost.
Several of these paragraphs by FDR can be used in basic concepts and speeches by our various candidates. The whole could certainly be used by the successful presidential candidate on their inauguration. Thank you, Steve for bringing these words back to our attention, that this kind of history can be repeated. I will say again, vote as if your life depended on it, because it does.
I was born in 1942, so I do not directly remember FDR. But, I do remember my Father crying at his death. His and the country's father had died. Reading FDR's words in your comments remind me of the great difference in abilities of the candidates for office. And, the directly related ability of the listeners.....when they bother. That address could be given today with great meaning, but who would give it?? The activity of the Congress is beyond belief!! The Republicans, in particular, are useless. No sense of responsibility to the country. Just how many ass-kissing sessions with Trump are needed to be reelected by crowds of blind Trump followers. The Democrats are not so far behind. Do you see any FDRs or even faint shadows of him out there expressing the true rage of someone trying to retain democracy?? no. A strong presence is needed in order to gather thinking, caring, people together. The democrats out there are already showing their unfortunately common eagerness to think only of their own convenience and, fractured, hand the next election to whatever disaster lies ahead.
I could tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news about JFK's assassination. My father and mother (God rest their souls), were they alive, could tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard about FDR's death. My parents were both die-hard Republicans. They voted for FDR 4 times. They knew he was the man needed to lead this country through the Great Depression and through World War II.
I have been watching a lot of American hx documentaries lately. I can’t help but notice the similarities to this moment and our past. Ironically I just finished watching the FDR show and I’ve started Lincoln. We can learn a lot from history
I believe Roosevelt nailed it. We are fighting a cancer of greed and power, and like cancer success means holding this cancer in remission. There is no permanent cure because nature is what it is.
I watched Senator Whitehouse point out that the slush fund documents were also signed by the current IRS Commissioner and gave this criminal family complete tax amnesty as far back as needed.
The MAGA serfs around us voted for this and it is difficult for me and other reasonable people to find ways to live with them. Clearly, they have no interest in this country.
Clearly a conflict of interest and will not be upheld in a court of law. This is what I believe.
They have no idea they are digging their own graves.
They're like sideshow bob of the Simpsons when he keeps stepping on the rake and it smacks him in that face.
They just don't get it. Further proof of YCFS
And it is mind boggling to me that there are people prepared to give Lindsey Graham another six years as Senator or make Tommy Tuberville the next Governor of Alabama.
Can the tax liability and criminal investigations be stopped with only one political appointee signature? This is not a decision based upon evidence presented in courts. This is wrong. How can this be stopped?
Can anyone enter into this type of agreement?
Thank you for the comments of a great President who defended our Democratic Nation from the Fascist Fuehrer.
We will remember them every Memorial Day of our future.
Vote, speakout, write and propagate the truths against the Government lies - ALL of us ..
Thank you for another great thought-provoking piece.
Proof-postive that our nation needs another FDR, now more than ever.
If only. I think that kind of intellectual statesmanship no longer exists, or has little chance of developing.
Totally agree. Both parties are, with few exceptions, complicit thanks in large part to a politically motivated SCOTUS and their dubious calls, specifically on Citizens United case.
Wow. Just wow. Roosevelt's intellect and understanding were amazing then, and now. We are so very much in the same place. The bullies that hold the money are fashioning for themselves the power over all as well. They will, of course, because of their greed and designs, account for a great fall again, as they did in the '20's. But what pieces will be left to pick up. Thanks for a great post. We have been warned, indeed.
Brilliant, Steve. And thank you for the reminder. Although I still feel Donald Trump has taken this country to a dark place from which we will never recover. I pray that I am wrong.
It’s hard to see the light during this time. When the new sheriff comes to town, these billionaires will be held accountable. Then and only then we will begin to heal.
I am not holding my breath for a new sheriff to hold anyone accountable. I can just see the next democratic administration say that the past is the past, it's time to look forward.
Not 'like' liking, just fear that you're right. We'll see if the Democrats are truly different, or in thrall to the same oligarchs.
Many Americans are pissed at what they have done. Breaking laws and the constitution. If they choose this route, I will never support or vote for them again.
What terrifies me most isn’t Trump, Biden, MAGA, “the left,” or any single faction.
It’s how many Americans can feel the institutional decay happening in real time and still retreat deeper into tribal identity instead of shared civic responsibility.
That’s how democracies rot.
I wrote recently about how negative partisanship is consuming the country from the inside out because people increasingly vote against enemies instead of for principles:
https://uncomfortable.rxansmithmedia.com/p/negative-partisanship-destruction-of-democracy
FDR warned about freedom being traded for the illusion of safety and certainty in 1936. That warning feels disturbingly modern now.
Another excellent, thoughtful piece that directly speaks to what’s at stake today…
Thank you Steve. 🙏🏻
Starting in Reagan's time, the economic inequality that roils America today started with the cruel hoax of "trickle-down" tax cuts; the theory that industrialists would create more jobs with the wealth they were allowed to keep. Instead, they maintained their tax cut lobbyists and offshored their factories to lower-wage jurisdictions like China, and this hollowed out the rust belt.
Reagan also raised the Republican tent flap and invited the protestant religious fundamentalist evangelicals into the tent. The "moral majority" wasn't moral, and it wasn't a majority. It spoiled American politics anyway. Jerry Falwell can rot in hell.
If there were a Hell I would wish Falwell, Osteen, Franklin Graham, and all the religious grifters to burn for eternity, but there isn't. Thus, I cling to the desperate hope that they and their political counterparts in this incredibly evil and corrupt America will one day stand before the equivalent of the Nuremberg Tribunal and be appropriately punished for the evil they have wrought.
Dante's Inferno is too good for this regime and all its grifters, whether they're Silicon Valley types, Jeff Bezos, or the great unwashed masses of MAGA.
The International Criminal Court, if it were to issue international arrest warrants for some of these reprobates, could seriously hamper their ability to travel internationally, as 125 signatory countries to the Rome Statute created the court. But, post-Trump, America will have to clean its own house.
You are right; it will be America's job to indict, try, and convict those responsible for the corruption and crimes of Trump's regime. My call for an International Tribunal is based on my belief that Trump's attacks on small boats, unconstitutional wars, and revoking of USAID constitute crimes against humanity. Bottom line, I just want these outrageously evil people to answer for what they have done and to be shamed before the entire world.
I would love to see Epstein's ghost actually manage to disgrace Trump. Pedophilia is a line in the sand that the vast majority of humanity won't cross. Trump publicly bragged about groping women, and there is evidence that he raped women. Convicted pedophiles are the costliest to keep alive in prisons, but with Trump, it would be worth ALL it costs.
Nixon was responsible for the "moral majority" It was about then I quit voting for any republican to office.
I stand corrected. Nixon was a paranoid guy. Ellsberg wrecked him.
I would like to ask the MAGAT Cult members and all others who voted a second or even a third time for a pathologically lying, malignantly narcissistic, seditious, sexually predatory, mentally disturbed grifter and psychopath a few questions: Why? Why is it you think so highly of this incompetent mob boss wannabe?
Did you vote for him because you thought he would keep us out of endless war like he said he was going to do? Well, what do you think about that now? He has us involved in a war of whim that he cannot and will not win and that shows no signs of ending any time soon, no matter what the lies du jour are.
Did you vote for him because you thought he would be good for the economy? Did you spend four years bellyaching about the economy under President Biden? Did you want cheaper groceries and less expensive gasoline? Well, how's that working out? Been to the grocery store lately? Have you filled up your gas tank recently? Prices are skyrocketing with the end out of sight.
Did you vote for him because you bought his con that he is your champion, your knight in shining armor? He has already said that he cares neither about your finances, nor about you personally. Face the truth: Agolf Shitler only cares about himself. Period. Full stop. The end. Finis.
"Did you vote for him because you bought his con that he is your champion, your knight in shining armor?"
I think many voted for him because he said, "I am your retribution".
Why they thought they needed retribution is a mystery to me. The retribution they got was/is TFG's alone.
Will we ever really know what Putin and Russia have on tRUMP that makes him act like a pet dog? We know what tRUMP has on most republicans that make them act like his pet dog...their fear of losing their power and their job which they choose over the best interest of our country.
Thank you Steve. On this day of Days, a much needed reminderof who and what we are and must be.
And, where we came from.
The Greatest Generation suffered greatly during their lives. The great depression, WWII, food rationing, blackouts, shortages of everything and death of their loved ones fighting overseas.
They are the builders that us ( baby boomers ) inherited. The finished construction that every other generation also inherited. That the world looked to with awe.
This must always be remembered and honored. Or else all is lost.
Several of these paragraphs by FDR can be used in basic concepts and speeches by our various candidates. The whole could certainly be used by the successful presidential candidate on their inauguration. Thank you, Steve for bringing these words back to our attention, that this kind of history can be repeated. I will say again, vote as if your life depended on it, because it does.
I was born in 1942, so I do not directly remember FDR. But, I do remember my Father crying at his death. His and the country's father had died. Reading FDR's words in your comments remind me of the great difference in abilities of the candidates for office. And, the directly related ability of the listeners.....when they bother. That address could be given today with great meaning, but who would give it?? The activity of the Congress is beyond belief!! The Republicans, in particular, are useless. No sense of responsibility to the country. Just how many ass-kissing sessions with Trump are needed to be reelected by crowds of blind Trump followers. The Democrats are not so far behind. Do you see any FDRs or even faint shadows of him out there expressing the true rage of someone trying to retain democracy?? no. A strong presence is needed in order to gather thinking, caring, people together. The democrats out there are already showing their unfortunately common eagerness to think only of their own convenience and, fractured, hand the next election to whatever disaster lies ahead.
I could tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news about JFK's assassination. My father and mother (God rest their souls), were they alive, could tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard about FDR's death. My parents were both die-hard Republicans. They voted for FDR 4 times. They knew he was the man needed to lead this country through the Great Depression and through World War II.
Not 'like' liking, simply thinking you're probably correct.
I have been watching a lot of American hx documentaries lately. I can’t help but notice the similarities to this moment and our past. Ironically I just finished watching the FDR show and I’ve started Lincoln. We can learn a lot from history
I believe Roosevelt nailed it. We are fighting a cancer of greed and power, and like cancer success means holding this cancer in remission. There is no permanent cure because nature is what it is.