Defiance is what is called for in this moment
My friends,
This is a moment where defiance is called for, and must be called for.
Something terrible is happening in America. It is time to face it with calm and firm resolve.
It is time to build an opposition around a single word: no.
It is a powerful word.
It is a word with deep meaning within the political history of the American story.
Substack is a fruit of the First Amendment and the American free enterprise system.
It was an idea between Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie and Jairaj Sethi. It became a seed, and then an explosion of freedom, where conviction, liberty, dissent and the practice of democracy can thrive in a marketplace of ideas. It will have an outsized role in toppling the ambitions of mad King Donald’s despotic dreams.
There is no American founder who would have loved Substack more than Thomas Paine, who helped save the United States with words. I’ve told the story before about how Paine ignited the fervor necessary for Washington to lift a defeated army from defeat to the miracle of a Christmas victory, powered by courage, faith and indomitability:
During the hard times of 1776 and 1777, Thomas Paine wrote a series of 13 essays about the unfolding revolution, which was commonly referred to as “The Cause.”
These essays were written during some of the darkest and worst days of the American Revolution when even George Washington doubted whether it could succeed.
Paine never doubted. After all, it was his idea to name our country “The United States of America.”
I am a huge fan of the second essay, which is an incredible assertion of faith, optimism and absolute defiance from the weakest position imaginable.
The letter is addressed to Lord Howe, who had been sent by King George to subdue the rebellious colonies and end the rebellion.
This is the greatest f*@k you letter in American history. I am sharing it because it is President Zelenskyy who is like Washington in this moment, while it is Trump who plays the part of King George — though the comparison is a slander to the King.
The truth is that Donald Trump conducted himself during his public disgrace precisely and exactly like Adolf Hitler did in the Berghof when assaulting Austrian Prime Minister Kurt Schuschnigg. Claire Berlinski at The Cosmopolitan Globalist wrote about the details:
Here is the gist of Paine’s letter:
The King, through his Lordship, made three proclamations to pardon the rebelling Americans if they surrendered.
Paine responded by telling Howe that England hated God, and Washington would be remembered by history as a far greater general than Howe. He also said that the Congress, which Howe insulted, would be seen as greater than the British Parliament in the eyes of history.
Paine predicted victory in the war, insulted British manhood, mocked their army, strategy and tactics. He told the British what they would have to do to win the war, which was something that was impossible for them to do.
The letter, which I highly recommend that you read in its entirety, is magnificent, and it belongs to you.
It defines the role of the writer in a free society by attacking power and belittling monarchy with a use of the English language that remains as brilliant as any Beethoven symphony.
TO LORD HOWE.
"What's in the name of lord, that I should fear To bring my grievance to the public ear?
UNIVERSAL empire is the prerogative of a writer. His concerns are with all mankind, and though he cannot command their obedience, he can assign them their duty. The Republic of Letters is more ancient than monarchy, and of far higher character in the world than the vassal court of Britain; he that rebels against reason is a real rebel, but he that in defence of reason rebels against tyranny has a better title to "Defender of the Faith," than George the Third.
So what is old is new again.
The written word can spread inalienable truths that have lit the world against the darkness. Words are what ruptured history on July 4, 1776, when a nation declared itself independent and said:
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.
Let me ask you a question.
Who carries the Spirit of ‘76 in their heart in the world today?
Is it Vladimir Putin, the murderous Russian tyrant, and his American stooge, the thin-skinned buffoon named Donald Trump?
Or, is it President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people?
You know the answer.
Everyone knows the answer
The United States stands for freedom.
Do not be afraid.
Prepare to rise up against this menace with the Constitution of the United States as our sword and shield. These outrages will not stand for long. They will be repudiated along with the rotten men and women who are vandalizing what they swore to protect, and threatening to burn what they did not build.
What is at stake is an imagination and a dream. The dream is that, one day, humankind will build and live in a temple of peace and harmony.
Churchill spoke of this in Fulton, Missouri, in 1946 in what is referred to as his “Sinews of the Peace” speech, which I also encourage you to read.
This is our purpose. It is what Donald Trump has declared himself a mortal enemy of.
Donald Trump is a domestic enemy of the government that he swore to protect. He is a deadly clown who is just getting started, but he will not succeed because he cannot shut us down or up.
Never.
In 2026, there will be 20 MAGA Senators up for re-election, minus Satan’s Favorite Mitch McConnell, who is retiring. The Rogue’s Gallery includes Tommy Tuberville, Joni Ernst, Thom Tillis, Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham, and Markwayne Mullin. A concerted effort to field strong candidates with a sober message of clarity and truth can defeat them.
They have seized our personal information in week one. Their intent to squeeze and silence those who speak and write against them could not be clearer. They have made massive inroads to capture and control the Fourth Estate. If there was any doubt that they are all agents of Putin, that could not be more blatantly put now. Many times, I have written out against this administration openly and as forcefully as my father taught me. However, it has become obvious that a cancer took root and its cells have divided. It is not enough to dislodge Trump. The cancer cells are also Vance, Musk, Miller, Bannon and DeSantis, who is growing a second cancer down here in Florida where I am stuck for the last 58 years because Florida has no reciprocity with other states for law licenses. I say this because, as much as I cannot think too hard about it or I will lose my mind, I do believe that violence is coming if the military is not with “us” in removing those who undoubtedly have treason in their hearts. The majority of our legislative body has told us in so many words it will not defend us as South Korea’s legislature defended its people. The body has not represented the interests of the people for decades before Trump, and our Supreme Court, also clearly captive for Trump, will not save us either. The signal came when it ordered that he could withhold funds while it considers the case before it. This same court told Nixon no on impoundment without reservation. The military, the CIA, the FBI-they are our only hope. These bodies are made up not of wealthy people, but of average Americans who swore loyalty to our constitution and our form of government and country and offered to die for those things, many of them second, third, fourth generations, who lost family members for the cause. I think of my daughter’s Uncle, who died alone in a tank in Germany in World War II at the age of 19. His parents were new immigrants to this nation, who gave the oldest of their two Jewish sons to defeat Hitler, having run here from Poland. His sacrifice alone was not enough to cut off the head of the cancer. It took many human lives, war machines, and weapons of mass destruction. I know that unless these people rise up with the rest of us, the cancer will not be excised. Unlike Hitler, Trump is a spoiled rich kid with low intellect and who has never known a day of true difficulty beyond the cruel words of his father. If he is overtaken, he will go quietly into exile rather than die for his cause, as his only cause is himself. However, he must be overtaken. He has declared his loyalty to Putin. He has threatened to invade and take the sovereign lands of Canada, Mexico, Panama, and Gaza. He has openly declared war on 51% of his populace. This is not a “President of the United States.” We are under a coup, and 49% of our populace is under the spell of those in power! May the forces of the universe help those who believe in the cause of our democracy and the great experiment of our Founding Fathers and who have power to rise up and take our country back do what needs to be done. Our words are necessary to the cause but not sufficient to do the job.