Steve, I was visited at my home FOUR TIMES by the Harris team! I received text messages and emails from Traitor Trump and his odious son, Don the Con Junior! No house visit by Trump or crazy Elon team members and I live in battleground Arizona! I predict a 52-47 victory for VP Harris and the clincher was the DesMoines Register poll showing VP Harris winning Iowa by three points! When you have women in Texas suffering from a miscarriage and getting NO MEDICAL TREATMENT for 40 hours and then dying of sepsis, it has the women of America outraged and if I have learned anything in this life from starting the women’s track program at Indiana University in 1978 and then two marriages with the second marriage in it’s 37 year, NEVER EVER DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF AMERICAN WOMEN! They will save America today!!!
Well said, and never underestimate the tech bro Incel’s that won’t bother to show up for Trump. They’re about as reliable as the equipment for Musk’s Pro-Trump TownHall that ended after one minute…:)
Pence could have joined Dick and Lyn Cheney and thrown his support to VP Harris but he could not do right for America! An idiot whose life was in danger on 1-06-21 from Trump and he still put the MAGAt party above the USA! A stupid man to the end! I have a former friend who flew Pence around in his Lear jet while Pence was running for president! He told me he would look back and see Pence reading something and could not believe the former VP was flying around in his plane. So what, he was just wasting his time and gas flying this guy around for 2% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses?
Another fellow Hoosier here...I was and still AM very ashamed of Mike Pence. While he saved us on January 6th he still should've endorsed Harris. Shameful!! He knows how dangerous Trump is!! Grrrrr.
I think we know we can’t count on these men to do the right thing now. For how many years did they support trump? He’s always been a very bad person, mocking people, making up names. I recently heard him refer to elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas, like both women are garbage! He’s now and has from forever been human garbage. This description fits him perfectly. I am scared right now. America doesn’t deserve him and neither do the women in our country.
Religious zealotry has so poisoned Pence's mind that he can't think clearly. I believe he is sincere in his religious beliefs which inhibits clear and logical thinking more than those who profess Christianity merely to manipulate others. I believe Mike Johnson, all televangelists, and Donald Trump, though he is suffering from other cognitive problems, fall in the latter category.
Holy Mike better watch out. He is a searing definition of a hypocrite. How in the world can he go along with that lying, sexual assaulting, insurrection fomenting, classified document stealing, Putin blowing, violence encouraging wannabe dictator and still think he's a devout "Christian?"
Believing in absurdities, the Christian view of the path to salvation, trains the mind to revere obedience and authority and to overlook absurdities. I know I am in a small minority, but I openly assert my opinion that religion is the problem, not the solution.
After almost being hanged at the behest of the president whose ass he unashamedly smooched faithfully, he still could not endorse Harris. I guess God and Mother did not tell him to
My friend is very wealthy and bought a new Lear jet about 2020 because he had to be certified to fly the plane by going to San Diego during covid and his wife loaded him down with food and disinfectants to stay in a hotel. I do not believe he was paid for his flight services for Pence but do not know for sure.
A life-long Democrat here who started voting for Democrats in 1972 because I never liked Tricky Dicky and boy did I turn out to be right about Nixon! My former friend was a strong Republican who did not vote for Trump in 2020. I believe part of the unraveling of our friendship was when I did not express enthusiasm about him flying Pence around. I have not communicated with him since about September 2022.
Most people cannot differentiate between religion and belief in God. This is due to the adamant stressing by Christian religions that Christianity and only Christianity is the sole connection, the only conduit to God. I left any connection to Christianity when I came across Jesus himself saying that (paraphrasing here) 'except by me . . . ' Specific secular pimping by the God in question Himself in first tense speaker is just the same telling hollow echo of the door-to-door Bible salesman, whose main intention is not to spread spiritual influence but to always be closing, making the sale, making the buck.
One of the many lessons of this political era will be just how intensely Trump’s quotes resonated with so many of us. Even if we manage to extricate ourselves from this moral crisis in this election ( and it’s by no means certain) how does anyone explain this man’s enduring popularity? Steve feels the public needs to be reminded of Trump’s quotes. The opposite is true. It’s his persona and comments that continue to drive his popularity.
I think we all feel deep down that his popularity says a lot about many of our fellow Americans,
and what we see is alarming. Certainly the GQP has spent decades dividing our nation by sowing lies and resentment. It's become so overt in the trumpism era. You are absolutely right: this is a moral crisis. But notice how the very party that has brought this crisis on has also continually claimed the moral high ground and enlisted the Christian nationalist movement to attack those of us who do not agree with them. There is much more to be done to combat this theocratic lurch.
I agree. In a participatory democracy elections are won by the segment of the electorate most motivated to vote and mobilize. Unfortunately there is no premium placed on morality or integrity or decency or intelligence - although these are the traits we naively assume we share with our fellow citizens. But, the Trump movement shows that if enough people can be “incited”, “ inflamed “ , “ antagonized” or poisoned, that this segment of the population can be mobilized. Add to it the entirely to be expected pandering of the leaders of a political party who recognize the power of such a movement and the danger in opposing it, and you’ve arrived at the crisis we face today.
Yes doc...I'm not enthralled with Ks commitment to have scoundrels at the table if they are going to undermine/sabotage her efforts. Obama/Biden never learned the lesson...a snake bites cause that's what they do.
Let's hope she wins first, then see what she does in this regard. It won't be one of the extremist. But if she gave put Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger or some other neutral, non-TFG/non-MAGA R a seat at the table, no concerns. I trust her with my support and vote, the least I can do is trust her to make good decisions, even if I don't always agree with them.
I am a Vietnam combat veteran that has been engaged in spreading the truth to counter Traitor Trump's lies for a year with diverse veteran groups, national democratic groups and the Democratic caucus in Michigan. It looks like we engaged the 8 million American veterans who despise traitors to the Constitution. Thank GOD for Generals John Kelly, Mark Milley and the all the other true Patriotic leaders. Traitor ex-general Flynn who supported Trump and his Corrupt minions, needs to face justice and be sent to Prison. VOTE BLUE!
There are very few veterans who have become violators of their Oath that that took at enlistment. And the DOD has been purging active-duty military that have violated their oath. You can subscribe to Stars and Stripes even if you are not military and get up to date true facts and events that are happening around the world. Be safe.
They used to sell Stars and Stripes at the VA hospital that I use. I don't know when they stopped, I guess that was the last time I saw one. I do have a subscription to the DAV magazine and American Legion that I read.
As a historian I am particularly moved by these famous quotes, and the contrasting Trump statements. May God and the same Angels that watched over and inspired us in the words of our predecessors be with us thru this monumental day(s). Thank you for reminding us, Steve.
Thank you Steve. Yours was the first Substack I looked for as I logged on this morning. I needed these inspirational words this day. Buckle up everyone and Stay strong dear friends. I have Faith in the women and men of America to do the right thing. 🙏❤️🇺🇸💙
A more stark contrast could not be made. Thanks, Steve. Too bad MAGAs either cannot read or understand. That's what I tell myself when I repeatedly wonder how in the world they cannot see the same contrast that we do.
They do see the contrast and they don’t care. They are the same peas in the same pod. I will never give them a pass after what we have been put through for the last 9+ years.
There is a clear difference between who Trump is and what I believe this country stands for. The divide is growing between his supporters and earth one. I do not know who will win this election but I know which side history will favor in the future. I woke up this morning in a daze. I am exhausted from the nonstop vitriol and divisiveness. Every person I meet I choose my words carefully so not to start a confrontation. The people are on edge and dried up like the November leaves and a match in the wrong hands is all that is needed to ignite the tinder.
I hope Kamala wins and is someone who can heal the country and bind up the wounds of division. She needs to nurse our country and bring the temperature down. If Donald wins, he has already said he will seek retribution and ignite the flame that will destroy democracy. I am too old to start over and too young to give up. It is up to the people now and we the people are threatened by another tyrant. The difference this time it is one of our own who has the backing of some of the most powerful money men in the world. God help us.
All valid points, but if you listen to a lot of undecideds they are so unhappy with Biden not bringing the Country together as he promised in 2020. How the hell can you bring the sides together when they have an idiot like Trump telling them he WON & the election was stolen from him. I daresay they will be even more bitter this time & that their “Dear Leader” will never throw in the towel & be a gracious loser. Of course it will be Kamala’s & the Democrats fault.
Steve, I give this list of contrasting quotes a standing ovation, but I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'd like to see it chiseled on a great marble tablet someday as a reminder to one and all.
In the meantime, we should have the answer to the "known unknowns" by the end of the week. Among those:
A) How did unaffiliated voters break?
B) Did enough Republican voters cross over to offset Democratic voters doing the same?
C) Related to the above...Will Republican women save the day? The Selzer Iowa poll offered some hopium in this direction.
D) At long last, will the "libs" get to own the MAGAS?
I know the last question is silly since the "libs" don't aspire to "own" anyone, and even if they did, fascist adjacent right-wingers are not capable of introspection, so they can't be "owned". If Trump is elected, they'll just blame the "libs" again when everything inevitably goes south, and round and round in circles we go again. (H/T Joni Mitchell).
Yes Trump is a stirring orator. The “charity towards all” line from Lincoln captures the chasm between these two men. And to think “Christians” (or people who call themselves that) make no distinction between this sentiment and Trump’s. It’s incredible.
I golfed this morning and will do my reading and drink my Celestial Seasons Wellness Tea. I cannot say for sure it makes me actually feel well, but in a way it does. What did the priest say to me — go in peace.
“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.”
Interesting you have two quotes in there from the Stern show. Howard had both President Bjden and VP Harris on for interviews this summer and many of his audience trashed him for turning into a “lib pussy”. I mean even Howard has evolved and come such a long way yet his Trump fan audience wants to cancel him and call him names. And they claim it’s the Dems who cancel and say violent things.
Yeah I am actually a poll watcher and am getting people free Lyft rides to the polls in my area. But thanks for the suggestion. I hope you do the same.
Here is what I wrote in the comments on June 23, 2024 for an article in the Washington Post on Kamala Harris:
She is largely feared by Maga as she of course is a formidable advocate of our laws, having been the Attorney General of our largest state. The notion that she is “unlikeable” is really a veiled racist campaign to discredit a perfectly adept leader for whom they simply can find no other critique. I see zero reason for anyone to legitimately discredit her. You go, Madam VP! She can be counted on to faithfully follow the Constitution.
Steve, I was visited at my home FOUR TIMES by the Harris team! I received text messages and emails from Traitor Trump and his odious son, Don the Con Junior! No house visit by Trump or crazy Elon team members and I live in battleground Arizona! I predict a 52-47 victory for VP Harris and the clincher was the DesMoines Register poll showing VP Harris winning Iowa by three points! When you have women in Texas suffering from a miscarriage and getting NO MEDICAL TREATMENT for 40 hours and then dying of sepsis, it has the women of America outraged and if I have learned anything in this life from starting the women’s track program at Indiana University in 1978 and then two marriages with the second marriage in it’s 37 year, NEVER EVER DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF AMERICAN WOMEN! They will save America today!!!
Well said, and never underestimate the tech bro Incel’s that won’t bother to show up for Trump. They’re about as reliable as the equipment for Musk’s Pro-Trump TownHall that ended after one minute…:)
What? You were not afforded the chance to "win" the $million traitor bucks from Elmo Mucks?
Fellow Hoosier here. The school, not the state. I haven't forgiven IN for Pence. He did his duty, no more. He is not a hero of democracy.
Pence could have joined Dick and Lyn Cheney and thrown his support to VP Harris but he could not do right for America! An idiot whose life was in danger on 1-06-21 from Trump and he still put the MAGAt party above the USA! A stupid man to the end! I have a former friend who flew Pence around in his Lear jet while Pence was running for president! He told me he would look back and see Pence reading something and could not believe the former VP was flying around in his plane. So what, he was just wasting his time and gas flying this guy around for 2% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses?
Another fellow Hoosier here...I was and still AM very ashamed of Mike Pence. While he saved us on January 6th he still should've endorsed Harris. Shameful!! He knows how dangerous Trump is!! Grrrrr.
As much as I am disappointed in Bush, Romney, et al, Pence has even more reason to endorse Harris than those guys. Spineless.
Yes!!!
I think we know we can’t count on these men to do the right thing now. For how many years did they support trump? He’s always been a very bad person, mocking people, making up names. I recently heard him refer to elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas, like both women are garbage! He’s now and has from forever been human garbage. This description fits him perfectly. I am scared right now. America doesn’t deserve him and neither do the women in our country.
Religious zealotry has so poisoned Pence's mind that he can't think clearly. I believe he is sincere in his religious beliefs which inhibits clear and logical thinking more than those who profess Christianity merely to manipulate others. I believe Mike Johnson, all televangelists, and Donald Trump, though he is suffering from other cognitive problems, fall in the latter category.
Holy Mike better watch out. He is a searing definition of a hypocrite. How in the world can he go along with that lying, sexual assaulting, insurrection fomenting, classified document stealing, Putin blowing, violence encouraging wannabe dictator and still think he's a devout "Christian?"
Believing in absurdities, the Christian view of the path to salvation, trains the mind to revere obedience and authority and to overlook absurdities. I know I am in a small minority, but I openly assert my opinion that religion is the problem, not the solution.
Agree
After almost being hanged at the behest of the president whose ass he unashamedly smooched faithfully, he still could not endorse Harris. I guess God and Mother did not tell him to
Pence sucks.
Your friend flew Pence around gratis?
My friend is very wealthy and bought a new Lear jet about 2020 because he had to be certified to fly the plane by going to San Diego during covid and his wife loaded him down with food and disinfectants to stay in a hotel. I do not believe he was paid for his flight services for Pence but do not know for sure.
Well, that was a waste of time and money. I guess he liked Pence. Did you say former friend?
A life-long Democrat here who started voting for Democrats in 1972 because I never liked Tricky Dicky and boy did I turn out to be right about Nixon! My former friend was a strong Republican who did not vote for Trump in 2020. I believe part of the unraveling of our friendship was when I did not express enthusiasm about him flying Pence around. I have not communicated with him since about September 2022.
Most people cannot differentiate between religion and belief in God. This is due to the adamant stressing by Christian religions that Christianity and only Christianity is the sole connection, the only conduit to God. I left any connection to Christianity when I came across Jesus himself saying that (paraphrasing here) 'except by me . . . ' Specific secular pimping by the God in question Himself in first tense speaker is just the same telling hollow echo of the door-to-door Bible salesman, whose main intention is not to spread spiritual influence but to always be closing, making the sale, making the buck.
One of the many lessons of this political era will be just how intensely Trump’s quotes resonated with so many of us. Even if we manage to extricate ourselves from this moral crisis in this election ( and it’s by no means certain) how does anyone explain this man’s enduring popularity? Steve feels the public needs to be reminded of Trump’s quotes. The opposite is true. It’s his persona and comments that continue to drive his popularity.
I think we all feel deep down that his popularity says a lot about many of our fellow Americans,
and what we see is alarming. Certainly the GQP has spent decades dividing our nation by sowing lies and resentment. It's become so overt in the trumpism era. You are absolutely right: this is a moral crisis. But notice how the very party that has brought this crisis on has also continually claimed the moral high ground and enlisted the Christian nationalist movement to attack those of us who do not agree with them. There is much more to be done to combat this theocratic lurch.
I agree. In a participatory democracy elections are won by the segment of the electorate most motivated to vote and mobilize. Unfortunately there is no premium placed on morality or integrity or decency or intelligence - although these are the traits we naively assume we share with our fellow citizens. But, the Trump movement shows that if enough people can be “incited”, “ inflamed “ , “ antagonized” or poisoned, that this segment of the population can be mobilized. Add to it the entirely to be expected pandering of the leaders of a political party who recognize the power of such a movement and the danger in opposing it, and you’ve arrived at the crisis we face today.
Yes doc...I'm not enthralled with Ks commitment to have scoundrels at the table if they are going to undermine/sabotage her efforts. Obama/Biden never learned the lesson...a snake bites cause that's what they do.
Let's hope she wins first, then see what she does in this regard. It won't be one of the extremist. But if she gave put Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger or some other neutral, non-TFG/non-MAGA R a seat at the table, no concerns. I trust her with my support and vote, the least I can do is trust her to make good decisions, even if I don't always agree with them.
I am a Vietnam combat veteran that has been engaged in spreading the truth to counter Traitor Trump's lies for a year with diverse veteran groups, national democratic groups and the Democratic caucus in Michigan. It looks like we engaged the 8 million American veterans who despise traitors to the Constitution. Thank GOD for Generals John Kelly, Mark Milley and the all the other true Patriotic leaders. Traitor ex-general Flynn who supported Trump and his Corrupt minions, needs to face justice and be sent to Prison. VOTE BLUE!
Thank you for recognizing the truth. Too many of our fellow veterans have fallen victim to his vitriol and divisiveness.
There are very few veterans who have become violators of their Oath that that took at enlistment. And the DOD has been purging active-duty military that have violated their oath. You can subscribe to Stars and Stripes even if you are not military and get up to date true facts and events that are happening around the world. Be safe.
They used to sell Stars and Stripes at the VA hospital that I use. I don't know when they stopped, I guess that was the last time I saw one. I do have a subscription to the DAV magazine and American Legion that I read.
As a historian I am particularly moved by these famous quotes, and the contrasting Trump statements. May God and the same Angels that watched over and inspired us in the words of our predecessors be with us thru this monumental day(s). Thank you for reminding us, Steve.
DRJames, Eureka, MT
Thank you Steve. Yours was the first Substack I looked for as I logged on this morning. I needed these inspirational words this day. Buckle up everyone and Stay strong dear friends. I have Faith in the women and men of America to do the right thing. 🙏❤️🇺🇸💙
Right On, Lisa! I'm right there with you!🙏❤️🇺🇸💙
Count me in too.
🙏❤️🇺🇸💙
Yin and yang…for sure. The cognitive dissonance is mystifying. May God be with us. 🙏🏻
My favorite Yogi Berra quote: Nobody goes to that restaurant any longer. It is too crowded.
And they give you cash, which is almost as good as money….:)
My two other favorites:
Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise they won’t go to your’s.
You can observe a lot by just watching.
Another good one is “it’s Deja Vu all over again”…:)
A more stark contrast could not be made. Thanks, Steve. Too bad MAGAs either cannot read or understand. That's what I tell myself when I repeatedly wonder how in the world they cannot see the same contrast that we do.
They do see the contrast and they don’t care. They are the same peas in the same pod. I will never give them a pass after what we have been put through for the last 9+ years.
True. Lotta awful, hateful people
My whole life, even as a child, I've never been able to humbly bow.
I'm not starting now.
Kamala better win.
There is a clear difference between who Trump is and what I believe this country stands for. The divide is growing between his supporters and earth one. I do not know who will win this election but I know which side history will favor in the future. I woke up this morning in a daze. I am exhausted from the nonstop vitriol and divisiveness. Every person I meet I choose my words carefully so not to start a confrontation. The people are on edge and dried up like the November leaves and a match in the wrong hands is all that is needed to ignite the tinder.
I hope Kamala wins and is someone who can heal the country and bind up the wounds of division. She needs to nurse our country and bring the temperature down. If Donald wins, he has already said he will seek retribution and ignite the flame that will destroy democracy. I am too old to start over and too young to give up. It is up to the people now and we the people are threatened by another tyrant. The difference this time it is one of our own who has the backing of some of the most powerful money men in the world. God help us.
All valid points, but if you listen to a lot of undecideds they are so unhappy with Biden not bringing the Country together as he promised in 2020. How the hell can you bring the sides together when they have an idiot like Trump telling them he WON & the election was stolen from him. I daresay they will be even more bitter this time & that their “Dear Leader” will never throw in the towel & be a gracious loser. Of course it will be Kamala’s & the Democrats fault.
AND now, it doesn’t even matter.
Steve, I give this list of contrasting quotes a standing ovation, but I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'd like to see it chiseled on a great marble tablet someday as a reminder to one and all.
In the meantime, we should have the answer to the "known unknowns" by the end of the week. Among those:
A) How did unaffiliated voters break?
B) Did enough Republican voters cross over to offset Democratic voters doing the same?
C) Related to the above...Will Republican women save the day? The Selzer Iowa poll offered some hopium in this direction.
D) At long last, will the "libs" get to own the MAGAS?
I know the last question is silly since the "libs" don't aspire to "own" anyone, and even if they did, fascist adjacent right-wingers are not capable of introspection, so they can't be "owned". If Trump is elected, they'll just blame the "libs" again when everything inevitably goes south, and round and round in circles we go again. (H/T Joni Mitchell).
Yes Trump is a stirring orator. The “charity towards all” line from Lincoln captures the chasm between these two men. And to think “Christians” (or people who call themselves that) make no distinction between this sentiment and Trump’s. It’s incredible.
I golfed this morning and will do my reading and drink my Celestial Seasons Wellness Tea. I cannot say for sure it makes me actually feel well, but in a way it does. What did the priest say to me — go in peace.
“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.”
— Marcus Aurelius
Interesting you have two quotes in there from the Stern show. Howard had both President Bjden and VP Harris on for interviews this summer and many of his audience trashed him for turning into a “lib pussy”. I mean even Howard has evolved and come such a long way yet his Trump fan audience wants to cancel him and call him names. And they claim it’s the Dems who cancel and say violent things.
Praying all day Steve. Praying all day.
Rather than praying, I suggest you take people to the polls.
Yeah I am actually a poll watcher and am getting people free Lyft rides to the polls in my area. But thanks for the suggestion. I hope you do the same.
Do both.
Here is what I wrote in the comments on June 23, 2024 for an article in the Washington Post on Kamala Harris:
She is largely feared by Maga as she of course is a formidable advocate of our laws, having been the Attorney General of our largest state. The notion that she is “unlikeable” is really a veiled racist campaign to discredit a perfectly adept leader for whom they simply can find no other critique. I see zero reason for anyone to legitimately discredit her. You go, Madam VP! She can be counted on to faithfully follow the Constitution.
❤️