We all think Trump and the Republicans have gone too far, and are mistakes. They have overplayed a weak hand. The public is not buying what they are selling; their agenda is already doing real harm to the country and the American people; things will get worse; we have 16 months now to relentlessly, loudly, tell this story to the American people; and we need to go offense, operate from strength, and go win the big argument with MAGA, mitigate the damage they are doing and regain as much as power as we possibly can.
The passage of the big ugly gives us an opportunity to go tell this bigger story about this rancid agenda of sabotage, plunder and betrayal. We are no longer limited in our comms and storytelling to the elements of the big ugly. We must now in fact integrate the elements of the big ugly into their broader agenda and attack it on all fronts. They have betrayed us, and we can and must find a better way, together.
ICE has become a serious threat to our liberties and all of us. But I think Trump and the Rs have overplayed a weak hand; they’ve gone too far; the country is rejecting where they are taking us; they keep losing in court and the circle of defiance continues to grow; he is old, impulsive, crazy and making mistakes; his acolytes are bumbling and unserious people; even their big “victory lap” week this has turned into an ongoing shitshow.
The tragedy in Texas has started a national debate about their “more for me, less for all of you” agenda. The return of measles has given us an opportunity to talk about their assault on our health care. Trump’s ongoing tariff fiasco allows us to talk about his core betrayal of working people by raising prices not lowering them. His attempt to create a secret police gives us an opportunity to talk about his authoritarian fantasies and abandonment of the Constitutional order here in American. And people are dying. The economy is slowing. Prices are rising. Our debt is exploding. Masked men are disappearing people into foreign and domestic gulags. Measles has returned. The world is laughing at us.
Look no further than the concentration camp in Florida. Already one person died (I didn’t realize prisoners were even there!) and more are in the way from rotted food to wholly inadequate medical care to disgustingly inadequate sanitation and so on and on. I could rant for another several pages but know others are just as dismayed (not an adequate word) as I am. Thank you, Elliott, for your enumeration. And we’re nearly too late to take on 2026.
Appreciate these thoughts, critiques and urgent calls to action, Elliott. Got me thinking…
You refer to our challenge to “…go win the big argument with MAGA…”
Before I agree, I would ask:
What, succinctly and precisely, IS that argument?
Because, if once again the opposition, the resistance gets that wrong, then doom and collapse is a foregone conclusion.
It may help to listen to the august luminaries who seem to be getting it right, and have been for decades.
• The great Robert Reich was on “Democracy NOW” recently.
In his view, the most urgent problem in this country is the vast, gaping, ever-growing chasm of income inequality. It’s why Mamdani’s message of “affordability” is so clearly resonating.
• To quote Sen. Bernie, “The problem is the billionaire class in this country.”
Taken together: the argument, in their view, absolutely needs to be centered around economic populism.
Not, turning into a version of diet MAGA.
Not, simple counter-culture warring.
Not some airy pontificating around the sanctity of democracy. (That noble argument gets quickly waved away by a sizable cohort who has warmed quite quickly to creeping authoritarianism. They appear totally okay with a strongman who will get them their preexisting group dominance back.)
Someone, anyone, any politico or political party…….toss the working classes a bone.
It’s been over 40 years since the working class ( there is NOT a middle class anymore BTW. We are all two paychecks away from living under a bridge. ) has had any laws, legislation or tax breaks sent their way. The steady stream of trickle up economics has delivered us to where we are currently.
Way, way, way back in my day the minimum wage was tied to inflation. When inflation went up, so did the minimum wage. It wasn’t a handout but it sure helped a little bit. Pell grants. If it wasn’t for Pell grants I wouldn’t have been able to afford college and graduate with a degree. They’re all but dead now.
TACO Don played on the angry and uniformed with magical stories of how he was going to fix it by waving a magic wand. Poof! Problems solved! Ukraine / Russia war ends on day one! This is why the daft follow him. Magic. Fantasy. Tall tales. They love it all.
If anyone can get a real plan for the working class they’d be in like Flynn. MAGA? MAGA who?
You misread what you call a diet version, it was, read it as, what not to do? not to placate, but to do the opposite. you don't win with Maga is the point.
Roger that. I didn’t intend to imply that any of what you proposed amounted to diet…Anything. I was actually hearkening back to the pithy jeremiads of commentators like Kyle Kulinski and BTC, who tend to use that phrase when, like you, they opine on what NOT to do.
So, we all agree there.
No placating. No mollifying. No obedience in advance. No preemptive capitulation (looking at you, traditional MSM). No obeisance or equivocation or deals with the devil (ahem; Sen. Murkowski?!).
Ahyessir. A whole lotta Nos. Never ending defiance. Aye-aye.
Yes. That is the already widely agreed-upon posture.
But, again: what is the affirmative core and animating argument?
The elevator pitch, the bumper-sticker messaging? The core ideal or principle?
Not being persnickety or pedantic.
Just trying to get our heads around developing coherent message discipline. Why? Well, It’s something at which the 2022-2024 DNC failed quite epically, IMHO—as well as the current Democratic Congressional conferences. Ooof…🤦🏻
We on Substack and in particular on any of the political Substack feeds want to think that most Americans are like us: they are aware of what is being done, they are upset or angry, or feel betrayed by the political system.
But that just isn't so.
Most Americans are completely apathetic or support the deportation of illegal migrants.
Most Americans are completely in favor of many aspects of Trump's governing.
Wealthy Americans who supported Democrats have taken their money and are hiding behind their gated communities and couldn't care less about anyone else.
People like Oprah Winfrey.
Democrats in the Senate have completely abandoned their posts and followed Winfrey's lead.
So we are a small Substack tribe that listens to guys like Steve et al to confirm our place in society and to reaffirm the injustices we see going on in the USA.
But Steve is preaching to the converted.
And to be effective, we all need to stop being polite about the atrocities and the unlawfulness of this government and call it out for what it is every day.
We need to get as down and dirty as the MAGA's if we're to be heard or believed.
And as distasteful as that sounds, peaceful assemblies, constant dialogues of coulda, woulda, shouldas, are too late.
So instead of venting on Substack, we need to stop intellectualizing and start organizing before we all end up in concentration camps....which is coming to a town or city near you soon
Today it's illegals, tomorrow it's for how you think, what you believe, and what you say.
A national strike, for as long as it takes, may soon be in order and should be in the planning stage for resistance groups like Indivisible. The question is...do Americans have the stomach for that type of civil disobedience and disruption to our entitled lifestyles?
Uh, the answer is clearly, “No.” Most middle class Americans do not have the stomach for a general strike or anything that causes their prices to go up or their Amazon deliveries to be delayed. They’d rather bow down to a dictator and keep their cushy lives. And lower classes cannot afford to miss a day of work.
But we are not middle class Americans, we are Patriots. A national strike would be a good litmus test to see exactly how appalled we are with the thuggery, the lawlessness, the cruelty, the fascism. If I'm wrong, I wonder if the Welsh would take me back, eighteen generations later.
Uhm, wait a minute. "Democrats" have abandoned THEIR post? Really? Democrats impeached Trump twice and Republicans gave him a get out of jail free card. Democrats passed the ACA. Not one republican voted for it. I could go on.
Democrats have been the ONLY bulwark against MAGA since Trump's ride down the golden escalator. Only in this insane world are Democrats responsible for Republicans' evil...
We have an un-democratic electoral college that keeps Republicans in the majority despite the vast unpopularity of their policies and leadership. That is why Democrats "look weak."
I believe the ultra wealthy do-gooder Dems have abandoned their posts waiting for us middle, lower-middle and lower class citizens to do the dirty work so they can come back and join us when we are done.
That's kind of vague. And kind of out of balance when you consider that the Republicans are full on fascist. Republicans have completely abandoned America and the constitution. And are turning us into a police state with masked thugs. We need to be very clear who the enemy is, and it's not the imperfect Democrats.
I have four very wealthy Democratic friends who are doing exactly what I said so imo my comment is not vague at all. Obviously that is not the case nationwide. But when wealthy Democrats were mentioned it triggered my line of thinking. And I never said or implied that Republicans are not full on fascists. But now that you mentioned it, that could be considered a vague statement. I have a feeling there are some Republicans in this nation that are not fascists. Now those in the regime and Congress - Yes absolutely fascist. And I 💯 agree imperfect Democrats are not the enemy. If you are looking for an argument you are not going to get it from me.
I hear you:) Just wondering. Is it possible that your friends are stepping aside for the moment because they feel let down by the 8M Democratic voters who sat out '24?
Interesting. Possibly one feels that way. In general let down. One feels like the fact that she is mad at what is happening is enough. One feels like putting rainbow or ☮️ signs in her yard is enough. And one just pretends none of this is happening at all. I understand it is exhausting but….
While it mayn’t be especially easy, it’s that simple. The challenge is sussing out how one can be optimally effective and surgically skillful in their respective participation.
Prime directive: Start •somewhere.•
Contribute with concrete, discrete action steps.
Those must be purposeful, specific, time-delineated, and achievable.
Here’s one movement that encompasses all of these core elements, and much more, and for those reasons, appears hundreds of times more promising than posting “preaching to the choir” commiserations. (Sure; those have their place in a supportive community, but speech must be married with conviction and action, exercised in a principled and ethical manner.)
Dear Ann, I hope that you are feeling better now that you have vented.
While I do not share the negitive, throw in the towel attitude, I absolutely share your upset that the country, our democracy, is in serious trouble.
Over intellectualizing is a terrible pitfall for, it seems, mostly Dems but we cannot stop analyzing and discussing the daily challenges to our country. We have to work together to wrap our heads around the uncanny events unfolding before us.
I agree with you that too many are over intellectualizing, and are stuck, but many of us have stepped up to the next level of organizing.
What are you doing to organize, at the local, state and national levels? I get inspired hearing about what organizations, boycotts, nonviolent protests others are engaged in.
To help soften, dare I hope change, your sentiments regarding it being too late for peaceful assemblies, I have found that listening to just about any of MLK’s speeches are a wellspring of strength and equanimity.
“Where do you think the first ICE massacre will take place on American soil?”
My bet, mostly likely in San Francisco or NYC. And it will only get worse from there. Heritage is definitely planning their Reichstag moment. I’m not sure where or how, but something nefarious is being planned to insure MAGA’s increased power and control over this country.
I’m still waiting to see what types of election reforms are being schemed behind closed doors to take effect during the midterms. Good times!…:)
Now, Trump is imposing tariffs on countries with the aim of interfering with their judicial processes. He likes ex-President Bolsinaro of Brazil, who has been called Brazil's Trump; not surprisingly, Bolsinaro has been charged with an attempted coup after losing the 2022 presidential election in Brazil and other crimes including the attempted assassination of a Brazilian Supreme Court justice.
We sell less to Brazil than they buy from us; clearly, this tariff is not "punishment" for a negative trade balance with Brazil.
And, of course, the whole idea of expecting all nations we trade with to buy as much or more from us than we buy from them is absurd. Most nations do not have the per capita income or tax base that we do and thus can not possibly buy more from us than we buy from them.
I remember the My Lai massacre...I didn't read your story because I cannot relive the past if I can help it. I only have the present. No nothing will surprise me .. Studies show that people will do terrible things in a group that they would never do by themselves. I want all the law firms that have a conscience to sue ICE for wearing those scarves accross there faces and not identifying themselves .. People have a right to know who is taking them. This may seem a small thing but the masks give them a certain immunity. You know how do you eat an Elephant ? One bite at a time. I want to see there faces . Filthy dirty bums.
Great commentary, Steve. But maybe you should change the name of this substack from The Warning to The Alarm. And what concerns me the most is that throughout history, the corrective measure for moments like this have been world wars. And the modern version of a world war is unthinkable.
I remember when My Lai happened. And when justice failed to hold the murderers of innocent women and children accountable. It was a Republican administration who's first creed was, "We shalt not suffer the consequences of our murderous actions. Accountability is for those who are not us." And of course, it's the same today. The "decadence and rot" was alive and well at My Lai. Today, it's in power.
“Evil must be confronted when it is discovered — no matter the cost.” Should the opportunity arise, will Democratic “leadership” have the courage, or the integrity, to confront the evil of this period? Not if current “leadership” remains in place.
I feel exactly the same. I think we have already begun the descent of America. I am not sure we can stop it, what with the United States Supreme Court encouraging and enabling this fascism. I am blown away by it all. I appreciate Steve's comments because they fit into the mirror of my own.
The only light today is a federal district court in NH certifying a class action in the birthright citizenship case. While The NY Times characterizes it as a “workaround,” it is no such thing- it is precisely what the Supreme Court advised must be done. I still have some hope that when the issue is properly before the Court, it will rule against Trump. If not, we really are done.
The very worst that can happen with an ICE invasion is that they start shooting us. The guns won't be on one side only, our side knows how to shoot also. There's more of us then them, so they're going to be outnumbered. They might want to reconsider before going into something like that. They don't have all of the power. We're not a bunch of cowards that won't stand up to them. Not here in California anyways.
“The indifference and ignorance has been a form of decadent luxury in a stable democracy. They masked the decay that creeped forward until the rot became the system, and Trump was president.” -Steve Schmidt
This is precisely the root cause of where we are now. The only good that may come of the atrocities being committed by Trump in our name is that the American populace may wake up and realize that democracy is not a spectator sport. And like Germans after WWII realized, we must be continuously vigilant against the forces of evil that always lay dormant in human societies.
Like in Germany, it may take a lot of degeneracy and human suffering to arrive at that understanding. I’d say god help us, but I don’t believe in god. “Forces of good” help us?
We all think Trump and the Republicans have gone too far, and are mistakes. They have overplayed a weak hand. The public is not buying what they are selling; their agenda is already doing real harm to the country and the American people; things will get worse; we have 16 months now to relentlessly, loudly, tell this story to the American people; and we need to go offense, operate from strength, and go win the big argument with MAGA, mitigate the damage they are doing and regain as much as power as we possibly can.
The passage of the big ugly gives us an opportunity to go tell this bigger story about this rancid agenda of sabotage, plunder and betrayal. We are no longer limited in our comms and storytelling to the elements of the big ugly. We must now in fact integrate the elements of the big ugly into their broader agenda and attack it on all fronts. They have betrayed us, and we can and must find a better way, together.
ICE has become a serious threat to our liberties and all of us. But I think Trump and the Rs have overplayed a weak hand; they’ve gone too far; the country is rejecting where they are taking us; they keep losing in court and the circle of defiance continues to grow; he is old, impulsive, crazy and making mistakes; his acolytes are bumbling and unserious people; even their big “victory lap” week this has turned into an ongoing shitshow.
The tragedy in Texas has started a national debate about their “more for me, less for all of you” agenda. The return of measles has given us an opportunity to talk about their assault on our health care. Trump’s ongoing tariff fiasco allows us to talk about his core betrayal of working people by raising prices not lowering them. His attempt to create a secret police gives us an opportunity to talk about his authoritarian fantasies and abandonment of the Constitutional order here in American. And people are dying. The economy is slowing. Prices are rising. Our debt is exploding. Masked men are disappearing people into foreign and domestic gulags. Measles has returned. The world is laughing at us.
Look no further than the concentration camp in Florida. Already one person died (I didn’t realize prisoners were even there!) and more are in the way from rotted food to wholly inadequate medical care to disgustingly inadequate sanitation and so on and on. I could rant for another several pages but know others are just as dismayed (not an adequate word) as I am. Thank you, Elliott, for your enumeration. And we’re nearly too late to take on 2026.
Appreciate these thoughts, critiques and urgent calls to action, Elliott. Got me thinking…
You refer to our challenge to “…go win the big argument with MAGA…”
Before I agree, I would ask:
What, succinctly and precisely, IS that argument?
Because, if once again the opposition, the resistance gets that wrong, then doom and collapse is a foregone conclusion.
It may help to listen to the august luminaries who seem to be getting it right, and have been for decades.
• The great Robert Reich was on “Democracy NOW” recently.
In his view, the most urgent problem in this country is the vast, gaping, ever-growing chasm of income inequality. It’s why Mamdani’s message of “affordability” is so clearly resonating.
• To quote Sen. Bernie, “The problem is the billionaire class in this country.”
Taken together: the argument, in their view, absolutely needs to be centered around economic populism.
Not, turning into a version of diet MAGA.
Not, simple counter-culture warring.
Not some airy pontificating around the sanctity of democracy. (That noble argument gets quickly waved away by a sizable cohort who has warmed quite quickly to creeping authoritarianism. They appear totally okay with a strongman who will get them their preexisting group dominance back.)
Thoughts?
Someone, anyone, any politico or political party…….toss the working classes a bone.
It’s been over 40 years since the working class ( there is NOT a middle class anymore BTW. We are all two paychecks away from living under a bridge. ) has had any laws, legislation or tax breaks sent their way. The steady stream of trickle up economics has delivered us to where we are currently.
Way, way, way back in my day the minimum wage was tied to inflation. When inflation went up, so did the minimum wage. It wasn’t a handout but it sure helped a little bit. Pell grants. If it wasn’t for Pell grants I wouldn’t have been able to afford college and graduate with a degree. They’re all but dead now.
TACO Don played on the angry and uniformed with magical stories of how he was going to fix it by waving a magic wand. Poof! Problems solved! Ukraine / Russia war ends on day one! This is why the daft follow him. Magic. Fantasy. Tall tales. They love it all.
If anyone can get a real plan for the working class they’d be in like Flynn. MAGA? MAGA who?
You misread what you call a diet version, it was, read it as, what not to do? not to placate, but to do the opposite. you don't win with Maga is the point.
Roger that. I didn’t intend to imply that any of what you proposed amounted to diet…Anything. I was actually hearkening back to the pithy jeremiads of commentators like Kyle Kulinski and BTC, who tend to use that phrase when, like you, they opine on what NOT to do.
So, we all agree there.
No placating. No mollifying. No obedience in advance. No preemptive capitulation (looking at you, traditional MSM). No obeisance or equivocation or deals with the devil (ahem; Sen. Murkowski?!).
Ahyessir. A whole lotta Nos. Never ending defiance. Aye-aye.
Yes. That is the already widely agreed-upon posture.
But, again: what is the affirmative core and animating argument?
The elevator pitch, the bumper-sticker messaging? The core ideal or principle?
Not being persnickety or pedantic.
Just trying to get our heads around developing coherent message discipline. Why? Well, It’s something at which the 2022-2024 DNC failed quite epically, IMHO—as well as the current Democratic Congressional conferences. Ooof…🤦🏻
The MAGA folks have been hoodwinked. Bamboozled by con artists and hucksters.
We on Substack and in particular on any of the political Substack feeds want to think that most Americans are like us: they are aware of what is being done, they are upset or angry, or feel betrayed by the political system.
But that just isn't so.
Most Americans are completely apathetic or support the deportation of illegal migrants.
Most Americans are completely in favor of many aspects of Trump's governing.
Wealthy Americans who supported Democrats have taken their money and are hiding behind their gated communities and couldn't care less about anyone else.
People like Oprah Winfrey.
Democrats in the Senate have completely abandoned their posts and followed Winfrey's lead.
So we are a small Substack tribe that listens to guys like Steve et al to confirm our place in society and to reaffirm the injustices we see going on in the USA.
But Steve is preaching to the converted.
And to be effective, we all need to stop being polite about the atrocities and the unlawfulness of this government and call it out for what it is every day.
We need to get as down and dirty as the MAGA's if we're to be heard or believed.
And as distasteful as that sounds, peaceful assemblies, constant dialogues of coulda, woulda, shouldas, are too late.
So instead of venting on Substack, we need to stop intellectualizing and start organizing before we all end up in concentration camps....which is coming to a town or city near you soon
Today it's illegals, tomorrow it's for how you think, what you believe, and what you say.
A national strike, for as long as it takes, may soon be in order and should be in the planning stage for resistance groups like Indivisible. The question is...do Americans have the stomach for that type of civil disobedience and disruption to our entitled lifestyles?
Uh, the answer is clearly, “No.” Most middle class Americans do not have the stomach for a general strike or anything that causes their prices to go up or their Amazon deliveries to be delayed. They’d rather bow down to a dictator and keep their cushy lives. And lower classes cannot afford to miss a day of work.
But we are not middle class Americans, we are Patriots. A national strike would be a good litmus test to see exactly how appalled we are with the thuggery, the lawlessness, the cruelty, the fascism. If I'm wrong, I wonder if the Welsh would take me back, eighteen generations later.
Uhm, wait a minute. "Democrats" have abandoned THEIR post? Really? Democrats impeached Trump twice and Republicans gave him a get out of jail free card. Democrats passed the ACA. Not one republican voted for it. I could go on.
Democrats have been the ONLY bulwark against MAGA since Trump's ride down the golden escalator. Only in this insane world are Democrats responsible for Republicans' evil...
We have an un-democratic electoral college that keeps Republicans in the majority despite the vast unpopularity of their policies and leadership. That is why Democrats "look weak."
I believe the ultra wealthy do-gooder Dems have abandoned their posts waiting for us middle, lower-middle and lower class citizens to do the dirty work so they can come back and join us when we are done.
That's kind of vague. And kind of out of balance when you consider that the Republicans are full on fascist. Republicans have completely abandoned America and the constitution. And are turning us into a police state with masked thugs. We need to be very clear who the enemy is, and it's not the imperfect Democrats.
I have four very wealthy Democratic friends who are doing exactly what I said so imo my comment is not vague at all. Obviously that is not the case nationwide. But when wealthy Democrats were mentioned it triggered my line of thinking. And I never said or implied that Republicans are not full on fascists. But now that you mentioned it, that could be considered a vague statement. I have a feeling there are some Republicans in this nation that are not fascists. Now those in the regime and Congress - Yes absolutely fascist. And I 💯 agree imperfect Democrats are not the enemy. If you are looking for an argument you are not going to get it from me.
I hear you:) Just wondering. Is it possible that your friends are stepping aside for the moment because they feel let down by the 8M Democratic voters who sat out '24?
Interesting. Possibly one feels that way. In general let down. One feels like the fact that she is mad at what is happening is enough. One feels like putting rainbow or ☮️ signs in her yard is enough. And one just pretends none of this is happening at all. I understand it is exhausting but….
Then we all must act.
While it mayn’t be especially easy, it’s that simple. The challenge is sussing out how one can be optimally effective and surgically skillful in their respective participation.
Prime directive: Start •somewhere.•
Contribute with concrete, discrete action steps.
Those must be purposeful, specific, time-delineated, and achievable.
Here’s one movement that encompasses all of these core elements, and much more, and for those reasons, appears hundreds of times more promising than posting “preaching to the choir” commiserations. (Sure; those have their place in a supportive community, but speech must be married with conviction and action, exercised in a principled and ethical manner.)
https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/803953/
Dear Ann, I hope that you are feeling better now that you have vented.
While I do not share the negitive, throw in the towel attitude, I absolutely share your upset that the country, our democracy, is in serious trouble.
Over intellectualizing is a terrible pitfall for, it seems, mostly Dems but we cannot stop analyzing and discussing the daily challenges to our country. We have to work together to wrap our heads around the uncanny events unfolding before us.
I agree with you that too many are over intellectualizing, and are stuck, but many of us have stepped up to the next level of organizing.
What are you doing to organize, at the local, state and national levels? I get inspired hearing about what organizations, boycotts, nonviolent protests others are engaged in.
To help soften, dare I hope change, your sentiments regarding it being too late for peaceful assemblies, I have found that listening to just about any of MLK’s speeches are a wellspring of strength and equanimity.
Onward.
“Where do you think the first ICE massacre will take place on American soil?”
My bet, mostly likely in San Francisco or NYC. And it will only get worse from there. Heritage is definitely planning their Reichstag moment. I’m not sure where or how, but something nefarious is being planned to insure MAGA’s increased power and control over this country.
I’m still waiting to see what types of election reforms are being schemed behind closed doors to take effect during the midterms. Good times!…:)
Los Angeles is ground zero.
"The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." -- Plato
Now, Trump is imposing tariffs on countries with the aim of interfering with their judicial processes. He likes ex-President Bolsinaro of Brazil, who has been called Brazil's Trump; not surprisingly, Bolsinaro has been charged with an attempted coup after losing the 2022 presidential election in Brazil and other crimes including the attempted assassination of a Brazilian Supreme Court justice.
We sell less to Brazil than they buy from us; clearly, this tariff is not "punishment" for a negative trade balance with Brazil.
And, of course, the whole idea of expecting all nations we trade with to buy as much or more from us than we buy from them is absurd. Most nations do not have the per capita income or tax base that we do and thus can not possibly buy more from us than we buy from them.
I remember the My Lai massacre...I didn't read your story because I cannot relive the past if I can help it. I only have the present. No nothing will surprise me .. Studies show that people will do terrible things in a group that they would never do by themselves. I want all the law firms that have a conscience to sue ICE for wearing those scarves accross there faces and not identifying themselves .. People have a right to know who is taking them. This may seem a small thing but the masks give them a certain immunity. You know how do you eat an Elephant ? One bite at a time. I want to see there faces . Filthy dirty bums.
It's funny (weird) that we don't have a police department that work for us. We need to hire some protection.
I dislike hitting "Like" on a post like this. But thank you for reminding us of our shame.
It doesn't sound fixable. The doers are corrupt, and the followers become complicit - as long as they think their team is winning.
Great commentary, Steve. But maybe you should change the name of this substack from The Warning to The Alarm. And what concerns me the most is that throughout history, the corrective measure for moments like this have been world wars. And the modern version of a world war is unthinkable.
I remember when My Lai happened. And when justice failed to hold the murderers of innocent women and children accountable. It was a Republican administration who's first creed was, "We shalt not suffer the consequences of our murderous actions. Accountability is for those who are not us." And of course, it's the same today. The "decadence and rot" was alive and well at My Lai. Today, it's in power.
“Evil must be confronted when it is discovered — no matter the cost.” Should the opportunity arise, will Democratic “leadership” have the courage, or the integrity, to confront the evil of this period? Not if current “leadership” remains in place.
I feel exactly the same. I think we have already begun the descent of America. I am not sure we can stop it, what with the United States Supreme Court encouraging and enabling this fascism. I am blown away by it all. I appreciate Steve's comments because they fit into the mirror of my own.
Evil. There’s just no other word.
The only light today is a federal district court in NH certifying a class action in the birthright citizenship case. While The NY Times characterizes it as a “workaround,” it is no such thing- it is precisely what the Supreme Court advised must be done. I still have some hope that when the issue is properly before the Court, it will rule against Trump. If not, we really are done.
The very worst that can happen with an ICE invasion is that they start shooting us. The guns won't be on one side only, our side knows how to shoot also. There's more of us then them, so they're going to be outnumbered. They might want to reconsider before going into something like that. They don't have all of the power. We're not a bunch of cowards that won't stand up to them. Not here in California anyways.
“The indifference and ignorance has been a form of decadent luxury in a stable democracy. They masked the decay that creeped forward until the rot became the system, and Trump was president.” -Steve Schmidt
This is precisely the root cause of where we are now. The only good that may come of the atrocities being committed by Trump in our name is that the American populace may wake up and realize that democracy is not a spectator sport. And like Germans after WWII realized, we must be continuously vigilant against the forces of evil that always lay dormant in human societies.
Like in Germany, it may take a lot of degeneracy and human suffering to arrive at that understanding. I’d say god help us, but I don’t believe in god. “Forces of good” help us?
We saw this coming in the 1980s and that's one of the main reasons we decided not to have children.
We saw this coming in the 1970’s, and that why I raised my son to be a feminist.
I still have hope. And your son sounds wonderful, and you do, too.