And look at Ronald Reagan standing there grinning behind him. Atwater repented on his deathbed, but in my opinion it was too little too late. He knew all along he was doing the wrong thing. I hope those women with their ugly, hateful faces recorded in history, looked at those faces years later and at least regretted what they did in Little Rock. Elizabeth Eckford was a brave young woman.
This country does have a cancer. It goes dormant for a while but it is always there and we must be ever vigilant. Thank you for this post.
If I'm not mistaken, Spanish was the "official language" of Puerto Rico long before Trump "legitimized" English recently as our (so called) official language.
So weren't many Americans (in PR) speaking Spanish "officially" long before we maillanders were "officially" speaking English?
(Not to mention all the once Spanish-speaking territory in the west that we now call "America".)
Makes sense to me. After all, if I stole something which was then stolen from me, I would not be the party to which the oft-stolen item would be returned. (Presuming the full story was known to law enforcement, of course.)
Between The Warning and the Save America Movement, I nominate you, Steve Schmidt, to begin the hard and necessary work of Project 2029, the project that revives our Constitution and — especially — our Bill of Rights. You have the connections and the drive. The Heritage Foundation kept Project 2025 alive long enough for our oligarchs to make it real. We have to make the converse real, and the Save America Movement is the place to start. By definition, in fact!
You hit the nail on the head Steve. Thank you. The whole post was excellent, but I want to focus on the halftime show.
I watched Bad Bunny, not ever hearing any of his music, only knowing his name(and wondering why that name?).
But as I watched, it became apparent that even while not understanding a word he was singing, he was bringing a celebration of America, of it's people, and of appreciating and loving everyone.
The music was really good, a meld of Latin, Santana, and American sound that just seemed glorious, as he made his way through all the neighborhoods of America. I did not need to understand the words to understand the music and the message.
Additionally, I think the show and his music was a perfect compliment to the complete demographic of the NFL and its worldwide audience!
She has no idea that Puerto Rico IS American. And just because she's not bilingual doesn't mean that anyone who is isn't American. Actually, the Good Old USA is about the only country on the planet where citizens generally DON'T know another language in addition to English!
Megyn talks about several foods being American, including fried chicken and apple pie; however, she seems to miss some key American values, including tolerance and separation of church and state. Her brain is more fried than the chicken she seems to feel is more important than our Constitution and values.
Steve, you return here again and again, as do all of us, we the people, who can’t bury our stratified, racist past quickly enough, even measured in centuries. Obviously that first 90 years wasn’t enough. Nor the first 200 (I was a proud member of the class of 1976 and thought we had gotten somewhere and were going somewhere), and now we know that 250 years is surely not enough, in fact it steps us back to 1953 or so (at least its MAGAts want to deny Brown v Board). I am ashamed of us, of our two steps back for each one forward, but still I stand up and go forward. As Americans, that is our fate as well as our deliverance.
And I loved Steve’s strong advice yesterday to King Charles that he not visit us for the 250th celebration.
Perhaps he could come only if the king strongly speaks out with clear, overt support for what we believe is the best of America in advance: which is highly doubtful!
Steve has written many brilliant columns. This is one of the very best, for it directly confronts the elemental defense of the institution of slavery, based on the "blacks are naturally inferior" ideology which broadly persists in this nation to this very day (exemplified of course by Trump), so well explicated in the famous "Alexander Stephens speech" from which Steve quotes. That ideology was built into the Constitution to help defend the institution of slavery, e.g., that every state, regardless of population, gets two Senators. Of course, that ideology persists to this very day and is, obviously, front-and-center in our politics. Since August, 2018, at the beginning of every one of my regular columns on OpEdNews.com I have put it this way: "Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation."
Ah, Lee Atwater. Another fine spawn of South Crackerlina.
I strongly urge all of us to collect and preserve documents and books of truth, warning and inspiration, in the horrible event the magats and oligarchy succeed in their destruction of historical records.
That photo of Saint Reagan with Lee Atwater speaks volumes as loud as the recording of Atwater’s strategy statement. An affable grin and delivery, Reaganomics, and “welfare queens” bring us straight to POSOTUS and president Miller. Fear sells hate, and some of us love, need, to hate, so hate has been Repugnican life blood for decades, with the willing support of oligarchs and Christian nationalists. It is foolish to expect more of any of them. They must be defeated.
A quick comment about the photo of the Olympic medalists from 1968: Tommy Smith and John Carlos are standing next to Peter Norman from Australia. Notice the circular white badge that each man is wearing. That badge was in support of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. In 1968 Australia suffered from racism as badly as the United States. Norman's wearing of that badge was in solidarity with Smith and Carlos and he was admonished in his country as much as the two Americans were here. But he was a true Christian whose life was guided by principles of love. Smith and Carlos never forgot that; they were both pallbearers at his funeral. The point is: do you want to see a profound contrast to the hate that Megyn Kelly and her compatriots spew? It's in that photo.
All sadly true but how do you get your powerful messages to the country at large? I humbly suggest John Ossoff and Gov. Pritzker have the eloquence and at least modest media exposure to reinforce your civil and sensible messages. We do not need to be convinced of Trump's evil but clearly millions of Americans do. Specific beneficial messages are what voters need to hear, although the grievance cohort is unlikely to ever be convinced. Your earlier ten points for 2029 are a good start but they must get more play. The Save America Movement needs more "riz," as the current slang goes.
The Stephen’s speech is perhaps the most clarifying address on the civil war. I had never read it before you pointed it out. It should be taught in parallel with Gettysburg. And Trump’s weekend post is a straight, unbroken line between him and Stephens. Those are the stakes. We are not in a political fight. We are in a fight to preserve politics.
Unfortunately, this IS who we are as a nation. That does not mean all of our citizens but it does include all those who voted for this fascist administration. It is no coincidence that this administration has studied the rise of Nazism from the late 20’s to its final and destructive demise. The Republicans Party is part and parcel of this historically evil transformation of our republic for not standing up to Here Trump and saying “ Not a fucking minute more of this!!!!” But no. What we get is mealy mouthed neutered Speaker of the House calling for nationalization of our elections. This from a constitutional lawyer??? How did this guy ever graduate from law school? Probably went to the same night school that Gym Jordan went to.
We have to stand up now and do what the Republicans party will not- ENOUGH!!!
I grew up in the South in the 1950s-1970s. My dad got caught in a racial situation just like the photo of the young girl you pictured below in the 1960s. Dad was scared to his core as he was surrounded by white women, many holding babies, with spittle spewing out of their mouths, and their eyes in slits of hatred toward a terrified little Black girl trying to enter a Houston school. I wonder how many of your readers personally recall Bull Connor spraying Blacks with full-force fire hoses, or police arresting young Blacks sitting peacefully at a lunch counter, or "white only" bathrooms, water fountains, hospitals, buses....And somehow those of us with these personal memories just can't believe after our forward momentum since then has stopped and gone backwards. Here we are. Back again. Some different prejudices, some repeated, but the hatred, dead eyes, dehumanization of the offenders, we saw it all. Do we need to reteach history of that horrid era? Have streaming history lessons for the younger generation to absorb as we did?
And look at Ronald Reagan standing there grinning behind him. Atwater repented on his deathbed, but in my opinion it was too little too late. He knew all along he was doing the wrong thing. I hope those women with their ugly, hateful faces recorded in history, looked at those faces years later and at least regretted what they did in Little Rock. Elizabeth Eckford was a brave young woman.
This country does have a cancer. It goes dormant for a while but it is always there and we must be ever vigilant. Thank you for this post.
If I'm not mistaken, Spanish was the "official language" of Puerto Rico long before Trump "legitimized" English recently as our (so called) official language.
So weren't many Americans (in PR) speaking Spanish "officially" long before we maillanders were "officially" speaking English?
(Not to mention all the once Spanish-speaking territory in the west that we now call "America".)
There are no illegals on stolen land—Billie English
Yes, I have the cap. (Honest!)
Makes sense to me. After all, if I stole something which was then stolen from me, I would not be the party to which the oft-stolen item would be returned. (Presuming the full story was known to law enforcement, of course.)
Indeed it was, S. G.
Thank you.
Between The Warning and the Save America Movement, I nominate you, Steve Schmidt, to begin the hard and necessary work of Project 2029, the project that revives our Constitution and — especially — our Bill of Rights. You have the connections and the drive. The Heritage Foundation kept Project 2025 alive long enough for our oligarchs to make it real. We have to make the converse real, and the Save America Movement is the place to start. By definition, in fact!
You hit the nail on the head Steve. Thank you. The whole post was excellent, but I want to focus on the halftime show.
I watched Bad Bunny, not ever hearing any of his music, only knowing his name(and wondering why that name?).
But as I watched, it became apparent that even while not understanding a word he was singing, he was bringing a celebration of America, of it's people, and of appreciating and loving everyone.
The music was really good, a meld of Latin, Santana, and American sound that just seemed glorious, as he made his way through all the neighborhoods of America. I did not need to understand the words to understand the music and the message.
Additionally, I think the show and his music was a perfect compliment to the complete demographic of the NFL and its worldwide audience!
Amen!!! The best Half-time show in a very long time! Ocasio giving his Grammy to the little boy was a highlight!
She has no idea that Puerto Rico IS American. And just because she's not bilingual doesn't mean that anyone who is isn't American. Actually, the Good Old USA is about the only country on the planet where citizens generally DON'T know another language in addition to English!
Megyn talks about several foods being American, including fried chicken and apple pie; however, she seems to miss some key American values, including tolerance and separation of church and state. Her brain is more fried than the chicken she seems to feel is more important than our Constitution and values.
No one ever said she was a rocket scientist! They have said she should ramp down the Botox!
Yes and what does that say about Americans ?
It says we’re a very welcoming country, save the bigots.
Steve, you return here again and again, as do all of us, we the people, who can’t bury our stratified, racist past quickly enough, even measured in centuries. Obviously that first 90 years wasn’t enough. Nor the first 200 (I was a proud member of the class of 1976 and thought we had gotten somewhere and were going somewhere), and now we know that 250 years is surely not enough, in fact it steps us back to 1953 or so (at least its MAGAts want to deny Brown v Board). I am ashamed of us, of our two steps back for each one forward, but still I stand up and go forward. As Americans, that is our fate as well as our deliverance.
The Ep-Stain is spreading like a cold and unstoppable flood. The dams are breaking. Keep it coming Steve!
And I loved Steve’s strong advice yesterday to King Charles that he not visit us for the 250th celebration.
Perhaps he could come only if the king strongly speaks out with clear, overt support for what we believe is the best of America in advance: which is highly doubtful!
Steve has written many brilliant columns. This is one of the very best, for it directly confronts the elemental defense of the institution of slavery, based on the "blacks are naturally inferior" ideology which broadly persists in this nation to this very day (exemplified of course by Trump), so well explicated in the famous "Alexander Stephens speech" from which Steve quotes. That ideology was built into the Constitution to help defend the institution of slavery, e.g., that every state, regardless of population, gets two Senators. Of course, that ideology persists to this very day and is, obviously, front-and-center in our politics. Since August, 2018, at the beginning of every one of my regular columns on OpEdNews.com I have put it this way: "Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation."
Well stated...
Ah, Lee Atwater. Another fine spawn of South Crackerlina.
I strongly urge all of us to collect and preserve documents and books of truth, warning and inspiration, in the horrible event the magats and oligarchy succeed in their destruction of historical records.
I don’ think they’re bright enough...
No, but they are stupid and evil enough. Check what they have already done to the Smithsonian and national parks historic sites. Orwellian.
That photo of Saint Reagan with Lee Atwater speaks volumes as loud as the recording of Atwater’s strategy statement. An affable grin and delivery, Reaganomics, and “welfare queens” bring us straight to POSOTUS and president Miller. Fear sells hate, and some of us love, need, to hate, so hate has been Repugnican life blood for decades, with the willing support of oligarchs and Christian nationalists. It is foolish to expect more of any of them. They must be defeated.
A quick comment about the photo of the Olympic medalists from 1968: Tommy Smith and John Carlos are standing next to Peter Norman from Australia. Notice the circular white badge that each man is wearing. That badge was in support of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. In 1968 Australia suffered from racism as badly as the United States. Norman's wearing of that badge was in solidarity with Smith and Carlos and he was admonished in his country as much as the two Americans were here. But he was a true Christian whose life was guided by principles of love. Smith and Carlos never forgot that; they were both pallbearers at his funeral. The point is: do you want to see a profound contrast to the hate that Megyn Kelly and her compatriots spew? It's in that photo.
All sadly true but how do you get your powerful messages to the country at large? I humbly suggest John Ossoff and Gov. Pritzker have the eloquence and at least modest media exposure to reinforce your civil and sensible messages. We do not need to be convinced of Trump's evil but clearly millions of Americans do. Specific beneficial messages are what voters need to hear, although the grievance cohort is unlikely to ever be convinced. Your earlier ten points for 2029 are a good start but they must get more play. The Save America Movement needs more "riz," as the current slang goes.
The Stephen’s speech is perhaps the most clarifying address on the civil war. I had never read it before you pointed it out. It should be taught in parallel with Gettysburg. And Trump’s weekend post is a straight, unbroken line between him and Stephens. Those are the stakes. We are not in a political fight. We are in a fight to preserve politics.
Unfortunately, this IS who we are as a nation. That does not mean all of our citizens but it does include all those who voted for this fascist administration. It is no coincidence that this administration has studied the rise of Nazism from the late 20’s to its final and destructive demise. The Republicans Party is part and parcel of this historically evil transformation of our republic for not standing up to Here Trump and saying “ Not a fucking minute more of this!!!!” But no. What we get is mealy mouthed neutered Speaker of the House calling for nationalization of our elections. This from a constitutional lawyer??? How did this guy ever graduate from law school? Probably went to the same night school that Gym Jordan went to.
We have to stand up now and do what the Republicans party will not- ENOUGH!!!
F-ing excellent.
I grew up in the South in the 1950s-1970s. My dad got caught in a racial situation just like the photo of the young girl you pictured below in the 1960s. Dad was scared to his core as he was surrounded by white women, many holding babies, with spittle spewing out of their mouths, and their eyes in slits of hatred toward a terrified little Black girl trying to enter a Houston school. I wonder how many of your readers personally recall Bull Connor spraying Blacks with full-force fire hoses, or police arresting young Blacks sitting peacefully at a lunch counter, or "white only" bathrooms, water fountains, hospitals, buses....And somehow those of us with these personal memories just can't believe after our forward momentum since then has stopped and gone backwards. Here we are. Back again. Some different prejudices, some repeated, but the hatred, dead eyes, dehumanization of the offenders, we saw it all. Do we need to reteach history of that horrid era? Have streaming history lessons for the younger generation to absorb as we did?