The abyss………and there are many, many millions of my fellow citizens, most of whom are not Stephen Miller or Steve Bannon, or Trump or Vance or any of the rest of the clown car of crazy, in their normal lives, who are blissfully and aggressively HAPPY to ignore the “evidence of their own eyes and ears” and give the country back to him. Insane is the only word I can come up with………What has happened to us??
They created an alternate reality with a fire hose of falsehoods, inciting fear, dividing us. Trump took it from there and with a little help from professionals such as Putin and Orban figured out how to do it. Kinda.
Mike, and there is no question Fox News, et al. poisons the minds every single day with lies………….then a demagogue whose every word is a lie……and here we are. All my fellow evangelical Christians who decided in October, 2016——oh never mind about that grab ‘em by the p_____ talk from him——-all that decency, morality and truth stuff we have talked about for thousands of years, is now optional if we get power. My supposed people have “sown the wind,” and now all of us are about to “reap the whirlwind.”Christians had plenty of help everywhere with creating and elevating Trump, but there will be a special place in hell for US for this. It revolts and disgusts me every single day since 2016.
“Lyin’ Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I want to end the Affordable Care Act. I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing." posted to "Truth (BULLSHIT) Social" by Trump recently.
Trump, speaking from the oval office 5/20/20:"What we are doing is we wanna terminate health care, for ... under Obamacare, because it's bad." --
I learned a friend I knew was a Conservative, GOP-registered, and never thought could admire anyone who wanted to emulate Hitler, voted, I ended the relations and they couldn’t understand why. So no longer and none of this would matter. It’s not heartbreaking ending the relationship; it’s their beliefs that are.
Many of us have had the same experience. It is sad, but how can you remain friends with someone whose beliefs are anathema to you? I have even ended relationships with close family members who are Magats and Christian evangelicals; this is the legacy of Trump and his ugly movement. We see it as a threat to our most important values and potentially to our lives; they see Trump as ordained by god to restore America to "greatness."
Thank you, Anthony. It is a fascinating time. Tho' I had two cousins who voted for Trump in '16, one had died by 2020, and I don't know what the other did that year. Sadly, he too is gone and the rest of us on both sides (maternal and paternal) are all Harris voters - we share the values of our parents and grandparents (z"l.) For those with family still living, I can't imagine upcoming holidays regardless of outcomes. Another friend wrote a heartfelt note to me about "being right" or "values" - that is, did I feel a need to be 'right' about the issue. I don't. It is values and policies and people and safety. I want to have the same kind of people cheering the election of Kamala that we saw in 2008 for Obama - good people who care.
I sent it out as my last political post before the election to my Republican family and friends. It was a Hail Mary. I feel such deep frustration that it’s unlikely I’ve changed a single mind, even though we’ve had many long and respectful conversations. The cult mentality is hard to penetrate. My hope hangs on young women.
Well, the Hail Mary worked last weekend for the Washington Commanders vs. the Chicago Bears, so anything is possible. Yes, this is much more serious than a football game, so not minimizing it, just reinforcing your hope.
Judge Luttig’s words against gave me chills. I held my breath as I read it. I cannot imagine what will possess those who vote MAGA (not GOP) over country, over rule of law.
Earlier the week of 10/24, DC’s Mayor and DHS designate 1/6/25 as a natl security event and possibly all days from 11/5 through Inauguration as days of “flexible caution.” Restaurants and other businesses near the White House have already begun boarding up. The J6 wing at the DC jail was written about in NYMagazine with the plans of those inside and out of jail. Today Michael Flynn who took the oath to defend and protect said the equivalent of the pre and in 1/6/21 call to arms. Those are the “enemy within” who should be imprisoned. They must take Drumpf with them when he falls far short of popular and EC votes.
And the excellent editorial Steve posted here shows that this country, seemingly without concern for its children, might elect a man President who is clearly suffering from early stage dementia. I know it when I see it because I lived through it with my step-grandfather.
I wouldn't care how old Trump is except for the person who would replace him if he became incapacitated. JD Vance scares the hell out of me because he is so cynical that he did a 180 on Trump because of his ambition for power. He has no moral compass and is only a heartbeat away from the resolute desk in the oval office. Don't get me wrong, Donald is scary enough for me not to vote for him but JD is in perfect health except for perhaps, his ego. Donald needs a sycophant as his #2 because of his age. He needs someone who lacks remorse so Donald can get his dark side groove on and bring his immigrant hating policies to fruition. I believe Donald when he says, he will have the military go after his enemies because he will have to stamp out all dissention before he begins his mass internment of migrants and mass deportation. God help us recognize the danger. I did my part on Monday, now the rest of the population who haven't voted has to do their part.
I figured out that the best way to share a Substack post on FB (thanks to whomever pointed this out) is to share the link in the comments of a post. I shared the entirety of this Warning as a post, and added the link in the first comment. I also voted for Kamala yesterday. Thank you, Steve!
It’s so sad -even devastating- that we have to prepare ourselves emotionally for the possibility of his election. And I am deeply saddened -though I understand- that Steve is also allowing for such a possibility. More than a possibility, it seems. Said it before. There’s an illness going on within our country. Not every Trump voter is a “hater”. But there are enough haters, it seems, to help him cross the finish line - and how is that? Why is that? How did this hatred take such hold?
It starts with people hating local governments. Schools that are locally controlled are the victims of much unmitigated hatred, police are second in line ( though admittedly sometimes deserving backlash due to violence). But children hear the hatred spewed by adults directed at schools and universities,and consequently, we are living in an anti- intellectual period of time seemingly unmatched in American history. As a former, life long public school teacher, I am not blaming schools but I have witnessed the stunning anti- intellectualism firsthand and would argue that the next step is antigovernment and anarchy. Trump has long been anti intellectual and now is outwardly anti American. His followers see a kindred fellowship in each other…it’s frightening.
Yours is a very interesting insight. There are additional factors. I think the incredibly outrageous, unforgivable immorality of President Clinton affirmed the contempt many people had for a certain type of politician. And this was exacerbated by Gingrich and Limbaugh who cultivated a money and fame generating franchise from turning the contempt into hatred while crossing the line from civics and politics into entertainment. And once the line was crossed into entertainment a new and different kind of citizen got pulled into the political discourse in a way that was unprecedented. These were people who never cared before and no they were-are being driven by an entertainment complex predicated on hate.
I've seen the blame. People do not like others who have an easier time learning. It makes them look less than, so they blame it on the teacher, school, or system. Other times just beat the kid's butt.
I have an idea for helping democracy. I thought if other people agree it could help, then we might be able to cause the change. I hope it is ok that I post it here. (Please remove if not ok.) I am Christian, and know many Christians who are voting R, mostly because abortion. They were taught there is a human soul in a fetus.
Any restriction on abortion rights in law causes greater restriction on women than on men. So women are more restricted under the total body of the law, where there are such laws: second-class citizenship. Second-class citizenship for any category is anti-democratic.
I believe this teaching in churches can change, if others would agree. Christians believe God is impartial. It cannot be that an impartial God would create people in such a way that one category should have to live as second-class citizens in their own land. I believe this means the soul of a person must enter at the time of birth. This has more biblical support than any earlier timing too. Adam's soul is said to enter at the time of his first breath. This could be a metaphor for birth in my view, since a human body first breathes at birth. (I am not suggesting this verse be interpreted literally.)
I know it is generally discouraged to discuss religion publicly. But this is the reason many people are voting R even now, so I think it may be needed at this time. I think it could be done respectfully, respecting people of all faiths and atheists fully.
Also, I think it might help if more discussion of repro rights on TV would frame it as an "equal rights" issue. It is usually framed as a "bodily autonomy" issue. "Equal rights" supercedes "bodily autonomy" morally, in Christianity (Jesus *prioritized* "love thy neighbour as thyself:") and in the Constritution (15A). Christians who have been taught to oppose abortion may then go to their pastors and priests and raise this point, and a dialogue may begin which I think could help.
Thank you for all you are doing to help our democracy!!
Thank you greatly for your effort to explain where faith and public service conflict may intersect. I believe it is a most sincere effort on your part to offer a point of reference for public discussion. But, here is the thing, and I say this most respectfully. Legally, the doctrine of separation of church and state has been accepted here since the initiation of our Republic. The church chooses not debate or interfere legally the morality of self-defense when a life is taken - by either an individual who is personally threatened or during a time of war when one fights on behalf of one's nation. Religion may say all death is wrong, but they do not advocate for the passage of laws that restrict self-protection. Never.
Women (more than half the world's population) can never be an exception to this rule in democratic societies. Religious entities are free to think, teach, and practice their principles. The First Amendment protects that right. But those principles can and should not ever have legal standing, even for discussion in the legislative bodies and in our courtrooms, in the United States of America. This nation was established and our Colonies formed in the New World with the specific intent to leave religious beliefs out of public policy development and enforcement. Yes, murder is morally wrong, but our law addresses that behavior by protecting us all from human violence and chaos, not God's wrath. The freedom of a citizen to act on behalf of his/her own physical well-being when threatened should not be up for academic or religious debate ever. No one is, or ever will be, forced to abort. Religion should never, ever be authorized to make decisions around any issues of individual privacy, without a clear, reasonably defined "Compelling State Interest". That has always been the standard for restriction to individual rights - not what the churches think or with to dictate. It is a corrupt SCOTUS today that has violated that sacred pact Americans have held with their government since Roe v. Wade. It is one they should and will rightfully claim back on November 5, 2024.
I'm with You, Steve, and the American people, Now and Always. Thank You for your 6th installment this morning ☕ Happy Halloween 👻🎃 and will reStack ASAP 💯👍🇺🇸💙🌊🌊🌊🌊
The abyss………and there are many, many millions of my fellow citizens, most of whom are not Stephen Miller or Steve Bannon, or Trump or Vance or any of the rest of the clown car of crazy, in their normal lives, who are blissfully and aggressively HAPPY to ignore the “evidence of their own eyes and ears” and give the country back to him. Insane is the only word I can come up with………What has happened to us??
They created an alternate reality with a fire hose of falsehoods, inciting fear, dividing us. Trump took it from there and with a little help from professionals such as Putin and Orban figured out how to do it. Kinda.
Mike, and there is no question Fox News, et al. poisons the minds every single day with lies………….then a demagogue whose every word is a lie……and here we are. All my fellow evangelical Christians who decided in October, 2016——oh never mind about that grab ‘em by the p_____ talk from him——-all that decency, morality and truth stuff we have talked about for thousands of years, is now optional if we get power. My supposed people have “sown the wind,” and now all of us are about to “reap the whirlwind.”Christians had plenty of help everywhere with creating and elevating Trump, but there will be a special place in hell for US for this. It revolts and disgusts me every single day since 2016.
Me too!! Every. Single. Day.
Here is proof of one of his biggest lies:
“Lyin’ Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I want to end the Affordable Care Act. I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing." posted to "Truth (BULLSHIT) Social" by Trump recently.
Trump, speaking from the oval office 5/20/20:"What we are doing is we wanna terminate health care, for ... under Obamacare, because it's bad." --
If you want to prove it to any of your Maga friends (if you have any; I don't), here is a video of him saying it: meidasnews.com/:section/trump-university-founder-promises-to-replace-obamacare-with-something-cheaper-and-better
I learned a friend I knew was a Conservative, GOP-registered, and never thought could admire anyone who wanted to emulate Hitler, voted, I ended the relations and they couldn’t understand why. So no longer and none of this would matter. It’s not heartbreaking ending the relationship; it’s their beliefs that are.
Many of us have had the same experience. It is sad, but how can you remain friends with someone whose beliefs are anathema to you? I have even ended relationships with close family members who are Magats and Christian evangelicals; this is the legacy of Trump and his ugly movement. We see it as a threat to our most important values and potentially to our lives; they see Trump as ordained by god to restore America to "greatness."
Thank you, Anthony. It is a fascinating time. Tho' I had two cousins who voted for Trump in '16, one had died by 2020, and I don't know what the other did that year. Sadly, he too is gone and the rest of us on both sides (maternal and paternal) are all Harris voters - we share the values of our parents and grandparents (z"l.) For those with family still living, I can't imagine upcoming holidays regardless of outcomes. Another friend wrote a heartfelt note to me about "being right" or "values" - that is, did I feel a need to be 'right' about the issue. I don't. It is values and policies and people and safety. I want to have the same kind of people cheering the election of Kamala that we saw in 2008 for Obama - good people who care.
Trumpler - epic scale pathologically lying, oily orange sociopath, together with Fox, has been gaslighting American people for 9-1/2 years.
Repubs and Talibangelicals are easily hoodwinked.
Love the term “Talibangelicals.”
I thought that one up to label my sister and nieces several years ago .😉 me and another sister got divorced from the rest of the family 2019., 🤣🤣
Cognitive dissonance. Fully gaslit nation.
Shame on America if we don’t make a decidedly pro-democracy anti-authoritarian choice by Wednesday.
🙏🏾🙏🏼🙏 Please let it be an epic BLUENAMI so as to ferociously smack back Trumpler and his fascists once and for all.
Thank you for this excellent OpEd from the Las Vegas Sun. Here is another one from Michael Luttig in the NYTimes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/29/opinion/donald-trump-oath.html?unlocked_article_code=1.V04.xE_L.I1mYEJXww7aQ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
I sent it out as my last political post before the election to my Republican family and friends. It was a Hail Mary. I feel such deep frustration that it’s unlikely I’ve changed a single mind, even though we’ve had many long and respectful conversations. The cult mentality is hard to penetrate. My hope hangs on young women.
My hope lies in women. Period. Men seem to be regressing to the patriarchy of the ‘50s.
Not all men. Real men won't regress.
Excellent NYT article by Luttig! Thanks for posting it here.
I'm a big fan of Luttig and his interviews with Popok. We need more jurists like him.
Those two together have good things to say to us always!
And they both have great first names.😎
Well, the Hail Mary worked last weekend for the Washington Commanders vs. the Chicago Bears, so anything is possible. Yes, this is much more serious than a football game, so not minimizing it, just reinforcing your hope.
Judge Luttig’s words against gave me chills. I held my breath as I read it. I cannot imagine what will possess those who vote MAGA (not GOP) over country, over rule of law.
Earlier the week of 10/24, DC’s Mayor and DHS designate 1/6/25 as a natl security event and possibly all days from 11/5 through Inauguration as days of “flexible caution.” Restaurants and other businesses near the White House have already begun boarding up. The J6 wing at the DC jail was written about in NYMagazine with the plans of those inside and out of jail. Today Michael Flynn who took the oath to defend and protect said the equivalent of the pre and in 1/6/21 call to arms. Those are the “enemy within” who should be imprisoned. They must take Drumpf with them when he falls far short of popular and EC votes.
And imagine The Catastrophe that will occur when Secretary of Defense Michael Flynn assumes command of the United States Nuclear Arsenal.
Flynn is a disgrace to the uniform. Little wonder he was sacked by Obama.
Any of us who also served as officers (or enlisted personnel, who are the backbone of the military) should be appalled by this traitorous nut-job.
So should everyone else, but especially those of us who swore oaths to the Constitution.
And sacked by Trump as well!
While Kash Patel enforces Trump’s revenge on anyone he doesn’t like.
His comments today sent chills of fear through me.
I shared this with The Sun newsroom. They deserve to read your piece, if they haven’t already.
We should understand that a vote for Trump is actually a vote for J D Vance since it is unlikely that Trump will be able to finish a full term
Joe Biden could do the nation one last favor by exercising his Supreme Court-authorized immunity in defense of the Constitution and the nation.
I think I know what you’re hinting at. 😉
And the excellent editorial Steve posted here shows that this country, seemingly without concern for its children, might elect a man President who is clearly suffering from early stage dementia. I know it when I see it because I lived through it with my step-grandfather.
I wouldn't care how old Trump is except for the person who would replace him if he became incapacitated. JD Vance scares the hell out of me because he is so cynical that he did a 180 on Trump because of his ambition for power. He has no moral compass and is only a heartbeat away from the resolute desk in the oval office. Don't get me wrong, Donald is scary enough for me not to vote for him but JD is in perfect health except for perhaps, his ego. Donald needs a sycophant as his #2 because of his age. He needs someone who lacks remorse so Donald can get his dark side groove on and bring his immigrant hating policies to fruition. I believe Donald when he says, he will have the military go after his enemies because he will have to stamp out all dissention before he begins his mass internment of migrants and mass deportation. God help us recognize the danger. I did my part on Monday, now the rest of the population who haven't voted has to do their part.
I figured out that the best way to share a Substack post on FB (thanks to whomever pointed this out) is to share the link in the comments of a post. I shared the entirety of this Warning as a post, and added the link in the first comment. I also voted for Kamala yesterday. Thank you, Steve!
It’s so sad -even devastating- that we have to prepare ourselves emotionally for the possibility of his election. And I am deeply saddened -though I understand- that Steve is also allowing for such a possibility. More than a possibility, it seems. Said it before. There’s an illness going on within our country. Not every Trump voter is a “hater”. But there are enough haters, it seems, to help him cross the finish line - and how is that? Why is that? How did this hatred take such hold?
It starts with people hating local governments. Schools that are locally controlled are the victims of much unmitigated hatred, police are second in line ( though admittedly sometimes deserving backlash due to violence). But children hear the hatred spewed by adults directed at schools and universities,and consequently, we are living in an anti- intellectual period of time seemingly unmatched in American history. As a former, life long public school teacher, I am not blaming schools but I have witnessed the stunning anti- intellectualism firsthand and would argue that the next step is antigovernment and anarchy. Trump has long been anti intellectual and now is outwardly anti American. His followers see a kindred fellowship in each other…it’s frightening.
But anti government has also been the haven of republicans since at least Ronald Reagan claimed that government wasn’t the solution but the problem.
Yours is a very interesting insight. There are additional factors. I think the incredibly outrageous, unforgivable immorality of President Clinton affirmed the contempt many people had for a certain type of politician. And this was exacerbated by Gingrich and Limbaugh who cultivated a money and fame generating franchise from turning the contempt into hatred while crossing the line from civics and politics into entertainment. And once the line was crossed into entertainment a new and different kind of citizen got pulled into the political discourse in a way that was unprecedented. These were people who never cared before and no they were-are being driven by an entertainment complex predicated on hate.
I've seen the blame. People do not like others who have an easier time learning. It makes them look less than, so they blame it on the teacher, school, or system. Other times just beat the kid's butt.
Friends with hope still want a contingency emergency plan. I am too pragmatic not to want one but don’t know what.
Women will defeat Trump whether he likes it or not
I have an idea for helping democracy. I thought if other people agree it could help, then we might be able to cause the change. I hope it is ok that I post it here. (Please remove if not ok.) I am Christian, and know many Christians who are voting R, mostly because abortion. They were taught there is a human soul in a fetus.
Any restriction on abortion rights in law causes greater restriction on women than on men. So women are more restricted under the total body of the law, where there are such laws: second-class citizenship. Second-class citizenship for any category is anti-democratic.
I believe this teaching in churches can change, if others would agree. Christians believe God is impartial. It cannot be that an impartial God would create people in such a way that one category should have to live as second-class citizens in their own land. I believe this means the soul of a person must enter at the time of birth. This has more biblical support than any earlier timing too. Adam's soul is said to enter at the time of his first breath. This could be a metaphor for birth in my view, since a human body first breathes at birth. (I am not suggesting this verse be interpreted literally.)
I know it is generally discouraged to discuss religion publicly. But this is the reason many people are voting R even now, so I think it may be needed at this time. I think it could be done respectfully, respecting people of all faiths and atheists fully.
Also, I think it might help if more discussion of repro rights on TV would frame it as an "equal rights" issue. It is usually framed as a "bodily autonomy" issue. "Equal rights" supercedes "bodily autonomy" morally, in Christianity (Jesus *prioritized* "love thy neighbour as thyself:") and in the Constritution (15A). Christians who have been taught to oppose abortion may then go to their pastors and priests and raise this point, and a dialogue may begin which I think could help.
Thank you for all you are doing to help our democracy!!
Thank you greatly for your effort to explain where faith and public service conflict may intersect. I believe it is a most sincere effort on your part to offer a point of reference for public discussion. But, here is the thing, and I say this most respectfully. Legally, the doctrine of separation of church and state has been accepted here since the initiation of our Republic. The church chooses not debate or interfere legally the morality of self-defense when a life is taken - by either an individual who is personally threatened or during a time of war when one fights on behalf of one's nation. Religion may say all death is wrong, but they do not advocate for the passage of laws that restrict self-protection. Never.
Women (more than half the world's population) can never be an exception to this rule in democratic societies. Religious entities are free to think, teach, and practice their principles. The First Amendment protects that right. But those principles can and should not ever have legal standing, even for discussion in the legislative bodies and in our courtrooms, in the United States of America. This nation was established and our Colonies formed in the New World with the specific intent to leave religious beliefs out of public policy development and enforcement. Yes, murder is morally wrong, but our law addresses that behavior by protecting us all from human violence and chaos, not God's wrath. The freedom of a citizen to act on behalf of his/her own physical well-being when threatened should not be up for academic or religious debate ever. No one is, or ever will be, forced to abort. Religion should never, ever be authorized to make decisions around any issues of individual privacy, without a clear, reasonably defined "Compelling State Interest". That has always been the standard for restriction to individual rights - not what the churches think or with to dictate. It is a corrupt SCOTUS today that has violated that sacred pact Americans have held with their government since Roe v. Wade. It is one they should and will rightfully claim back on November 5, 2024.
100% you are so right!
“Equal rights.” Yes.
He’s a danger to national security. I voted to keep him away from the levers of power.
Well written and true
Urgent admonition for Jeff Bezos: Democracy Dies in the Hypocrisy of Moral Cowardice.
I'm with You, Steve, and the American people, Now and Always. Thank You for your 6th installment this morning ☕ Happy Halloween 👻🎃 and will reStack ASAP 💯👍🇺🇸💙🌊🌊🌊🌊