This NYT Hitler article has aged like fine milk.

100 years ago Saturday the NYT ran a story that did not hold up well at all. pic.twitter.com/NlRWIvs3D6

— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) December 20, 2024

Words of wisdom from Carl Sagan, 1995

Some folks are pretty good seeing things coming.

[image or embed]

— Common Sense (@cmmnsensedspnsr.bsky.social) December 18, 2024 at 3:37 AM

Another tribute to Caitlin

“No one thought she would be this good,
because no one ever had been before.”
22.
1 of 1.pic.twitter.com/ypUdR12F83

— Jess (@FeverBandwagon) December 19, 2024

Defense of Caitlin by Keith Murphy

Keith Murphy, an award-winning sportscaster, has an excellent presentation defending Clark from the MAGA crowd who hate her for mentioning white privilege and complimenting black pioneers and players in the WNBA.

this is the best take i saw about the Caitlin Clark Time’s Athlete Of The Year discourse. way to go Keith!pic.twitter.com/Y34PJEOKgY

— juls side (@sidelpm) December 17, 2024

A Poem for Our Times

Pity The Nation
By Lawrence Ferlinghetti
2007 

Pity the nation whose people are sheep,
and whose shepherds mislead them.
Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced
and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice,
except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero
and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.
Pity the nation what knows no other language but its own
and no other culture but its own.
Pity the nation whose breath is money
and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.
Pity the nation - or, pity the people who allow their rights to erode
and their freedoms to be washed away.
My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.

Caitlin: Athlete of the Year

Click here for the Time Magazine article on Caitlin Clark, named Time's Athlete of the Year.

Who is this Dave Portnoy guy?

Just kidding -- pretty well everyone who has anything to do with sports knows who Dave Portnoy is -- he's the founder and owner of Barstool Sports, and an outspoken sports fan. Thing is, I thought he was a MAGA guy. He came out for Donald Trump in 2015. Here's a quote from his Wikipedia page:

In a 2015 blog post, Portnoy said: "I am voting for Donald Trump. I don't care if he's a joke. I don't care if he's racist. I don't care if he's sexist. I don't care about any of it. I hope he stays in the race and I hope he wins. Why? Because I love the fact that he is making other politicians squirm. I love the fact he says shit nobody else will say, regardless of how ridiculous it is."

In addition, over the years he's been known to say some -- ahem -- "insensitive" things. But there's a lot more to the guy than just that, as I've learned since seeing this video. In it, he puts up the best defense of Caitlin Clark over the Time Magazine Athlete of the Year controversy that I've seen, or that I expect to see. It's brilliant. (It's the second clip, titled "Caitlin Clark Rant incoming."

https://t.co/Sl4eOGZWuT

— BobInPerson (@Bips_braves) December 14, 2024

Exactly how stupid and hypocritical is Sheila Johnson?

Sheila Johnson is co-owner of the Washington Mystics. I love the "Readers added context": 31% of the Mystics total home attendance for the entire 2024 season came from the two games versus Caitlin Clark and the Fever. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/10/09/caitlin-clark-wnba-impact/

Caitlin Clark really brings the stupid opinions out of everyone. We’ve seen transcendent athletes in every sport over the years. These athletes always get more attention than other great comparable athletes. That goes for Bron, Curry, Serena, Tiger etc. CC is one of those talents https://t.co/A1fskKRRn3

— JP 🏀🎤✊🏾🥊 (@Whogonstopme26) December 13, 2024

In her spare time ...

pic.twitter.com/cqSRRtz0Ur

— uh oh (@snoozingsnoopy) December 9, 2024

The end of The American Century?

Click here for a longish essay at Politico by Joshua Zeitz entitled "Donald Trump Ends Decades of American Political Dominance," subtitled "Donald Trump is the End of the Modern Era: The post-WWII world order of American dominance is over. Donald Trump proves it."

In February 1941, Henry Luce, the influential publisher of Time and Life magazines, penned an article heralding the “American Century,” a post-war era in which the United States would apply its newfound standing as the “dominant power in the world” to spread “free economic enterprise” and “the abundant life” around the globe. Luce envisioned the United States as “the principal guarantor of the freedom of the seas” and “the dynamic leader of world trade,” and saw in this future “possibilities of such enormous human progress as to stagger the imagination.”

The article goes on to say that what Luce said was true -- until now, when Trump seems likely to bring this era to a close. It says The American Century framework rested on four pillars:

A rules-based economic order that afforded the U.S. free access to vast international markets.

A guarantee of safety and security for its allies, backed up by American military might.

An increasingly liberal immigration system that strengthened America’s economy and complemented military and trade partnerships with the rest of the non-Communist world.

And finally, in Luce’s words, a “picture of an America” that valued — and exported to the rest of the world — “its technical and artistic skills. Engineers, scientists, doctors … developers of airlines, builders of roads, teachers, educators.”

It says:

Maybe the turn against the American Century framework is fair. At its worst, it imposed American priorities and interests on weaker countries, often at the barrel of a gun. Voters might very well want to make a reasoned break with the past.

But the American Century framework also underwrote the country’s economic might, political power and security for many decades. What happens if we dismantle it?

What follows is an interesting study of the growth of American political power in the world -- growth that may be nearing its end, at least in its present form.

Whether Trump can or will pursue his agenda remains to be seen. But it’s also beside the point. It’s what nearly 50 percent of voters just endorsed — steps that would both dismantle and repudiate the American Century framework.

But the American Century framework has defined the nation’s trajectory for well over 80 years. For good or bad, it undeniably made the United States a very prosperous and powerful country. It’s what bound allies into strategic, security and economic relationships with the U.S., ensured our continued access to trading partners and lent the country favored status across a broad spectrum of international organizations. We’ve become accustomed to the benefits it delivers, without understanding how quickly those benefits could disappear.

 

Trump loyalists? No -- subservient lackeys.

Click here for an article on Substack by Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's labor secretary, entitled "The difference between loyalty and subservience." 

Reich says:

All politicians want their underlings to be loyal, but Trump wants them to be more loyal to him than to the nation, and he demands total subservience without regard to right or wrong.

For the FBI, Trump has picked Kash Patel, who has pledged to prosecute Trump’s political opponents and “come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig the presidential election.”

Trump’s selection for attorney general, Pam Bondi, has said that when Trump returns to power, “the prosecutors will be prosecuted.”

Moreover, Trump didn’t recruit these people or anybody else. They recruited him.

Every one of his nominees campaigned for these jobs by engaging in conspicuous displays of submission and flattery directed toward Trump.

He singles out some of the flatterers: Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, Elise Stefanik,  Kristi Noem, Mike Waltz, Lee Zeldin, and Stephen Miller. 

Ten of Trump’s picks so far were Fox News hosts or contributors who repeatedly mouthed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election being stolen, about January 6 being a “peaceful protest,” and Biden being the force behind Trump’s prosecutions.

Some of Trump’s picks showed up at his criminal trial in Manhattan, where they verbally attacked members of the presiding judge’s family on behalf of Trump, who was under a rule of silence.

Some picks appeared at his campaign rallies, expanding on Trump’s lies and lavishing him with praise.

Many made large donations to Trump’s campaign. Five of his picks so far are billionaires.

Reich concludes:

People who work for a president are often reluctant to be bearers of bad news. Presidents are typically surrounded by “yes” men and women afraid to say anything that will ruffle powerful feathers.

As a result, presidents can make huge mistakes — invading Iraq and Afghanistan, deregulating Wall Street and then bailing it out when its gambling gets out of hand, pardoning Richard Nixon, waging war in Vietnam.

Trump’s toadies are even less likely to cross him. To the contrary, they’ll egg him on.

The years ahead would be dangerous enough if Trump sought out unprincipled enablers.

The coming years will be even more perilous because unprincipled enablers have sought out Trump.

 

 

Hams.

Picture time.. 😊
pic.twitter.com/jFhbDZbda0

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) December 2, 2024

Now Boarding

Now boarding. Passengers please report to rear entrance. 

 (Paste this into your address bar.) 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/876190644709141

Caitlin's Rookie Stats

Pretty impressive, huh?? @CaitlinClark22 has been doing incredible things for a longggg time. It’s so fun to see her now continue to be incredible on the biggest stages! Way to go, CC! Keep shining!👊🏼 https://t.co/gQpTw90qX7

— Jan Jensen (@goiowa) August 31, 2024

Another cool accomplishment for @CaitlinClark22 … and the crazy part… I’m not surprised!😀 Keep being amazing you, CC! We’re so proud of you & we ❤️ ya! https://t.co/OXyB0tvgEm

— Jan Jensen (@goiowa) September 2, 2024

Caitlin Clark has more 25 point 10 assist games than every rookie in WNBA history COMBINED 🤯
(h/t @StatMamba) pic.twitter.com/mmokdmJz9c

— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) August 17, 2024

Trump landslide? Not quite.

I've been seeing a lot of people on the left and right talking about the 2024 election as if it was a landslide.

So I made this chart to put things in context.

Trump's win was one of the smallest in modern history. pic.twitter.com/rhsGng3qgR

— Michael Thomas (@curious_founder) November 27, 2024

It's About Time -- Oh, Wait!

I thought this was Nike promoting Caitlin -- until I read the date: March 3. Since the WNBA draft, Nike have done next to nothing to promote her -- they're afraid to offend A'ja and other black legacy players.

Can't believe Nike used to treat Caitlin like the superstar she actually is. Now they barely do anything. https://t.co/06nAUI8TKF

— 22 (@JustAbsie) November 25, 2024

Click here for Marc Elias's essay at Democracy Docket entitled "The Choices I've Made." 

So many people and institutions are backing down out of fear of Trump's retribution. The Washington Post had prepared an editorial declaring WaPo's support for Kamala Harris when it got word from Jeff Bezos to kill it. Joe and Mika Scarborough visited Mar a Lago to bow down to Trump. Voices opposing Trump have become muted or silent.

It's compliance in advance: doing out of fear what you know the dictator wants, rather than standing up in opposition. It will only work for so long: The least variance will bring punishment. And it comes at the cost of your self-respect, and the respect of others.

Geno sounds off on Caitlin's golf

Geno Auriemma weighs in on Caitlin Clark playing in The LPGA Annika Pro-Am pic.twitter.com/J4UOfR3Rwq

— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) November 13, 2024

Caitlin: AP National Player of the Year

i really think that this is my favorite caitlin clip. the logo threes and the passing is amazing, but seeing the way she impacts people and how they support her back is my favorite part about her, her career, and her accomplishments🥹 https://t.co/DtPLoIUTfL

— Molly McGrath (@MollyMcGrath12) November 20, 2024

A Day in the Life . . .

Caitlin Clark on this day 1 year ago:

35 Points (76% TS)
10 Assists
7 Steals
6 Rebounds
pic.twitter.com/AEgEUzWv9O

— Clark Report (@CClarkReport) November 19, 2024

Earth's Circulatory System

The grand rivers of Africa. pic.twitter.com/LMsBGIzQdF

— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele) November 19, 2024

Swan

Swan carrying cygnets on her back. pic.twitter.com/mbjG9to4ZG

— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) November 17, 2024

Caitlin's Swing

Caitlin Clark’s golf swing 🔥 pic.twitter.com/e0QFZjOy2k

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) November 13, 2024

Curve vs. Knuckleball

Baseball is IMPOSSIBLE!! ⚾ Check out this Two Seamer & Knuckle Curve Overlay.

[image or embed]

— Rob Friedman (@pitchingninja.bsky.social) November 11, 2024 at 2:08 PM

Carl Sagan predicted Idiocracy in 1995

This is my first post copied from Blue Sky, rather than Twitter.

Today would have been Carl Sagan's 90th birthday. How fitting that he predicted the current state of our country almost 30 years ago. Worth reading. Happy Birthday, Carl. We miss you. 💙

[image or embed]

— Mike Meraz VOTED! 👨🏻‍💻 (@mikemeraz.bsky.social) November 9, 2024 at 12:06 PM

Elon Musk's Role in Electing Trump

Here is a video from a U.K. group called "Led by Donkeys," 9 minutes and 47 seconds. Frightening.

Here’s a video produced by “Led by Donkeys” out of the U.K. that puts down the timeline of how Musk used X to get Donald Trump elected. I would save it because I don’t think it will be up for long. pic.twitter.com/cUpCL4ghMn

— Hey, Dave! (@davegreenidge57) November 9, 2024

Here's the same video, saved from YouTube rather than Twitter; if Musk takes it down from Twitter, the first link won't work, but this one will.

How Musk broke Twitter and helped elect Trump (Location: Tesla European HQ, Amsterdam) www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX3v...

[image or embed]

— Led By Donkeys (@ledbydonkeys.org) November 9, 2024 at 2:39 AM

We're in Milo Minderbinder's World

“It was miraculous.

It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into…

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) November 6, 2024

Price List

It should be interesting to look at this four years from now:

Remember this. Lock it in. pic.twitter.com/2uCpY2XcWD

— Willie Ross Jr. Knee Deep (@RossKneeDeep) November 9, 2024

HCR receives letters gloating about Trump's victory

Click here for Heather Cox Richardson's diary entry on Substack, Letters from an American, for November 8.

Social media has been flooded today with stories of Trump voters who are shocked to learn that tariffs will raise consumer prices as reporters are covering that information. Daniel Laguna of LevelUp warned that Trump’s proposed 60% tariff on Chinese imports could raise the costs of gaming consoles by 40%, so that a PS5 Pro gaming system would cost up to $1,000. One of the old justifications for tariffs was that they would bring factories home, but when the $3 billion shoe company Steve Madden announced yesterday it would reduce its imports from China by half to avoid Trump-promised tariffs, it said it will shift production not to the U.S., but to Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico, and Brazil. 

There are also stories that voters who chose Trump to lower household expenses are unhappy to discover that their undocumented relatives are in danger of deportation. When CNN’s Dana Bash asked Indiana Republican senator-elect Jim Banks if undocumented immigrants who had been here for a long time and integrated into the community would be deported, Banks answered that deportation should include “every illegal in this country that we can find.” Yesterday a Trump-appointed federal judge struck down a policy established by the Biden administration that was designed to create an easier path to citizenship for about half a million undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens.

Later, she says:

Marcotte recalled that Catherine Rampell and Youyou Zhou of the Washington Post showed before the election that voters overwhelmingly preferred Harris’s policies to Trump’s if they didn’t know which candidate proposed them.  An Ipsos/Reuters poll from October showed that voters who were misinformed about immigration, crime, and the economy tended to vote Republican, while those who knew the facts preferred Democrats. Many Americans turn for information to social media or to friends and family who traffic in conspiracy theories. As Angelo Carusone of Media Matters put it: “We have a country that is pickled in right-wing misinformation and rage.” 

In The New Republic today, Michael Tomasky reinforced that voters chose Trump in 2024 not because of the economy or inflation, or anything else, but because of how they perceived those issues—which is not the same thing. Right-wing media “fed their audiences a diet of slanted and distorted information that made it possible for Trump to win,” Tomasky wrote. Right-wing media has overtaken legacy media to set the country’s political agenda not only because it’s bigger, but because it speaks with one voice, “and that voice says Democrats and liberals are treasonous elitists who hate you, and Republicans and conservatives love God and country and are your last line of defense against your son coming home from school your daughter.”

And:

Tomasky noted how the work of Matthew Gertz of Media Matters shows that nearly all the crazy memes that became central campaign issues—the pet-eating story, for example, or the idea that the booming economy was terrible—came from right-wing media. In those circles, Vice President Kamala Harris was a stupid, crazed extremist who orchestrated a coup against President Joe Biden and doesn’t care about ordinary Americans, while Trump is under assault and has been for years, and he’s “doing it all for you.”

Investigative reporter Miranda Green outlined how “pink slime” newspapers, which are AI generated from right-wing sites, turned voters to Trump in key swing state counties. Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, who studies focus groups, told NPR, “When I ask voters in focus groups if they think Donald Trump is an authoritarian, the #1 response by far is, ‘What is an authoritarian?’”

She goes on to tell of an earlier time when the people were flooded with misinformation: the 1850s, when the American South was flooded with pro-slavery misinformation. The result was the election of pro-slavery representatives who started the Civil War, and the beginning of economic repression of southern whites -- except for those already rich, who had been slave owners -- which lasted until FDR's New Deal in the 1930s.

"Caitlin Clark and Iowa find peace in the process."

Click here for an excellent article, by Wright Thompson of ESPN, on Caitlin Clark's college days.

Tinker to Evers to Chance

Who does that Kelsey Mitchell think she is -- Caitlin Clark?

Best pass of the year, change my mind. pic.twitter.com/0jaiE4BMnn

— Ken Swift (@kenswift) November 4, 2024

A minute and 20 seconds; 25 consecutive 3-pointers

Never touches the rim.

A minute and 20 seconds of Caitlin Clark knocking down threes without a miss pic.twitter.com/0k8yGLeEyP

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 25, 2024

Documentary: Trump's 40-Year Entanglement with the FBI and Organized Crime

Frightening pronouncements from the extreme right

These aren't crazed wackos on the street; these are opinion leaders, people of influence. Scary stuff.

If you watch one video before the election, let it be this one.

I am absolutely terrified. pic.twitter.com/uHDhh9sxEA

— Mrs. Butters 🥧 (@MrsButters) September 8, 2024

Robert Reich: A Prescient Speech From 1994

Click here for an article on Substack by Robert Reich titled "After Kamala Harris wins ... the real work begins."

At the end of the article, click on the link for Reich's 1994 speech, titled "A Warning from 1994 of a Two-Tiered Society" -- it's well worth the nine minutes. There are 6,283 comments -- from today, 30 years later -- that are well worth exploring.

 

The WSJ loves the WNBA -- well, Wilson and Reese, anyway

Click here for an article at MSN.com (which escapes the WSJ paywall) entitled "Inside the WNBA's Big, Bold, Record-Breaking Year," by Rachel Bachman.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Angel Reese's star power had finally brought the W the recognition it deserved for great players like A'ja (although there is mention of another player who apparently drew a few fans and viewers too, named Caitlin Clark). Yes, Reese and Wilson have certainly brought about a seismic shift in the WNBA -- I guess.

Caitlin and Lexi golfing

How Caitlin gets anyone to play against her I’ll never know lol https://t.co/XUU4dr2l5J

— Ken Swift (@kenswift) October 14, 2024

Dating Advice from Jesse Watters and Stephen Miller!

For all you lonely hearts out there, this is your salvation!

OMG…dating advice from Fox’s Jessie Watters and Stephen Miller! 🙄😂😂🤡🤮 pic.twitter.com/ph1YgW22c3

— Annie (@AnnieForTruth) October 9, 2024

Corporate Disregard for Worker Safety

Click here for an article at Substack by Robert Reich entitled "What to do about corporations that maim and kill their workers: A personal story."

Reich tells the story of how he tried to marshal public opinion to force a Goodrich plant in Oklahoma City that was defying OSHA orders to implement safety measures; Goodrich responded by announcing it would shut down the plant, putting 1,100 workers out of a job. Reich and the OSHA head had to back down; "the bullies won."

That was in 1994, when Reich was Secretary of Labor; the same stuff is going on today.

Socialism is an evil thing ...

Truth! pic.twitter.com/7pKvn93jtv

— Sherry❤️Justice 🟨🟦 (@SherryBath) September 29, 2024

Trump Talks Policy! (No, not really.)

The question is: What actions will you take to ensure that our jobs stay in America so we can continue to build the best cars in the world here in Michigan? This TikTok clip is fine as far as it goes, but it should have shown more. Perhaps Trump went on to give an answer to the question? Well, um, no. He babbled on for two or three minutes about how they have to stop foreign companies from taking American jobs -- without giving any suggestions about what he would do to accomplish this -- and then winds up with (paraphrasing): "You know what you have to do? You ony have to do one thing: Vote for Trump!" And the crowd goes wild, and the moderator moves on to the next question.

The loathsome piece of shit was asked what action he's going to take to keep jobs in America. The nonsensical answer Trump gives is what happens when a 78-year-old malignant narcissist is slipping in and out of episodic dementia. 😳👇 pic.twitter.com/LPMMlozE8p

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) September 28, 2024

The Shot!

Caitlin Clark with a buzzer-beater to defeat Indiana, 85-86; Kate Martin inbounds the ball with 1.5 seconds to go, when Iowa is down 85-83. Last game of the season; Iowa ranked 6th, Indiana 2nd.

Does he know everything? Or not?

This is brilliantly done. Nobody knows lying better than DJT. #USDemocracy pic.twitter.com/bdAGQxIycc

— MAGA Cult Slayer🦅🇺🇸 (@MAGACult2) September 25, 2024

The 10 -- no, 75 -- worst things about the Trump presidency

Robert Reich started this clip by setting out to name the ten worst things about the Trump presidency -- but when he got to 10 he kept on going, ending up with 75. A pretty comprehensive list of the worst things about the Trump presidency, that the MAGA crew have conveniently forgotten when they say things were wonderful under Trump:




Know someone who is still considering voting for Trump in November? Show them this. pic.twitter.com/yt3yNTSFrM

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) September 22, 2024

Teach civics in high school!

People need to learn how government functions and  why it is so important in all of our lives.

This is an article by Daniel Miller, published in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star on November 7, 2019, entitled "America needs to go back to school on civics education":

Donald Trump recently proclaimed “You people with this phony Emoluments Clause” while defending his already abandoned decision to hold next year’s G-7 summit at his Doral golf club.

Well, what shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, the Emoluments Clause is not fake. It is located in our very real Constitution, in Article I Section 9 to be precise.

The problem is, of course, that Americans are as ignorant about the Constitution as he is. In fact, our collective ignorance about our foundational documents and American history is one main reason we ended up with Trump as president to begin with and why much of the country has been led down the dark path of authoritarianism. You see, as politically divided as this country is, a main cause of our present crisis is a failure in civics education.

We are a country divided. Geographically: Rural versus urban. The heartland versus the coasts. Socially and culturally: on abortion, gun rights, and immigration reform; and policy issues from healthcare to taxes. But no matter how much we disagree on these things, we should agree on one thing.

We don’t practice autocracy or oligarchy here. We believe in the principles and virtues of democracy or at least we’re supposed to. And we cannot support a leader who does not believe as well.

This shared belief in democratic principles should protect our people when confronted with a figure like Donald Trump. However, no matter how much we say we believe in democracy (a number which is actually declining), we have no real understanding of what our democracy looks like and so many of us don’t recognize when Trump attacks it.

To be sure, Americans are increasingly aware that our elections themselves are under attack through foreign election interference, voter suppression, and gerrymandering. However, our democracy is far more than just elections.

Indeed, the genius of our Constitution was creating a system that would protect our popular sovereignty from the abuses of concentrated power. And Americans are largely ignorant of that system.

For example, according to the 2017 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey, only 26 percent of respondents could name all three branches of government. And according to the same survey, only 14 percent of respondents knew that freedom of the press was a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. This is a problem.

Indeed, if the people don’t know what the three branches of government are, it’s doubtful they understand the importance of separation of powers and checks and balances as mechanisms to divide up power and make sure that power stays divided.

If the people don’t know that the First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, it’s doubtful they understand that the press serves as the people’s eyes and ears to reveal government corruption and abuse of power.

And can you imagine if the Survey had polled Americans’ knowledge of the different Articles of the Constitution, including basic concepts like enumerated powers and the powers of the executive. I shudder at what we would have found. And our ignorance extends far beyond the Constitution.

According to a survey by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation “a majority of Americans in every state except Vermont would fail a test based on the questions in the U.S. citizenship test …”

This lack of civics knowledge represents a profound crisis to our democracy.

Indeed, if we really understood our democratic system of government would we support a leader that attacks the free press as the enemy of the people and threatens to change the very defamation laws that allow the press to report without fear of government reprisal?

Would we support a leader that pronounces that he can fire those investigating him and even pardon himself, a threat to the core tenets of the Rule of Law?

Would we support a leader that threatens to withdraw funding from “sanctuary cities,” a threat to the principle of federalism?

Would we support a leader that vows to fight “all the subpoenas,” claims Article II gives him the right to do whatever he wants, and calls the impeachment inquiry a “coup,” a fundamental threat to separation of powers?

Donald Trump’s candidacy should have ended the moment we understood his aversion to the Constitution, which was obvious during the campaign. Some of us surely saw this and didn’t care. But many others didn’t see him for who he is, and they still don’t. This is a function of many things, but one is a failure in civics education.

No matter how bad things are now, and they may get worse, America will emerge from this present crisis. What’s less clear is if we will be able to overcome our next brush with authoritarianism when the leader, from either the right or the left, is just as charismatic as Donald Trump, but competent and far more calculating.

One way we can prepare for this challenge is to recommit ourselves to civics education.

Banality of evil?

This is a Twitter thread by Daniel Miller, @DanielMillerEsq:

"Because of what’s happening in my own country, I feel inexorably drawn to the history of the Third Reich. It’s not because I think Trump is Hitler. He’s not. It’s because that period (1933-1945) taught us so many important lessons about human nature that are relevant today.

"You can only learn about human nature when people are put to the test. And that time period put people to the test like no other. I’m no expert, but one thing that strikes me about the Nazis is just how much of their evil seemingly happened because of non-evil people.

"There were the Himmlers and Goebbels, of course, and the sadistic monsters who tortured and killed people at Auschwitz and other concentration camps, but the vast majority of Germans weren’t part of the extermination process.

"Many bureaucrats in the various ministries weren’t particularly ideological, but they wanted a promotion or just a job, so they went along. The citizens who saw their neighbors boarded onto trains. They could have warned others, but that would be too much of a risk...

"Many people in Nazi Germany just went along. Not because they were evil, but because it was not in their short-term interest to do anything about the madness happening around them. The uncomfortable truth is that most people, when put to the test, fail the test. 

"You might think we’re different. That YOU’RE different. Thing is, it’s really easy to rationalize NOT doing the right thing, to just go along about your life, going on vacation, falling in love, watching sports. Yes, these things even happen when there’s no democracy.

"You’ll say to yourself, 'Why should I speak out or go to that protest or put my neck on the line? What difference can one person make? I know there are terrible things happening, but I need to take care of my family.' When everyone says this, that is when we are truly lost.

"I pray that we’re never put to the test; that we avoid such a fate. But part of me thinks that maybe our test is already happening. Right now. Well, far too many of us are just going along. Thinking to ourselves, 'What difference can I make? I’m just one person.'”    

An explanation of the Electoral College by Heather Cox Richardson

Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe, a left-wing progressive luminary, tweeted about HCR's September 20, 2024, entry in her Substack diary, Letters from an American, as follows:

Today’s @HC_Richardson letter is the best brief primer on the history and significance of the Electoral College I can recall ever reading. It’s a keeper!

HCR replied:

Thank you, @tribelaw. Bizarre that it’s still how we elect a president.

 Click here for the letter. (It's complicated, but stick with it!)

Are betting sites the best predicters of elections?

Click here for an article at Yahoo/Finance by Shawn Tully entitled "Could there be a Kamala Harris landslide in November? The data scientist who correctly called the last election is betting yes.

The data scientist in question is Thomas Miller, of Northwestern University, who predicted the results in recent elections with pinpoint accuracy, and he derives much of his data from betting sites. 

For the 2024 presidential race, Miller is once again relying on PredictIt [a betting site]. He praises the site for "having a more stable group of investors" than the populations screened by pollsters. "You have tens of thousands of people betting on the site at all times of the day," he says. "The maximum contract is $850, and 37,000 'shares' are traded on average every day." Put simply, Miller regards PredictIt as a highly liquid market resembling an exchange for, say small-cap stocks or high yield bonds that gathers huge numbers of buyers and sellers. "Financial markets are forward-looking, and incorporate information instantaneously, and PredictIt provides the same benefits," says Miller.

Trump makes up stories

Click here for an article at cnn.com by Daniel Dale, Trump fact-checker extraordinaire, entitled "Fact check: 12 completely fictional stories Trump has told in the last month." Trump is beefing up his rally performances with vivid stories that are completely untrue.

They're eating the cats!

https://t.co/rTQs7NYQRr

— StenoCommander (@Stenocommander) September 18, 2024

PoliticsGirl explains: "a radical left Marxist communist fascist"

PoliticsGirl with a quick explanation of socialism, Marxism, communism, and fascism. "Fascism? That's a real possibility. It's just not Kamala Harris who will be bringing it to you."

From her kitchen, PoliticsGirl provides the best content on this hellscape. https://t.co/PU1pH8aQsf

— Scottacular (@Scottcrates) September 18, 2024

Excellent interview with Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban is one of the best billionaires -- in fact, maybe THE BEST billionaire. Click here for a 44-minute YouTube interview. He has some interesting things to say about Trump and Elon Musk.

That'll do, Pig.

Work of a sheepdog
pic.twitter.com/faU0gzty4Q

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) September 16, 2024

Ali Velshi's Father's Heart Surgery in Toronto

.@AliVelshi's father recently had heart surgery in Canada.

The only thing he paid for?

Parking. pic.twitter.com/5HHa6IWh9u

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 15, 2024

Trump will bring water to Los Angeles

He really believes this bullshit https://t.co/cXbR5Ts36T

— digby (@digby56) September 13, 2024

Great New Recipe!

Serve with fava beans and a nice chianti.

You only need two ingredients for this nutritious midday snack! Follow me for more quick and easy recipes.
pic.twitter.com/ZcTnuyHMkr

— Hamish Mitchell (@H_MitchellPhoto) September 11, 2024

America's soaring inequality and shameful tax system

Click here for a Robert Reich article on Substack entitled "What will Kamala Harris do about America's soaring inequality and shameful tax system?" He uses the Warren Buffett example:

Consider Warren Buffett. Several years ago, Buffett made a claim that would become famous. He said that he paid a lower tax rate than his secretary, thanks to the many loopholes and deductions that benefit the wealthy.

The 400 wealthiest Americans today still pay a lower total tax rate — spanning federal, state, and local taxes — than any other income group, according to newly released data.

According to Forbes, Buffett now has $149.9 billion in wealth. On the conservative assumption that the rate of return on his wealth is 5 percent, Buffett’s real pre-tax income last year — his share of his company Berkshire Hathaway’s profits — was roughly $7.5 billion. Yet Buffet paid an effective income tax rate of less than 1 percent.

An increase in Buffett's -- or Zuckerberg's, or Bezos's, or Musk's -- marginal tax rate would have almost no effect, since they have very little income -- their wealth appreciates because of capital gains. That's why the capital gains tax -- currently 23.8% -- must be raised.

But Biden has proposed a tax on unrealized capital gains, which would get at some of these billionaires' accumulated wealth.

A renewed political demand calls for progressive taxation to reverse these trends—to achieve greater tax justice, raise revenue to pay for important public goods, and curb the rise of inequality. 

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick - Relaxin'

36 years with my love @kyrasedgwick. Here’s to forever of relaxin’ with you. pic.twitter.com/u4pQRvJZ5A

— Kevin Bacon (@kevinbacon) September 4, 2024

Celebrating a 3!

Wow -- she gets a LOT of air!

Jumping in joy like a kid after cooking this stepback 3 🤩🤩🔥 pic.twitter.com/I7CpxZCFTi

— Ashwin (@Sudharsan_ak) September 3, 2024

Lee Atwater's Deathbed Repentance

Click here for a January 13, 1991, article in The New York Times entitled "Gravely Ill, Atwater Offers Apology.

In a detailed and candid article about his career and his fight against an inoperable brain tumor, Lee Atwater has apologized to Michael S. Dukakis for the "naked cruelty" of a remark he made about the Democratic Presidential nominee in the 1988 campaign.

Atwater apologized for more of his political skulduggery: "While I didn't invent negative politics," he said, "I am one of its most ardent practitioners." 

Click here for Atwater's Wikipedia entry.

The way we got in this situation ...

An excellent explanation of the phenomenon of low-information Republican voters.

THIS! https://t.co/nBb4W22WpB

— 🕉🇺🇦🟦Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 (@StevieVanZandt) September 3, 2024

Hail To The Great One!

Her poise and maturity, for someone who's just turned 22, are astonishing. Imagine the pressure she's been under! The whole basketball world is talking about Caitlin Clark.

"When you talk about greats in this game...they are putting her in that category."

Caitlin Clark's rookie campaign will go down as one of the greatest in @WNBA history. Hear from our staff, team & our rookie of the year in this episode of Fever All-Access pres. by @AnthemBCBS. pic.twitter.com/2kfi8kq3lr

— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 2, 2024

Great play - unguardable!

this cc - kels - lyss play was just beautiful basketball 😭 pic.twitter.com/M8jzUoQW6B

— vi ✰ (@ccloveoml) September 1, 2024

Cemeterygate

Click here for a Robert Reich entry on Substack entitled "Trump's Cemeterygate," subtitled "It was Trump on full display," from August 30.

Trump took an entourage, complete with film crew, to Arlington National Cemetery to take part in a three-year anniversary of the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in another of his many attacks on Biden for this (despite the fact that Biden was adhering to the terms of an arrangement that had been agreed to by Trump in an effort to leave Biden, succeeding him in the White House, with as messy a military situation as he could).

They were confronted by a female cemetery employee who tried to stop them, since using the National Cemetery for political purposes is a federal criminal offense. After arguing with her, the Trump group physically pushed her aside and entered anyway, and photos of Trump at a soldier's graveside, grinning and giving a thumbs-up sign (clueless, as always) were subsequently posted online. This is Reich's take on the incident.

The entire incident is also a microcosm of Trump’s utter disdain for morality, honor, and patriotism — the public virtues, the common good. The cemetery is a sacred, hallowed ground. It is considered to be a national shrine. Trump sullied it to achieve his personal goal of the moment: to get a news clip in which he could bash Biden and, indirectly, Kamala Harris.

Partisanship: The Achilles' Heel of the American Political System

Click here for Heather Cox Richardson's entry for August 27 in her diary, Letters from an American.

Remember Traitor Trump's Attack on the Capitol!

This is copy-and-pasted from a question on Quora answered by Henry R. Greenfield:

How do you feel about video released today of Jan 6 showing Pelosi and others fleeing from the Capitol and her saying, there is a domestic enemy in the White House and he will have to pay for his attack on the Capitol and I am ashamed?

It is August 28, 2024, new videos have been released as part of a documentary focusing on Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House and the attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan 6, 2021, who he told to go down and take back your country after a rally on the Mall in an attempt to block the certification of Biden’s decisive victory over Trump and so that Trump could overturn the election and end democracy in America.

He failed, but just barely and he is still trying to do it to this very day denying still that he lost.

She added, ‘he’s got to pay a price for this’.

Trump did not pay a price for it as the Republicans chickened out in the Senate and not enough voted to convict him at his 2nd impeachment and those who did like Mitt Romney were ostracized and eventually forced out of the Senate and the GOP.

Trump paid nothing, nothing at all. After a short shock where Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell among others blamed him for the insurrection, they now have not just ‘kissed the ring’ but McConnell even stood up at the roll call at the RNC and cast Kentucky’s votes for Trump.

The reality is while Mike Pence did the obvious right thing and simply certified what was already a foregone proven conclusion, that Biden had soundly beaten Trump in the popular vote and in the electoral college, most of the Republicans ran. Eventually they ran back and cowered in front of the ‘domestic enemy in the White House’ Donald Trump and now are completely beholden to them.

Remember this comic scene a couple of months ago:

Marco Rubio so taken with Trump’s return to the Capitol for the 1st time since Jan 6, ‘we got the team back together again’.

I watch the apologists on Fox and the never ending pundits who make excuses for Trump saying versions of, everyone knows him, or what you see is what you get. And then immediately launch into attacks on Harris for something she said 5 years ago like it is the gospel while Trump trying to overthrow the government is just passed off as oh well, shit happens.

The is the travesty of the GOP today. They not only have no spine, they have come to worship their little anti-christ. He stands there in the US capitol which his minions were told to go down and take back your country and they tried, stands there, all of them mocking their oath to the constitution of the USA.

Laughing at these fools while they suck up to him as the ‘team is back together’.

What team Little Marco? Are you on the team that tried to overthrow the government? Are you declaring yourself to be a traitor to your oath of office. Is Mitch McConnell not had enough with his manipulation, lies and stuffing the Supreme Court changing and rechanging the rules so that women can have their constitutional rights taken away. So that Trump can now be a little king if he is elected as he has been made immune, like some kind of alien who no one can get rid of.

Watch the videos with Pelosi. What is absolutely amazing is how calm she is. 80 years old at the time, totally together. Lamenting where is the National Guard, admitting that she should have seen this coming. Asking why do we put people in charge who do not protect the capitol. Concluding that there is a domestic enemy in the White House.

All as she is walking away to a waiting car to take her to safety while her office was trashed and someone literally took a ‘shit’ on her desk.

By the way these are the people Trump will honor on his Jan 6′er dinner at where else, his golf club of course. Where he plans to raise millions for himself in September. Yes, this traitor is actually raising money ostensibly for the defense of the traitors who attacked the capitol and then of course he will grift it and steal it all.

ARE YOU NOT SICK OF THIS HORRIBLE CLOWN AND STAIN ON AMERICA!!

I wish I could remain as calm as Pelosi. Maybe we should be listening to the 200 former Trump staffers who signed a letter today supporting Kamala Harris.

Maybe we should remember that 40 of the 44 cabinet members of Trump refused to endorse him.

Maybe just maybe, someone on the Republican side that is in power will stop kissing Trump’s fat ass and say, he is a traitor because that is what he was and is and always will be.

He is telling you all exactly who he is all the time. Dictator for a day, deportation for 15 million, Muslim ban, pro Christian Nationalism, pro white racists like in Charlottesville where there were ‘good people on both sides’. Yeh like this:

Unite the right rally which is why Biden ran for President and beat Trump.

You cannot let this mini wannabe dictator back in.

Otherwise the domestic enemy in the White House will make sure there will be no more democracy in America.

That my friends is what you have to contemplate as you prepare to go to the polls starting in less than a month on early voting.

Trump and fascism or America and democracy. That’s what’s on the table yet again.

Once and for all bury this guy in a landslide for Harris/Walz and continue to restore some dignity to the country and hopefully give the Republicans the will to excise this cancer from their party.

Or do you want Trump’s NAZI and racist followers tramping through the halls of Congress again, this time owning it and taking it away from you, the people of America.

You have a choice, make the right one and make sure you vote BLUE.

A man of his word -- oh, wait ...

 RFK Jr., who just withdrew from his presidential campaign and pledged his support to Donald Trump, wrote this on May 26 -- just under three months ago:

President Trump scammed American workers. He promised to bring back manufacturing, raise wages, fix trade deals, close the carried interest loophole, and help small farmers. But everything President Trump achieved were things the Republican machine wanted. We got a tax cut for Jeff Bezos, deregulation for special interests, and giveaways to agriculture conglomerates. 

President Trump let the Bush wing of the GOP run all his agencies. His Interior Secretary was an oil & gas lobbyist. His Defense Secretary was a Raytheon lobbyist. His EPA Administrator was a coal lobbyist. His HHS Secretary was a pharmaceutical lobbyist. And his Labor Secretary was a lawyer for mega corporations. 

President Trump’s supposed support for farmers ($28 billion) all went to Big Ag conglomerates.  

We had the worst rioting and looting this country had seen since the 60s under President Trump. He inflamed racial tensions and didn’t keep us safe. Instead of using federal law enforcement to stop the rioting, Trump thought it was good optics to let Democrat-run cities burn.

President Trump bragged about arming Ukraine more than Obama did. He also walked away unilaterally from the intermediate range nuclear missile treaty with Russia, destabilizing our relationship. He also exacerbated tensions between Ukraine and Russia that ultimately caused a war. 

Trump appointed the worst neocons to the highest positions of power in his administration: John Bolton, HR McMaster, and Robert O’Brien. Now, Lindsey Graham is one of his top advisors and likely to be his Secretary of State. 

President Trump bombed Syria, killed an Iranian general, and failed to fulfill his promise of ending the war in Afghanistan. President Trump invented lockdowns. He shut down millions of small businesses and facilitated the greatest wealth transfer to billionaires in this country’s history. 

President Trump did nothing to solve the opioid crisis. It got far worse under his tenure while his appointees running HHS were in the pocket of big pharma. 

If you think a second Trump term would be any different, you are engaging in wishful thinking.

 

Fathers and sons.

Barron got Resting Lurch Face https://t.co/KcApIU6plM

— Liam Nissan™ (@theliamnissan) August 22, 2024

"Get that blood cleaned up -- it's disgusting."

If you think Trump would offer First Aid to someone or stop a school shooter unarmed, listen to this 2008 Howard Stern interview.

He describes an elderly man falling during a charity event at Mar-a-Lago. He was more concerned about blood on his floor.#TrumpIsNotFitToBePresident pic.twitter.com/bhvumY45tE

— cαηα∂α нαтεs тя☭мρ (@Trump_Detester) August 22, 2024

Words of wisdom.

Trump: We’re going to end up not having a country. You’re not going to have any media, we don’t have media, they don’t have media. They do their own media, they don't need media.

(????) pic.twitter.com/DpRIUJKlpN

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 22, 2024

I don't think this lady likes Ann Coulter.

Childless monkey woman for Trump -- I love it! (Language)

Did we just become best friends? This is magnificent. https://t.co/mCOTCYfO4w

— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 22, 2024

The Caitlin Clark Story

Click here.

"What happened to inflation?" - an explanation by Paul Krugman

Click here for an article in The New York Times by Paul Krugman entitled "What happened to inflation?"

Democratic National Convention, Day 1 - HCR

Click here for a Substack article by Heather Cox Richardson, August 19, 2024, her diary entry in "Letters from an American."

It's a recap of Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention.

Democratic Convention: Thank you, Joe Biden

Click here for a Substack article by Robert Reich entitled "We thank you, Joe." It's a pretty good recounting of Biden's achievements.

Polite - "politically correct"; empathetic - "woke"?

This is in response to a question on Quora: Why do liberals love "wokeness"?

So here’s what happened. A couple of decades ago, some Republicans decided that being polite was interfering with their agenda. They needed to make Democrats sound like radicals, even though the Democrats were offering popular and reasonable policy proposals. So they needed a way to make politeness itself sound silly and delusional. Enter the phrase, “political correctness.

Obviously, since nearly all of us were raised to be polite, and respect politeness, it isn’t possible to attack politeness itself. But if you can relabel it first, then it is much easier to attack. So being polite to others became political correctness, and political correctness became a bad thing.

Now the same thing is happening to empathy. Basic human empathy is a good thing. Like politeness, empathy helps us survive as a society. But it also leads to governmental policies to help disadvantaged people. Obviously this is something Republicans cannot abide. But how can they attack basic, human empathy?

Well, the same way they attacked politeness; relabel it. So empathy is now called “wokeness,” and that can be attacked. When a Democrat calls for measures to help protect minority citizens from police violence, it isn’t because of empathy (a good thing), it’s because that Democrat is all “woke” (a bad thing).

Narcissistic Collapse

Click here for an article in Psychology Today by Ellnor Greenberg, Ph.D., entitled "What is Narcissistic Collapse?" 

Key points:

• Narcissists can experience a narcissistic collapse when faced with a situation resulting in public humiliation and failure.
• During a narcissistic collapse, the narcissistic defenses that keep them confident are no longer working.

In a narcissistic collapse, they feel extremely anxious, depressed, ashamed, and may be unable to keep functioning. 

Exhibitionist narcissists "use a simple three-part defense to create a façade of extreme self-confidence. I call this the “GOD defense.”

G – Grandiosity: They act as if they are special and entitled to do or say whatever they want. Grandiose motto: “I am special.”

O – Omnipotent: They make all sorts of unrealistic claims about how powerful and knowledgeable they are. Omnipotent motto: “I can do anything, and I know everything worth knowing,”

D – Devaluing: They feel free to attack and devalue anyone who is not clearly above them in their status hierarchy. Devaluing motto: “You are worthless, defective garbage, and are here to serve me.”

Remind you of anyone? Trump has been extremely low energy lately, dragging himself listlessly through his appearances.

Solve the border crisis? Not if it helps the Democrats!

Here' a clip showing the hard-right senator from Oklahoma, James Lankford, who helped negotiate a bill that would improve the border situation. Trump spoke out against the bill because he did not want the Democrats to score a political win; Republicans then defeated the bill on the House floor.

Senator James Lankford (R-OK): "I had a popular commentator that told me flat out, if you try to move a bill that solves the border crisis during this presidential year, I will do whatever I can to destroy you." (February)@Acynpic.twitter.com/6XQlmB5zFq

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) August 20, 2024

Four on one is not enough!

Ladies and Gentleman

Welcome to the Caitlin Clark Show pic.twitter.com/wdWkqtQCIA

— Swagata (@socorooopova) August 19, 2024

Night Fever! (The Musk and Trump version is toxic.)

Here's the original video:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Isaiah Shinn 🎥 (@isaiahshinn)

Here's the phony, posted by Musk:

He’s so desperate to look “cool”. DonOld is so pathetic
(yes, he actually posted this on Truth Social) pic.twitter.com/glqb847uzY

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 14, 2024