The historian and Substack superstar says the US is in peril not seen since the civil war – and Joe Biden is its best defender
Kevin Seefried did what the rebel army never could. On 6 January 2021, the 53-year-old carried a Confederate flag through the US Capitol.
“The whole point of a civil war was to make sure that battle flag never had influence in the United States Capitol,” she says, via Zoom from near Augusta, Maine. “With a loss of almost $6bn and 600,000 lives, they kept that flag out of the Capitol, and then, I’m sorry, but those fuckers brought it in. I saw that, and the gut-punch was larger than any other moment in history, for me as a historian who has lived that civil war as deeply as I have.”
Richardson, 60, a history professor at Boston College, has been described by the New York Times as “the breakout star” of the newsletter platform Substack, where her Letters from an American has more than a million subscribers. She has 1.7 million followers on Facebook while her bio on X, formerly known as Twitter, says: “Historian. Author. Professor. Budding Curmudgeon. I study the contrast between image and reality in America, especially in politics.”
Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Hero Worship: “Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”
WHEN YOU HAVE A NUT IN THE WHITE HOUSE YOU HAVE TO TAKE EXTRAORDINARY PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT AMERICA.
In a pair of secret phone calls, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, assured his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army, that the United States would not strike, according to a new book by Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward and national political reporter Robert Costa.
One call took place on Oct. 30, 2020, four days before the election that unseated President Donald Trump, and the other on Jan. 8, 2021, two days after the Capitol siege carried out by his supporters in a quest to cancel the vote.
The first call was prompted by Milley’s review of intelligence suggesting the Chinese believed the United States was preparing to attack. That belief, the authors write, was based on tensions over military exercises in the South China Sea, and deepened by Trump’s belligerent rhetoric toward China.
Former President Trump didn’t want to visit a cemetery near Paris for Americans who fought and died in World War I because it was filled with “suckers” and “losers,” John Kelly, his longest-serving chief of staff, said in a statement to CNN on Monday.
Why it matters: In the statement, Kelly supported this and several other instances of Trump disparaging service members that were reported by The Atlantic in 2020 and vehemently denied at the time by the Republican 2024 presidential front-runner.
A number of former prosecutors and attorneys shredded Cannon’s decision, warning that she is making a move to protect the president who appointed her to the bench from the law — something she has already been caught doing once before.
Recently we learned from ProPublica reporting that Clarence Thomas has been the featured attraction at several multi-million-dollar fundraising events put on by the Koch brothers to marshal resources that could apparently be used, in part, to bring cases before the Supreme Court. In previous years, the late Antonin Scalia often joined him at these events.
Now that the billionaires have succeeded in packing the Court with six hard-right justices who are perfectly willing to ignore federal law about ethics on federal courts and enthusiastic to dance to their benefactors’ tunes, we’re getting close to the point that David Koch envisioned in 1980 when he ran for Vice President on the Libertarian ticket.
His platform was clear, calling for the end of the EPA and other regulatory agencies, and the privatization of the Post Office, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, public schools, libraries, and all the nation’s roads and rivers, among other things.
Nothing Matters? The Rule of Law Matters ! (VIDEO)
The spot from the Republican Accountability Project, which will run on Fox News in several markets, points out that Trump’s constant lies had many people saying in frustration that “nothing matters.”
Trump told more than 30,000 of them during his four years in office, according to a Washington Post tally.
But the voice-over states it’s not true that nothing matters.
READ MORE REPUBLICAN ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
Video contradicts Lauren Boebert’s denial that she was vaping at ‘Beetlejuice’ show
The Colorado Republican’s campaign manager had said that the smoke inside the theater came from heavy fog machines and electronic cigarettes that were used during the show.
The national security threat of Trumpism is real. The extreme far-right authoritarian ideology that has taken hold in the current GOP attacks democracy itself, alienates our global allies, weakens our standing on the world stage and our security at home, fosters disinformation and conspiracy theories, and normalizes violence against progressive agendas and liberal culture.
Trumpism will only be defeated at the ballot box. We have enormous potential to make a very big impact to help preserve our democracy in 2024. Our leaders in the defense community are patriots who have unique, credible and powerful voices for freedom and liberty that are persuasive to a critical group of voters in swing states. Operation Saving Democracy is marshaling the resources and building the infrastructure necessary to amplify those voices. We hope you will join our effort.
Operation Saving Democracy (web site) Youtube Video
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Nancy Altman, president of the advocacy group Social Security Works, noted in a statement that “the White House has accurately labeled a commission as a ‘death panel’ for Social Security,” referring to a Biden administration spokesperson’s response earlier this year after House Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) floated the idea of a bipartisan commission for the program.
House Republicans’ new resolution, unveiled by House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), revives that proposal, which has previously garnered support from several Democrats.
Advocates have long decried such commissions as an attempt to bypass the regular legislative process, dodge political backlash, and expedite Social Security cuts.
Read More at Raw Story
“The only reason to make changes to Social Security via a closed-door, fast-track commission is to cut benefits,” Altman argued Tuesday. “Rep. Arrington and his fellow Republicans understand this, which is why their budget would create just such a commission. Republicans desperately want Democrats to provide cover for Social Security cuts, which are rightfully unpopular with voters of all parties.”
“It rained that day, and the ground was soft; at one point Avila’s wheelchair threatened to topple over. Milley’s wife, Hollyanne, ran to help Avila, as did Vice President Mike Pence,” wrote Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
“After Avila’s performance, Trump walked over to congratulate him, but then said to Milley, within earshot of several witnesses, ‘Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.’ Never let Avila appear in public again, Trump told Milley.”
HOW TO DEAL WITH A BULLY YOUTUBE
“Jim Jordan knew more about what Donald Trump had planned for Jan. 6 than any other member of the House of Representatives,” Cheney said. “Jim Jordan was involved, was part of the conspiracy in which Donald Trump was engaged as he attempted to overturn the election.”
Trump allegedly shared potentially sensitive information about US nuclear subs with Australian billionaire
Why do Trump Cult Republicans want this looney to be President?
“How did we begin by serving a man who hung naked on a cross, but end by serving Donald Trump?”
P01135809 projects: STUPID & VERY DANGEROUS!
“Slow moving and thinking Mark Milley should never have made those calls to China’s Military Leadership,” Trump posted to his Truth Social site. “Does this moron, together with WOKE FOOL Mark Yesper (Esper!), who said ‘yes’ to everything, have any idea how dangerous a situation he put our Country in? Look at his words – STUPID & VERY DANGEROUS!”
The anecdote included in the story describes how P01135809 reacted to the severely wounded Army captain whom Milley selected to sing God Bless America at his 2019 welcome ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Luis Avila, who served five combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, was left almost completely paralyzed by the detonation of an improvised explosive device in 2011.
“It rained that day, and the ground was soft; at one point Avila’s wheelchair threatened to topple over. Milley’s wife, Hollyanne, ran to help Avila, as did Vice President Mike Pence,” wrote Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.
“After Avila’s performance, P01135809 walked over to congratulate him, but then said to Milley, within earshot of several witnesses, ‘Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.’ Never let Avila appear in public again, P01135809 told Milley.”
Republicans see Trump as a more of ‘person of faith’ than Biden, Pence, every 2024 GOP candidate. Republican Jesus: How the Right Has Rewritten the Gospels…
How did Republican White Evangelical Christians begin by worshiping a JUST and GOOD MAN, who hung naked on a cross, died for their sins and now serve a man with the Character of Satan?
REPUBLICANS, what you say to America are the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent responses are you even close to anything that can be considered a rational thought. Everyone in America is now dumber for listening to what you say. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your souls.
Here's A Thing... 