Nationalism failed stupendously in Germany in the early 20th century. We thought we had learned the lesson of nationalism becoming fascism. This sometimes feels to me like our older sisters who were the original womens' reproductive rights fighters and now in their eighties and nineties are fighting for it again. We don't seem to be learning from recent history and that is troubling.
If you know David Cay Johnston, a frequent Trump expert and critic and RIT professor, I heard him say some things that are relevant to this.
He said he often has students (I don't know the frequency, but I'm paraphrasing best I can) who think that the US fought AGAINST the Soviet Union in WWII. That we were fighting in the war against Bolshevism. Those are college students.
So the fact that we do not understand or know history is relevant and not surprising. I'm not sure there is an easy fix, but we need to get serious about this.
A lot of very bad decisions made about education, from Bush to, unfortunately, Obama's secretary of education. The whole system needs revamping, and I can only hope the next president has the vision and courage to do so.
Thanks, Kent, for adding historical perspective to Simon Rosenberg's cogent call for new thinking and approaches by candidates and office-holders. If the candidates need 'new' thinking at the level of 'tactics', we could all benefit, at the level of 'strategy', from awareness that much of what Trump and his cohort of bigots, panderers, opportunists, abusers and incompetents present is not much different from the same ilk that good and decent people have fought, and over time prevailed against, across centuries of hard work on the ground and in cultural and political exchanges and advances. My focus is often hyper-local (Florida, the West and elsewhere), but current reading of the destruction of the Weimar democracy in Germany in Richard Evans' account, Sinclair Lewis's projection of an authoritarian America in 'It Can't Happen Here' and the resonance of Achebe's 'African trilogy' all track week-by-week, episode-by-episode with what we're seeing in the Trumpian version of kings, bad emperors and their enablers. (Sadly, a base for the historical and cultural outlook used to be taught in middle school and high school history and lit classes, in the public schools now under attack.)
so the trump people want to extend their racism to all of western europe....wait til the world cup comes here and people can see, as they have since it was first hosted in 1994 here, that the world now has teams made up of immigrants from other places; france, england, spain, italy....all have players whose families were immigrants. almost all the teams do.
That Putin checklist Simon! OMG! When you put it all together like that, it is devastating. And then to top it off, there is the headline about the National Security Strategy that abandons our European allies. This is not the America that I know and love!!! It makes me so angry!
I just parsed through the NSS. Besides the fact its pretty sophorically written and it sounds like a campaign pamphlet for the first couple of articles, thankfully there was nothing new out of left field that we didn't already know was happening that I was fearing, especially in regards to the Asia Pacific.
That being said, yea, it's a strategy that has platitudes of being the leading "soft power" and retaining our primacy, etc. but this is administration, based on its current actions, is WHOLLY INCAPABLE of executing it and its current actions and policies have had the opposite effect. The Trump Corollary is contradictory to the actions its taking against Venezuela, b/c as bad as Maduro is, you're not going to help the migration waves if you completely destabilize it like Libya. The Caribbean strikes are NOT HELPING at best and undermining our position at worst, not to mention the fact war crimes are probably being committed.
Also getting rid of the first industrial policy we've seen this century is NOT going to help us retain primacy in major technical fields. His tariff policy has not been "strategic" as the document says, but so erratic it's causing our partners and allies to hedge against us. And oh, manufacturing has gone down. we're just all paying higher prices now.
The step away from neo-conservatism and hard power intervention is fine. But we're not doing that in Venezuela right now. And pushing for sovereign countries uber alles is going to bite us in the ass. Intergovernmental orgs like the EU and NATO, from a hard power perspective, help advance our interests, and those of the free world, vs separate countries. It's partly why the US has to pay more attention to Asia because there's no EU/NATO equivalent and we have to play the go-between, even with allies such as the ROK and JPN.
The section about Europe screams replacement theory bullshit. The ONLY agreeable thing in that section is the push to increase European defense spending. But don't go crying when they focus that spending on European firms vs American ones on most things. That admin wants sovereignty above all? that's what's going to happen and US defense contractors will lose out on it.
The only somewhat positive I take from it is the push for more defense spending by our allies and that nothing sweeping out of left field was pushed for the Asia Pacific. That and retaining our advantage in the pacific militarily against the PRC. Will the Admin be able to execute it? Sure, if you have us stop fighting the damn culture wars.
More to why I'm looking forward to a democratic congress in 2026, if we can get the folks to vote for it!
Today's newsletter was both informative and inspirational. Simon, I'm glad that you didn't wait till everything was "pulled together" before sharing your observations and thoughts.
Great opening analysis to what you say is coming later in the month! Picking at one thread regarding defending Democracy around the world, it has puzzled me as to why our leaders in Congress have not effectively used full throated support for Ukraine to highlight for Americans what Democrats stand for. It should have immediately started after the humiliating meeting in the WH that Trump and Vance put Zelensky through. Our leaders should have taken that opportunity to come out in full support of Zelensky, inviting him to speak to all Democratic Party members in both Houses. It’s still not too late. We need to show our full support for Ukraine and start enlisting as many Republican House and Senate members who feel similarly. They are there. Even Lindsay Graham has not completely succumbed to the Putin worship exhibited by Trump. Perhaps he and others might conceivably stand with Democrats to try to force Trump to change course. If that’s unlikely, then we need to go it alone. Come out as a party in defense of Ukraine and in full support of NATO. Let’s be the Party that supports all those who continue to believe in democracy and point out that extreme right wing elements in Europe are not welcome. Make that a core part of any Democratic message to the American people. Let’s not allow 80 years of an agreement that has worked go down the drain!
"The Trump Effect on GOP Legislators: Quicksand Perils for Reelection"
The recent actions by our government’s executive branch defy description, with law ignored and decision-making breeding a sense of betrayal, deceit, and indifference. The executive’s motives, which have surfaced in the last eleven months, suggest a life-long need to develop exploitative and superficial relationships. This exploitation and subtle, yet persistent, cult-like obedience and conformity are causing, as highlighted by some commentators, "little cracks" to become "big cracks" in the administration's support base.
Per the title of this entry, GOP legislators will shortly be returning to their home districts and attempting to defend the executive’s devastating effects on our country and the world—including illegal tariffs, bankrupting farms, loss of health care, rejection of education initiatives, misuse of the military and ICE, promoting the uselessness of scientific research, and denial of accountability. The list is growing daily.
The fundamental problem with defending all of the above is that for more and more GOP legislators, who are quietly mumbling to themselves or trustworthy colleagues that "enough is enough," they know that defending the indefensible is equivalent to stepping into a quicksand pit and asking for help from constituents who have been broken, physically and spiritually, by one man’s narcissistic psychosis established in a cradle.
In the search for terminology for what is happening, perhaps there are prospects in what the old USSR did to its vassal states. That feels like the goal of that list of actions selling us out to Putin.
Clearly we as a country have forgotten the Cold War, even though so many of us as individuals lived through it. There's a lot of American cultural products like movies, TV, games, etc that use the Cold War frame, though, explicitly or conceptually. That feels like fertile ground...
(Side note: I once had to spontaneously explain the Cold War to a college class I was teaching in urban design, because none of the students knew what it was, incredibly.)
Yes! This could be a particularly powerful framing precisely because the U.S. vs USSR binary permeates so many texts informing popular culture--particularly for people born prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Functionally, in terms of global relations, we are now a vassal state of Putin, and loudly, relentlessly, derisively naming how MAGA pedofuhrer has completely surrendered the country's geopolitical position to Putin not only challenges T's reputation as a strong man, but also positions DEMs as defenders of the West and democracy. Not for nothing, such a framing also powerfully connects the Reagan mystique, persuading older, disenchanted GOP voters and independents.
Heather Cox Richardson gave an historical framework to all of this yesterday. I would encourage everyone who can to watch it. It's rather long, but the subject requires it. Well worth the time. Here's the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/tPKtdmDxxNM?si=xUejcvr1Ge-P8KkZ
I like this deep dive you are going on this afternoon re national security, but sometime in the future could you deal with another topic--- IF the Democrats again take control of Congress, many grouops, expeically Indivisible and YOU too in your action items, say we must hold these lawless people accountable. But HOW can Congress really do that. Obviously the court system cannot. Even with a Dem Atorney General (Merrick Garland), we could not make anyone accountable. Garland caved so many times it was ridiculous. What specifically would you propose that we demand. Or how would you make the courts change in the next term. Where's Andrew Weissman on this. He should have given us more advice and been more critical pointing out the mistakes. Anyway, I think you could address accountability in a way that might have some answers.
Simon inspired me to write the following to my Congress people. If it proves useful, plagiarize freely. Note that I live in California.
“My concern with Trump and his minions has to do with his deployment of White Fright, the terror that white, Viking-based culture will evaporate as “non-European” cultures crowd out white people. The contents of the National Security Strategy released this morning points clearly to his well-known life-long obsession with developing the forces of fear-based White Nationalism here and abroad in service to alliance with Putin’s Russia.
However the removal of this plundering, traitorous felon from the White House may be done, it must be done as soon as possible. In other words, finishing Nancy Pelosi’s splendid work of impeachment, but this time using tools that must stick.
I expect you to bend all your energy to this task. As long as the cancer remains, fixing any other aspect of his wreckage will not avail.”
Dear Simon and Hopium fam…Here we go all! As for the outlook of the midterms, we have to remain hopeful we win the midterms handily (even if by slimmer margins than we prefer). With the recent ruling by the Supreme Court in that TX can keep its map, we now know CA will be able to keep theirs. Even this court won’t overturn the CA map cuz even they know it would look far too hypocritical. All they did at this point, which a number of us could have predicted unfortunately, is they opened the floodgates.
Morally, this goes against the grain of what we all desire concerning bipartisanship or lack thereof. However, we also know we’re in a fight for the survival of our democracy so at this point, I say bring it on!
My state of MD will likely go through with it as I believe Moore will pressure Bob Ferguson to change course. I don’t underestimate both VA and NJ to enact map shifts either especially under these two new sharp Female Governors.
People seem forget however, much of the map shifting the GOP will try to enforce may inadvertently create ‘purple districts’ unbeknownst to them. Many independent voters out there as it’s becoming the largest growing voter faction in the country. So, this very well may backfire on them even still, in spite of what seems to be their apparent electoral advantages. I say be careful what you wish for.
No doubt in my mind that behind the scenes, the likes of Newsom, Obama, Harris, Shapiro, and others are all working to ensure they rile up various ‘Blue State Governors’ to take necessary action. I have a feeling this redistricting battle will ultimately level itself out. Plus, after seeing the voter turnout in these last special elections where we over performed, I would certainly not underestimate potential voter turnout in the midterms at unprecedented levels. It hits differently when everything becomes ‘immediately affecting’ which is what drives voter turnout on off year elections.
So will we win the midterms? It feels growingly likely we’ll at least flip the House although I don’t think the party is naive to the battle ahead. Might we even flip the senate too? It’s now more in play than even a year ago. A ways to go but encouraging trends at play here.
On a separate note…Now he gets the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize?!? 😆 what a joke! Only good thing from this is more and more (republicans included) are seeing right through this bullshit! What peace?!? Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Gaza are all still a hot mess! Not to mention, right, wrong, or indifferent (but we know the American mindset) many of them could care less about two African countries he claims to have formed a peace deal with, which he didn’t . Especially when he can’t even pronounce the name of one of their leaders correctly which was satirized brilliantly btw on both Kimmel and Colbert last night.
More and more, the man isn’t fooling many anymore. Time is of the essence at this point! Call me crazy but I still remain bullish in my gut instinct that he doesn’t finish a full term and that should Vance take over, he becomes a walking lame duck 🙏.
We have to keep in mind that Mainstream media doesn’t effectively project the tone on the ground with many Republicans even in rural America where they’re getting hit hardest by Trump’ bullshit! No wonder the TN special election swung away from Trump +22 to Aftyn Behn only losing by 9! No wonder both Spanberger and Sherrill over performed and in so called ‘Trump counties.’ No wonder Mamdani even got some Trump voters in NYC.
The writing is on the wall!!! Third term my ass!!! He’ll be lucky if his health alone even gets him to the finish line of this second one. Jesus somebody get the Apollo Hook already 😂🤦♂️
I digress…Thank you Simon for your leadership and for keeping us all engaged, encouraged, yet, in check. Time will tell but I’m sticking to my gut. This too shall pass and we will prevail 🙏. Stay well and safe fam ✌️ 💕.
The "Thoughts of Putin" is absolutely what this regime is playing by and good to see it enumerated in a list! Waking up to the reality of what has already happened and what is currently happening is a huge undertaking. Very few people I know have any clue what has already been dismantled. The earlier we can establish ways of getting the message across to the majority of people the better, because it's going to have to be repeated many, many times and in very "graspable" terms. It's like turning a cruise ship or tanker ~ takes a LONG time to do it. I'm girding myself for the long haul which this is and knowing we're in this for years. There's the defeating the regime and then all the immense rebuilding ~ whatever form that takes. And, as you say Simon, it's all new and uncharted territory. New language, new strategies, new ways. It's all a mega-shift. It's already requiring nerves of steel, uncommon courage and the clearest of eyes! May we all rise to it!
Thanks Simon, that Putin wishlist is really stunning to see it all in one place. Really, what more could he ask for? trump is the castle-guard opening the damn portcullis from inside, and rolling out the red carpet to boot. This 2018 picture has always stuck with me, especially the contrasting expressions and the appeasing, friendly smile from that man. https://www.yahoo.com/news/putin-president-trump-smiles-thumbs-174144239.html
I think brainstorming new language is really important too, to your point about finding new ways to describe Trumpism. I see how they have created the term "narco-terrorist" and now use it relentlessly and comprehensively. A terrorist is someone who uses violence to achieve political ends, by definition, not a low-level drug "mule," (to the extent these men are actually smugglers) but the term "terrorist" is evilly suited to their purposes. We can do the same thing, creating and using new language, with creativity and determination.
Trumpism contains elements of both Nazism and the confederacy. Reform and AfD are both also reincarnations of Nazism.
Remigration is about rounding up nonwhite people and expelling them to Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Central and Latin America, using force and incarceration to do it. (On this note: take a look at Amnesty International’s new 61-page report on torture and forced disappearances at Alligator Auschwitz).
And they all very much want white women making as many babies as possible. Abortion bans are used to try to increase the white birth rate and the nonwhite incarceration rate. MAGA women with PhDs like Lindsey Burke of the Heritage Foundation write essays on how to deprive the masses of education and push them instead into heterosexual nuclear marital babymaking.
And circling back to the blond nurse in scrubs in Florida who got manhandled by masked goons with state trooper assistance for failing to meekly comply with a probably-illegal papers-please traffic checkpoint, check out this excerpt from Ron Filipowski’s bulletin last night re: new ICE recruits (copy/paste):
“Other recruits were even discovered to have tattoos associated with gangs and white supremacists when they stripped off their shirts during workouts. Reports from FLETC include incidents of violence, disruptive behavior, and allegations of sexual misconduct on campus, most handled internally . . . .
Another male recruit, after hitting the bars, was caught barging into a female dorm and hitting on the occupants. Another groped a woman in class.” Source: “It wasn’t like, ‘oops, I touched your boob.’ Nope, he went full on to predator mode while he was doing the defensive tactics training . . . .
Criminals posing as ICE officers have carried out robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults in several states . . . .”
From today's BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE Newsletter:
URGE CONGRESS to create a select committee to investigate misuse of presidential power (and on down the line) . . .
"A Moment of Truth for Congress
The Trump administration’s deadly strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific demand an extraordinary response from Congress. The military campaign against so-called “narco-terrorists” has not been approved by Congress, and the attacks may have also murdered civilians in international waters. Federal lawmakers have ample powers to uncover and end administration abuse. History shows that one of the most effective ways to do this is for the House or Senate to create a select committee to investigate misuse of presidential power. Such panels can issue subpoenas, draw media attention, uncover facts, and propose reforms."
Nationalism failed stupendously in Germany in the early 20th century. We thought we had learned the lesson of nationalism becoming fascism. This sometimes feels to me like our older sisters who were the original womens' reproductive rights fighters and now in their eighties and nineties are fighting for it again. We don't seem to be learning from recent history and that is troubling.
Your point is very important.
If you know David Cay Johnston, a frequent Trump expert and critic and RIT professor, I heard him say some things that are relevant to this.
He said he often has students (I don't know the frequency, but I'm paraphrasing best I can) who think that the US fought AGAINST the Soviet Union in WWII. That we were fighting in the war against Bolshevism. Those are college students.
So the fact that we do not understand or know history is relevant and not surprising. I'm not sure there is an easy fix, but we need to get serious about this.
A lot of very bad decisions made about education, from Bush to, unfortunately, Obama's secretary of education. The whole system needs revamping, and I can only hope the next president has the vision and courage to do so.
Thanks, Kent, for adding historical perspective to Simon Rosenberg's cogent call for new thinking and approaches by candidates and office-holders. If the candidates need 'new' thinking at the level of 'tactics', we could all benefit, at the level of 'strategy', from awareness that much of what Trump and his cohort of bigots, panderers, opportunists, abusers and incompetents present is not much different from the same ilk that good and decent people have fought, and over time prevailed against, across centuries of hard work on the ground and in cultural and political exchanges and advances. My focus is often hyper-local (Florida, the West and elsewhere), but current reading of the destruction of the Weimar democracy in Germany in Richard Evans' account, Sinclair Lewis's projection of an authoritarian America in 'It Can't Happen Here' and the resonance of Achebe's 'African trilogy' all track week-by-week, episode-by-episode with what we're seeing in the Trumpian version of kings, bad emperors and their enablers. (Sadly, a base for the historical and cultural outlook used to be taught in middle school and high school history and lit classes, in the public schools now under attack.)
so the trump people want to extend their racism to all of western europe....wait til the world cup comes here and people can see, as they have since it was first hosted in 1994 here, that the world now has teams made up of immigrants from other places; france, england, spain, italy....all have players whose families were immigrants. almost all the teams do.
Do not underestimate the misogyny. Women, or to be precise, white women, are not having enough babies.
women have fewer babies the more educated they are. trump loves the poorly educated....
you are optimistic that those players will be allowed in!
That Putin checklist Simon! OMG! When you put it all together like that, it is devastating. And then to top it off, there is the headline about the National Security Strategy that abandons our European allies. This is not the America that I know and love!!! It makes me so angry!
I just parsed through the NSS. Besides the fact its pretty sophorically written and it sounds like a campaign pamphlet for the first couple of articles, thankfully there was nothing new out of left field that we didn't already know was happening that I was fearing, especially in regards to the Asia Pacific.
That being said, yea, it's a strategy that has platitudes of being the leading "soft power" and retaining our primacy, etc. but this is administration, based on its current actions, is WHOLLY INCAPABLE of executing it and its current actions and policies have had the opposite effect. The Trump Corollary is contradictory to the actions its taking against Venezuela, b/c as bad as Maduro is, you're not going to help the migration waves if you completely destabilize it like Libya. The Caribbean strikes are NOT HELPING at best and undermining our position at worst, not to mention the fact war crimes are probably being committed.
Also getting rid of the first industrial policy we've seen this century is NOT going to help us retain primacy in major technical fields. His tariff policy has not been "strategic" as the document says, but so erratic it's causing our partners and allies to hedge against us. And oh, manufacturing has gone down. we're just all paying higher prices now.
The step away from neo-conservatism and hard power intervention is fine. But we're not doing that in Venezuela right now. And pushing for sovereign countries uber alles is going to bite us in the ass. Intergovernmental orgs like the EU and NATO, from a hard power perspective, help advance our interests, and those of the free world, vs separate countries. It's partly why the US has to pay more attention to Asia because there's no EU/NATO equivalent and we have to play the go-between, even with allies such as the ROK and JPN.
The section about Europe screams replacement theory bullshit. The ONLY agreeable thing in that section is the push to increase European defense spending. But don't go crying when they focus that spending on European firms vs American ones on most things. That admin wants sovereignty above all? that's what's going to happen and US defense contractors will lose out on it.
The only somewhat positive I take from it is the push for more defense spending by our allies and that nothing sweeping out of left field was pushed for the Asia Pacific. That and retaining our advantage in the pacific militarily against the PRC. Will the Admin be able to execute it? Sure, if you have us stop fighting the damn culture wars.
More to why I'm looking forward to a democratic congress in 2026, if we can get the folks to vote for it!
Today's newsletter was both informative and inspirational. Simon, I'm glad that you didn't wait till everything was "pulled together" before sharing your observations and thoughts.
Great opening analysis to what you say is coming later in the month! Picking at one thread regarding defending Democracy around the world, it has puzzled me as to why our leaders in Congress have not effectively used full throated support for Ukraine to highlight for Americans what Democrats stand for. It should have immediately started after the humiliating meeting in the WH that Trump and Vance put Zelensky through. Our leaders should have taken that opportunity to come out in full support of Zelensky, inviting him to speak to all Democratic Party members in both Houses. It’s still not too late. We need to show our full support for Ukraine and start enlisting as many Republican House and Senate members who feel similarly. They are there. Even Lindsay Graham has not completely succumbed to the Putin worship exhibited by Trump. Perhaps he and others might conceivably stand with Democrats to try to force Trump to change course. If that’s unlikely, then we need to go it alone. Come out as a party in defense of Ukraine and in full support of NATO. Let’s be the Party that supports all those who continue to believe in democracy and point out that extreme right wing elements in Europe are not welcome. Make that a core part of any Democratic message to the American people. Let’s not allow 80 years of an agreement that has worked go down the drain!
"The Trump Effect on GOP Legislators: Quicksand Perils for Reelection"
The recent actions by our government’s executive branch defy description, with law ignored and decision-making breeding a sense of betrayal, deceit, and indifference. The executive’s motives, which have surfaced in the last eleven months, suggest a life-long need to develop exploitative and superficial relationships. This exploitation and subtle, yet persistent, cult-like obedience and conformity are causing, as highlighted by some commentators, "little cracks" to become "big cracks" in the administration's support base.
Per the title of this entry, GOP legislators will shortly be returning to their home districts and attempting to defend the executive’s devastating effects on our country and the world—including illegal tariffs, bankrupting farms, loss of health care, rejection of education initiatives, misuse of the military and ICE, promoting the uselessness of scientific research, and denial of accountability. The list is growing daily.
The fundamental problem with defending all of the above is that for more and more GOP legislators, who are quietly mumbling to themselves or trustworthy colleagues that "enough is enough," they know that defending the indefensible is equivalent to stepping into a quicksand pit and asking for help from constituents who have been broken, physically and spiritually, by one man’s narcissistic psychosis established in a cradle.
In the search for terminology for what is happening, perhaps there are prospects in what the old USSR did to its vassal states. That feels like the goal of that list of actions selling us out to Putin.
Clearly we as a country have forgotten the Cold War, even though so many of us as individuals lived through it. There's a lot of American cultural products like movies, TV, games, etc that use the Cold War frame, though, explicitly or conceptually. That feels like fertile ground...
(Side note: I once had to spontaneously explain the Cold War to a college class I was teaching in urban design, because none of the students knew what it was, incredibly.)
Yes! This could be a particularly powerful framing precisely because the U.S. vs USSR binary permeates so many texts informing popular culture--particularly for people born prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Functionally, in terms of global relations, we are now a vassal state of Putin, and loudly, relentlessly, derisively naming how MAGA pedofuhrer has completely surrendered the country's geopolitical position to Putin not only challenges T's reputation as a strong man, but also positions DEMs as defenders of the West and democracy. Not for nothing, such a framing also powerfully connects the Reagan mystique, persuading older, disenchanted GOP voters and independents.
Heather Cox Richardson gave an historical framework to all of this yesterday. I would encourage everyone who can to watch it. It's rather long, but the subject requires it. Well worth the time. Here's the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/tPKtdmDxxNM?si=xUejcvr1Ge-P8KkZ
I like this deep dive you are going on this afternoon re national security, but sometime in the future could you deal with another topic--- IF the Democrats again take control of Congress, many grouops, expeically Indivisible and YOU too in your action items, say we must hold these lawless people accountable. But HOW can Congress really do that. Obviously the court system cannot. Even with a Dem Atorney General (Merrick Garland), we could not make anyone accountable. Garland caved so many times it was ridiculous. What specifically would you propose that we demand. Or how would you make the courts change in the next term. Where's Andrew Weissman on this. He should have given us more advice and been more critical pointing out the mistakes. Anyway, I think you could address accountability in a way that might have some answers.
Simon inspired me to write the following to my Congress people. If it proves useful, plagiarize freely. Note that I live in California.
“My concern with Trump and his minions has to do with his deployment of White Fright, the terror that white, Viking-based culture will evaporate as “non-European” cultures crowd out white people. The contents of the National Security Strategy released this morning points clearly to his well-known life-long obsession with developing the forces of fear-based White Nationalism here and abroad in service to alliance with Putin’s Russia.
However the removal of this plundering, traitorous felon from the White House may be done, it must be done as soon as possible. In other words, finishing Nancy Pelosi’s splendid work of impeachment, but this time using tools that must stick.
I expect you to bend all your energy to this task. As long as the cancer remains, fixing any other aspect of his wreckage will not avail.”
Dear Simon and Hopium fam…Here we go all! As for the outlook of the midterms, we have to remain hopeful we win the midterms handily (even if by slimmer margins than we prefer). With the recent ruling by the Supreme Court in that TX can keep its map, we now know CA will be able to keep theirs. Even this court won’t overturn the CA map cuz even they know it would look far too hypocritical. All they did at this point, which a number of us could have predicted unfortunately, is they opened the floodgates.
Morally, this goes against the grain of what we all desire concerning bipartisanship or lack thereof. However, we also know we’re in a fight for the survival of our democracy so at this point, I say bring it on!
My state of MD will likely go through with it as I believe Moore will pressure Bob Ferguson to change course. I don’t underestimate both VA and NJ to enact map shifts either especially under these two new sharp Female Governors.
People seem forget however, much of the map shifting the GOP will try to enforce may inadvertently create ‘purple districts’ unbeknownst to them. Many independent voters out there as it’s becoming the largest growing voter faction in the country. So, this very well may backfire on them even still, in spite of what seems to be their apparent electoral advantages. I say be careful what you wish for.
No doubt in my mind that behind the scenes, the likes of Newsom, Obama, Harris, Shapiro, and others are all working to ensure they rile up various ‘Blue State Governors’ to take necessary action. I have a feeling this redistricting battle will ultimately level itself out. Plus, after seeing the voter turnout in these last special elections where we over performed, I would certainly not underestimate potential voter turnout in the midterms at unprecedented levels. It hits differently when everything becomes ‘immediately affecting’ which is what drives voter turnout on off year elections.
So will we win the midterms? It feels growingly likely we’ll at least flip the House although I don’t think the party is naive to the battle ahead. Might we even flip the senate too? It’s now more in play than even a year ago. A ways to go but encouraging trends at play here.
On a separate note…Now he gets the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize?!? 😆 what a joke! Only good thing from this is more and more (republicans included) are seeing right through this bullshit! What peace?!? Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Gaza are all still a hot mess! Not to mention, right, wrong, or indifferent (but we know the American mindset) many of them could care less about two African countries he claims to have formed a peace deal with, which he didn’t . Especially when he can’t even pronounce the name of one of their leaders correctly which was satirized brilliantly btw on both Kimmel and Colbert last night.
More and more, the man isn’t fooling many anymore. Time is of the essence at this point! Call me crazy but I still remain bullish in my gut instinct that he doesn’t finish a full term and that should Vance take over, he becomes a walking lame duck 🙏.
We have to keep in mind that Mainstream media doesn’t effectively project the tone on the ground with many Republicans even in rural America where they’re getting hit hardest by Trump’ bullshit! No wonder the TN special election swung away from Trump +22 to Aftyn Behn only losing by 9! No wonder both Spanberger and Sherrill over performed and in so called ‘Trump counties.’ No wonder Mamdani even got some Trump voters in NYC.
The writing is on the wall!!! Third term my ass!!! He’ll be lucky if his health alone even gets him to the finish line of this second one. Jesus somebody get the Apollo Hook already 😂🤦♂️
I digress…Thank you Simon for your leadership and for keeping us all engaged, encouraged, yet, in check. Time will tell but I’m sticking to my gut. This too shall pass and we will prevail 🙏. Stay well and safe fam ✌️ 💕.
The "Thoughts of Putin" is absolutely what this regime is playing by and good to see it enumerated in a list! Waking up to the reality of what has already happened and what is currently happening is a huge undertaking. Very few people I know have any clue what has already been dismantled. The earlier we can establish ways of getting the message across to the majority of people the better, because it's going to have to be repeated many, many times and in very "graspable" terms. It's like turning a cruise ship or tanker ~ takes a LONG time to do it. I'm girding myself for the long haul which this is and knowing we're in this for years. There's the defeating the regime and then all the immense rebuilding ~ whatever form that takes. And, as you say Simon, it's all new and uncharted territory. New language, new strategies, new ways. It's all a mega-shift. It's already requiring nerves of steel, uncommon courage and the clearest of eyes! May we all rise to it!
Thanks Simon, that Putin wishlist is really stunning to see it all in one place. Really, what more could he ask for? trump is the castle-guard opening the damn portcullis from inside, and rolling out the red carpet to boot. This 2018 picture has always stuck with me, especially the contrasting expressions and the appeasing, friendly smile from that man. https://www.yahoo.com/news/putin-president-trump-smiles-thumbs-174144239.html
I think brainstorming new language is really important too, to your point about finding new ways to describe Trumpism. I see how they have created the term "narco-terrorist" and now use it relentlessly and comprehensively. A terrorist is someone who uses violence to achieve political ends, by definition, not a low-level drug "mule," (to the extent these men are actually smugglers) but the term "terrorist" is evilly suited to their purposes. We can do the same thing, creating and using new language, with creativity and determination.
Trumpism contains elements of both Nazism and the confederacy. Reform and AfD are both also reincarnations of Nazism.
Remigration is about rounding up nonwhite people and expelling them to Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Central and Latin America, using force and incarceration to do it. (On this note: take a look at Amnesty International’s new 61-page report on torture and forced disappearances at Alligator Auschwitz).
And they all very much want white women making as many babies as possible. Abortion bans are used to try to increase the white birth rate and the nonwhite incarceration rate. MAGA women with PhDs like Lindsey Burke of the Heritage Foundation write essays on how to deprive the masses of education and push them instead into heterosexual nuclear marital babymaking.
And circling back to the blond nurse in scrubs in Florida who got manhandled by masked goons with state trooper assistance for failing to meekly comply with a probably-illegal papers-please traffic checkpoint, check out this excerpt from Ron Filipowski’s bulletin last night re: new ICE recruits (copy/paste):
“Other recruits were even discovered to have tattoos associated with gangs and white supremacists when they stripped off their shirts during workouts. Reports from FLETC include incidents of violence, disruptive behavior, and allegations of sexual misconduct on campus, most handled internally . . . .
Another male recruit, after hitting the bars, was caught barging into a female dorm and hitting on the occupants. Another groped a woman in class.” Source: “It wasn’t like, ‘oops, I touched your boob.’ Nope, he went full on to predator mode while he was doing the defensive tactics training . . . .
Criminals posing as ICE officers have carried out robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults in several states . . . .”
From today's BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE Newsletter:
URGE CONGRESS to create a select committee to investigate misuse of presidential power (and on down the line) . . .
"A Moment of Truth for Congress
The Trump administration’s deadly strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific demand an extraordinary response from Congress. The military campaign against so-called “narco-terrorists” has not been approved by Congress, and the attacks may have also murdered civilians in international waters. Federal lawmakers have ample powers to uncover and end administration abuse. History shows that one of the most effective ways to do this is for the House or Senate to create a select committee to investigate misuse of presidential power. Such panels can issue subpoenas, draw media attention, uncover facts, and propose reforms."