Monday, 2pm ET - Colette Delawalla of Stand Up For Science joins us live to talk about their urgent new campaign - Stop Vought. Save Science - join us, invite others!
Good morning, Simon. When we met at No Kings in October 2025, I told you about my father who fought in WWII. I've been thinking about him even more than usual recently, especially as we remember D-Day June 6, 1944. I posted the following message on Steve Schmidt's Substack this morning, and thought I would copy it here.
"My father, buried in Arlington Cemetery, was an ROTC grad, 1st Lt. US Army in WWII who was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Silver Star, among others. He passed in 2000 and although I had learned something about his time in WWII, I really knew very little. As many other men of that generation and military service, my father spoke very little about the war. I recall him sitting alone -- in the dark --watching war history on our family television downstairs. I could never understand why he did that.
My knowledge of his service came mostly from his younger sister, who recalls getting word from the Army that she and her mother would have to prepare for the worst regarding my father's injuries. My understanding is that he trained in Georgia, was shipped out and stationed in Bournemouth, England, and then on to Germany right after the Battle of the Bulge in February 1945. As his platoon was led into battle, his commanding officer was shot and killed right in front of him, thus my father had to assume the role. He had part of his skull blown off, living with a metal plate in his head for the rest of his life, in addition to having several shrapnel wounds in his legs.
Still, you would never know this about my father by observing his physical activity. He played all types of sports with his children, swam, mowed the lawn and did his best to enjoy his life. Still, there was always this underlying melancholy that I seem to understand only recently as I approach my 70th year of life, just six years short of the age my father was when he passed.
I recall the story of the doctors telling my father that after many months of rehabilitation, he would never walk without a cane or more. When they gave him a cane, he threw it on the floor and said he would never use it. And he never did. There was a cane in our hallway closet that never came out.
I consider myself extremely fortunate that my father and mother are now buried in Arlington Cemetery, less than 5 miles from my home. I visit there often, on holidays such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but more often on ordinary days. I pay my respects not only to my father, but to the courageous others in that hallowed ground -- including Section 60 -- who served to save our precious democracy. It is a place like no other. I hope everyone who has the opportunity to visit can do so.
What the Orange Stain on our history wants to do with that egotistical and nonsensical arch at the foot of Arlington Memorial Bridge in front of Arlington Cemetery is an affront to all those buried there, and to us all."
Simon and friends -- Thank you for letting me share this story.
What you wrote is so moving. Your father sounds like he was a wonderful, courageous man that, despite the sorrow he must have felt daily, lived his life honoring those that fought, were injured and died on the battlefield. It is hard not to get more angry at that excuse for a human being in the WH and what he wants to do. ❤️
Thank you again. I have long referred to that person in the WH as the sorriest excuse for a human being.
Many years ago, when I did the research to learn that my father was eligible to be buried in Arlington Cemetery (he didn't know, and it turned out that having only one of this honors would grant his eligibility), he was so proud. But, he said that he did not want the 21-gun salute at his funeral because "he had heard enough guns in the war." Of course, we honored his wishes.
Thanks to your father for his service and to you for sharing. I, too, think a lot about my relatives who served in WWII. My mother's first husband was killed in February of 1945. He was a platoon leader, shot in the head by a German sniper. Wouldn't it be some coincidence if he was your father's platoon leader? His death shattered my mother's life. They had been childhood sweethearts--married just three months before Pearl Harbor.
She tried to pick up the pieces--eventually marrying my father, who had WWII stories of his own. But like you, we knew very few of these growing up. In his case, his assignment with Third Army in Europe was so secret, he was told he'd be shot if he ever revealed it to anyone. That finally changed in 1975 when the Ultra Secret--about the breaking of the German codes--was finally declassified and revealed. Ironically, he was interviewed by Morley Safer of 60 Minutes for a segment about the Ultra Secret. I've thought about that a lot with all the current terrible turmoil at 60 Minutes.
I remember these late relatives with love and pride, but also with an aching heart when I see their sacrifices discarded like trash by the Trump administration. Hegseth's comments in Europe to "commemorate" D-Day were disgusting. And I think of the millions of others who have served this country--in the military and otherwise--to try to make it better. It's up to us to take up their mantle and ensure that their sacrifices have not been in vain.
Thank you Deb. My father was a republican later in life, but I am sure there is no way he would ever have supported this regime, especially as we lived in New York and he knew enough about tRump.
Thank you, Simon! A lot of my liberal friends are sounding very defeatist as of late, so your framing is very helpful. Self report: I continue to make my daily calls and have been working to complete more postcards to NC voters (300 so far; 200 left in my current batch).
Hi Elizabeth - I'm hearing a lot of defeatist thoughts too of late. I can't imagine wallowing in defeat without doing something (anything!) about it, can you? At the very least, follow Hopium Chronicles to hear another message. I guess some people are OK playing victim and waiting for someone else to DO something about the state of the union. So happy I have Simon and all of you!
Read an interesting piece in The Daily Beast about abolishing the presidency as we know it. Obviously, the executive branch has become too powerful, and there's no accountability anymore. I wish Democrats would incorporate government reforms into their message, returning to government for the people, by the people. A government that will fall if the people turn against it, and a new one will rise that is more responsive to the people's needs.
Shout out for my newly elected representative, Analilia Mejia! I called her office 2 weeks ago about the Ukraine bill. Spoke to a staffer. Yesterday I received a written response via email. It actually spoke about Ukraine & her support. While I assume there’s a form letter going out to all who called about the Ukraine bill, I was still impressed by the speed and accuracy of her response. Feeling heard is very impactful, and just smart politics.
Thanks as always Simon for bringing hope with a plan. I want to draw your readers’ attention to a growing movement called De-Ice Citizens Bank. https://www.de-icecitizensbank.org
Yesterday we held a national day of action at 135 Citizens Bank branches across America, to educate their customers that Citizens is the ONLY national bank still funding the two companies building and running ICE concentration camps.
I'll watch the interview with Colette Delawalla tomorrow. She is remarkable. The attack on science and public education which the GOP has been engaged in for some time now needs to be reversed. The long-term impacts are severe but yet to be felt.
I'll sign up for some new postcards today. I was reading a book "Everything is Tuberculosis" which (yes that is about as depressing a title as you could imagine, but the book has a lot of interesting history and reflections in it) has lead me to reflect more on what DOGE did to USAID. I learned that to this day, 1,000,000 people worldwide die annually from TB. What will it be with USAID gone? With that and Ebola outbreaks, etc, Elon Musk is effectively a mass murderer.
I have a resolutions update. Craig Peters of Yardley Borough PA has been quite successful in making connections for the Resolutions Project. Gettysburg Borough Council may be receptive to a resolution, and the contact person in Franklin Township will follow-up. I can’t wait to see patriots in Gettysburg, PA passing a resolution!!! Charlie of Renew Democracy 250 expressed interest in the resolutions for Oakland, CA and Alameda County CA. He would like to coordinate with Scott Sugarman re. City of Oakland and Bobbie S of Berkeley re. Alameda Co. CA. Another Renew Democracy 250 member in Miami, FL would like to pursue a resolution. In addition, one of their members volunteered to develop social media and local media content to reach a broader audience /publicity about the Hopium resolutions. This will lead to celebrating/reading resolutions on the Fourth of July in Revolutionary War attire. Craig is coordinating that effort. Let’s hope all involved will be inspired to join us as subscribers.
Note that Renew Democracy 250 is a small, non-partisan and national group providing information and discussions about democracy, the U.S. Constitution and Separation of Powers as part of their mission. Geez, I’m so partisan that it’s difficult to be otherwise, even for the duration of a Zoom meeting.
Yes, voting early is very important, as is making sure all our friends, family, and anyone we meet are properly registered to vote AND not worried about voting. I've done lots of GOTV phonebanking in the past, when things weren't as bad as they are now, and I can tell you that some people will definitely be intimidated or afraid to vote in person this year -- due to angst about ICE and other miscreants at the polls -- and to vote by mail due to all the misinformation about mail-in voting!
My thoughts this morning are about Marc Elias and team, Skye Perryman and team, the ACLU, NAACP, Amnesty International, and anyone else fighting this corrupt and obscene regime in our courts. I cannot imagine where we'd now be without these patriots fighting for us in courtrooms all across the nation literally every day. Folks, there is no way we can ever repay their hard work when this is all over, but I think we should try somehow. Without them, we'd already be toast as a democracy. Enjoy your Sunday everyone. It's a stormy one in Central Illinois today and my flowers are happy!
The sun is shining brightly here in Washington DC/Northern VA, but the humidity is climbing. I'm waiting for new -- any news -- about when the Orange Stain's name will come off the outside of the Ken Cen. Deadline is 'apparently' this Friday, June 12. I'm ready to hop on the Metro and head down to witness it first hand. I'm relying on Scott McFarlane to keep us posted.
Yes Claire, We have to make sure People are Registered as well, it can be confusing to some. Hopefully, We will have a Peaceful, Big Blue Election that No One will take from Us!!!
While we are thinking about D-Day, I want to remember my Pappy and a mission of the U.S. Navy named Operation Aphrodite, the First Drone. The plan was to manually fly the plane over the English Channel as it was filled with explosives, and parachute out before a remote-control mother ship guided the aircraft into a German V-3 site in France where the explosives would be dropped. Had my Pappy-to-be joined this fateful mission as he usually did with Pilot Joe Kennedy II (oldest brother of John F. Kennedy) in their squadron VPB110, I would not have been born.
My Pappy was the in-flight mechanic on the navy version of the B-24 Liberator, and the day this First Drone exploded in mid-air he declined the dangerous, volunteer mission. Pilot Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and co-pilot Lieutenant Wilford J. Willy perished when the explosion occurred prematurely. This is the actual video of the explosion that was released 50 years later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTWZjbie-dI
Photos of my Pappy in WWII are posted online, including one with Joe Kennedy holding his dog (my dad is in back row, far right looking at the photo).
Pappy was the name he was called by others in the military due to his "old age" —in his 30s during the War. I was born when he was in his 40s. He served over 30 years in the military, including active duty and reserve.
Good morning, Simon. When we met at No Kings in October 2025, I told you about my father who fought in WWII. I've been thinking about him even more than usual recently, especially as we remember D-Day June 6, 1944. I posted the following message on Steve Schmidt's Substack this morning, and thought I would copy it here.
"My father, buried in Arlington Cemetery, was an ROTC grad, 1st Lt. US Army in WWII who was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Silver Star, among others. He passed in 2000 and although I had learned something about his time in WWII, I really knew very little. As many other men of that generation and military service, my father spoke very little about the war. I recall him sitting alone -- in the dark --watching war history on our family television downstairs. I could never understand why he did that.
My knowledge of his service came mostly from his younger sister, who recalls getting word from the Army that she and her mother would have to prepare for the worst regarding my father's injuries. My understanding is that he trained in Georgia, was shipped out and stationed in Bournemouth, England, and then on to Germany right after the Battle of the Bulge in February 1945. As his platoon was led into battle, his commanding officer was shot and killed right in front of him, thus my father had to assume the role. He had part of his skull blown off, living with a metal plate in his head for the rest of his life, in addition to having several shrapnel wounds in his legs.
Still, you would never know this about my father by observing his physical activity. He played all types of sports with his children, swam, mowed the lawn and did his best to enjoy his life. Still, there was always this underlying melancholy that I seem to understand only recently as I approach my 70th year of life, just six years short of the age my father was when he passed.
I recall the story of the doctors telling my father that after many months of rehabilitation, he would never walk without a cane or more. When they gave him a cane, he threw it on the floor and said he would never use it. And he never did. There was a cane in our hallway closet that never came out.
I consider myself extremely fortunate that my father and mother are now buried in Arlington Cemetery, less than 5 miles from my home. I visit there often, on holidays such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but more often on ordinary days. I pay my respects not only to my father, but to the courageous others in that hallowed ground -- including Section 60 -- who served to save our precious democracy. It is a place like no other. I hope everyone who has the opportunity to visit can do so.
What the Orange Stain on our history wants to do with that egotistical and nonsensical arch at the foot of Arlington Memorial Bridge in front of Arlington Cemetery is an affront to all those buried there, and to us all."
Simon and friends -- Thank you for letting me share this story.
Thank you for sharing. It brought a lump in my throat and tears to my eyes. ❤️
Thank you, Mrs. CQ. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.
What you wrote is so moving. Your father sounds like he was a wonderful, courageous man that, despite the sorrow he must have felt daily, lived his life honoring those that fought, were injured and died on the battlefield. It is hard not to get more angry at that excuse for a human being in the WH and what he wants to do. ❤️
Thank you again. I have long referred to that person in the WH as the sorriest excuse for a human being.
Many years ago, when I did the research to learn that my father was eligible to be buried in Arlington Cemetery (he didn't know, and it turned out that having only one of this honors would grant his eligibility), he was so proud. But, he said that he did not want the 21-gun salute at his funeral because "he had heard enough guns in the war." Of course, we honored his wishes.
I understand completely and you are correct. I forgot to mention your father's many medals. What a true hero.
thank you!
Thanks to your father for his service and to you for sharing. I, too, think a lot about my relatives who served in WWII. My mother's first husband was killed in February of 1945. He was a platoon leader, shot in the head by a German sniper. Wouldn't it be some coincidence if he was your father's platoon leader? His death shattered my mother's life. They had been childhood sweethearts--married just three months before Pearl Harbor.
She tried to pick up the pieces--eventually marrying my father, who had WWII stories of his own. But like you, we knew very few of these growing up. In his case, his assignment with Third Army in Europe was so secret, he was told he'd be shot if he ever revealed it to anyone. That finally changed in 1975 when the Ultra Secret--about the breaking of the German codes--was finally declassified and revealed. Ironically, he was interviewed by Morley Safer of 60 Minutes for a segment about the Ultra Secret. I've thought about that a lot with all the current terrible turmoil at 60 Minutes.
I remember these late relatives with love and pride, but also with an aching heart when I see their sacrifices discarded like trash by the Trump administration. Hegseth's comments in Europe to "commemorate" D-Day were disgusting. And I think of the millions of others who have served this country--in the military and otherwise--to try to make it better. It's up to us to take up their mantle and ensure that their sacrifices have not been in vain.
Thank you for sharing this story. It's a testament to courage, and real patriotism, and uniting against a common (fascist) enemy.
Thank you Deb. My father was a republican later in life, but I am sure there is no way he would ever have supported this regime, especially as we lived in New York and he knew enough about tRump.
Thank you, Simon! A lot of my liberal friends are sounding very defeatist as of late, so your framing is very helpful. Self report: I continue to make my daily calls and have been working to complete more postcards to NC voters (300 so far; 200 left in my current batch).
Hi Elizabeth - I'm hearing a lot of defeatist thoughts too of late. I can't imagine wallowing in defeat without doing something (anything!) about it, can you? At the very least, follow Hopium Chronicles to hear another message. I guess some people are OK playing victim and waiting for someone else to DO something about the state of the union. So happy I have Simon and all of you!
Agree Kent and Elizabeth. Wallowing in self-pity and defeatism is not a strategy for change and is a self-indulgent waste of time.
Yes - vote early is an important message. Thanks for the reminder. I'll share that in our Good Trouble Lives On networks of organizers.
Read an interesting piece in The Daily Beast about abolishing the presidency as we know it. Obviously, the executive branch has become too powerful, and there's no accountability anymore. I wish Democrats would incorporate government reforms into their message, returning to government for the people, by the people. A government that will fall if the people turn against it, and a new one will rise that is more responsive to the people's needs.
Shout out for my newly elected representative, Analilia Mejia! I called her office 2 weeks ago about the Ukraine bill. Spoke to a staffer. Yesterday I received a written response via email. It actually spoke about Ukraine & her support. While I assume there’s a form letter going out to all who called about the Ukraine bill, I was still impressed by the speed and accuracy of her response. Feeling heard is very impactful, and just smart politics.
Thanks as always Simon for bringing hope with a plan. I want to draw your readers’ attention to a growing movement called De-Ice Citizens Bank. https://www.de-icecitizensbank.org
Yesterday we held a national day of action at 135 Citizens Bank branches across America, to educate their customers that Citizens is the ONLY national bank still funding the two companies building and running ICE concentration camps.
I'll watch the interview with Colette Delawalla tomorrow. She is remarkable. The attack on science and public education which the GOP has been engaged in for some time now needs to be reversed. The long-term impacts are severe but yet to be felt.
I'll sign up for some new postcards today. I was reading a book "Everything is Tuberculosis" which (yes that is about as depressing a title as you could imagine, but the book has a lot of interesting history and reflections in it) has lead me to reflect more on what DOGE did to USAID. I learned that to this day, 1,000,000 people worldwide die annually from TB. What will it be with USAID gone? With that and Ebola outbreaks, etc, Elon Musk is effectively a mass murderer.
Happy Sunday all.
I have a resolutions update. Craig Peters of Yardley Borough PA has been quite successful in making connections for the Resolutions Project. Gettysburg Borough Council may be receptive to a resolution, and the contact person in Franklin Township will follow-up. I can’t wait to see patriots in Gettysburg, PA passing a resolution!!! Charlie of Renew Democracy 250 expressed interest in the resolutions for Oakland, CA and Alameda County CA. He would like to coordinate with Scott Sugarman re. City of Oakland and Bobbie S of Berkeley re. Alameda Co. CA. Another Renew Democracy 250 member in Miami, FL would like to pursue a resolution. In addition, one of their members volunteered to develop social media and local media content to reach a broader audience /publicity about the Hopium resolutions. This will lead to celebrating/reading resolutions on the Fourth of July in Revolutionary War attire. Craig is coordinating that effort. Let’s hope all involved will be inspired to join us as subscribers.
Note that Renew Democracy 250 is a small, non-partisan and national group providing information and discussions about democracy, the U.S. Constitution and Separation of Powers as part of their mission. Geez, I’m so partisan that it’s difficult to be otherwise, even for the duration of a Zoom meeting.
Hi Deborah - you are an inspiration! Thank you for your sterling leadership on this project! I'm proud to know you.
Thank you, Kent. We have quite the Hopium Team!!!!!!!!!!!
Good Afternoon Simon, I hope You have a relaxing, great Sunday. And I look forward to You and Collette Dellawalla tomorrow.
Claire, thank you for that special story about your Dad's Service.
Please, We All must remember to VOTE, VOTE, Early!!!
Thank you, Millie.
Yes, voting early is very important, as is making sure all our friends, family, and anyone we meet are properly registered to vote AND not worried about voting. I've done lots of GOTV phonebanking in the past, when things weren't as bad as they are now, and I can tell you that some people will definitely be intimidated or afraid to vote in person this year -- due to angst about ICE and other miscreants at the polls -- and to vote by mail due to all the misinformation about mail-in voting!
My thoughts this morning are about Marc Elias and team, Skye Perryman and team, the ACLU, NAACP, Amnesty International, and anyone else fighting this corrupt and obscene regime in our courts. I cannot imagine where we'd now be without these patriots fighting for us in courtrooms all across the nation literally every day. Folks, there is no way we can ever repay their hard work when this is all over, but I think we should try somehow. Without them, we'd already be toast as a democracy. Enjoy your Sunday everyone. It's a stormy one in Central Illinois today and my flowers are happy!
The sun is shining brightly here in Washington DC/Northern VA, but the humidity is climbing. I'm waiting for new -- any news -- about when the Orange Stain's name will come off the outside of the Ken Cen. Deadline is 'apparently' this Friday, June 12. I'm ready to hop on the Metro and head down to witness it first hand. I'm relying on Scott McFarlane to keep us posted.
Yes Claire, We have to make sure People are Registered as well, it can be confusing to some. Hopefully, We will have a Peaceful, Big Blue Election that No One will take from Us!!!
While we are thinking about D-Day, I want to remember my Pappy and a mission of the U.S. Navy named Operation Aphrodite, the First Drone. The plan was to manually fly the plane over the English Channel as it was filled with explosives, and parachute out before a remote-control mother ship guided the aircraft into a German V-3 site in France where the explosives would be dropped. Had my Pappy-to-be joined this fateful mission as he usually did with Pilot Joe Kennedy II (oldest brother of John F. Kennedy) in their squadron VPB110, I would not have been born.
My Pappy was the in-flight mechanic on the navy version of the B-24 Liberator, and the day this First Drone exploded in mid-air he declined the dangerous, volunteer mission. Pilot Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and co-pilot Lieutenant Wilford J. Willy perished when the explosion occurred prematurely. This is the actual video of the explosion that was released 50 years later. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTWZjbie-dI
Photos of my Pappy in WWII are posted online, including one with Joe Kennedy holding his dog (my dad is in back row, far right looking at the photo).
https://www.vpnavy.com/misc_08/vp110history_03_04jan2005.jpg
and here wearing the same bomber jacket. https://vpnavy.org/pix/ULINSKI_01_17jun2013.jpg
Pappy was the name he was called by others in the military due to his "old age" —in his 30s during the War. I was born when he was in his 40s. He served over 30 years in the military, including active duty and reserve.