“We are creating a Trump sized hole in our national security that the Chinese are walking through. And frankly, it is the dumbest, most self-destructive, most foolish thing I can imagine”
If it can get people elected. Which is how we find ourselves here. Our party cannot sit out voting like so many did in this last election. Let’s not fool ourselves.
A great interview and I appreciate VERY MUCH you pressing for more at the end. That is what you can do that we cannot. Because you have these personal relationships. Because you are looking them straight in the eyes.
“…: As skilled as they are, however, at making the case for rapid growth of supply in key sectors like transportation, housing, and energy, abundance liberals can be awfully sketchy about what policy solutions they favor. Of the few they do clearly advocate, some, like permitting reform, are wildly insufficient to the immense tasks at hand. Others, such as overturning residential neighborhood zoning rules, are less likely to produce new housing than to spark a political firestorm that could set back liberalism for years. Worst of all, while devoting so much attention to progressive contradictions, abundance liberals are almost completely silent on the alliance between corporate behemoths and antigovernment politicians that is the biggest threat to the world of plenty they envision, not to mention the republic….
“‘If all you have is a hammer,’ the psychologist Abraham Maslow famously observed, ‘everything looks like a nail.’ For abundance liberals, the nails are government-created bottlenecks. Remove them (via the claw end of the hammer, to extend the metaphor) and a world of plenty will flow….
“Getting rid of the stupid rules that slow progress and add unnecessary costs is an excellent idea. But it’s not remotely capable, by itself, of unleashing the prosperity and plenty that abundance liberals promise. And overpromising and underdelivering is a mistake Democrats cannot afford to make again. The road to abundance will be paved by a government that knows how to pave roads—and one strong enough to stand up to the corporate interests who prefer that those roads remain unbuilt.”
Corporate monopolies a big problem and have been for years. I can remember saying to my husband - allowing all these bank mergers can’t be a good thing!” That was 25-30 years ago!
Most people have no idea what an oligopoly is and how it affects them, much less a Monopoly. A monopoly is beyond their grasp, because, they too would take the millions offered by the “big guys” and sell their small business. In fact, that is precisely their goal.
I am hungry for information about how Republicans in Congress assess impacts of Trump, especially with respect to threats to American democracy. my guess is for the most part they don’t see Trump as the big threat that we here do. Policy wins, and avoiding tough stands are for now their goal. So rationalizing and see no evil is a group value that they enforce.
I should have said "w/r/t threats to American democracy and consequently to themselves with a breakdown of the rule of law." i.e. their own power and welfare is also at risk. This might be rocket science for many of them. IDK.
I appreciate these interviews so much. It proves that there is intelligent, passionate, thoughtful life in our Congress. You are correct. We need to stop Trump now. We cannot just sit on our hands and wait for midterms. I continue to write postcards, send emails, and go to protests. What I would like to see happen is to work with Congress to help move this forward. What can we do for and with like-minded members of Congress to learn from each other? This is no time for quibbling. We need an all-American pro-democracy movement against the criminal Trump/MAGA/Musk regime that is ruining our country and a good part of the rest of the world as well. Most of us are not sociopaths, and seeing others have the rug pulled out from under them, wherever they live, is horrifying and painful. We must stop it. My favorite sign from last weekend's protests was: Vote for a rapist and expect to get f****ed.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
I think that we need to reach out to our military (current and retired) associates and share Peter Zeihan’s observations about the present state of the Pentagon. For those who are not subscribers or clients of Zeihan, his observations become publicly available about seven days after their initial internal release. Previously, I forwarded a set of “honey do” lists provided by Zeihan concerning the desires of the Tsar that Dolos would likely try to deliver for him. Unfortunately, the items on the lists (March 18th and 19th) have been right on target.
So, I will paraphrase some of Mr. Zeihan’s most recent thoughts about the systematic destruction of our ability to go to war if necessary. Let me know if you agree or disagree. I’ll provide my take with bullet points below:
1. The brain trust of the military officer corps has been excised with a type of educational purge.
2. Hegseth seems to want only straight White males to apply for the services (i.e. less than 1/3 of the possible national talent pool).
3. New physical fitness standards have been designed to push women out of the military.
4. Curious, it seems that women actually have bodies that can handle G-forces (from fighter jets and so on) better than men.
5. Our military staff colleges have been impaired with a new narrowness about informational content (see the end of Wokeness).
6. Staff colleges will be only about fighting wars, not history, science, economics, the branches of engineering, and other areas of study.
7. We no longer have the ability to plan for future conflict with the end of the Office of Net Assessment (i.e. the inside team of military futurists).
8. Our military is actually reverting to its Civil War past with set battle techniques.
9. Recruitment can only occur in “majority” environments - so, no more outreach to women and minority engineering students.
10. Military educators are banned from travel abroad to train allies.
11. They are firing the majority of the department that actually designs the specifications for future weapon systems (note the success of drones in Ukraine).
12. Dolos chose Hegseth for his incompetence and for his extreme loyalty as a “yes-man.”
13. The retaliation of Dolos is a real force for keeping Senate Republicans in line.
14. We are stuck with the new status quo for now, and this is not good for the nation.
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST (via nonviolence).
P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.S. : Dolos or the nation, you can only have one! The other side must choose! The madness will only subside until the next urge for “narcissistic supply” arises. This is not 4-D chess. It is most likely a form of something else. The new media must promote mental health practitioners— like the MSM has lawyers and other professionals.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist kind of person..... but I am going to listen & learn from what you posted. The key question in many sociological, economic analyses is 'Who benefits" -- Is it Trump & cronies & their insider trading (I once did share trading based on small movements in the markets -- taught by someone who was very good at it. I stopped doing it (it was very profitable) because I wasn't motivated enough by money & it created huge tax hassles I didn't want to work to overcome...) but simple insider trading doesn't seem ENOUGH to justify totally destroying all aspects of the USA. Crashing the economy -- the billionaires have enough (likely offshore) $$ to simply BUY the USA.... lock stock & barrel.... I need to reread Ayn Rand.... DEMOCRATIC PARTY HURRY UP!!!!!!! BTW, I joined Hopium for Hope -- I didn't realise it was so closely aligned with the Democratic Party (I am a registered Democrat.) Now that I realise how close it is to the Democratic Party.... I'm not sure what to think. DEMOCRATIC PARTY HURRY UP!!!!!!!
Who benefits. Excellent focusing question. The rich, and the powerful. And there is that secret anti American vision, in my view, of America being run by white men. The rich and powerful want to retain and amass more, and they don’t like multiculturalism. Women have their place….blacks…Hispanics….Muslims, etc. they won’t say it of course, but it is a big motivating benefit.
We are dealing with many different interest groups. They are all well-funded and extreme in their objectives for our society (e.g. ending democracy is just a start). A few years ago, if you tried to explain their worldviews, people would call you insane.
Currently, the Democratic Party, with all of its well-documented flaws, is trying to hold back the antidemocratic forces of illiberalism. So, I agree with Simon in the big picture. We have to do as much as possible to help them in their mission as a bulwark for democracy. What is the alternative? I’m open to suggestions.
Actually, Dolos is a Greek god/spirit. Let me know if he sounds familiar to anyone in the public eye: https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Dolos.html . In Latin, the name is Dolus. The meaning is the same (smile).
Tesla is having it's Annual Meeting and Musk is speaking-https://ir.tesla.com/#quarterly-disclosure-All lies. He just stated he will be spending 2 to 3 day weekly in government through out Trumps term making sure DOGE work continues. Check it out. I had to turn it off, couldn't take listening to his lies.
If I didn't listen to this today, I would have no idea of what is happening on the foreign front. Mostly, because it's not covered in the main stream media.
Appreciate Sen. Coons explaining in more depth how agencies that have been shut down who did crucial work overseas has damaged our reputation as a nation to other countries. Countries who have relied on us when a catastrophe hits such as the Philippines he mentioned with different weather challenges.
Would love to hear more from those in Congress that deal with foreign work.
There are a few outlets that cover foreign news: The Guardian (no subscription required, donations requested) is one and few Substackers cover Ukraine, Russia, other areas - look at Olga Lautman, Tim Mak, a few others.
But - yes - would LOVE to hear more from Congress in all areas.
What a thorough explanation of our relationship with the Philippines, Japan and South Korea. Thank you Sen. Coons for this insightful look at what's been ruined and what we need to do to bring awareness to those around us who are totally unaware of what was a faction of our healthy foreign policy that has been destroyed. The magnitude of damage and cruelty will take decades to repair as both Simon and Sen. Coons pointed out!
Excellent and thought-provoking interview! I would have liked to hear Senator Coons thoughts about "opening up a second front", but unfortunately you ran out of time.
.
ONE MORE THING: We know the Trump Regime is squeezing Republican senators and congressional representatives very hard. They did it to get obviously-unqualified cabinet nominees confirmed. And they’re doing it to force through an insane budget.
Senator Murkowski has spoken about the palpable fear she feels when she raises her voice in opposition. And we know that more than a few Republican senators did *not* vote to convict Trump on his impeachment charges, because they feared for their own safety and the safety of their families. This is not normal! This is not acceptable!
We need to see a strong investigation into the exact nature of the coercion, threats and blackmail that is taking place. Investigative articles about this should be front and center before the American people.
I've been thinking the exact same thing and every time I listen to an interview with a congressional person, I'm waiting for the part when the interviewer asks, "What exactly are you hearing or experiencing about this coercion?" Meet the Press should do an entire show on this.
I learned yesterday about the DOJ in Exile project being organized by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo. Essentially a shadow DOJ. This would be an outstanding topic for their investigations.
I favor such an investigation, as ArcticStones suggests. I wonder if such an investigation could be undertaken under jurisdiction of one or more states so that it would not be reliant on the USDOJ.
Your live events are far reaching & we are immeasurably grateful, Simon. It is my belief the ongoing deportation lawlessness by the t regime are merely smoke screens as they rapidly prepare to imminently go in for the kill of our backsliding Democracy.
Thank you for the great interview. I really like the idea of a Democratic foreign policy team to voice an alternative to Trump's power grab and to let the world know that a lot of us still believe in democratic values, alliances, cooperation, honoring our treaty obligations, and smart foreign assistance. I don't think it will undo much of the damage Trump/Doge are doing, but it is important for our elected representatives in Congress to continue to represent those of us who believe in different role for America in the world. (Our international actions often have been flawed, so it could also be an opportunity for some new thinking.). This is also one of the reasons I agree with you that it is important for Congress to reassert itself on tariffs. We need to show our allies that we aren't all behind Trump on this.
The Democratic Party has some soul searching to do.
In our defense, at least our party has a soul to search :)
Amen to that. We have to get our party united.
The Democratic Party brings Prosperity, Opportunity and Better Lives!
If it can get people elected. Which is how we find ourselves here. Our party cannot sit out voting like so many did in this last election. Let’s not fool ourselves.
Simon addressed what went right with the election, the need to build a new majority coalition, and much more just after the election. Here's the video and inform-letter to review. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/raising-our-game-building-the-next?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=d8e8z
Excellent thank you I’ll watch it. I love Simon! He’s so darn smart.
Good like, Simon!
A great interview and I appreciate VERY MUCH you pressing for more at the end. That is what you can do that we cannot. Because you have these personal relationships. Because you are looking them straight in the eyes.
Just finished the book “Abundance” by Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson. Would love to see som democrats discuss!!!
The Meager Agenda of Abundance Liberals
What the Democratic Party’s most buzzed-about policy movement gets right—and wrong.
by Paul Glastris and Nate Weisberg
March 23, 2025
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/03/23/the-meager-agenda-of-abundance-liberals/
“…: As skilled as they are, however, at making the case for rapid growth of supply in key sectors like transportation, housing, and energy, abundance liberals can be awfully sketchy about what policy solutions they favor. Of the few they do clearly advocate, some, like permitting reform, are wildly insufficient to the immense tasks at hand. Others, such as overturning residential neighborhood zoning rules, are less likely to produce new housing than to spark a political firestorm that could set back liberalism for years. Worst of all, while devoting so much attention to progressive contradictions, abundance liberals are almost completely silent on the alliance between corporate behemoths and antigovernment politicians that is the biggest threat to the world of plenty they envision, not to mention the republic….
“‘If all you have is a hammer,’ the psychologist Abraham Maslow famously observed, ‘everything looks like a nail.’ For abundance liberals, the nails are government-created bottlenecks. Remove them (via the claw end of the hammer, to extend the metaphor) and a world of plenty will flow….
“Getting rid of the stupid rules that slow progress and add unnecessary costs is an excellent idea. But it’s not remotely capable, by itself, of unleashing the prosperity and plenty that abundance liberals promise. And overpromising and underdelivering is a mistake Democrats cannot afford to make again. The road to abundance will be paved by a government that knows how to pave roads—and one strong enough to stand up to the corporate interests who prefer that those roads remain unbuilt.”
Corporate monopolies a big problem and have been for years. I can remember saying to my husband - allowing all these bank mergers can’t be a good thing!” That was 25-30 years ago!
Most people have no idea what an oligopoly is and how it affects them, much less a Monopoly. A monopoly is beyond their grasp, because, they too would take the millions offered by the “big guys” and sell their small business. In fact, that is precisely their goal.
What did you like about the book? I’m thinking of reading.
Good interview: And, need more outrage over the rank cruelty which is the point!
We can't use words like "not wise" --- that's why people have no confidence in Dem leaders...
I am hungry for information about how Republicans in Congress assess impacts of Trump, especially with respect to threats to American democracy. my guess is for the most part they don’t see Trump as the big threat that we here do. Policy wins, and avoiding tough stands are for now their goal. So rationalizing and see no evil is a group value that they enforce.
They don’t care. Power forever is what is important to Republicans, and they don’t mind cheating to keep it.
I should have said "w/r/t threats to American democracy and consequently to themselves with a breakdown of the rule of law." i.e. their own power and welfare is also at risk. This might be rocket science for many of them. IDK.
I appreciate these interviews so much. It proves that there is intelligent, passionate, thoughtful life in our Congress. You are correct. We need to stop Trump now. We cannot just sit on our hands and wait for midterms. I continue to write postcards, send emails, and go to protests. What I would like to see happen is to work with Congress to help move this forward. What can we do for and with like-minded members of Congress to learn from each other? This is no time for quibbling. We need an all-American pro-democracy movement against the criminal Trump/MAGA/Musk regime that is ruining our country and a good part of the rest of the world as well. Most of us are not sociopaths, and seeing others have the rug pulled out from under them, wherever they live, is horrifying and painful. We must stop it. My favorite sign from last weekend's protests was: Vote for a rapist and expect to get f****ed.
Thank you for this important, timely and moving interview. A friend of mine led his campaign when he first ran for Senate!
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune
The NETWORK STATE - For the best synopsis of the objectives of the “Tech Lords”, please listen to this 45-minute podcast and share widely (these folks are going to leave a huge blast radius - if we let them): https://www.thenerdreich.com/the-nerd-reich-podcast-episode-1-the-network-state-2/.
Simon et al.:
I think that we need to reach out to our military (current and retired) associates and share Peter Zeihan’s observations about the present state of the Pentagon. For those who are not subscribers or clients of Zeihan, his observations become publicly available about seven days after their initial internal release. Previously, I forwarded a set of “honey do” lists provided by Zeihan concerning the desires of the Tsar that Dolos would likely try to deliver for him. Unfortunately, the items on the lists (March 18th and 19th) have been right on target.
So, I will paraphrase some of Mr. Zeihan’s most recent thoughts about the systematic destruction of our ability to go to war if necessary. Let me know if you agree or disagree. I’ll provide my take with bullet points below:
1. The brain trust of the military officer corps has been excised with a type of educational purge.
2. Hegseth seems to want only straight White males to apply for the services (i.e. less than 1/3 of the possible national talent pool).
3. New physical fitness standards have been designed to push women out of the military.
4. Curious, it seems that women actually have bodies that can handle G-forces (from fighter jets and so on) better than men.
5. Our military staff colleges have been impaired with a new narrowness about informational content (see the end of Wokeness).
6. Staff colleges will be only about fighting wars, not history, science, economics, the branches of engineering, and other areas of study.
7. We no longer have the ability to plan for future conflict with the end of the Office of Net Assessment (i.e. the inside team of military futurists).
8. Our military is actually reverting to its Civil War past with set battle techniques.
9. Recruitment can only occur in “majority” environments - so, no more outreach to women and minority engineering students.
10. Military educators are banned from travel abroad to train allies.
11. They are firing the majority of the department that actually designs the specifications for future weapon systems (note the success of drones in Ukraine).
12. Dolos chose Hegseth for his incompetence and for his extreme loyalty as a “yes-man.”
13. The retaliation of Dolos is a real force for keeping Senate Republicans in line.
14. We are stuck with the new status quo for now, and this is not good for the nation.
CARTHAGO DELENDA EST (via nonviolence).
P.S.: Do the following now! FIRST, TEACH CIVICS. Second, register voters. THIRD, TEACH CIVICS. Rinse. Repeat.
P.P.S. : Dolos or the nation, you can only have one! The other side must choose! The madness will only subside until the next urge for “narcissistic supply” arises. This is not 4-D chess. It is most likely a form of something else. The new media must promote mental health practitioners— like the MSM has lawyers and other professionals.
I'm not a conspiracy theorist kind of person..... but I am going to listen & learn from what you posted. The key question in many sociological, economic analyses is 'Who benefits" -- Is it Trump & cronies & their insider trading (I once did share trading based on small movements in the markets -- taught by someone who was very good at it. I stopped doing it (it was very profitable) because I wasn't motivated enough by money & it created huge tax hassles I didn't want to work to overcome...) but simple insider trading doesn't seem ENOUGH to justify totally destroying all aspects of the USA. Crashing the economy -- the billionaires have enough (likely offshore) $$ to simply BUY the USA.... lock stock & barrel.... I need to reread Ayn Rand.... DEMOCRATIC PARTY HURRY UP!!!!!!! BTW, I joined Hopium for Hope -- I didn't realise it was so closely aligned with the Democratic Party (I am a registered Democrat.) Now that I realise how close it is to the Democratic Party.... I'm not sure what to think. DEMOCRATIC PARTY HURRY UP!!!!!!!
Who benefits. Excellent focusing question. The rich, and the powerful. And there is that secret anti American vision, in my view, of America being run by white men. The rich and powerful want to retain and amass more, and they don’t like multiculturalism. Women have their place….blacks…Hispanics….Muslims, etc. they won’t say it of course, but it is a big motivating benefit.
Hi L.A.B.:
We are dealing with many different interest groups. They are all well-funded and extreme in their objectives for our society (e.g. ending democracy is just a start). A few years ago, if you tried to explain their worldviews, people would call you insane.
So, two great authors put it all down for The Guardian and the world: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk . To fully understand the “Tech Lords,” please take a look at this link: https://www.thenerdreich.com . We are basically fortunate that they have been so open about sharing their plans.
Currently, the Democratic Party, with all of its well-documented flaws, is trying to hold back the antidemocratic forces of illiberalism. So, I agree with Simon in the big picture. We have to do as much as possible to help them in their mission as a bulwark for democracy. What is the alternative? I’m open to suggestions.
Be well.
what does "Dolos" stand for? Is this an acronym?
Hi Madame Burnett :
Actually, Dolos is a Greek god/spirit. Let me know if he sounds familiar to anyone in the public eye: https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Dolos.html . In Latin, the name is Dolus. The meaning is the same (smile).
Thanks for your interest. Be well.
Tesla is having it's Annual Meeting and Musk is speaking-https://ir.tesla.com/#quarterly-disclosure-All lies. He just stated he will be spending 2 to 3 day weekly in government through out Trumps term making sure DOGE work continues. Check it out. I had to turn it off, couldn't take listening to his lies.
If I didn't listen to this today, I would have no idea of what is happening on the foreign front. Mostly, because it's not covered in the main stream media.
Appreciate Sen. Coons explaining in more depth how agencies that have been shut down who did crucial work overseas has damaged our reputation as a nation to other countries. Countries who have relied on us when a catastrophe hits such as the Philippines he mentioned with different weather challenges.
Would love to hear more from those in Congress that deal with foreign work.
There are a few outlets that cover foreign news: The Guardian (no subscription required, donations requested) is one and few Substackers cover Ukraine, Russia, other areas - look at Olga Lautman, Tim Mak, a few others.
But - yes - would LOVE to hear more from Congress in all areas.
Is Guardian on BlueSky?
Not sure. You’d have to check. I read it online.
https://www.theguardian.com
Thanks. I'm aware that there are print stories. I would rather listen at this time.
Glad that Substack is now allowing long videos of conversations. Hands down better than traditionally overly produced TV segments. No commercials!
Janet - I appreciate that. I’m the opposite as I’d rather read than listen.
And the lack of commercials on the video segments here is big plus!
What a thorough explanation of our relationship with the Philippines, Japan and South Korea. Thank you Sen. Coons for this insightful look at what's been ruined and what we need to do to bring awareness to those around us who are totally unaware of what was a faction of our healthy foreign policy that has been destroyed. The magnitude of damage and cruelty will take decades to repair as both Simon and Sen. Coons pointed out!
Excellent and thought-provoking interview! I would have liked to hear Senator Coons thoughts about "opening up a second front", but unfortunately you ran out of time.
.
ONE MORE THING: We know the Trump Regime is squeezing Republican senators and congressional representatives very hard. They did it to get obviously-unqualified cabinet nominees confirmed. And they’re doing it to force through an insane budget.
Senator Murkowski has spoken about the palpable fear she feels when she raises her voice in opposition. And we know that more than a few Republican senators did *not* vote to convict Trump on his impeachment charges, because they feared for their own safety and the safety of their families. This is not normal! This is not acceptable!
We need to see a strong investigation into the exact nature of the coercion, threats and blackmail that is taking place. Investigative articles about this should be front and center before the American people.
I've been thinking the exact same thing and every time I listen to an interview with a congressional person, I'm waiting for the part when the interviewer asks, "What exactly are you hearing or experiencing about this coercion?" Meet the Press should do an entire show on this.
I learned yesterday about the DOJ in Exile project being organized by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo. Essentially a shadow DOJ. This would be an outstanding topic for their investigations.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-doj-in-exile-takes-shape
Josh Marshall and TPM are terrific! I subscribe to his excellent newsletter.
I favor such an investigation, as ArcticStones suggests. I wonder if such an investigation could be undertaken under jurisdiction of one or more states so that it would not be reliant on the USDOJ.
That was a great interview!
Your live events are far reaching & we are immeasurably grateful, Simon. It is my belief the ongoing deportation lawlessness by the t regime are merely smoke screens as they rapidly prepare to imminently go in for the kill of our backsliding Democracy.
Thank you for the great interview. I really like the idea of a Democratic foreign policy team to voice an alternative to Trump's power grab and to let the world know that a lot of us still believe in democratic values, alliances, cooperation, honoring our treaty obligations, and smart foreign assistance. I don't think it will undo much of the damage Trump/Doge are doing, but it is important for our elected representatives in Congress to continue to represent those of us who believe in different role for America in the world. (Our international actions often have been flawed, so it could also be an opportunity for some new thinking.). This is also one of the reasons I agree with you that it is important for Congress to reassert itself on tariffs. We need to show our allies that we aren't all behind Trump on this.