It is unconscionable Gretchen. It’s all about imperial ambitions in a world Trump is trying to subjugate. I can say however without fear of contradiction, he’s overplayed his hand. - Martin
Hi Gretchen -- an offer, based on History that you might consider thinkiig about.
Things here are bad right now in relation to what you've personally experienced in your life. But - you've been given this time - by people before you gong through the hell of making sure you had that time.
What I am offering - being old enough to have personally lived in Germany 1 - 1/2 years after the end of WW II in Europe - along with traveling , where possible; the surrounding Countries that it attacked as my father was a US ARMY Officer.
He was with a guy name Gen George Patton - that was considered the spearhead in ending that War in Germany.
This will end, and you will live through it; and will have had the experience of it.
The key to defeating Trump? Mass non-cooperation | Mark Engler and Paul Engler
The following are excerpts from this article.
“The extraordinary level of grassroots solidarity and creative resistance in anti-ICE protests in Minnesota has given people a new appreciation for the power that mass non-cooperation can have in resisting the Trump administration’s drive toward authoritarianism. And it has created an awareness of why such action is clearly needed.”
Early in Trump’s second term, an array of mainstream critics expressed skepticism about the value of continued protests in the streets. They invested their faith in institutions such as Congress and the courts. But as these institutions – along with law firms, universities and the business community – have each caved in to the administration’s demands and proven themselves unwilling to catalyze an ardent defense of democracy, it has been left to the people themselves to do this essential work.
Mainstream political thinking in the US sees power as “monolithic,” resting in the hands of senators, generals, billionaires, presidents and CEOs. From that vantage point, the options for opposing a rogue administration seem desperately thin: wait for elections, file a lawsuit, hope for some unforeseen maneuver by elites. This worldview breeds despair. One prominent Democratic party consultant even advised that the best course for progressives is simply to “roll over and play dead”.
Those immersed in social movements look at the process of change in a different way than political insiders do. Instead of subscribing to the monolithic view of power, they hold a social view of power, which understands that those in positions of authority are dependent upon the cooperation and support of the governed.
Now, as then, the list of methods is best seen as an invitation to creativity, reminding organizers they have many tools in their collective toolbox – each with distinctive properties and powers. The potential of civil resistance is not just in holding large demonstrations. It is in drawing from a vast array of strikes, boycotts, noncooperation tactics and artistic protest. And it is in coming up with innovative forms of creative resistance that may never have been seen before.
The following takes the mass non-cooperation proposal a step further and would avoid the bloodshed we’ve already seen, and will see in the future with street demonstrations
The Peaceful Solution-Part 1
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (also known as The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
Great reason to save my money! I have been engaging in retail therapy since my husband died. I'm nearly addicted to shopping. This is a strong incentive to stop. Thank you for hitting me with a reality slap.
The only good thing about the US attacking Iran is that it may teach the US empire a lesson, that it can't act like a global empire, a cruel bully that rules and exploits the entire world and gets away with it.
Robert Maxwell, Ghislane’s father, was an Israeli intelligence agent. When he died, under suspicious circumstances, he was buried, with honors, in Israel, with numerous former intelligence officials attending. When netanyahoo tells the orange turd to attack Iran, he does not have to remind him that Israel has video of him raping children. What is happening in Iran today is a direct result of the orange turd’s perversions! Sick, and sad.
This has been one of tRumps agendas for years, and he has NO regard for political authority from Congress! His authority is all that matters to this narcissistic manic delusional corrupt so-called being!
Great informative article. It is true and I believe this is also the “yes” people who are speaking into Trump’s ears. This is also NETANYAHU’S war to disrupt and destabilize the Middle East so that he can move in, steal land and the wealth and resources of these countries. They dislike progress of any kind, and their root cause for war is based on one word…COVETOUSNESS. They believe to rule that by bombing shows “POWER” and to instill “FEAR”. This is a total disgrace, a disaster and lawlessness.
Trump/Israel are killing civilians. Do they actually believe that if/when they install the Shah's descendants again that Iran will be any more likely to support them?
It will be identified with the U. S. -- no friend of theirs after devastating Iran.
Of course, Trump doesn't care about his own constituents and he doesn't care about the average Iranian, despite his pretense about "saving them." It's all about power, and I suspect that the Shah's family, if installed, will gladly cooperate with the Trump Administration. It won't be a real democracy at any rate.
But this will be a very long slog, so the Trump Administration, god willing, will be out of power here by then.
But think of the possibilities of Iranian "terrorist" retaliation to us, in our homeland. Trump has unleashed a monster. The American people will not be happy, even if it lifts the economic stats.
There is no day after plan here. Proper regime change can’t take place without boots on the ground. There is no guarantee of success and it takes time and significant investment.
Oh no, I thought it would get worse. Easy to see, easy to predict. And until we finally move Congress to get that psychopath out, along with his corrupt minions, even as depressing as this news is, it’s gonna keep getting worse, exponentially. But they’ll still be proud of him, say it’s all awesome, while the walls crumble.
Its only a matter of time before the chickens are home to roost in this country. There is no way we aren’t gonna see an attack on US soil. I just wish it could happen strategically and take out the problem.
The following excerpt is from a Washington Post Op-ed from 2020 regarding the Pandemic, but the lessons apply perfectly to opposing the current fascist takeover.
“Sacrifice is not easy and natural, but it can happen. And yet, the language of sacrifice faded in the aftermath of a more popular, more total and more demanding conflict for Americans. Following World War II, the “good war,” politicians, business leaders, unions and many Americans embraced the idea that mass consumption would drive economic prosperity. Even in the midst of the burgeoning Cold War, such a notion supplanted more collectivist notions of community and sacrifice, in part because those were increasingly stigmatized as “socialist” or “communist.” This offered an individualist reaffirmation of the nation’s democratic values and became central to American identity. Mass consumption and participation in the economy, not sacrifice, increasingly came to signal one’s patriotism.
The last military draft in the United States ended in 1973, and since then, service and sacrifice have been voluntary and borne unevenly. The fractures of national unity that came at the end of the Vietnam War and the distrust of government in the wake of Watergate helped to propel these changes. In their wake, collective sacrifice has been extolled by politicians but never urged, much less required. Instead, market logics and consumer-citizenship has been the default setting for how to practice engaged models of citizenship.
Shopping, traveling and showing confidence in the economy have come to define American citizenship and even responses to collective existential threats such as terrorism and emergencies, including deadly viral outbreaks.
The challenges the nation now faces are dire and require sacrifice, not consumption. The problem is that Americans have been actively discouraged by their leaders from making sacrifices in support of larger efforts — including wars, fossil fuel consumption, global warming, the Great Recession and the current pandemic. Confronting the looming public health, economic and climate challenges today requires a wholesale change in how citizens and the state conceive and construct a rhetoric as well as a practice of collective sacrifice.”
Christopher McKnight Nichols is professor of history and Woody Hayes Chair in national security studies at The Ohio State University. He is author of "Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age" and editor and author of "Rethinking American Grand Strategy" and "Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations: New Histories” (Columbia UP, 2022).
Defeating the fascists in WWII did not happen without sacrifice from the citizens of the Allied countries. We will have to sacrifice to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of our country. We can sacrifice a little now or a much greater amount later. What kind of world will our children and grandchildren live in if we allow this to continue?
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, then they tell the politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
Spending Strike, Spending Freeze, Spending Suspension, Spending Pause, Economic Disengagement, Economic Warfare, Stop Spending!, even Boycott. Choose your favorite but Do It, and Spread the Word!
If a single dollar doubles every day for 30 days, it reaches a total of over $536 million ($536,870,912) at the end of the 30th day.
So, would it follow, that a single voice that doubled everyday would become 536 million voices after 30 days? That seems doable.
From Mark Mansour:
Sacrifice has always been the price of renewal. Democracy, if it is to survive, cannot be the cheap luxury item of a populace too comfortable to fight for it. The Trump regime can be resisted through civic courage, legal challenge, and organization. But it can also be starved—one deliberate, withheld dollar at a time.
The ongoing chaos is so traumatizing. I know it’s intentional. Our bodies and brains are not meant for this.
I absolutely get it and I’m so sorry you are having to endure this.
Then I think of Ukraine, Gaza, and people throughout the world where it’s been years and generations of trauma. Why must the US add more. 😢
It is unconscionable Gretchen. It’s all about imperial ambitions in a world Trump is trying to subjugate. I can say however without fear of contradiction, he’s overplayed his hand. - Martin
Thank you for some words of hope. 🙏
Yes, thank you. Today has been terrible.
Hi Gretchen -- an offer, based on History that you might consider thinkiig about.
Things here are bad right now in relation to what you've personally experienced in your life. But - you've been given this time - by people before you gong through the hell of making sure you had that time.
What I am offering - being old enough to have personally lived in Germany 1 - 1/2 years after the end of WW II in Europe - along with traveling , where possible; the surrounding Countries that it attacked as my father was a US ARMY Officer.
He was with a guy name Gen George Patton - that was considered the spearhead in ending that War in Germany.
This will end, and you will live through it; and will have had the experience of it.
So be well.
The key to defeating Trump? Mass non-cooperation | Mark Engler and Paul Engler
The following are excerpts from this article.
“The extraordinary level of grassroots solidarity and creative resistance in anti-ICE protests in Minnesota has given people a new appreciation for the power that mass non-cooperation can have in resisting the Trump administration’s drive toward authoritarianism. And it has created an awareness of why such action is clearly needed.”
Early in Trump’s second term, an array of mainstream critics expressed skepticism about the value of continued protests in the streets. They invested their faith in institutions such as Congress and the courts. But as these institutions – along with law firms, universities and the business community – have each caved in to the administration’s demands and proven themselves unwilling to catalyze an ardent defense of democracy, it has been left to the people themselves to do this essential work.
Mainstream political thinking in the US sees power as “monolithic,” resting in the hands of senators, generals, billionaires, presidents and CEOs. From that vantage point, the options for opposing a rogue administration seem desperately thin: wait for elections, file a lawsuit, hope for some unforeseen maneuver by elites. This worldview breeds despair. One prominent Democratic party consultant even advised that the best course for progressives is simply to “roll over and play dead”.
Those immersed in social movements look at the process of change in a different way than political insiders do. Instead of subscribing to the monolithic view of power, they hold a social view of power, which understands that those in positions of authority are dependent upon the cooperation and support of the governed.
Now, as then, the list of methods is best seen as an invitation to creativity, reminding organizers they have many tools in their collective toolbox – each with distinctive properties and powers. The potential of civil resistance is not just in holding large demonstrations. It is in drawing from a vast array of strikes, boycotts, noncooperation tactics and artistic protest. And it is in coming up with innovative forms of creative resistance that may never have been seen before.
The following takes the mass non-cooperation proposal a step further and would avoid the bloodshed we’ve already seen, and will see in the future with street demonstrations
The Peaceful Solution-Part 1
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (also known as The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
Great reason to save my money! I have been engaging in retail therapy since my husband died. I'm nearly addicted to shopping. This is a strong incentive to stop. Thank you for hitting me with a reality slap.
The only good thing about the US attacking Iran is that it may teach the US empire a lesson, that it can't act like a global empire, a cruel bully that rules and exploits the entire world and gets away with it.
Robert Maxwell, Ghislane’s father, was an Israeli intelligence agent. When he died, under suspicious circumstances, he was buried, with honors, in Israel, with numerous former intelligence officials attending. When netanyahoo tells the orange turd to attack Iran, he does not have to remind him that Israel has video of him raping children. What is happening in Iran today is a direct result of the orange turd’s perversions! Sick, and sad.
This has been one of tRumps agendas for years, and he has NO regard for political authority from Congress! His authority is all that matters to this narcissistic manic delusional corrupt so-called being!
Great informative article. It is true and I believe this is also the “yes” people who are speaking into Trump’s ears. This is also NETANYAHU’S war to disrupt and destabilize the Middle East so that he can move in, steal land and the wealth and resources of these countries. They dislike progress of any kind, and their root cause for war is based on one word…COVETOUSNESS. They believe to rule that by bombing shows “POWER” and to instill “FEAR”. This is a total disgrace, a disaster and lawlessness.
You and I are on the same page
Trump/Israel are killing civilians. Do they actually believe that if/when they install the Shah's descendants again that Iran will be any more likely to support them?
It will be identified with the U. S. -- no friend of theirs after devastating Iran.
Of course, Trump doesn't care about his own constituents and he doesn't care about the average Iranian, despite his pretense about "saving them." It's all about power, and I suspect that the Shah's family, if installed, will gladly cooperate with the Trump Administration. It won't be a real democracy at any rate.
But this will be a very long slog, so the Trump Administration, god willing, will be out of power here by then.
But think of the possibilities of Iranian "terrorist" retaliation to us, in our homeland. Trump has unleashed a monster. The American people will not be happy, even if it lifts the economic stats.
There is no day after plan here. Proper regime change can’t take place without boots on the ground. There is no guarantee of success and it takes time and significant investment.
Of course. And the Trump Administration is absolutely not competent to do that.
What better way to distract attention from the Epstein files?
Epstein news was getting to much attention.
With trump in office it can only get worse…
Oh no, I thought it would get worse. Easy to see, easy to predict. And until we finally move Congress to get that psychopath out, along with his corrupt minions, even as depressing as this news is, it’s gonna keep getting worse, exponentially. But they’ll still be proud of him, say it’s all awesome, while the walls crumble.
As it ever was
Its only a matter of time before the chickens are home to roost in this country. There is no way we aren’t gonna see an attack on US soil.
Of course it's not a war - it's a "special military operation". Sound familiar?
Its only a matter of time before the chickens are home to roost in this country. There is no way we aren’t gonna see an attack on US soil. I just wish it could happen strategically and take out the problem.
😡. More death and greed
Sacrifice is not easy but it’s necessary
The following excerpt is from a Washington Post Op-ed from 2020 regarding the Pandemic, but the lessons apply perfectly to opposing the current fascist takeover.
“Sacrifice is not easy and natural, but it can happen. And yet, the language of sacrifice faded in the aftermath of a more popular, more total and more demanding conflict for Americans. Following World War II, the “good war,” politicians, business leaders, unions and many Americans embraced the idea that mass consumption would drive economic prosperity. Even in the midst of the burgeoning Cold War, such a notion supplanted more collectivist notions of community and sacrifice, in part because those were increasingly stigmatized as “socialist” or “communist.” This offered an individualist reaffirmation of the nation’s democratic values and became central to American identity. Mass consumption and participation in the economy, not sacrifice, increasingly came to signal one’s patriotism.
The last military draft in the United States ended in 1973, and since then, service and sacrifice have been voluntary and borne unevenly. The fractures of national unity that came at the end of the Vietnam War and the distrust of government in the wake of Watergate helped to propel these changes. In their wake, collective sacrifice has been extolled by politicians but never urged, much less required. Instead, market logics and consumer-citizenship has been the default setting for how to practice engaged models of citizenship.
Shopping, traveling and showing confidence in the economy have come to define American citizenship and even responses to collective existential threats such as terrorism and emergencies, including deadly viral outbreaks.
The challenges the nation now faces are dire and require sacrifice, not consumption. The problem is that Americans have been actively discouraged by their leaders from making sacrifices in support of larger efforts — including wars, fossil fuel consumption, global warming, the Great Recession and the current pandemic. Confronting the looming public health, economic and climate challenges today requires a wholesale change in how citizens and the state conceive and construct a rhetoric as well as a practice of collective sacrifice.”
Christopher McKnight Nichols is professor of history and Woody Hayes Chair in national security studies at The Ohio State University. He is author of "Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age" and editor and author of "Rethinking American Grand Strategy" and "Ideology in U.S. Foreign Relations: New Histories” (Columbia UP, 2022).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/12/07/americans-used-sacrifice-public-good-what-happened/
Sacrifice is Necessary
Defeating the fascists in WWII did not happen without sacrifice from the citizens of the Allied countries. We will have to sacrifice to stop and reverse the fascist takeover of our country. We can sacrifice a little now or a much greater amount later. What kind of world will our children and grandchildren live in if we allow this to continue?
How much do you want to stop His Royal Heinous and the fascist takeover of the country?
Enough that you’re willing to make a small sacrifice? Like altering your spending habits for a month or two or three? That could be all it would take to get the attention of the oligarchs (formerly known as The Robber Barons in the first Gilded Age, also The Fat Cats, The Greedy Bastards).
A brief demonstration of We, the People’s, power of the purse could persuade them to quit supporting HRH and the politicians who enable him.
We quit spending, except on essentials, businesses lose money, stock market goes down, Greedy Bastards pay attention to our demands.
Greedy Bastards own most of the politicians of both major parties. GBs start losing money, then they tell the politicians to change course and do what We, the People want.
Spending Strike, Spending Freeze, Spending Suspension, Spending Pause, Economic Disengagement, Economic Warfare, Stop Spending!, even Boycott. Choose your favorite but Do It, and Spread the Word!
If a single dollar doubles every day for 30 days, it reaches a total of over $536 million ($536,870,912) at the end of the 30th day.
So, would it follow, that a single voice that doubled everyday would become 536 million voices after 30 days? That seems doable.
From Mark Mansour:
Sacrifice has always been the price of renewal. Democracy, if it is to survive, cannot be the cheap luxury item of a populace too comfortable to fight for it. The Trump regime can be resisted through civic courage, legal challenge, and organization. But it can also be starved—one deliberate, withheld dollar at a time.
https://mmansour.substack.com/p/its-time-to-recognize-that-this-ordeal?r=5f62tm&utm_medium=ios