"But it will never not be tragic that, in a nation of over 345 million people, this is one of the two options America has to be the next president." So true, Steven. This is our shame and sorrow, this enemy truly from within.
Years ago I toured the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. We had a tribal member guide. I remember standing on the edge of the butte while the guide pointed far to the south and said, "We could see the sun glinting off their armor from as far as you can see. We could see them coming. And do you know what made Coronado so dangerous? Do you know why he was so bad? He was stupid and arrogant. That is the worst combination for a human. Stupid and arrogant."
He spoke as if it just happened yesterday. The effects of that great tragedy were real in the life of his tribe down to that very moment.
And here we are 484 years later with yet another stupid and arrogant Coronado. He must be stopped in his tracks. There has been enough carnage. It is true that the shame will remain. But we must stop the carnage. America does have the capacity for healing.
That so many Americans refuse to see it, that they believe his lies leaves me speechless. That so many so called republicans in Congress deny what happened on January 6. As if the mob would know they are Republicans and not harm them. This is the true tragedy of all this.
On November 5th we have a good chance of getting rid of trump, although he won’t go quietly. What we still have to deal with is the wannabes in government. He has infected so many and allowed christofascists to obtain places of power.
The thing that strikes me is that trump has always been this way and that dementia has only stripped away the filters, as it does. He is still out there because the people behind him need him. He is their cover, if they ever regain power he will be tossed aside and only wheeled out to wave on MAGA high holy days, like the anniversary of January 6th.
Call me naive, but I can't help but think that a lot of his colleagues in the republican party will look at his statements/actions and pull the lever for Kamala and never let on that they didn't vote for him. It's unfathomable to me that anyone on the face of the earth thinks this man has the faculties to be president of anything let alone the USA. I have friends that just returned from Europe, and they were questioned a lot about what the hell is going on here. I have other friends that are there now and I'm sure on their return the interactions they are having will be the same. This is the most consequential election ever in the history of the world, because of what it could portend if he sits behind the resolute desk again. God help us all.
Excellent work, Steven. Those men asked great questions and he lied to them and gave ludicrous answers. Trump sees the office as his get out of jail free card, and I’m betting he’ll let Vance take over quickly and be his henchman.
Donald Trump was unfit for office in 2016, and it's even more true today. He doesn't want the job, and only cares about the power, the trappings of the office, and the extent to which he can monetize the office for himself and his family. If only Mitch McConnell had put country above party during Trump's 2nd impeachment trial and instructed his caucus to convict Trump. we would not be here. And the fact that they have continued to support and defend the man to this day is truly unbelievable. I pray every night that Americans will come together on 11/5 and make the right choice.
Spot On Steven, this week has been Insane, with one of the candidates for President well on his way to a Mental Hospital, not the White House. Excellent piece this morning ☕ and will reStack ASAP 💯👍🇺🇸💙🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
“Thank you very much.” I think Trump’s climate change reply is sheer placeholder or boilerplate: He has no real ideas, so he pops in the MAGA tried-and-true. Next question, please.
TV news stations should have repeatedly shown trump saying this followed by the terrible scenes at the Capitol. Instead, on CNN's Erin Burnett's show, they had a prominent segment showing Kamala Harris speaking her views on subjects years ago,followed by her opposite views on them now.
trump has no conception of what love is of country or even of family or friends.His mind & heart are a jumble of misfired neutrons that live in the twilight zone. Yet, he has become a worshipped golden calf.
Thanks for the many details in this essay Steven.——
This comment really struck me!——
When——
Trump describes Jan 6 as “a day of love”?!?!—-
Excerpt:—-
“‘A day of love.’” “That is, a day when he had the opportunity to relish hours of violence committed in response to his lie that the election was stolen. A day when 140 police officers were injured and at least five people died, including several suicides as a result of the trauma. A day when we all could see the violence with our own eyes—the head blows and bone-crunching with flagpoles, baseball bats, crutches, metal pipes, skateboards and a fire extinguisher, as well as the use of lasers, stun guns and toxic sprays. A day when Trump’s followers chanted to hang Mike Pence and erected a makeshift gallows. This is what Donald Trump describes as a day of love. Oh, and he also used this answer as an opportunity to say how terrible Kamala Harris is and her candidacy happened because she “turned on” Biden and “they had a coup.”—-
And you are right; we will have much work and healing to do even when Kamala is elected because of the damage he has done.
Thanks for this report, Steven. I leaves me speechless. I was dining with an old (literally, 82) friend whom I’ve known for 62 years! He was a life-long Republican who changed and voted for Obama in 2008 and has been steadily supporting good democratic ideas. I asked him if he felt, as I do (I’m just turned 80) that Trump is such an embarrassment to our generation. “Absolutely,” he said. And there you have it! We older folks who are wizened beyond our years have had enough of this clown and we encourage our fellow “seniors” to vote for Harris and Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
Trump had a good time for himself playing pious at the Al Smith dinner last night. Maybe I missed it, but I am waiting for some well-connected liberal arts refugee at the NY Times to write about the strong support of Al Smith for immigrants. Last night’s event should have been the signal to write it with Trump a solo act attending. Smith battled against the nativist forces and rabid anti-Catholic elements of the evangelicals and Protestant bigots in 2024 at the Democratic convention in NYC and again when he ran for President in 1928. That crowd is Trump’s base now. We know how Hoover as 1928’s winner handled the economy. Unlike Trump, at least Hoover had a brain in his head.
A large swath of Southern and Western and Midwestern (notably Indiana) Democrats refused to back Al Smith’s desire to condemn the Klan by name at the convention in 1924. I highly recommend the book Empire Statesman for a look at the 1920s politics in the US. We are back there now as a country except this time the conservative Trump Catholics are complicit in supporting the elements that loathed their grandparents’ and great grandparents’ generation. As nativists and xenophobes go, is the idea “if you can’t beat them, join them?!” I had thought we had beaten them with JFK? History tells stories, but looking back is out of style?
Thank you. I couldn’t agree more. It will take years, maybe generations, to undo the damage he and his cult have inflicted on our nation and values, regardless of the outcome on Nov. 5. True Americans can’t retreat from this fight.
"But it will never not be tragic that, in a nation of over 345 million people, this is one of the two options America has to be the next president." So true, Steven. This is our shame and sorrow, this enemy truly from within.
Years ago I toured the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico. We had a tribal member guide. I remember standing on the edge of the butte while the guide pointed far to the south and said, "We could see the sun glinting off their armor from as far as you can see. We could see them coming. And do you know what made Coronado so dangerous? Do you know why he was so bad? He was stupid and arrogant. That is the worst combination for a human. Stupid and arrogant."
He spoke as if it just happened yesterday. The effects of that great tragedy were real in the life of his tribe down to that very moment.
And here we are 484 years later with yet another stupid and arrogant Coronado. He must be stopped in his tracks. There has been enough carnage. It is true that the shame will remain. But we must stop the carnage. America does have the capacity for healing.
That so many Americans refuse to see it, that they believe his lies leaves me speechless. That so many so called republicans in Congress deny what happened on January 6. As if the mob would know they are Republicans and not harm them. This is the true tragedy of all this.
On November 5th we have a good chance of getting rid of trump, although he won’t go quietly. What we still have to deal with is the wannabes in government. He has infected so many and allowed christofascists to obtain places of power.
The thing that strikes me is that trump has always been this way and that dementia has only stripped away the filters, as it does. He is still out there because the people behind him need him. He is their cover, if they ever regain power he will be tossed aside and only wheeled out to wave on MAGA high holy days, like the anniversary of January 6th.
Call me naive, but I can't help but think that a lot of his colleagues in the republican party will look at his statements/actions and pull the lever for Kamala and never let on that they didn't vote for him. It's unfathomable to me that anyone on the face of the earth thinks this man has the faculties to be president of anything let alone the USA. I have friends that just returned from Europe, and they were questioned a lot about what the hell is going on here. I have other friends that are there now and I'm sure on their return the interactions they are having will be the same. This is the most consequential election ever in the history of the world, because of what it could portend if he sits behind the resolute desk again. God help us all.
Excellent work, Steven. Those men asked great questions and he lied to them and gave ludicrous answers. Trump sees the office as his get out of jail free card, and I’m betting he’ll let Vance take over quickly and be his henchman.
Thank you, Karen.
Thanks for the transcripts. I can’t stand to listen to him.
“[A] day of love.” It was so groovy, man, we held hands, felt the love all around, beat those pigs with our (Confederate) flagpoles. Far outta sight!
Donald Trump was unfit for office in 2016, and it's even more true today. He doesn't want the job, and only cares about the power, the trappings of the office, and the extent to which he can monetize the office for himself and his family. If only Mitch McConnell had put country above party during Trump's 2nd impeachment trial and instructed his caucus to convict Trump. we would not be here. And the fact that they have continued to support and defend the man to this day is truly unbelievable. I pray every night that Americans will come together on 11/5 and make the right choice.
Spot On Steven, this week has been Insane, with one of the candidates for President well on his way to a Mental Hospital, not the White House. Excellent piece this morning ☕ and will reStack ASAP 💯👍🇺🇸💙🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
“Thank you very much.” I think Trump’s climate change reply is sheer placeholder or boilerplate: He has no real ideas, so he pops in the MAGA tried-and-true. Next question, please.
We have the ability to change history in 17 days. We can put a resounding stop to this. Lets do so.
TV news stations should have repeatedly shown trump saying this followed by the terrible scenes at the Capitol. Instead, on CNN's Erin Burnett's show, they had a prominent segment showing Kamala Harris speaking her views on subjects years ago,followed by her opposite views on them now.
trump has no conception of what love is of country or even of family or friends.His mind & heart are a jumble of misfired neutrons that live in the twilight zone. Yet, he has become a worshipped golden calf.
Thanks for the many details in this essay Steven.——
This comment really struck me!——
When——
Trump describes Jan 6 as “a day of love”?!?!—-
Excerpt:—-
“‘A day of love.’” “That is, a day when he had the opportunity to relish hours of violence committed in response to his lie that the election was stolen. A day when 140 police officers were injured and at least five people died, including several suicides as a result of the trauma. A day when we all could see the violence with our own eyes—the head blows and bone-crunching with flagpoles, baseball bats, crutches, metal pipes, skateboards and a fire extinguisher, as well as the use of lasers, stun guns and toxic sprays. A day when Trump’s followers chanted to hang Mike Pence and erected a makeshift gallows. This is what Donald Trump describes as a day of love. Oh, and he also used this answer as an opportunity to say how terrible Kamala Harris is and her candidacy happened because she “turned on” Biden and “they had a coup.”—-
And you are right; we will have much work and healing to do even when Kamala is elected because of the damage he has done.
Thanks for this report, Steven. I leaves me speechless. I was dining with an old (literally, 82) friend whom I’ve known for 62 years! He was a life-long Republican who changed and voted for Obama in 2008 and has been steadily supporting good democratic ideas. I asked him if he felt, as I do (I’m just turned 80) that Trump is such an embarrassment to our generation. “Absolutely,” he said. And there you have it! We older folks who are wizened beyond our years have had enough of this clown and we encourage our fellow “seniors” to vote for Harris and Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
Trump had a good time for himself playing pious at the Al Smith dinner last night. Maybe I missed it, but I am waiting for some well-connected liberal arts refugee at the NY Times to write about the strong support of Al Smith for immigrants. Last night’s event should have been the signal to write it with Trump a solo act attending. Smith battled against the nativist forces and rabid anti-Catholic elements of the evangelicals and Protestant bigots in 2024 at the Democratic convention in NYC and again when he ran for President in 1928. That crowd is Trump’s base now. We know how Hoover as 1928’s winner handled the economy. Unlike Trump, at least Hoover had a brain in his head.
A large swath of Southern and Western and Midwestern (notably Indiana) Democrats refused to back Al Smith’s desire to condemn the Klan by name at the convention in 1924. I highly recommend the book Empire Statesman for a look at the 1920s politics in the US. We are back there now as a country except this time the conservative Trump Catholics are complicit in supporting the elements that loathed their grandparents’ and great grandparents’ generation. As nativists and xenophobes go, is the idea “if you can’t beat them, join them?!” I had thought we had beaten them with JFK? History tells stories, but looking back is out of style?
Thank you. I couldn’t agree more. It will take years, maybe generations, to undo the damage he and his cult have inflicted on our nation and values, regardless of the outcome on Nov. 5. True Americans can’t retreat from this fight.