Sixteen million Americans fought against fascism and the Nazi regime to secure freedom and democracy. We have a duty to defeat this candidate for president who rejects our basic values.
The first time I heard Trump speak in Texas in late 2015, it sent shivers down my spine because the tone and the hatred reminded me of Hitler's speeches. I listened to these speeches post-WWII because of what I was told by those who heard them live over the radio. Trump's whole propaganda machine, including deliberate lies, hatred, threats to opponents, revenge, racial superiority and fearmongering, is a copy of the NAZI propaganda machine. At that time, most of the population did not necessarily agree with it, but they supported him nonetheless. It seems that America is at the same point in history now. We, and I mean we in the World, should fear for what may happen next if he gets reelected. Don't ever say we did not know!
Thank You, Steven, for all your efforts to help save our Democracy and getting the Facts and the Truth out for the American people and me. Will reStack ASAP 💯👋💙
"I realize that multitudes and multitudes of people for various reasons of their own enslave themselves every hour of every day to this or that doctrine, this or that delusion of safety, this or that lie. Anti-Semites, for example are slaves to a delusion. People who hate Negroes are slaves. People who love money are slaves. We are living in a universe really of willing slaves, which makes the concept of liberty and the concept of freedom so dangerous.” - James Baldwin
That trump idolizes Hitler is no surprise. He idolizes dictators and ruthless killers like Putin and Kim Jong Un too.
He has shown us who he is for the past decade and millions of Americans LIKE who he is! His followers, his party, like his hatred and ruthlessness. They approved of his Muslim ban and demonization of people of color when he was in office. They approved of his kidnapping of helpless migrant children at the border, with more than 1000 of those children being permanently separated from their families.
Unlike many Germans, no American voter will be able to claim that they didn’t know who and what trump is if he gets back in power. He’s already said that he will “round up” and imprison millions of residents, holding them in camps and jails. And those who are voting for him approve.
He’s already been a permanent stain on our country. If he is reelected after all we know about him then this country will be forever changed for the worse.
We are in the beginning stages of the new fascist war in America, and it begins in the ballot booth in 12 days with our only weapon's being our minds and hands used in voting. The most non-lethal weapon available. I'm hoping that there are enough of those weapons in our arsenal to kill this movement. If not, then I fear the real weapons will appear and our lives on both sides will be forever changed, because I for one will not become a fascist.
I don't like being old and getting older, but it could be worse. I could be a young man or woman with a family and children like my son and daughter.
Thanks to you, Steven, and to the too few journalists who are sounding the alarm in such a straightforward way. Why are we so tired? Could it be because we are fighting on so many fronts? There are the Republicans in elected office who have completely abandoned their oaths of office to support a wannabe dictator (looking at you, Chris Sununu among others). We hired them to protect us. Then there are the journalists and TV hosts who lie outright and mislead us. A “gotcha” question in an interview is more important than revealing the truth. Sometimes I feel like I am buffeted on all sides by a strong wind. Somehow we need to hold on, do as much as we physically and mentally are able to and drive the outcome that we need.
Unfortunately, the people who support this cruel and evil 'man' seem delighted that he wants to hurt the people they don't like and/or fear, even when it comes at great cost to themselves.
I remember early in his term in office that there were devastating storms in the Florida panhandle. One victim of the flooding was interviewed and asked about the help she was getting, and she said that she was getting assistance, but that "he's not hurting the people he's supposed to be hurting". What??? I was stunned by her reply.
This stuck with me and has caused me to question a number of friendships since then, with people who I had previously thought were open-minded and empathetic. The tffg's rise has caused me to withdraw from a number of relationships.
How we can be here again after our own parents and grandparents fought against the evilness and cruelty of Hitler a mere eighty years ago, is frightening and disheartening. How this race can even be close will forever be a dark stain on our country, regardless of its outcome.
I was born in 1940, before the U. S. entered the war. As a child, I knew about the evil represented by Hitler and others. I remember rationing of so many necessities of life, and hope and pray we never get so blasé that we accept the same evil in our own government. Tfg has got to be defeated by such a large margin that he cannot say it was rigged. He has promoted hatred of anyone not exactly like him. We cannot allow him to get anywhere near the WH ever again.
Hitler’s rise and reign of terror is not only a terrible stain on the world and our country’s isolationist stand for far too long, but also raises existential questions about the nature of man and of God. So many of us have asked, “Why did this happen”..or rather, “How could a great and almighty and powerful God(?) ALLOW such horror?” Never mind the argument of ‘free will’, that God (if he or she exists in some form) will never step in and weigh in on that kind of horror. I’ve heard it all before, and it didn’t help any of my ancestors who went with their faith intact, or shattered, as the case may be…to the gas chambers. It’s the fact that such horror is allowed to foment and exist, as well. In short, it has caused so many of us to question our faiths. It has caused so many to feel, the movie, “2001” illustrates, we’ve been tethered to a mother ship with systems that we trust, when the insidious HAL decides to cut us loose and off we go, flying into space with no more lifeline…poof!
So the Trump/Hitler problem is not only one for our politics, but for our individual and collective search for meaning…nothing more and nothing less. It is too hard to understand how our fellow citizens, when presented a choice between literally good and evil, will choose the latter, believing that democracy and life itself should be easy, with no problems with which to grapple and resolve. These choices, about how to live as individuals and communities, are the foundation of our democracy. I pray that the Universe has ‘ears’…is listening…even as we spin into a space we do not recognize.
Terrifying that the polls give him so much support. He's a sleazy corrupt real estate con man filled with hate and contempt toward anyone and everyone who opposes him. His metaphor is that hes a snake who will harm even those who help him. This was however clear when he was previously elected. Half the country doesn't care. They like the entertainment. Demagogues are sadly effective.
What's also horrid is that a major news outlet, Fox, normalizes German generals as "nazis or something, so what!" And that's the sole source of info for millions!!! That cancer has to be excised!!!
Listen to CSpan. Numerous callers accept the lies that the election was stolen. They support the insurrection and say it was peaceful. alf the country is based on a huge pernicious deep fake.
And for some unknown reason, she does nothing to defend the great accomplish ments of the Biden administration. She acts like she'll now fix the many problems, ignoring the role of Democrats as incumbent who tackled huge problems despite cong opposition. She just seems to admit that critical problems were ignored. I think the optics are awful because she won't address them.
In quoting trump, Kelly has sent a clear warning of the horrific consequences of another term with trump and his followers in office. We can agree on that. He is indeed brave to speak out as I assume the blowback will be intense and violent. But why did he wait so long? Will his speaking out now, and so late, have the impact it needs to have? Finally, what is so broken about the republican apologists for trump that they so glibly dismiss his fascist rhetoric? Where will they stand if trump tries to destroy democrcy?
My dad went ashore at Normandy and was one of the initial groups to find one of many death camps, especially in Belgium. It forever changed him, as he was tasked with getting photographical evidence. He served in the Air Force from 1942 - 1964 and, because of what he saw and did during those years, he taught my brothers and me more lessons than I can even recount. I think, more than story telling, we came away with deep convictions about what evil is comprised of, and how to recognize and deal with it face up. He died in 1993 and I would give just about anything to have him back so we could talk about what is going on in our country. I can just hear him!
We are at such a crisis point right now with Trump and his cohorts. It is such a serious condition that I have no desire to yell "I told you so!" to family and friends, after trying to show them exactly who and what Trump is nearly a decade ago. That they are still convinced he's the man for the country makes me sick, but pointing out his weaknesses isn't even worth confronting now that the 'backers' like Vance, Theil, etc., have instated themselves in his cabal. I think he's done, unless otherwise used as a tool for an end game we can hardly recognize, much less accept.
Steven, thank you for being our voice to a larger audience, to hopefully continue the wake-up call to those that have been sucked into the Trump void. If our democracy is to continue and succeed, we need what you provide which is a place to read, re-center, write, and encourage. We are a diverse nation, a good thing in a crookedly orbiting world. It is good to have stability. Thanks!!
Christine - thank you for your message. Thank you for your family, father for serving and then teaching lessons that so many have forgotten. Blessings.
You make a profound statement: "[N]early 80 years after the end of World War II, it ... [proves] ... that the American electorate has lost awareness of the utter horror of the Nazis, the incomprehensible scale of their crimes—and the profound sacrifice of so many Americans." I can't agree with you more. What took place prior to, and during WW II, is vivid in my mind. I was born in 1953, but my father and all of the fathers of my friends fought in that war, so it was part of our lives, one way of another. I have since read countless books about what happened to people in the various nations, world-wide, prior to, during, and after the war, and am always shocked and horrified by what happened to people during those years. Almost the whole world was affected: 70 nations were involved in that war, truly a "world" war.
Churchill: “The Nazi regime…is devoid of all theme and principle except appetite and racial domination. It excels in all forms of human wickedness, in the efficiency of its cruelty and ferocious aggression.”
There you have it: Trump's personality and character in a nutshell. Trump, and his supporters by association, is the embodiment of total, ,unmolested evil. My mother would say, "Look for the good in a person, even the worst of them." There is NO GOOD in Trump. Sorry, mother!
Maybe we need a blitzkrieg of World War II movies on all the channels over the next 12 days. You know, John Wayne et al fighting the fascists, (although I think he probably was one!) to remind people of how truly awful this was. Schindler's List, etc. Although you can't make hateful people empathic, after all. I've seen the video of this speech by Churchill and it moved me beyond words. Thank you for reminding us.
I know we are not supposed to say it or think it, but I will proceed with Elon Musk's brand of free speech and do it. If a Claus von Stauffenberg is reading this, I saw that there is a special on briefcases at Amazon.
The first time I heard Trump speak in Texas in late 2015, it sent shivers down my spine because the tone and the hatred reminded me of Hitler's speeches. I listened to these speeches post-WWII because of what I was told by those who heard them live over the radio. Trump's whole propaganda machine, including deliberate lies, hatred, threats to opponents, revenge, racial superiority and fearmongering, is a copy of the NAZI propaganda machine. At that time, most of the population did not necessarily agree with it, but they supported him nonetheless. It seems that America is at the same point in history now. We, and I mean we in the World, should fear for what may happen next if he gets reelected. Don't ever say we did not know!
Thank You, Steven, for all your efforts to help save our Democracy and getting the Facts and the Truth out for the American people and me. Will reStack ASAP 💯👋💙
"I realize that multitudes and multitudes of people for various reasons of their own enslave themselves every hour of every day to this or that doctrine, this or that delusion of safety, this or that lie. Anti-Semites, for example are slaves to a delusion. People who hate Negroes are slaves. People who love money are slaves. We are living in a universe really of willing slaves, which makes the concept of liberty and the concept of freedom so dangerous.” - James Baldwin
That trump idolizes Hitler is no surprise. He idolizes dictators and ruthless killers like Putin and Kim Jong Un too.
He has shown us who he is for the past decade and millions of Americans LIKE who he is! His followers, his party, like his hatred and ruthlessness. They approved of his Muslim ban and demonization of people of color when he was in office. They approved of his kidnapping of helpless migrant children at the border, with more than 1000 of those children being permanently separated from their families.
Unlike many Germans, no American voter will be able to claim that they didn’t know who and what trump is if he gets back in power. He’s already said that he will “round up” and imprison millions of residents, holding them in camps and jails. And those who are voting for him approve.
He’s already been a permanent stain on our country. If he is reelected after all we know about him then this country will be forever changed for the worse.
We are in the beginning stages of the new fascist war in America, and it begins in the ballot booth in 12 days with our only weapon's being our minds and hands used in voting. The most non-lethal weapon available. I'm hoping that there are enough of those weapons in our arsenal to kill this movement. If not, then I fear the real weapons will appear and our lives on both sides will be forever changed, because I for one will not become a fascist.
I don't like being old and getting older, but it could be worse. I could be a young man or woman with a family and children like my son and daughter.
Sobering thought, isn't it?
Thanks to you, Steven, and to the too few journalists who are sounding the alarm in such a straightforward way. Why are we so tired? Could it be because we are fighting on so many fronts? There are the Republicans in elected office who have completely abandoned their oaths of office to support a wannabe dictator (looking at you, Chris Sununu among others). We hired them to protect us. Then there are the journalists and TV hosts who lie outright and mislead us. A “gotcha” question in an interview is more important than revealing the truth. Sometimes I feel like I am buffeted on all sides by a strong wind. Somehow we need to hold on, do as much as we physically and mentally are able to and drive the outcome that we need.
Unfortunately, the people who support this cruel and evil 'man' seem delighted that he wants to hurt the people they don't like and/or fear, even when it comes at great cost to themselves.
I remember early in his term in office that there were devastating storms in the Florida panhandle. One victim of the flooding was interviewed and asked about the help she was getting, and she said that she was getting assistance, but that "he's not hurting the people he's supposed to be hurting". What??? I was stunned by her reply.
This stuck with me and has caused me to question a number of friendships since then, with people who I had previously thought were open-minded and empathetic. The tffg's rise has caused me to withdraw from a number of relationships.
How we can be here again after our own parents and grandparents fought against the evilness and cruelty of Hitler a mere eighty years ago, is frightening and disheartening. How this race can even be close will forever be a dark stain on our country, regardless of its outcome.
I was born in 1940, before the U. S. entered the war. As a child, I knew about the evil represented by Hitler and others. I remember rationing of so many necessities of life, and hope and pray we never get so blasé that we accept the same evil in our own government. Tfg has got to be defeated by such a large margin that he cannot say it was rigged. He has promoted hatred of anyone not exactly like him. We cannot allow him to get anywhere near the WH ever again.
Hitler’s rise and reign of terror is not only a terrible stain on the world and our country’s isolationist stand for far too long, but also raises existential questions about the nature of man and of God. So many of us have asked, “Why did this happen”..or rather, “How could a great and almighty and powerful God(?) ALLOW such horror?” Never mind the argument of ‘free will’, that God (if he or she exists in some form) will never step in and weigh in on that kind of horror. I’ve heard it all before, and it didn’t help any of my ancestors who went with their faith intact, or shattered, as the case may be…to the gas chambers. It’s the fact that such horror is allowed to foment and exist, as well. In short, it has caused so many of us to question our faiths. It has caused so many to feel, the movie, “2001” illustrates, we’ve been tethered to a mother ship with systems that we trust, when the insidious HAL decides to cut us loose and off we go, flying into space with no more lifeline…poof!
So the Trump/Hitler problem is not only one for our politics, but for our individual and collective search for meaning…nothing more and nothing less. It is too hard to understand how our fellow citizens, when presented a choice between literally good and evil, will choose the latter, believing that democracy and life itself should be easy, with no problems with which to grapple and resolve. These choices, about how to live as individuals and communities, are the foundation of our democracy. I pray that the Universe has ‘ears’…is listening…even as we spin into a space we do not recognize.
Terrifying that the polls give him so much support. He's a sleazy corrupt real estate con man filled with hate and contempt toward anyone and everyone who opposes him. His metaphor is that hes a snake who will harm even those who help him. This was however clear when he was previously elected. Half the country doesn't care. They like the entertainment. Demagogues are sadly effective.
What's also horrid is that a major news outlet, Fox, normalizes German generals as "nazis or something, so what!" And that's the sole source of info for millions!!! That cancer has to be excised!!!
Listen to CSpan. Numerous callers accept the lies that the election was stolen. They support the insurrection and say it was peaceful. alf the country is based on a huge pernicious deep fake.
And for some unknown reason, she does nothing to defend the great accomplish ments of the Biden administration. She acts like she'll now fix the many problems, ignoring the role of Democrats as incumbent who tackled huge problems despite cong opposition. She just seems to admit that critical problems were ignored. I think the optics are awful because she won't address them.
In quoting trump, Kelly has sent a clear warning of the horrific consequences of another term with trump and his followers in office. We can agree on that. He is indeed brave to speak out as I assume the blowback will be intense and violent. But why did he wait so long? Will his speaking out now, and so late, have the impact it needs to have? Finally, what is so broken about the republican apologists for trump that they so glibly dismiss his fascist rhetoric? Where will they stand if trump tries to destroy democrcy?
My dad went ashore at Normandy and was one of the initial groups to find one of many death camps, especially in Belgium. It forever changed him, as he was tasked with getting photographical evidence. He served in the Air Force from 1942 - 1964 and, because of what he saw and did during those years, he taught my brothers and me more lessons than I can even recount. I think, more than story telling, we came away with deep convictions about what evil is comprised of, and how to recognize and deal with it face up. He died in 1993 and I would give just about anything to have him back so we could talk about what is going on in our country. I can just hear him!
We are at such a crisis point right now with Trump and his cohorts. It is such a serious condition that I have no desire to yell "I told you so!" to family and friends, after trying to show them exactly who and what Trump is nearly a decade ago. That they are still convinced he's the man for the country makes me sick, but pointing out his weaknesses isn't even worth confronting now that the 'backers' like Vance, Theil, etc., have instated themselves in his cabal. I think he's done, unless otherwise used as a tool for an end game we can hardly recognize, much less accept.
Steven, thank you for being our voice to a larger audience, to hopefully continue the wake-up call to those that have been sucked into the Trump void. If our democracy is to continue and succeed, we need what you provide which is a place to read, re-center, write, and encourage. We are a diverse nation, a good thing in a crookedly orbiting world. It is good to have stability. Thanks!!
Christine - thank you for your message. Thank you for your family, father for serving and then teaching lessons that so many have forgotten. Blessings.
You make a profound statement: "[N]early 80 years after the end of World War II, it ... [proves] ... that the American electorate has lost awareness of the utter horror of the Nazis, the incomprehensible scale of their crimes—and the profound sacrifice of so many Americans." I can't agree with you more. What took place prior to, and during WW II, is vivid in my mind. I was born in 1953, but my father and all of the fathers of my friends fought in that war, so it was part of our lives, one way of another. I have since read countless books about what happened to people in the various nations, world-wide, prior to, during, and after the war, and am always shocked and horrified by what happened to people during those years. Almost the whole world was affected: 70 nations were involved in that war, truly a "world" war.
Churchill: “The Nazi regime…is devoid of all theme and principle except appetite and racial domination. It excels in all forms of human wickedness, in the efficiency of its cruelty and ferocious aggression.”
There you have it: Trump's personality and character in a nutshell. Trump, and his supporters by association, is the embodiment of total, ,unmolested evil. My mother would say, "Look for the good in a person, even the worst of them." There is NO GOOD in Trump. Sorry, mother!
Maybe we need a blitzkrieg of World War II movies on all the channels over the next 12 days. You know, John Wayne et al fighting the fascists, (although I think he probably was one!) to remind people of how truly awful this was. Schindler's List, etc. Although you can't make hateful people empathic, after all. I've seen the video of this speech by Churchill and it moved me beyond words. Thank you for reminding us.
I am ready to make a Churchillian call "we must politically destroy Trump and everyone associated with the MAGA regime."
I know we are not supposed to say it or think it, but I will proceed with Elon Musk's brand of free speech and do it. If a Claus von Stauffenberg is reading this, I saw that there is a special on briefcases at Amazon.