Reading history and historical quotes about what we are experiencing. It may take time and toil, but we eventually overcome.
“There is a power in public opinion in this country - and I thank God for it: for it is the most honest and best of all powers - which will not tolerate an incompetent or unworthy man to hold in his weak or wicked hands the lives and fortunes of his fellow-citizens.” - Martin Van Buren
Up to 50% of depressed people are cured by placebo.
Up to 60% of anxious people are cured by placebo.
an innocuous placebo can become insidious instantly... such as when baby's pacifier is lost and the baby's filthy thumb that the sterile pacifier was preventing... goes right back in the baby's mouth!😝
~No American takes the White House recommended inoculation ...the inoculation recommended by scientists and by Ms.FDR:
"Do one thing every day that scares you " ...thus preventing anxiety that leads to depression that leads to suicidality that leads to suicide/murder.
When Ellison or Zuck or Bezos or Musk or Trump or Disney or AI or an algorithm, etc turns the innocuous placebos of 60% of the US to MURDEROUS RAGEFUL TERRORIST FASCISM...
...***GAME OVER***
Uptrends: In 10 years most Americans will want to die?
Osama Bin Laden copycats have a name for those Americans: "AMMO!"
Waiting for that power of public opinion in TODAY’S world to be reinforced by millions of marchers with pitchforks . We are not moving fast enough nor loud enough to even slow down the daily assaults on our freedoms …by Mr. Trump!
We also have an opposition party that is crumbling. It is disorganized, weak and ineffective. 95 of them voted for a day to remember Charlie Kirk? Unbelievably disappointing. Why not a day of remembrance for all the children killed in school shootings? Or the people killed in hate crimes?
I try to be encouraging about our future but I find it impossible without a strong opposition to Trump and his anti American extremism.
Yes, we are not moving as quickly as we need to. The times are indeed different from Marty’s day. However, modern technology can also compress time to our advantage.
Yes, it is discouraging that a stronger opposition hasn’t had much effect. THAT is why WE, the PEOPLE need to take over the streets and start marching. We are losing our Constitutional freedoms one by one as Trump issues his daily edicts.
This is just SMOKE SCREEN TO KEEP JEFFREY EPSTEIN/MAXWELL TRUMP’S BEST BUDDIES AND CONVICTED PEDOPHILES OUT OF THE NEWS.
Keep your eye on the prize all of the Epstein files all of the pictures all of the Financial transactions to pay off their victims the underage girls no one wants that to come out not Bill Gates not Donald Trump not a lot of other rich people.
What’s the sense of being rich if you can’t be a pedophile?
What do you expect to happen to make things change if/when they are? Kirk’s death seems to have solidified MAGA; Turning Point said their membership skyrocketed.
CK was a paid propagandist nothing more nothing less the losers in this whole deal are his family and the assassins family.
Everyone who has been repeating DDT (Demented Donald Trump)Trump‘s lies Is now scared that they will be shot. Up to now it’s just been a free ride. That has panicked, the cabinet and the Supreme Court and the puppet Mike Johnson speaker of the house.
Trump‘s whole purpose in picking such a compliant cabinet was to prevent the 25th amendment from being implemented. If Trump says the sunrise rises at 12 midnight the cabinet will swear to it Additionally, most of them intelligent, except for the Patel character, chief of the FBI
His wife came out with vindictive words immediately. I suspect she is well cared for. I’m sad for his children who will be under dubious influence and, regardless of hate, a dad. The shooter’s family, his grandmother said, is all MAGA all the time. They will need protection. And the roommate is likely to be in a very complex and difficult situation. What I know: no good comes from hate unless there are sensible people to discuss.
I read books. All kinds of books. My local library issues me a receipt every time I check out a book. This year, so far I’ve saved $3500 on books. I occasionally buy a book, but look at that $avings!
I read trusted journalists and writers here on Substack. I do not mindlessly scroll social media sites - I’ve deleted them all.
I’m doing the same. I have read every day since before Trump took office. Lately I’m up to about one 300+ page book evert 2-3 days. Mostly checked out online through my local library.
My two tween grandsons are theater geeks. They act, they sing, they play guitar, and they’re now starting to read. Stepping into a character changes you. It teaches you empathy for other people. It’s just like reading.
It was pure serendipity that I decided to apply to law school at age 70, in winter 2023. I'm now in my second year. Not only am I in a setting where I am compelled to read about, write about, and discuss the atrocities taking place in real time; I am also learning a legal history and vocabulary that helps me to be a more precise thinker. There are many moments when I still feel paralyzed by outrage. But then I resume work on a paper on the terrorist tactics of the Trump regime, and feel sane again. In two years, I will be looking for opportunities to contribute to the prosecution of these malignant actors.
And, I will continue to finish my days with late-night comedy for as long as it exists. Laughter keeps us sane.
I admire you more than I can say. You are amazing. I went back to school and became a paralegal at 63. Law school was too daunting for me. Still a student of history (always) and constitutional law. When not caring for my disabled husband or working part-time, I read, garden, and buy too much produce. Our deer are well fed. Can frequently be found exercising my free speech and right to assemble while pushing a wheelchair in a local protest. We do what we must.
Hello Joan, I've seen your comments on several Substacks we both subscribe to, and I just subscribed to yours. We share similar histories, too (grandparents from Eastern Europe), and tastes. Here is mine, if you are interested. Warmest wishes, Jill. https://jill699.substack.com/p/nine-dogs-a-horse-and-a-government
Thank you, Jill. I did subscribe so that we are connected and yes, I’ve seen your posts too. I look forward to getting to know you more. One day I’ll write on my Substack. My writing for years has been all about the profession from which I retired and may still be with the impact of “all this” on travel, tourism, meetings and events.
I think your take on current events through the lens of your profession would be novel and fascinating. If you ever need a 'reader,' let me know. My email is: jstoner@berkeley.edu
That was certainly not my original thought-- I was intending to be a public defender. But now, I'm completely committed to prosecution of "those menacing monsters." Looking for internships for summer '26.
I spend time in the mountains, breathing and viewing, with my husband. We also will now have more time in “late night” for stargazing and taking photographs of the cosmos!
Yes! Why did a single Democrat vote for a CK day of remembrance without including all victims of gun violence, including the Minn. elected officials shot to death in their own home?
When my mother died in 2022 she lamented what world she was leaving us. I assured her that she had raised the next two generations with her democratic values and a feeling of responsibility to fix things. It helped.
There’s a fella (not Ukrainian) who demonstrates on behalf of Ukraine in DC every day. Every. Day. Since the full-scale invasion. My friends and I join him as and when we can. When the funding bill was going through a year and a half ago I had a sign that read, “Cheaper to stop him in Ukraine”, which several members of Congress and staffers quietly told me was a very impactful message. We also go to festivals, memorials, and anniversaries with NAFO and US/Ukrainian Activists. I’m not Ukrainian at all. Just a democrat.
I’m also a Democrat, and have attended all the rallies and marches and protests I can get to, from that first pussy-hat march in 2017. I did the first No Kings on the Mall, but since have been in Olney and Westminster, Maryland, to pump up their numbers more effectively. My most popular signs read, “Make Good Ruckus” and “Stephen Miller hangs upside down to sleep.”
I also do RenFests, beer dinners, embroidery, and jigsaw puzzles. I’m a Stephanie Miller Show fan, listening to all the scion podcasts and shows like Bob Cesca and Hal Sparks. I tune in most of the time and take breaks when I need to. I donate to NAFO fundraisers for CasEvac trucks, night vision goggles, thermal scopes, tourniquets, and drones for the Ukrainian battlefield. I do what I can and rest when I must.
I'm an author. I just focus on my art and keep writing stories that show good eventually wins over evil and everyone can love whomever they want to love.
I also keep my focus on my community - in person and online - because that's what's going to help us survive all of this. Supporting each other, speaking up/speaking out, and making sure we're able to survive this.
I've kept my sanity by avoiding the paralysis of powerlessness that afflicts many of my friends.
Early in Trump 1.0, I formed ProBonoPhoto.org. It's an organization that uses photography to amplify the impact of protestors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and provides free photographic services to local social-justice and environmental nonprofits.
Since then, we've grown to a group of over 50 volunteers, have given our services more than 1,200 times, and have expanded to Sacramento. We're doing at least a bit of good.
When I awaken to the daily dose of bad political news, I don't feel very powerless. I know exactly what I'm doing to help fight the authoritarian takeover. That realization stabiizes and comforts me.
Having a sense of agency can have great psychological benefits at times like this.
Thanks. I know of no other organizations like it in the entire country, which surprises me. The concept could be applied pretty easily in other geographical areas, and we're willing to give advice on starting one up.
Hi, Marlene. PBP has members all over the Bay Area and in Sacramento, and we've covered actions organized by Indivisible ReSisters (at least Indivisible ReSisters of Contra Costa county).
It’s a challenge to close out the chaos but thinking and writing fantasy scenarios lifts me above the deepening sense of peril for awhile. Music yes, too. Viewing works of art. Communing with friends. Walks through Botanical Garden. Working to find humor and hope.
Great prompt! I keep my secret antidote--laughter--at the ready to dispel the demons of doom. Also, I make sure to find a moment of joy every day. Maybe it happens during a walk, or when I hear a baby laughing, or when my daughter and I are together, or when I sit under a tree and marvel at the fact that its roots are entwined with those of the trees around it. I think: that's what we're missing, nod to myself, and smile a small but discernible smile. Sometimes food helps--there's very little that pasta can't cure! When all else fails, I watch an old Sponge Bob episode.
Oh my gosh! Humor! I can't tell you how many old videos of George Carlin, Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy I've watched lately. I find the belly laughs help
I have a small notebook in which I write thoughts which wander through my 80 year old mind, things which will never be read even by me. It is the writing that clears my heart. Funny stuff, sad stuff, all there for some reason.
I am an elected official in Miami Beach. It remains a blue bastion in a deep red state, but I serve with a deep red MAGAt Kirk apologist/Trump worshipper. He is very smart and independently wealthy and is Machiavellian in the way he repackages out of context facts into completely ridiculous narratives. I am not a politician, just an activist who got fed up and wanted to make things better. I knew I would never love the political part of my job, but I never imagined I would have to deal with MAGA nuttiness in my little idyllic slice of heaven. A couple of things that I do to try to mitigate the psychic damage. One is donate, volunteer, text bank for races around the country. Another is to mentor people who are going through tough times and try to help them find a path through. A third which is goofy but is fun, is to strike up conversations where they are least expected to try to get a smile from the person across from me. We both walk away chuckling. And lastly, I try to manage how I react to other people’s idiocy so it penetrates less and no fuel is added to the fire.
Reading history and historical quotes about what we are experiencing. It may take time and toil, but we eventually overcome.
“There is a power in public opinion in this country - and I thank God for it: for it is the most honest and best of all powers - which will not tolerate an incompetent or unworthy man to hold in his weak or wicked hands the lives and fortunes of his fellow-citizens.” - Martin Van Buren
I appreciate these, Al. Thank you.
🖖
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
Just a "tad of emotional maturity:"
Up to 50% of depressed people are cured by placebo.
Up to 60% of anxious people are cured by placebo.
an innocuous placebo can become insidious instantly... such as when baby's pacifier is lost and the baby's filthy thumb that the sterile pacifier was preventing... goes right back in the baby's mouth!😝
~No American takes the White House recommended inoculation ...the inoculation recommended by scientists and by Ms.FDR:
"Do one thing every day that scares you " ...thus preventing anxiety that leads to depression that leads to suicidality that leads to suicide/murder.
When Ellison or Zuck or Bezos or Musk or Trump or Disney or AI or an algorithm, etc turns the innocuous placebos of 60% of the US to MURDEROUS RAGEFUL TERRORIST FASCISM...
...***GAME OVER***
Uptrends: In 10 years most Americans will want to die?
Osama Bin Laden copycats have a name for those Americans: "AMMO!"
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Waiting for that power of public opinion in TODAY’S world to be reinforced by millions of marchers with pitchforks . We are not moving fast enough nor loud enough to even slow down the daily assaults on our freedoms …by Mr. Trump!
We also have an opposition party that is crumbling. It is disorganized, weak and ineffective. 95 of them voted for a day to remember Charlie Kirk? Unbelievably disappointing. Why not a day of remembrance for all the children killed in school shootings? Or the people killed in hate crimes?
I try to be encouraging about our future but I find it impossible without a strong opposition to Trump and his anti American extremism.
I agree... A day to remember Charlie Kirk? Obscene. Does that mean he is up there with Lincoln and MLK? disgusting. T
Yes, we are not moving as quickly as we need to. The times are indeed different from Marty’s day. However, modern technology can also compress time to our advantage.
Fortunately ,Trump has been known to “cave” when pushed. We, the People, are not pushing fast or hard enough to stop the carnage of this egomaniac.
Democratic leadership needs to step aside. They have habitually failed us all. They have become part of the problem.
And the Senate’s unanimous vote for an Oct 14 holiday and the justifications are highly obscene.
Truth
Yes, it is discouraging that a stronger opposition hasn’t had much effect. THAT is why WE, the PEOPLE need to take over the streets and start marching. We are losing our Constitutional freedoms one by one as Trump issues his daily edicts.
When I had a tough job as a new P.A.-C in Alaska, I told one of the docs that I survived by "Italian food and lots of chocolate"!
chocolate. YES!
Great, encouraging quote!
Not sure I’ve been successful, but I try to focus on what I can control. For the next few months, I will put my energy towards the Virginia elections.
I am writing postcards to California’s “irregular” voters about Prop 50 and then to Virginia, too!
Good for you. Every action helps.
This is just SMOKE SCREEN TO KEEP JEFFREY EPSTEIN/MAXWELL TRUMP’S BEST BUDDIES AND CONVICTED PEDOPHILES OUT OF THE NEWS.
Keep your eye on the prize all of the Epstein files all of the pictures all of the Financial transactions to pay off their victims the underage girls no one wants that to come out not Bill Gates not Donald Trump not a lot of other rich people.
What’s the sense of being rich if you can’t be a pedophile?
What do you expect to happen to make things change if/when they are? Kirk’s death seems to have solidified MAGA; Turning Point said their membership skyrocketed.
One of the reasons Elon Musk is there is that he helped fund Charlie Kirk’s activities. That was musk’s investment in the future of political power.
CK was a paid propagandist nothing more nothing less the losers in this whole deal are his family and the assassins family.
Everyone who has been repeating DDT (Demented Donald Trump)Trump‘s lies Is now scared that they will be shot. Up to now it’s just been a free ride. That has panicked, the cabinet and the Supreme Court and the puppet Mike Johnson speaker of the house.
Trump‘s whole purpose in picking such a compliant cabinet was to prevent the 25th amendment from being implemented. If Trump says the sunrise rises at 12 midnight the cabinet will swear to it Additionally, most of them intelligent, except for the Patel character, chief of the FBI
His wife came out with vindictive words immediately. I suspect she is well cared for. I’m sad for his children who will be under dubious influence and, regardless of hate, a dad. The shooter’s family, his grandmother said, is all MAGA all the time. They will need protection. And the roommate is likely to be in a very complex and difficult situation. What I know: no good comes from hate unless there are sensible people to discuss.
Praying 🙏 For A Massive Terminating Blood Clot.
I Know Their is A god/godess.
If 97% of stories are anti-Trump … perhaps it is because MORE THAN 97% of his actions are 100% horrendous? #TrumpCrimeSyndicate MUST go!
I read books. All kinds of books. My local library issues me a receipt every time I check out a book. This year, so far I’ve saved $3500 on books. I occasionally buy a book, but look at that $avings!
I read trusted journalists and writers here on Substack. I do not mindlessly scroll social media sites - I’ve deleted them all.
Wow. A model reader!
I’m doing the same. I have read every day since before Trump took office. Lately I’m up to about one 300+ page book evert 2-3 days. Mostly checked out online through my local library.
My two tween grandsons are theater geeks. They act, they sing, they play guitar, and they’re now starting to read. Stepping into a character changes you. It teaches you empathy for other people. It’s just like reading.
Yay them!!!
It keeps me sane.
It was pure serendipity that I decided to apply to law school at age 70, in winter 2023. I'm now in my second year. Not only am I in a setting where I am compelled to read about, write about, and discuss the atrocities taking place in real time; I am also learning a legal history and vocabulary that helps me to be a more precise thinker. There are many moments when I still feel paralyzed by outrage. But then I resume work on a paper on the terrorist tactics of the Trump regime, and feel sane again. In two years, I will be looking for opportunities to contribute to the prosecution of these malignant actors.
And, I will continue to finish my days with late-night comedy for as long as it exists. Laughter keeps us sane.
This is inspirational! You go, girl!
I admire you more than I can say. You are amazing. I went back to school and became a paralegal at 63. Law school was too daunting for me. Still a student of history (always) and constitutional law. When not caring for my disabled husband or working part-time, I read, garden, and buy too much produce. Our deer are well fed. Can frequently be found exercising my free speech and right to assemble while pushing a wheelchair in a local protest. We do what we must.
I admire you too. Your husband is a lucky man! 🌷🌷
You are my role model. Had I not illness, and were I a good “school learner”, I’d join you. Do it all for me too please. Brava!
Hello Joan, I've seen your comments on several Substacks we both subscribe to, and I just subscribed to yours. We share similar histories, too (grandparents from Eastern Europe), and tastes. Here is mine, if you are interested. Warmest wishes, Jill. https://jill699.substack.com/p/nine-dogs-a-horse-and-a-government
Thank you, Jill. I did subscribe so that we are connected and yes, I’ve seen your posts too. I look forward to getting to know you more. One day I’ll write on my Substack. My writing for years has been all about the profession from which I retired and may still be with the impact of “all this” on travel, tourism, meetings and events.
I think your take on current events through the lens of your profession would be novel and fascinating. If you ever need a 'reader,' let me know. My email is: jstoner@berkeley.edu
Thank you, Jill, for the encouragement. For years I had great editors. Your offer to be a reader is grand & encouraging.
Oh Jill, I will look for your name when you are part of he prosecution team to bring these menacing monsters down! Bravo to you!
That was certainly not my original thought-- I was intending to be a public defender. But now, I'm completely committed to prosecution of "those menacing monsters." Looking for internships for summer '26.
I wish you the very best of luck!
I spend time in the mountains, breathing and viewing, with my husband. We also will now have more time in “late night” for stargazing and taking photographs of the cosmos!
1. Joining forces with my local progressive group to help plan demonstrations
2. Volunteering with foster kids as a CASA and leading a music class for a nearby residential ranch
3. My Church Choir Lady Rebels (🤣)
4. My dog and my cat
5. My like-minded spouse
Let's make the October 14 event a national day of remembrance for ALL victims of gun violence.
Yes! Why did a single Democrat vote for a CK day of remembrance without including all victims of gun violence, including the Minn. elected officials shot to death in their own home?
My questions exactly.
Too bad we no longer have an actual MSM to mention this
When my mother died in 2022 she lamented what world she was leaving us. I assured her that she had raised the next two generations with her democratic values and a feeling of responsibility to fix things. It helped.
There’s a fella (not Ukrainian) who demonstrates on behalf of Ukraine in DC every day. Every. Day. Since the full-scale invasion. My friends and I join him as and when we can. When the funding bill was going through a year and a half ago I had a sign that read, “Cheaper to stop him in Ukraine”, which several members of Congress and staffers quietly told me was a very impactful message. We also go to festivals, memorials, and anniversaries with NAFO and US/Ukrainian Activists. I’m not Ukrainian at all. Just a democrat.
I’m also a Democrat, and have attended all the rallies and marches and protests I can get to, from that first pussy-hat march in 2017. I did the first No Kings on the Mall, but since have been in Olney and Westminster, Maryland, to pump up their numbers more effectively. My most popular signs read, “Make Good Ruckus” and “Stephen Miller hangs upside down to sleep.”
I also do RenFests, beer dinners, embroidery, and jigsaw puzzles. I’m a Stephanie Miller Show fan, listening to all the scion podcasts and shows like Bob Cesca and Hal Sparks. I tune in most of the time and take breaks when I need to. I donate to NAFO fundraisers for CasEvac trucks, night vision goggles, thermal scopes, tourniquets, and drones for the Ukrainian battlefield. I do what I can and rest when I must.
I'm an author. I just focus on my art and keep writing stories that show good eventually wins over evil and everyone can love whomever they want to love.
I also keep my focus on my community - in person and online - because that's what's going to help us survive all of this. Supporting each other, speaking up/speaking out, and making sure we're able to survive this.
I've kept my sanity by avoiding the paralysis of powerlessness that afflicts many of my friends.
Early in Trump 1.0, I formed ProBonoPhoto.org. It's an organization that uses photography to amplify the impact of protestors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and provides free photographic services to local social-justice and environmental nonprofits.
Since then, we've grown to a group of over 50 volunteers, have given our services more than 1,200 times, and have expanded to Sacramento. We're doing at least a bit of good.
When I awaken to the daily dose of bad political news, I don't feel very powerless. I know exactly what I'm doing to help fight the authoritarian takeover. That realization stabiizes and comforts me.
Having a sense of agency can have great psychological benefits at times like this.
What a great project!
Thanks. I know of no other organizations like it in the entire country, which surprises me. The concept could be applied pretty easily in other geographical areas, and we're willing to give advice on starting one up.
I love this, Jack! I live in the East Bay where I am a member of Indivisible ReSisters of Northern CA. You have anyone attending out our way?
Hi, Marlene. PBP has members all over the Bay Area and in Sacramento, and we've covered actions organized by Indivisible ReSisters (at least Indivisible ReSisters of Contra Costa county).
That’s my group, Jack!! So YAY!
It’s a challenge to close out the chaos but thinking and writing fantasy scenarios lifts me above the deepening sense of peril for awhile. Music yes, too. Viewing works of art. Communing with friends. Walks through Botanical Garden. Working to find humor and hope.
And…. Appreciation I am healthy. Meditation.
💙🎶💙
Great prompt! I keep my secret antidote--laughter--at the ready to dispel the demons of doom. Also, I make sure to find a moment of joy every day. Maybe it happens during a walk, or when I hear a baby laughing, or when my daughter and I are together, or when I sit under a tree and marvel at the fact that its roots are entwined with those of the trees around it. I think: that's what we're missing, nod to myself, and smile a small but discernible smile. Sometimes food helps--there's very little that pasta can't cure! When all else fails, I watch an old Sponge Bob episode.
Yes, more laughter!
Oh my gosh! Humor! I can't tell you how many old videos of George Carlin, Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy I've watched lately. I find the belly laughs help
I have a small notebook in which I write thoughts which wander through my 80 year old mind, things which will never be read even by me. It is the writing that clears my heart. Funny stuff, sad stuff, all there for some reason.
I am an elected official in Miami Beach. It remains a blue bastion in a deep red state, but I serve with a deep red MAGAt Kirk apologist/Trump worshipper. He is very smart and independently wealthy and is Machiavellian in the way he repackages out of context facts into completely ridiculous narratives. I am not a politician, just an activist who got fed up and wanted to make things better. I knew I would never love the political part of my job, but I never imagined I would have to deal with MAGA nuttiness in my little idyllic slice of heaven. A couple of things that I do to try to mitigate the psychic damage. One is donate, volunteer, text bank for races around the country. Another is to mentor people who are going through tough times and try to help them find a path through. A third which is goofy but is fun, is to strike up conversations where they are least expected to try to get a smile from the person across from me. We both walk away chuckling. And lastly, I try to manage how I react to other people’s idiocy so it penetrates less and no fuel is added to the fire.
Sending you strength and gratitude in abundance for your service. It matters.