Thank you for revisiting this…and for the outstanding “Six Questions” with Malcolm Nance, whose depth and breadth of experience is a rare and precious thing during this fraught moment in our history. Trump has loaded our country into the ‘way back machine’. We might as well be under the thumb of King George, as you have so aptly described.
Happy Birthday, America? Not unless we become reborn. Not unless we remember our mission and strive for it; to become a freer, more equal, more compassionate country that thirsts for equality and opportunity for all. Not unless we remember what freedom is NOT. I think this piece lays bare how much has been stripped away, and how quickly.
I lay awake last night, wondering how some of the former leaders of this country are feeling and what they are thinking about all of this. Kamala Harris warned us, as did Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton, too. The people that protected our precious gem of a democracy during Trump’s first term are gone. He seeks refuge in tax-payer funded vanity projects that no one requested while some Americans starve. He wallows in self-pity, and bathes luxuriously in Justice Department directed revenge and illegitimate prosecutions of his perceived enemies at a scale that would make Nixon blush.
I am discouraged and afraid. Time marches on with no relief from this administration’s grift, corruption, and carelessness. The words of our founding fathers have been replaced by Supreme Court rulings that support Kingship. The Golden Rule has been replaced by; “He who hath the gold maketh the rule.” We await mass pardons of anyone and everyone that, as it is reported, has come within 200 feet of the White House, while our feet grow weary.
And weary we are…weary of the growing sense of dread…weary of the ignorance, weakness and fear among lawmakers who ought to know better…weary of our waning energy to care when it counts. Weary of the grandstanding of both political parties. We, the People, are treading water on this, our 250th Birthday. I am mortally afraid of drowning in this morass. Somebody send a lifeboat…an oar..or a buoy…before it is too late.
Thank you for sharing, Ellen. Don’t be afraid. We will get through this. And more Americans may finally grasp the consequences of not taking their citizenship seriously.
Thank you so much! I needed that encouragement. I have family members that are considering leaving the country if things don’t improve. I think it gets me down because it’s going to take ALL of us to turn things around,
There are many people working to keep the pillars of our democracy afloat. That’s why he loses so many court cases - more than we even hear about and more than we can keep track of. Dems are making plans for when they may take the gavel in the House, possibly the Senate. He will still have the veto power. They will have subpoena power & the power of the purse. Schumer is quietly leading an effort with folks like Mark Elias, and other experts to ‘war game’ potential election interference. Dem states have been looking at their options and making plans.
Jack Smith did an interview with Nicole Wallace. He talked about being engaged and concerned about the elections. (Has his own law firm now) He gave a couple ideas of what people can do. Nothing more than what we’ve said or heard before. But it carries extra weight to hear him say it in his calm even voice.
It’s as if you held up a clairvoyant mirror from the past to see so closely the morass we are in.
I love this statement:
“Indeed, this is foundational in both articulating the radical aspirations of our nation and providing standards and values against which we can measure our progress.”
And as shocking as this parasite’s cumulative behavior was then - it has exploded in enormity against our laws and Democracy, leaving me immobilized mentally at times.
Being “Here” helps
These words, Frederick Douglass and yours are powerful.
You are sadly correct. Slavery was addressed in the draft but not included in the final.
The focus was on seeking independence from a tyrant:
The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain.
Here an link with time lines that helps answer your question
"And, honestly, it was stunning to realize how closely many of the grievances our founders asserted toward King George III mirror the issues we are facing with the tyrannical despot currently occupying our White House." Steven, that line is spot on. And philosopher George Santayana chimes in with "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Another George, King George, has served as Trump's model. Every day Trump looks into a full length mirror, he sees not a rumpled pajama-clad elder, but himself fitted with crown and cape. And beause his sycophants have learned to praise this apparition, Trump starts his morning full of bravado and cruelty. If only Cheerios would suffice. Alas, the Breakfast of Champions sours in his bloated stomach.
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes. In the words of Mark Twain we see the rhyming of the conditions of 1776 and the current day. Both George III and Donald Trump thought they had the authority to rule by fiat. The king was a victim of severe mental illness, as is the felon in Washington. Our best hope is to reassert our independence from a mad president* in the same way our founding fathers declared independence from George III.
Thanks you Steven: Not understanding parts of the American birth I had to google King George 111. I assumed you were scripting about the present despot occupying the White House this moment. King George III (1738–1820) reigned over Great Britain and Ireland for nearly 60 years. Remembered for the loss of the American colonies . He also appeared to have a few mental problems , just like the present dictator. I feel the root cause of these difficulties comes from the Heritage Foundation cabal and their agenda 2025. They have the perfect sycophants to push the agenda through its stages with the likes of Stephen Miller and others along with a stacked Supreme Court. I keep sensing William Wallace when he screamed FREEDOM while the British despots were disembowelling him back in those stormy days on August 23, 1305....
In the words of Dr. King: we shall overcome. Eat your wheaties. Exercise. Think loving and good thoughts. Be prepared. Every able body needs to get at least two friends who haven't voted or don't get to the polls, to the polls. That makes three votes against the madness, times thousands. This mess won't right itself; that's up to us, for the good of the country, for the promise we are bound to keep for our children's sake.
Democrats, Independents, and unaffiliated people of the United States need to be repeating the grievances from this article that our Founders cited against a vile King because we are living with the same grievances from a corrupt and morally bankrupt regime today. It is beyond trump. It is the complicity of the billionaires who keep him in power and the cowards who value their own power above our country. We must revolt again and take our country back. Unless we are lazier and less patriotic that those who founded this nation.
Thank you for revisiting this…and for the outstanding “Six Questions” with Malcolm Nance, whose depth and breadth of experience is a rare and precious thing during this fraught moment in our history. Trump has loaded our country into the ‘way back machine’. We might as well be under the thumb of King George, as you have so aptly described.
Happy Birthday, America? Not unless we become reborn. Not unless we remember our mission and strive for it; to become a freer, more equal, more compassionate country that thirsts for equality and opportunity for all. Not unless we remember what freedom is NOT. I think this piece lays bare how much has been stripped away, and how quickly.
I lay awake last night, wondering how some of the former leaders of this country are feeling and what they are thinking about all of this. Kamala Harris warned us, as did Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton, too. The people that protected our precious gem of a democracy during Trump’s first term are gone. He seeks refuge in tax-payer funded vanity projects that no one requested while some Americans starve. He wallows in self-pity, and bathes luxuriously in Justice Department directed revenge and illegitimate prosecutions of his perceived enemies at a scale that would make Nixon blush.
I am discouraged and afraid. Time marches on with no relief from this administration’s grift, corruption, and carelessness. The words of our founding fathers have been replaced by Supreme Court rulings that support Kingship. The Golden Rule has been replaced by; “He who hath the gold maketh the rule.” We await mass pardons of anyone and everyone that, as it is reported, has come within 200 feet of the White House, while our feet grow weary.
And weary we are…weary of the growing sense of dread…weary of the ignorance, weakness and fear among lawmakers who ought to know better…weary of our waning energy to care when it counts. Weary of the grandstanding of both political parties. We, the People, are treading water on this, our 250th Birthday. I am mortally afraid of drowning in this morass. Somebody send a lifeboat…an oar..or a buoy…before it is too late.
Thank you for sharing, Ellen. Don’t be afraid. We will get through this. And more Americans may finally grasp the consequences of not taking their citizenship seriously.
Thank you so much! I needed that encouragement. I have family members that are considering leaving the country if things don’t improve. I think it gets me down because it’s going to take ALL of us to turn things around,
There are many people working to keep the pillars of our democracy afloat. That’s why he loses so many court cases - more than we even hear about and more than we can keep track of. Dems are making plans for when they may take the gavel in the House, possibly the Senate. He will still have the veto power. They will have subpoena power & the power of the purse. Schumer is quietly leading an effort with folks like Mark Elias, and other experts to ‘war game’ potential election interference. Dem states have been looking at their options and making plans.
Jack Smith did an interview with Nicole Wallace. He talked about being engaged and concerned about the elections. (Has his own law firm now) He gave a couple ideas of what people can do. Nothing more than what we’ve said or heard before. But it carries extra weight to hear him say it in his calm even voice.
So we are not totally lost and alone. 😊
It’s as if you held up a clairvoyant mirror from the past to see so closely the morass we are in.
I love this statement:
“Indeed, this is foundational in both articulating the radical aspirations of our nation and providing standards and values against which we can measure our progress.”
…”radical aspirations”but wonderful:
All men are created equal…
💙🇺🇸💙
May we have the link from a year ago?
Thanks for asking. Here it is, which includes the words of Frederick Douglass about July 4: https://www.americaamerica.news/p/independence-day-is-resistance-day?utm_source=publication-search
Thank you. re-read it.
I recall last year at this time very well.
And as shocking as this parasite’s cumulative behavior was then - it has exploded in enormity against our laws and Democracy, leaving me immobilized mentally at times.
Being “Here” helps
These words, Frederick Douglass and yours are powerful.
Thank you for sharing.
What, to the slave is the Fourth of July?
You are sadly correct. Slavery was addressed in the draft but not included in the final.
The focus was on seeking independence from a tyrant:
The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain.
Here an link with time lines that helps answer your question
https://www.thehistoryreader.com/us-history/american-slavery-time-line/#:~:text=1684%20%E2%80%93%20Africans%20are%20imported%20into,the%20first%20American%20antislavery%20petition.
"And, honestly, it was stunning to realize how closely many of the grievances our founders asserted toward King George III mirror the issues we are facing with the tyrannical despot currently occupying our White House." Steven, that line is spot on. And philosopher George Santayana chimes in with "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Another George, King George, has served as Trump's model. Every day Trump looks into a full length mirror, he sees not a rumpled pajama-clad elder, but himself fitted with crown and cape. And beause his sycophants have learned to praise this apparition, Trump starts his morning full of bravado and cruelty. If only Cheerios would suffice. Alas, the Breakfast of Champions sours in his bloated stomach.
E Pluribus Unum. Time to revisit that idea.
https://albellenchia.substack.com/p/the-struggle?r=7wk5d&utm_medium=ios
History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes. In the words of Mark Twain we see the rhyming of the conditions of 1776 and the current day. Both George III and Donald Trump thought they had the authority to rule by fiat. The king was a victim of severe mental illness, as is the felon in Washington. Our best hope is to reassert our independence from a mad president* in the same way our founding fathers declared independence from George III.
Pretty ironic, isn’t it, that our attempt to celebrate 250 years of independence from a mad king is being taken over by a mad king!
In our local paper this morning there was a reprint of a letter sent to the Boston Gazette complaining about the tea tax. It was interesting to read.
Thanks you Steven: Not understanding parts of the American birth I had to google King George 111. I assumed you were scripting about the present despot occupying the White House this moment. King George III (1738–1820) reigned over Great Britain and Ireland for nearly 60 years. Remembered for the loss of the American colonies . He also appeared to have a few mental problems , just like the present dictator. I feel the root cause of these difficulties comes from the Heritage Foundation cabal and their agenda 2025. They have the perfect sycophants to push the agenda through its stages with the likes of Stephen Miller and others along with a stacked Supreme Court. I keep sensing William Wallace when he screamed FREEDOM while the British despots were disembowelling him back in those stormy days on August 23, 1305....
My first thoughts when reading the list of charges: Donald Trump will see this as a 'To-Do' list.
In the words of Dr. King: we shall overcome. Eat your wheaties. Exercise. Think loving and good thoughts. Be prepared. Every able body needs to get at least two friends who haven't voted or don't get to the polls, to the polls. That makes three votes against the madness, times thousands. This mess won't right itself; that's up to us, for the good of the country, for the promise we are bound to keep for our children's sake.
Democrats, Independents, and unaffiliated people of the United States need to be repeating the grievances from this article that our Founders cited against a vile King because we are living with the same grievances from a corrupt and morally bankrupt regime today. It is beyond trump. It is the complicity of the billionaires who keep him in power and the cowards who value their own power above our country. We must revolt again and take our country back. Unless we are lazier and less patriotic that those who founded this nation.
Thank you for revisiting your earlier writing. By chance have you seen this clever presentation by the clever and capable Robert Reich? https://www.facebook.com/stories/171714997655289/UzpfSVNDOjg1NzQ0MzE4Mzc1NDM3Ng==/?bucket_count=9&source=story_tray