My dad’s mother used to say that you can’t choose your family (she was a real peach, the bitch). But it turns out you can. I have 3 siblings. I used to have another sibling, but not anymore. After he threatened my life because I referred to January 6th as an insurrection, he told me he loved me and my kids (who are Asian), but that I needed help for my Trump Derangement Syndrome. And he was right. I got that help by blocking his sorry, ignorant, racist ass from social media, email and my phone. Luckily, I married a Swede and live over here now, so I’m not too worried that he will show up to kill me. He can’t afford city bus fare, much less a transatlantic flight. I feel free. Truly no loss.
Although I am exhausted for many reasons, I was completely riled up while reading this. I would like to see the New York Times or the Washington Post print this as a guest editorial. I wonder if they have the courage to do that? What I appreciate about you so much, Earl, is that you are never afraid to speak or write the unvarnished truth. I’m pretty sure that women, and especially women of color, are going to save this country from Trump, assuming he doesn’t drop dead from something before November. The photos I’ve seen coming out of the courtroom look pretty bad. He looks like he’s going through a drug withdrawal, at the very least.
" I am officially DONE listening to the unmitigated gall that “both sides do it” or “both parties are the same” because that’s a complete load of bullshit. It is brutally insulting to the tens of millions of people in this country who play by the rules, believe all people are created equal, and still know a damn lie, or attack on our country when they hear it and see it."
More than 200 psychiatrists and psychologist submitted op-ed pieces to the NYT because they took their duty to warn responsibility seriously. The ONLY one they published was from a former APA President who said that mental health professionals shouldn’t be commenting on a public figure. It’s called the Goldwater Rule in the APA and it’s bullshit. Top people in the field—Judith Herman, Robert J Clifton—got together to write a book with Dr. Bandy Lee.
We HAVE to change specific parts of the system to change the incentives. The Politics Industry does a useful analysis and Veterans for All Voters has adopted it as their guide to electoral and legislative reform. I’m using it in our work in NC, too.
We have to work our asses off, elect Democrats, and then adjust the system to strengthen it: ranked choice voting, proportional representation, end partisan gerrymandering, reform campaign financing. If necessary, expand the courts and the House, so each delegate represents the same number of voters. Enact term limits. We have to get back to governing. Our system has been infected by kleptocracy.
You speak for so many of us - your anger is my anger- your disgust is mine - and your refusal to equate the two sides is my refusal! Thank you for stating all of it so well!!
This post is SO true. I’m sick of people trying to understand, then defend, why Trump supporters are Trump supporters. Understand it, okay. Defend it, not okay. Once again, you have made so many good points in this piece. And, once again, you have expressed what I haven’t found the appropriate words to piece together. Here in NC, we have disgusting Mark Robinson running for governor. And disgusting Michelle Morrow running for the head of public instruction, when she doesn’t even send her kids to public schools and calls for Barack Obama to be executed. Damn. The evil exists on all levels.
Every word TRUTH! Thank you for this black and white lay down of FACTS. There is no Gray here. It’s time we all start speaking out this plainly and boldly. Past time. I’m subscribing now.
As a child, I wondered (upon first hearing) whom the “right” were supposed to be. Surely, that term referred to DEMOCRATS because America is a democracy, right? Much to my dismay, it referred to the other side of the isle. Since then I say the LEFT and the WRONG. Sums it up for me.
I am sick and tired of having to “understand” these Magas. They’re cruel and racist and ignorant. They lie and cheat. They disparage the weak. They bully the poor.
They mock the disadvantaged.
They follow their leader.
And these republican politicians applaud this abhorrent behavior. And they spout Russian propaganda. Proudly.
Anything to remain in power. Anything to get the Magas and their dear leader’s approval.
Imagine me bowing to you, Sir. Thank you for your words. We have to face the fact that Republicants are beyond redemption and no savior would be able to reach them with logic and intelligence. For a short duration in our country’s history, it appears we really would be creating a brave new world. But alas, the worst of humanity also hopped a ship and sailed west. With such great possibilities came human failures. Greed, jealousy, power, religious righteousness, and White Supremacy festered as we struggled in the wilderness. It was a hard life so we deserved more didn’t we? So, White people self-anointed through an artificial Supremacy created “God’s kingdom on earth” for themselves.
Throughout the Old Testament, we are told that God had given us dominion over …every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Europeans interpreted that to mean that White men were granted by God to rule. These Biblical verses laid the groundwork for the importation of African prisoners of war in the first wave of slaves sold in the Colonies.
Our original sin took root throughout the countryside from North to South and on westward. Black men, women and children were the tillers of the soil, they cooked, cleaned and carried for white babies and they provided the strength and skills to build churches and towns. The divide deepened and the sin was justified by preachers on Sunday.
The party of the slaveowners may have been called Democrats but years later switched names and became the basis for today’s Republican party. There is much to understand about slavery but suffice it to say the ingrained beliefs have become a permanent part of our society and our legal system as systemic racism. The much debunked pseudoscience of eugenics swept Europe and many American “physicians” and “scientists” were captured by the erroneous study of racial differences which were manipulated to support racism and bigotry.
Another layer of the self-serving belief of God mandated white superiority was the idea of Manifest Destiny, where people believed that God wanted white people to be the landowners of the purchased land expansions plus any lands that could be stolen from the many Native American tribes. The U.S. government signed treaties that were worthless, forced tribes into reservations (the worst land available), massacred tribes and slaughtered millions of buffalo to starve peoples and forced Indian children live in “white man” boarding schools where they were mistreated and even killed. This was and is still a shameful way to treat the true owners of millions of acres of America. Reservations are now another type of ghetto or barrio.
Sounds just like the Republicans in office across the U.S. doesn’t it? Selfish, greedy, ignorant, hateful and willing to sacrifice others for their own goals. Religion has been a cornerstone of the many ways people of color have been robbed, abused and murdered.
The wealthy corporate robber barons of today have plans for other Americans like they did since our county’s birth. Slaves rose up and served in the Union army. blackAmericans have proudly served in the military on behalf of the United States since the war between the states. Indigenous people continue to fight for their rights.
The ugliest part of our history is not over because Donald Trump and his MAGA cultists and the once venerated party of Lincoln has followed the low roads of history.
You hit the nail on the head with everything you said. I always wondered about people that railed against abortions but take food from children. How can you care about unborn people and don’t give a damn about the living children that live in poverty because they don’t have the resources to make their lives better. Republicans support the very rich and then take away from the poor. When the left tries to make things better, they are upset and they try so hard to stop the programs that are supposed to help them. There is something morally wrong with the right. I believe they are spiritually bankrupt, yet claim religious beliefs to justify their actions. Thank you for your words. I needed to know that there are people that care about our country.
It's like you're inside my head sucking the words right out! Absolutely everything you wrote is exactly how I feel. Thank you.
My dad’s mother used to say that you can’t choose your family (she was a real peach, the bitch). But it turns out you can. I have 3 siblings. I used to have another sibling, but not anymore. After he threatened my life because I referred to January 6th as an insurrection, he told me he loved me and my kids (who are Asian), but that I needed help for my Trump Derangement Syndrome. And he was right. I got that help by blocking his sorry, ignorant, racist ass from social media, email and my phone. Luckily, I married a Swede and live over here now, so I’m not too worried that he will show up to kill me. He can’t afford city bus fare, much less a transatlantic flight. I feel free. Truly no loss.
Your fingers to God's ears! Let's rout the bastards and stand united against them after the orange anus loses in November!
Although I am exhausted for many reasons, I was completely riled up while reading this. I would like to see the New York Times or the Washington Post print this as a guest editorial. I wonder if they have the courage to do that? What I appreciate about you so much, Earl, is that you are never afraid to speak or write the unvarnished truth. I’m pretty sure that women, and especially women of color, are going to save this country from Trump, assuming he doesn’t drop dead from something before November. The photos I’ve seen coming out of the courtroom look pretty bad. He looks like he’s going through a drug withdrawal, at the very least.
" I am officially DONE listening to the unmitigated gall that “both sides do it” or “both parties are the same” because that’s a complete load of bullshit. It is brutally insulting to the tens of millions of people in this country who play by the rules, believe all people are created equal, and still know a damn lie, or attack on our country when they hear it and see it."
Absofuckinglutely goddam fucking right!!!!
The Republicans have always been the party of stupid. The Know Nothings, the John Birch Society, the Red Scare, and the Tea Party, led to Trump.
More than 200 psychiatrists and psychologist submitted op-ed pieces to the NYT because they took their duty to warn responsibility seriously. The ONLY one they published was from a former APA President who said that mental health professionals shouldn’t be commenting on a public figure. It’s called the Goldwater Rule in the APA and it’s bullshit. Top people in the field—Judith Herman, Robert J Clifton—got together to write a book with Dr. Bandy Lee.
We HAVE to change specific parts of the system to change the incentives. The Politics Industry does a useful analysis and Veterans for All Voters has adopted it as their guide to electoral and legislative reform. I’m using it in our work in NC, too.
We have to work our asses off, elect Democrats, and then adjust the system to strengthen it: ranked choice voting, proportional representation, end partisan gerrymandering, reform campaign financing. If necessary, expand the courts and the House, so each delegate represents the same number of voters. Enact term limits. We have to get back to governing. Our system has been infected by kleptocracy.
You speak for so many of us - your anger is my anger- your disgust is mine - and your refusal to equate the two sides is my refusal! Thank you for stating all of it so well!!
This post is SO true. I’m sick of people trying to understand, then defend, why Trump supporters are Trump supporters. Understand it, okay. Defend it, not okay. Once again, you have made so many good points in this piece. And, once again, you have expressed what I haven’t found the appropriate words to piece together. Here in NC, we have disgusting Mark Robinson running for governor. And disgusting Michelle Morrow running for the head of public instruction, when she doesn’t even send her kids to public schools and calls for Barack Obama to be executed. Damn. The evil exists on all levels.
Every word TRUTH! Thank you for this black and white lay down of FACTS. There is no Gray here. It’s time we all start speaking out this plainly and boldly. Past time. I’m subscribing now.
As a child, I wondered (upon first hearing) whom the “right” were supposed to be. Surely, that term referred to DEMOCRATS because America is a democracy, right? Much to my dismay, it referred to the other side of the isle. Since then I say the LEFT and the WRONG. Sums it up for me.
Preach it, D. Earl, preach it.
I am sick and tired of having to “understand” these Magas. They’re cruel and racist and ignorant. They lie and cheat. They disparage the weak. They bully the poor.
They mock the disadvantaged.
They follow their leader.
And these republican politicians applaud this abhorrent behavior. And they spout Russian propaganda. Proudly.
Anything to remain in power. Anything to get the Magas and their dear leader’s approval.
They make me sick.
Imagine me bowing to you, Sir. Thank you for your words. We have to face the fact that Republicants are beyond redemption and no savior would be able to reach them with logic and intelligence. For a short duration in our country’s history, it appears we really would be creating a brave new world. But alas, the worst of humanity also hopped a ship and sailed west. With such great possibilities came human failures. Greed, jealousy, power, religious righteousness, and White Supremacy festered as we struggled in the wilderness. It was a hard life so we deserved more didn’t we? So, White people self-anointed through an artificial Supremacy created “God’s kingdom on earth” for themselves.
Throughout the Old Testament, we are told that God had given us dominion over …every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Europeans interpreted that to mean that White men were granted by God to rule. These Biblical verses laid the groundwork for the importation of African prisoners of war in the first wave of slaves sold in the Colonies.
Our original sin took root throughout the countryside from North to South and on westward. Black men, women and children were the tillers of the soil, they cooked, cleaned and carried for white babies and they provided the strength and skills to build churches and towns. The divide deepened and the sin was justified by preachers on Sunday.
The party of the slaveowners may have been called Democrats but years later switched names and became the basis for today’s Republican party. There is much to understand about slavery but suffice it to say the ingrained beliefs have become a permanent part of our society and our legal system as systemic racism. The much debunked pseudoscience of eugenics swept Europe and many American “physicians” and “scientists” were captured by the erroneous study of racial differences which were manipulated to support racism and bigotry.
Another layer of the self-serving belief of God mandated white superiority was the idea of Manifest Destiny, where people believed that God wanted white people to be the landowners of the purchased land expansions plus any lands that could be stolen from the many Native American tribes. The U.S. government signed treaties that were worthless, forced tribes into reservations (the worst land available), massacred tribes and slaughtered millions of buffalo to starve peoples and forced Indian children live in “white man” boarding schools where they were mistreated and even killed. This was and is still a shameful way to treat the true owners of millions of acres of America. Reservations are now another type of ghetto or barrio.
Sounds just like the Republicans in office across the U.S. doesn’t it? Selfish, greedy, ignorant, hateful and willing to sacrifice others for their own goals. Religion has been a cornerstone of the many ways people of color have been robbed, abused and murdered.
The wealthy corporate robber barons of today have plans for other Americans like they did since our county’s birth. Slaves rose up and served in the Union army. blackAmericans have proudly served in the military on behalf of the United States since the war between the states. Indigenous people continue to fight for their rights.
The ugliest part of our history is not over because Donald Trump and his MAGA cultists and the once venerated party of Lincoln has followed the low roads of history.
Accurate. It’s up to all of us to decide whether we want to save our children .
Accurate. And damn scary.
You hit the nail on the head with everything you said. I always wondered about people that railed against abortions but take food from children. How can you care about unborn people and don’t give a damn about the living children that live in poverty because they don’t have the resources to make their lives better. Republicans support the very rich and then take away from the poor. When the left tries to make things better, they are upset and they try so hard to stop the programs that are supposed to help them. There is something morally wrong with the right. I believe they are spiritually bankrupt, yet claim religious beliefs to justify their actions. Thank you for your words. I needed to know that there are people that care about our country.