Again, thank god for Substack and investigative writers like you! Having lived through McCarthyism as a child, I shudder at the implications you see in our current situation. I see the same. Masked ICE agents on horse back (what an insult to this magnificent creature) are an insult to every aspect of our democracy. Thank you for your courage and clarity of vision. Be well. Stay safe. We need you. 🤗
TRump literally incited violence against reporters that were at his rallies. Katy Tur wrote about how it feels to be in his bullseye. After that, there are the threats by MAGAs who want to continue and escalate his vile behavior.
Reporters put their reputation and life on the line all the time. Some barely get paid. The number of them killed is staggering some years.
The genre of internet reporting is growing. The new reporters and pundits do not compete, they actually cooperate and appear on each other's broadcasts. It is heartening.
Trump may think he can maintain the upper-hand, and of course, SCOTUS will condone the dirt-bags and their attempts to silence and jail the press. He's a loser; this battle is way bigger than he can manage. Remember pirate radio?
STAY LOUD! Thanks for your bravery Thom, reporters, and news crews everywhere. See you in the streets.
We are in for a rough ride. I have said elsewhere that we are 2 nations sharing the same real estate. One still holds to The Constitution and the system of checks and balances. The other is willing to break all the rules to impose their will on all of 'Those People'. If We the People are to survive, we need an absolutely massive voter turnout next year. It is time we started to think big!
Mr. Kiefer, I share your fear about the possibility of cancelled elections. But, what if tump is not around to cancel them? I believe there is a real possibility that, now the oligarchs have their tax-reduction bill through Congress, they will get rid of Trump and allow J.D. Vance to rise into the seat of power. Which was their intention all along.
Cancelling elections might just be so provocative to the public that maybe the oligarchs do not want to take the risk. The Oligarchs have known for decades that they can control who gets into the white House. So, there is little motive to take such a great risk as cancelling elections.
I asked my self, a long time ago, why Peter Thiel would go to the trouble of buying Vance a political career at the highest level. First in the Senate, then as a jumping off point into the White House, at the number two spot. Eventually to advance to the number one spot when the time was right.
I have no prediction as to what a Vance presidency would look like. Only guesses. Would things get better or worse?????
"Sheldon Wolin was a political theorist with a long-celebrated body of work but his last book Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism (2008) may be his most important. Written during the Bush administration, it describes an authoritarian form of government that doesn’t replace democracy entirely, it uses the mechanisms and symbols of a democratic form of government while separating the dêmos, the people, from the krátos, the power."
Yes, Mr. Farrar, I too read Wolin's book some years ago. It was not easy to read. Elections are not a serious problem for oligarchs, if they control them and determine the outcomes. Please see my response to Mr. Kiefer.
Yes Mr. Solomon, you are undoubtedly correct. We have had a "managed democracy" since the assassination of John F. Kennedy and his brother RFK. The question now, I think, is: what do we do about it?
We can not turn away, hide our heads and pretend this isn't happening. We all have to keep reading, keep our eyes open, and keep dissenting. Too many of my family are trying to avoid anything 'political' because they are tired of it all. We can not allow ourselves to be 'tired' of the immorality, hypocrisy and corruption this regime is spewing out every minute of every day. No one is going to save our democracy if we don't.
Indeed, we must keep speaking out despite the growing risks. The truth matters and if it is not spoken or written about, what you said will happen, sooner rather than later. It is the old authoritarian playbook being run faster than any dictatorship in history. We are all potential targets, but if we do not, all will be lost until the Regime falls. All the best. Keep speaking and writing and please watch your six.
Thank you for asking. First, though I am a retired priest and military Chaplain, I try not to use the title “Reverend” as at this point in my life it seems rather haughty. The people who know me or have served with me refer to me by my name, or as Padre, Chaps, or for those who served with me in combat as “Battle Chaps.” Truthfully, regarding trying to evangelize “MAGATS” I pretty much gave up years ago after one of them, a retired Navy officer in my Chapel attempted to have me tried by Court Martial because he disagreed with a biblical sermon regarding the treatment of refugees and migrants that I preached in the chapel. That was in 2018, and it triggered me after I was exonerated by a formal investigation that showed he lied in everything that he accused me of, I put in my retirement papers. Since then I am very careful in approaching anyone who has MAGA beliefs. I still do my best to build bridges with all people including MAGATS. I hope that they will see in my life and care for them something that attracts them to the Jesus of the Gospels and not the warrior Jesus of the Christian Nationalists and the broader MAGA movement.
Since I am not God and wouldn’t want the job, I never presume that someone is damned, or somehow beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love. Sometimes I am tempted to believe that some, especially those that use their faith and political power as a weapon against others might be, but it is not my call to make. Despite everything I hope for the best, knowing that in this political and religious climate it could result in being a target. But, as a human being and a Christian I must resist the evil that has befallen our country, regardless of the personal cost. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian who was executed on Hitler’s order on 9 April 1945 at Flossenburg Concentration Camp wrote, : “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
I will speak, but what I currently do today in not typically what most people call evangelizing. It is bearing witness in a time of great evil.
Thank you again for asking, and I wish you all the best.
Thanks Thom for scaring the sh*t out of me AGAIN. I got a tic in my eye reading this which I haven't gotten since architecture school every Friday morning when we had our structures quiz. But it forced me to make calls....
of your continued open hand in the face of corrupt power.
Last summer and fall several thousand people (including me) passed petitions to get a State Constitutional amendment placed on the November ballot. The purpose of the Amendment was to reverse the laws that deprive women of the right to seek professional care regarding control of and treatment for their personal reproductive systems. The petitions alone carried no legal power except to put the issue on the November ballot so that the voters could have a direct voice instead of being controlled by the State of Missouri Legislature.
The number of petitions passed the required point and when we voted the choice was clearly in the hands of the electorate. The proposition received a clear majority of YES votes. It was then up to our elected Representatives to apply the clearly expressed will of the voters into properly written State Law.
Surprise, Surprise, they did not do that. Unless I am woefully underinformed, nothing has changed. If I am underinformed, someone please tell me.
If I am correct, we need some BIG changes in our State Government which is NOT governing with the consent of the Governed.
Then we can address the changes voters endorsed in the future minimum wage laws, another ignored voice of the voters.
Darkly ahead I see a time when telling the truth and/or taking to the streets, both First Amendment rights, are considered to be sedition and acted upon accordingly.
"...Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter..."
Thomas Jefferson on a free press. It was true then and it is certainly true now.
Again, thank god for Substack and investigative writers like you! Having lived through McCarthyism as a child, I shudder at the implications you see in our current situation. I see the same. Masked ICE agents on horse back (what an insult to this magnificent creature) are an insult to every aspect of our democracy. Thank you for your courage and clarity of vision. Be well. Stay safe. We need you. 🤗
This article is absolutely MUST READ!!!
He's the one that belongs in jail.....
TRump literally incited violence against reporters that were at his rallies. Katy Tur wrote about how it feels to be in his bullseye. After that, there are the threats by MAGAs who want to continue and escalate his vile behavior.
Reporters put their reputation and life on the line all the time. Some barely get paid. The number of them killed is staggering some years.
The genre of internet reporting is growing. The new reporters and pundits do not compete, they actually cooperate and appear on each other's broadcasts. It is heartening.
Trump may think he can maintain the upper-hand, and of course, SCOTUS will condone the dirt-bags and their attempts to silence and jail the press. He's a loser; this battle is way bigger than he can manage. Remember pirate radio?
STAY LOUD! Thanks for your bravery Thom, reporters, and news crews everywhere. See you in the streets.
We are in for a rough ride. I have said elsewhere that we are 2 nations sharing the same real estate. One still holds to The Constitution and the system of checks and balances. The other is willing to break all the rules to impose their will on all of 'Those People'. If We the People are to survive, we need an absolutely massive voter turnout next year. It is time we started to think big!
We can't depend upon the elections next year, for, if Trump has his way, there may not be any.
Mr. Kiefer, I share your fear about the possibility of cancelled elections. But, what if tump is not around to cancel them? I believe there is a real possibility that, now the oligarchs have their tax-reduction bill through Congress, they will get rid of Trump and allow J.D. Vance to rise into the seat of power. Which was their intention all along.
Cancelling elections might just be so provocative to the public that maybe the oligarchs do not want to take the risk. The Oligarchs have known for decades that they can control who gets into the white House. So, there is little motive to take such a great risk as cancelling elections.
I asked my self, a long time ago, why Peter Thiel would go to the trouble of buying Vance a political career at the highest level. First in the Senate, then as a jumping off point into the White House, at the number two spot. Eventually to advance to the number one spot when the time was right.
I have no prediction as to what a Vance presidency would look like. Only guesses. Would things get better or worse?????
Vance is a tool, who knows who the boss is. Trump is a tool who thinks he is the boss, That is the difference between the two Gerald.
Agreed Mr. Farrar!
Oh there will be elections, there are elections in Hungary, Turkey, Russia
we are already a managed democracy, inverted totalitarian.
https://www.mind-war.com/p/late-stage-inverted-totalitarianism?utm_source=publication-search
"Sheldon Wolin was a political theorist with a long-celebrated body of work but his last book Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism (2008) may be his most important. Written during the Bush administration, it describes an authoritarian form of government that doesn’t replace democracy entirely, it uses the mechanisms and symbols of a democratic form of government while separating the dêmos, the people, from the krátos, the power."
Yes, Mr. Farrar, I too read Wolin's book some years ago. It was not easy to read. Elections are not a serious problem for oligarchs, if they control them and determine the outcomes. Please see my response to Mr. Kiefer.
I don't want it, but I am coming to think a divorce is inevitable.
My fear exactly! What would keep them from citing bomb threats close all voting locations in blue districts?
Ms. Demas, I think the oligarchs are smarter and more subtle than that.
Yes, just like trump's very sophisticated cabinet. I wouldn't underestimate anyone in his circle....
Ms. Demas, Trump's cabinet is a "ship of fools" But the oligarchs behind him are not. They are a "nest of vipers."
I'm sorry but we wuz robbed and we are a majority and the MAGATs are a small minority that grabbed control through chicanery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2024_United_States_elections
Thom has documented several theories how the 2024 election was stolen.
Farrar documents other Fascist and Communist "elections". Last year we protested the theft of the Venezuelan election.
Yes Mr. Solomon, you are undoubtedly correct. We have had a "managed democracy" since the assassination of John F. Kennedy and his brother RFK. The question now, I think, is: what do we do about it?
We can not turn away, hide our heads and pretend this isn't happening. We all have to keep reading, keep our eyes open, and keep dissenting. Too many of my family are trying to avoid anything 'political' because they are tired of it all. We can not allow ourselves to be 'tired' of the immorality, hypocrisy and corruption this regime is spewing out every minute of every day. No one is going to save our democracy if we don't.
All I can say is goddamn this entire fascist regime and all the ignorant people who support it.
Will CNN stand fast? I doubt it.
You have nailed it brilliantly/succinctly/clearly.
Everyone needs to understand this and integrate it into their daily lives.
Thanks
I just tried to download the ICEBlock app from the Apple App Store. It looks like they removed it.
Keep the truth coming.
Thom,
Indeed, we must keep speaking out despite the growing risks. The truth matters and if it is not spoken or written about, what you said will happen, sooner rather than later. It is the old authoritarian playbook being run faster than any dictatorship in history. We are all potential targets, but if we do not, all will be lost until the Regime falls. All the best. Keep speaking and writing and please watch your six.
Steve Dundas
So...Rev Steve, do you evangelize to the MAGATs?
Are they damned?
Daniel,
Thank you for asking. First, though I am a retired priest and military Chaplain, I try not to use the title “Reverend” as at this point in my life it seems rather haughty. The people who know me or have served with me refer to me by my name, or as Padre, Chaps, or for those who served with me in combat as “Battle Chaps.” Truthfully, regarding trying to evangelize “MAGATS” I pretty much gave up years ago after one of them, a retired Navy officer in my Chapel attempted to have me tried by Court Martial because he disagreed with a biblical sermon regarding the treatment of refugees and migrants that I preached in the chapel. That was in 2018, and it triggered me after I was exonerated by a formal investigation that showed he lied in everything that he accused me of, I put in my retirement papers. Since then I am very careful in approaching anyone who has MAGA beliefs. I still do my best to build bridges with all people including MAGATS. I hope that they will see in my life and care for them something that attracts them to the Jesus of the Gospels and not the warrior Jesus of the Christian Nationalists and the broader MAGA movement.
Since I am not God and wouldn’t want the job, I never presume that someone is damned, or somehow beyond the reach of God’s mercy and love. Sometimes I am tempted to believe that some, especially those that use their faith and political power as a weapon against others might be, but it is not my call to make. Despite everything I hope for the best, knowing that in this political and religious climate it could result in being a target. But, as a human being and a Christian I must resist the evil that has befallen our country, regardless of the personal cost. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian who was executed on Hitler’s order on 9 April 1945 at Flossenburg Concentration Camp wrote, : “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
I will speak, but what I currently do today in not typically what most people call evangelizing. It is bearing witness in a time of great evil.
Thank you again for asking, and I wish you all the best.
Steve
Thanks.
Thanks Thom for scaring the sh*t out of me AGAIN. I got a tic in my eye reading this which I haven't gotten since architecture school every Friday morning when we had our structures quiz. But it forced me to make calls....
Am I bad because this made me laugh, Sophia?
However, I will add this to my of what these bastards are doing to all of us.
George Orwell would be proud...
of your continued open hand in the face of corrupt power.
Last summer and fall several thousand people (including me) passed petitions to get a State Constitutional amendment placed on the November ballot. The purpose of the Amendment was to reverse the laws that deprive women of the right to seek professional care regarding control of and treatment for their personal reproductive systems. The petitions alone carried no legal power except to put the issue on the November ballot so that the voters could have a direct voice instead of being controlled by the State of Missouri Legislature.
The number of petitions passed the required point and when we voted the choice was clearly in the hands of the electorate. The proposition received a clear majority of YES votes. It was then up to our elected Representatives to apply the clearly expressed will of the voters into properly written State Law.
Surprise, Surprise, they did not do that. Unless I am woefully underinformed, nothing has changed. If I am underinformed, someone please tell me.
If I am correct, we need some BIG changes in our State Government which is NOT governing with the consent of the Governed.
Then we can address the changes voters endorsed in the future minimum wage laws, another ignored voice of the voters.
Darkly ahead I see a time when telling the truth and/or taking to the streets, both First Amendment rights, are considered to be sedition and acted upon accordingly.
Thom, thank you for the incisive report and call to action. You've given me countless poster ideas for upcoming protests.
"...Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter..."
Thomas Jefferson on a free press. It was true then and it is certainly true now.
Well not my local newspaper which is owned by a conglomerate. And it isn't so much Trump as Christian Nationalism wrecking the country
Trump couldn't bumble his way out of a paper bag at the moment but is held up as a mask over what they are doing.