Last evening I stood and sang and listened to the Good Friday service. The story of how Jesus was arrested and tried and killed.
How Peter denied Jesus three times.
Jesus was a given an copportunity to speak and establish the facts. He was willing to to die for a greater cause. People who already were with sin. Born imperfect. Us all.
Our Government is evil and needs to be confronted. A Mother near Plattsburgh is the nearest I know of the treachery of Trump. Her and her children detained because of alleged violations with immigration. No clear facts established and people taken wrongly. There is an organized effort were not fully aware of. Limes haveen drawn and there's seems to some order to the officers gathering people.
This happening inside out now peaceful nation. We need to stand against this. The Jan 6 attack was organized too. Time to organize and move. Speak be heard and declare it what it is. Do the right thing. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Copy and pasted the line this article speaks of clearly....
"What's happening is not normal; America needs an uprising that is not normal."
Thomas Friedman is wrong about just about everything. Don’t believe me,just Google “Thomas Friedman is wrong about everything” and see what comes up.
Ken, if this news blog is gonna do nothing but complain about Trump, it’s gonna get kind of boring. Trump bashing didn’t work in therecent election, and it’s not gonna work now. Some people on the left, like Gavin Newsome and Bill Maher, see what’s going on and realize that the political left has to come up with solutions, not just complain.
It’s not just the “political left” that criticize Donald Trump and his enablers. I spend much more time reading and listening to former Republicans than anyone on the left.
Here’s a couple of solutions from everyone opposed to Trump: Stop rendering people to foreign gulags without due process and stop the insane trade war we’ve begun with the rest of the world.
There was bipartisan legislation spearheaded by Sen. Lankford prior to the election. The bill was killed at the behest of Trump. Kamala Harris promised to support its reinstatement.
She ran on specifics. Unfortunately people voted for “deport them all and let God sort them out.” Oh, and bring back coal and tariffs more extreme than Smoot Hawley. And we will reap the whirlwind. That’s likely to be literal for people in the south who will suffer from the loss of NOAA and FEMA.
All of us who oppose Trump will just sit back and work on white papers and allow the president to carry on he is. Is that what Newsom and Maher are suggesting?
Apparently not. The governor of California is suing to end the trade war that Trump had no authority to start. By your definition that isn’t a “solution” either.
There are three new books out talking about the last election. Behind the scenes, Joe Biden said Kamala Harris would be a terrible candidate as did Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. And she was a terrible candidate. If you’re gonna beat Trump, you gotta come up with a better alternative.
Harris lost because she was obviously associated with Biden’s policies and people were convinced they were living through times worse than the Joads. They’re going to find out what they bought in rejecting an accomplished Black woman for a grievance-filled narcissist who’s been bailed out time and time again.
There will be no bailing him or us out when treasuries are being dumped and the rest of the world has aligned with and is trading with China.
If you want your news from political gossip books great. 👍
Since you seem to like that sort of thing so much maybe take a look at the long list of elected Republicans who’ve rendered judgment on Donald Trump’s fitness to serve as president. That includes our congresswoman who now serves him so blindly. Did he get better or did she get worse?
Many independent and swing voters who went for Trump in 2024, but are not part of the MAGA cult, are starting to abandon him. These are the voters who got Trump over the finish line. Their disillusionment with Trump portends badly for the 2026 mid-terms for Republicans.
Republicans are stuck with a deeply-flawed president who routinely self-owns in his actions and statements. Rather than an obsession with 'owning the libs', Republicans should be concerned with their own flawed elected officials.
I certainly don't see myself as the political left by any stretch of the imagination, but Trump's assault on democracy has to be addressed. I don't think shrugging one's shoulders is going to do it.
I didn’t say that it was just the left that was going after Trump. I did say that some on the left are starting to back off on the Trump attacks. If you wanna vent, that’s fine. But it’s not changing anything.
What Republicans in general, and apparently you in particular, can’t seem to understand is that “the left” is different from the right in that we on the left often disagree with each other and discuss and debate problems and solutions and we don’t see it as a failing. Republicans over the years have lost the ability to accept varied viewpoints which has led to the current situation where all Republicans feel they have to act as one and no dissent is tolerated, even in the face of stupendously stupid and unconstitutional power grabs. Let Bill Maher have his snarky opinions. I don’t have to agree with him to be a member of the left in good standing.
As a Historian by training, I find DJT'S actions and behavior very disturbing. Kind of reminds me of a certain Austrian Corporal is Germany in the 1930's. And, make no mistake, folks, he wants to be a Dictator. We cannot let that happen.
I'm sensing a change in the past few weeks, where people everywhere are sounding the alarm about Trump's lawless actions -- from Cory Booker on the Senate floor, to rallies of tens of thousands led by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to smaller protests in rural towns across America, including our Indivisible group, to federal court judges excoriating Trump's disregard for peoples' rights, to Senator Van Hollen traveling to El Salvador to defend Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and to Harvard University telling the Trump administration to go pound sand.
I don't know where this resistance will lead, but it's going in the right direction -- standing up, bearing witness, and not backing down.
/A number of prominent Republicans, including several former members of the first Trump administration, have signed an open letter decrying the president for using his power to punish two former administration officials who criticized him, likening his actions to those of a “royal despot.”/ (NYT)
“We are all afraid. It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right. But that’s what you’ve asked me to do. And so I’m going to use my voice to the best of my ability."
There is another interesting article in today's NY Times entitled, "In Trump Attack on Harvard, Punishment Before Proof".
These are the actions the Trump Administration are taking, not just against institutions of higher education like Harvard, but also against international students whose visas are being revoked without explanation and immigrants who are being deported to a gulag like prison in El Salvador.
They are implementing punishment without due process.
They have proclaimed themselves judge, jury and executioner.
And, of course, NY21 "Representative" Elise Stefanik is defending and gleefully applauding each and every one of these actions.
There are several actions by which ‘we the people’ can effect real change — peaceful protests, non-violent civil disobedience, boycotts, law suits, and voting. But I think it all begins with bearing witness to the injustices we see.
Your work here is no "small little effort," and yes, it does much good.
To Our Thought Leaders: YOU start It Up Now. Why not ALL of you: Brooks, Friedman, Kristoff, Duthault, Collins, Klein, Stevens, Doud, Goldberg, et al, with guests Peggy Noonan, Tim.Egan, others too..., join together as ONE. I mean YOU thought leaders all TOGETHER now. GET THE TRANSFORMATION GOING!. No more words, only action.Get started. Just Do It! You know how. You CAN DO IT. YourThoughts, Words AND Deeds. "Do good and avoid evil." Easter blessings all
Tom Friedman and David Brooks both alerting the public and you alerting us!!
Ezra Klein podcast last week included an interview with Thomas Friedman so if you want to hear from him first hand taken a listen. Alarming and long range and vital to hear. And today another big Hands Off protest at the Glens Falls Civil War monument. Hundreds of us. Numbers are growing. Stand up, Speak out, Take Action. We are. We must! Every Saturday at noon we gather at the monument with our signs and our commitment!
These times also need deliverers of these insights who can write and speak at the average reading/vocabulary level in our country which is still well below that of the New York Times. Bi-dialectic abilities, cross-class communication, and willingness to look at the gap between our myths and our realities are skills we all need to develop.
The students, the researchers in medicine, science, biology, astronomy and all the sciences are being expelled by our country. Colleges in Europe are welcoming the minds and hearts of those we expel. Trump pardons insurrectionists and those imprisoned for greed, exploitation, corruption. Make America a nation of greed and violence...., not of wisdom, knowledge, understanding...
Last evening I stood and sang and listened to the Good Friday service. The story of how Jesus was arrested and tried and killed.
How Peter denied Jesus three times.
Jesus was a given an copportunity to speak and establish the facts. He was willing to to die for a greater cause. People who already were with sin. Born imperfect. Us all.
Our Government is evil and needs to be confronted. A Mother near Plattsburgh is the nearest I know of the treachery of Trump. Her and her children detained because of alleged violations with immigration. No clear facts established and people taken wrongly. There is an organized effort were not fully aware of. Limes haveen drawn and there's seems to some order to the officers gathering people.
This happening inside out now peaceful nation. We need to stand against this. The Jan 6 attack was organized too. Time to organize and move. Speak be heard and declare it what it is. Do the right thing. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Copy and pasted the line this article speaks of clearly....
"What's happening is not normal; America needs an uprising that is not normal."
Do your part resist and protest as you must.
Thomas Friedman is wrong about just about everything. Don’t believe me,just Google “Thomas Friedman is wrong about everything” and see what comes up.
Ken, if this news blog is gonna do nothing but complain about Trump, it’s gonna get kind of boring. Trump bashing didn’t work in therecent election, and it’s not gonna work now. Some people on the left, like Gavin Newsome and Bill Maher, see what’s going on and realize that the political left has to come up with solutions, not just complain.
It’s not just the “political left” that criticize Donald Trump and his enablers. I spend much more time reading and listening to former Republicans than anyone on the left.
Here’s a couple of solutions from everyone opposed to Trump: Stop rendering people to foreign gulags without due process and stop the insane trade war we’ve begun with the rest of the world.
There was bipartisan legislation spearheaded by Sen. Lankford prior to the election. The bill was killed at the behest of Trump. Kamala Harris promised to support its reinstatement.
She ran on specifics. Unfortunately people voted for “deport them all and let God sort them out.” Oh, and bring back coal and tariffs more extreme than Smoot Hawley. And we will reap the whirlwind. That’s likely to be literal for people in the south who will suffer from the loss of NOAA and FEMA.
All of us who oppose Trump will just sit back and work on white papers and allow the president to carry on he is. Is that what Newsom and Maher are suggesting?
Apparently not. The governor of California is suing to end the trade war that Trump had no authority to start. By your definition that isn’t a “solution” either.
There are three new books out talking about the last election. Behind the scenes, Joe Biden said Kamala Harris would be a terrible candidate as did Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. And she was a terrible candidate. If you’re gonna beat Trump, you gotta come up with a better alternative.
Harris lost because she was obviously associated with Biden’s policies and people were convinced they were living through times worse than the Joads. They’re going to find out what they bought in rejecting an accomplished Black woman for a grievance-filled narcissist who’s been bailed out time and time again.
There will be no bailing him or us out when treasuries are being dumped and the rest of the world has aligned with and is trading with China.
If you want your news from political gossip books great. 👍
Since you seem to like that sort of thing so much maybe take a look at the long list of elected Republicans who’ve rendered judgment on Donald Trump’s fitness to serve as president. That includes our congresswoman who now serves him so blindly. Did he get better or did she get worse?
Don’t argue with me, argue with Biden, Obama, Pelosi.
Many independent and swing voters who went for Trump in 2024, but are not part of the MAGA cult, are starting to abandon him. These are the voters who got Trump over the finish line. Their disillusionment with Trump portends badly for the 2026 mid-terms for Republicans.
Republicans are stuck with a deeply-flawed president who routinely self-owns in his actions and statements. Rather than an obsession with 'owning the libs', Republicans should be concerned with their own flawed elected officials.
I certainly don't see myself as the political left by any stretch of the imagination, but Trump's assault on democracy has to be addressed. I don't think shrugging one's shoulders is going to do it.
I didn’t say that it was just the left that was going after Trump. I did say that some on the left are starting to back off on the Trump attacks. If you wanna vent, that’s fine. But it’s not changing anything.
What Republicans in general, and apparently you in particular, can’t seem to understand is that “the left” is different from the right in that we on the left often disagree with each other and discuss and debate problems and solutions and we don’t see it as a failing. Republicans over the years have lost the ability to accept varied viewpoints which has led to the current situation where all Republicans feel they have to act as one and no dissent is tolerated, even in the face of stupendously stupid and unconstitutional power grabs. Let Bill Maher have his snarky opinions. I don’t have to agree with him to be a member of the left in good standing.
As always, thank you for your insightful outreach!
Each of us must rise.
https://open.substack.com/pub/albellenchia/p/all-rise?r=7wk5d&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Curious how SCOTUS will act next month. Hopeful that today's protests are peaceful and meaningful. Let freedom ring.
As a Historian by training, I find DJT'S actions and behavior very disturbing. Kind of reminds me of a certain Austrian Corporal is Germany in the 1930's. And, make no mistake, folks, he wants to be a Dictator. We cannot let that happen.
Excellent commentary, Ken!
I'm sensing a change in the past few weeks, where people everywhere are sounding the alarm about Trump's lawless actions -- from Cory Booker on the Senate floor, to rallies of tens of thousands led by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to smaller protests in rural towns across America, including our Indivisible group, to federal court judges excoriating Trump's disregard for peoples' rights, to Senator Van Hollen traveling to El Salvador to defend Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and to Harvard University telling the Trump administration to go pound sand.
I don't know where this resistance will lead, but it's going in the right direction -- standing up, bearing witness, and not backing down.
/A number of prominent Republicans, including several former members of the first Trump administration, have signed an open letter decrying the president for using his power to punish two former administration officials who criticized him, likening his actions to those of a “royal despot.”/ (NYT)
“We are all afraid. It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right. But that’s what you’ve asked me to do. And so I’m going to use my voice to the best of my ability."
— Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)
There is another interesting article in today's NY Times entitled, "In Trump Attack on Harvard, Punishment Before Proof".
These are the actions the Trump Administration are taking, not just against institutions of higher education like Harvard, but also against international students whose visas are being revoked without explanation and immigrants who are being deported to a gulag like prison in El Salvador.
They are implementing punishment without due process.
They have proclaimed themselves judge, jury and executioner.
And, of course, NY21 "Representative" Elise Stefanik is defending and gleefully applauding each and every one of these actions.
The long term vision Brooks is calling for is what MAGA dismiss as Woke.
I was under the impression that anything beyond the MAGA agena was "woke."
It is unconsititution
America needs to file a class action suit of suit against hmpy trmppedo..
and his lackeys like pos_tfnkkk and if stec-ickkie still wants to be a magAhole.. then him too.
Americans should not cheer Harvard for taking on the fascists, we should be joining them in the legal fight
I disagree with the quoted columnists cited stats.. of what people believe about deporting undocumented and criminals. Yes deport them.. but:
ª they deserve due process (it would be nice to know they are here illegally and/or criminals)
ª deport them yes, but not do a cruel and unusual prison NOT IN THEIR HOME COUNTRY
and the sentiment of letting maqAholes, like Louisiana 'find out' how bad the hmpy trmpedo's cuts.. because then things are lost
Most of the cuts to Colleges (private or public) go to grants for research
https://undsci.berkeley.edu/who-pays-for-science/
corporations take that (free to them) research for profit
Forget about if that is fair*... once the science comes to the pharmacist... we all benefit
* if it is public funds going to campuses, it is the public paying for the reseach so corporations can profit
"Trump is triggering a serious loss of global confidence in America." / ??? / David: When: has he ever done anything but...
"Turn some of his followers against him."
Ken, have you tried? How's it working for ya?
Not working very well for me.
What MIGHT work is rousing and activating more Dems.
I suppose my small little effort here is not doing much good, but it is an effort.
There are several actions by which ‘we the people’ can effect real change — peaceful protests, non-violent civil disobedience, boycotts, law suits, and voting. But I think it all begins with bearing witness to the injustices we see.
Your work here is no "small little effort," and yes, it does much good.
and don't forget those Indie voters whose numbers are growing.
To Our Thought Leaders: YOU start It Up Now. Why not ALL of you: Brooks, Friedman, Kristoff, Duthault, Collins, Klein, Stevens, Doud, Goldberg, et al, with guests Peggy Noonan, Tim.Egan, others too..., join together as ONE. I mean YOU thought leaders all TOGETHER now. GET THE TRANSFORMATION GOING!. No more words, only action.Get started. Just Do It! You know how. You CAN DO IT. YourThoughts, Words AND Deeds. "Do good and avoid evil." Easter blessings all
Oh Ken
Tom Friedman and David Brooks both alerting the public and you alerting us!!
Ezra Klein podcast last week included an interview with Thomas Friedman so if you want to hear from him first hand taken a listen. Alarming and long range and vital to hear. And today another big Hands Off protest at the Glens Falls Civil War monument. Hundreds of us. Numbers are growing. Stand up, Speak out, Take Action. We are. We must! Every Saturday at noon we gather at the monument with our signs and our commitment!
Please make this shareable for every reader. Please!
These times also need deliverers of these insights who can write and speak at the average reading/vocabulary level in our country which is still well below that of the New York Times. Bi-dialectic abilities, cross-class communication, and willingness to look at the gap between our myths and our realities are skills we all need to develop.
The students, the researchers in medicine, science, biology, astronomy and all the sciences are being expelled by our country. Colleges in Europe are welcoming the minds and hearts of those we expel. Trump pardons insurrectionists and those imprisoned for greed, exploitation, corruption. Make America a nation of greed and violence...., not of wisdom, knowledge, understanding...