If you feel overwhelmed, there is good reason. We are currently in the midst of a number of storylines, any one of which would define any other administration. And the news comes so fast you can barely figure out who the players are before there’s another twist.
For you to do this, day after day, when the news is simply infathomable... I wonder if sometimes you feel the need to shower after finishing your newsletter. You dive in the mud daily to help us wipe it off enough, so we can see more clearly. It’s an act of patriotism. Thank you.
One thing is clear from the Bernstein story, which is that Republican Senators know all of this. They know Trump is incompetent, unprepared, unprofessional, selfish, etc - an ongoing threat to our national security. If defense and intelligence people are leaking this to Bernstein, that is because they’ve tried to tell Republicans in Congress, and been ignored. When Republican Senators refused to hear more evidence or call witnesses during the impeachment, it was because they knew what they’d learn, and they knew they’d have to convict Trump. We often shout, regarding Republicans, “They’re complicit!”. This story makes their complicity clear, stark and dangerous. Not only should Trump be forced to resign, but so should Mike Pence, Mark Meadows, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Chuck Grassley and a whole bunch more. They are all threats to our national security.
Why is Trump allowed to tweet an inflammatory message, e.g. "Corrupt Joe is shot," and yet NOT be held accountable by Twitter for hate speech? The fact that his tweet was later deleted is beside the point. He said it. It is obvious that he intended, with those four words, to incite violence against Joe Biden, his political rival. This (like so much else) is beyond comprehension.
The first thing that popped into my mind was that it would be a great day for SCOTUS to issue a decision ordering the release of Trump's taxes. If confusion and chaos are to be the order of the day, might as well go big.
I am astonished — furious, perplexed, astounded — that no one has yet yanked him the fahrvergnügen up out of there yet. Wtf? THIS IS TREASONOUS. Not a single member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is standing up for their men and women? I cannot fathom this. How in the hell is he still sitting in the White House and not in a cell being interrogated?
"...this level of leaking suggests that Trump has lost his grip on the White House. Bernstein’s sources told him—and through him, Congress—that almost all of Trump’s phone chats with foreign leaders were caught on dictation programs, supplemented by extensive note taking."
The enabling of the current president by the Republican Party may finally be coming to an end. If that is so, I remain deeply concerned that so many things had to go so wrong before they took action. In fact, their long history of inaction in the face of repeated egregious abuses and crimes is damning. Something is rotten in Denmark, and the president's long list of abuses and betrayals, previously unthinkable in our country, is not the only source of rot. I continue to hope for a peaceful and legal end to this situation.
What can be done to protect Joe Biden from the one or more Trump followers who are going to react to "Joe is shot" by trying to make it so with their guns? That is what worries me the most about this latest news. As a former New Yorker, I already knew that trump was a con man who cheated everyone in reach and cared about no one but his sorry self.
I am not at all surprised by trump ignoring Russian bounties on US forces. He has shown his indifference to the loss of American lives- the 128,000 and counting citizens dead from COVID-19. And we should not forget that after the murder of a US resident, Kashoggi, he skirted Congress to sell arms to his good friends, the Saudis. So, who’s next?
This, although a lot, is not unexpected. I think we have all known that Trump has been beholden to Putin from day 1. Everything he has done has been to appease the dictators of the world and to push away our allies. Why? Putin has Trump by the balls...he owes Putin in a big way, and that will come out as soon as he is out of office and charges are filed against him and those who enabled him for crimes against America as well as other crimes related to his election and personal businesses. Trump has been the mirror America needed to see our faults and to finally face them head-on and make the needed changes to make things right. Justice and equality in all of its forms for ALL. ALL means ALL, and WE THE PEOPLE must push for mail-in ballots nationwide, and get out there and vote!!!!
Thanks for your writing, Dr. Richardson! I'm a newer reader and seem to be one of the younger ones. Your following has immense historical knowledge and the comments section is a treasure trove of information, which is particularly valuable for a younger, less educated reader. While I'm afraid I cannot contribute historical anecdotes or contextualize current events, I wonder if there's an appetite to organize and streamline the comments section. There are 1,700+ comments on your "Question #2," and several readers start comments with a line akin to "perhaps this has already been said." Yet their comments contribute additional detail to the prior remarks, but I worry it can be lost in lengthy thread. Ironically, I recognize that this idea may have been discussed previously. I'm no substack expert either, but perhaps "tags" to organize the topics (e.g., "Citizens United," "Civics education") could help sift through the abundant detail. Would others be interested in additional structure for the comments section? If so, I'm curious if there are simple tweaks that us readers could benefit from. Thanks again for your writing, and to all those contributing to the comments for furthering the discussion.
Like many, I am having an impossible time understanding what the president is thinking. He must feel incredibly isolated, not that I am in the least feeling sorry for him, but simply to try and wrap my head around his actions of late.
It seems as if he almost wants there to be a coup, or a move to take him out via the 25th amendment, as if he wants to incite violence by his supporters, to go out in some deranged blaze of glory. He wants it all to end but does not want to lose the election: this is something he simply cannot accept.
Or perhaps his thought processes are so addled by the repercussions of his actions that he is simply bouncing off the walls – lashing out, relying on some panicked survival instinct. He appears to have no ability whatsoever to reflect on the enormity of his flawed choices and alter his course. For so long he was able to simply coast, to govern from his gut, to bully those around him because he was the president and now the chickens are beginning to come home to roost and he has exhausted his limited toolset of hate and venality.
It's occurrences like this that leave me speechless in reaction. What can I possibly say? Outraged?, Despairing?, Depressed?, even terrified?. Yep, all of the above.
This mornings clear and succinct summary (thank you Heather), reminds me of a person I worked for a number of years ago who thrived on chaos. After a number of months, I thought to myself, "there's something wrong here". I'm an engineer, not a psychologist, but I googled "psychological "thrives on chaos"", which returned ~ 100k hits. The majority of these either attributed these to (malignant) narcissism or borderline personality disorder.
A year ago my partner, who is a psychologist, reluctantly opined that Trump is a "malignant narcissist" (I say reluctant because in her profession, public diagnosis is against the rules).
Since then, I have seen nothing that has dissuaded me of this.
Is it about money or power for him? Sure, but, as a layperson expressing an opinion, I think that beyond that, there's something terribly wrong with him.
Perhaps we should simply stop referring to those aligned with trump as republican. Perhaps we should confine "Republican Party" to the remnant that George Conway, perhaps Liz Cheney and the Bush family, maybe John Roberts represent and leave it at that. What trump has done is to enable the tea party, freedom caucus, etc. to gather under his fly sized wings and use the wider term Republican Party as if he represented a broader group than he does, perhaps 25%-35% of the electorate vs. 40%. Since he won a race between two intensely disliked candidates, one of course being him, is it possible that the inappropriate party banner was the faint breeze that allowed his electoral victory? If we or the "free press" fractured that misrepresentation, we might also fracture the tendency of people to simply vote for the party for which they have always voted.
One of the things I appreciate about HCR's Letters is that she presents material in a clean style that lacks histrionics and hyperbole. The real world challenge, at this point, is for people to concentrate and exercise their rights rather than try to second guess where Trump is headed next and why he's going there. Trump loves distraction, the more uproar he churns the happier he becomes. We have to stay focused and not second guess what may or may not be his motive for any given behavior because, regardless of his actions, we know they are almost, without exception, detrimental to our nation and our allies and geared to make him appear bigger than life. (Epic fail on his part, but...)
We are fortunate to have clear, concise commentary such as that which HCR provides. That, coupled with her willingness to provide extensive citations on a daily basis, is an invaluable resource for all of us to use and share.
For you to do this, day after day, when the news is simply infathomable... I wonder if sometimes you feel the need to shower after finishing your newsletter. You dive in the mud daily to help us wipe it off enough, so we can see more clearly. It’s an act of patriotism. Thank you.
One thing is clear from the Bernstein story, which is that Republican Senators know all of this. They know Trump is incompetent, unprepared, unprofessional, selfish, etc - an ongoing threat to our national security. If defense and intelligence people are leaking this to Bernstein, that is because they’ve tried to tell Republicans in Congress, and been ignored. When Republican Senators refused to hear more evidence or call witnesses during the impeachment, it was because they knew what they’d learn, and they knew they’d have to convict Trump. We often shout, regarding Republicans, “They’re complicit!”. This story makes their complicity clear, stark and dangerous. Not only should Trump be forced to resign, but so should Mike Pence, Mark Meadows, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, Chuck Grassley and a whole bunch more. They are all threats to our national security.
Why is Trump allowed to tweet an inflammatory message, e.g. "Corrupt Joe is shot," and yet NOT be held accountable by Twitter for hate speech? The fact that his tweet was later deleted is beside the point. He said it. It is obvious that he intended, with those four words, to incite violence against Joe Biden, his political rival. This (like so much else) is beyond comprehension.
"Tomorrow will likely be wild...."
The first thing that popped into my mind was that it would be a great day for SCOTUS to issue a decision ordering the release of Trump's taxes. If confusion and chaos are to be the order of the day, might as well go big.
I am astonished — furious, perplexed, astounded — that no one has yet yanked him the fahrvergnügen up out of there yet. Wtf? THIS IS TREASONOUS. Not a single member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is standing up for their men and women? I cannot fathom this. How in the hell is he still sitting in the White House and not in a cell being interrogated?
"...this level of leaking suggests that Trump has lost his grip on the White House. Bernstein’s sources told him—and through him, Congress—that almost all of Trump’s phone chats with foreign leaders were caught on dictation programs, supplemented by extensive note taking."
The enabling of the current president by the Republican Party may finally be coming to an end. If that is so, I remain deeply concerned that so many things had to go so wrong before they took action. In fact, their long history of inaction in the face of repeated egregious abuses and crimes is damning. Something is rotten in Denmark, and the president's long list of abuses and betrayals, previously unthinkable in our country, is not the only source of rot. I continue to hope for a peaceful and legal end to this situation.
What can be done to protect Joe Biden from the one or more Trump followers who are going to react to "Joe is shot" by trying to make it so with their guns? That is what worries me the most about this latest news. As a former New Yorker, I already knew that trump was a con man who cheated everyone in reach and cared about no one but his sorry self.
I am not at all surprised by trump ignoring Russian bounties on US forces. He has shown his indifference to the loss of American lives- the 128,000 and counting citizens dead from COVID-19. And we should not forget that after the murder of a US resident, Kashoggi, he skirted Congress to sell arms to his good friends, the Saudis. So, who’s next?
It is wrong that I’m hearing Johnny Cash singing Ring of Fire in my head right now?
Can Trump finally be charged with treason?
Will America come out of this godforsaken 3.5 years intact?
So many questions.
This, although a lot, is not unexpected. I think we have all known that Trump has been beholden to Putin from day 1. Everything he has done has been to appease the dictators of the world and to push away our allies. Why? Putin has Trump by the balls...he owes Putin in a big way, and that will come out as soon as he is out of office and charges are filed against him and those who enabled him for crimes against America as well as other crimes related to his election and personal businesses. Trump has been the mirror America needed to see our faults and to finally face them head-on and make the needed changes to make things right. Justice and equality in all of its forms for ALL. ALL means ALL, and WE THE PEOPLE must push for mail-in ballots nationwide, and get out there and vote!!!!
Thanks for your writing, Dr. Richardson! I'm a newer reader and seem to be one of the younger ones. Your following has immense historical knowledge and the comments section is a treasure trove of information, which is particularly valuable for a younger, less educated reader. While I'm afraid I cannot contribute historical anecdotes or contextualize current events, I wonder if there's an appetite to organize and streamline the comments section. There are 1,700+ comments on your "Question #2," and several readers start comments with a line akin to "perhaps this has already been said." Yet their comments contribute additional detail to the prior remarks, but I worry it can be lost in lengthy thread. Ironically, I recognize that this idea may have been discussed previously. I'm no substack expert either, but perhaps "tags" to organize the topics (e.g., "Citizens United," "Civics education") could help sift through the abundant detail. Would others be interested in additional structure for the comments section? If so, I'm curious if there are simple tweaks that us readers could benefit from. Thanks again for your writing, and to all those contributing to the comments for furthering the discussion.
"“And now," cried Max, "let the wild rumpus start!”"
Like many, I am having an impossible time understanding what the president is thinking. He must feel incredibly isolated, not that I am in the least feeling sorry for him, but simply to try and wrap my head around his actions of late.
It seems as if he almost wants there to be a coup, or a move to take him out via the 25th amendment, as if he wants to incite violence by his supporters, to go out in some deranged blaze of glory. He wants it all to end but does not want to lose the election: this is something he simply cannot accept.
Or perhaps his thought processes are so addled by the repercussions of his actions that he is simply bouncing off the walls – lashing out, relying on some panicked survival instinct. He appears to have no ability whatsoever to reflect on the enormity of his flawed choices and alter his course. For so long he was able to simply coast, to govern from his gut, to bully those around him because he was the president and now the chickens are beginning to come home to roost and he has exhausted his limited toolset of hate and venality.
It feels a very dangerous time. Help me Obi-Wan …
It's occurrences like this that leave me speechless in reaction. What can I possibly say? Outraged?, Despairing?, Depressed?, even terrified?. Yep, all of the above.
This mornings clear and succinct summary (thank you Heather), reminds me of a person I worked for a number of years ago who thrived on chaos. After a number of months, I thought to myself, "there's something wrong here". I'm an engineer, not a psychologist, but I googled "psychological "thrives on chaos"", which returned ~ 100k hits. The majority of these either attributed these to (malignant) narcissism or borderline personality disorder.
A year ago my partner, who is a psychologist, reluctantly opined that Trump is a "malignant narcissist" (I say reluctant because in her profession, public diagnosis is against the rules).
Since then, I have seen nothing that has dissuaded me of this.
Is it about money or power for him? Sure, but, as a layperson expressing an opinion, I think that beyond that, there's something terribly wrong with him.
Perhaps we should simply stop referring to those aligned with trump as republican. Perhaps we should confine "Republican Party" to the remnant that George Conway, perhaps Liz Cheney and the Bush family, maybe John Roberts represent and leave it at that. What trump has done is to enable the tea party, freedom caucus, etc. to gather under his fly sized wings and use the wider term Republican Party as if he represented a broader group than he does, perhaps 25%-35% of the electorate vs. 40%. Since he won a race between two intensely disliked candidates, one of course being him, is it possible that the inappropriate party banner was the faint breeze that allowed his electoral victory? If we or the "free press" fractured that misrepresentation, we might also fracture the tendency of people to simply vote for the party for which they have always voted.
One of the things I appreciate about HCR's Letters is that she presents material in a clean style that lacks histrionics and hyperbole. The real world challenge, at this point, is for people to concentrate and exercise their rights rather than try to second guess where Trump is headed next and why he's going there. Trump loves distraction, the more uproar he churns the happier he becomes. We have to stay focused and not second guess what may or may not be his motive for any given behavior because, regardless of his actions, we know they are almost, without exception, detrimental to our nation and our allies and geared to make him appear bigger than life. (Epic fail on his part, but...)
We are fortunate to have clear, concise commentary such as that which HCR provides. That, coupled with her willingness to provide extensive citations on a daily basis, is an invaluable resource for all of us to use and share.