I’m going to be brief tonight, folks, but here are the main stories I'm watching: On October 8, 2020, the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, appears to be melting down. Over the course of the day, he has called for the imprisonment of his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, as well as his own predecessor, President Barack Obama, and called Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris a “monster” and a “communist.”
Many people are grateful for the day you were born and all in your life that has helped you become who you are today. I hope you derive immense satisfaction for the incredible ways in which you make this world a better place.
A comment on your freewheeling birthday chat ... you observed that Lenin, Mussolini, James Henry Hammond, Senator Mike Lee, etc., all have a common thread that democracy is dangerous and that people need someone or some group to lead them. You mentioned the challenge of why people vote against their own self interest ... how to make progress when people don't "come along".
You did not offer a solution ... and perhaps as a historian, that is not your role. Nevertheless, I think we do need to find our way to a solution ... and I view the Nordic social democratic systems as systems to help guide us. What is important is what the Federal Government "Country Study" series observed regarding Finland:
" ... the social security system was an outgrowth of the traditional Nordic belief that the state was not inherently hostile to the well-being of its citizens, but could intervene benevolently on their behalf. According to some social historians, the basis of this belief was a relatively benign history that had allowed the gradual emergence of a free and independent peasantry in the Nordic countries and had curtailed the dominance of the nobility and the subsequent formation of a powerful right wing."
Interesting to contemplate this regarding the news today. What a concept, that government could be "of the people, by the people, for the people" ... the Nordic countries with their basis of public health, public education, partnership among labor, employers, and government ... seem to be much more "democratic" than us, yet because of their parliamentary systems are "republics" because each district is about 30 thousand people and there are no massive marketing campaigns to influence millions of votes by (negative) ads.
The Finnish writer Anu Partanen has an interesting book and several interesting articles on the topic of correcting the misinformed idea that the Nordic countries are not capitalist; an excellent article is her NY Times Sunday Review article from last December ... "Finland is a Capitalist Paradise" ... in large part because citizens are supported in their education, healthcare, etc. because people and corporations pay taxes for services to make a more free and equal society.
Perhaps a review from you as a historian on why this country seems so opposed to the sentiment of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that "I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization". We as a country seem to hate taxes so much that we fail to support basic services or unlike the Nordic countries where everyone is entitled (to healthcare, education, etc.) we focus on providing benefits to citizens as a form of public charity and consider those needing public services as "unworthy" or "lessor" people. This sentiment does not exist in Nordic countries because everyone is entitled ... benefits are universal, government and society has an interest in supporting people, helping them to be free to achieve what they may be able to accomplish.
Back to my question to you regarding a solution to the problem of people voting against their self interest ... perhaps this is part of the cultural difference between the Nordic countries where there is much focus and interest on working together instead of rugged individualism ... ???
Happiest of Birthday's to you and may you have many many more years to gift us with your wisdom, insight and perspective! And thank you also for wading through this muck to bring us the daily salient points. I know that you have made my life far less fretful and I look forward to your letters daily.
I was so heartened running errands today and seeing an absolute sea of Bide/Harris yard signs that have popped up since the “debate”. And I live in Ohio! Northeast Ohio! The land of defunct steel mills and automotive assembly and parts plants!
Since moving back to my hometown in 2017 after almost 40 years, I have been pained and baffled by the predominant mindset and attitudes that have developed here. It has been a trying time and although I have lived in both blue and red states over the years, I had never experienced actual aggressive behavior while merely my driving around house hunting prior to the election with my NY State plates and a Hillary sticker. Astonishing.
I so appreciate the comments of this community and Dr Richardson, your historical perspective is priceless. I was so fortunate to find your letters and I pass them along regularly.
Like many others here who like myself are long travelers, we have, well let’s just say, seen some shit. I recently found my “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for McGovern” bumper sticker if that gives you a clue of my journey. It’s been a long and slippery slope.
Now I am beginning feel hopeful and have taken advantage of Ohio’s early voting.
Excellent summary if this crazy Trump news day. As for Trump, a friend who is a psychiatrist says his behavior is typical for a narcissist who is cornered. He is on a destructive path which will likely get worse.
It is going to be a wild ride through the election.
We need to get out and vote. Your statement on Tuesday saying we can be our own saviors is absolutely correct.
Thank you for the perpective you give us with your letters.
I am very glad the House is pursuing the avenue of the 25th Amendment. It's appropriate at this time. If the current president's mental health was the sole concern, it would be more than enough to warrant action to mitigate the effects of his actions. But the intimations and support of violent, lawless paramilitary groups is a major concern as well.
As so many others have said, “Happy Birthday “. But isn’t it odd, and wonderful, that your birthday gift is really a gift to all of us in your community who love you and the true friendship that has developed among all of us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you for using the term domestic terrorists to describe the groups plotting violence against Gov. Whitmer. It is essential that we consistently counter any “constitutional” legitimacy that their self description of “milititia” gives them. White nationalists with guns are domestic terrorists with a long history. And now they have too much “lawful” access to public spaces thanks to the NRA. We need to decouple their projected image as patriots from their actual intended actions of terrorizing anyone who dares encroach on their petty liberty of being perceived as “real” men who don’t take orders from women.
Barr needs to meet justice for his failure to hold it up; if a new administration comes in they cannot shy away from this task. Prosecuting him is absolutely crucial to maintain law and order and show when AG steps over the line there will be consequences. Barr has made DOJ Trump's lapdog, and that is the most dangerous problem at this particular moment.
Happy Birthday!! I am so grateful every morning to have your clear thinking. It grounds me, inspires me, educates me, prepares me to face each new crazy day. I hope you take time to recharge!
I could not believe it when I heard about the kidnap attempt on Governor Whitmer. Yet, as a Michigander, I was not surprised 😥 I know people who were in the Michigan Militia. They are nuts. An inflammatory Facebook post by a second cousin on an anti-shutdown was published in a magazine with nationwide distribution. My mother asked his sister about it. She was like yup it was him. Unbelievable
With any luck, Fatso will go to his superspreader frolic in Florida on Saturday, where he will be ten times worse than he was on Hannity tonight, ranting for an hour as he coughs on all of them and gasps for air and his oxygenation drops below 85%, ending with his collapse, in which he ends up DOA by the time his face hits the floor. And all the ga-ga old boomers in the front row will pass on what they got to everyone else there and they'll all proceed to Make America Great Again. Permanently.
With Pence heading back to DC and cancelling other events, Nancy Pelosi might not need her new bill to participate in the process of invoking the 25th Amendment after all. Trump is now dragging them all down with them and they won't necessarily let him get away with it! That's a very special birthday present! Happy Birthday Heatheryou deserve it.
Dear Heather,
Many people are grateful for the day you were born and all in your life that has helped you become who you are today. I hope you derive immense satisfaction for the incredible ways in which you make this world a better place.
Happy Birthday!
💐
Happy Birthday!
A comment on your freewheeling birthday chat ... you observed that Lenin, Mussolini, James Henry Hammond, Senator Mike Lee, etc., all have a common thread that democracy is dangerous and that people need someone or some group to lead them. You mentioned the challenge of why people vote against their own self interest ... how to make progress when people don't "come along".
You did not offer a solution ... and perhaps as a historian, that is not your role. Nevertheless, I think we do need to find our way to a solution ... and I view the Nordic social democratic systems as systems to help guide us. What is important is what the Federal Government "Country Study" series observed regarding Finland:
" ... the social security system was an outgrowth of the traditional Nordic belief that the state was not inherently hostile to the well-being of its citizens, but could intervene benevolently on their behalf. According to some social historians, the basis of this belief was a relatively benign history that had allowed the gradual emergence of a free and independent peasantry in the Nordic countries and had curtailed the dominance of the nobility and the subsequent formation of a powerful right wing."
Interesting to contemplate this regarding the news today. What a concept, that government could be "of the people, by the people, for the people" ... the Nordic countries with their basis of public health, public education, partnership among labor, employers, and government ... seem to be much more "democratic" than us, yet because of their parliamentary systems are "republics" because each district is about 30 thousand people and there are no massive marketing campaigns to influence millions of votes by (negative) ads.
The Finnish writer Anu Partanen has an interesting book and several interesting articles on the topic of correcting the misinformed idea that the Nordic countries are not capitalist; an excellent article is her NY Times Sunday Review article from last December ... "Finland is a Capitalist Paradise" ... in large part because citizens are supported in their education, healthcare, etc. because people and corporations pay taxes for services to make a more free and equal society.
Perhaps a review from you as a historian on why this country seems so opposed to the sentiment of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes that "I like to pay taxes. With them I buy civilization". We as a country seem to hate taxes so much that we fail to support basic services or unlike the Nordic countries where everyone is entitled (to healthcare, education, etc.) we focus on providing benefits to citizens as a form of public charity and consider those needing public services as "unworthy" or "lessor" people. This sentiment does not exist in Nordic countries because everyone is entitled ... benefits are universal, government and society has an interest in supporting people, helping them to be free to achieve what they may be able to accomplish.
Back to my question to you regarding a solution to the problem of people voting against their self interest ... perhaps this is part of the cultural difference between the Nordic countries where there is much focus and interest on working together instead of rugged individualism ... ???
Happiest of Birthday's to you and may you have many many more years to gift us with your wisdom, insight and perspective! And thank you also for wading through this muck to bring us the daily salient points. I know that you have made my life far less fretful and I look forward to your letters daily.
I was so heartened running errands today and seeing an absolute sea of Bide/Harris yard signs that have popped up since the “debate”. And I live in Ohio! Northeast Ohio! The land of defunct steel mills and automotive assembly and parts plants!
Since moving back to my hometown in 2017 after almost 40 years, I have been pained and baffled by the predominant mindset and attitudes that have developed here. It has been a trying time and although I have lived in both blue and red states over the years, I had never experienced actual aggressive behavior while merely my driving around house hunting prior to the election with my NY State plates and a Hillary sticker. Astonishing.
I so appreciate the comments of this community and Dr Richardson, your historical perspective is priceless. I was so fortunate to find your letters and I pass them along regularly.
Like many others here who like myself are long travelers, we have, well let’s just say, seen some shit. I recently found my “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for McGovern” bumper sticker if that gives you a clue of my journey. It’s been a long and slippery slope.
Now I am beginning feel hopeful and have taken advantage of Ohio’s early voting.
My vote has been cast!
It is very sad when you can´t tell whether the President is his normal crazy or if he is affected by the drugs he is taking.
I hope your birthday was fabulous!
Excellent summary if this crazy Trump news day. As for Trump, a friend who is a psychiatrist says his behavior is typical for a narcissist who is cornered. He is on a destructive path which will likely get worse.
It is going to be a wild ride through the election.
We need to get out and vote. Your statement on Tuesday saying we can be our own saviors is absolutely correct.
Thank you for the perpective you give us with your letters.
I am very glad the House is pursuing the avenue of the 25th Amendment. It's appropriate at this time. If the current president's mental health was the sole concern, it would be more than enough to warrant action to mitigate the effects of his actions. But the intimations and support of violent, lawless paramilitary groups is a major concern as well.
As so many others have said, “Happy Birthday “. But isn’t it odd, and wonderful, that your birthday gift is really a gift to all of us in your community who love you and the true friendship that has developed among all of us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you for using the term domestic terrorists to describe the groups plotting violence against Gov. Whitmer. It is essential that we consistently counter any “constitutional” legitimacy that their self description of “milititia” gives them. White nationalists with guns are domestic terrorists with a long history. And now they have too much “lawful” access to public spaces thanks to the NRA. We need to decouple their projected image as patriots from their actual intended actions of terrorizing anyone who dares encroach on their petty liberty of being perceived as “real” men who don’t take orders from women.
Barr needs to meet justice for his failure to hold it up; if a new administration comes in they cannot shy away from this task. Prosecuting him is absolutely crucial to maintain law and order and show when AG steps over the line there will be consequences. Barr has made DOJ Trump's lapdog, and that is the most dangerous problem at this particular moment.
Happy Birthday!! I am so grateful every morning to have your clear thinking. It grounds me, inspires me, educates me, prepares me to face each new crazy day. I hope you take time to recharge!
I could not believe it when I heard about the kidnap attempt on Governor Whitmer. Yet, as a Michigander, I was not surprised 😥 I know people who were in the Michigan Militia. They are nuts. An inflammatory Facebook post by a second cousin on an anti-shutdown was published in a magazine with nationwide distribution. My mother asked his sister about it. She was like yup it was him. Unbelievable
With any luck, Fatso will go to his superspreader frolic in Florida on Saturday, where he will be ten times worse than he was on Hannity tonight, ranting for an hour as he coughs on all of them and gasps for air and his oxygenation drops below 85%, ending with his collapse, in which he ends up DOA by the time his face hits the floor. And all the ga-ga old boomers in the front row will pass on what they got to everyone else there and they'll all proceed to Make America Great Again. Permanently.
If you haven’t already, please take a huge chunk of time to celebrate you.
May the year ahead bring you joy and success upon success!
With Pence heading back to DC and cancelling other events, Nancy Pelosi might not need her new bill to participate in the process of invoking the 25th Amendment after all. Trump is now dragging them all down with them and they won't necessarily let him get away with it! That's a very special birthday present! Happy Birthday Heatheryou deserve it.
He's acting a lot like King Lear in the final scenes. I wonder what that bodes for the near future.
It looks like a race between Trump’s brain and body. Any bets on which fails first?