Jen, Thank you! You express in this wonderful piece all that revolts us about the hypocrisy of the MAGA/RINO's and the legacy media. We all wish President Biden and his family the courage and strength to support each other through the President's illness. President Biden is a real humanitarian, and as you wrote, in his worst moments of his long and distinguished career in public service, he remained faithful to his oath of office and never inflicted harm on the country as the current regime has done in a mere three months. God bless Joe, Jill and the rest of his family.
President Biden is an actual human. The orange thing is a terrorist. What makes President Biden's cancer diagnosis harder to grasp (1 in 3 get cancer at some point in their life) isn't just the fact his son was freed from it. It's how he dedicated his Presidency to finding cures.
Well, the national task force, whose guidance I strenuously disagree with (not a doctor but a prostate cancer survivor), say testing over 70 is not necessary,
We also don't know when it started. A close friend, over 70 but still getting tested, went from PSA <4 to PSA 253 in the time between two tests. there's one story we tell ourselves about how prostate cancer behaves, then there are the other stories that might be caught but it would cost too much to do so. (The calculus is would we save enough lives to justify the expense on testing?)
Kevin, congrats on being a survivor. I am curious when it started. My dad had a prostate cancer scare before 70, but everything was fine. Sometimes, 1 is completely asymptomatic for various cancers.
I was 53. All signs were ambiguous. PSA was high, but under 4 (only later did I learn that urologists and European docs grade PSA on an age-based curve) and the digital exam was likewise ambiguous. Three months later, at surgery, the cancer was just poking through the prostate envelope because there was a lot of it. That was 13.5 years ago, knock wood!
He was also better at deportation than Trump. The Trump administration deported approximately 1.9 million people during his first term. Biden 4.4 million.
Many (but not enough) mental health professionals have ignored the Goldwater Rule and have spoken out about Trump's mental condition. They need to speak more loudly. And the entire mental health profession needs to join them.
Our President is and has been mentally ill for a long time. And his slide further down the slope is picking up speed.
All you have to do is read his furious, demented rage-tweets, punched out in the middle of the night. If it were your grandfather, you'd enlist his family to help take away the car keys, stage an intervention, appoint a power of attorney, and get him some obviously needed psychiatric help.
This our media will not do. Instead, we get treated to 'the Trump doctrine' and 'Trump plan to do this and that' and 'Trump budget.' This is journalistic malpractice and malfeasance of the worst kind. The man should be in a bathrobe in an institution with lots of arbored walks, a high nurse to resident ratio, and plenty of arts, crafts and guided entertainment for the residents -- far, far, FAR away from the White House, a microphone, a constantly fawning press standing in front of him going 'sir, sir....'
Unfortunately, it looks like America - and to some extent the world - is now Trump’s ‘sheltered workshop’. But the ‘arts & crafts’ he toys with have very dark themes.
But if we ever manage to escape his grasp, so many in the media will claim the highest ground about all those who covered up for this cruel and demented man.
The author of the Goldwater rule actually wrote about how it has been mis-applied. You are correct that we (the mental health professionals) should speak out --- not that we shouldn't - but most voters would barely pay attention. In reality, all people needed to do was to listen and watch to come to the conclusion that the criminal is several compromised cognitively and has a major character disorder that it is impossible to change.
His disorder cannot be changed but he needs to be removed from this office. People don't understand that what Trump has is a personality disorder as well as age decline. He has a wall of people around him that prop him up and defend him and take part, for their own reasons, in the destruction. They even label it and thus cancel out this fact as political opposition, Trump Derangement Syndrome. Professionals and others need to group together, more than one group, and keep speaking out... or we will all be cancelled. Speaking out singly does not work.
Perhaps a better way to term it would be that he may have been born with a genetic predisposition toward an Antisocial Personality disorder (ASPD) that was nurtured by his upbringing.
Patricia we do not know this and saying this moves this towards the pejorative.. We assume sociopathy as non-professionals. Okay, I agree. Sociopaths, anti-social personality disorder may have *some* genetic predisposition. There is a lot more going on. Please see causes:
Where will they speak out from? To reach a large enough audience. Corporate mainstream anything won't touch it. I never paid any attention to trump until 2015 and from the beginning I've been saying, this man has serious thought processing issues combined with an extreme personality disorder(s). And I am not a mental health professional per se - licensed to treat but not diagnose.
The entire situation is groundbreaking in that our country has not ever before been faced with a bizarre Mad King despot. I think that for lot of people it's too difficult, they struggle to be able to fully comprehend and accept the cognitive and mental illness aspects.
Dr Brenda Lee lost her job at Yale for speaking out about Trump’s mental illness. She was also admonished by the APA, American Psychological Association. Our entrenched institutions aren’t up to the task of calling out this active authoritarian. Why should other leading psychiatrists put themselves and their careers at risk? It’s a question every professional faces in these dire times. Speak up or remain silent an acquiesce.
"And his slide further down the slope is picking up speed."
In the case of Trump his decline is picking up speed more like one would see when one jumps out of a plane without benefit of a parachute...forget about any "slope".
The 1974 Goldwater rule was not about speaking up: it was about diagnosing, from afar, someone you've never even met. That can be dangerous. But now it's a moot question as to whether anybody's harm was prevented by what everybody already knew, or at least soon would. I do hope the book made money for all those fellow shrinks, but it was unethical.
Old school thinking. When the nation and the world's mental health and stability is at stake I think it's the duty of psychiatrists and psychologists to educate the public for the higher good. If you were a practicing psychiatrist during Hitler's reign would you have not tried to educate the masses?
This is one of your best pieces. European history perspective woven in and current US media not having their eye on the ball is carefully explained here. Thanks. Enjoy away.
Now I can't stop thinking about the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims from Spain. I hadn't realized they couldn't wait to do it to the Jews FIRST, but took another century to go after the Muslims. (Remind me who they'd just fought to win Spain in the first place again?)
The record is so clear. Uniformity --- ethnic, religious, racial, cultural -- is one of the lowest-returning investments in itself a society could ever pursue. You can go back to the Norman Conquest -- all those Frenchified, Normanified invaders, their language influences, their forks, their continental influences. I've never heard anyone argue that Britain would have led the Industrial Revolution had the island stayed just a Saxon outpost. Dozens of examples no doubt exist all over the world.
On Biden's worst day, he was a far better president and man than the current looney tune will ever be. When did you ever hear Biden cry "Unfair!" when something unfavorable to him happened (or was published)? When did Biden flog sneakers or crypto; demand a new (used!) airplane; sell access?
And Biden installed highly competent people in his cabinet and in governmental advisory roles. Trump has either fired the competent or forced their resignations and installed either manipulative spiders such as Stephen Miller or incompetents driven by cruelty such as Kristi Noem (who had no idea what habeas corpus means) or scientifically uneducated people such as Robert Kenedy, Jr. Biden also didn't use the office of president to make billions of dollars for himself and his family, nor did he violate the emoluments clause.
When did he ever rage-tweet petty, vindictive, whinybitchy chickenshit at Beyoncé, Rosie O'Donnell, Oprah, Bruce Springsteen in the middle of the night, ask a porn star to beat him with a rolled-up copy of Money, Inc., go on TV to tell people Haitians were eating cats and dogs in Springfield, try to choke a Secret Service agent to death for refusing to transport him to Capitol Hill so he could lead a violent insurrection against the United States?
The people to blame for Donald Trump being in office are the people who voted for him. They saw him, they heard him, they couldn't help seeing his unfitness, and they still voted for him. It's on their heads, no one else's.
Not one of my friends from high school, to college, to co-workers, into retirement are particularly stuck in mainstream media. Granted they live in several blue states but those states have huge populations.
Yes! My liberal boomer friends are graduate educated, affluent and still rely on the Post & NYTms for their daily media consumption. And are they doing ANYTHING to help stave off authoritarianism?? Maybe comfort is not a pre-cursor to activism.
Thank you Jen for this spectacular piece-re both the deep cultural and financial advantages of diversity and the equally spectacular, although unacknowleged, contribution of Joe Biden to this country. No of course he should not have run again-nor should Ruth Bader Ginsberg have stayed on!! Hindsight-what is the huge failure of legacy media in this country? The promotion of a useless book on Biden's health instead of covering Governor Phil Murphy's massive and historic achievement in bringing the film industry back from Hollywood to NJ-the Governor had to buy his own ads to get the word out. Many many great Democrats doing seemingly impossible things right now and they get no coverage! Let's start shouting the word out!
In reference to President Biden, I truly believe that what vast numbers of Americans hate about him is his continued capacity to inspire love from hundreds of millions of people worldwide. It seems Americans don't understand love or admire it-which is why they elected someone who has never been loved in his life and inspires only derision and hate.Biden will be assessed politically in due course by intelligent historians-5-10 years from now as is the norm. For now, it is enough to say that this devoted public servant made his decisions from a place of love-however flawed-for country, family, and democracy. And by the way he may yet surprise us and live another ten years ("rumors of my death are greatly exxagerated")-so let's carry on his actual legacy by promoting the Josh Shapiros, Chris Murphys, Deb Haalands , Mickie Sherrills, Josh Gottheimers and so many more!
Huge new HBO and Netflix studios-Murphy just attended groundbreaking ceremony in Monmouth County-as a filmmaker this is dear to my heart but it is a huge achievement of Murphy's and historically very significant since Edison and his Black Maria started in North Jersey!!!
most of what is in here is great and spot on. The piece on the history of Spain is really powerful and should be more required reading for all. I struggled with the article about Biden. To blame the failed election on the fact that President Biden could not recognize his own limitations due to age and blaming those around him for the Democratic loss stopped me reading right there... why did fewer voters turn out in 2024 for an excellent Democratic candidate than in 2020? clearly the stakes were even higher in 2024? how did we fail to get any meaningful turnout in this moment of crisis? why do so many Americans fear a female president? why do so many Americans fear a non-white president? why did the Democrats simply focus on abortion rights, a battle that they were already clearly winning when they should have been focusing on the danger of trump... why did the justice department drag and drag and drag along their investigations as opposed to reacting swiftly to the crimes committed on Jan 6th, missing documents, etc.? they should take a lesson from what trump is doing now.. why didnt the Democrats get the message that the far right was out to destroy them and by "playing nice" dating back to Obama was not going to work? to turn on Joe Biden after he accomplished so much under such adverse circumstances is shameful and I would have expected better from Tapper and those jumping on the bandwagon of blaming Biden for a myriad of missteps, oversights, and timidness...
Thank you. There are indeed far more important questions to ask than those that have surfaced. And spare me the absurdity and cruelty of making Joe Biden the scapegoat for the sins of the Democratic Party --- and of the nation itself.
Something terrible happened in 2024. Tens of millions of ignorant, uninformed --- no, disinformed and disinforming voters --- voted for a pathetic, lying, incoherent, demented wretch who assured them Haitians were eating cats and dogs in Springfield, told them brown people were just 'vermin,' who never succeeded in anything in his too long, miserable, petty, cruel, vindictive life --- multiple bankruptcies, two impeachments for obstruction of justice and attempted blackmail --- finally the instigator of a violent insurrection all because of his personal vanity and inability to be anything other than a fucked-up little toddler who refused to give up the ball and go home (with deep apologies to the vast majority of 3-5 year-olds who play very nicely with other children in the sandbox).
That's what happened. They didn't vote for this ugly piece of shit because of Joe Biden's health, or because he didn't lower the price of eggs. The evidence suggests something within the American electorate and psyche that most of us remain unwilling to face. We can certainly question the wisdom of some Biden priorities and policies that didn't have their intended effect, about trying to please too many disparate wings of the party, or focusing on the wrong issues, or the right ones with insufficient zeal. But those things together are not the cause of what happened.
I will spend the rest of my life wondering just how people could be so dumb as to give Trump a second chance to do exactly what he promised he would --- destroy the good in us, promote the evil. I don't have any snappy answers to that up my sleeve. I suspect millions of us feel the same way.
Would love to hear thoughts on what in the American psyche brought this upon us. Lack of education? Disinformation? Eroding morals as seen in American entertainment? A capitalist society that glorifies money & wealth at the expense of decency?
Now that is a very Gordian Knot of a problem, isn't it? I can suggest three possibilities.
First is the gradual ascendancy of those who would rather believe in fixed, immutable truths—the playground of religion—and those who want to know, as in rational, scientific inquiry in which the conclusions are always subject to change as new evidence comes to light. Prime examples of the former mindset are Bobby Kennedy, Jr. and his obsession with the alleged dangers of vaccines and the lunatic QANON conspiracy theorists. This true believer mindset is also a power source that fuels the Christian Nationalist movement.
The second is close to your suggestion of the glorification of money and wealth. Underlying that is our true original sin of exploitation to the point of despoliation—of nature to such an extent that we are in danger of cooking ourselves into extinction, and of people as in chattel slavery, wage slavery, and suppression of workers to name a few. It also induces a fetish worship of the rich and powerful who become symbols of success (real or imagined) in various fields of endeavor, such as pop culture, religion, and politics, Donald Trump being one of the most imaginary.
The third is the erosion of a sense of community which leads to self centered thinking, xenophobia, and declining concern for the well being of others. This is especially reflected in the tendency of wealth to dull a sense of empathy in inverse proportion. For example, New Hampshire has had among the highest average per capita income in the country and the lowest rate of charitable giving. As to why a sense of community is eroding I am at a loss to explain.
Nancy, if you really feel that way, spell it out more clearly, because you have just made a set of unsubstantiated charges against a statement many very well educated, non-racist, non-misogynistic, and intentionally knowledgeable folks think is reasonably close to the mark. As to the fear factor, yes, I am deeply afraid for the future my children and grandchildren will face as a consequence of the last election and the massive number of citizens who were completely duped by Don the Con's dissembling.
Trump won because of racism and misogyny. If the Democratic candidate had been a reasonably competent white male, younger than Biden or Trump, the election would likely gone the other way. Sad, but true.
On this topic he was a day late and a dollar short. And ended up being behind the curve on breaking news (about Biden's cancer). Bob Woodward (no relation) wouldn't have been. Well, you win some, lose some.
Can we please get beyond talking about President Biden. What’s the point? Let’s focus our energy on the present president and his many foibles, lies, and outright incompetence. Why is everyone so afraid of calling a spade a spade?
I don’t see it as talking about Biden. I see it as reflecting on, but not obsessing on, past mistakes and not making those mistakes again. As Jen said, mistakes were made by more than just Biden.
1. In 1992 Spain offered a Sepharidad, in essence, citizenship rights for those expelled in 1492. About that time, DNA testing became avaiable. Many Hispanics discovered that they had "moro" (Black) or jewish genes. I don't know this s a fact, but that includes Spanish royalty and other self decribed Spanish damas y caballeros.
2. Trump was at the Capitol yesterday, trying to button hole support for the disaterous budget. He uses intimidation. His bill continues to punish blue states, despite the fact that many Republicans, and many if not most of his donors live in them.
Reps. Mike Lawler (NY-17), Nick LaLota (NY-01), Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), Tom Kean Jr. (NJ-07), and Young Kim (CA-40) want an increased SALT deduction. Whether the SALT issue is enough for them to actually oppose is left to be seen, but this may be an opening.
I've been writing about the Medicare aspect.
From Heather Cox Richardson: "...12 swing-state Republicans who don’t want drastic Medicaid cuts, and 31 hardliners who do. House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can afford to lose only three Republican votes on the measure. Nicole Lafond of Talking Points Memo reported today that Trump will go to Capitol Hill tomorrow to talk Republicans into voting for the measure."
We need to encourage Don Bacon R. NE. and other Republicans who are standing up to Trump and MAGA Mike. He and Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., Rob Bresnahan Jr., R-Pa., Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., Young Kim, R-Calif., Robert Wittman, R-Va., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., and Jeff Hurd, R-Colo signed a letter:
“Many hospitals — particularly in rural and underserved areas — rely heavily on Medicaid funding, with some receiving over half their revenue from the program alone,” the representatives wrote. “Providers in these areas are especially at risk of closure, with many unable to recover. When hospitals close, it affects all constituents, regardless of healthcare coverage.”
Besides the Medicaid issue, Republican Reps have called out Trump/Musk on national security and tariffs.
On MSNBC Saturday, Velshi asked Bacon about tariffs. He said, in essence, any Reagan Republican would remove Trump tariff authority. To do that, they need all of the House Dems.
Plus Bacon said Trump has a "moral blindscape" re Ukraine. Retired General. Russia is not a superpower. Mexico with nuclear weapons.
Says anyone who served has to oppose Hegseth, SIGNAL.
Says we are better than any other country in agriculture. Says Trump has broken free trade. In essence, we are losing the trade war
Conversos or Crypto-Jews were a significant part of New Mexico history. joining the expeditions to the new world was a way to escape the persecutions in Spain
Excellent! Thank you for speaking many truths, for respecting Joe Biden, and for clearly describing the destruction that is happening now in our country. And thank you for taking the time to write and share your perspectives, along with the lessons and the beauty from your travels!
Brava, Ms Jen! Your Truth is my Truth…your Power is my Power. The Contrarian enriches the humanity of all who come near. We are blessed in this time of great need. 💙🇺🇸💕
Examine evidence via the Sherlock Holmes approach: Motive, Opportunity, Method in that order. Who owns the new media and what are their motivations in reporting on tRump v Biden?
" ... the good that men do is oft interred with their bones."
Joe Biden is a good and decent man. Fallible regarding Gaza and his determination to remain at the helm, but good and decent. It is sad that this new development comes on top of his decline and of the political consequences we now face. I wish him well, and that with time his work for our country gains the respect and honor it - and he - deserves.
Jen, Thank you! You express in this wonderful piece all that revolts us about the hypocrisy of the MAGA/RINO's and the legacy media. We all wish President Biden and his family the courage and strength to support each other through the President's illness. President Biden is a real humanitarian, and as you wrote, in his worst moments of his long and distinguished career in public service, he remained faithful to his oath of office and never inflicted harm on the country as the current regime has done in a mere three months. God bless Joe, Jill and the rest of his family.
Joe Biden is a decent human being. The orange felon is a vicious idiot figurehead for vicious idiots.
President Biden is an actual human. The orange thing is a terrorist. What makes President Biden's cancer diagnosis harder to grasp (1 in 3 get cancer at some point in their life) isn't just the fact his son was freed from it. It's how he dedicated his Presidency to finding cures.
Well, the national task force, whose guidance I strenuously disagree with (not a doctor but a prostate cancer survivor), say testing over 70 is not necessary,
We also don't know when it started. A close friend, over 70 but still getting tested, went from PSA <4 to PSA 253 in the time between two tests. there's one story we tell ourselves about how prostate cancer behaves, then there are the other stories that might be caught but it would cost too much to do so. (The calculus is would we save enough lives to justify the expense on testing?)
Kevin, congrats on being a survivor. I am curious when it started. My dad had a prostate cancer scare before 70, but everything was fine. Sometimes, 1 is completely asymptomatic for various cancers.
I was 53. All signs were ambiguous. PSA was high, but under 4 (only later did I learn that urologists and European docs grade PSA on an age-based curve) and the digital exam was likewise ambiguous. Three months later, at surgery, the cancer was just poking through the prostate envelope because there was a lot of it. That was 13.5 years ago, knock wood!
He was also better at deportation than Trump. The Trump administration deported approximately 1.9 million people during his first term. Biden 4.4 million.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article306909256.html#storylink=cpy
I'm not saying President Biden is perfect. He's still a better person than trump was/is ever capable of being.
let's wait till the 2nd term numbers are in, shall we? Then go pee on his grave if you must.
A friend shared this Woody Guthrie piece with me,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_Trump
and I found this version of it being played.
Here is someone performing The Ballad of Old Man Trump. https://youtu.be/jANuVKeYezs?si=pAMjaG_EjuPamCHE
From this Woody Guthrie song, we see how Donald Trump was made by Fred Trump.
Many (but not enough) mental health professionals have ignored the Goldwater Rule and have spoken out about Trump's mental condition. They need to speak more loudly. And the entire mental health profession needs to join them.
Our President is and has been mentally ill for a long time. And his slide further down the slope is picking up speed.
All you have to do is read his furious, demented rage-tweets, punched out in the middle of the night. If it were your grandfather, you'd enlist his family to help take away the car keys, stage an intervention, appoint a power of attorney, and get him some obviously needed psychiatric help.
This our media will not do. Instead, we get treated to 'the Trump doctrine' and 'Trump plan to do this and that' and 'Trump budget.' This is journalistic malpractice and malfeasance of the worst kind. The man should be in a bathrobe in an institution with lots of arbored walks, a high nurse to resident ratio, and plenty of arts, crafts and guided entertainment for the residents -- far, far, FAR away from the White House, a microphone, a constantly fawning press standing in front of him going 'sir, sir....'
Unfortunately, it looks like America - and to some extent the world - is now Trump’s ‘sheltered workshop’. But the ‘arts & crafts’ he toys with have very dark themes.
But if we ever manage to escape his grasp, so many in the media will claim the highest ground about all those who covered up for this cruel and demented man.
You are spot on! Well said.
The author of the Goldwater rule actually wrote about how it has been mis-applied. You are correct that we (the mental health professionals) should speak out --- not that we shouldn't - but most voters would barely pay attention. In reality, all people needed to do was to listen and watch to come to the conclusion that the criminal is several compromised cognitively and has a major character disorder that it is impossible to change.
His disorder cannot be changed but he needs to be removed from this office. People don't understand that what Trump has is a personality disorder as well as age decline. He has a wall of people around him that prop him up and defend him and take part, for their own reasons, in the destruction. They even label it and thus cancel out this fact as political opposition, Trump Derangement Syndrome. Professionals and others need to group together, more than one group, and keep speaking out... or we will all be cancelled. Speaking out singly does not work.
magas are the ones with trump derangement syndrome
No. It's confusing. Trump Derangement Syndrome is a term used to characterize his critics. They don't have it; they use it on us.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_derangement_syndrome
I put it back on them in that they are deranged if they think he gives a small shit about them, or ever gave a small shit about them
Okay. But it’s using their name calling to do the same. It gets nowhere.
As do his MAGA followers.
trump was a sociopath at birth
Perhaps a better way to term it would be that he may have been born with a genetic predisposition toward an Antisocial Personality disorder (ASPD) that was nurtured by his upbringing.
Patricia we do not know this and saying this moves this towards the pejorative.. We assume sociopathy as non-professionals. Okay, I agree. Sociopaths, anti-social personality disorder may have *some* genetic predisposition. There is a lot more going on. Please see causes:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/antisocial-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353928
The problem is the Magates seem to think his lunacy is a feature not a bug….
Yes! I’m so tired of hearing, “Oh, that’s just Trump being Trump.”
Well, DUHHHHH!
Where will they speak out from? To reach a large enough audience. Corporate mainstream anything won't touch it. I never paid any attention to trump until 2015 and from the beginning I've been saying, this man has serious thought processing issues combined with an extreme personality disorder(s). And I am not a mental health professional per se - licensed to treat but not diagnose.
The entire situation is groundbreaking in that our country has not ever before been faced with a bizarre Mad King despot. I think that for lot of people it's too difficult, they struggle to be able to fully comprehend and accept the cognitive and mental illness aspects.
Dr Brenda Lee lost her job at Yale for speaking out about Trump’s mental illness. She was also admonished by the APA, American Psychological Association. Our entrenched institutions aren’t up to the task of calling out this active authoritarian. Why should other leading psychiatrists put themselves and their careers at risk? It’s a question every professional faces in these dire times. Speak up or remain silent an acquiesce.
"And his slide further down the slope is picking up speed."
In the case of Trump his decline is picking up speed more like one would see when one jumps out of a plane without benefit of a parachute...forget about any "slope".
The 1974 Goldwater rule was not about speaking up: it was about diagnosing, from afar, someone you've never even met. That can be dangerous. But now it's a moot question as to whether anybody's harm was prevented by what everybody already knew, or at least soon would. I do hope the book made money for all those fellow shrinks, but it was unethical.
Old school thinking. When the nation and the world's mental health and stability is at stake I think it's the duty of psychiatrists and psychologists to educate the public for the higher good. If you were a practicing psychiatrist during Hitler's reign would you have not tried to educate the masses?
Actually, I wish we had MORE old school thinking these days. Perhaps we wouldn't be in such a pickle.
This is one of your best pieces. European history perspective woven in and current US media not having their eye on the ball is carefully explained here. Thanks. Enjoy away.
Now I can't stop thinking about the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims from Spain. I hadn't realized they couldn't wait to do it to the Jews FIRST, but took another century to go after the Muslims. (Remind me who they'd just fought to win Spain in the first place again?)
The record is so clear. Uniformity --- ethnic, religious, racial, cultural -- is one of the lowest-returning investments in itself a society could ever pursue. You can go back to the Norman Conquest -- all those Frenchified, Normanified invaders, their language influences, their forks, their continental influences. I've never heard anyone argue that Britain would have led the Industrial Revolution had the island stayed just a Saxon outpost. Dozens of examples no doubt exist all over the world.
On Biden's worst day, he was a far better president and man than the current looney tune will ever be. When did you ever hear Biden cry "Unfair!" when something unfavorable to him happened (or was published)? When did Biden flog sneakers or crypto; demand a new (used!) airplane; sell access?
And Biden installed highly competent people in his cabinet and in governmental advisory roles. Trump has either fired the competent or forced their resignations and installed either manipulative spiders such as Stephen Miller or incompetents driven by cruelty such as Kristi Noem (who had no idea what habeas corpus means) or scientifically uneducated people such as Robert Kenedy, Jr. Biden also didn't use the office of president to make billions of dollars for himself and his family, nor did he violate the emoluments clause.
Who was it that said - judge a man by who he surrounds himself with?
It was “Mr.” Machiavelli! He was judging talents of possible leaders! Says it all for the felon in our White House!
When did he ever rage-tweet petty, vindictive, whinybitchy chickenshit at Beyoncé, Rosie O'Donnell, Oprah, Bruce Springsteen in the middle of the night, ask a porn star to beat him with a rolled-up copy of Money, Inc., go on TV to tell people Haitians were eating cats and dogs in Springfield, try to choke a Secret Service agent to death for refusing to transport him to Capitol Hill so he could lead a violent insurrection against the United States?
The people to blame for Donald Trump being in office are the people who voted for him. They saw him, they heard him, they couldn't help seeing his unfitness, and they still voted for him. It's on their heads, no one else's.
It is also on the heads of the people who chose not to vote. They are going to suffer the tRump disaster along with the rest of us.
It is also on the heads of the Press who do not tell the truth.
This is why I read and enjoy this Substack! Thank you Jen. I wish more people switched to you and HCR , Adam P, et al.
I try to share , and recommend alternatives to NYT and WaPo, but my age group is stuck in their old liberal ways - sheesh. Baby Boomers.
Not all of us!!
Not one of my friends from high school, to college, to co-workers, into retirement are particularly stuck in mainstream media. Granted they live in several blue states but those states have huge populations.
Psy ops. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2024_United_States_elections
Yes! My liberal boomer friends are graduate educated, affluent and still rely on the Post & NYTms for their daily media consumption. And are they doing ANYTHING to help stave off authoritarianism?? Maybe comfort is not a pre-cursor to activism.
Thank you Jen for this spectacular piece-re both the deep cultural and financial advantages of diversity and the equally spectacular, although unacknowleged, contribution of Joe Biden to this country. No of course he should not have run again-nor should Ruth Bader Ginsberg have stayed on!! Hindsight-what is the huge failure of legacy media in this country? The promotion of a useless book on Biden's health instead of covering Governor Phil Murphy's massive and historic achievement in bringing the film industry back from Hollywood to NJ-the Governor had to buy his own ads to get the word out. Many many great Democrats doing seemingly impossible things right now and they get no coverage! Let's start shouting the word out!
In reference to President Biden, I truly believe that what vast numbers of Americans hate about him is his continued capacity to inspire love from hundreds of millions of people worldwide. It seems Americans don't understand love or admire it-which is why they elected someone who has never been loved in his life and inspires only derision and hate.Biden will be assessed politically in due course by intelligent historians-5-10 years from now as is the norm. For now, it is enough to say that this devoted public servant made his decisions from a place of love-however flawed-for country, family, and democracy. And by the way he may yet surprise us and live another ten years ("rumors of my death are greatly exxagerated")-so let's carry on his actual legacy by promoting the Josh Shapiros, Chris Murphys, Deb Haalands , Mickie Sherrills, Josh Gottheimers and so many more!
hollywood is coming back to NJ !!!!????
Huge new HBO and Netflix studios-Murphy just attended groundbreaking ceremony in Monmouth County-as a filmmaker this is dear to my heart but it is a huge achievement of Murphy's and historically very significant since Edison and his Black Maria started in North Jersey!!!
I did not hear of this news ! I am from this part of NJ.
Maria is a very interesting museum
Yes Patricia that is exactly my point about the media-delighted to share this with you-please in particular share with your NJ friends!!
Thank you I will ! I wonder if my brother knows...he lives in NC
Absolutely let him know!
This is great news for New Jersey and great news for the film industry ! All right Governor Murphy.
Indeed and let's keep NJ Blue!!
most of what is in here is great and spot on. The piece on the history of Spain is really powerful and should be more required reading for all. I struggled with the article about Biden. To blame the failed election on the fact that President Biden could not recognize his own limitations due to age and blaming those around him for the Democratic loss stopped me reading right there... why did fewer voters turn out in 2024 for an excellent Democratic candidate than in 2020? clearly the stakes were even higher in 2024? how did we fail to get any meaningful turnout in this moment of crisis? why do so many Americans fear a female president? why do so many Americans fear a non-white president? why did the Democrats simply focus on abortion rights, a battle that they were already clearly winning when they should have been focusing on the danger of trump... why did the justice department drag and drag and drag along their investigations as opposed to reacting swiftly to the crimes committed on Jan 6th, missing documents, etc.? they should take a lesson from what trump is doing now.. why didnt the Democrats get the message that the far right was out to destroy them and by "playing nice" dating back to Obama was not going to work? to turn on Joe Biden after he accomplished so much under such adverse circumstances is shameful and I would have expected better from Tapper and those jumping on the bandwagon of blaming Biden for a myriad of missteps, oversights, and timidness...
Thank you. There are indeed far more important questions to ask than those that have surfaced. And spare me the absurdity and cruelty of making Joe Biden the scapegoat for the sins of the Democratic Party --- and of the nation itself.
Something terrible happened in 2024. Tens of millions of ignorant, uninformed --- no, disinformed and disinforming voters --- voted for a pathetic, lying, incoherent, demented wretch who assured them Haitians were eating cats and dogs in Springfield, told them brown people were just 'vermin,' who never succeeded in anything in his too long, miserable, petty, cruel, vindictive life --- multiple bankruptcies, two impeachments for obstruction of justice and attempted blackmail --- finally the instigator of a violent insurrection all because of his personal vanity and inability to be anything other than a fucked-up little toddler who refused to give up the ball and go home (with deep apologies to the vast majority of 3-5 year-olds who play very nicely with other children in the sandbox).
That's what happened. They didn't vote for this ugly piece of shit because of Joe Biden's health, or because he didn't lower the price of eggs. The evidence suggests something within the American electorate and psyche that most of us remain unwilling to face. We can certainly question the wisdom of some Biden priorities and policies that didn't have their intended effect, about trying to please too many disparate wings of the party, or focusing on the wrong issues, or the right ones with insufficient zeal. But those things together are not the cause of what happened.
I will spend the rest of my life wondering just how people could be so dumb as to give Trump a second chance to do exactly what he promised he would --- destroy the good in us, promote the evil. I don't have any snappy answers to that up my sleeve. I suspect millions of us feel the same way.
“ The evidence suggests something within the American electorate and psyche that most of us remain unwilling to face.”
Bingo! Thank you.
Americans are too satisfied with mere personal comfort, and are plain lazy about the need for improvement when "my life is comfortable enough."
Would love to hear thoughts on what in the American psyche brought this upon us. Lack of education? Disinformation? Eroding morals as seen in American entertainment? A capitalist society that glorifies money & wealth at the expense of decency?
Now that is a very Gordian Knot of a problem, isn't it? I can suggest three possibilities.
First is the gradual ascendancy of those who would rather believe in fixed, immutable truths—the playground of religion—and those who want to know, as in rational, scientific inquiry in which the conclusions are always subject to change as new evidence comes to light. Prime examples of the former mindset are Bobby Kennedy, Jr. and his obsession with the alleged dangers of vaccines and the lunatic QANON conspiracy theorists. This true believer mindset is also a power source that fuels the Christian Nationalist movement.
The second is close to your suggestion of the glorification of money and wealth. Underlying that is our true original sin of exploitation to the point of despoliation—of nature to such an extent that we are in danger of cooking ourselves into extinction, and of people as in chattel slavery, wage slavery, and suppression of workers to name a few. It also induces a fetish worship of the rich and powerful who become symbols of success (real or imagined) in various fields of endeavor, such as pop culture, religion, and politics, Donald Trump being one of the most imaginary.
The third is the erosion of a sense of community which leads to self centered thinking, xenophobia, and declining concern for the well being of others. This is especially reflected in the tendency of wealth to dull a sense of empathy in inverse proportion. For example, New Hampshire has had among the highest average per capita income in the country and the lowest rate of charitable giving. As to why a sense of community is eroding I am at a loss to explain.
Excellent, well reasoned thoughts.
Thank you.
I believe that the “something within the electorate…” is an unholy soup of racism, misogyny, insufficient education, willful ignorance and fear.
Nancy, if you really feel that way, spell it out more clearly, because you have just made a set of unsubstantiated charges against a statement many very well educated, non-racist, non-misogynistic, and intentionally knowledgeable folks think is reasonably close to the mark. As to the fear factor, yes, I am deeply afraid for the future my children and grandchildren will face as a consequence of the last election and the massive number of citizens who were completely duped by Don the Con's dissembling.
I can't fathom why 89 million eligible voters did NOT vote. They may have made all the difference in whether Trump squeaked by and won. :-(
Neither can I.
I can confirm your suspicions. I am one of those 'millions who feel the same way'.
Trump won because of racism and misogyny. If the Democratic candidate had been a reasonably competent white male, younger than Biden or Trump, the election would likely gone the other way. Sad, but true.
Jake the Snake…he couldn’t fine a more important topic to write about? I won’t spend a lead nickel on that book.
On this topic he was a day late and a dollar short. And ended up being behind the curve on breaking news (about Biden's cancer). Bob Woodward (no relation) wouldn't have been. Well, you win some, lose some.
Can we please get beyond talking about President Biden. What’s the point? Let’s focus our energy on the present president and his many foibles, lies, and outright incompetence. Why is everyone so afraid of calling a spade a spade?
I don’t see it as talking about Biden. I see it as reflecting on, but not obsessing on, past mistakes and not making those mistakes again. As Jen said, mistakes were made by more than just Biden.
Thank you for your eloquent truth.
Truth and eloquence here and every single day of your career. Thank you for all that you do for democracy.
1. In 1992 Spain offered a Sepharidad, in essence, citizenship rights for those expelled in 1492. About that time, DNA testing became avaiable. Many Hispanics discovered that they had "moro" (Black) or jewish genes. I don't know this s a fact, but that includes Spanish royalty and other self decribed Spanish damas y caballeros.
2. Trump was at the Capitol yesterday, trying to button hole support for the disaterous budget. He uses intimidation. His bill continues to punish blue states, despite the fact that many Republicans, and many if not most of his donors live in them.
Reps. Mike Lawler (NY-17), Nick LaLota (NY-01), Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), Tom Kean Jr. (NJ-07), and Young Kim (CA-40) want an increased SALT deduction. Whether the SALT issue is enough for them to actually oppose is left to be seen, but this may be an opening.
I've been writing about the Medicare aspect.
From Heather Cox Richardson: "...12 swing-state Republicans who don’t want drastic Medicaid cuts, and 31 hardliners who do. House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can afford to lose only three Republican votes on the measure. Nicole Lafond of Talking Points Memo reported today that Trump will go to Capitol Hill tomorrow to talk Republicans into voting for the measure."
We need to encourage Don Bacon R. NE. and other Republicans who are standing up to Trump and MAGA Mike. He and Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., Rob Bresnahan Jr., R-Pa., Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., Young Kim, R-Calif., Robert Wittman, R-Va., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., and Jeff Hurd, R-Colo signed a letter:
“Many hospitals — particularly in rural and underserved areas — rely heavily on Medicaid funding, with some receiving over half their revenue from the program alone,” the representatives wrote. “Providers in these areas are especially at risk of closure, with many unable to recover. When hospitals close, it affects all constituents, regardless of healthcare coverage.”
Besides the Medicaid issue, Republican Reps have called out Trump/Musk on national security and tariffs.
On MSNBC Saturday, Velshi asked Bacon about tariffs. He said, in essence, any Reagan Republican would remove Trump tariff authority. To do that, they need all of the House Dems.
Plus Bacon said Trump has a "moral blindscape" re Ukraine. Retired General. Russia is not a superpower. Mexico with nuclear weapons.
Says anyone who served has to oppose Hegseth, SIGNAL.
Says we are better than any other country in agriculture. Says Trump has broken free trade. In essence, we are losing the trade war
Conversos or Crypto-Jews were a significant part of New Mexico history. joining the expeditions to the new world was a way to escape the persecutions in Spain
The Mexican state, Leon, was heavily converso.
Excellent! Thank you for speaking many truths, for respecting Joe Biden, and for clearly describing the destruction that is happening now in our country. And thank you for taking the time to write and share your perspectives, along with the lessons and the beauty from your travels!
Brava, Ms Jen! Your Truth is my Truth…your Power is my Power. The Contrarian enriches the humanity of all who come near. We are blessed in this time of great need. 💙🇺🇸💕
Brava for the proper use of the word, as well as your sentiment!
Examine evidence via the Sherlock Holmes approach: Motive, Opportunity, Method in that order. Who owns the new media and what are their motivations in reporting on tRump v Biden?
" ... the good that men do is oft interred with their bones."
Joe Biden is a good and decent man. Fallible regarding Gaza and his determination to remain at the helm, but good and decent. It is sad that this new development comes on top of his decline and of the political consequences we now face. I wish him well, and that with time his work for our country gains the respect and honor it - and he - deserves.
Thank you for the clarity and rational thinking