Yes, indeed. We have a plan. It is working. Stick with it. Expectations for immediate gratification aren't realistic. A short attention span is a biproduct of the Internet and TV sitcoms. Turn off the screens and read a book. Not an ebook. Read with your eyes. Hold a book in your hands. Proven strategy to recreate an attention span. Sick and tired of hearing people post "I will never vote for a Democratic socialist". Probably don't even know what a socialist is. NY is pretty happy with changes Mandomi is making.
It is time for everyone to take a stand. 2 choices: continue with the path we are on: Autocratcy: decrease in human rights, no laws for the wealthy, elimination of middle class, hated nation status, increased poverty, no health insurance, pudding instead of healthcare; or choose change.
Choose a government that works for you, or choose a government where you will work for the 1%, for pennies on the dollar. In the end, it doesn't matter if the candidate is a Democrat or a Democratic socialist. It is our only chance to right this ship.
Be part of the solution or part of the problem. The purity test is part of the problem, it is how we got here. It won't lift us higher as one nation, under God.
I like your give 'em hell attitude! And, like you, I whoop & holler & do a little happy dance for every victory, big or small. We are gaining some decent momentum. Folks are beginning to wake up in larger numbers. Best of all, we are discovering community & our communities are filling the gaps left by Trump & his goons. Yay! KEEP CALLING YOUR SENATORS, resisters! Tell them not to cave in on the ICE funding bill!! And call Schumer, too!! NO CAVING IN THIS TIME!
Trump cult morons have never been awake, or enlightened. They are the poster children for ignorance. Your cult belongs in your favored Russian motherland, preferably Siberia. You have no business in a constitutional republic, obviously.
You write: "I am talking about the doom-and-gloomers, who seem to revel in reminding everybody how hopeless everything is these days. You know the type. They’re the ones who bring umbrellas to fight off a sunny day."
I find this personally insulting. The implication is that someone who expresses pessimism about the current situation is "the type" as desribed. This sort of person would probably be diagnosed as clincically depressed.
Such a person is called a doomsayer. This a "person who predicts disaster, especially in politics or economics."
Would someone who warned about Hitler in 1935 both in Germany and other countries be considered a doomsayer?
Before the Depression would someone who predicted a Stock Market Crash be a doomsayer?
True, there have been some setbacks to Trump's authoritarian ambitions. Our side has had major victories.
However, it is not nearly time to pop the champagne corks. We haven't had a free and fair midterm election yet. We see how the Trump machinations are in full-gear trying to make sure this doesn't happen. Even if the Democrats take control or one (as is likely) or both houses of Congress we don't know if or when Trump will declare martial law.
Consider: "Could November 4th be Trump's Wednesday Waterloo?
Am I one of the people you describe. Anyone? Check out my other Substacks. Let me know. If this link doesn't work, click my photo in the upper left corner: https://halbrown.substack.com
Something one learns in advertising (or any publication that seeks to motivate people to some action) is that not everyone needs to hear the same message. There is a place for the "Cassandras" who warn us of impending catastrophe-and SOME will hear their message and begin to organize to take action. But most of the rest of those on our side need to know what we can actually "do" a LOT more than we need to hear about MAGA's latest outrage.
Most behaviourists will tell you that when confronted with danger, an animal (including humans) will choose one of four basic strategies; Fight, Flight, Freeze, or "Fawn", and when they face what they perceive as "overwhelming odds", most will choose to flee, freeze, or fawn. Because the human mind's ability is limited only really conveying one message at a time (let alone the limits in conveying context), there is virtually NO such thing as a "neutral fact" when it comes to messaging, and it is the responsibility of the "messager" to present convey their facts in a way that motivates their "messagee" in the way that they desire.
I am already what the medieval Norse and English described as "fey"-I'm already old and have resigned myself to fight for social justice and fighting oppression whether I'm successful or not-and right now, that means trying to stop what this regime is doing to our country. But I ALSO recognize that not everyone is in that "same place" as far as commitment, and that many of those who are fed a constant diet of bad news will simply give up, run, or collaborate.
P.S. I don't know you, but I DO know those who take delight in delivering bad news because it gives them a certain amount of agency and control-instead of being the one that something is happening "to", they are at least inflicting the knowledge on someone else. I know a lot of people who are clinically depressed, but I don't generallly see them using this as a coping mechanism. "Depression" is one "catch-all" word for something that can have a variety of causes, and being optimistic or pessimistic about the world situation doesn't necessarily have anything to with clinical depression.
Thank you for taking the time to write this erudite reply.
I had to make sure I knew who Casandra was. Here's what I found: In Greek mythology she was cursed to utter true prophecies, but never be believed. Wiki tells us that "her name is employed as a rhetorical device to indicate a person whose accurate predictions, generally of impending disaster, are not believed."
I don't think I was cursed to an infallible prophet. I'm not delusional. Obviously, some prognosticators have good records, but none are infallible.
I do try my best, when I write on subjects related to what might happen with the MAGA movement, to explain on the likelihood of various outcomes. I never counsel falling into a state of despair and immobilization. I believe we have to fight to the best of our ability and find psychologically heathy ways to recharge our depeleted batteries when they are run down.
I also caution against being afraid to look at dire possibilities and clinging to every win our side has whether in an election or court or in the polls or a disasterous MAGA performance (Pam Bondi's or Greg Bovino's for example) without realizing that our enemy is looking are these wins and making plans to counterattack.
I caution against becoming a "cockeyed optimist." This someone who maintains an unwavering, often unrealistic belief in positive outcome. This may lead to ignoring evidence that would challenge their beliefs. It goes beyond being a person chooses to see the bright side of situations into the realm of being blind to what is really happening. It is the personality type illustrated by ostrich with it's head in the sand cartoons.
Re: "...those who take delight in delivering bad news because it gives them a certain amount of agency and control-instead of being the one that something is happening "to", they are at least inflicting the knowledge on someone else.."
Someone who actually takes delight is delivering bad news would might be diagnosed as sadistic. I would not want someone like this in my life.
Doing this might give some people a sense of agency and control, of being an actor rather than a person acted upon, but there are certainly healthy ways to be an actor. Being a vitimizer is not one of them.
I am not sure why you write about inflicting knowledge. This seems to imply one is forcing knowledge on someone. I like to believe I am imparting knowledge, mostly from my area of expertise, which is in psychology. I write my opinions. These are separate from, but related at times, to having been a therapist for 40 years. Opinions are opinions and those who read my Substacks on a regular basis obviously think they are worth considering.
I also write about my own feelings.
I hope you take a look at a few of my Substacks and perhaps make comments on the recent ones.
(I didn't have an idea on a topic for today. Now having written these replies I am thinking about building a Substack on this subject.)
Thank you for your reply-and especially for disclosing "why" you write. One of the biggest problems with social media is that one seldom knows anything about the person they're "engaging" with and this can lead to all kinds of assumptions that themselves become areas of conflict along the lines of, "You idiot! I've been a Journeyman marine electrical engineer for sixty-seven years, and if you ever showed up for work without your double-crimped ratcheting tool, we'd dump you overboard and the rest of your tools with you!". :)
My old dad graduated from the UW in 1928 with a degree in "Journalism" and after a few jobs as a newspaper reporter, he spent the rest of his career in advertising and public relations. He had a lifelong love of words, grammar, and the business of "communication" in general, and these were nightly topics at the family dinner table. He always read to me at night, and when he'd had a few, he'd read me to sleep with whatever book about the aforementioned topics. One of my earliest memories is his reading to me from a book by S.I. Hayakawa about the then-new study of "semantics". I can close my eyes and still hear him reading, "Even though we say it's a 'dog-eat-dog world', that doesn't mean that the world is filled with dogs eating dogs". He always regretted that he didn't establish a business his children could inherit or have a trade they could follow him into, but by osmosis, all four of us got a good education in the sharp-elbowed and often cynical world of advertising, PR, and marketing. So that's where I'm "coming from". I find politics as disgusting-and necessary-as plumbing.
Unlike my siblings, I managed to avoid going into advertising or marketing, but especially as a longtime LGBTQIA+ activist and volunteer for the Democratic Party, I've often had to draw on my family "legacy". In my twenties and early thirties I eked out a living playing the fiddle, banjo, and a bunch of other instruments, and I've always appreciated these words by Hunter S. Thompson-and I've often found them equally true of politics.
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”
When Donald Trump told Kaitlan Collins she should smile more, it wasn’t advice. It was domination. It was a man telling a woman that her job wasn’t to question power, but to make him comfortable. Earl Stephens’ piece operates on the exact same principle. He isn’t arguing with people raising legitimate concerns about election certification. He’s talking down to them and dismissing them as nuisances who should “get out of the way” so everyone else can feel better. Raising legitimate election concerns is not “doom and gloom.” That is reality. Stephens wants people to stop asking hard questions because those questions disrupt the emotional comfort of believing momentum alone will save us. But hope is not a safeguard. Winning is not the end of the fight. Certification is. Mocking vigilance doesn’t make you strong. It makes you unprepared. Democracy doesn’t fail because people were too cautious. It fails because people assumed the system would protect itself. Telling people to stop worrying isn’t leadership. It’s not confidence. It’s denial. And denial is how democracies fall.
I agree with this 100%. I felt talken down to. This is a repeat of my comment:
"I am talking about the doom-and-gloomers, who seem to revel in reminding everybody how hopeless everything is these days. You know the type. They’re the ones who bring umbrellas to fight off a sunny day."
I find this personally insulting. The implication is that someone who expresses pessimism about the current situation is "the type" as described. This sort of person would probably be diagnosed as clinically depressed.
Such a person is called a doomsayer. This a "person who predicts disaster, especially in politics or economics."
Would someone who warned about Hitler in 1935 both in Germany and other countries be considered a doomsayer?
Before the Great Depression would someone who predicted a Stock Market Crash be a doomsayer?
True, there have been some setbacks to Trump's authoritarian ambitions. Our side has had major victories.
However, it is not nearly time to pop the champagne corks. We haven't had a free and fair midterm election yet. We see how the Trump machinations are in full-gear trying to make sure this doesn't happen. Even if the Democrats take control or one (as is likely) or both houses of Congress we don't know if or when Trump will declare martial law.
Consider: "Could November 4th be Trump's Wednesday Waterloo?
I’m going to help us win by completing a series of three educational video essays with video game background footage explaining how Presidents and authoritarians rise and fall called The Delta Papers. I’ll post the last two scripts on my Substack on Presidents’ Day and then have the third script and YouTube video done sometime next week after that. Please subscribe to History Flights Productions on both platforms to make sure you don’t miss it!
I read everything you post and I believe every thing you say i am an Australian who loathes Trump and what he stands for i was born inEngland and we hate Natzism. Good luck with your fight we hope more people listen and fight back
Always helps to ask "how?". How did Joe Biden steal the 2020 election? The answers Trump&Friends have come up with didn't withstand the most cursory examination, still don't.
So, how is Trump going to steal the 2026 election? We've seen the threats, the trial runs, not too impressive, are they?
Remember,
1. Trump has no institutional legal, power here. Note that lack of legal authority has been imposing serious operational friction on him. Federal District.Courts have been resolute, S Ct has stayed, but not overruled them.
2. Trump has a very serious capacity problem, both in numbers and competence. His DOJ is near collapse as a result, ICE not much better. They have all of 22k personnel, inferior to just one state's NG.
3. Trump's 2020 'efforts' came as a nasty surprise. Not this time.
4. Trump manufactures appearances. Operationally, he's always been incapable, is now becoming more so.
As an optimistic pessimist, I am always hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. I'm encouraged by the outstanding people of Minnesota and the way they've fought back against lawless brigands roaming their streets. I am encouraged by Democrats winning elections in areas they've not won in decades. I'm encouraged by the spread in those wins as well. But I also know the paths that authoritarian regimes take historically. And while the regime will fail -- they always do -- getting to that endpoint is going to be painful as hell, I'm afraid.
I think being an optimistic pessimist is healthy. Reality must come first and foremost. We are not good in the battle if we are debilitated by pessimism but we can't let our guard down with optimism. The other side is very well armed and making plans to counter every vicoty we have. They have no rules of engagement.
The people of Minnesota have shown us the way to do it, we should not let it go to waste, or let their courageous efforts be in vain... let it build and expand throughout the nation, constantly learning and improving on how to defeat the enemy. At the beginning of WWII the Nazis seemed invincible and were kicking everyone's ass, but all they knew was dominance through brutality using superior military technology citing that as superiority and intelligence... but we had a higher intelligence and eventually developed the knowledge on how to defeat them, all based on an unwavering resolve that our side was the right side... and we now have to go back and pick it up from where we left off
"I’ve noticed there is a smugness to these entitled people who make it their jobs to bring everybody else down to their hopeless level.
They are bad news in blood-stained print, and making some difficult times in this country even harder.
I can no longer have people like this in my life."
I try to be ruthlessly honest with myself. I do not see myself as being smug and entitled.
I found this all to be personally insulting. The implication is that someone who expresses pessimism about the current political situation is “the type” as described.
AMEN RUN THOSE REPUBLICANS OUT OF OFFICE
Yes, indeed. We have a plan. It is working. Stick with it. Expectations for immediate gratification aren't realistic. A short attention span is a biproduct of the Internet and TV sitcoms. Turn off the screens and read a book. Not an ebook. Read with your eyes. Hold a book in your hands. Proven strategy to recreate an attention span. Sick and tired of hearing people post "I will never vote for a Democratic socialist". Probably don't even know what a socialist is. NY is pretty happy with changes Mandomi is making.
It is time for everyone to take a stand. 2 choices: continue with the path we are on: Autocratcy: decrease in human rights, no laws for the wealthy, elimination of middle class, hated nation status, increased poverty, no health insurance, pudding instead of healthcare; or choose change.
Choose a government that works for you, or choose a government where you will work for the 1%, for pennies on the dollar. In the end, it doesn't matter if the candidate is a Democrat or a Democratic socialist. It is our only chance to right this ship.
Be part of the solution or part of the problem. The purity test is part of the problem, it is how we got here. It won't lift us higher as one nation, under God.
Pls check out my article
https://open.substack.com/pub/howiwish89/p/trying-to-find-peace-at-war?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=7kwygd
Imprison some of them! Think of 8 off the top of my head!!!!
Supporters of this admin won't have a party anymore - America sees you. this fuckery can't be fixed.
I like your give 'em hell attitude! And, like you, I whoop & holler & do a little happy dance for every victory, big or small. We are gaining some decent momentum. Folks are beginning to wake up in larger numbers. Best of all, we are discovering community & our communities are filling the gaps left by Trump & his goons. Yay! KEEP CALLING YOUR SENATORS, resisters! Tell them not to cave in on the ICE funding bill!! And call Schumer, too!! NO CAVING IN THIS TIME!
202 225 3121 or 202 224 3121
Will reach any senator or house member! Call daily! I like to call the 🍊🫏 kissers! The rethuglikkkrussians 🍊🫏kissers must be defeated “bigly”!!!!
🇺🇸🔷🇺🇸🔷🇺🇸🔷🇺🇸🔷🇺🇸🔷
Pls check out my new article https://open.substack.com/pub/howiwish89/p/trying-to-find-peace-at-war?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=7kwygd
The only people waking up are more Trump supporters and you're in trouble come November.
Trump cult morons have never been awake, or enlightened. They are the poster children for ignorance. Your cult belongs in your favored Russian motherland, preferably Siberia. You have no business in a constitutional republic, obviously.
You write: "I am talking about the doom-and-gloomers, who seem to revel in reminding everybody how hopeless everything is these days. You know the type. They’re the ones who bring umbrellas to fight off a sunny day."
I find this personally insulting. The implication is that someone who expresses pessimism about the current situation is "the type" as desribed. This sort of person would probably be diagnosed as clincically depressed.
Such a person is called a doomsayer. This a "person who predicts disaster, especially in politics or economics."
Would someone who warned about Hitler in 1935 both in Germany and other countries be considered a doomsayer?
Before the Depression would someone who predicted a Stock Market Crash be a doomsayer?
True, there have been some setbacks to Trump's authoritarian ambitions. Our side has had major victories.
However, it is not nearly time to pop the champagne corks. We haven't had a free and fair midterm election yet. We see how the Trump machinations are in full-gear trying to make sure this doesn't happen. Even if the Democrats take control or one (as is likely) or both houses of Congress we don't know if or when Trump will declare martial law.
Consider: "Could November 4th be Trump's Wednesday Waterloo?
Don't think that his war-planners aren't trying to make sure this doesn't happen." >> https://halbrown.substack.com/p/what-would-happen-if-trump-steals
Am I one of the people you describe. Anyone? Check out my other Substacks. Let me know. If this link doesn't work, click my photo in the upper left corner: https://halbrown.substack.com
I agree 100%. Totally insulting.
Something one learns in advertising (or any publication that seeks to motivate people to some action) is that not everyone needs to hear the same message. There is a place for the "Cassandras" who warn us of impending catastrophe-and SOME will hear their message and begin to organize to take action. But most of the rest of those on our side need to know what we can actually "do" a LOT more than we need to hear about MAGA's latest outrage.
Most behaviourists will tell you that when confronted with danger, an animal (including humans) will choose one of four basic strategies; Fight, Flight, Freeze, or "Fawn", and when they face what they perceive as "overwhelming odds", most will choose to flee, freeze, or fawn. Because the human mind's ability is limited only really conveying one message at a time (let alone the limits in conveying context), there is virtually NO such thing as a "neutral fact" when it comes to messaging, and it is the responsibility of the "messager" to present convey their facts in a way that motivates their "messagee" in the way that they desire.
I am already what the medieval Norse and English described as "fey"-I'm already old and have resigned myself to fight for social justice and fighting oppression whether I'm successful or not-and right now, that means trying to stop what this regime is doing to our country. But I ALSO recognize that not everyone is in that "same place" as far as commitment, and that many of those who are fed a constant diet of bad news will simply give up, run, or collaborate.
P.S. I don't know you, but I DO know those who take delight in delivering bad news because it gives them a certain amount of agency and control-instead of being the one that something is happening "to", they are at least inflicting the knowledge on someone else. I know a lot of people who are clinically depressed, but I don't generallly see them using this as a coping mechanism. "Depression" is one "catch-all" word for something that can have a variety of causes, and being optimistic or pessimistic about the world situation doesn't necessarily have anything to with clinical depression.
Thank you for taking the time to write this erudite reply.
I had to make sure I knew who Casandra was. Here's what I found: In Greek mythology she was cursed to utter true prophecies, but never be believed. Wiki tells us that "her name is employed as a rhetorical device to indicate a person whose accurate predictions, generally of impending disaster, are not believed."
I don't think I was cursed to an infallible prophet. I'm not delusional. Obviously, some prognosticators have good records, but none are infallible.
I do try my best, when I write on subjects related to what might happen with the MAGA movement, to explain on the likelihood of various outcomes. I never counsel falling into a state of despair and immobilization. I believe we have to fight to the best of our ability and find psychologically heathy ways to recharge our depeleted batteries when they are run down.
I also caution against being afraid to look at dire possibilities and clinging to every win our side has whether in an election or court or in the polls or a disasterous MAGA performance (Pam Bondi's or Greg Bovino's for example) without realizing that our enemy is looking are these wins and making plans to counterattack.
I caution against becoming a "cockeyed optimist." This someone who maintains an unwavering, often unrealistic belief in positive outcome. This may lead to ignoring evidence that would challenge their beliefs. It goes beyond being a person chooses to see the bright side of situations into the realm of being blind to what is really happening. It is the personality type illustrated by ostrich with it's head in the sand cartoons.
Re: "...those who take delight in delivering bad news because it gives them a certain amount of agency and control-instead of being the one that something is happening "to", they are at least inflicting the knowledge on someone else.."
Someone who actually takes delight is delivering bad news would might be diagnosed as sadistic. I would not want someone like this in my life.
Doing this might give some people a sense of agency and control, of being an actor rather than a person acted upon, but there are certainly healthy ways to be an actor. Being a vitimizer is not one of them.
I am not sure why you write about inflicting knowledge. This seems to imply one is forcing knowledge on someone. I like to believe I am imparting knowledge, mostly from my area of expertise, which is in psychology. I write my opinions. These are separate from, but related at times, to having been a therapist for 40 years. Opinions are opinions and those who read my Substacks on a regular basis obviously think they are worth considering.
I also write about my own feelings.
I hope you take a look at a few of my Substacks and perhaps make comments on the recent ones.
(I didn't have an idea on a topic for today. Now having written these replies I am thinking about building a Substack on this subject.)
Thank you for your reply-and especially for disclosing "why" you write. One of the biggest problems with social media is that one seldom knows anything about the person they're "engaging" with and this can lead to all kinds of assumptions that themselves become areas of conflict along the lines of, "You idiot! I've been a Journeyman marine electrical engineer for sixty-seven years, and if you ever showed up for work without your double-crimped ratcheting tool, we'd dump you overboard and the rest of your tools with you!". :)
My old dad graduated from the UW in 1928 with a degree in "Journalism" and after a few jobs as a newspaper reporter, he spent the rest of his career in advertising and public relations. He had a lifelong love of words, grammar, and the business of "communication" in general, and these were nightly topics at the family dinner table. He always read to me at night, and when he'd had a few, he'd read me to sleep with whatever book about the aforementioned topics. One of my earliest memories is his reading to me from a book by S.I. Hayakawa about the then-new study of "semantics". I can close my eyes and still hear him reading, "Even though we say it's a 'dog-eat-dog world', that doesn't mean that the world is filled with dogs eating dogs". He always regretted that he didn't establish a business his children could inherit or have a trade they could follow him into, but by osmosis, all four of us got a good education in the sharp-elbowed and often cynical world of advertising, PR, and marketing. So that's where I'm "coming from". I find politics as disgusting-and necessary-as plumbing.
Unlike my siblings, I managed to avoid going into advertising or marketing, but especially as a longtime LGBTQIA+ activist and volunteer for the Democratic Party, I've often had to draw on my family "legacy". In my twenties and early thirties I eked out a living playing the fiddle, banjo, and a bunch of other instruments, and I've always appreciated these words by Hunter S. Thompson-and I've often found them equally true of politics.
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”
<continued-eventually>
You're welcome. I appreciate the time and thought you put into composing this, your sharing so much anout yourself.
There are lots of signs of hope and brave resistance but we cannot rest on our laurels.
Thank you for writing this! The MAGATs WANT us to think that "resistance is futile"-but we'll prove them wrong.
Watching Minnesota should give everyone the inspiration they need. Look for the helpers.
When Donald Trump told Kaitlan Collins she should smile more, it wasn’t advice. It was domination. It was a man telling a woman that her job wasn’t to question power, but to make him comfortable. Earl Stephens’ piece operates on the exact same principle. He isn’t arguing with people raising legitimate concerns about election certification. He’s talking down to them and dismissing them as nuisances who should “get out of the way” so everyone else can feel better. Raising legitimate election concerns is not “doom and gloom.” That is reality. Stephens wants people to stop asking hard questions because those questions disrupt the emotional comfort of believing momentum alone will save us. But hope is not a safeguard. Winning is not the end of the fight. Certification is. Mocking vigilance doesn’t make you strong. It makes you unprepared. Democracy doesn’t fail because people were too cautious. It fails because people assumed the system would protect itself. Telling people to stop worrying isn’t leadership. It’s not confidence. It’s denial. And denial is how democracies fall.
I agree with this 100%. I felt talken down to. This is a repeat of my comment:
"I am talking about the doom-and-gloomers, who seem to revel in reminding everybody how hopeless everything is these days. You know the type. They’re the ones who bring umbrellas to fight off a sunny day."
I find this personally insulting. The implication is that someone who expresses pessimism about the current situation is "the type" as described. This sort of person would probably be diagnosed as clinically depressed.
Such a person is called a doomsayer. This a "person who predicts disaster, especially in politics or economics."
Would someone who warned about Hitler in 1935 both in Germany and other countries be considered a doomsayer?
Before the Great Depression would someone who predicted a Stock Market Crash be a doomsayer?
True, there have been some setbacks to Trump's authoritarian ambitions. Our side has had major victories.
However, it is not nearly time to pop the champagne corks. We haven't had a free and fair midterm election yet. We see how the Trump machinations are in full-gear trying to make sure this doesn't happen. Even if the Democrats take control or one (as is likely) or both houses of Congress we don't know if or when Trump will declare martial law.
Consider: "Could November 4th be Trump's Wednesday Waterloo?
Don't think that his war-planners aren't trying to make sure this doesn't happen." >> https://halbrown.substack.com/p/what-would-happen-if-trump-steals
Am I one of the people you describe. Anyone?
(You can find all my Substack by clicking my image in the upper left)
I’m going to help us win by completing a series of three educational video essays with video game background footage explaining how Presidents and authoritarians rise and fall called The Delta Papers. I’ll post the last two scripts on my Substack on Presidents’ Day and then have the third script and YouTube video done sometime next week after that. Please subscribe to History Flights Productions on both platforms to make sure you don’t miss it!
I read everything you post and I believe every thing you say i am an Australian who loathes Trump and what he stands for i was born inEngland and we hate Natzism. Good luck with your fight we hope more people listen and fight back
Sue Aus
Always helps to ask "how?". How did Joe Biden steal the 2020 election? The answers Trump&Friends have come up with didn't withstand the most cursory examination, still don't.
So, how is Trump going to steal the 2026 election? We've seen the threats, the trial runs, not too impressive, are they?
Remember,
1. Trump has no institutional legal, power here. Note that lack of legal authority has been imposing serious operational friction on him. Federal District.Courts have been resolute, S Ct has stayed, but not overruled them.
2. Trump has a very serious capacity problem, both in numbers and competence. His DOJ is near collapse as a result, ICE not much better. They have all of 22k personnel, inferior to just one state's NG.
3. Trump's 2020 'efforts' came as a nasty surprise. Not this time.
4. Trump manufactures appearances. Operationally, he's always been incapable, is now becoming more so.
As an optimistic pessimist, I am always hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. I'm encouraged by the outstanding people of Minnesota and the way they've fought back against lawless brigands roaming their streets. I am encouraged by Democrats winning elections in areas they've not won in decades. I'm encouraged by the spread in those wins as well. But I also know the paths that authoritarian regimes take historically. And while the regime will fail -- they always do -- getting to that endpoint is going to be painful as hell, I'm afraid.
I think being an optimistic pessimist is healthy. Reality must come first and foremost. We are not good in the battle if we are debilitated by pessimism but we can't let our guard down with optimism. The other side is very well armed and making plans to counter every vicoty we have. They have no rules of engagement.
Check out https://halbrown.substack.com/p/optimism-vs-pessimism-with-reality
The people of Minnesota have shown us the way to do it, we should not let it go to waste, or let their courageous efforts be in vain... let it build and expand throughout the nation, constantly learning and improving on how to defeat the enemy. At the beginning of WWII the Nazis seemed invincible and were kicking everyone's ass, but all they knew was dominance through brutality using superior military technology citing that as superiority and intelligence... but we had a higher intelligence and eventually developed the knowledge on how to defeat them, all based on an unwavering resolve that our side was the right side... and we now have to go back and pick it up from where we left off
Yay! Help my handicapped body still stand & try not to lose it
I went over this essay again and realized that I only skimmed it after the first three paragraphs when I wrote my Substack about optimism and pessimism. https://halbrown.substack.com/p/optimism-vs-pessimism-with-reality
Then I got to this:
"I’ve noticed there is a smugness to these entitled people who make it their jobs to bring everybody else down to their hopeless level.
They are bad news in blood-stained print, and making some difficult times in this country even harder.
I can no longer have people like this in my life."
I try to be ruthlessly honest with myself. I do not see myself as being smug and entitled.
I found this all to be personally insulting. The implication is that someone who expresses pessimism about the current political situation is “the type” as described.
I ended up taking some of my comments here and I made them into my Substack for today: Optimism vs. Pessimism with reality in the middle. https://halbrown.substack.com/p/optimism-vs-pessimism-with-reality
Uplifting - one of your best!