The Machinery of Terror – from The Chris Hedges Report/Substack

I read the following excellent and timely opinion piece on The Chris Hedges Report/Substack.  It is only the second piece written by a third party I have ever posted in nearly forty years f writing social and political commentary … and echoes many of the warning signs for the future …

America’s Reichstag Moment

“No right was deemed by the fathers of the government more sacred than the right of speech. It was in their eyes, as in the eyes of all thoughtful men, the great moral renovator of society and government.”
Fredrick Douglas
The assassination of Charles Kirk was reprehensible … as was that of …

Another Not-So-Subtle Step Toward Authoritarianism 

“Sometimes the point isn’t to make people believe a lie; it’s to make people fear the liar.”
Anne Applebaum
Never before has any American president politicized public spaces and government buildings with banners featuring their face, a propaganda ploy more commonly associated with autocratic leaders in China, Russia, North Korea and other …

America’s Exceptionalism and Blemishes

“Partisanship, parochialism, excessive public debt, ambitious leaders who could come to power playing off our differences, and a poorly informed public who might sacrifice their own liberties to find relief from divisive politics”
George Washington
President Trump is absolutely correct … America has been and remains an exceptional nation!
Unfortunately, the president ignores …

Free Speech Under Attack from the Right and Left

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Attributed to Voltaire
 
For nearly fifty years Liberals have been justifiably accused of censoring speech with which they disagree.  It has taken the form of establishing so-called free speech zones on high school and …

Protecting “Dreamers” and Others

The President …”shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States.”
U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2
 
Donald Trump frequently used his presidential pardoning power to reward loyalists convicted of various crimes … and has alluded to pardoning those convicted of participating in the January 6th …

An Open Letter to President Biden

October 6, 2024
 
President Joseph Biden
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC  20500
 
Dear President Biden:
As a poll worker and someone who has written political and social commentary for nearly forty years, I was extremely disappointed, although not totally surprised at the results of this past Tuesday’s elections.
While the campaign messaging on women’s reproductive …

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