The headline tonight reads, “White House to Vet Smithsonian Museums to Fit Trump’s Historical Vision.” It’s in The Wall Street Journal, not exactly a bastion of liberal views.
Though I live in Kansas City, Washington DC is my first home in the US (born overseas to US diplomats, we lived my first three years away). The memories I have and the years I spent going to Smithsonian museums are formative. Indeed, my husband and I maintained membership for years from away to support the institutions and to share with our children the nation’s incredible wealth of art, history and science. From the oldest ones to the newest, the excitement was always palpable for a day trip on the Mall.
This post literally sends me off to bed with dread and a breaking 💔.
Moi aussi, Leslie. I didn't get "home" until I was 18 to go to Undergrad school. My younger brother (RIP) did his Marine Biology Post Doctoral work at the Smithsonian. He was extremely complimentary about the amazing treasure trove of History that can be found and studied there. I have visited often. I feel the dread and the heartache as you do, Leslie. However, it is clear now. We must all "take our heart into our hands" and resist these steps that are leading right to what I'll call "das vierte Reich". As much as each one of us can. Unfortunately we continue to rely on the balance of powers, hoping the courts will do something. They will not....We all here should remember 1933.
On Friday, August 15 President Trump will meet President Putin and this is how the meeting is expected to go.
President Trump: “President Putin, we are going to end this war now. Enough is enough.”
President Putin: “Da. President Trump, remember that night in Moscow presidential suite when you had Golden Shower Treatment with good Moscow hookers? You didn’t pay them. We have big video of that.”
President Trump: “And if you stop the war and give back the Donbas and Crimea, I’ll give you back Alaska. And you throw in letting me build a Trump Hotel in Moscow.”
President Putin: “You like see video now?”
President Trump: “That wasn’t me. It’s an AI fake. And you know I’m a germaphobe. Ok, no Trump Hotel. Do you want Alaska yes or no?”
Bill, the sad thing is that you are probably not too far off the mark. Trump has no ability to meet with Putin, well he can be there, but he can't really negotiate anything because he has no clue. He likes to order people around while he does nothing, but he can't order Putin around, and well, he has dementia and has a difficult time keeping a train of thought on the track. This is a scary time for our nation and the world with two men who care nothing for us or the world, just their own ambitions no matter who is hurt and a lot of people have been hurt by both men.
Ok, so I’m on record that I will do number two at his grave when he dies. No I feel I want to do number two on the presidential limousine. And then do number two on the new second hand Air Force One so that he will need to buy another aroplane. Or maybe do number two and smear it on the casket as I jump over this rope. Since by that time, he will be unable to switch coffins and he will be buried with my poop rubbed on his casket. That a boy, Katz.
Gross? Yes. But many will go 1 and 2 all over. Many will vomit all over. When he dies and others do, the number of celebrants will make MardiGras, NYE, The Macy's Day Parade, and Second Line Parades combined look like there was no one there. I know I shouldn't look forward to people dying, but I've never looked forward to certain obituaries more than I have since the first regime.
Nothing out of the White House surprises me anymore however I continually get more disappointed in both branches of Congress for allowing Mango Mussolini to run roughshod over the American people! ☹️
You caught me. Of all things to worry about, I never dreamed it would be a POTUS offering up our land, bought and paid for, to a despot.
Alaskans, run both jackasses out of YOUR state! I do not feel the desperation or the fear many of my contemporaries do. I’m a fighter, and I say put on your favorite protest music, you’ll remember what to do. Anything is better than nothing and I thank you for it.
(I love Jesse Welles! He writes and performs great protest music)
To me, this is where the dark reality of Proyect 25 starts to spread it’s roots, kind of under the radar. It should be labelled “ psychological terrorism”. To rewrite history is to dismantled our journey and pride to democracy. In “1984” there is a complete breakdown of the emotional psychic of the society based on lies ( just the way Trump and partners are making their way for autoritarian control ). We might not have the telescreens, but we have the very strong influence of social media and its algorithm to almost hypnotize many, supporting the blind cult mentality.
I thank you Joyce and Substack partners for the work you are doing. I am starting to see more heroes in the Democratic Party and that is great, but there is still not a STRONG UNITED front in the Democratic Party responding and acting as ONE strong voice, against this take over of our country. I am hoping that your work with your Substack partners inspire them to be brave and bold very soon.
I suggest that we get up in the morning and start calling and SCREAMING at our representatives. When done with that start calling writing emailing your local tv stations and newspapers (if there are any left with ethics) and tell them ENOUGH with Trump and his actions. The SCOTUS has a huge hand in this (so I will be WRITING them nonstop) write them too. I'm not sure that any of this will accomplish anything but if ENOUGH of us do that then maybe...
Unfortunately, mine are from FloriDUH… they do not care about anyone or anything other than themselves and their POWER. As far as SCOTUS…they need to be disbanded.
I get it - I live in Tarrant county , grapevine, Texas - the home of these out of touch politicians…. But I do not care. - these people need to be called out or else we will not have a United States of America anymore
Boycotts. Start a group and decide to boycott: pro maga stores and pharmacies. Do not hire magat led co. workers if you own a house. Decide on a day each week to not buy groceries ie on Tuesday one week, Thursday the next week. If enough people start small groups in a community they can join forces…. If this grows as I’m hoping it will, it’s not violent. How do you force people to shop? I’m certainly doing to start a group here very soon to do just this. Hit these cowards in the sacred purse!
Massive civil disobedience is the only way we don't end up with a Military coup. Get out there and just don't follow their new rules. Solidarity Union did it in Poland. We could do it if it's what we want. That's my big worry. We don't want it enough.
keep attending the protests - grow our numbers, and keep growing our numbers.
An entire national moratorium on their bullshit should be our goal. Nyet to Project Fascist 2025 and these fascist dumb-ass monkeys manipulating our country!
I was born in Providence Hospital in DC (now a park), raised in the VA and MD suburbs and spent many hours growing up in the Smithsonian, Folger and various galleries and memorials. I too still support the Smithsonian and enjoy the magazine. The District, this country and its people are stronger than the Orange Plague. We will stand up and survive.
Ever since I came to the USA, I've adored Washington, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Smithsonian. I can't imagine that every museum and library in the USA will have records to set the record straight if Trump prevails in this cultural terrorism.
Hopefully someone can save whatever he refuses to let stay there so when he and his minions are gone it can be put back together again.This is the same with all the photos and such the military had to remove from the pentagon.I hope all his destructiveness is being saved in places that s=are safe so we can have them back for future generations.
As George Orwell said: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” Trump’s effort to erase the American past through his threats to the Smithsonion are on the nose Orwellian. It must be stopped, else his actions control our future. WE are the only ones who should control our future. As such, we must seize back control of the present.
Through MASSIVE peaceful public disobedience and strikes at every new affront to our freedom to continue the great work we had undertaken. Yes our history is violent and unresolved, and the inequalities are suffocating, but we have moved mountains together in some way or other. We must now move this "Mountain of Madness: Trump and his Führertruppe"!
It's a mistake to lay all of this at trump's door. Project 2025 had hundreds of contributors, and Vought and Miller and Musk have installed their loyalists in every agency at every level. Trump is the figurehead, but as with all his endeavors, someone else is doing the work. And those someone elses are every bit as dangerous.
Before reading this, yesterday I said the Holocaust museum will be next to be edited or closed. Ugh
I wanted to re read 1984 with your group. I checked the book out and just couldn’t do it. I almost had a panic attack thinking about reading the book again because it’s so much scarier this time around.
"There is no telling what parts of our history will be excised."
Well, Joyce — and I'm only guessing here — any mention of Black slavery, the submission, displacement, and eradication of early Native Americans and their diverse culture, the contributions of women to this country's history...these are but a handful of historical facts that are up for "re-interpretation" in order to comply with Himself's "values".
Good grief. What happens when MAGA gets to the National Museum of the American Indian? Probably the only thing left will be a looping video of the "You call it corn, we call it maize" commercial
If you are familiar with Karl May, a German author who portrayed the American West and other parts of the world in glowing color and solidarity between the righteous white frontier-man and his First Nations (Indian) brother FROM HIS BEDROOM in the old East Germany, never leaving it or exploring what he was writing about, you may have some idea about Trump's version of our history.
attend these protests (Indivisible)-Keep growing the numbers!
start getting your sons and daughters to pay attention and teach them that the truth is being eradicated by these fascist monkeys so they can control our freedoms!
On a more serious note but upbeat note, there is another thing about the museum...The food. Check this out and see if it might be just a wee bit better than the standard mall museum offerings:
Trump has a big problem. It's not his work here at home. All he has to do is control himself long enough to let the sleeping dogs lie until power is cemented. His real problem is Canada. Canada is to Trump as Ukraine is to Putin. The last thing Trump needs is a real democracy on his border, his longest border. We speak the same language. Canada has an actual, real democratic leader. The parallels to Ukraine are undeniable, from an authoritarian point of view. It's only a matter of time before Trump spews out a revised history claiming Canada was stolen and is really America and needs to be liberated. Unless something intervenes, this will happen.
Canadians need to fight SMART more than ‘fierce’ … Altho granted, fighting fiercely doesn’t exclude ‘smart’. Carney not negotiating with Trump in public — as Trump is wont to do — is one example, plus not caving to an early trade agreement when a judge may rule his tariffs illegal anyway.
— Thanks for ‘giving the dog a good name to live up to’! 🇨🇦
Steve, I don't know where you hail from; but...Canadians are like the "Box Jelly". You hardly notice them until they sting you and you die in unimaginable pain. That small nation has accomplished great things in history. They joined the war against Hitler and the Axis Dictatorships long before we did... My father who was a Canadian warrior fought in Europe for 9 years, and then in the cold war against the USSR together with the CIA and other Spooks. I think they (the Canucks) are currently saying, very clearly: "We love our American brothers and sisters, but do not F*ck with us". I did a quick calculation of what it would take in Armaments and $$ to occupy Canada. Looking at just the band that is 200 miles deep south to north where over 90% of the population lives. Invasion by the USA would also (so weird) trigger Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, also known as the "Washington" Treaty. Which would technically put the USA at war with all of NATO and alliance partners, Japan etc. How that shit would work out is anyone's guess, certainly beyond my powers of projecting the future. We need to worry about our own resistance NOW before we start thinking about Canada and Mexico.
Bruce, I love what you said about Canada, but I must take a modicum of offense to the use of the word "Canuck" (and, yes, I'm well aware that Canada has a hockey team with that moniker.) Growing up with a French-Canadian last name and heritage (3 F-C grandparents, one of whom we lived with), and living in a small city of immigrants (F-C, Irish, Polish, Lithuanian, Greek, Italian, etc.) we were called "dumb Canucks" and ridiculed. I shunned my heritage until I came to embrace it long after I became an adult. I've since learned much of my family's history on both paternal and maternal sides, and am proud of it (except for the usurpation of Indian land in the 1600s.)
Maybe it's just me who takes offense, but whenever I hear the word, I associate it with the ridicule we experienced. I know that's not your intent, and I know you speak respectfully of Canada and its proud citizens. I'd love to hear the opinions of others with French-Canadian heritage.
all humans have a slur name associated with them. do you think birds do that ? like those red robins are too much for me, I'm moving my nest over by the crows...
Now that I think more about it, I believe you're correct. My family is primarily of German heritage. I guess that would make me (during WWII) a "Kraut", a "Heinie" or a "Hun". Can't say I feel particularly warm and fuzzy about any of these.
Louise, my mother had a German father (last name Heileman) and she was a schoolgirl during war. Other kids would mock her and my uncle by marching, goose-step style, and saying "Heil, Lemon!"
Not to worry. The U.S. has a long history of sports teams adopting names that cause pain to some when others simply let them roll off harmlessly. I don't think these teams chose their names to hurt. But, as in your case, when the word evokes difficult memories, only a boor or an insensitive jerk would continue using it.
No offense intended. I use "Canuck" only with respect and love. For me the name is forever synonymous with the Canadian downhill ski team around the 70's: Steve Podborski, Ken Read, Dave Irwin, Dave Murray, "Jungle" Jim Hunter, Todd Brooker (and others...). Use your sensitivity in positive ways.
Bruce, no worries. I know you meant no offense. As mentioned elsewhere, I'm not sure how Canadians (at least Quebeckers -- I didn't see any French surnames among those skiers) react to that name. Maybe it's benign. But around where I continue to live, it was regarded as a slur, perhaps because it was typically used in association with the word "dumb" or some other. Cheers!
I meant Doug not Bruce, some take offense with french-canadian, so you figure people out and give me a call please when you do ! I think it's safe to say all people can be a pain in the ass at times, so I find it works best to hate all people equally.
Not sure how to interpret this, Patricia, other than to ignore the possible satire and take it at face value. I really, really try not to hate people. It doesn't always work, but I try not to.
you're right...satire of course ! Just trying to entertain myself until the midterms ! I do however, think sometimes we can all be too sensitive. I think the key is to know your worth and all humans contribute. Then when someone insults you ...so what.
My Dad was In the RCAF…WAG..and retired to join the USAAF in 1942..along with about 3,000 other RCAF Americans. I still have photo of him in front of plane..Jarvis School.. photo is signed by all 16 men..only two from America..rest are from Ontario and New Brunswick.
I'm a US citizen (not yet subject) and what you say in indisputable, bruce klassen. I also agree with your advice to resist here and was simply giving another reason to do so.
Dean Blundell might want to interview you - he's 100% Canadian here on substack! Here is today's article
NEW NUMBERS: Canada’s Boycott Is Crushing Trump's America
Seven straight months of double digit decline - Canada's boycott of Trump's America is turning into a freight train disaster and we're just getting warmed up...
Yes. I've been reading (and subscribing to ) Dean Blundell for a few months. I just really wanted to understand what's going on there and, most importantly, how Canadians feel about all this. Two things I've learned: 1) They detest this! 2) The conflict seems to be drawing Canadians even closer together into a more unified country. They know their own power.
Nothing concentrates the mind and will better than having a singular foe with clearly bad intentions: Donald J. Trump.
The answer is pretty simple. We have (or are supposed to have) three equal branches of government. Republicans now control all three - though by small margins - and they support the current administration in whatever it wishes to do. Our Supreme Court (final arbiter of justice) has a lop-sided majority apparently on the side of the administration to the point of willingly twisting our Constitution's intent, if not its actual words.
The opposing party (Democrats) currently lacks the votes to stand in the way. Many hope that that situation will change soon.
Meanwhile, only a little over 2/3 of registered voters actually cast a ballot in 2024. The remaining third just stayed home for a variety of reasons I cannot fathom. Of the votes cast, Donald Trump won by 1.5% - not the mandate he claims. And his popularity has declined pretty steadily since Inauguration Day due to the fact that most, if not all, of his campaign promises have not been met. That's why you see many, many Americans in the streets. (I don't know if the protests are being shown outside this country.)
Despite the fact that the Democratic Party is finding and using every available legal tool at their disposal, the coming elections offer pretty much the best hope for our country's future. Citizens in opposition are placing great faith in our court system but it seems we may be dangerously close to seeing the administration ignoring the judgments of the courts. In fact, there are a number of issues where this has already fallen under dispute.
He won't stop because he can't. His decline is becoming increasingly evident every day. My guess is that his criminal cohorts will speak on his behalf with fewer public appearances.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
In DC he needs Congress to extend his authority more than a month. The Home Rule Act gives him the power to use the D.C. police force for “federal purposes” if he determines that there are “special conditions of an emergency nature.” He can use the D.C. police for up to 48 hours, or for up to 30 days if he sends a special message to the leaders of certain congressional committees. To use the D.C. police for longer than 30 days, he would need authorization from Congress.
Protesters in DC should hang out at every Congressional Republicans' office; at the house and senate. They all have offices, staff in DC.
Although they may not be permanent and vote in DC, most Congressional Republicans reside in the District. Should be able to map their residences.
Lobbyists work the dining rooms in the senate and house. Watering holes near the Capitol. In my day, if they wanted access to Republicans, the Monacle, etc. Also the airport. No reason protestors can't lobby.
Nope, no, never, he does not know US history at all. I grew up going to the Smithsonian Museum and loved the National Zoo. I remember going as a child when my father drove over the small ford of water to get to the Zoo. We would spend hours seeing the monkeys, the tigers, and elephants, and more. This was in the 1950s and early 60s. We lived in DC and then in Silver Spring, MD. Going to the zoo was never any political act, nor was going to the museum. We went to learn to see the exhibits. We looked, we read information, and we participated in programs with an open mind as we hungered to learn. We trusted the museum curators and staff that the exhibits were factual and which led to our family discussions. Whoever was the president at that time did not influence our visits. The trump administration is overreaching to the point of absurdity. When will it be enough for these folks, and we need to say NO loudly. Thank you, Joyce.
You and I share the same history, Vicki. I was born in D.C. and then later we moved to Silver Spring. I remember that small ford of water! We spent our summers visiting the many museums the Smithsonian had to offer. Every day was filled with something different to see and learn.
I understand the incredible value of childhood memories of going to the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, the Philadelphia Art Museum, and Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell on display in those days, and learning about our history with great interest and pride.
I even ran through Rock Creek park to go the both. I'm sure you saw me (or smelled my sweat 🥵 phew what is that?) Vicky, all the way from Potomac MD in the 80's and 90's.
>>>Russell Vought (one of the architects of Project 2025), wrote in a letter to the Smithsonian Institution that the museums’ public-facing exhibition text, online content, internal curatorial processes, exhibition planning, and use of collections and artist grants would be reviewed for consistency with the “unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story.<<<
BS. That's what is really going on here. Trump is a dolt, pure and simple... sharp media instincts but an ignorant dolt otherwise. Made worse by his narcissism. He isn't smart enough to consider all the aspects of revisionism and where they should be applied... that is the work of extremists like Vought and other white Christian nationalists. They not only want to derail civil rights and pluralist democracy, but erase the very memory of the struggle so that future generations are both unaware and more compliant. They have zero interest in "unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story".....it's just more Orwellian newspeak. They are in fact working to destroy those very things.
All the Smithonian curators need to get busy photographing, cataloging and copying EVERYTHING, find a country you can trust and store it there. Big job, sure but all of it needs to be preserved before the giant wrecking ball comes calling to change history. OK, we got the gut punch, take a breath. Now its time to deal with the challenge. Don't get angry, get even.
Just what I was thinking. I think Joyce was creating the Democracy Index, partly to preserve or record this type of development; but people in the institutions need to be preserving the actual exhibits/records, safely, for the future. Because we shall overcome one day, and soon, I hope.
I agree completely. I sincerely hope they are preserving everything in some secret, secure hiding place ASAP! Some other bits of history that Trump and his conspirators might do well to remember is how things turned out for many dictators in the past. Wouldn’t it be fitting if Trump, his cabinet, his fellow insurrectionists, the creators of and those with the money behind project 2025 wound up in the very same prisons they’re currently creating? Oh, and the Supremes who were fundamental in allowing democracy to die can join them too.
We are doomed. I know there are millions of my fellow Americans who are working (with many risking everything) to avoid the coming calamity, but many millions more are willfully ignorant or indolent when it comes to questions of reality, history, and our shared responsibilities. I fear that the weight of those who not paying attention or responding to the charge will smother us all.
This is exactly how I am starting to feel. Once upon a time, perhaps there would have been government institutions who would protect us..but no longer.
I have been a regular supporter of the Smithsonian for years. It is such a vital institution for our democracy. If the governing board bows to Trumps demands I can no longer, in good conscience, continue my support.
What would happen if every college and university, newspaper and now museums and apparently zoos refused to comply with the dump's censorship and ridiculous edicts? What if everyone refused to bow to his lowness? What would really happen?
I am waiting anxiously for the developments in the LA suit, re Posse Comitatus. If it doesn't go as the autocrats want, they'll appeal up to their Roberts rubber stamping machine which believes el presidente can do no wrong. Nope, he can do just what he wants, including to them they seem to have forgotten.
I ask myself all the time -- law firms, universities, Congress people -- if even a few stood up and said "no fucking way" this could come to an end. I don't get why so many have caved so fast -- it didn't have to be this way. It's clear they don't all agree with Trump -- if they stood together they could bring him down by refusing to comply.
One fact that is gives me hope is that museum people are very good at preserving things, such as the things that Trump is deleting from their exhibits. The photos, the documents, the artifacts, and even the labels that describe them, will all surely be preserved in another archive. They can open it again in the future, like a time capsule of history that made history. I might title it "The Pointless Purge of 2025".
Reading Orwell’s book, I am seeing so many parallels to what’s happening today. Another famous quote from the book is “In the end, the Party would announce that 2 + 2 = 5, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later, the logic of their position demanded it.” First, we have the Gulf of America, next, statues of Confederate generals are re-erected, and now the Smithsonian. How quickly 250 years of American history can be re-written!
Though I live in Kansas City, Washington DC is my first home in the US (born overseas to US diplomats, we lived my first three years away). The memories I have and the years I spent going to Smithsonian museums are formative. Indeed, my husband and I maintained membership for years from away to support the institutions and to share with our children the nation’s incredible wealth of art, history and science. From the oldest ones to the newest, the excitement was always palpable for a day trip on the Mall.
This post literally sends me off to bed with dread and a breaking 💔.
Moi aussi, Leslie. I didn't get "home" until I was 18 to go to Undergrad school. My younger brother (RIP) did his Marine Biology Post Doctoral work at the Smithsonian. He was extremely complimentary about the amazing treasure trove of History that can be found and studied there. I have visited often. I feel the dread and the heartache as you do, Leslie. However, it is clear now. We must all "take our heart into our hands" and resist these steps that are leading right to what I'll call "das vierte Reich". As much as each one of us can. Unfortunately we continue to rely on the balance of powers, hoping the courts will do something. They will not....We all here should remember 1933.
Putin and Trump Meet in Alaska
On Friday, August 15 President Trump will meet President Putin and this is how the meeting is expected to go.
President Trump: “President Putin, we are going to end this war now. Enough is enough.”
President Putin: “Da. President Trump, remember that night in Moscow presidential suite when you had Golden Shower Treatment with good Moscow hookers? You didn’t pay them. We have big video of that.”
President Trump: “And if you stop the war and give back the Donbas and Crimea, I’ll give you back Alaska. And you throw in letting me build a Trump Hotel in Moscow.”
President Putin: “You like see video now?”
President Trump: “That wasn’t me. It’s an AI fake. And you know I’m a germaphobe. Ok, no Trump Hotel. Do you want Alaska yes or no?”
Bill, the sad thing is that you are probably not too far off the mark. Trump has no ability to meet with Putin, well he can be there, but he can't really negotiate anything because he has no clue. He likes to order people around while he does nothing, but he can't order Putin around, and well, he has dementia and has a difficult time keeping a train of thought on the track. This is a scary time for our nation and the world with two men who care nothing for us or the world, just their own ambitions no matter who is hurt and a lot of people have been hurt by both men.
And, one has dementia
Ok, so I’m on record that I will do number two at his grave when he dies. No I feel I want to do number two on the presidential limousine. And then do number two on the new second hand Air Force One so that he will need to buy another aroplane. Or maybe do number two and smear it on the casket as I jump over this rope. Since by that time, he will be unable to switch coffins and he will be buried with my poop rubbed on his casket. That a boy, Katz.
Gross? Yes. But many will go 1 and 2 all over. Many will vomit all over. When he dies and others do, the number of celebrants will make MardiGras, NYE, The Macy's Day Parade, and Second Line Parades combined look like there was no one there. I know I shouldn't look forward to people dying, but I've never looked forward to certain obituaries more than I have since the first regime.
I am right there with you
totally gross ...
I know. But look who I’m speaking of speaking of gross. I chose my words carefully.
We are all in this together.
The thing is, nothing Trump may sign is binding on President Zelenskyy or any European with half a brain.
Perfectly stated
Does anything surprise us anymore? Waiting for spines to reemerge in the GOP!
Nothing out of the White House surprises me anymore however I continually get more disappointed in both branches of Congress for allowing Mango Mussolini to run roughshod over the American people! ☹️
I keep saying that nothing surprises me anymore..but just read that farmers in Vietnam are being displaced for a TRUMP GOLF COURSE.
Oh that should be a great money maker. Rice paddies should make great golfing
Eleanor, they don't need spines, as they are controlled by the strings of the puppeteer.
Well, wouldn't spines of truth and courage enable them to break the strings of the puppeteers [Trump is a puppet too]?
Mad King Dung ATE those spines with liberal doses of catsup
May be a long wait!
You caught me. Of all things to worry about, I never dreamed it would be a POTUS offering up our land, bought and paid for, to a despot.
Alaskans, run both jackasses out of YOUR state! I do not feel the desperation or the fear many of my contemporaries do. I’m a fighter, and I say put on your favorite protest music, you’ll remember what to do. Anything is better than nothing and I thank you for it.
(I love Jesse Welles! He writes and performs great protest music)
I am gobsmacked. It's as if a group of foreign enemies have infiltrated our government with the sole purpose to crush our country and its history....
That is exactly what Project 2025 is.
Sad and vicious at the same time....
To me, this is where the dark reality of Proyect 25 starts to spread it’s roots, kind of under the radar. It should be labelled “ psychological terrorism”. To rewrite history is to dismantled our journey and pride to democracy. In “1984” there is a complete breakdown of the emotional psychic of the society based on lies ( just the way Trump and partners are making their way for autoritarian control ). We might not have the telescreens, but we have the very strong influence of social media and its algorithm to almost hypnotize many, supporting the blind cult mentality.
I thank you Joyce and Substack partners for the work you are doing. I am starting to see more heroes in the Democratic Party and that is great, but there is still not a STRONG UNITED front in the Democratic Party responding and acting as ONE strong voice, against this take over of our country. I am hoping that your work with your Substack partners inspire them to be brave and bold very soon.
Keep it up and thank you
Their decision frameworks are warped/foreign, influenced byy some really ignorant people.
I suggest that we get up in the morning and start calling and SCREAMING at our representatives. When done with that start calling writing emailing your local tv stations and newspapers (if there are any left with ethics) and tell them ENOUGH with Trump and his actions. The SCOTUS has a huge hand in this (so I will be WRITING them nonstop) write them too. I'm not sure that any of this will accomplish anything but if ENOUGH of us do that then maybe...
Unfortunately, mine are from FloriDUH… they do not care about anyone or anything other than themselves and their POWER. As far as SCOTUS…they need to be disbanded.
I get it - I live in Tarrant county , grapevine, Texas - the home of these out of touch politicians…. But I do not care. - these people need to be called out or else we will not have a United States of America anymore
scotus needs to be tried for treason...when Americans regain the gov.
Boycotts. Start a group and decide to boycott: pro maga stores and pharmacies. Do not hire magat led co. workers if you own a house. Decide on a day each week to not buy groceries ie on Tuesday one week, Thursday the next week. If enough people start small groups in a community they can join forces…. If this grows as I’m hoping it will, it’s not violent. How do you force people to shop? I’m certainly doing to start a group here very soon to do just this. Hit these cowards in the sacred purse!
I have never been to chic fil ugh, and haven't shopped in target since they did their DEI purge
Massive civil disobedience is the only way we don't end up with a Military coup. Get out there and just don't follow their new rules. Solidarity Union did it in Poland. We could do it if it's what we want. That's my big worry. We don't want it enough.
keep attending the protests - grow our numbers, and keep growing our numbers.
An entire national moratorium on their bullshit should be our goal. Nyet to Project Fascist 2025 and these fascist dumb-ass monkeys manipulating our country!
I was born in Providence Hospital in DC (now a park), raised in the VA and MD suburbs and spent many hours growing up in the Smithsonian, Folger and various galleries and memorials. I too still support the Smithsonian and enjoy the magazine. The District, this country and its people are stronger than the Orange Plague. We will stand up and survive.
Ever since I came to the USA, I've adored Washington, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Smithsonian. I can't imagine that every museum and library in the USA will have records to set the record straight if Trump prevails in this cultural terrorism.
Hopefully someone can save whatever he refuses to let stay there so when he and his minions are gone it can be put back together again.This is the same with all the photos and such the military had to remove from the pentagon.I hope all his destructiveness is being saved in places that s=are safe so we can have them back for future generations.
As George Orwell said: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” Trump’s effort to erase the American past through his threats to the Smithsonion are on the nose Orwellian. It must be stopped, else his actions control our future. WE are the only ones who should control our future. As such, we must seize back control of the present.
Through MASSIVE peaceful public disobedience and strikes at every new affront to our freedom to continue the great work we had undertaken. Yes our history is violent and unresolved, and the inequalities are suffocating, but we have moved mountains together in some way or other. We must now move this "Mountain of Madness: Trump and his Führertruppe"!
It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion as history repeats itself.
Also..while passengers on said train
I highly recommend Lawrence O’Donnell’s Last Word programs on MSNBC to understand what Donnie is doing to democracy, in addition to Vance, Richardson and others we subscribe to here. Particularly, watch this explanation of what the Donnie’s Epstein coverup is. https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-ghislaine-maxwell-may-have-already-earned-her-trump-pardon-on-his-final-day-in-office-244751941737
It's a mistake to lay all of this at trump's door. Project 2025 had hundreds of contributors, and Vought and Miller and Musk have installed their loyalists in every agency at every level. Trump is the figurehead, but as with all his endeavors, someone else is doing the work. And those someone elses are every bit as dangerous.
Lawrence is so sharp.
Exactly
Before reading this, yesterday I said the Holocaust museum will be next to be edited or closed. Ugh
I wanted to re read 1984 with your group. I checked the book out and just couldn’t do it. I almost had a panic attack thinking about reading the book again because it’s so much scarier this time around.
How is this HAPPENING?!!!
That big Anniversary is going to be beyond depressing.
only if it's the last...
AMEN!
"There is no telling what parts of our history will be excised."
Well, Joyce — and I'm only guessing here — any mention of Black slavery, the submission, displacement, and eradication of early Native Americans and their diverse culture, the contributions of women to this country's history...these are but a handful of historical facts that are up for "re-interpretation" in order to comply with Himself's "values".
And these are just for starters.
Women are out, after all Vought and company want a male Christian hierarchy and a few of them don’t think women should be able to vote. Vought?
Do not want them to serve in the military, either.
Good grief. What happens when MAGA gets to the National Museum of the American Indian? Probably the only thing left will be a looping video of the "You call it corn, we call it maize" commercial
If you are familiar with Karl May, a German author who portrayed the American West and other parts of the world in glowing color and solidarity between the righteous white frontier-man and his First Nations (Indian) brother FROM HIS BEDROOM in the old East Germany, never leaving it or exploring what he was writing about, you may have some idea about Trump's version of our history.
Karl May was a favorite author of young Adolf Hitler. Why aren’t we in the streets?
Join Indivisible.org and look for, or create, a group near you.
attend these protests (Indivisible)-Keep growing the numbers!
start getting your sons and daughters to pay attention and teach them that the truth is being eradicated by these fascist monkeys so they can control our freedoms!
Bruce, I fear that he got his version of history from the TV shows F Troop and Hogan's Heroes.
Should have watched MASH
On a more serious note but upbeat note, there is another thing about the museum...The food. Check this out and see if it might be just a wee bit better than the standard mall museum offerings:
https://americanindian.si.edu/visit/dc/dining
Wow! Looks scrumptious.
No problem as long as "history" is confined to straight, white, Christian males.
...and the "righteousness" of that species.
And more…much more….
Trump has a big problem. It's not his work here at home. All he has to do is control himself long enough to let the sleeping dogs lie until power is cemented. His real problem is Canada. Canada is to Trump as Ukraine is to Putin. The last thing Trump needs is a real democracy on his border, his longest border. We speak the same language. Canada has an actual, real democratic leader. The parallels to Ukraine are undeniable, from an authoritarian point of view. It's only a matter of time before Trump spews out a revised history claiming Canada was stolen and is really America and needs to be liberated. Unless something intervenes, this will happen.
Don't underestimate Canada. Canadians are fierce fighters.
Canadians need to fight SMART more than ‘fierce’ … Altho granted, fighting fiercely doesn’t exclude ‘smart’. Carney not negotiating with Trump in public — as Trump is wont to do — is one example, plus not caving to an early trade agreement when a judge may rule his tariffs illegal anyway.
— Thanks for ‘giving the dog a good name to live up to’! 🇨🇦
I assure you I do not.
Thank goodness for them!
yeah, and they don't throw trash all over the place...real trash not shade.
Steve, I don't know where you hail from; but...Canadians are like the "Box Jelly". You hardly notice them until they sting you and you die in unimaginable pain. That small nation has accomplished great things in history. They joined the war against Hitler and the Axis Dictatorships long before we did... My father who was a Canadian warrior fought in Europe for 9 years, and then in the cold war against the USSR together with the CIA and other Spooks. I think they (the Canucks) are currently saying, very clearly: "We love our American brothers and sisters, but do not F*ck with us". I did a quick calculation of what it would take in Armaments and $$ to occupy Canada. Looking at just the band that is 200 miles deep south to north where over 90% of the population lives. Invasion by the USA would also (so weird) trigger Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, also known as the "Washington" Treaty. Which would technically put the USA at war with all of NATO and alliance partners, Japan etc. How that shit would work out is anyone's guess, certainly beyond my powers of projecting the future. We need to worry about our own resistance NOW before we start thinking about Canada and Mexico.
Bruce, I love what you said about Canada, but I must take a modicum of offense to the use of the word "Canuck" (and, yes, I'm well aware that Canada has a hockey team with that moniker.) Growing up with a French-Canadian last name and heritage (3 F-C grandparents, one of whom we lived with), and living in a small city of immigrants (F-C, Irish, Polish, Lithuanian, Greek, Italian, etc.) we were called "dumb Canucks" and ridiculed. I shunned my heritage until I came to embrace it long after I became an adult. I've since learned much of my family's history on both paternal and maternal sides, and am proud of it (except for the usurpation of Indian land in the 1600s.)
Maybe it's just me who takes offense, but whenever I hear the word, I associate it with the ridicule we experienced. I know that's not your intent, and I know you speak respectfully of Canada and its proud citizens. I'd love to hear the opinions of others with French-Canadian heritage.
I was completely unaware that that word can be interpreted as a slur. Now I know.
all humans have a slur name associated with them. do you think birds do that ? like those red robins are too much for me, I'm moving my nest over by the crows...
Now that I think more about it, I believe you're correct. My family is primarily of German heritage. I guess that would make me (during WWII) a "Kraut", a "Heinie" or a "Hun". Can't say I feel particularly warm and fuzzy about any of these.
I too am all of those things, plus a mick or harp
I had never heard the word honkie until I went to school in Philly
Louise, my mother had a German father (last name Heileman) and she was a schoolgirl during war. Other kids would mock her and my uncle by marching, goose-step style, and saying "Heil, Lemon!"
Louise, I'd love to find out if other French-Canadians have a similar reaction as mine.
Not to worry. The U.S. has a long history of sports teams adopting names that cause pain to some when others simply let them roll off harmlessly. I don't think these teams chose their names to hurt. But, as in your case, when the word evokes difficult memories, only a boor or an insensitive jerk would continue using it.
No offense intended. I use "Canuck" only with respect and love. For me the name is forever synonymous with the Canadian downhill ski team around the 70's: Steve Podborski, Ken Read, Dave Irwin, Dave Murray, "Jungle" Jim Hunter, Todd Brooker (and others...). Use your sensitivity in positive ways.
Bruce, no worries. I know you meant no offense. As mentioned elsewhere, I'm not sure how Canadians (at least Quebeckers -- I didn't see any French surnames among those skiers) react to that name. Maybe it's benign. But around where I continue to live, it was regarded as a slur, perhaps because it was typically used in association with the word "dumb" or some other. Cheers!
I meant Doug not Bruce, some take offense with french-canadian, so you figure people out and give me a call please when you do ! I think it's safe to say all people can be a pain in the ass at times, so I find it works best to hate all people equally.
Not sure how to interpret this, Patricia, other than to ignore the possible satire and take it at face value. I really, really try not to hate people. It doesn't always work, but I try not to.
you're right...satire of course ! Just trying to entertain myself until the midterms ! I do however, think sometimes we can all be too sensitive. I think the key is to know your worth and all humans contribute. Then when someone insults you ...so what.
My Dad was In the RCAF…WAG..and retired to join the USAAF in 1942..along with about 3,000 other RCAF Americans. I still have photo of him in front of plane..Jarvis School.. photo is signed by all 16 men..only two from America..rest are from Ontario and New Brunswick.
I'm a US citizen (not yet subject) and what you say in indisputable, bruce klassen. I also agree with your advice to resist here and was simply giving another reason to do so.
Dean Blundell might want to interview you - he's 100% Canadian here on substack! Here is today's article
NEW NUMBERS: Canada’s Boycott Is Crushing Trump's America
Seven straight months of double digit decline - Canada's boycott of Trump's America is turning into a freight train disaster and we're just getting warmed up...
Dean Blundell
Aug 12
Yes. I've been reading (and subscribing to ) Dean Blundell for a few months. I just really wanted to understand what's going on there and, most importantly, how Canadians feel about all this. Two things I've learned: 1) They detest this! 2) The conflict seems to be drawing Canadians even closer together into a more unified country. They know their own power.
Nothing concentrates the mind and will better than having a singular foe with clearly bad intentions: Donald J. Trump.
Apparently, Americans cannot save their own country. Not sure why.
The answer is pretty simple. We have (or are supposed to have) three equal branches of government. Republicans now control all three - though by small margins - and they support the current administration in whatever it wishes to do. Our Supreme Court (final arbiter of justice) has a lop-sided majority apparently on the side of the administration to the point of willingly twisting our Constitution's intent, if not its actual words.
The opposing party (Democrats) currently lacks the votes to stand in the way. Many hope that that situation will change soon.
Meanwhile, only a little over 2/3 of registered voters actually cast a ballot in 2024. The remaining third just stayed home for a variety of reasons I cannot fathom. Of the votes cast, Donald Trump won by 1.5% - not the mandate he claims. And his popularity has declined pretty steadily since Inauguration Day due to the fact that most, if not all, of his campaign promises have not been met. That's why you see many, many Americans in the streets. (I don't know if the protests are being shown outside this country.)
Despite the fact that the Democratic Party is finding and using every available legal tool at their disposal, the coming elections offer pretty much the best hope for our country's future. Citizens in opposition are placing great faith in our court system but it seems we may be dangerously close to seeing the administration ignoring the judgments of the courts. In fact, there are a number of issues where this has already fallen under dispute.
Taking the privilege of a reader, I'm copying this and sending it to a cousin in Canada. It's sad but possibly prescient.
Please do me the honor, friend.
He won't stop because he can't. His decline is becoming increasingly evident every day. My guess is that his criminal cohorts will speak on his behalf with fewer public appearances.
I call it ..redux of “Weekend At Bernie’s”.
So many of us would move to Canada.
Canada is getting ready for exactly that eventuality.
they are ? how, by giving classes like how to use a trash can, how to not be rude, how to vote, how to read, how to drive, etc.
He wants so many things that are not ok!
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, and those in a committee that fits your topic. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly. We deserve better ❤️🩹🤍💙
In DC he needs Congress to extend his authority more than a month. The Home Rule Act gives him the power to use the D.C. police force for “federal purposes” if he determines that there are “special conditions of an emergency nature.” He can use the D.C. police for up to 48 hours, or for up to 30 days if he sends a special message to the leaders of certain congressional committees. To use the D.C. police for longer than 30 days, he would need authorization from Congress.
Protesters in DC should hang out at every Congressional Republicans' office; at the house and senate. They all have offices, staff in DC.
Although they may not be permanent and vote in DC, most Congressional Republicans reside in the District. Should be able to map their residences.
Lobbyists work the dining rooms in the senate and house. Watering holes near the Capitol. In my day, if they wanted access to Republicans, the Monacle, etc. Also the airport. No reason protestors can't lobby.
Nope, no, never, he does not know US history at all. I grew up going to the Smithsonian Museum and loved the National Zoo. I remember going as a child when my father drove over the small ford of water to get to the Zoo. We would spend hours seeing the monkeys, the tigers, and elephants, and more. This was in the 1950s and early 60s. We lived in DC and then in Silver Spring, MD. Going to the zoo was never any political act, nor was going to the museum. We went to learn to see the exhibits. We looked, we read information, and we participated in programs with an open mind as we hungered to learn. We trusted the museum curators and staff that the exhibits were factual and which led to our family discussions. Whoever was the president at that time did not influence our visits. The trump administration is overreaching to the point of absurdity. When will it be enough for these folks, and we need to say NO loudly. Thank you, Joyce.
You and I share the same history, Vicki. I was born in D.C. and then later we moved to Silver Spring. I remember that small ford of water! We spent our summers visiting the many museums the Smithsonian had to offer. Every day was filled with something different to see and learn.
I live in Charlotte, NC now. I graduated from Montgomery Blair High School in 1966. We were so lucky to grow up in DC and Silver Spring. ❤️
You were so lucky.
I understand the incredible value of childhood memories of going to the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, the Philadelphia Art Museum, and Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell on display in those days, and learning about our history with great interest and pride.
…and the Constitution Center is here!
I even ran through Rock Creek park to go the both. I'm sure you saw me (or smelled my sweat 🥵 phew what is that?) Vicky, all the way from Potomac MD in the 80's and 90's.
Political bias at the zoo? Uh-oh, Animal Farm!
An orange Boar
>>>Russell Vought (one of the architects of Project 2025), wrote in a letter to the Smithsonian Institution that the museums’ public-facing exhibition text, online content, internal curatorial processes, exhibition planning, and use of collections and artist grants would be reviewed for consistency with the “unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story.<<<
BS. That's what is really going on here. Trump is a dolt, pure and simple... sharp media instincts but an ignorant dolt otherwise. Made worse by his narcissism. He isn't smart enough to consider all the aspects of revisionism and where they should be applied... that is the work of extremists like Vought and other white Christian nationalists. They not only want to derail civil rights and pluralist democracy, but erase the very memory of the struggle so that future generations are both unaware and more compliant. They have zero interest in "unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story".....it's just more Orwellian newspeak. They are in fact working to destroy those very things.
The Coup moves along
All the Smithonian curators need to get busy photographing, cataloging and copying EVERYTHING, find a country you can trust and store it there. Big job, sure but all of it needs to be preserved before the giant wrecking ball comes calling to change history. OK, we got the gut punch, take a breath. Now its time to deal with the challenge. Don't get angry, get even.
Just what I was thinking. I think Joyce was creating the Democracy Index, partly to preserve or record this type of development; but people in the institutions need to be preserving the actual exhibits/records, safely, for the future. Because we shall overcome one day, and soon, I hope.
I agree completely. I sincerely hope they are preserving everything in some secret, secure hiding place ASAP! Some other bits of history that Trump and his conspirators might do well to remember is how things turned out for many dictators in the past. Wouldn’t it be fitting if Trump, his cabinet, his fellow insurrectionists, the creators of and those with the money behind project 2025 wound up in the very same prisons they’re currently creating? Oh, and the Supremes who were fundamental in allowing democracy to die can join them too.
Hope springs eternal
In 2022 the Smithsonian was doing just that for Ukrainian cultural institutions:
https://folklife.si.edu/news-and-events/saving-ukrainian-cultural-heritage-war
I have no doubt whatsoever that this began months ago. In many examples, I know with certainty that this has already happened.
Are there enough of them to do this work?
I'm sure they are...
We are doomed. I know there are millions of my fellow Americans who are working (with many risking everything) to avoid the coming calamity, but many millions more are willfully ignorant or indolent when it comes to questions of reality, history, and our shared responsibilities. I fear that the weight of those who not paying attention or responding to the charge will smother us all.
This is exactly how I am starting to feel. Once upon a time, perhaps there would have been government institutions who would protect us..but no longer.
I so appreciate your work and writing, Joyce. It is vital!!!
I have been a regular supporter of the Smithsonian for years. It is such a vital institution for our democracy. If the governing board bows to Trumps demands I can no longer, in good conscience, continue my support.
Show your disobedience pysically if you can Mark.
Remember - the Governing Board can be replaced by Trump -
The Smithsonian and PBS, too
What would happen if every college and university, newspaper and now museums and apparently zoos refused to comply with the dump's censorship and ridiculous edicts? What if everyone refused to bow to his lowness? What would really happen?
And the military, and Posse Comitatus.
I am waiting anxiously for the developments in the LA suit, re Posse Comitatus. If it doesn't go as the autocrats want, they'll appeal up to their Roberts rubber stamping machine which believes el presidente can do no wrong. Nope, he can do just what he wants, including to them they seem to have forgotten.
MAD KING DUNG OF ORANGE
I ask myself all the time -- law firms, universities, Congress people -- if even a few stood up and said "no fucking way" this could come to an end. I don't get why so many have caved so fast -- it didn't have to be this way. It's clear they don't all agree with Trump -- if they stood together they could bring him down by refusing to comply.
Power and money-that’s your answer.
One fact that is gives me hope is that museum people are very good at preserving things, such as the things that Trump is deleting from their exhibits. The photos, the documents, the artifacts, and even the labels that describe them, will all surely be preserved in another archive. They can open it again in the future, like a time capsule of history that made history. I might title it "The Pointless Purge of 2025".
Another chapter in Project 1984.
Reading Orwell’s book, I am seeing so many parallels to what’s happening today. Another famous quote from the book is “In the end, the Party would announce that 2 + 2 = 5, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later, the logic of their position demanded it.” First, we have the Gulf of America, next, statues of Confederate generals are re-erected, and now the Smithsonian. How quickly 250 years of American history can be re-written!
Guarantee that the big upcoming Anniversary is going to break our hearts.
again, only if it's the last...