I’ll never forget a moment in the mid 80s - I was a high school social studies teacher working on a curriculum project at the Carter Center in Atlanta. It was lunchtime, and I found myself sitting alone, enjoying a brief pause in the day. Suddenly, from over my shoulder, a gentle voice asked, “Mind if we join you?” I turned around and found myself face-to-face with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. To my astonishment, they sat down and chatted with me for about half an hour.
Their kindness and genuine interest in our conversation left an indelible mark on me. It wasn’t just their warmth but the profound humility of a man who had once led the free world and yet made time to engage so personally and meaningfully.
As we mourn his passing, I’m reminded that Jimmy Carter wasn’t just a statesman or a humanitarian—he was a man of extraordinary grace who believed deeply in the power of connection. Rest in peace, Mr. President. Your light will continue to guide us.
Angels will be taking Jimmy Carter home to peace and love to where he belongs.............far far far far far away from the flames of hell where Donable Lector will burn,fry and toast forever.
As I laid in bed I watched the inauguration 4 years ago. It was a cloudy day and except for one brief moment when the poet laurate came out to sing her song and the clouds parted and a blue sky opened. I picked up my sketch pad and wrote this song: "Broken Roads and Broken Trails -- Inauguration Day" Please enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf7KHm3nLzA
This song and two other compositions will be performed at The People’s March in Manhattan on Jan 18 at 10 AM at Foley Square on Centre Street across from the New York State Supreme Court. Please come out and join us. This is of course associated with People’s March in Washington at the same time. And everywhere across the country. You cannot afford to remain home. We need everyone to march.
I'll be marching in Tucson although my home is in Vermont. I loved inauguration day four years ago, it was like a joyful breath of fresh air after the stink of the previous four. I admit that I dread the next four years, but our democracy held, we are a great community here with others like Heather Cox Richardson's, and we will prevail. The pendulum will swing, hopefully as soon as 2026. Thank you, Joyce, for all you do!
I marched 4 years ago in Washington even though it was called The Women’s March. I was in the middle of half million women and I never felt more secure in my life. Women must take the lead and rule.
Every election, women win more races and become stronger. In just over 100 years since they were allowed to vote, their voices have gotten stronger and stronger. They have already accomplished so much even when they are outnumbered in almost every legislative body they serve in.
And yet “they” haven’t “ALLOWED” the ERA to become RATIFIED. WHY IS THIS???????
The purpose of the ERA is to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex.
The more HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT thing to remember is THAT WOMEN were DENIED THE VOTE FOR 131 YEARS.
So it is not an accomplishment that MEN “allowed” women to vote but rather a travesty that MEN used women to remain indentured servants to MEN without any rights for over one hundred years AND it took another 54 YEARS as
Women were NOT allowed to get credit cards in their own names UNTIL AS LATE AS 1974 after the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA):
Before 1974
Women often needed a man's signature to get a credit card. Banks could deny women credit or charge them higher interest if they didn't have a male cosigner. Women were asked intrusive questions, like if they were married or planned to have children.
I love this for my daughter's sake. I always advocate for women's opportunity to co-equal leadership in all of our endeavors.
I pray that every aspiration - just like men's - has an opportunity to be tried, challenged and fulfilled (or not) as life gives each their chance to experience their own humanity with equal rights and opportunity.
Thank you. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Sadly, as a gross understatement, the truth is not setting Benedict Donald jailed.
He showed that money plus contempt of law and his perfect ability to navigate via corruption the court system's due process through manipulation is a defect of our system.
He was afforded so much more deferential right to the due process as ex-potus, but he has to be laughing all the way to the bank of how he has corruptly bypassed his well-earned punishments for law breaking.
The fact our Article III branch was played so handsomely with lots of money and sycophancy supporters of anti-democratic wants is astonishing to me.
The Article III branch needs help when power and money corrupts it exclusively. (captured courts).
LONG before Citizens United, the Republiscum injustices on the Extreme Court showed their personal avidity for corruption.
In their dissents to Caperton v Massie, the then-four explicitly stated that it’s OK for the defendant in appealing a many multi million $$$ judgement against it. To give a multi-million $$$ bribe to the chief justice of the state Supreme Court hearing the appeal as long as it’s laundered properly.
Thank you for sharing this. I expect they conducted all of their interactions with this level of grace and humility, so it is heartwarming to hear of your experience. Even at 100 (an extraordinary lifespan), it has been painful to say goodbye to a man I have revered for the past 50 years. My fondest hope is that he does not represent a dying breed, but that his memory can inspire other leaders to be so much more noble than what we see daily in trump and his mob.
Thank you for sharing! Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were truly extraordinary couple. History will show them both to be compassionate, honorable and always willing to get out there to help
Why didn't they vote for Harris? Racism and sexism, pure and simple. There is no need to go any deeper than that. It wasn't the price of eggs. It wasn't the purported perception that Democrats are elites who look down on the working class and don't address their needs. It was the fact that Harris was a black/asian woman. Period.
I think it was simply that Kamala Harris is a woman. Why is our country unwilling to elect a woman to lead this country? I firmly believe she would have been so much better than Donald Trump.
Dear D. Charlene- I totally agree that it is that Kamala Harris is a woman and Hillary Clinton is a woman. Sexism is the simple explanation. Men and women refused to vote for a woman as Commander in Chief. I’m very sad and disappointed. This time the felon, admitted sexual predator, insurrection leader,
Grifter, Putin puppet received more votes than our current VP with years of public service, including attorney general and senator. Joyce Vance keeps me sane and hopeful along with my angry 25 year old daughter.
I believe that is true! Yet they voted for a Felon, sexual abuser, cheated on all 3 wives and hid his finances to prevent the public from knowing about Stormy Daniels. I probably left some things out as I am tired!
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people....To destroy this invisible government, to befoul this unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of statesmanship."
Trump cast people like me as members of the deep state. Come Jan 20 he will probably sign executive orders completely destroying civil service, reinstating the spoils system.
If you know anything about TR, you should know he was nutsy koo koo. Paranoid. As he assumed the presidency, the real ruler of this country was Marcus Alonzo Hanna, who had tried and failed to 1. remove him as VP and 2. run the country first through McKinley and second via animus to his competitor, Rockefeller.
Even in his paranoia, TR did not anticipate that our country would be taken over by our enemies.
I disagree that there's no need to go deeper than racism and sexism. Harris was being pummeled by Democrats for not breaking with Biden on several issues - Israel "genocide" funding, Medicare for all, etc. She was being called out by Democrats (same as Hillary) for being a "corporatist" and "establishment", called out for embracing the Cheneys' approval. Also being skewered for her policies in California, and blamed for the lack of a Dem primary because Biden "appointed" her as THE 2024 candidate. Add those party self-destruction tactics to the voting mix, along with the historical apathy of Dem voters, and we got what we got. Democrats will NEVER learn to stand behind the party's candidate the way republicans always do. The Dem tent is too big, and single-issue voters too selfish about their own causes.
Lori, too many vote using their emotions over reason. And those young white me who spend too much time online did the unthinkable. They will now regret their actions the lot of them.
They believed trump's bogus snake-oil promises to make groceries and everything else affordable for them. Thirty-eight days after Election Day, in his "Man of the Year", Time interview, he then 'fessed up and said lowering grocery prices is going to be very hard. Surprise!! All I have to say is that I want at least 10-12 of these people followed in the national news to get their reasons for voting for him, and every time he hurts their interests, I want to get their reactions on how what he's done is going to be a problem for them. Over and over and over again. We've earned it.
Slight correction: It DOES apply to him; the corrupt SCOTUS SIX REFUSED to apply it to him. Which is why SCOTUS now has zero legitimacy in my eyes and the eyes of a majority of Americans now. Their final hubris! (It began in earnest with Marbury v Madison in which SCOTUS gave itself power the Constitution did not and does not actually give them. )
"He won by less than 50 percent of those who voted."
And he received less than 1 out of 3 votes from registered voters.
It's amazing that he accomplished absolutely nothing from 2017-2021, except install a couple hundred right-wing judges and give huge tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. And he will do the same thing again.
There was a substack article in the last week asking "Why do Republicans hate the middle class?" My follow-up question is, "Why do so many Republicans vote for someone that only helps the wealthy?"
I completely agree with you Laura. He’s the one who initiated the January 6 insurrection and should have been the first to be arrested and thrown in prison as was the mob that carried out the massive abuse to our capitol where so many were beaten, while he watched on TV, claiming they were good people. It was up to our attorney general and justice system to initiate the process.
Millions of Americans - myself included - also watched the January 6, 2021 insurrection in horror. That Trump could be reelected in 2024 is beyond comprehension. I am trying not to give in to a feeling of resignation. I have family, friends and acquaintances who continue to support Trump -- refusing to believe or even discuss his endless criminality; his lifelong grifting, racism, and sexism; his serial abuse of women; his string of bankruptcies and failed businesses; his increasing incoherence; his sycophancy to billionaires and bullies; his dumpster fire first term, ad infinitum. They deny the documented facts of January 6, 2021 and will certainly never blame Trump for instigating the insurrection, despite all the documentation of his words and deeds and failure to take action on that day, and the numerous deaths, hundreds of injuries, and hundreds of adjudicated cases with resulting prison sentences. But, he did not win a majority of votes in 2024; it was a plurality. Among ELIGIBLE voters, he won about a third; it is heartbreaking and mind-numbing that so many people didn't vote in the 2024 election. Whether they don't know or don't care about this imminent threat to our democracy is hard to comprehend. And I don't know how we will get through these next four years, but we will continue to fight.
In part because they are self indulgent and politically uneducated. Civics hasn't been taught for a while. This has been a Republican plan for decades as they began taking over school boards years ago. Trump is just the standard bearer. Evil is as surprised as the rest of us at how easily we fell at the end. "Gradually, then suddenly."
The fact that Trump & his minions & Fox News have persuaded thousands of Americans that Jan.6, 2021 was a ""Day of Love" & "Just a tourist visit", bothers me even more than the results of the recent election. Because it means that they have all been completely brainwashed. We all saw, in real time, the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
It's like the words in George Orwell's 1984 have come true: " The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
In my dreams he was arrested that day! Cuffs. Perp walk. Back seat of a cop car. Banged his ugly head on the side as they placed him in. And incarcerated without bail. Orange jumpsuit. Cell.
He's had an enchanted run. In the end, though, it was economy-voters who believed trump would really help them over Kamala Harris's real, specific policies to help them. That's what gets me.
I’m not believing “the economy” is the real reason because:
1. The “economy” was the same reason given by T voters against Hillary Clinton.
2. The “economy” is code for racism, sexism, and any other negative “ism” that T spouts and his cult thinks (and acts) the same way. _No one_ is going to give the “isms” as their reason for voting for that orange pile of garbage when spoken to by reporters & poll workers.
The price of eggs was and is about bird flu. The economy is going full steam ahead.
The reason grocery prices are still high is because greed & price-gouging by corporations getting tax breaks. It funny how suddenly legacy media (specifically NYT just this past weekend) is saying that T is inheriting a good economy when they negatively blasted “Biden’s economy” for four fucking years. The economy magically got better after T was elected. It’s a fucking Saturnalia miracle.
Many of us thought he would be held accountable too. Merrick Garland failed his country. Biden should have fired him & brought in someone else who would have moved faster to bring charges against DT.
Just like Ford never should have pardoned Nixon.
Our systems have been failing us for quite awhile now.
"We" did not. A third of us apparently did. We will never know for sure. The majority did not but could not stop it. It is unfathomable. All will suffer for it. And while democrats were weak and journalists mostly invisible this will forever lay at the feet of Mitch McConnell and the Republicans who know what they have done and expect to gain from it. "When you stand for nothing you'll fall for anything." There were many opportunities to stop him but they required honorable Republicans and there were only two.
Americans and the world witnessed a horrifying movement against our government 4 years ago instigated by a man incredibly re-elected to lead us. We hoped and believed he would be held accountable and instead many of us are horrified that he has made out relatively unscathed. It helps to have some confirmation from folks like you, Laura, who I believe represents another country(?) and agree with what we saw with our eyes while many in our country are attempting to rewrite history. Thank you. Time will tell how things will turn out. We still have committed representatives in Congress to democracy who will work hard for it.
I’m from. Canada and today our Prime Minister was forced to resign due to similar disinformation tactics, a complicit media and a right-wing bleed from across the border. As Joyce always says “We’re in this together.” In our case now more than ever.
This morning, in Washington DC, it has been snowing for hours, and continues. By noon today it might be pretty difficult to walk around downtown, the mall, the 'seat of power'...if the weather on January 6, 2021 had been like this, travel would have been severely curtailed and, instead of that dark somber, dry day, we might have dodged the hellscape that I watched unfold there.
Today I will try to get down there again, tho bicycling will not be feasible, but the Red Line Metro train is all underground thru that part of town and appears to be running this morning. If I do make it, I plan to tell anyone who will listen that the United States of America failed its citizens in the last 4 years. We've failed for much longer than that, but the defense of democracy itself was utterly enfeebled, and the result is the insurrectionists won by default.
So today, weep for an America that might be a better place if today's weather had hit in the early morning of January 6, 2021.
I wake up every day and wonder the same thing and today being January 6 I feel such a mix of emotions: anger, sadness, disappointment and fear mainly. But also a glimmer of hope because of people like Joyce Vance, Liz Cheney, Heather Cox Richardson and many others who speak out against this assault on our democracy. There are many here in the grassroots movement too, ready to fight the good fight. We won’t give up!
Laura, nor can I. I will not forget. I woke that morning in Portland, Oregon, my body shaking with chills. I was coming down with Covid. I wrapped myself in layers to stop the trembling, laid on the couch in front of the TV, and fell asleep. I woke to the live coverage of the assault on the Capital, replays of the “Save America” rally including Josh Hawley raising his fist, John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and Donald Trump. All were encouraging supporters to “fight like hell, or there wouldn’t be a country left” for them. Back and forth from the onslaught attacking police officers, climbing the scaffolding, breaching the building, entering the chambers and offices of our elected officials and back to the those traitorous statements. The chaos. I thought I was hallucinating. I couldn’t understand the words being shouted by the rioters. Finally, I heard commentators. “They are shouting”Hang Mike Pence”, and showed a picture of the gallows erected outside. Obviously this was no disorganized mob of Trump supporters who just marched from the rally. They had come prepared. I cried as I watched in horror, angry people breaking into the building, hammering the glass to break it, stabbing officers with poles, slamming them with bike racks, marching through the building calling for Pence, Pelosi, and others by name. Immature clods, smoking cigars, emptying desks of papers,and spinning in office chairs, grinning like a bunch of high school boys who just pulled off the greatest of all pranks. I cry each time I hear “Stop the Steal” and “The Big Lie”. As I watched, I kept shouting at the TV, “Where is Trump? Someone help them! Someone stop this. Why isn’t someone coming to help?” Pictures of Capitol Police ushering Representatives and Senators out of harms way being replayed. And then watched as suddenly, the terror and attack collapsed as collective fatigue and response to a direct order ended the destruction. Rioters exited the building calmly. The battle was over. Trump had simply asked that they go home. Said they were loved. I have relived that day for 4 years. I will never understand how anyone could ever trust him or vote for him after this dereliction of duty and traitorous act. He has never asked or wanted to be the President of All Americans. Just his minions. I am sad that we must live the next four years learning what it really means to have Trump as President. I understood who Trump really was as our nation suffered through Covid, while he assigned his son-in-law to distribute tests and PPE. As he played favorites with Red State Governors and asked all to “say please and thank you” for his assistance with medical equipment. As refrigerated semitrailers filled with bodies, the disinformation and conspiracies that these were not real, that PPE wasn’t actually necessary, and that doctors were making money by adding a diagnosis of Covid to the Death Certificate filled social media. He lost the 2020 election because of the way he mishandled this crisis, and he knew it. He planned the Stop the Steal strategy before Covid really became deadly, having declared the probability of an unfair election in the spring of 2020! He has told us over and over who he is. He cares not for any of us. He has had many chances to prove himself better, but alas, he cannot. It is we who must learn he is not to be trusted. Sadly, ignorance of the facts, forgetting current history, and failing to understand the consequences of not participating in every election has placed this country in extreme jeopardy. I will not forget.
CBS News Correspondent Scott Macfarlane noted that the 118th Congress officially ended with Mike Johnson refusing to hang a plaque to honor the J6 police officers who defended the Capitol, which is required by a bipartisan law passed in March 2023. Isn’t he breaking the law by refusing to hang the plaque. 😡
Mike Johnson is a disgrace in refusing to honor the law enforcement officers who protected Johnson’s miserable life four years ago! Shame on Traitor Johnson and his Republican buddies!!
Johnson is the architect of the J6 insurrection! We didn’t know it at the time his name was thrown about the first time, to replace McCarthy. That weasel will get his comeuppance. It will interesting if he completes his time as Speaker.
Wow. If we didn't already know who Mike Johnson was, we surely do now. This story deserves widespread coverage. Is there anything good to say about him?
I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day about church and religion. We agreed that you see and learn more about people and their "faith" from how they behave Monday-Saturday than you do just knowing they go to church on Sunday. He is a prime example of religious and moral dysfunction.
Mike Johnson is pathetic. He knows full well what happened and who the heroes were that day. And if these people were to be called upon again to protect him and his Representatives they would not hesitate again to do so.
Exactly!! Tomorrow is Monday, the 6th, and they're supposed to be there for the certification vote. This House.gov link will allow you to find the name and contact info for your House Rep: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative. I'm going to be calling and emailing my rep early and hope all of us will contact their own rep.
But remember, he's is very religious and cares so much about morality, Scripture, the 10 Commandments, etc., except when they get in the way of his MAGA-tronic lying, deceipt, and gaslighting. Shamelessness superpowers in all of them...
It makes me so angry and disheartened- what has been washed over. I sure hope that Jack Smith will be able to publish his report before that too gets lost among the lies.
Jimmy Carter’s passing was not in vain. He is throwing shade at Donald Trump one last time by stealing the spotlight from him. Ouch! Donald Trump showing his true colors by throwing a tantrum. The orange baby needs his pablum…maybe Elon can feed it to him.
A very good point about Jimmy Carter's contributions at various places all over the world being celebrated by world leaders and his accomplishments being able to steal the spotlight from trump without his even lifting a finger. Trump has no idea how to do something like public service all he understands is publicity - that's the only reason he's going to the funeral. I wonder if melania will again be sporting another message on her coat written in "wite-out" telling the world how little she cares about other people. They're the exact opposite of the Carters. Hope they don't implode by being in the same church with loads of people who actually do care about others.
Thank you, Professor. I will never forget that day. I was glued to the TV set for days in unbelief. And tomorrow which is also my son‘s birthday it becomes bittersweet. Not to be snarky or to be ill tempered but maybe we should storm Mar-a-Lago. Sometimes the taste of ones on medicine can make change. I doubt it with this man who has no moral compass. In fact, I don’t know why he does what he does. I will not waste my energy on that anymore. I will follow you and Professor Heather Richardson and Robert Reich… because to me you are my leaders. People I believe in who tell the truth. Which allows me to stay strong moving forward into, as Mrs. Cheney has said, a course of action to Save the America that we love. Peace and love everybodyf. We’ve had a week off to relax with family and friends and decompress a bit. Now it’s time to put our boots back on. And walk the walk. The road may be long and wide, but it’s right there in front of us. Freedom.
January 6, another “day that will live in infamy”. I certainly will never forget the rage and outrage I felt as I watched it unfold on TV. And I will NEVER forgive anyone who voted for this TRAITOR, EVER! Including members of my own family; they are dead to me. Unbelievable that millions in this country think it was no big deal, just shows how deep the rot is here. I think we are doomed.
"January 6 should be the day we recommit to democracy, every single year. It must not become they day we forget about it." Indeed. And since it is our wedding anniversary Joyce's suggestion is especially welcome.
That's hard. On the other hand, my 65th birthday was on November 4, 2008. 200,000 of my closest friends joined me in Grant Park and Barack Obama was kind enough to drop in. That was a night to remember. So much hope.
I still do not understand when even SCOTUS said Congress can make the decision about Trump being eligible for election and yet no one is even going to bother to challenge it? Is the feeling that just because the votes are not there mean you don't even object? It's things like this that make me wonder. I get it has no chance of moving forward...but why not have an on the record objection and force the issue.
I wonder if someone is going to make that point in the certification vote, tomorrow. I hate it that this sets an unconstitutional precedent that an initiation of and participation in an insurrection is actually no bar at all to being qualified (or sworn in) as President - like nothing happened at all. That's why everyone is saying don't forget what happened on January 6th - because the constitutional proscription of the 14th Amendment, Sec 3 which describes exactly what he did is not even being talked about being applied to him. If this ever happens again, they now have this 2025 certification to use as the resolution for any conflict with this section of the 14th Amendment.
My personal consolation is that the government's last motion for the insurrection case in DC was for a dismissal without prejudice, which I thought was smart and it's reassuring. We can all count on there being a bumper crop of new charges (even with the SCOTUS expansion of the "it was part of my job" exception - inevitable scamming for money) when his ride behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office comes to its well-deserved end. I doubt that he could get Congress to change the law allowing him to get another term - he'll have no power over them. We're starting to see congressmen not be quite as submissive to him now - nice. Somehow, though, there will be a legal accounting for everything he's done. Maybe RFK, Jr can improve his health during this next four years so he'll live long enough for all the cases against him to be tried and appealed. What a bottleneck that'll be.
I have devoted my life, personal and professional, to helping people, first in medicine and now in law. The incoming president is an amoral hoax, a criminal, a thief, a rapist, a liar. I am amazed that the hypocritical multitudes follow this villain. Once installed in the Presidency, he and his sycophants will collide with truth and reality... but the Supreme Court may not offer resistance. What is happening is like a form of disseminated systemic septic shock. As with venereal infections, I hope there is some judicial magic bullet to correct the infection. We need votes to denounce and excise this putrid abscess of lethal, civilization-ending conduct. Blessings to all for a meaningful New Year 2025. Elliott Oppenheim MD JD LLM Health Law 406-531-0879 medintelnet@aol.com
Great story about your mother-in-law! Good for her! I remember celebrating late in the evening on January 5th, 2021 that Senators Jon Osshoff and Raphael Warnock had been elected. We were so happy for Georgia, and for the United States. Then came the insurrection and it seems like it's been a living hell ever since. My horror at what they did to those Capital Police Officers has never faded, and is equally matched by my disgust for the Congress members who allowed this to happen by giving tours the day before and supporting the thugs, including and especially Trump, ever since. It is atrocious. We'll have our TV on tuned to anything but the certification, and I encourage others to do the same (sorry, Joyce!) because it will screw up their ratings and that's all they care about. Thanks for the story, thanks for the question, and for all you do to keep us informed.
"We were so happy for Georgia, and for the United States. " I felt similarly about Kamala Harris' nomination and Liz Cheney at the hearings; we are on a roller coaster of highs and lows. But strangely, despite Trump's lying perseverance and criminal behaviors, with the help of Substack writers, I am optimistic because good things keep popping up.
I know I will never forget that day. I still can’t understand all those that still don’t believe it happened. Don-old still has his cult and added now are all the billionaires who have bowed down and kissed the ring. I appreciate that we have you Joyce and the many others who hold us up. I’m glad we are in this together!
Don't let Felon34 make it a national holiday. We the people should declare it Democracy Day. A day to recommit to the ideals and values and traditions that have made this country the great country it is - despite being home to 75 million morons whose IQ isn't as high as ambient room temperature.
I’ll never forget a moment in the mid 80s - I was a high school social studies teacher working on a curriculum project at the Carter Center in Atlanta. It was lunchtime, and I found myself sitting alone, enjoying a brief pause in the day. Suddenly, from over my shoulder, a gentle voice asked, “Mind if we join you?” I turned around and found myself face-to-face with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. To my astonishment, they sat down and chatted with me for about half an hour.
Their kindness and genuine interest in our conversation left an indelible mark on me. It wasn’t just their warmth but the profound humility of a man who had once led the free world and yet made time to engage so personally and meaningfully.
As we mourn his passing, I’m reminded that Jimmy Carter wasn’t just a statesman or a humanitarian—he was a man of extraordinary grace who believed deeply in the power of connection. Rest in peace, Mr. President. Your light will continue to guide us.
What an extraordinary experience. I appreciate your sharing it with us.
Angels will be taking Jimmy Carter home to peace and love to where he belongs.............far far far far far away from the flames of hell where Donable Lector will burn,fry and toast forever.
As I laid in bed I watched the inauguration 4 years ago. It was a cloudy day and except for one brief moment when the poet laurate came out to sing her song and the clouds parted and a blue sky opened. I picked up my sketch pad and wrote this song: "Broken Roads and Broken Trails -- Inauguration Day" Please enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf7KHm3nLzA
This song and two other compositions will be performed at The People’s March in Manhattan on Jan 18 at 10 AM at Foley Square on Centre Street across from the New York State Supreme Court. Please come out and join us. This is of course associated with People’s March in Washington at the same time. And everywhere across the country. You cannot afford to remain home. We need everyone to march.
I'll be marching in Tucson although my home is in Vermont. I loved inauguration day four years ago, it was like a joyful breath of fresh air after the stink of the previous four. I admit that I dread the next four years, but our democracy held, we are a great community here with others like Heather Cox Richardson's, and we will prevail. The pendulum will swing, hopefully as soon as 2026. Thank you, Joyce, for all you do!
I marched 4 years ago in Washington even though it was called The Women’s March. I was in the middle of half million women and I never felt more secure in my life. Women must take the lead and rule.
Every election, women win more races and become stronger. In just over 100 years since they were allowed to vote, their voices have gotten stronger and stronger. They have already accomplished so much even when they are outnumbered in almost every legislative body they serve in.
And yet “they” haven’t “ALLOWED” the ERA to become RATIFIED. WHY IS THIS???????
The purpose of the ERA is to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex.
The more HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT thing to remember is THAT WOMEN were DENIED THE VOTE FOR 131 YEARS.
So it is not an accomplishment that MEN “allowed” women to vote but rather a travesty that MEN used women to remain indentured servants to MEN without any rights for over one hundred years AND it took another 54 YEARS as
Women were NOT allowed to get credit cards in their own names UNTIL AS LATE AS 1974 after the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA):
Before 1974
Women often needed a man's signature to get a credit card. Banks could deny women credit or charge them higher interest if they didn't have a male cosigner. Women were asked intrusive questions, like if they were married or planned to have children.
This is not talked about enough.
I love this for my daughter's sake. I always advocate for women's opportunity to co-equal leadership in all of our endeavors.
I pray that every aspiration - just like men's - has an opportunity to be tried, challenged and fulfilled (or not) as life gives each their chance to experience their own humanity with equal rights and opportunity.
I was there in the largest crowd i have ever been in.
I think I saw you 👀. At one point I climbed up the monkey bars which housed huge amps the day before and I had a wonderful view of the crowd.
Yes time to finally take to the streets nationwide to let the Trumph bastards know the party is over!
Will there be a People's March in Atlanta?
This is what Atlanta is doing - in The Old Fourth Ward:
https://action.womensmarch.com/events/mass-mobilization-and-day-of-resistance
Thank you. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Sadly, as a gross understatement, the truth is not setting Benedict Donald jailed.
He showed that money plus contempt of law and his perfect ability to navigate via corruption the court system's due process through manipulation is a defect of our system.
He was afforded so much more deferential right to the due process as ex-potus, but he has to be laughing all the way to the bank of how he has corruptly bypassed his well-earned punishments for law breaking.
The fact our Article III branch was played so handsomely with lots of money and sycophancy supporters of anti-democratic wants is astonishing to me.
The Article III branch needs help when power and money corrupts it exclusively. (captured courts).
LONG before Citizens United, the Republiscum injustices on the Extreme Court showed their personal avidity for corruption.
In their dissents to Caperton v Massie, the then-four explicitly stated that it’s OK for the defendant in appealing a many multi million $$$ judgement against it. To give a multi-million $$$ bribe to the chief justice of the state Supreme Court hearing the appeal as long as it’s laundered properly.
Beautiful song, Bill! Thx for sharing.
I really appreciate the compliment.
Beautiful tribute!
Can we imagine incoming person showing such humility and grace?!!
Only if we're a delusional member of his family.
A beautiful and illuminating memory about a great man. Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing this. What a heart warming story. And I think of how our country, our world would be different if Carter had won a second term.
Wow.
And then there's Trumph.
A man of extraordinary divisiveness and hate!
Thank you Amerikka!
Thank you for sharing this. I expect they conducted all of their interactions with this level of grace and humility, so it is heartwarming to hear of your experience. Even at 100 (an extraordinary lifespan), it has been painful to say goodbye to a man I have revered for the past 50 years. My fondest hope is that he does not represent a dying breed, but that his memory can inspire other leaders to be so much more noble than what we see daily in trump and his mob.
I'm watching a great PBS "American Experience" documentary on Jimmy Carter and family. So much more to know about him. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/carter/
Thank you for sharing! Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were truly extraordinary couple. History will show them both to be compassionate, honorable and always willing to get out there to help
I’m not sure if Americans comprehend how the world is collectively holding their breath .
We watched in horror on Jan 6. Horror.
We honestly believed he would be held accountable. Somehow. Some way. By someone.
How your systems failed the world.
We know there are so many good, sensible people in your country who share our dismay.
But we cannot believe you gave this menace power again.
Neither can we.
Neither can we.
He won by less than 50 percent of those who voted. What is inexcusable is that so many didn’t bother to vote.
Yes! What happened to the 11 million Americans who voted for Biden in 2020?
Why the hell didn’t they vote for Harris and our Democracy in 2024?? They let our Democratic nation down.
Why didn't they vote for Harris? Racism and sexism, pure and simple. There is no need to go any deeper than that. It wasn't the price of eggs. It wasn't the purported perception that Democrats are elites who look down on the working class and don't address their needs. It was the fact that Harris was a black/asian woman. Period.
I think it was simply that Kamala Harris is a woman. Why is our country unwilling to elect a woman to lead this country? I firmly believe she would have been so much better than Donald Trump.
Dear D. Charlene- I totally agree that it is that Kamala Harris is a woman and Hillary Clinton is a woman. Sexism is the simple explanation. Men and women refused to vote for a woman as Commander in Chief. I’m very sad and disappointed. This time the felon, admitted sexual predator, insurrection leader,
Grifter, Putin puppet received more votes than our current VP with years of public service, including attorney general and senator. Joyce Vance keeps me sane and hopeful along with my angry 25 year old daughter.
Whereas I am now probably neither...
And she was a woman of color. Misogyny and racism propelled Trump to victory. Just like misogyny did in 2016.
I believe that is true! Yet they voted for a Felon, sexual abuser, cheated on all 3 wives and hid his finances to prevent the public from knowing about Stormy Daniels. I probably left some things out as I am tired!
Russian psy ops. They ADMIT it.
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people....To destroy this invisible government, to befoul this unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of statesmanship."
--Theodore Roosevelt
Trump cast people like me as members of the deep state. Come Jan 20 he will probably sign executive orders completely destroying civil service, reinstating the spoils system.
If you know anything about TR, you should know he was nutsy koo koo. Paranoid. As he assumed the presidency, the real ruler of this country was Marcus Alonzo Hanna, who had tried and failed to 1. remove him as VP and 2. run the country first through McKinley and second via animus to his competitor, Rockefeller.
Even in his paranoia, TR did not anticipate that our country would be taken over by our enemies.
That quote sounds more like something he got from William Jennings Bryan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Gold_speech
Bully.
I disagree that there's no need to go deeper than racism and sexism. Harris was being pummeled by Democrats for not breaking with Biden on several issues - Israel "genocide" funding, Medicare for all, etc. She was being called out by Democrats (same as Hillary) for being a "corporatist" and "establishment", called out for embracing the Cheneys' approval. Also being skewered for her policies in California, and blamed for the lack of a Dem primary because Biden "appointed" her as THE 2024 candidate. Add those party self-destruction tactics to the voting mix, along with the historical apathy of Dem voters, and we got what we got. Democrats will NEVER learn to stand behind the party's candidate the way republicans always do. The Dem tent is too big, and single-issue voters too selfish about their own causes.
It's not fashionable after a couple of months to say that, but I agree it's exactly why a lot of normally D voting folks refused to turn out.
Lori, too many vote using their emotions over reason. And those young white me who spend too much time online did the unthinkable. They will now regret their actions the lot of them.
They believed trump's bogus snake-oil promises to make groceries and everything else affordable for them. Thirty-eight days after Election Day, in his "Man of the Year", Time interview, he then 'fessed up and said lowering grocery prices is going to be very hard. Surprise!! All I have to say is that I want at least 10-12 of these people followed in the national news to get their reasons for voting for him, and every time he hurts their interests, I want to get their reactions on how what he's done is going to be a problem for them. Over and over and over again. We've earned it.
They lived in 'red' states. Their votes wouldn't count.
Never forget that Biden and Obama are male, Harris and Clinton are female.
It's inexcusable that the 14th Amenendment, section 3 doesnt apply to him.
Slight correction: It DOES apply to him; the corrupt SCOTUS SIX REFUSED to apply it to him. Which is why SCOTUS now has zero legitimacy in my eyes and the eyes of a majority of Americans now. Their final hubris! (It began in earnest with Marbury v Madison in which SCOTUS gave itself power the Constitution did not and does not actually give them. )
Not until someone executes on it.
Granted
Yes, that is inexcusable. What is inexcusable also are the candidates other than the evil orange felon that ran against Harris knowing the stakes.
"He won by less than 50 percent of those who voted."
And he received less than 1 out of 3 votes from registered voters.
It's amazing that he accomplished absolutely nothing from 2017-2021, except install a couple hundred right-wing judges and give huge tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. And he will do the same thing again.
There was a substack article in the last week asking "Why do Republicans hate the middle class?" My follow-up question is, "Why do so many Republicans vote for someone that only helps the wealthy?"
Trump loves Man Dates! Pass it on!
And it was a relatively high turnout.
The increase was people who don't normally vote, who are usually tuned out.
Trump managed to make politics a pit fight and engage the low information , and I believe low intellect, fans of WWE and circuses.
They knew that if they live in a red state, their vote doesn't count. How did it happen that our votes no longer count?
I completely agree with you Laura. He’s the one who initiated the January 6 insurrection and should have been the first to be arrested and thrown in prison as was the mob that carried out the massive abuse to our capitol where so many were beaten, while he watched on TV, claiming they were good people. It was up to our attorney general and justice system to initiate the process.
A lot of us here can’t believe it either. It’s a horror that haunts many of us.
Millions of Americans - myself included - also watched the January 6, 2021 insurrection in horror. That Trump could be reelected in 2024 is beyond comprehension. I am trying not to give in to a feeling of resignation. I have family, friends and acquaintances who continue to support Trump -- refusing to believe or even discuss his endless criminality; his lifelong grifting, racism, and sexism; his serial abuse of women; his string of bankruptcies and failed businesses; his increasing incoherence; his sycophancy to billionaires and bullies; his dumpster fire first term, ad infinitum. They deny the documented facts of January 6, 2021 and will certainly never blame Trump for instigating the insurrection, despite all the documentation of his words and deeds and failure to take action on that day, and the numerous deaths, hundreds of injuries, and hundreds of adjudicated cases with resulting prison sentences. But, he did not win a majority of votes in 2024; it was a plurality. Among ELIGIBLE voters, he won about a third; it is heartbreaking and mind-numbing that so many people didn't vote in the 2024 election. Whether they don't know or don't care about this imminent threat to our democracy is hard to comprehend. And I don't know how we will get through these next four years, but we will continue to fight.
In part because they are self indulgent and politically uneducated. Civics hasn't been taught for a while. This has been a Republican plan for decades as they began taking over school boards years ago. Trump is just the standard bearer. Evil is as surprised as the rest of us at how easily we fell at the end. "Gradually, then suddenly."
The fact that Trump & his minions & Fox News have persuaded thousands of Americans that Jan.6, 2021 was a ""Day of Love" & "Just a tourist visit", bothers me even more than the results of the recent election. Because it means that they have all been completely brainwashed. We all saw, in real time, the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
It's like the words in George Orwell's 1984 have come true: " The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."
In my dreams he was arrested that day! Cuffs. Perp walk. Back seat of a cop car. Banged his ugly head on the side as they placed him in. And incarcerated without bail. Orange jumpsuit. Cell.
The Supreme Court enabled Trump. We cannot forget this. The systems of our democracy seemed to be supporting Trump. It is unconscionable.
He's had an enchanted run. In the end, though, it was economy-voters who believed trump would really help them over Kamala Harris's real, specific policies to help them. That's what gets me.
I’m not believing “the economy” is the real reason because:
1. The “economy” was the same reason given by T voters against Hillary Clinton.
2. The “economy” is code for racism, sexism, and any other negative “ism” that T spouts and his cult thinks (and acts) the same way. _No one_ is going to give the “isms” as their reason for voting for that orange pile of garbage when spoken to by reporters & poll workers.
The price of eggs was and is about bird flu. The economy is going full steam ahead.
The reason grocery prices are still high is because greed & price-gouging by corporations getting tax breaks. It funny how suddenly legacy media (specifically NYT just this past weekend) is saying that T is inheriting a good economy when they negatively blasted “Biden’s economy” for four fucking years. The economy magically got better after T was elected. It’s a fucking Saturnalia miracle.
Many of us thought he would be held accountable too. Merrick Garland failed his country. Biden should have fired him & brought in someone else who would have moved faster to bring charges against DT.
Just like Ford never should have pardoned Nixon.
Our systems have been failing us for quite awhile now.
"We" did not. A third of us apparently did. We will never know for sure. The majority did not but could not stop it. It is unfathomable. All will suffer for it. And while democrats were weak and journalists mostly invisible this will forever lay at the feet of Mitch McConnell and the Republicans who know what they have done and expect to gain from it. "When you stand for nothing you'll fall for anything." There were many opportunities to stop him but they required honorable Republicans and there were only two.
And they’re gone 🥵
Yes. And we need to take to the streets to protect Liz when trump comes after her!
Americans and the world witnessed a horrifying movement against our government 4 years ago instigated by a man incredibly re-elected to lead us. We hoped and believed he would be held accountable and instead many of us are horrified that he has made out relatively unscathed. It helps to have some confirmation from folks like you, Laura, who I believe represents another country(?) and agree with what we saw with our eyes while many in our country are attempting to rewrite history. Thank you. Time will tell how things will turn out. We still have committed representatives in Congress to democracy who will work hard for it.
I’m from. Canada and today our Prime Minister was forced to resign due to similar disinformation tactics, a complicit media and a right-wing bleed from across the border. As Joyce always says “We’re in this together.” In our case now more than ever.
"But we cannot believe you gave this menace power again."
Laura - Nor can I
This morning, in Washington DC, it has been snowing for hours, and continues. By noon today it might be pretty difficult to walk around downtown, the mall, the 'seat of power'...if the weather on January 6, 2021 had been like this, travel would have been severely curtailed and, instead of that dark somber, dry day, we might have dodged the hellscape that I watched unfold there.
Today I will try to get down there again, tho bicycling will not be feasible, but the Red Line Metro train is all underground thru that part of town and appears to be running this morning. If I do make it, I plan to tell anyone who will listen that the United States of America failed its citizens in the last 4 years. We've failed for much longer than that, but the defense of democracy itself was utterly enfeebled, and the result is the insurrectionists won by default.
So today, weep for an America that might be a better place if today's weather had hit in the early morning of January 6, 2021.
I wake up every day and wonder the same thing and today being January 6 I feel such a mix of emotions: anger, sadness, disappointment and fear mainly. But also a glimmer of hope because of people like Joyce Vance, Liz Cheney, Heather Cox Richardson and many others who speak out against this assault on our democracy. There are many here in the grassroots movement too, ready to fight the good fight. We won’t give up!
Laura, nor can I. I will not forget. I woke that morning in Portland, Oregon, my body shaking with chills. I was coming down with Covid. I wrapped myself in layers to stop the trembling, laid on the couch in front of the TV, and fell asleep. I woke to the live coverage of the assault on the Capital, replays of the “Save America” rally including Josh Hawley raising his fist, John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and Donald Trump. All were encouraging supporters to “fight like hell, or there wouldn’t be a country left” for them. Back and forth from the onslaught attacking police officers, climbing the scaffolding, breaching the building, entering the chambers and offices of our elected officials and back to the those traitorous statements. The chaos. I thought I was hallucinating. I couldn’t understand the words being shouted by the rioters. Finally, I heard commentators. “They are shouting”Hang Mike Pence”, and showed a picture of the gallows erected outside. Obviously this was no disorganized mob of Trump supporters who just marched from the rally. They had come prepared. I cried as I watched in horror, angry people breaking into the building, hammering the glass to break it, stabbing officers with poles, slamming them with bike racks, marching through the building calling for Pence, Pelosi, and others by name. Immature clods, smoking cigars, emptying desks of papers,and spinning in office chairs, grinning like a bunch of high school boys who just pulled off the greatest of all pranks. I cry each time I hear “Stop the Steal” and “The Big Lie”. As I watched, I kept shouting at the TV, “Where is Trump? Someone help them! Someone stop this. Why isn’t someone coming to help?” Pictures of Capitol Police ushering Representatives and Senators out of harms way being replayed. And then watched as suddenly, the terror and attack collapsed as collective fatigue and response to a direct order ended the destruction. Rioters exited the building calmly. The battle was over. Trump had simply asked that they go home. Said they were loved. I have relived that day for 4 years. I will never understand how anyone could ever trust him or vote for him after this dereliction of duty and traitorous act. He has never asked or wanted to be the President of All Americans. Just his minions. I am sad that we must live the next four years learning what it really means to have Trump as President. I understood who Trump really was as our nation suffered through Covid, while he assigned his son-in-law to distribute tests and PPE. As he played favorites with Red State Governors and asked all to “say please and thank you” for his assistance with medical equipment. As refrigerated semitrailers filled with bodies, the disinformation and conspiracies that these were not real, that PPE wasn’t actually necessary, and that doctors were making money by adding a diagnosis of Covid to the Death Certificate filled social media. He lost the 2020 election because of the way he mishandled this crisis, and he knew it. He planned the Stop the Steal strategy before Covid really became deadly, having declared the probability of an unfair election in the spring of 2020! He has told us over and over who he is. He cares not for any of us. He has had many chances to prove himself better, but alas, he cannot. It is we who must learn he is not to be trusted. Sadly, ignorance of the facts, forgetting current history, and failing to understand the consequences of not participating in every election has placed this country in extreme jeopardy. I will not forget.
CBS News Correspondent Scott Macfarlane noted that the 118th Congress officially ended with Mike Johnson refusing to hang a plaque to honor the J6 police officers who defended the Capitol, which is required by a bipartisan law passed in March 2023. Isn’t he breaking the law by refusing to hang the plaque. 😡
Mike Johnson is a disgrace in refusing to honor the law enforcement officers who protected Johnson’s miserable life four years ago! Shame on Traitor Johnson and his Republican buddies!!
Fake christian-porn addict- Moses Mike is a sad excuse for a human being.
His legacy will be with the slag heep of Orange magat gutteral trash
Johnson is the architect of the J6 insurrection! We didn’t know it at the time his name was thrown about the first time, to replace McCarthy. That weasel will get his comeuppance. It will interesting if he completes his time as Speaker.
Wow. If we didn't already know who Mike Johnson was, we surely do now. This story deserves widespread coverage. Is there anything good to say about him?
Exactly why this was posted! Large and understanding audience!! I’m counting on “we, the people!”
No, he is a brown noser. His time will be up in 2 years. Pathetic politician.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend the other day about church and religion. We agreed that you see and learn more about people and their "faith" from how they behave Monday-Saturday than you do just knowing they go to church on Sunday. He is a prime example of religious and moral dysfunction.
Mike Johnson is pathetic. He knows full well what happened and who the heroes were that day. And if these people were to be called upon again to protect him and his Representatives they would not hesitate again to do so.
Yes!
What I should have included is to reach out and write your Reps!!
Exactly!! Tomorrow is Monday, the 6th, and they're supposed to be there for the certification vote. This House.gov link will allow you to find the name and contact info for your House Rep: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative. I'm going to be calling and emailing my rep early and hope all of us will contact their own rep.
Deplorable and immoral.
We have phones and they have phone numbers!
Mike Johnson is a pathetic, disgraceful, disrespectful poor excuse for a man. History will remember him as such. Deserves NO RESPECT.
But remember, he's is very religious and cares so much about morality, Scripture, the 10 Commandments, etc., except when they get in the way of his MAGA-tronic lying, deceipt, and gaslighting. Shamelessness superpowers in all of them...
He is, and deceit - sorry, it's past my bedtime.
😂
Mike Johnson is a sniveling, brown nosing traitor.
You left out hypocrite.
Moses Mike and his son will be exchanging porn with the devil in hell forever.
It makes me so angry and disheartened- what has been washed over. I sure hope that Jack Smith will be able to publish his report before that too gets lost among the lies.
Jimmy Carter’s passing was not in vain. He is throwing shade at Donald Trump one last time by stealing the spotlight from him. Ouch! Donald Trump showing his true colors by throwing a tantrum. The orange baby needs his pablum…maybe Elon can feed it to him.
A very good point about Jimmy Carter's contributions at various places all over the world being celebrated by world leaders and his accomplishments being able to steal the spotlight from trump without his even lifting a finger. Trump has no idea how to do something like public service all he understands is publicity - that's the only reason he's going to the funeral. I wonder if melania will again be sporting another message on her coat written in "wite-out" telling the world how little she cares about other people. They're the exact opposite of the Carters. Hope they don't implode by being in the same church with loads of people who actually do care about others.
In my dreams both Donald and Melania would either burst into flame or turn into pillars of salt upon entering the National Cathedral...
I wish Biden would make it a national holiday of remembrance
Opinion | Joe Biden: What to remember about Jan. 6 - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/01/05/president-biden-jan-6-democracy/
Read it already, Leonard, he speaks truth to power
Firewall 🤬
I think this link will get you past the paywall
https://wapo.st/3W6jx4W
Thank you, Professor. I will never forget that day. I was glued to the TV set for days in unbelief. And tomorrow which is also my son‘s birthday it becomes bittersweet. Not to be snarky or to be ill tempered but maybe we should storm Mar-a-Lago. Sometimes the taste of ones on medicine can make change. I doubt it with this man who has no moral compass. In fact, I don’t know why he does what he does. I will not waste my energy on that anymore. I will follow you and Professor Heather Richardson and Robert Reich… because to me you are my leaders. People I believe in who tell the truth. Which allows me to stay strong moving forward into, as Mrs. Cheney has said, a course of action to Save the America that we love. Peace and love everybodyf. We’ve had a week off to relax with family and friends and decompress a bit. Now it’s time to put our boots back on. And walk the walk. The road may be long and wide, but it’s right there in front of us. Freedom.
I sat and cried as I watched. I still mourn the loss of respect and the unchecked violence of that day. I will never forget.
Me too. Exactly.
January 6, another “day that will live in infamy”. I certainly will never forget the rage and outrage I felt as I watched it unfold on TV. And I will NEVER forgive anyone who voted for this TRAITOR, EVER! Including members of my own family; they are dead to me. Unbelievable that millions in this country think it was no big deal, just shows how deep the rot is here. I think we are doomed.
"January 6 should be the day we recommit to democracy, every single year. It must not become they day we forget about it." Indeed. And since it is our wedding anniversary Joyce's suggestion is especially welcome.
My anniversary is 9/11.
That's hard. On the other hand, my 65th birthday was on November 4, 2008. 200,000 of my closest friends joined me in Grant Park and Barack Obama was kind enough to drop in. That was a night to remember. So much hope.
That was such a thrilling and happy night, wasn't it!
Here's a link to an album of photos from the celebration in Grant Park the night Obama won.
https://www.lgrossman.com/pics/obamanight/
I still do not understand when even SCOTUS said Congress can make the decision about Trump being eligible for election and yet no one is even going to bother to challenge it? Is the feeling that just because the votes are not there mean you don't even object? It's things like this that make me wonder. I get it has no chance of moving forward...but why not have an on the record objection and force the issue.
I wonder if someone is going to make that point in the certification vote, tomorrow. I hate it that this sets an unconstitutional precedent that an initiation of and participation in an insurrection is actually no bar at all to being qualified (or sworn in) as President - like nothing happened at all. That's why everyone is saying don't forget what happened on January 6th - because the constitutional proscription of the 14th Amendment, Sec 3 which describes exactly what he did is not even being talked about being applied to him. If this ever happens again, they now have this 2025 certification to use as the resolution for any conflict with this section of the 14th Amendment.
My personal consolation is that the government's last motion for the insurrection case in DC was for a dismissal without prejudice, which I thought was smart and it's reassuring. We can all count on there being a bumper crop of new charges (even with the SCOTUS expansion of the "it was part of my job" exception - inevitable scamming for money) when his ride behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office comes to its well-deserved end. I doubt that he could get Congress to change the law allowing him to get another term - he'll have no power over them. We're starting to see congressmen not be quite as submissive to him now - nice. Somehow, though, there will be a legal accounting for everything he's done. Maybe RFK, Jr can improve his health during this next four years so he'll live long enough for all the cases against him to be tried and appealed. What a bottleneck that'll be.
I was sickened to hear from Jamie Raskin that Dems know Trump is ineligible, but will acquiesce to avoid "chaos."
I have devoted my life, personal and professional, to helping people, first in medicine and now in law. The incoming president is an amoral hoax, a criminal, a thief, a rapist, a liar. I am amazed that the hypocritical multitudes follow this villain. Once installed in the Presidency, he and his sycophants will collide with truth and reality... but the Supreme Court may not offer resistance. What is happening is like a form of disseminated systemic septic shock. As with venereal infections, I hope there is some judicial magic bullet to correct the infection. We need votes to denounce and excise this putrid abscess of lethal, civilization-ending conduct. Blessings to all for a meaningful New Year 2025. Elliott Oppenheim MD JD LLM Health Law 406-531-0879 medintelnet@aol.com
Reportedly has dozens of totalitarian executive orders to sign Jan 20.
We have the magic bullet, but won't use it.
Great story about your mother-in-law! Good for her! I remember celebrating late in the evening on January 5th, 2021 that Senators Jon Osshoff and Raphael Warnock had been elected. We were so happy for Georgia, and for the United States. Then came the insurrection and it seems like it's been a living hell ever since. My horror at what they did to those Capital Police Officers has never faded, and is equally matched by my disgust for the Congress members who allowed this to happen by giving tours the day before and supporting the thugs, including and especially Trump, ever since. It is atrocious. We'll have our TV on tuned to anything but the certification, and I encourage others to do the same (sorry, Joyce!) because it will screw up their ratings and that's all they care about. Thanks for the story, thanks for the question, and for all you do to keep us informed.
"We were so happy for Georgia, and for the United States. " I felt similarly about Kamala Harris' nomination and Liz Cheney at the hearings; we are on a roller coaster of highs and lows. But strangely, despite Trump's lying perseverance and criminal behaviors, with the help of Substack writers, I am optimistic because good things keep popping up.
I know I will never forget that day. I still can’t understand all those that still don’t believe it happened. Don-old still has his cult and added now are all the billionaires who have bowed down and kissed the ring. I appreciate that we have you Joyce and the many others who hold us up. I’m glad we are in this together!
Don't let Felon34 make it a national holiday. We the people should declare it Democracy Day. A day to recommit to the ideals and values and traditions that have made this country the great country it is - despite being home to 75 million morons whose IQ isn't as high as ambient room temperature.