I have done this and continue to share what you are doing. I fear for you three and others such as Aaron Parnas. I belong to a lawyers' group that is fighting for democracy and the rule of law.
I admire you and what you’re doing. It feels like we are living in Hitler times. I want to do more. We must all stand together to fight this regime. Thank you all for the hard work and long hours!
We have moved through 2.0 and risk breaching the periphery guardrail of US democracy. Given nuclear capacity and proliferation, and the often resolved by war competitive demand for REE and other scares resources, we are engaged in a 1984-style game of chess among China, Russia and what the US now is. We are at the brink of a chasm: if we fall in, it will consume us and divest the planet of humanity, the species, not the attribute. No need to wait for the Sixth Extinction: we can spin off Earth’s Axis of Rotation into spacetime freefall right now or at any time. We must be aware, not for a moment, but at each moment, of what surrounds us, without knowing what lies ahead, except to understand that if we do not take responsibility and control, this will be what some might term The Fourth Reich. "If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going.” ~Winston Churchill [This is Hell!]
Kelvin, I've followed Strauss and Howe's GENERATIONS and Howe's THE FOURTH TURNING IS HERE. Every 80 years on average nations, including ours, go through an arc from new ideas to activating those ideas, to the ideas being corrupted, until the entire system collapses. Ours began after WW II and now, 80 years on cue, we are at the collapse stage. Here's the problem: either the nation fights against the corruption, or the nation dies in its existing form. What may happen to us, as it did after WW II/Depression, is a renaissance with the New Deal, new agencies and laws, new rights extended, many old problems being addressed. I pray this is our future, but first we must go through the chaos and the struggle, and it will be terrible.
I agree. We’re teetering on the razor’s edge, on the brink of a turning point that will either destroy us or recalibrate our future, depending on how we the people - and the world at large -respond.
Trump is truly a soulless demonic monster, a rare deviant, a weapon of mass destruction. And he will never negotiate in good faith. But he WILL gladly destroy the planet if he feels threatened enough, given the opportunity and the support.
A few brave people need to step in and take him down, by any and all means necessary. NOW!
Look in the mirror. The few brave people are us. Look how Minneapolis is responding. New Orleans has claimed itself a sanctuary city. Is your city council doing it too?
Merry, I wonder what the people of Nagasaki, knowing of Hiroshima’s fate 3 days earlier, thought about when they heard (if possible) Fat Man flying above them: whether their ends would come by radiation conversion into a thermal shadow, concussive blast disintegration (Musk's term? - "unscheduled disassembly") or radiation poisoning, since Hirohito had not yet decided to surrender unconditionally. I feel that we now face that same Hobson’s choice: irremediable capitulation or (because, the literary reference simply was too good to ignore) when “The Iceman Cometh” (Eugene O’Neill play, 1939).
Until now it has always been them (e.g. Europe) that turned to us for aid. Now, we have shown our former allies we now are in Hades, guarded by Cerberus, what Bhagavad Gita, 10.34 states as: “I am the all-devouring death, and I am the origin of those things that are yet to be.” https://tinyurl.com/ye4av52d - So, do they turn toward or against us?
The razor’s edge imagery you invoke is worth the thousand unspoken words. In the last 110 years when the world was Hell-bent on self destruction, Captain America saved it (or that is how we, the victors, insisted that history should remember things). But now, our hero is chanting Hail Hydra, having switched from light to darkness. Holy Batman!
(Ok, I get is about mixing metaphors, but this is so heavy, a little license, please?)
Also, I fear the words “by any and all means necessary.” They bring to my memory these words Malcom X spoke:” We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary. ... No, we want it now or we don’t think anybody should have it." (1964) Malcolm X’s Speech at the Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity https://tinyurl.com/k7adcnrf
To me, and I am stating my belief, not attempting to persuade anyone, there must be a red line, a limit, that cannot be crossed. This does not mean that I do not see the logic in what you state, but still I wonder what precedent it sets and who gives effect to the plan. Beyond that, I recall Aesop’s caveat: Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true!" Vance would be no Prince Charming, even if he is the kind of guy MJ could dance with.
Lynne, thank you for the enlightenment. What you say makes sense not only as a matter of logic but also with minor rounding adjustments, as history tolerates:
1620: The Middle Passage Slave Trade (1619); the Mayflower sets sail
1700 (+/-); Russia becomes a European power; Great Britain is born (England/Scotland merge); War of Spanish Succession; multiple plagues
1780: The American Revolution is well underway
1861-1865:The US Civil War is ongoing
1939-1945: WW II has engulfed planet Earth
2025-2026: Well here was are. This history does not suggest an easy change
So true, Robin. As often misattributed to but not likely said by Ben Franklin: "We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
We ARE living in Hitler times. Germany survived with the help of allies and I hope the allies we have always counted on will help us when the time comes.
NATO Article 5 suggests we should be able to look to them and others in he world whom so often we have helped. But we shuttered USAID, withdrew from WHO and other common benefit organizations, and now stand at the threshold of dissolving NATO. Our allies and erstwhile friends: are they either today or do they stand united in opposition to the risks we pose as a war-making nuclear enabled regime?
My hope is that our allies recognize that we the people did not shutter USAID, withdraw from WHO and everything else that it has been trump and the GOP Congress and that they will stand with the majority of Americans who did not vote for these actions (even a lot of trump voters are saying they did not vote for "this" and the "this is many things from new statements that no one should be able to carry a gun anywhere they want to starting wars to tariffs that we the working class pay).
Pat, I share your hope but wonder if after a deeply held trust is breached so brazenly and resistance is met with threats of widening the gulf, how is that lost trust regained? It took Germany and Japan decades. If a spouse were to cheat on a trusting life partner, after discovery, would the pre-existing trust ever really return to its pre-broken promise level? Distinctions exist: not all of us share fault; yet, all of us are responsible to fix this. KH
I heard reports during Davos that heads of NATO wondered even if Dems come to power in 2028, what's to stop another Mad King to reverse any return to sanity and cooperation? Good point.
This comment is based in an unfortunately common American understanding of international relations. The only country to have ever invoked Article 5 is the United States. After the attack on 9/11, your allies showed up beside you and experienced injuries and death in roughly the same proportion of population as American military personnel.
No one owes your country anything through NATO so I’m not sure how you think the US has so often helped its allies. You have indeed been a war-making power, toppling governments in order to benefit American industry, often installing puppet dictators where democratically elected leaders chose to prioritize their own citizens wellbeing over the profit margin of a foreign corporation. Sometimes, the US comes back and takes out the dictator, apparently forgetting how the violent, corrupt, and now inconvenient villain got where he is.
The United States is a large, populous and relatively wealthy country so your total aid budget will be larger than other countries, but again, proportionately it’s less impressive. Other countries have spent a larger part of their budget on soft power because they haven’t prioritized an extremely expensive military. Also, American aid all too often comes with strings that can wrap around people’s necks. No part of healthcare spending can be used for abortion care, and sometimes not even for birth control. The evangelical demands on women that American women rightly reject are instead imposed on the poorest and most vulnerable women.
The fastest way to pull a community, from a village to an entire country, out of poverty is to give women control of their reproduction. Just fewer women dying in childbirth makes a huge difference. Also, choosing fewer children means a mother has the resources to keep most of them alive to adulthood. Then too, these mothers’ bodies are stronger without the constant demands of pregnancy, birth and nursing so they have time and energy to work outside their own household. Trading skilled work like tending flocks, weaving and midwifery for the work product of others, or for currency, means the family lives better and longer, and the children have a much higher chance of an education.
“The Americans are here” isn’t going to get a rousing chorus of cheers as often as you seem to think.
So much truth in what you say! Along a little bit of a similar line, when I read of Bill Gates or someone like him making a donation of several million dollars to something, I often think the little I'm able to donate is a much greater part of my income than the millions he donates, yet I think he gets tons of praise. He (and I don't just mean Gates, but any of the billionaires) gives something that he will never miss but millions of us in the working class donate amounts that we will indeed miss. And yes, as far I know (and to be honest it's been a long time since I taught Sociology 101 at a local college, but I don't think any new research has come out) THE way to lift a nation out of poverty is to empower the women.
The quip attributed to Churchill comes to mind: Americans will always do the right thing — after they’ve tried everything else.
The time between the Nazis taking power in Germany and the US finally joining the allies was the first war over whether the country would be fascist or a democracy. The Japanese bombing Pearl Harbour ended the contest but the pro-fascism contingency didn’t change their minds. They just stayed quiet until they could get behind McCarthy.
Being here together, supporting Meidas and other verified independent journalists is doing the best for the nation. Then whatever your specialty is, do that! Artist? Draw, paint, cartoon about what is going on. Musician? write songs. The protest songs of the 1960s are still relevant. Teacher? instruct. Gamer? create a game about what you see happening. Endless creativity all counts, in addition toi protests etc.
For the Meidas Network: instead of risking disruptors, ICE, Nazis, etc. at a physical campus TEACH IN, why not have your young staff spread reality, what our rights truly are, and the regime's horrors on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. daily? Call it something that resonates with youth thru 30s and let them repost to one another? It could be humorous, coy, whatever. Set up a FOX-type talking points list of TRUTH and let the group post to their hearts' content.
I’m reading so many good suggestions on where to go from here. I would say to involve the arts because symbols and slogans are so catchy. They resonate with people who cannot analyze with words. A picture of 5-year-old Liam wearing his bunny eared hat stays with us. The same goes with Black Hawk helicopters descending on an apartment building. Common people don’t care about the renamed Kennedy Arts Center. Let the people’s art bring the message of the horrors that have become commonplace
The message is clear: independent journalism is being squeezed precisely because it’s one of the last spaces not captured, not intimidated, and not dependent on the machinery it reports on.
The fact that a platform has to build contingency plans for arrests, blackouts, and leadership targeting tells you everything about the moment we’re in.
What stands out here isn’t fear…it’s the insistence on continuity, on decentralization, on refusing to let pressure turn into silence.
Whatever happens next, the signal is stronger than the attempt to shut it down.
A small price to pay for truth, for independent accurate reporting, without MEIDAS we’d be under water with the corrupt Corp. Media’s biased sane washed excuse for accurate reporting, subscribe today stay engaged stay informed, and keep the resistance momentum snowballs rolling, bigger stronger and unstoppable💪🏾💪🏿💪🏽💪🏻💪🏼❤️🇨🇦🇺🇸
It’s been easy to ditch the Washington Post and New York Times since their coverage has become so biased.
WaPo is now run by men trained Murdoch media who have changed a high quality centrist newspaper into a shill for billionaires because it’s owned by Bezos.
The NYT has no excuse since it’s still a private company, but they lie by omission constantly. It became intolerable to read articles saying trump gave a speech on economics, focusing on tariffs and lowering inflation when in reality, he babbled incoherently for 90 minutes on all his favorite subjects, then read a column complaining that Harris’s economic goals, strategy and policy document wasn’t detailed enough. That same bias continues, even though media wins when they make trump actually bring his lawsuits to court.
I am a subscriber, too, since last year in Spring! And I am an old woman like you, I was born in 1941.
It is good to get, directly, the hottest news, and sometimes I can send them to media in Sweden.
..................
It seems it often helps! Online news spread fast! :-)
And the Guardian is read world-wide. :-)
//.......................
I read the Guardian (U.K.) and send links to old American friends in the USA, via Facebook and in my substack! There is a special "hot" link for Americans, too! ;-) Do try it!
Quote> /The Guardian is wholly owned by the Scott Trust, which is dedicated to preserving our journalistic independence. That means it does not have a rich individual owner whose net worth depends on avoiding giving offence to governments, nor is its governance vulnerable to outside political pressure. /
I have been a paid subscriber for a year and have also gifted subscriptions to my grandchildren, because we Canadians 🇨🇦 need MEIDAS to keep us well informed of the truth, however horrific it is under the rule of King Trump and his ICE Thugs.
By Laura Gamboa, Assistant Professor at Norte Dame University
Published in Foreign Affairs
The following is an excerpt.
“For democracy to survive, it must be protected. In the past few decades, in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Poland, opposition groups pushed back successfully against leaders with authoritarian tendencies early in the process of democratic backsliding, when they still had institutional levers to pull. But in other cases, such as Bolivia, El Salvador, Turkey, and Venezuela, oppositions either failed to act with sufficient urgency or used tactics that lost them their institutional levers, gradually hindering their ability to resist.
In the United States, the opposition’s response to the threat so far has been underwhelming. Reeling from electoral defeat and shocked by the blitz of the Trump administration’s power grabs, politicians and civil society groups are uncertain about the path forward and hesitant to take bold steps.
This delay is costly. If American democracy is to prevail, pro-democracy forces must follow the handbook that has enabled oppositions to stop would-be autocrats in other countries. They should coordinate to defend and expand their institutional powers while they have them, wield them to obstruct Trump’s authoritarian agenda, strengthen grassroots resistance efforts, and protect the activists, officeholders, and other individuals exposed to retribution from the administration. The alternative may be that democracy slips away while they wait.”
From The Peaceful Solution:
A Bold Step
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. The other peaceful options are failing. Time is of the essence. We must go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting His Royal Heinous and the politicians who enable him.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. You and me. Hobble the economy and the stock market.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
Thank you, Ben. I missed our coffee message this morning.. Now I know what you’ve been focused on - as always - The Truth! The DOJ is a puppet for DT and the regime.. watching them lie and doge questions is pathetic. Thank you for your tireless work and keeping us informed and please take some time for your beautiful wife and daughter.
Oh my good gourd, thank you Ben. Please stay safe and please make sure you have emotional support while you process these disgusting Trumpstein files. I can't thank you enough. I'm sharing it all as often as I can. 🗽
Katrina, I think you said it. Heather Cox Richardson added a quote today from that Blanche creature regarding the refusal of DOJ to release the other 3 million Epstein documents.....
"Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters yesterday that the Department of Justice was not releasing any item from the Epstein files that showed “death, physical abuse, or injury.”
Ummm, excuse me? What exactly is going on here? And is anyone capable of doing anything about it? Disgusted, disheartened and angry, but also appreciative for you 3 brothers keeping us informed. Stay safe!
Exactly. There were, and are, so many men using a modeling agency as cover for trafficking girls and women, and sometimes boys. In trump’s world and at his facilities, there were others besides Epstein. Epstein is unusual only in that he used his child abuse business as a means of leveraging finances and politics at the highest level in several countries.
I think you're right. I saw something on YouTube yesterday showing that Epstein may have influenced pol on 4chan, the alleged birthplace of the radical right movement.
I plan to vet this tonight, but the more emails that come out, the worse it looks.
We need independent media now more than ever. There are very few Corporate media companies left in the U.S that are willing to report honestly about this corrupt regime and the wannabe dictator. Keep the hammer down Ben.
I can’t be a paid member. I really wish that I could. My husband is just getting back to work. We had to move to basically the hood of Las Vegas and can barely afford to live here in a Siegel Suites apartment that allows you to pay rent by the week. We were considered middle class. Now we are in poverty, barely am eligible for SNAP. Not eligible for financial assistance because my Social Security Disability benefits puts me literally $.20 over the limit for 2 people. We get $200 a month for good. I had to sell all of my jewelry that my husband bought me over the years and my wedding ring as well as his, just to be able to make rent in this place for 2 weeks which is when he gets his first paycheck. And you have the murder of Renee Good getting donated millions of $ when I set up a go fund me to avoid selling our wedding rings for $800 I didn’t get a single penny. I am so disgusted with the wealthy people of this country. They all need to go.
This is what happens when you capitulate to monied interests. 50 years ago we had opportunities to transform. But we all missed that boat and now we are reaping the impacts of runaway capitalism. It seems kind of hard to believe but only in thoughts and words are we one of the richest countries. The majority, We, never got the opportunity to walk the walk. We struggled and struggled even more till there is not much left but hopes
Call it what you like, Its pretty hard to separate corporate welfare from uncontrolled runaway capitalism. Without adequate legal controls and consistent followup deterents, fines and jail. We have what we have.
I have done this and continue to share what you are doing. I fear for you three and others such as Aaron Parnas. I belong to a lawyers' group that is fighting for democracy and the rule of law.
I admire you and what you’re doing. It feels like we are living in Hitler times. I want to do more. We must all stand together to fight this regime. Thank you all for the hard work and long hours!
Agree. It feels like we’re living in Hitler times, because we are … through trump 2.0.
We have moved through 2.0 and risk breaching the periphery guardrail of US democracy. Given nuclear capacity and proliferation, and the often resolved by war competitive demand for REE and other scares resources, we are engaged in a 1984-style game of chess among China, Russia and what the US now is. We are at the brink of a chasm: if we fall in, it will consume us and divest the planet of humanity, the species, not the attribute. No need to wait for the Sixth Extinction: we can spin off Earth’s Axis of Rotation into spacetime freefall right now or at any time. We must be aware, not for a moment, but at each moment, of what surrounds us, without knowing what lies ahead, except to understand that if we do not take responsibility and control, this will be what some might term The Fourth Reich. "If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going.” ~Winston Churchill [This is Hell!]
Kelvin, I've followed Strauss and Howe's GENERATIONS and Howe's THE FOURTH TURNING IS HERE. Every 80 years on average nations, including ours, go through an arc from new ideas to activating those ideas, to the ideas being corrupted, until the entire system collapses. Ours began after WW II and now, 80 years on cue, we are at the collapse stage. Here's the problem: either the nation fights against the corruption, or the nation dies in its existing form. What may happen to us, as it did after WW II/Depression, is a renaissance with the New Deal, new agencies and laws, new rights extended, many old problems being addressed. I pray this is our future, but first we must go through the chaos and the struggle, and it will be terrible.
I agree. We’re teetering on the razor’s edge, on the brink of a turning point that will either destroy us or recalibrate our future, depending on how we the people - and the world at large -respond.
Trump is truly a soulless demonic monster, a rare deviant, a weapon of mass destruction. And he will never negotiate in good faith. But he WILL gladly destroy the planet if he feels threatened enough, given the opportunity and the support.
A few brave people need to step in and take him down, by any and all means necessary. NOW!
You also have to take down The Heritage Foundation!
Look in the mirror. The few brave people are us. Look how Minneapolis is responding. New Orleans has claimed itself a sanctuary city. Is your city council doing it too?
Merry, I wonder what the people of Nagasaki, knowing of Hiroshima’s fate 3 days earlier, thought about when they heard (if possible) Fat Man flying above them: whether their ends would come by radiation conversion into a thermal shadow, concussive blast disintegration (Musk's term? - "unscheduled disassembly") or radiation poisoning, since Hirohito had not yet decided to surrender unconditionally. I feel that we now face that same Hobson’s choice: irremediable capitulation or (because, the literary reference simply was too good to ignore) when “The Iceman Cometh” (Eugene O’Neill play, 1939).
Until now it has always been them (e.g. Europe) that turned to us for aid. Now, we have shown our former allies we now are in Hades, guarded by Cerberus, what Bhagavad Gita, 10.34 states as: “I am the all-devouring death, and I am the origin of those things that are yet to be.” https://tinyurl.com/ye4av52d - So, do they turn toward or against us?
The razor’s edge imagery you invoke is worth the thousand unspoken words. In the last 110 years when the world was Hell-bent on self destruction, Captain America saved it (or that is how we, the victors, insisted that history should remember things). But now, our hero is chanting Hail Hydra, having switched from light to darkness. Holy Batman!
(Ok, I get is about mixing metaphors, but this is so heavy, a little license, please?)
Also, I fear the words “by any and all means necessary.” They bring to my memory these words Malcom X spoke:” We want freedom by any means necessary. We want justice by any means necessary. We want equality by any means necessary. ... No, we want it now or we don’t think anybody should have it." (1964) Malcolm X’s Speech at the Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity https://tinyurl.com/k7adcnrf
To me, and I am stating my belief, not attempting to persuade anyone, there must be a red line, a limit, that cannot be crossed. This does not mean that I do not see the logic in what you state, but still I wonder what precedent it sets and who gives effect to the plan. Beyond that, I recall Aesop’s caveat: Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true!" Vance would be no Prince Charming, even if he is the kind of guy MJ could dance with.
Lynne, thank you for the enlightenment. What you say makes sense not only as a matter of logic but also with minor rounding adjustments, as history tolerates:
1620: The Middle Passage Slave Trade (1619); the Mayflower sets sail
1700 (+/-); Russia becomes a European power; Great Britain is born (England/Scotland merge); War of Spanish Succession; multiple plagues
1780: The American Revolution is well underway
1861-1865:The US Civil War is ongoing
1939-1945: WW II has engulfed planet Earth
2025-2026: Well here was are. This history does not suggest an easy change
We must all stand together, or we will be dying alone.
So true, Robin. As often misattributed to but not likely said by Ben Franklin: "We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
E Pluribus Unum
Sounds like the mantra in Minneapolis, MN. United we stand, divided we fall.
We ARE living in Hitler times. Germany survived with the help of allies and I hope the allies we have always counted on will help us when the time comes.
NATO Article 5 suggests we should be able to look to them and others in he world whom so often we have helped. But we shuttered USAID, withdrew from WHO and other common benefit organizations, and now stand at the threshold of dissolving NATO. Our allies and erstwhile friends: are they either today or do they stand united in opposition to the risks we pose as a war-making nuclear enabled regime?
My hope is that our allies recognize that we the people did not shutter USAID, withdraw from WHO and everything else that it has been trump and the GOP Congress and that they will stand with the majority of Americans who did not vote for these actions (even a lot of trump voters are saying they did not vote for "this" and the "this is many things from new statements that no one should be able to carry a gun anywhere they want to starting wars to tariffs that we the working class pay).
Pat, I share your hope but wonder if after a deeply held trust is breached so brazenly and resistance is met with threats of widening the gulf, how is that lost trust regained? It took Germany and Japan decades. If a spouse were to cheat on a trusting life partner, after discovery, would the pre-existing trust ever really return to its pre-broken promise level? Distinctions exist: not all of us share fault; yet, all of us are responsible to fix this. KH
I heard reports during Davos that heads of NATO wondered even if Dems come to power in 2028, what's to stop another Mad King to reverse any return to sanity and cooperation? Good point.
This comment is based in an unfortunately common American understanding of international relations. The only country to have ever invoked Article 5 is the United States. After the attack on 9/11, your allies showed up beside you and experienced injuries and death in roughly the same proportion of population as American military personnel.
No one owes your country anything through NATO so I’m not sure how you think the US has so often helped its allies. You have indeed been a war-making power, toppling governments in order to benefit American industry, often installing puppet dictators where democratically elected leaders chose to prioritize their own citizens wellbeing over the profit margin of a foreign corporation. Sometimes, the US comes back and takes out the dictator, apparently forgetting how the violent, corrupt, and now inconvenient villain got where he is.
The United States is a large, populous and relatively wealthy country so your total aid budget will be larger than other countries, but again, proportionately it’s less impressive. Other countries have spent a larger part of their budget on soft power because they haven’t prioritized an extremely expensive military. Also, American aid all too often comes with strings that can wrap around people’s necks. No part of healthcare spending can be used for abortion care, and sometimes not even for birth control. The evangelical demands on women that American women rightly reject are instead imposed on the poorest and most vulnerable women.
The fastest way to pull a community, from a village to an entire country, out of poverty is to give women control of their reproduction. Just fewer women dying in childbirth makes a huge difference. Also, choosing fewer children means a mother has the resources to keep most of them alive to adulthood. Then too, these mothers’ bodies are stronger without the constant demands of pregnancy, birth and nursing so they have time and energy to work outside their own household. Trading skilled work like tending flocks, weaving and midwifery for the work product of others, or for currency, means the family lives better and longer, and the children have a much higher chance of an education.
“The Americans are here” isn’t going to get a rousing chorus of cheers as often as you seem to think.
So much truth in what you say! Along a little bit of a similar line, when I read of Bill Gates or someone like him making a donation of several million dollars to something, I often think the little I'm able to donate is a much greater part of my income than the millions he donates, yet I think he gets tons of praise. He (and I don't just mean Gates, but any of the billionaires) gives something that he will never miss but millions of us in the working class donate amounts that we will indeed miss. And yes, as far I know (and to be honest it's been a long time since I taught Sociology 101 at a local college, but I don't think any new research has come out) THE way to lift a nation out of poverty is to empower the women.
Kirsten, credit to you for a fine reply. I suggest we consider WWI and WWII
The quip attributed to Churchill comes to mind: Americans will always do the right thing — after they’ve tried everything else.
The time between the Nazis taking power in Germany and the US finally joining the allies was the first war over whether the country would be fascist or a democracy. The Japanese bombing Pearl Harbour ended the contest but the pro-fascism contingency didn’t change their minds. They just stayed quiet until they could get behind McCarthy.
I can assure you that we Canadians are and will be there to provide all the support that we can. 🇨🇦 🇨🇦
If you can possibly make Minnesota a Canadian province I will quickly move back.
Thank you so much!
We have an Alberta problem on our hands and need to clean up the backyard....and fast. PP is back........more of his paperboy bullshit to come.
Being here together, supporting Meidas and other verified independent journalists is doing the best for the nation. Then whatever your specialty is, do that! Artist? Draw, paint, cartoon about what is going on. Musician? write songs. The protest songs of the 1960s are still relevant. Teacher? instruct. Gamer? create a game about what you see happening. Endless creativity all counts, in addition toi protests etc.
Because we are living through the 30’s in Germany….
Thank you so much for doing that.
For the Meidas Network: instead of risking disruptors, ICE, Nazis, etc. at a physical campus TEACH IN, why not have your young staff spread reality, what our rights truly are, and the regime's horrors on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. daily? Call it something that resonates with youth thru 30s and let them repost to one another? It could be humorous, coy, whatever. Set up a FOX-type talking points list of TRUTH and let the group post to their hearts' content.
Great suggestion!!
I’m reading so many good suggestions on where to go from here. I would say to involve the arts because symbols and slogans are so catchy. They resonate with people who cannot analyze with words. A picture of 5-year-old Liam wearing his bunny eared hat stays with us. The same goes with Black Hawk helicopters descending on an apartment building. Common people don’t care about the renamed Kennedy Arts Center. Let the people’s art bring the message of the horrors that have become commonplace
We are in such need of this!
Thank you for your freedom fight.
Popok and others too- together we stand strong!
This hits like a flare in the night sky.
The message is clear: independent journalism is being squeezed precisely because it’s one of the last spaces not captured, not intimidated, and not dependent on the machinery it reports on.
The fact that a platform has to build contingency plans for arrests, blackouts, and leadership targeting tells you everything about the moment we’re in.
What stands out here isn’t fear…it’s the insistence on continuity, on decentralization, on refusing to let pressure turn into silence.
Whatever happens next, the signal is stronger than the attempt to shut it down.
Thank you.
—Johan
As Paul Simon warned us in 1964:
"Fools," said I, "You do not know
Silence, like a cancer, grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words, like silent raindrops, fell
And echoed in the wells of silence
... also 'People hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest.' (Thinking of people who regret their MAGA vote.)
💥💥💥💥✌🏽
Thankfully Ben took a speed reading course!
He is digesting it. Speed reading will only give him indigestion. Can't speed think
Thankfully he’s doing the heavy lifting!!
Call in the MTN Dream Team of Lawyers and do a group reading session.
I have been worried about you and your brothers for a while. Sending positive energy to keep you and your families safe! 💙
Me too! They're always on my mind, especially after Don Lemon!
Ditto 💙🌻🦋✌🏽
I became a paid subscriber 3 days after the birth of Meidas +
You all reading here should become a paid subscriber too If you can swing it in your budget.
It is the paid subscribers that are the wind beneath Meidas Touch's wings.
WE are the wind beneath their wings.
C'mon it's only $10 a month.
If it is at all possible for you to swing it, sign up and become a paid subscriber
Only $10 a month
All new Subscribers hit a reply to this comment and let us know.
A small price to pay for truth, for independent accurate reporting, without MEIDAS we’d be under water with the corrupt Corp. Media’s biased sane washed excuse for accurate reporting, subscribe today stay engaged stay informed, and keep the resistance momentum snowballs rolling, bigger stronger and unstoppable💪🏾💪🏿💪🏽💪🏻💪🏼❤️🇨🇦🇺🇸
Yes! We all used to buy newspaper and magazine subscriptions, which cost much more than MTN. It’s a deal at twice the price!
It’s been easy to ditch the Washington Post and New York Times since their coverage has become so biased.
WaPo is now run by men trained Murdoch media who have changed a high quality centrist newspaper into a shill for billionaires because it’s owned by Bezos.
The NYT has no excuse since it’s still a private company, but they lie by omission constantly. It became intolerable to read articles saying trump gave a speech on economics, focusing on tariffs and lowering inflation when in reality, he babbled incoherently for 90 minutes on all his favorite subjects, then read a column complaining that Harris’s economic goals, strategy and policy document wasn’t detailed enough. That same bias continues, even though media wins when they make trump actually bring his lawsuits to court.
Like you, I was an early paid subscriber, on this and other independents. It's a small price to pay given the alternative.
Greetings from Sweden!
I am a subscriber, too, since last year in Spring! And I am an old woman like you, I was born in 1941.
It is good to get, directly, the hottest news, and sometimes I can send them to media in Sweden.
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It seems it often helps! Online news spread fast! :-)
And the Guardian is read world-wide. :-)
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I read the Guardian (U.K.) and send links to old American friends in the USA, via Facebook and in my substack! There is a special "hot" link for Americans, too! ;-) Do try it!
> https://support.theguardian.com/eu/guardian-ad-lite?
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Quote> /The Guardian is wholly owned by the Scott Trust, which is dedicated to preserving our journalistic independence. That means it does not have a rich individual owner whose net worth depends on avoiding giving offence to governments, nor is its governance vulnerable to outside political pressure. /
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I have been a paid subscriber for a year and have also gifted subscriptions to my grandchildren, because we Canadians 🇨🇦 need MEIDAS to keep us well informed of the truth, however horrific it is under the rule of King Trump and his ICE Thugs.
I’m waiting for my tax refund
I’m waiting for my tax refund
How to Save a Democracy
By Laura Gamboa, Assistant Professor at Norte Dame University
Published in Foreign Affairs
The following is an excerpt.
“For democracy to survive, it must be protected. In the past few decades, in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Poland, opposition groups pushed back successfully against leaders with authoritarian tendencies early in the process of democratic backsliding, when they still had institutional levers to pull. But in other cases, such as Bolivia, El Salvador, Turkey, and Venezuela, oppositions either failed to act with sufficient urgency or used tactics that lost them their institutional levers, gradually hindering their ability to resist.
In the United States, the opposition’s response to the threat so far has been underwhelming. Reeling from electoral defeat and shocked by the blitz of the Trump administration’s power grabs, politicians and civil society groups are uncertain about the path forward and hesitant to take bold steps.
This delay is costly. If American democracy is to prevail, pro-democracy forces must follow the handbook that has enabled oppositions to stop would-be autocrats in other countries. They should coordinate to defend and expand their institutional powers while they have them, wield them to obstruct Trump’s authoritarian agenda, strengthen grassroots resistance efforts, and protect the activists, officeholders, and other individuals exposed to retribution from the administration. The alternative may be that democracy slips away while they wait.”
From The Peaceful Solution:
A Bold Step
We, the people, still have the power of the purse. No one can control our spending, or lack of spending. The other peaceful options are failing. Time is of the essence. We must go on a spending strike until the business community stops supporting His Royal Heinous and the politicians who enable him.
Stop participating. Nearly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. You and me. Hobble the economy and the stock market.
Economic warfare is the only thing the oligarchs, the business community will understand and act on. Call it a Surreptitious General Strike (Quiet Quitting). Go to work, do as little as possible. Stop spending money except on essentials. Quit feeding the corporate beast that supports HRH.
This is how we can stop the fascist takeover.
THANK YOU!! I’ve said this seemingly since this 💩 started!!! WTH are “they” waiting for?!?! 🙄😡🤯
“They” are waiting for him to fall asleep in important meetings and to shit his pants. Oh, wait. He already does that!
Thank you, Ben. I missed our coffee message this morning.. Now I know what you’ve been focused on - as always - The Truth! The DOJ is a puppet for DT and the regime.. watching them lie and doge questions is pathetic. Thank you for your tireless work and keeping us informed and please take some time for your beautiful wife and daughter.
Oh my good gourd, thank you Ben. Please stay safe and please make sure you have emotional support while you process these disgusting Trumpstein files. I can't thank you enough. I'm sharing it all as often as I can. 🗽
It is absolutely insane to see just how much influence Epstein had.
We all have to stick together during these unprecedented times!
Epstein is just the tip of an enormous iceberg imo.
Katrina, I think you said it. Heather Cox Richardson added a quote today from that Blanche creature regarding the refusal of DOJ to release the other 3 million Epstein documents.....
"Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters yesterday that the Department of Justice was not releasing any item from the Epstein files that showed “death, physical abuse, or injury.”
Ummm, excuse me? What exactly is going on here? And is anyone capable of doing anything about it? Disgusted, disheartened and angry, but also appreciative for you 3 brothers keeping us informed. Stay safe!
Exactly. There were, and are, so many men using a modeling agency as cover for trafficking girls and women, and sometimes boys. In trump’s world and at his facilities, there were others besides Epstein. Epstein is unusual only in that he used his child abuse business as a means of leveraging finances and politics at the highest level in several countries.
I think you're right. I saw something on YouTube yesterday showing that Epstein may have influenced pol on 4chan, the alleged birthplace of the radical right movement.
I plan to vet this tonight, but the more emails that come out, the worse it looks.
Thank you, Ben and MeidasTouch, for your integrity, grit, and journalism! Stay safe and well!
THANK YOU! All of you for everything! You give me hope!
Please be safe, our country needs the Midas Touch.
We need independent media now more than ever. There are very few Corporate media companies left in the U.S that are willing to report honestly about this corrupt regime and the wannabe dictator. Keep the hammer down Ben.
I can’t be a paid member. I really wish that I could. My husband is just getting back to work. We had to move to basically the hood of Las Vegas and can barely afford to live here in a Siegel Suites apartment that allows you to pay rent by the week. We were considered middle class. Now we are in poverty, barely am eligible for SNAP. Not eligible for financial assistance because my Social Security Disability benefits puts me literally $.20 over the limit for 2 people. We get $200 a month for good. I had to sell all of my jewelry that my husband bought me over the years and my wedding ring as well as his, just to be able to make rent in this place for 2 weeks which is when he gets his first paycheck. And you have the murder of Renee Good getting donated millions of $ when I set up a go fund me to avoid selling our wedding rings for $800 I didn’t get a single penny. I am so disgusted with the wealthy people of this country. They all need to go.
Sharlene: I don’t know you but my heart breaks for you. It sounds like an empty song but try to stay the course because better days must be coming.
Hard to believe people are living so close to the edge in one of the richest countries in the world 🥲
This is what happens when you capitulate to monied interests. 50 years ago we had opportunities to transform. But we all missed that boat and now we are reaping the impacts of runaway capitalism. It seems kind of hard to believe but only in thoughts and words are we one of the richest countries. The majority, We, never got the opportunity to walk the walk. We struggled and struggled even more till there is not much left but hopes
This is not capitalism - we have corporate welfare.
Call it what you like, Its pretty hard to separate corporate welfare from uncontrolled runaway capitalism. Without adequate legal controls and consistent followup deterents, fines and jail. We have what we have.
Will do, Ben.
Keep safe ….
Hfryhttyhggggggggg hhhhhu
🤨
I think my son did that. Wasn’t me. Lol