We, The People….

I have always liked the term…..but is it truly all about the people? The government that is.

Our tortured country is floundering and it is in dire need of assistance.

But who will save this nation?

The elected politicians? No for they are not in it to save this nation but rather to further their personal ambitions.

If not the politicians then who can save this country from itself?

The Founders believe that the people would do what is right for the nation.

“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something.”John Lewis’s words echo across this moment in American life because the responsibility he described no longer rests with parties or politicians. It rests with the people themselves.

Recently, a nurse shared a choice no family should have to make: pay for a needed surgery or replace the failing roof over their heads. That is not just a personal crisis. It is a civic one— a sign of what happens when institutions stop working for the people they were built to serve.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, the framers made a wager— not on presidents or parties, but on the people. They argued fiercely, yet built a Constitution rooted in one idea: power must remain with the people, and government exists only by their consent. That principle carried the nation through war, depression, corruption, and conflict because, in every crisis, the people stepped in to correct what institutions alone could not.

The framers believed the people would be the final safeguard when institutions failed. History proves they were right. From colonists resisting British overreach to Frederick Douglass demanding that the nation honor its ideals to the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr., change came not from the top down, but from people who acted when government would not. This is why only the people can save the Republic: every safeguard the framers built ultimately depends on them.

As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches, the question is not what the Constitution says. The question is whether the people will still enforce it— and whether they will use their vote, judgment, and voice to preserve the Republic.

https://thefulcrum.us/civic-engagement-education/only-the-people-can-save-the-republic-not-parties-politicians

The premise may be accurate but if we vote we must vote party….so how does that give us any power?

Those same Founders that gave us the way to heal this country also made it possible for politics to destroy the very thing that helped create.

The men who gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 were students of history, and it taught them a singular lesson: power corrupts, and unchecked power can destroy a republic.

They designed our experiment with overlapping safeguards to ensure that no single faction, branch, or man could hold the nation hostage. What remained unresolved was agency: who, exactly, can determine when to trigger those safeguards? History has since exposed this as the system’s deepest vulnerability.

The Constitution assigns Congress the power of impeachment but says nothing about the political will required to use it. It grants the cabinet the authority to remove an incapacitated president but assumes that cabinet members will prioritize constitutional duty over personal loyalty. It tasks Congress with checking executive overreach, yet it cannot compel a partisan legislature to act.

In each case, accountability mechanisms exist. The decision about when to use it was delegated to individuals in a political system. The Founders hoped this system would produce honorable leaders, though they could not guarantee it. Nearly two and a half centuries later, we are forced to confront the consequences when it fails to do so.

https://thefulcrum.us/governance-legislation/founders-safeguards-politics-useless

There has got to be a return to sanity if this nation is to survive….but how and when are the only questions that need an answer.

Any thoughts?

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

cogito ergo agito

Political Parties, Why?

This is a sore spot for me….I do not see what good they have done for this country.

From the very beginning of this nation’s new government the need for political parties became inevitable….during the debate on the new Constitution there were the Federalist and the anti-Federalist….and so it began…..political camps that morphed into what we now have the political parties.

Let’s be honest there are some advantages….a quick look at thgose advantages….

Increase voter turnout…maybe in the beginning but today all is being done to limit the turnout.

Political Parties Improve the quality of candidates….have you seen this quality lately?

Encourage more candidates to run for office….but only if you are a member of a the two parties….all others are discouraged.

Political Parties encourage party loyalty….and that is where the biggest problem lies….no opposition is allowed.

There you have what I think of those so-called advantages.

Now let’s look at the disadvantages….

Disenfranchisement

One of the major drawbacks of political parties is Disenfranchisement, which indicates that some people feel like their vote doesn’t count. This can be because they aren’t inquisitive about any of the candidates or platforms suggested by the various parties and therefore determine not to participate.

Decreased voter turnout

Decreased voter turnout is even among the problematic weaknesses of political parties. Fewer individuals want to get concerned with the procedure or participate; even if they do, their votes separate us more and more parties are made.

Corruption

It is one of the common drawbacks of Political Parties not every political group follows transparency while operating governments. The former US president’s involvement with the Watergate scandal left individuals asking how corruption can seep into the greatest Political systems.

Encourage Disunity and divisiveness within the governing body

Political Parties can also guide to Disunity and Divisiveness, particularly when it comes to succeeding or losing an election. When someone from one party fails out to a candidate from another, there exists often some degree of personal animosity concerned because they feel like their opponent defrauded or made the race unfair in some way.

Encourage negative campaigning and mudslinging

Negative Campaigning and Mudslinging exist another issue of political parties as they promote the worst types of behavior and characters to come out during an election. The issues set an excellent example for politicians as crabs inside a bucket.

I cannot disagree with anything there….we are witnessing most of the disadvantages today and have been witness to the total collapse of the system.

But there is so much more that has turned this system into an ugly POS….

Parties may prioritize their own interests and agendas over the welfare of the nation, sometimes neglecting important issues that do not align with their platform. (and they do)

Members of political parties may feel pressured to conform to party policies and decisions, restricting their ability to express independent opinions or vote according to personal beliefs.

Rivalry between parties can lead to gridlock in government, making it difficult to pass laws or implement policies, which can hinder effective governance and development.

It has been ten years since I ranted about political parties and in that time my views have not changed….but read it for yourself….

Why Political Parties Are Unnecessary

As you can see I am an opinionated SOB and I do not change with the times….

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Educate, Agitate

cogito ergo agito

The Coming National Election–2028

I am an unashamed political junkie and am always looking for reports that can help inform the people that visit IST….there is some disturbing writings about 2028…..

It should be a shoo-in for Dems but it is not looking so ducky for them but we are a ways out from the vote and things can change….

First, I know there are many ‘independents’ (I hate that term) which are moderates and their choices are not looking good right now….

The choices they are looking at is the Left and far Right….

I am writing this text with the Americas and Europe in mind, but the phenomena I analyze apply, with modifications, to other regions of the world. We are on the brink of a new world war, facing imminent ecological collapse, witnessing the end of international law, and the end of the distinction between democracy and autocracy. The political paradigm of Eurocentric modernity has globalized to the extent that it has transformed democracy (liberal democracy) into the only legitimate political regime. Based on concrete examples, it is time to acknowledge that this historical process has run its course and is producing perverse effects: liberal democracy exists today primarily to create and legitimize dictatorships; democratic institutions are committing suicide as a normal way of operating. There is resistance, but it will only be effective if those who resist have the clarity to recognize the gravity of what is happening and the importance of what is at stake

https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-right-is-disappearing-the-choice-is-between-the-left-and-the-far-right

Let’s look at ‘swing voters’….those moderates or centrist or whatever one chooses to call oneself….

Swing voters in North Carolina say they are frustrated with President Trump and the state of the economy, but aren’t ready to abandon him or his party as the midterms inch closer.

NPR observed two online focus groups on Tuesday featuring 12 voters in North Carolina who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and then Trump in 2024. These focus groups were conducted by messaging and market research firms Engagious and Sago as part of the Swing Voter Project.

Seven of the voters who participated identified as independents, four said they were Republicans, and one identified as a Democrat. That’s a more Republican-leaning cohort than prior months’ focus groups.

https://www.npr.org/2026/05/21/nx-s1-5828924/north-carolina-swing-voter-focus-group

That is scary results….so anyone but Donny may not care much weight at the polls.

It seems MAGA Repubs are taking over and the conserv party we once knew may soon be a thing of the past.

President Donald Trump has remade the Republican Party in his own image, but that transformation could prove costly in future elections, according to a new report.

The share of GOP voters identifying as MAGA Republicans has skyrocketed over the past four years, climbing from 38 percent in September 2022 to 62 percent in May 2026, YouGov/Economist surveys have found.

“It’s a change that has occurred with remarkable speed,” Brookings senior fellows Elaine Kamarck and E.J. Dionne Jr. wrote in a new analysis.

Just in the past month, the 79-year-old president demonstrated that his dominance over the Republican Party remains as strong as ever. Candidates he endorsed swept primaries across the country, unseating multiple incumbents who had openly criticized him — over the ongoing Iran war and the Epstein files.

Yet at the same time, non-MAGA Republicans have moved steadily further from the president, according to polls. While this group only constitutes a slice of the party, it will play a crucial role in determining the GOP’s future, partly because MAGA enthusiasts make up only a minority of the overall electorate.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/maga-republicans-midterm-elections-trump-b2990017.html

Now my thought is where will the conserv non-MAGA idiot put their vote…..do they go Dem or maybe third party like Libertarian?

2028, as of today, is turning out to be a chaotic mess…..and no matter who wins this thing not much will change in this country….sorry to be a bummer.

Any thoughts?

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

cogito ergo agito

Is Personal Loss That Acceptable?

The people of this country have lost plenty under the heavy hand of Donny and the Goon Squad…..health benefits, food assistance, educational benefits, voting rights, personal health decisions etc and yet with all that loss few people are standing up most are accepting the loss and looking toward 2028.

Why are there no more protests than a few “no Kings Day”?

What has happened to the spirit of right and wrong?

Being an American with a firm grasp of reality and a dose of empathy is pretty difficult at this time. We see the comments after articles from our neighbors. Their responses move from irrational to apologist, exhibiting a vision of the country that seems like hell to many of us. Somehow, it seems to be reassuring to them to have cruelty’s back. These comments show up all over the place, especially after any articles that pertain to what is happening in Minneapolis and the state-sanctioned murder of Renee Good.

We see anything from she shouldn’t have hit him with her car (obviously terrifying that our fellow Americans can watch that footage and think this is what happened) or that she shouldn’t have been “blocking the way” (also a frequent refrain and ironically, what many from the far right cite as their reason to be able to run into protesters with their own cars). Yes, many of the more repetitive and divisive comments are definitely from bot farms, but the fact that many are not is chilling.

The cult members among us– they contort their views to match what their leader wants them to believe. These are the Americans who were enthralled by “Pizzagate” but, having been presented with mountains of credible evidence against their leader of the same nature, are managing to find themselves in something of a pro-pedophile realm. I think we can probably understand their belief system more effectively if we look to the Manson family member behaviors as a relevant case study instead of traditional Democrat/Republican affiliation narratives.

I do believe this is an important point for our friends outside of the United States to understand. I often see many asking why we don’t simply decide not to comply. They wonder why we don’t take to the streets in such numbers that they would have to bend to our will. A major reason is that this large, though minority group of regime supporters is very much a part of our national fabric. It’s difficult to unravel something that took so many years to construct, that of a bootlicking, Empire approving, acquiescent populace. It’s not like we are dealing with one crazy grandpa in a 10-mile radius. It’s far more widespread and disturbing than this.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/01/22/why-arent-all-americans-protesting

I am a child of the 60s and 70s….we protested everything that we saw as wrong and anti-American….we protested war, civil rights, voting rights, abortion rights, you name it we had a protest if it was wrong….and boy were a lot of things wrong in those days.

Today everyone takes to social media to voice their disapproval when they should be taking to the streets….social media is wonderful for voicing one’s disgust or opinions but will it really change anything?

Enough said!

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

cogito ergo agito

American Origins Of Fascism

Most people know that I love my history and will take every opportunity to enlighten my readers on the history of this nation….that is what you get from someone with a degree in political history and sorry but you must suffer.

This post is about a book and a podcast transcript….that traces fascism in the early days….

For more than a decade, we’ve been flooded with books warning about fascism — how to recognize it, how it spreads, how democracies lose their way. Almost all begin with the same assumption: Fascism was a European creation that eventually washed up on American shores.

Joseph Kelly says we’ve got it backwards.

Kelly, a professor at the College of Charleston and author of The Biggest Lie: The Prehistory of American Fascism 1818-1915, began writing a history of the 1920s and 30s. But every thread he pulled led somewhere earlier — past the World Wars, past the Ku Klux Klan, deep into the 19th-century South — until he found himself asking a far more unsettling question: What if America wasn’t simply influenced by fascism? What if it helped invent the political playbook that Europe later embraced?

In this week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast, Kelly traces that story from the compromises over slavery at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to the post-Civil War politics of Jim Crow and beyond. He explains why fascism is less an ideology than a corruption of democracy itself, why “the Big Lie” has such enduring political power, and why Hitler looked to the American South not simply as an observer, but as an admirer.

Kelly insists this isn’t a book about today’s politics. It’s about how democracies convince themselves that dangerous ideas will simply fade away — and what happens when they don’t. It’s an argument about American history that may change the way you think about American democracy itself.

After 250 Years: The American Origins of Fascism

This is a subject that has seen an obscene amount of ink and with good cause….

Please feel free to write your opinion.

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

cogito ergo agito