I just subscribed to check out this substack because I like the premise. Not a paid subscriber yet but you have to start somewhere. I don't charge anyone for my substack either. I read the above and one sentence jumped out at me:
"And, of course, Trump himself tried to stage a coup on January 6, 2021. "
There are many intelligent, thoughtful, and non-extremist people (I consider myself among them) who would disagree with such a commment. Is this something open to debate and discussion? Because, if it is not, that is a non-starter.
Regardless, wishing you the best with this project.
Rick Bosshardt, MD, FACS (I only put in the letters so you will know I am not some uneducated yahoo ;-) . Call me Rick.)
"Is this something open to debate and discussion?" Of course it is. I try to write with the best information I have available to me at any given time, but I'm HIGHLY open to being wrong. Make your argument :)
I would be happy to but you made the claim and I would respectfully submit that it is you who should state your case for this. My side of the argument would include Trump's own words to protest "peacefully and patriotically", the nature of the crowd- entirely unarmed and largely milling around in videos (how does one stage a coup with a small crowd of unarmed yahoos), the testimony of the Captain of the Capital Police Steven Sund, and more. To call this relatively "peaceful" riot, unlike the "mostly peaceful" riots after George Floyd, a coup is stretching the definition of a coup to the breaking point. The aggressive prosecution of anyone who was there, including legitimate journalists, speaks to the weaponization of the justice system to silence dissent. There are millions, like me, who do not for a moment believe that the 2020 presidential election was the most secure ever. If asked, I would have been in favor of holding off certifying the election until it was fully investigated. After all, we did this with Bush/Kerry. Rick
“Pence, who in the book never directly states that Democrat Joe Biden won fairly, writes that when Trump first suggested holding a rally in Washington on Jan. 6, the day Pence was set to preside over the election’s certification, he thought it was a good idea. “My first thought was that a rally that day might be useful as a way to call even more attention to the proceedings on the floor of the House and Senate,” he writes.”
I think the quote above is interestingly ambiguous. Trump undoubtedly didn’t use his words wisely when dealing with Pence that day, and perhaps saw him as disloyal from his own perspective. Pence is a company guy and wants to always do what’s right I think. Drawing on an old amendment from 1865 (?) challenging the votes was something we’ve not seen used very often (or ever) in our century. But since there was so much questioning over ballot stuffing and over the legitimacy of the votes for Biden anyway, it seems 1/2 of the Americans who voted for Trump deserved to ask the questions and get some answers. And all of the violence that followed on that day wasn’t all “Trump” people. There were plants in the crowd that antagonized and provoked violence (Antifa, others?). No MSM will report this or legitimize it of course and in fact won’t even look at the news sites that have cast doubt on the way that day went down which I think is the wrong begins. No weapons were brought to the Capitol except by a policeman who killed Ashley Babbitt. And on top of it the House committee which did investigate hid scads of testimony and was led by people who weren’t even chosen by the Republican leadership. Nancy Pelosi denied them. So you say that you’ve not done much research into Jan 6? I would search The Epoch Times and peruse their Jan 6 investigations— so much doubt can be raised by the issues uncovered by them but of course — Facebook, et al have deemed them rogue and conspiracy theorists, and cast so much aspersion on their reputation so as to put people off. I highly recommend looking into their investigatory stuff. It’s well written and covers a wealth of issues and questions. It’s intelligent. All the best🙏
The problem with the term “open to debate & discussion” in this context and so many others we are faced with today is the degree to which we the public have access to the truth regarding any supposition. Many people don’t know that scads of testimony that would have contributed to a health discussion & debate have been trashed by the very House Committee that warranted them “non important” to the Committe’s investigation of Jan 6. In my time on the Hill and the Executive Branch, testimony was testimony…it was printed and put in the record of the hearing— not kept out out. Video tape of the day shouldn’t have been discarded. People who were just there on the premises shouldn’t have been jailed w/o hearings. There is so much information that the MSM is not reporting on that the American people have a right to know. So I ask you — how open a discussion is possible when the truth is being withheld? I’m not a conspiracy person but my sense is that a narrative has been crafted by leaders in the Democratic Party whereby a particular outcome is expected. So many folks that “hate Trump” have been led down the path of further hatred because of a lack of integrity on the MSM’s part. Look at the recent testimony of Chris Crey at FBI — it took 2 1/2 weeks to concede that it was in fact a bullet that pierced Trump’s ear — an assassination attempt was made on a former president and even the Executive Branch can’t be honest about that. How can our country be informed and take part in honest & open debate & discussion when we’re not being given the truth?
That's a fair point. I can't weigh in on the Jan 6 stuff as well as you can (I haven't studied it much), but broadly speaking the willingness of political elites to lie to we the people is a huge problem (I'm actually writing an article on this now).
I write to you today in a sincere effort to help you accomplish your noble goals for seeking this office.
That is to help you facilitate the betterment of our schools for our children and young people.
To do this, I ask you to make the Board meeting agenda and the data points behind them available to me as well as all of the other taxpayers.
Upload the stack to a server where we can read, ratify and or annul the elements after log on.
In a perfect world each paragraph must have at least three possible answers: agree, disagree, no opinion at this time.
Direct democracy is a growing trend, and many companies offer these services:
hosting, voter receipts, and a running tally of totals for everyone to see.
In this way Madam Trustee you are assured that you will always have the strength of the community with you when making the decisions that really do effect the lives of our people.
Julian,
I just subscribed to check out this substack because I like the premise. Not a paid subscriber yet but you have to start somewhere. I don't charge anyone for my substack either. I read the above and one sentence jumped out at me:
"And, of course, Trump himself tried to stage a coup on January 6, 2021. "
There are many intelligent, thoughtful, and non-extremist people (I consider myself among them) who would disagree with such a commment. Is this something open to debate and discussion? Because, if it is not, that is a non-starter.
Regardless, wishing you the best with this project.
Rick Bosshardt, MD, FACS (I only put in the letters so you will know I am not some uneducated yahoo ;-) . Call me Rick.)
Thanks for subscribing :)
"Is this something open to debate and discussion?" Of course it is. I try to write with the best information I have available to me at any given time, but I'm HIGHLY open to being wrong. Make your argument :)
I would be happy to but you made the claim and I would respectfully submit that it is you who should state your case for this. My side of the argument would include Trump's own words to protest "peacefully and patriotically", the nature of the crowd- entirely unarmed and largely milling around in videos (how does one stage a coup with a small crowd of unarmed yahoos), the testimony of the Captain of the Capital Police Steven Sund, and more. To call this relatively "peaceful" riot, unlike the "mostly peaceful" riots after George Floyd, a coup is stretching the definition of a coup to the breaking point. The aggressive prosecution of anyone who was there, including legitimate journalists, speaks to the weaponization of the justice system to silence dissent. There are millions, like me, who do not for a moment believe that the 2020 presidential election was the most secure ever. If asked, I would have been in favor of holding off certifying the election until it was fully investigated. After all, we did this with Bush/Kerry. Rick
I'm so sorry I missed this! I definitely respect your view--I have close friends who feel the way you do, and I'm certainly open to being wrong.
That said, a huge part of what convinced me was the testimony of Mike Pence: (see ex. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/pence-details-jan-6-falling-out-with-trump-in-new-memoir). When Trump's own VP (who says that he's always been loyal to Trump and considers him a friend) says that Jan 6 was beyond the pale, I'm inclined to believe him.
What do you think?
“Pence, who in the book never directly states that Democrat Joe Biden won fairly, writes that when Trump first suggested holding a rally in Washington on Jan. 6, the day Pence was set to preside over the election’s certification, he thought it was a good idea. “My first thought was that a rally that day might be useful as a way to call even more attention to the proceedings on the floor of the House and Senate,” he writes.”
I think the quote above is interestingly ambiguous. Trump undoubtedly didn’t use his words wisely when dealing with Pence that day, and perhaps saw him as disloyal from his own perspective. Pence is a company guy and wants to always do what’s right I think. Drawing on an old amendment from 1865 (?) challenging the votes was something we’ve not seen used very often (or ever) in our century. But since there was so much questioning over ballot stuffing and over the legitimacy of the votes for Biden anyway, it seems 1/2 of the Americans who voted for Trump deserved to ask the questions and get some answers. And all of the violence that followed on that day wasn’t all “Trump” people. There were plants in the crowd that antagonized and provoked violence (Antifa, others?). No MSM will report this or legitimize it of course and in fact won’t even look at the news sites that have cast doubt on the way that day went down which I think is the wrong begins. No weapons were brought to the Capitol except by a policeman who killed Ashley Babbitt. And on top of it the House committee which did investigate hid scads of testimony and was led by people who weren’t even chosen by the Republican leadership. Nancy Pelosi denied them. So you say that you’ve not done much research into Jan 6? I would search The Epoch Times and peruse their Jan 6 investigations— so much doubt can be raised by the issues uncovered by them but of course — Facebook, et al have deemed them rogue and conspiracy theorists, and cast so much aspersion on their reputation so as to put people off. I highly recommend looking into their investigatory stuff. It’s well written and covers a wealth of issues and questions. It’s intelligent. All the best🙏
The problem with the term “open to debate & discussion” in this context and so many others we are faced with today is the degree to which we the public have access to the truth regarding any supposition. Many people don’t know that scads of testimony that would have contributed to a health discussion & debate have been trashed by the very House Committee that warranted them “non important” to the Committe’s investigation of Jan 6. In my time on the Hill and the Executive Branch, testimony was testimony…it was printed and put in the record of the hearing— not kept out out. Video tape of the day shouldn’t have been discarded. People who were just there on the premises shouldn’t have been jailed w/o hearings. There is so much information that the MSM is not reporting on that the American people have a right to know. So I ask you — how open a discussion is possible when the truth is being withheld? I’m not a conspiracy person but my sense is that a narrative has been crafted by leaders in the Democratic Party whereby a particular outcome is expected. So many folks that “hate Trump” have been led down the path of further hatred because of a lack of integrity on the MSM’s part. Look at the recent testimony of Chris Crey at FBI — it took 2 1/2 weeks to concede that it was in fact a bullet that pierced Trump’s ear — an assassination attempt was made on a former president and even the Executive Branch can’t be honest about that. How can our country be informed and take part in honest & open debate & discussion when we’re not being given the truth?
That's a fair point. I can't weigh in on the Jan 6 stuff as well as you can (I haven't studied it much), but broadly speaking the willingness of political elites to lie to we the people is a huge problem (I'm actually writing an article on this now).
Wonderful — I really look forward to reading it.
Hi, fully share the aim of your substack 'Heal the West'.
I happen to be working on something similar, but concentrated on one country. I will defer to you for the rest of the West.
My substack is called 'The Great British'.
<3 I'll check it out!
Start here:
Dear Mr. / Madam School Board Trustee
I write to you today in a sincere effort to help you accomplish your noble goals for seeking this office.
That is to help you facilitate the betterment of our schools for our children and young people.
To do this, I ask you to make the Board meeting agenda and the data points behind them available to me as well as all of the other taxpayers.
Upload the stack to a server where we can read, ratify and or annul the elements after log on.
In a perfect world each paragraph must have at least three possible answers: agree, disagree, no opinion at this time.
Direct democracy is a growing trend, and many companies offer these services:
hosting, voter receipts, and a running tally of totals for everyone to see.
In this way Madam Trustee you are assured that you will always have the strength of the community with you when making the decisions that really do effect the lives of our people.
Vty,
Helpful Taxpayer Citizen
Hosting Companies:
https://teletownhall.com/products/text-to-online-surveys/
https://publicinput.com/wp/online-town-hall/
https://www.govtech.com/archive/introducing-the-21st-century-city-hall.html