I'll be honest. I'm concerned about how much $$ they have and all these warehouses they are building that are clearly meant for more than the worst of the worst. And now subpoenas for social media records to track down those who speak out against them. I think countries should be working together to being the cabal down.
I hear you. When you see huge money, rapid build-outs, and subpoenas for social media records...it feels like the walls are closing in...and that’s a legit civil-liberties alarm.
The only thing I’d caution is the “single cabal” frame. Big power often looks more unified than it is. The strongest leverage stays the same: documented facts...courts...oversight... journalism...and sustained public pressure.
And...on the international point...you’re right in principle: transnational crime does require cross-border cooperation (treaties, joint investigations, financial tracking). Sunlight + process beats panic...EVERY time.
#HOLDFAST we shall, Jack! The pressure remains on, and with the targeted goal of truth finding and justice delivering in tact. Thank goodness there are capable, dedicated people who are scrutinizing files and putting information together practically around the clock! In turn, they keep us updated, and we must hang on to the facts and request action as often as it takes!
Everybody should realize that the horrific behaviors being covered up to save face of the guilty, and to preserve money rings as well, as I understand it, will not go away if we do not keep the pressure on. Further more, with such continuing mistreatment of anyone being overlooked, and nobody in this country being held accountable, no matter what position a person holds, the victims are not always somebody in the past, somebody unknown. EVERY PERSON MATTERS! EVERY PERSON DESERVES JUSTICE, AND THE NEXT VICTIM MIGHT BE SOMEBODY ANY BYSTANDER DOES KNOW AND LOVE. THE PRESSURE MUST REMAIN! PEOPLE ARE NOT IMMUNE TO DANGERS, AND WE ALL MUST CARE AND STAND UP FOR JUSTICE.
The quotation an elementary teacher once wrote on our blackboard was, “What kind of world would my world be if everybody in it was just like me?” (Of course, that leaves us all with lots of goals to achieve!)
Thank you for your encouragement and listing important steps, Jack. YOUR STEPS AND ENCOURAGEMENT OUR VALUABLE AND TOTALLY CRUCIAL!
Also, I had to laugh at your clever, extremely appropriate simile regarding the people who are trying to hide and protect the truth and their view of the public. “They’re counting on the public to flare up…scream for a week…then drift to the next outrage like a goldfish with a smartphone.”
Thank you, Jack! Thank you for the honesty and forthrightness of this course-correction. Your words will help move the wave of energy that is building. There is much work to do: to protect the survivors and bring them justice and healing; to bring to light the cruel abuse of children; to uncover the international blackmail and maneuverings of an elite class of global power brokers who see their fellow humans as "less than," as mindless puppets who will not do the work to bring them to accountability. They are very, very wrong.
You’re right...there’s real work here. Protect survivors... force transparency...and keep the pressure on until institutions have to answer for what they’ve protected.
The only thing I’d tighten is the “unified global cabal” framing. We don’t need a single puppet-master story to demand accountability...and that language gives critics an easy escape hatch.
What wins is disciplined focus...documented facts...specific decision-makers...lawful tools, sustained pressure. They’re arrogant...but they’re not invincible!
I will most definitely work on the "tightening" you suggest re "unified global cabal" thinking. Truly, the work is granular, right in front of us. Human to human. Ongoing.
Thank you, Jack! How utterly horrifying that Representative Thomas Massie had to post that he’s not suicidal, in case anything happens to him! Yikes! We have to take our country back from these pedophile-protectors and oligarchs. #HoldFast
Joanne Rossmassier...know. That post stopped me cold, too.
When an elected official feels the need to publicly clarify he’s not suicidal...that tells you the temperature in this country is WAY too high. That’s not healthy civic disagreement. That’s a warning sign.
I love your deeper point: no one should be protected from scrutiny because of wealth... status...or connections.
If there’s corruption...abuse...or misconduct anywhere...it deserves daylight and lawful accountability...period.
Where we stay strongest...is keeping this anchored in facts...due process...and relentless but legal pressure.
The rule of law is the thing worth “taking back.” Not rage. Not labels. Not escalation.
#HoldFast and...hold steady. That’s how pressure turns into results!
I was wondering where you were in your thinking on the likelihood of the Epstein files getting fully released...or perhaps it's more accurate to say packing as much of a punch as they could. I recall the post when you said you doubted it because, basically, power would protect power. Then this week (?) you posted about how we're over-praising other governments and prominent businesses because they're engaging in controlled containment versus total accountability.
I still think you made valid points in those posts. However, there really is something ginormous about this moment, and I believe a disciplined public who won't let up the pressure can crack this wider than might have seemed possible 3 weeks ago.
That said, power will continue to contract to protect power. If this cracks as wide as it could, I don't think it means that entire world systems collapse. But I do think that it moves more of us in more places in the world to a point where we recognize that there is no longer an option to "go back to normal." We're past that place. I think we're in a place where we will have rebuild or build anew.
Julie...yes...that’s a fair read of my arc...and you’re tracking the moment accurately.
A few weeks ago...my baseline was...power protects power...and the default outcome in cases like this is managed disclosure...controlled containment...selective releases...a few sacrificial actors...and a hard ceiling on anything that threatens institutions or major donors.
I still believe that baseline is real.
What’s changed is not that the system suddenly grew a conscience. What’s changed is the pressure environment...and pressure can force outcomes that “baseline power behavior” wouldn’t voluntarily allow.
So...here’s where I am now:
Full, maximum-punch release (everything, no protection): still unlikely.
Significant crack-open that lands harder than expected: MORE plausible than it was 3 weeks ago.
The difference-maker is exactly what you named...a disciplined public that doesn’t let up.
Not viral rage. Not a weekend trend. Sustained...procedural pressure that makes containment more expensive than disclosure.
And...I agree with your bigger point...even if this opens wider...it probably doesn’t “collapse world systems” overnight. But...it does accelerate something irreversible... more people in more places realizing there is NO clean return to normal.
The old assumptions (trust, legitimacy, “they’d never”) don’t come back once they’ve been shattered. They do not.
That’s why this is perilous…and why your last line matters.
I believe in us too...not as a slogan...but as a strategy; people who stay grounded...stay factual...stay organized.;.and refuse to be exhausted into silence.
Jack this is exactly what needs to be done.We can not let this horrific group of disgusting , evil, vile persons...can not call them human as real humans would never do the things I have read were done to the girls and their babies....We must be organized and put pressure to get this to the courts and to pushed aside. This is owed to the victims that have managed to survive the abuses they incurred.
Teri...yes. You’re tapping the EXACT nerve: the only way this dies is if people get tired and drift away. We can’t let that happen. #HOLDFAST.
And...I’m with you on the moral clarity: what was done to victims is beyond words...and the fact that anyone would protect abusers...is a stain on the whole system.
The move now is what you said: organized pressure that stays lawful...factual...and relentless ...so it actually reaches courts and decision-makers instead of getting dismissed as “outrage.”
That’s how we honor survivors: by forcing process...not just expressing horror.
Keep that energy!! Keep it focused. Keep it anchored to facts...and accountability.
Thank you Jack for voicing what I've been feeling since Trump was elected the first time and I thought of Hitler writing "If you want to persuade the masses you must tell the most crude and stupid things." Any time spent with a history book should have made it clear what was coming. The overall response was nothing but denial and apathy. It's clear now that we must fight each and every battle no matter how small. That is how we win the war.
A lot of people felt something was off long before they could articulate it. History doesn’t repeat word for word...but it rhymes in patterns.
Propaganda always simplifies. It always reduces complexity into emotion. And... it always counts on people underestimating it.
You’re right about denial and apathy. Those are powerful forces. NOT because people are stupid...but...because facing uncomfortable reality requires energy most people don’t want to spend.
But here’s the important part: awareness COMPOUNDS.
You’re absolutely right about the small battles. Democracies don’t collapse in one cinematic moment...and they don’t get protected in one either. It’s the unglamorous work. The local meeting. The boring paperwork. The follow-up call. The quiet persistence.
That’s how pressure builds.
And...that’s how institutions either hold… or get rebuilt stronger.
We stay steady. We stay informed. We don’t burn out. And...we don’t look away.
That’s how this is won, and damnit...we will prevail.
Jack, I remember well when you wrote the other piece. The one that said we’d never know the truth or at least not all of it.. not in our lifetimes… probably not in our children or grandchildren’s lifetimes… maybe NEVER!
I hated that… not the piece itself but the fact that it felt true at the time. I wanted them brought down… I still do.
This piece feels right in this moment. Things have been changing for a while now and actually getting the truth feels possible and… Oh so much better. I don’t know how long it will take but I want accountability… for the survivors… for our country… for everyone it touched.
At the time, “we may never know” felt like the sober read of how power usually behaves.
Institutions close ranks. Time passes. Public attention drifts. History buries the details.
You weren’t wrong to hate that feeling.
Because it does feel like surrender.
What’s different now isn’t that power suddenly got virtuous. It’s that the pressure environment shifted. More eyes. More fractures. More people who refuse to shrug and move on. That changes probabilities.
Does it guarantee full truth? No.
Does it make meaningful accountability more plausible than it was? Yes.
And...here’s the part I respect most about what you wrote...your motivation isn’t spectacle. It’s survivors. It’s country. It’s conscience.
That’s the right anchor.
“I want them brought down” is an understandable emotional response. The disciplined version of that...the one that actually wins...is “I want lawful accountability, documented truth, and consequences through process.” (And, I know that's what you meant...this is just for anyone else that might read it later)
That’s powerful. And...it’s DURABLE.
Hope...that’s grounded in strategy isn’t naïve. It’s fuel!
Thank you for restacking and pushing it outward. That’s how sustained pressure builds... not in one viral burst...but in thousands of steady hands refusing to let go.
Bullseye Jack; some of us can remember Watergate, some of us (a majority) can remember "too big to fail" and the cost to the American taxpayer. Just to mention "too big to fail" invokes a memory of those responsible for that debacle were not held accountable. America will not stand for a repeat of "too big to not be held to account"; you are exactly right to point out this is a marathon and to keep the pressure on until our government returns to the will of the people, not the Broligarchs. We pay attention to lessons learned by our Brothers and Sisters in Minnesota; march and sing and protest and do the paperwork to advance the ideals of our longfathers of old to the 250th anniversary of our nation...we go forward!!!
Watergate taught us that sunlight works. “Too big to fail” taught us what happens when accountability doesn’t follow collapse. And...once people internalize that lesson...they don’t forget it.
That memory matters.
The public has a long fuse...but it’s not infinite. When enough Americans connect the dots between power...protection...and immunity...the demand for accountability stops being partisan...and starts being structural.
You’re also right about the marathon. Pressure isn’t loud chaos...it’s sustained attention.
It’s showing up. It’s documentation. It’s paperwork. It’s marching. It’s voting. It’s refusing to normalize what shouldn’t be normalized.
We don’t move backward. We move forward...eyes open, steady...and patient.
Reading this felt like someone gently but firmly taking away the comfortable excuse of “it’s too big.” I’ve said that before — not out of ignorance, but out of exhaustion. The piece reframed that instinct as resignation rather than realism, and that landed. It’s uncomfortable to realize that cynicism can function as a release valve instead of a solution.
What really resonated was the emphasis on discipline over outrage. Anger flares and fades, but organized, sustained pressure is what actually moves institutions. That shift — from emotional reaction to procedural persistence — feels like the difference between venting and building.
This thinking asks you to zoom out even further — to see events not as isolated scandals but as stress tests on democratic habits. The real story isn’t the headline; it’s whether citizens practice patience, memory, and coordination. History isn’t watching what happens to power. It’s watching what happens to us.
I walked away not feeling hyped, but steadier. Less overwhelmed. More aware that complexity isn’t immunity — and that attention, when structured and sustained, is a form of power.
Exhaustion isn’t ignorance. It’s human. “It’s too big” feels realistic because scale is intimidating. But...you nailed the shift: when that instinct turns into disengagement...it quietly becomes permission.
And...you’re right...cynicism can feel sophisticated. It can feel like you’re seeing clearly. But...if it releases pressure instead of applying it..it ends up protecting the very things it critiques.
Discipline over outrage is the entire game.
Outrage spikes. Discipline COMPOUNDS.
When citizens trade reaction for coordination...something changes. Institutions don’t respond to noise; they respond to sustained pressure with memory behind it. That’s why patience is not passive...it’s strategic.
Your line about stress tests is especially important. Headlines are events. Habits are the real story. The question isn’t just “What will power do?” It’s “Will citizens stay steady enough to meet it?”
And...that steadiness you describe...not hyped...not panicked...just anchored...that’s the right temperature.
Thanks as always Jack. I told my students and friends you do not want to put Hillary on the proverbial stand. She will not crack and in my view will bring everyone down including Bill if necessary. Trump is scared shitless of her, Crockett and all other intelligent women, especially if they’re not white (changes the MAGA BS narrative). Oh…and be sure to eat ferments, drink raw milk and snort coke off of a toilet seat. 🤣.
There are certain figures in politics who don’t intimidate easily...and that alone changes the dynamic. Strength under pressure matters. Preparation matters. Experience matters.
And..in addition...about institutions holding. It’s about whether facts...process...and accountability still function when the pressure rises.
You’re also right about something else...authoritarian movements often underestimate smart, prepared women. That miscalculation has a long historical track record.
As for the “wellness advice” at the end there… lol...I’ll pass. I’m sticking with clarity, receipts...and a decent night’s sleep. (And just keep my fingers crossed that RFK Jr. is not IN my nightmares. That combination has a much better success rate. 😄
We stay sharp. We stay grounded. And...we keep our eyes on the structure!
We shall endeavor to persevere. This has been waged since inauguration, I don't see the war stopping anytime soon. This spectacle held in congress is another thread being pulled into a noose for this regime. I suspect the Clinton's have more than a burn book for their tet-a-tet. They aren't afraid. Every time Donald gets triggered by epstein he does another stupid deflection disaster. That's how you know it is working.
That “endeavor to persevere” mindset...is exactly what this moment demands...steady pressure...long memory...no drifting back into normalizing any of it.
And...you’re right...every time Congress pulls another thread...it tightens the spotlight.
That’s not spectacle...that’s leverage. It’s record-building...it’s accountability work...and it forces choices people would rather avoid.
I also think you’re onto something about the deflection cycle. When the Epstein subject comes up and the response is a frantic pivot...it tells you it’s a live wire. And...yes...when the pivots get sloppier...it’s a sign the pressure is landing.
I'll be honest. I'm concerned about how much $$ they have and all these warehouses they are building that are clearly meant for more than the worst of the worst. And now subpoenas for social media records to track down those who speak out against them. I think countries should be working together to being the cabal down.
I hear you. When you see huge money, rapid build-outs, and subpoenas for social media records...it feels like the walls are closing in...and that’s a legit civil-liberties alarm.
The only thing I’d caution is the “single cabal” frame. Big power often looks more unified than it is. The strongest leverage stays the same: documented facts...courts...oversight... journalism...and sustained public pressure.
And...on the international point...you’re right in principle: transnational crime does require cross-border cooperation (treaties, joint investigations, financial tracking). Sunlight + process beats panic...EVERY time.
I'm glad you're here.
-Jack
#HOLDFAST we shall, Jack! The pressure remains on, and with the targeted goal of truth finding and justice delivering in tact. Thank goodness there are capable, dedicated people who are scrutinizing files and putting information together practically around the clock! In turn, they keep us updated, and we must hang on to the facts and request action as often as it takes!
Everybody should realize that the horrific behaviors being covered up to save face of the guilty, and to preserve money rings as well, as I understand it, will not go away if we do not keep the pressure on. Further more, with such continuing mistreatment of anyone being overlooked, and nobody in this country being held accountable, no matter what position a person holds, the victims are not always somebody in the past, somebody unknown. EVERY PERSON MATTERS! EVERY PERSON DESERVES JUSTICE, AND THE NEXT VICTIM MIGHT BE SOMEBODY ANY BYSTANDER DOES KNOW AND LOVE. THE PRESSURE MUST REMAIN! PEOPLE ARE NOT IMMUNE TO DANGERS, AND WE ALL MUST CARE AND STAND UP FOR JUSTICE.
The quotation an elementary teacher once wrote on our blackboard was, “What kind of world would my world be if everybody in it was just like me?” (Of course, that leaves us all with lots of goals to achieve!)
Thank you for your encouragement and listing important steps, Jack. YOUR STEPS AND ENCOURAGEMENT OUR VALUABLE AND TOTALLY CRUCIAL!
Also, I had to laugh at your clever, extremely appropriate simile regarding the people who are trying to hide and protect the truth and their view of the public. “They’re counting on the public to flare up…scream for a week…then drift to the next outrage like a goldfish with a smartphone.”
Judy...#HOLDFAST...I love it!
You’re exactly right about the key: pressure with a clear target. Not noise. Not chaos. Truth and accountability, grounded in FACTS.
People are doing the hard...unglamorous work...tracking filings...comparing timelines...verifying claims.
Our role is to amplify what’s documented and keep pushing for lawful action...steadily and persistently.
And...yes.. no one should be above scrutiny. Position and money shouldn’t buy immunity. Every victim matters. That’s the baseline.
The way this wins isn’t louder outrage. It’s ENDURANCE.
Pressure that doesn’t fade.
I'm glad I got you to chuckle this evening..lol. We can all use all of the laughter we can get!
-Jack
Thank you, Jack! Thank you for the honesty and forthrightness of this course-correction. Your words will help move the wave of energy that is building. There is much work to do: to protect the survivors and bring them justice and healing; to bring to light the cruel abuse of children; to uncover the international blackmail and maneuverings of an elite class of global power brokers who see their fellow humans as "less than," as mindless puppets who will not do the work to bring them to accountability. They are very, very wrong.
Thank you, Stephanie...I really appreciate that.
You’re right...there’s real work here. Protect survivors... force transparency...and keep the pressure on until institutions have to answer for what they’ve protected.
The only thing I’d tighten is the “unified global cabal” framing. We don’t need a single puppet-master story to demand accountability...and that language gives critics an easy escape hatch.
What wins is disciplined focus...documented facts...specific decision-makers...lawful tools, sustained pressure. They’re arrogant...but they’re not invincible!
-Jack
I will most definitely work on the "tightening" you suggest re "unified global cabal" thinking. Truly, the work is granular, right in front of us. Human to human. Ongoing.
Thank you, Jack! How utterly horrifying that Representative Thomas Massie had to post that he’s not suicidal, in case anything happens to him! Yikes! We have to take our country back from these pedophile-protectors and oligarchs. #HoldFast
Joanne Rossmassier...know. That post stopped me cold, too.
When an elected official feels the need to publicly clarify he’s not suicidal...that tells you the temperature in this country is WAY too high. That’s not healthy civic disagreement. That’s a warning sign.
I love your deeper point: no one should be protected from scrutiny because of wealth... status...or connections.
If there’s corruption...abuse...or misconduct anywhere...it deserves daylight and lawful accountability...period.
Where we stay strongest...is keeping this anchored in facts...due process...and relentless but legal pressure.
The rule of law is the thing worth “taking back.” Not rage. Not labels. Not escalation.
#HoldFast and...hold steady. That’s how pressure turns into results!
-Jack
I was wondering where you were in your thinking on the likelihood of the Epstein files getting fully released...or perhaps it's more accurate to say packing as much of a punch as they could. I recall the post when you said you doubted it because, basically, power would protect power. Then this week (?) you posted about how we're over-praising other governments and prominent businesses because they're engaging in controlled containment versus total accountability.
I still think you made valid points in those posts. However, there really is something ginormous about this moment, and I believe a disciplined public who won't let up the pressure can crack this wider than might have seemed possible 3 weeks ago.
That said, power will continue to contract to protect power. If this cracks as wide as it could, I don't think it means that entire world systems collapse. But I do think that it moves more of us in more places in the world to a point where we recognize that there is no longer an option to "go back to normal." We're past that place. I think we're in a place where we will have rebuild or build anew.
This is a perilous time. But I believe in us.
Julie...yes...that’s a fair read of my arc...and you’re tracking the moment accurately.
A few weeks ago...my baseline was...power protects power...and the default outcome in cases like this is managed disclosure...controlled containment...selective releases...a few sacrificial actors...and a hard ceiling on anything that threatens institutions or major donors.
I still believe that baseline is real.
What’s changed is not that the system suddenly grew a conscience. What’s changed is the pressure environment...and pressure can force outcomes that “baseline power behavior” wouldn’t voluntarily allow.
So...here’s where I am now:
Full, maximum-punch release (everything, no protection): still unlikely.
Significant crack-open that lands harder than expected: MORE plausible than it was 3 weeks ago.
The difference-maker is exactly what you named...a disciplined public that doesn’t let up.
Not viral rage. Not a weekend trend. Sustained...procedural pressure that makes containment more expensive than disclosure.
And...I agree with your bigger point...even if this opens wider...it probably doesn’t “collapse world systems” overnight. But...it does accelerate something irreversible... more people in more places realizing there is NO clean return to normal.
The old assumptions (trust, legitimacy, “they’d never”) don’t come back once they’ve been shattered. They do not.
That’s why this is perilous…and why your last line matters.
I believe in us too...not as a slogan...but as a strategy; people who stay grounded...stay factual...stay organized.;.and refuse to be exhausted into silence.
#HoldFast.
-Jack
Jack this is exactly what needs to be done.We can not let this horrific group of disgusting , evil, vile persons...can not call them human as real humans would never do the things I have read were done to the girls and their babies....We must be organized and put pressure to get this to the courts and to pushed aside. This is owed to the victims that have managed to survive the abuses they incurred.
#HOLDFAST
Teri
Teri...yes. You’re tapping the EXACT nerve: the only way this dies is if people get tired and drift away. We can’t let that happen. #HOLDFAST.
And...I’m with you on the moral clarity: what was done to victims is beyond words...and the fact that anyone would protect abusers...is a stain on the whole system.
The move now is what you said: organized pressure that stays lawful...factual...and relentless ...so it actually reaches courts and decision-makers instead of getting dismissed as “outrage.”
That’s how we honor survivors: by forcing process...not just expressing horror.
Keep that energy!! Keep it focused. Keep it anchored to facts...and accountability.
Thank YOU.
-Jack
Thank you Jack for voicing what I've been feeling since Trump was elected the first time and I thought of Hitler writing "If you want to persuade the masses you must tell the most crude and stupid things." Any time spent with a history book should have made it clear what was coming. The overall response was nothing but denial and apathy. It's clear now that we must fight each and every battle no matter how small. That is how we win the war.
Gary, thank you for saying that.
A lot of people felt something was off long before they could articulate it. History doesn’t repeat word for word...but it rhymes in patterns.
Propaganda always simplifies. It always reduces complexity into emotion. And... it always counts on people underestimating it.
You’re right about denial and apathy. Those are powerful forces. NOT because people are stupid...but...because facing uncomfortable reality requires energy most people don’t want to spend.
But here’s the important part: awareness COMPOUNDS.
You’re absolutely right about the small battles. Democracies don’t collapse in one cinematic moment...and they don’t get protected in one either. It’s the unglamorous work. The local meeting. The boring paperwork. The follow-up call. The quiet persistence.
That’s how pressure builds.
And...that’s how institutions either hold… or get rebuilt stronger.
We stay steady. We stay informed. We don’t burn out. And...we don’t look away.
That’s how this is won, and damnit...we will prevail.
-Jack
Jack, I remember well when you wrote the other piece. The one that said we’d never know the truth or at least not all of it.. not in our lifetimes… probably not in our children or grandchildren’s lifetimes… maybe NEVER!
I hated that… not the piece itself but the fact that it felt true at the time. I wanted them brought down… I still do.
This piece feels right in this moment. Things have been changing for a while now and actually getting the truth feels possible and… Oh so much better. I don’t know how long it will take but I want accountability… for the survivors… for our country… for everyone it touched.
Thank you, Jack!
#HOLDFAST
~Susan
PS. ReStacking and sharing across platforms.
Susan...I remember how heavy it felt to write.
At the time, “we may never know” felt like the sober read of how power usually behaves.
Institutions close ranks. Time passes. Public attention drifts. History buries the details.
You weren’t wrong to hate that feeling.
Because it does feel like surrender.
What’s different now isn’t that power suddenly got virtuous. It’s that the pressure environment shifted. More eyes. More fractures. More people who refuse to shrug and move on. That changes probabilities.
Does it guarantee full truth? No.
Does it make meaningful accountability more plausible than it was? Yes.
And...here’s the part I respect most about what you wrote...your motivation isn’t spectacle. It’s survivors. It’s country. It’s conscience.
That’s the right anchor.
“I want them brought down” is an understandable emotional response. The disciplined version of that...the one that actually wins...is “I want lawful accountability, documented truth, and consequences through process.” (And, I know that's what you meant...this is just for anyone else that might read it later)
That’s powerful. And...it’s DURABLE.
Hope...that’s grounded in strategy isn’t naïve. It’s fuel!
Thank you for restacking and pushing it outward. That’s how sustained pressure builds... not in one viral burst...but in thousands of steady hands refusing to let go.
#HOLDFAST
-Jack
Thank you, Jack and you’re right about what I meant. Thank you for explaining it more clearly for others.
Euww 🤢‼️ that said, TGIF to you and your readers, Jack. Have a good weekend and will reStack ASAP 💯👍
Yeah, Karen. He makes my skin crawl as well.
Thank you for the reStack, Karen Scofield!
-Jack
Bullseye Jack; some of us can remember Watergate, some of us (a majority) can remember "too big to fail" and the cost to the American taxpayer. Just to mention "too big to fail" invokes a memory of those responsible for that debacle were not held accountable. America will not stand for a repeat of "too big to not be held to account"; you are exactly right to point out this is a marathon and to keep the pressure on until our government returns to the will of the people, not the Broligarchs. We pay attention to lessons learned by our Brothers and Sisters in Minnesota; march and sing and protest and do the paperwork to advance the ideals of our longfathers of old to the 250th anniversary of our nation...we go forward!!!
James Aldridge...you’re exactly right.
Watergate taught us that sunlight works. “Too big to fail” taught us what happens when accountability doesn’t follow collapse. And...once people internalize that lesson...they don’t forget it.
That memory matters.
The public has a long fuse...but it’s not infinite. When enough Americans connect the dots between power...protection...and immunity...the demand for accountability stops being partisan...and starts being structural.
You’re also right about the marathon. Pressure isn’t loud chaos...it’s sustained attention.
It’s showing up. It’s documentation. It’s paperwork. It’s marching. It’s voting. It’s refusing to normalize what shouldn’t be normalized.
We don’t move backward. We move forward...eyes open, steady...and patient.
That’s how history actually bends!
-Jack
Reading this felt like someone gently but firmly taking away the comfortable excuse of “it’s too big.” I’ve said that before — not out of ignorance, but out of exhaustion. The piece reframed that instinct as resignation rather than realism, and that landed. It’s uncomfortable to realize that cynicism can function as a release valve instead of a solution.
What really resonated was the emphasis on discipline over outrage. Anger flares and fades, but organized, sustained pressure is what actually moves institutions. That shift — from emotional reaction to procedural persistence — feels like the difference between venting and building.
This thinking asks you to zoom out even further — to see events not as isolated scandals but as stress tests on democratic habits. The real story isn’t the headline; it’s whether citizens practice patience, memory, and coordination. History isn’t watching what happens to power. It’s watching what happens to us.
I walked away not feeling hyped, but steadier. Less overwhelmed. More aware that complexity isn’t immunity — and that attention, when structured and sustained, is a form of power.
#HOLDFAST
Jane...this is such a sharp reflection.
Exhaustion isn’t ignorance. It’s human. “It’s too big” feels realistic because scale is intimidating. But...you nailed the shift: when that instinct turns into disengagement...it quietly becomes permission.
And...you’re right...cynicism can feel sophisticated. It can feel like you’re seeing clearly. But...if it releases pressure instead of applying it..it ends up protecting the very things it critiques.
Discipline over outrage is the entire game.
Outrage spikes. Discipline COMPOUNDS.
When citizens trade reaction for coordination...something changes. Institutions don’t respond to noise; they respond to sustained pressure with memory behind it. That’s why patience is not passive...it’s strategic.
Your line about stress tests is especially important. Headlines are events. Habits are the real story. The question isn’t just “What will power do?” It’s “Will citizens stay steady enough to meet it?”
And...that steadiness you describe...not hyped...not panicked...just anchored...that’s the right temperature.
That’s how you HOLDFAST.
Not rigid. Not frantic. Just firm.
And firm...wins in the long run!
-Jack
Thanks as always Jack. I told my students and friends you do not want to put Hillary on the proverbial stand. She will not crack and in my view will bring everyone down including Bill if necessary. Trump is scared shitless of her, Crockett and all other intelligent women, especially if they’re not white (changes the MAGA BS narrative). Oh…and be sure to eat ferments, drink raw milk and snort coke off of a toilet seat. 🤣.
Dr. Andrew, I hear you.
There are certain figures in politics who don’t intimidate easily...and that alone changes the dynamic. Strength under pressure matters. Preparation matters. Experience matters.
And..in addition...about institutions holding. It’s about whether facts...process...and accountability still function when the pressure rises.
You’re also right about something else...authoritarian movements often underestimate smart, prepared women. That miscalculation has a long historical track record.
As for the “wellness advice” at the end there… lol...I’ll pass. I’m sticking with clarity, receipts...and a decent night’s sleep. (And just keep my fingers crossed that RFK Jr. is not IN my nightmares. That combination has a much better success rate. 😄
We stay sharp. We stay grounded. And...we keep our eyes on the structure!
-Jack
This isn’t hopeless. It. Is. Not. Hopeless.
As usual, THANK YOU, Jack.
#HoldFast
James...my pleasure!
#HoldFast
-Jack
We shall endeavor to persevere. This has been waged since inauguration, I don't see the war stopping anytime soon. This spectacle held in congress is another thread being pulled into a noose for this regime. I suspect the Clinton's have more than a burn book for their tet-a-tet. They aren't afraid. Every time Donald gets triggered by epstein he does another stupid deflection disaster. That's how you know it is working.
Keep the faith.
Keep working.
#HoldFast
Jo Burns...I appreciate the resolve.
I’m with you.
That “endeavor to persevere” mindset...is exactly what this moment demands...steady pressure...long memory...no drifting back into normalizing any of it.
And...you’re right...every time Congress pulls another thread...it tightens the spotlight.
That’s not spectacle...that’s leverage. It’s record-building...it’s accountability work...and it forces choices people would rather avoid.
I also think you’re onto something about the deflection cycle. When the Epstein subject comes up and the response is a frantic pivot...it tells you it’s a live wire. And...yes...when the pivots get sloppier...it’s a sign the pressure is landing.
Keep the faith.
Keep working!
#HOLDFAST.
-Jack
Indeed! This regime gets my dander up and I dig my heels in. Not today devil, not today!
Discipline. #HoldFast and #FightOn
You rocked it, Sheila!
#FightOn!
-Jack
Thanks.