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Jackie Roberts's avatar

Great analogy. There are some days that I wonder how to make it to the next rock.. but here we are! Tx so much!!

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Love this, Jackie...and I’m glad it landed. That’s the whole game: not the desert...not the distance…just the next rock. Ten feet. Then ten more. On the bad days, “next rock” thinking beats motivation every time.

You’re here...which means you’re winning. Keep shrinking the fight to what’s in front of you and refuse to negotiate with the voice that says “later.” I’ll keep sending the Daily Kick; you keep moving rock to rock.

If you want extra accountability...hit reply with the one rock you’re taking this week. I’ll look for the follow-up. Proud to have you in the inner circle.

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Jackie Roberts's avatar

Actually packing to see my daughter in Germany! There is nothing more sobering than walking through public cemetaries and seeing graves of “soldiers” who were very young teens killed toward the end of WW2, to make you realize that this is where the tire meets the road.

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Libbey Dem's avatar

Same!

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Robert W. Oliver's avatar

“Just know the next step.” Good work, Jack!

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Thank you, Robert. I'm glad you like it.

-Jack

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Rachel C's avatar

My therapist says The First Ten Seconds are the Hardest 👹

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

I like that. I REALLY like that, Rachel.

-Jack

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Cherae Stone's avatar

I like your therapist.

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Alissa Resch's avatar

Love this!

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Glad to hear it, Alissa!

-Jack

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Joan Day's avatar

Thanks, Jack. This story has inspired me. 🖕🏼the pedo prez.

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

That’s exactly the fire I’m talking about, Joan. Glad the story lit that fuse for you.

Because the truth is...tyrants...predators...and strongmen all run on the same fuel: our silence. Every time we refuse to bow...every time we speak plain and fight back...they lose power.

Stay sharp. Stay pissed. And keep that middle finger aimed where it belongs...while you keep moving forward one rock at a time. Proud to have you in the fight with me.

-Jack

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Kelly Rundel's avatar

Ditto

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ken benuska's avatar

Thanks, Jack. It’s you and MeidasTouch I just got back into the war. Too many tears to fight through. trump’s mishandling of Covid put the blood of hundreds of thousands of Americans on trump’s hands. Project 2025 was out in the open with trump’s cronies authorship. Blatant Russian connections throughout trump’s adulthood into and including the presidency.

trump’s father worked with the Russian Mob. trump is in bed with the Russians. trump undercut Epstein for a property and sold it shortly afterwards for double the money to a Russian Fertilizer oligarch. Epstein threatened to sue trump over aforementioned property deal and trump ratted him out to the FBI and Epstein’s legal shitstorm began. Or so the story goes. Speaker Johnson and a prominent republican woman (name escapes me) inadvertently…? proclaimed trump a hero because he ratted out Epstein to the FBI. Let’s see testimony and documents related to the real estate deals concerning trump, Russian oligarch and Epstein (may be in the Epstein Files?).

trump likes to play dress-up hero so why does he now call everything having to do with Epstein a hoax while at the same time prominent republicans are calling him a hero (RAT)?

I came back because finally a prominent Democratic Figure decided to kick-ass in the only way a bully understands. When that mother fucking Orange Shit-Stain is down kick the fucking hell out of him. I don’t give a fuck what you or I think of Newsom. But mocking that drug-addled Piece of Trash woke me up.

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

You just put your finger on something most people miss, Ken: anger isn’t weakness...it’s fuel. You fought through the tears and now you’re back in the war...and that’s exactly what tyrants fear most. Because when good people get back up...pissed off and unafraid to swing...the game changes.

You’re dead right about Trump’s trail of rot...from Covid to Epstein to Russia. He’s not a mastermind...he’s a parasite who survives by latching onto bigger predators and selling out anyone who gets in his way.

That’s why he ratted...that’s why he denies...that’s why he flips the script on Epstein. He’s no hero...he’s the same rat he’s always been.

And you nailed it on Newsom, too. It’s not about liking him...loving him...or even trusting him. It’s about finally seeing a Democrat who understands that you don’t plead with bullies...you knock them on their ass and keep kicking until they stop getting up.

Welcome back in the fight. Stay sharp...stay loud...and never forget: the only thing that beats organized money and organized power is organized fury. And that’s what we’re building here...rock by rock...story by story.

-Jack

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Wende Wylie's avatar

Makes sense. I can do that. Thank you!

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Wende, "I can do that" is about as beautiful a response as there is. You're welcome.

-Jack

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Julie  Stokes's avatar

I can do that … thank you🥰

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Julie....I'm liking that response...a LOT.

-Jack

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Randy S. Eisenberg's avatar

Sounds like the no doubt apocryphal tale of Gene Roddenberry’s similar incident. I believe the not-just-a-comic comic “The Oatmeal” did a strip about it years ago. I’ll see if I can find a link if anyone cares. Or not, just because.

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Ha...I love that you brought up Roddenberry, Randy.. Even if half the stories about him are apocryphal...the fact they stick tells you something: people remember grit...defiance...and characters who wouldn’t fold when life swung.

And you’re right..."The Oatmeal" did riff on that one. Those kinds of stories...whether 100% true or not...work because they plant the same seed: toughness is contagious. It spreads faster than fear if we keep telling it.

If you find that link...drop it. Either way...thanks for reminding us that sometimes a story outlives the facts because the lesson is what matters.

-Jack

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Cherae Stone's avatar

Yes, please.

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Randy S. Eisenberg's avatar

After all you’ve given us, it’s the least. (I’ve read enough about The Great Bird of the Galaxy to have a more .. um.. rounded perspective). https://theoatmeal.com/comics/plane

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Pamela Van Sickle's avatar

Thank you Jack. Some days feel almost impossible to get to the next rock as Jackie said. I am not much younger than the treasous mfr so I am putting lots of hope into my children and grandchildren who are just as passionate about this as I am. I hope there will be something left to salvage.

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Jo Burns's avatar

Thanks! I reminds me of the analogy ‘baby steps’. Everything should be done in doable chunks. It is less overwhelming and each minute move gets you closer to the goal. Great reminder!

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Moon's avatar

“…a series of immediate…winnable steps. You just need to know the next step”.

That’s great advice, thanks Jack!

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Cherae Stone's avatar

Have you read “Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why” by Laurence Gonzales!

Just started it yesterday. You might like it.

Oh! And one of my fave tag lines:

Next Best Step!

Brings me back to center when I start to scramble.

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Lennie Eichman's avatar

The analogy reminds me of the process of recovery. One foot in front of the other, a minute, an hour, a day at a time. I've witnessed this over and over. Thank you.

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Tom Schell's avatar

Jack- you’re helping/fueling/motivating

to build an army nobody will see until it’s time to act in unison.

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Joan's avatar

Perfect advice for many problems big and small that face us. Just take that first step! I've signed up for some advice from the ACLU on how to help and protect our immigrants in the community. Going today to a meet a candidate for the our next midterm congressional election. Lots of new faces and hope to meet them all and see if they have the "grit" for this fight.

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