Jack is correct. What happened today at the Supreme Court was not an ending. It was a calibration. Autocracies do not consolidate power through single decisive moments — they consolidate it by measuring the distance between what they do and how much resistance follows. Each ruling that produces outrage but no sustained action teaches the next ruling what it can afford to do. This is not a theory. It is a documented pattern. The Compromise of 1877 did not end Reconstruction in a day. It ended it by demonstrating, incrementally, that the federal government would not pay the cost of enforcement. The Court learned that lesson. It has not forgotten it.
Thank you, Jack. I felt the knot.. that sick feeling. Honestly, I hadn’t realized the ruling was coming down yesterday. I’ve been preoccupied lately. Still here… still engaged but on a different level. It caught me off guard and shook me to my core. Your free piece was already out so I went there and read… Yeah, as bad as I thought and then the paid piece… worse than I thought.
2:46 am… Can’t sleep. Trying to read because I can’t solve it tonight… or at all. Tomorrow I’ll pull it back together and continue the fight… apply the pressure because I refuse to give up. We can never give up. The paid piece allowed for a tiny pinpoint of light and I’m walking toward it… I’ll keep walking until there’s nowhere else to go.
Thank you for this, Jack. I’m glad I’m here with you and this community. It’s grounding and somehow comforting. We’re not alone.
Thank you Jack for the reminder that we are not powerless as long as we vote!
Some action items:
First we vote in numbers that they can’t cheat to overcome
(how many of the voters that republicans are counting on will not vote republican as expected)
Next we demand our new democratic majority hold these lying cheating bastards accountable
And finally demand our representatives enact Supreme Court reforms to end the current blatant corruption of the SCOTUS
Things like term limits or age limits - or removal if they don’t follow what they said in their confirmation hearing
(Current confirmation hearings are a joke to get past so they can follow their real agenda)
And with Supreme Court reform take the unlimited contributions out of our elections! and get rid of gerrymandering and the electoral college and go by the actual vote count
#Holdfast speaks volumes! No time to bury one's head in the sand. Make your voice heard through your power to vote, your power to educate, your power to message your elected officials. It is a steep road ahead but we conquer it with each small step we take forward!
I read a wonderful article on Medium yesterday by one of my Boomer compadres, about re-reading Lord of the Rings after a lifetime. I first read it early in high school, and then listened to the entire audiobook in 2021 to carry me through very painful shoulder physical therapy homework.
"The LOTR is the perfect story for the current crisis that besets a world which is increasingly declining into autocracy and war. Set in a world of epic heroes and villains but focusing on the ordinary folk, the hobbits, who aren’t made for adventure, but when it comes down to it, do the right thing and persevere with no real hope of success. They just keep going, because they understand that there’s good in this world worth fighting for. Frodo teaches us about endurance and compassion, because it is ultimately his compassion (and at a key point, Sam’s also) which spares Gollum and that ultimately saves the world.
Like the hobbits, we are dealing with crises that are upending our lives, and we wish they had never happened. But as Gandalf says, 'So do all who live to see such time, but that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.'”
Just when you think the courts will have to #HoldFast, SCOTUS does the most damage, predictably. They are hell-bent on taking away our rights. Thank you for the motivation to keep going even when days look darkest.
We as a citizenry have failed to take the ample warning signs over the last decade or so seriously. The Supreme Court decision should put to rest the idea that "this isn't who we are." It certainly is who some of us are, but not the majority. How big a majority remains to be seen.
Jack is correct. What happened today at the Supreme Court was not an ending. It was a calibration. Autocracies do not consolidate power through single decisive moments — they consolidate it by measuring the distance between what they do and how much resistance follows. Each ruling that produces outrage but no sustained action teaches the next ruling what it can afford to do. This is not a theory. It is a documented pattern. The Compromise of 1877 did not end Reconstruction in a day. It ended it by demonstrating, incrementally, that the federal government would not pay the cost of enforcement. The Court learned that lesson. It has not forgotten it.
Thank you for that reminder! Time to move forward more determined!
Certainly, Jan. Forward...more determined...we go!
-Jack
This news today just shattered me. Thanks for helping me pick myself back up.
Susan...you're welcome.
-Jack
Thank you, Jack. I felt the knot.. that sick feeling. Honestly, I hadn’t realized the ruling was coming down yesterday. I’ve been preoccupied lately. Still here… still engaged but on a different level. It caught me off guard and shook me to my core. Your free piece was already out so I went there and read… Yeah, as bad as I thought and then the paid piece… worse than I thought.
2:46 am… Can’t sleep. Trying to read because I can’t solve it tonight… or at all. Tomorrow I’ll pull it back together and continue the fight… apply the pressure because I refuse to give up. We can never give up. The paid piece allowed for a tiny pinpoint of light and I’m walking toward it… I’ll keep walking until there’s nowhere else to go.
Thank you for this, Jack. I’m glad I’m here with you and this community. It’s grounding and somehow comforting. We’re not alone.
#Holdfast
~Susan
Susan...thank you for this.
The 2:46 am knot is real...and you were not sitting with it alone last tonight.
The pinpoint of light you are walking toward is enough. That is the WHOLE assignment... NOT to solve it tonight...just to keep walking.
Get some rest when you can. The fight will still be here. So will we.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Thank you, Jack.
Susan, daughter sent a message that said,”MOM, why do you keep sending me messages with paywalls?!” LOL
Sorry, I thought she was reading them, but she was sparing her “igmo” mama’s feelings. 🙄
Who taught her THAT?
Same for me.
Always good to see you here, Rae!
-Jack
Thank you Jack for the reminder that we are not powerless as long as we vote!
Some action items:
First we vote in numbers that they can’t cheat to overcome
(how many of the voters that republicans are counting on will not vote republican as expected)
Next we demand our new democratic majority hold these lying cheating bastards accountable
And finally demand our representatives enact Supreme Court reforms to end the current blatant corruption of the SCOTUS
Things like term limits or age limits - or removal if they don’t follow what they said in their confirmation hearing
(Current confirmation hearings are a joke to get past so they can follow their real agenda)
And with Supreme Court reform take the unlimited contributions out of our elections! and get rid of gerrymandering and the electoral college and go by the actual vote count
JM...thank you.
Real action list...and the ORDER matters:
Win first, hold accountable second, reform third.
Most people flip those. November is the precondition for EVERYTHING else...term limits... ending the money...ending the gerrymander.
NONE of it happens...without the majorities...FIRST.
Keep this list. Send it to people.
#HoldFast
-Jack
A shattered Glass is much more sharp. And now you know exactly who your friends are. - TS, Cancelled
Superb, Spiderwoman.
-Jack
Never give up. NEVER surrender. - - Galaxy Quest
We will NOT go quietly into the night! - - Independence Day
I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer. - - Dune
Tamie...you brought the right toolkit.
Galaxy Quest...Independence Day...and Dune in one comment...is three generations of "we are not done yet"...stacked into ONE breath.
The Bene Gesserit had it right...FEAR is what they are counting on. Without it...the architecture they built today...does NOT work.
We...are still in this.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Wow, you put that out there with perfect words. Thank you for the wisdom and motivation!
RS Clark...thank you for the kind words. You're most welcome!
-Jack
Standing, Ready and Able 💪💪💪
Diane...never doubted it for a minute!
-Jack
Jack, You’re the best, Thank You! 💙🍀✌🏽(PS Feel better already, thx)
Joanne...I appreciate that. Truly. Thank YOU! :)
-Jack
It’s true!
#Holdfast speaks volumes! No time to bury one's head in the sand. Make your voice heard through your power to vote, your power to educate, your power to message your elected officials. It is a steep road ahead but we conquer it with each small step we take forward!
Kristine...you named the three powers EXACTLY right.
1. Vote.
2. Educate,
3. Message.
That is the WHOLE toolkit...and...most people only ever pick up ONE of the three.
Anyone using ALL three...is doing the actual work. The road is steep. The steps are small. The direction...is forward.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Thank you! 🪽
Jennifer...you're welcome!
-Jack
I read a wonderful article on Medium yesterday by one of my Boomer compadres, about re-reading Lord of the Rings after a lifetime. I first read it early in high school, and then listened to the entire audiobook in 2021 to carry me through very painful shoulder physical therapy homework.
I'm going to push the limits of fair use and quote extensively because it's so good. Please read the whole thing and give a clap if you have access. https://medium.com/@matherscd/on-re-reading-the-lord-of-the-rings-more-than-50-years-later-82a7b47af551
"The LOTR is the perfect story for the current crisis that besets a world which is increasingly declining into autocracy and war. Set in a world of epic heroes and villains but focusing on the ordinary folk, the hobbits, who aren’t made for adventure, but when it comes down to it, do the right thing and persevere with no real hope of success. They just keep going, because they understand that there’s good in this world worth fighting for. Frodo teaches us about endurance and compassion, because it is ultimately his compassion (and at a key point, Sam’s also) which spares Gollum and that ultimately saves the world.
Like the hobbits, we are dealing with crises that are upending our lives, and we wish they had never happened. But as Gandalf says, 'So do all who live to see such time, but that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.'”
Just when you think the courts will have to #HoldFast, SCOTUS does the most damage, predictably. They are hell-bent on taking away our rights. Thank you for the motivation to keep going even when days look darkest.
We as a citizenry have failed to take the ample warning signs over the last decade or so seriously. The Supreme Court decision should put to rest the idea that "this isn't who we are." It certainly is who some of us are, but not the majority. How big a majority remains to be seen.
Brilliant Jack.. CLARITY that’s exactly it. Sustained action and determination..