Heather Cox Richardson, September 28, 2026, slightly edited for clarity:
Listen, things are coming at us really fast. I mean, I can’t keep up and I do this full time. So, if you just feel like your head’s going to explode, that is a reflection of just how intense the news is. And the fact that the news is so intense is a reflection of the fact that we’re in an era where one form of the country, one form of a political system, is dying and a new one is rising to take its place, but we don’t know what that new one’s going to look like yet.
So, you're kind of watching stuff die and you're seeing people putting forward their own ideas for what they want to see in the future. And those are divided pretty clearly between those of us who are trying to protect democracy, and and we have lots of different ideas about that. But we're in the bucket of trying to protect democracy.
And then we have the people who are trying to destroy democracy, either to set up a theocracy or to create sort of a a new tech world. That's been the fight that's been going on now really for a long time, but especially since the 2024 election. And that's really what's all these different things that are happening, a reflection of that struggle going on right there. So, you know, it's everywhere and you can feel the tension.
What I would really urge you to do is take a deep breath and recognize that we are, I think, 36 days out now from the midterm elections. We're putting a lot of weight on the midterms, but as I said in 2024, the sun is going to come up the day after the midterms. So, this is not a magic bullet on November 3rd or even January 3rd when the new House and Senate should be seated. This is part of a process. It's going to take us some time.
So, instead of thinking, "Oh my god, what's he done now?" and and so on, take a deep breath and think about, first of all, what you want to see in the future, but second of all, how you can make a difference in those midterms. Obviously, vote yourself, but make sure everybody you know is registered to vote. A lot of those deadlines are coming up in early October
The Kennedy Center
Steve Brodner, The Greater Quiet, Substack, September 21, 2026
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
Paul Gauguin, 1897
We Are a Nation of Immigrants
The New Colossus
by Emma Lazarus, 1883
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Immigrants Have Rights
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- Timothy Snyder: Thinking about…
Definitions For These Times*
authoritarianism: a government favoring a concentration of power in a leader or an elite not constitutionally responsible to the people
autocracy: government in which one person possesses unlimited power
oligarchhy: a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes
kleptocracy: government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed
plutocracy: government by the wealthy
dictator: one holding complete autocratic control : a person with unlimited governmental power
tyranny: a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler
narcissist: an extremely self-centered person who has an exaggerated sense of self-importance
psychopath: a mentally unstable person; especially : a person having an egocentric and antisocial personality marked by a lack of remorse for one's actions, an absence of empathy for others, and often criminal tendencies
shambolic: obviously disorganized or confused
xenophobe: one unduly fearful of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin
nativism: a policy of favoring native inhabitants as opposed to immigrants
gestapo: a secret-police organization employing underhanded and terrorist methods against persons suspected of disloyalty
storm Trooper: a member of a private Nazi army notorious for aggressiveness, violence, and brutality; one that resembles a Nazi storm trooper
secret police: a police organization operating for the most part in secrecy and especially for the political purposes of its government often with terroristic methods
totalitarian: of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the nation especially by coercive measures (such as censorship and terrorism)
misogeny: hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women
despot: one exercising power tyrannically: a person exercising absolute power in a brutal or oppressive way
sycophant: a servile self-seeking flatterer
perjury: the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath: false swearing
corruption: dishonest or illegal behavior especially by powerful people (such as government officials or police officers)
gaslight: to grossly mislead or deceive (someone) especially for one's own advantage
treason: Treason as a federal crime is defined in the U. S. Constitution, Article III, Section 3: Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort
Dictionary definition of treason: (1) the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance or to kill or personally injure the sovereign or the sovereign's family (2) the betrayal of a trust: treachery
Note: An individual’s actions may be described as treasonous according to the common, dictionary meaning of the word while those actions may not fulfill the legal, federal definition according to the U.S. Consitution.
depraved: marked by corruption or evil
misinformation: incorrect or misleading information
disinformation: false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth
extraordinary rendition: the seizure and transfer of a person suspected of involvement with a terrorist group to another country for imprisonment and interrogation without legal process (such as the naming of charges, legal representation, or trial)
usurpation: unauthorized arbitrary assumption and exercise of power especially as infringing on others' rights
meme: an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) or genre of items that is spread widely online especially through social media
megalomania: a delusional mental illness that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur
demagogue: political leader who appeals to popular prejudices and who makes false claims and promises in order to gain power
imbecile: a foolish or stupid person
slush fund: a fund for bribing public officials or carrying on corruptive propaganda; an unregulated fund often used for illicit purposes