Dean Willis

What if, when we read a book and bump up against something that makes us uncomfortable (angry, confused, upset, offended, etc) instead of demanding the author only write what is acceptable to us, we hold that discomfort with compassion and use curiosity to see what it can teach us about ourselves?

The mainstream media loves making it seam like dysfunction in Washington is coming from both parties.

Hello?

Much of the GOP no longer accepts the rule of law, or the norms of democracy, or the legitimacy of the opposing party.

Enough of the false equivalence.

👇👇

Like everyone, I hope this is a lasting peace deal. That said, it's pretty disgusting to watch some political journalists trip over each other in competition to muse about a Nobel Peace Prize for a president who is currently deploying troops against American cities, violently weaponizing an apparently unaccountable police force against American citizens, suppressing freedom of the press, shutting down free speech for corporations and campuses to leverage bribery deals, openly threatening and cajoling federal judges, cutting many billions in foreign aid that will lead to millions of deaths globally, engaging in the extrajudicial murder of foreign citizens, placating dictatorial regimes with widely documented human rights abuses, and undermining global stability with third-rate mafia tactics. It's tragic to witness how quickly informed journalists are folding to the fascism materializing in front of us because they don't want to be targeted next.

Legacy newspapers: "Print media is dying, and the public will suffer for it."

Also legacy newspapers: "We can't offend the government with information and framing that helps the public."

Cartoon by @ivan-ehlers.bsky.social.

5/ THAT is how much contempt they have for you, America: they would rather shut down the ENTIRE GOVERNMENT than let you have Healthcare.

Never forget their craven cruelty. Make them PAY by firing every last one of them next year.

4/ This shutdown is a Republican shutdown. Democrats simply wanted to restore healthcare coverage to Americans, and the GOP couldn't accept that; they decided to shut down the government instead.

3/ They are the ones who refused to swear in a new member of the House.

And they are the ones who spread lies instead of accepting their responsibility for all of this.

2/ They are the ones who canceled meetings to discuss solutions, without cause or warning.

They are the ones who delayed having Congress come back into session.

US government shuts down after Democrats refuse to back Republican funding plan First shutdown in nearly seven years as Republicans accused of ‘risking America’s healthcare’ in spending bill

1/ The federal government has now officially shut down. And it is 100% the fault of the Republican Party.

They control the Whire House and both house of Congress.

They are the ones who refused to negotiate.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

6/ He's also showing that he can never accomplish his goal of being a "unifier" because he will never work with Democrats under any circumstances. That's because, to him, anyone with a "D" next to their name is the enemy.

There's a word for this: fascism.

5/ The difference here is that Trump is willfully admitting this for the world to see. This wasn't buried in an interview; this was posted on an open social media account viewed by millions. He's showing how craven and fascist he is for everyone to see.

4/ For example, the late George Voinovich once admitted in an interview that, per party leadership, "if [Obama] was for it, we had to be against it".

3/ That's not leadership. That's idiocy and fascism rolled into one. He's cutting off his nose to spite his face.
In a way, this is old news. Trump's actions and words have clearly shown this to be true since 2015, and the GOP has been doing it since Obama's first term.

2/ He's admitting a truth we've known all along, which is that if Democrats support something, he will oppose it. It doesn't matter what it is, he will oppose it. He'll even oppose something *he proposed* if Democrats suddenly come on board.

1/ Trump is trying to defuse the obvious truth that he wanted Siebert out because he couldn't prosecute his political opponent on entirely made-up charges. But his defense, that it's because he was supported by both of Virginia's Senators, who are Democrats, is actually even WORSE.

5/ Yet they wonder why we call them Nazis and fascists. Well, I use those words when someone is acting like it, and that is EXACTLY what certain Republicans are doing right now.

What else can you call advocating for violence against everyone who disagrees with you?

4/ They have been so brainwashed into hating anyone even *slightly* left of center that they quite literally want HALF OF THE COUNTRY to be arrested, deported, and worse. And they're saying all of this in broad daylight, for everyone to hear.

3/ And they call for revenge. Their words are nothing but hatred laced with violence.

They WANT violence.

2/ But on their personal accounts, they post repulsive lies and vitriolic hatred. They spew LITERAL Nazism (Mike Lee actually referred to "Operation Valkyrie", a plan developed by the Nazis that was later used to plan a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler).

GOP Lawmakers Are Talking Out Of Both Sides Of Their Mouths On Political Violence On different social media accounts, Republicans are simultaneously decrying and fanning violent rhetoric in response to Charlie Kirk's killing.

1/ Elected Republicans are using multiple social media accounts to simultaneously decry and call for political violence.

On their "official" accounts, they claim to abhor political violence, calling for calm and unity.
www.huffpost.com/entry/republ...

12/ If that's the calculus here, then so be it; I don't like it, but it is what it is.

11/ I don't want to see those charges be dismissed. Trump is a traitor, and he needs to be held accountable. But so do his cohorts, and in the legal system, sometimes charges against one person have to be dismissed in order to protect the overall case.

10/ . . . but Trump would file a litany of motions arguing otherwise. Plus, the resources and security needed for such a trial would be overwhelming.

9/ There is no rule or law or Constitutional provision prohibiting this (yes, I know about the DoJ's memo barring prosecution of sitting Presidents, but that only applies to the *federal* courts, and frankly that memo is wrong; it has *no* basis in history, the law, or the Constitution), . . .

8/ That being said, even if the case does proceed, I wouldn't be shocked to see a dismissal of the charges, without prejudice, against Trump. A first-year law student could EASILY convict him with the evidence we have, but trying a sitting President is no small task.

7/ The evidence is overwhelming and damning, and only a sycophant with their head firmly entrenched in Trump's colon would say otherwise; to dismiss this case would be a *massive* miscarriage of justice.

6/ So it's really going to come down to *who* is picked to run the show. If we get a Prosecutor who actually cares about the law and holding criminals accountable, they'll continue this case.

5/ Fortunately, this doesn't mean the case is dead. Per Georgia law and legal procedures, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council will now assign a new Prosecutor to run the case. They will then determine how they want to proceed.