INTO THE FUTURE?

By Ruth A. Sheets

Recently when I was reading comments on Robert Reich’s Substack, I read a note from someone I often respond to, I just  had to jump in.  Below is her comment and my response.  I think I commented as I did because I am so frustrated with Democrats these days going after other Democrats, whining that Dems are doing nothing, are weak, and on and on.  It is rather disgusting and very Republican, but I suspect as human beings, those attributes can be present no matter the political party.  The difference, Democrats even in squabbling and blaming have more ideas for the benefit of this nation and world than Republicans have had in more than a century and that is not an exaggeration! 

Comment:

“My MAGA family says that "it was Democrats winning only Blue States last Tuesday. Haha! Big deal." I told them that I hope they keep thinking that way. And I do. That way, they won't be ready when we have even more forward momentum. This win has to be something that gives us more courage and strength. We can't use it as an excuse to sit back and put up our feet.”

Here's my response. 

Donna, you are so right.  Because Democrats have not acted like major bullies, wrecking balls, and terrorists as Republicans have, we are seen to be weak, while it is we who are holding things together in communities, states, and beyond.  It is we who will do our best to see that even Republicans on SNAP and Medicaid get their funds restarted.  It is we Democrats that will stand by our schools and the education even of Republican children when their religious voucher school kicks their child out because he/she is just not the right kind of person.  We will stand by science and research that will make life better for many, in the face of manufactured fear.  We will push local governments to step up when the Republicans that were elected betray those who elected them. 

In conclusion:

We will have to call out the lies that come from the Repubs in power every single day, over and over.  We need to be energized so we can stand the fallout from scared Republicans and others who have no clue what is really going on because their faces and brains have been stuck to Fox and the rest of the right-wing media whose mission is to wreck our democracy in favor of who knows what.  They do know what Trump and his handlers are, so, it is anti-American that they keep pumping out the lies on their behalf.  We need to be on this case all the time and not let the ignorance/ignorants win.

LOOKING AT MONEY, LIES, AND GOD

By Ruth A. Sheets

November 6, 2025

I just finished reading an important book by Katherine Stewart, Money, Lies, and God.  The author describes 4 Key steps necessary to indoctrinate a population of disempowered and aggrieved people into believing the “Big Lie.”  The “Lie” has several parts including:  America is being run by anti-God left-wingers out to take away their rights to worship as they wish; forcing women to “kill babies in their mommy’s tummy;” and whatever threat the “Christian Nationalists” come up with to blame “the godless.  Stewart says that without such indoctrination, no “lie” can take hold.  Lies, it seems, are the coin of the realm for those rich mostly white men in charge, who want to energize the group of desperate angry white people, often not more than a paycheck away from disaster.  

1. “Build an information bubble within which supporters can be maintained in a state of ‘fact-denial,’” a safe, comfortable  space for conservatives.  “Right-wing media” are easily co-opted and skew data and coverage to those in the bubble.  For example, they ignored Trump’s “problems” which should have been seen as unacceptable behavior, while emphasizing Hillary Clinton’s emails, Biden’s age, and Kamala Harris’s supposed “left-wing” positions.  Christian ministers spew those ideas from their pulpits.  Other right-wing organizations target specific groups:  mothers, Latinas, and faith leaders.   
2.  The message must push the idea that the people should expect an “imminent cataclysmic event that will threaten its identity and everything it values.”  The message must blame someone for this upcoming event, in this case, “the bad guys look like liberals.”
3. “Transfer the perceived source of political legitimacy from democratic processes like elections and law-enforcement mechanisms to ‘higher’ authorities that allegedly represent the true spirit of the nation.”  This approach lets people come to believe that a minority (those rich white guys pushing the message) has “a providential role in ruling the whole.”  That coalition they build “will govern for 100 years,” as Steve Bannon bragged in a Virginia rally in 2021.  
4. “Undermine at every opportunity, public confidence in the democratic process.  Trump got his part of the process going when in 2016 and in a debate in 2020, he indicated he would not necessarily accept the result  of the election.  He continues to claim with no evidence, the election results in 2020 were corrupted.  Lying is Trump’s modus operandi. 

 

Stewart says the worst part of the sewing of distrust by Trump and his team is that it  is “aimed squarely at those parts of the population that already have some reason to distrust the system.” 

 

Since the January 6^th coup attempt, the “christian nationalists” have been reworking their response related to those who went to the capital, were peaceful, were good guys standing for our democracy,  were victims of a Democrat plot to keep the National Guard away letting ANTIFA rioters get out of control.  There seems to be no stopping this swarm of Jan. 6^th lies from the “right,” hoping to rewrite history here.  As  with their other attempts, it is failing so far because the truth of what happened is in the world, at least for now, for all to read/view, if those caught up in the big lie  choose to check it out.   The problem, “christian nationalist leaders “continue to prime the base for the next ‘Big Lie,’” and they want to be sure those folks are ready. 

 

Rich Catholics and evangelicals, as well as others want to get in on the “power” game.  They have a lot at risk - their wealth.

 

Stewart believes there is room for hope.  She points out this is not the first time America has faced this “pro-authoritarian rodeo.”  In the past, justice has prevailed against the robber barons, the Jim Crow domination, and others, although imperfectly.  She hopes, as I do, these anti-American movers and shakers will disappear into the pages of history as the “religious” pro-fascists have done in the past.  She points out some important facts we can respond to.

1. We are still the majority. – the “christian nationalists are not, and do not speak for us.  We must work to keep our “Big Tent” together and mobilize.
2. They are divided.  A group of unlike-minded people are wrapped in a bundle of incompatible beliefs, relying on the money of a few rich folks who have power and privilege, who prey on those they are courting.  This set of weaknesses must be exploited by the rest of us!  Keep in mind that the “have nothings” are not leading this set of actions; it is the “have everythings.”  
3. Separation of church and state is a good idea that should be tried.  The religious leaders involved in the anti-democracy movement (whatever they choose to call it) are getting benefits from our government as it ignores the money they take in, without taxes, while espousing anti-American language through political campaigns in their “houses of worship.”  That is not “freedom of religion!”  
4. Extreme levels of material inequality are eroding democracy. The tax system is letting the already-too-rich continue to accumulate over everyone else.  This does not make them smarter, just able to exploit a flawed system.
5. Knowledge is power.  The pro-democracy movement must promote and support public education that is “accountable to the public and truth.”  The anti-democratic movement wants to keep people from questioning them and their allegiance to the idea that “market forces will solve all their problems.”  Those in power in that movement are scared by a student body educated to think for themselves.  They prefer us to think ignorance is preferable to having a “free people.”  The media wants to believe it is being “balanced” when in reality, it is “breathing air into the bellows of anti-democratic propaganda,” and sharing lies and misinformation, free of charge!           
6. Organization matters.  The success of the theocrats and other anti-democracy groups is a product of their ability to organize and invest their money in “the people and infrastructure of an anti-democratic shadow party.” To counter, we need to use some of their strategies:

1. Think long-term – we cannot correct this in one election, so plan ahead too.
2. Invest in organizations and people who can get things done.
3. Build coalitions – skip the “purity cliques and connect across previously held lines even if all beliefs are not shared.
4. Go Local.  This is beginning, but must be expanded.  Support local schools, community-improvement groups.  Bring your faith community to stand on the side of justice and democracy.  Join with others working on local causes:  voting, reaching out to non-voters to get them involved; run for office; work for improved conditions in the community. 

 

We all must be active standing for the common good, not for the good of those who would prefer us to be their minions, their subjects with no power.  

The Art of the Con

By Ruth A. Sheets

I support several threads on the Substack platform and regularly respond to people’s comments.  I responded to a recent comment by Mary Trump on her Substack thread “The Good In Us,” about people being conned into supporting Donald Trump, who has no clue.  I wrote the following (with a few updates).

It is truly sad so many Americans would prefer to blindly follow an old man with dementia than stop to think  then ask, why.  Trump has been a con artist all his life, nothing new. 

I suppose the conning art has been with us from the beginnings of humanity.  We learn about it over time through actions we would consider ridiculous.  But, the cons got more sophisticated over the centuries, or rather  the artists procured more assistants who can modify the message to suit the tastes of whoever is being targeted.  Right now, Trump’s targets are vulnerable people being used by corporations, men of wealth, and a political system that promotes grift that catches people in its nets set out here to snare those who have grievances. 

The “catch” happens often when power resides in the hands of totally unqualified folks who have been supported and popularized by men who have an agenda that includes power for themselves.  Those folks want an ignorant con artist, Donald Trump, to procure what they want.  Today's actors include the members of Trump's "cabinet," none of whom is qualified for the job they hold and none have the interests of the American people in mind.  Joined with them are the Steves, Miller and Bannon, JD Vance, and the rich fools:  Theil, Vought, Musk, and a bunch of other billionaires who believe themselves entitled because of some kind of brilliance they believe they have, also wanting a gigantic slice of the American pie. 

With so much control of our media held by wealthy corporate America, that vulnerable crowd can be courted hour after hour, with lies, disinformation, and gaslit to the Con's heart's content.  Those folks have been permitted to gain far too much wealth for their own good and ours.  They buy seats in Congress often for ignorant or inexperienced white folks who will do the bidding of the far too rich.  They have even gotten their supporters on our courts since there are no real qualifications for seats in our critical judiciary system or anything else related to our government.  Heck, they don't even have to know our Constitution, something we see proven daily.  

I wrote this response, wondering if there were anything we could do to cut the reach and power of the wealth being used against the American people for the benefit of some kind of oligarchic system that lets rich white men rule.  Such a system should be acceptable to no one!  However, over time, we have been courted with a host of programs glorifying rich folks, even their criminal behavior as though it were an entertainment in real life as in our media. We are not amused! (or entertained) 

Happy Halloween!  We certainly do have “evil” ghouls and goblins haunting our congress and nearly every part of our government right now.  It’s too bad we can’t just exorcize them!

MESSING WITH OUR HIGHER EDUCATION

 

By Ruth  A. Sheets

You have probably heard that the Trump Regime is asking nine U.S. universities to sign an agreement pledging to uphold the regime’s higher education priorities, or risk losing out on a range of grants and other financial assistance for the university’s research and other programs, and it is likely those are just the first.  That is a kind of blackmail and totally unacceptable. 

So far, 5 universities have said “”NO,” but 4 still have not responded.  I just learned Vanderbilt, my alma mater,  is one of those universities being “offered” this compact and has not responded.

The major stipulations are not items any government should be demanding of any educational institution at any level.

According to Wikipedia, Key Demands of the Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education include:

• Capping international undergraduate students at 15% of the total student body.

• Freezing tuition rates for five years. (the only one that could be good)

• Adopting policies that prevent the belittling of conservative ideas and ensure First Amendment rights are upheld on campus.

• Implementing admissions practices that do not consider sex, ethnicity, race, nationality, political views, or other similar factors.

View source at wikipedia.org …

I had heard, but not been able to confirm that Vanderbilt was talking about ditching their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in student acceptance.  I received an email from Chancellor Daniel Diermeier this evening.  Here is the final paragraph of that email.

Vanderbilt believes deeply in the power of constructive dialogue, particularly among people of differing views and perspectives. This is often how the greatest progress is made.  We look forward to continuing the conversation—on our campus and with leaders in government and higher education—as we work toward our shared goal of restoring public trust in higher education and ensuring that America’s universities remain the best in the world.  

It sounds to me as though compliance is in the offing.  The following is my response to the email.  
 

Hello Vanderbilt Administration” 

I noticed in this email that students were only mentioned at the very end along with parents and alumni as commenters.  It seems to me that there should be some students involved in the compact discussion.  I am sure you are aware that this is not a compact at all, but a desire of those who have no idea what they are doing, to force colleges and Universities to do the bidding of those who have no clue but want power over and compliance in advance from those institutions. 

I am sure you know this, so I don’t understand this talk about sharing different points of view.  When, in a democracy, one side wants to take over the universities, media, education in general and pretty much everything else, that is not differing points of view, that is “Truth” in the face of autocracy which is made up of lies, cheating, fraud, and dismissal of the thoughts, needs, and beliefs of others.  In this case, for this regime pumping out something as appalling as this “compact” the only folks worth listening to are rich, white, pseudochristian, “straight” men.  To the regime, the rest of us are irrelevant, worthy of only being bossed around by and made subservient to those rich white etc. men.  If you are not sure of that, this Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies and marches should have let you know. 

 I admit I will be very disappointed, perhaps even quite angry if Vanderbilt submits to this undemocratic, unamerican nonsense by Trump and his project 2025ers, all done for their own gains and the gains of their billionaire sponsors, and election buyers. 

Signed, Ruth Sheets, Vanderbilt 1975 & 1988         

 I don’t know if this will have an impact, I’m guessing not because it seems only the Administration and a few department heads will be making the decision.  I hope enough students, parents, and alums have told them we do not want compliance; We want defiance!

WHAT DEMOCRATS ARE UP AGAINST AND CAN DO!

By Ruth A. Sheets

Have you noticed that Trump is pumping up hatred even beyond what he has done in the past?  I suspect it is because he and his crew are recognizing that people are not supporting him 100%, even mocking him. 

Trump’s toddler pool of some of the worst of America: Steve Miller, Russell Vought, the incompetent cabinet, congressional AND STATE Republican LEGISLATORS, and the Supreme Court Roberts 6, are trying to steer this ship to fascism with them in charge. That way, they and their billionaire string-pullers can get even more power and money.  Unfortunately, they are proving they’ll do whatever it takes to get it (except actual work on their part).  One of their current weapons is using Trump's known hatreds to do actual harm to our nation’s Democratically run cities and states.

Trump’s “crew” is a cesspool of whiny white boys who must not have had enough bullying in their lives already and at a high enough level that they have to make sure they get a lot of practice for their Baby Donnie, a bully who like many bullies is a coward.

For the toddler pool, it's like playing a war video game with no actual risk to themselves. However as anyone who is paying attention can tell you, if it were a real video game, their character would be dead from incompetence.

In real life, the REGIME KEEPS on keeping on because they have a lot of MAGA sympathizers, people who choose ignorance, compliance, and subservience, to thinking, considering, and principles. OK, a moral compass is also missing and that is pretty important for navigating politics and well, life itself.

The old Democratic structure and practices will not work in the face of this onslaught.  We need a strong different, positive  approach with ideas and practices that will catch the attention of people who don’t like what is going on AND KNOW THEY DESERVE BETTER. 

• We will benefit from a shadow government with those “fired” federal experts, keeping track of what the Trump Klan does not want known.  These are enormously talented people who  could step in to monitor what is HAPPENING, with systems they previously USED.
• Follow court cases and provide information to those standing for clients against the regime. 
• There must be young people and some older folks too who know computer systems and can counter some of the damage being done to our government systems.  Get them involved!, 
• We will benefit from a powerful media online and over the airwaves who will get the truth out to people across the country, countering the constant lying of this regime.  We can use some catchy tunes promoting our democracy and scorning/MOCKING the regime. 
• We need more anti-MAGA artwork everywhere with a clear purpose.
• More people need to visit museums and historical sites that celebrate the people Trump and his Klan hate.   
• Teachers must tell students the truth carefully while encouraging the students to research and think for themselves when they hear something said then recognize the students’ efforts.
• Push civics lessons from kindergarten onward that teach about rights and responsibilities in a democracy using cartoons, movies, graphic and other novels, plays, books, art, and more, culminating in a high school course that ties together what has been learned throughout the public school years, MAKING IT INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT.
• Buy “banned” books and get reviews out everywhere of those books
• Show up next Saturday for the “No Kings” rally #2 wherever you are or are willing to go!  It is important.  Help others to get out there too.
• Keep going with the petitions, phone calls, in-person connections with representatives, and anything else that comes to mind to let folks know how we feel and what we think should be done.  Maybe post this list asking for additional ideas for things we can do.

We can do this if we have the will and choose to find people to provide the leadership (or step UP ourselves), and look for support at all levels.  The leaders are out here and they are of all ages and backgrounds!  We need you, “Come out come out wherever you are!”

WE MUST DO BETTER!

By Ruth A. Sheets

September 30, 2025

 It seems to me our Democratic leadership is not even playing on the same field as Republicans.  Perhaps, Democratic leaders are too much of the past to even imagine the EVIL that is the childish Donald Trump and the way he is being "helped along" by his sycophantic toddler pool, led by Steve Miller, Russell Vought, John Roberts, and some other ghouls hiding in the shadows.  The toddler pool has no guardrails on their behavior or their desire for supreme power.  They want to be victorious comic book bad guys while pretending they are the "saviors of mankind" and I do mean MANKIND. 

 This crew is delighted with its good fortune, having taken over most of our nation’s institutions after 5 decades of preparation and sometimes narrow escapes from detection.  They ran an insurrection on January 6, 2021, called by the incompetent president, and literally got  away with it.  Donald Trump was the perfect figurehead for their aims: 

• Trump is ignorant of most things unless specifically pertaining to himself
• He is well-known for being a “great businessman” when he was nothing of the kind
• he was a reality TV “star” whose acting was pathetic, but won the hearts of people who want to believe in fantasy, and love bullies
• he learned from an unscrupulous man, Roy Cohn, to bamboozle enough of the crowd they won’t notice what is really going on
• he has money, not nearly the amount he claims, but is desperate for more

 

The cadre of anti-Americans tried several names for their movement, the best-known to me were “The Tea party” and MAGA.  They saw their time had arrived when the United States elected Barack Obama, the first Black president.  They knew the level of racism in this country and were aware that they could rustle up even more support among their lily-white members, families, and friends. 

 They knew they couldn’t get power without someone like Donald Trump, a blow-hard who could bit by bit be shaped into just the kind of guy they could use while letting him continue to believe that he was the one running things.  They are obsessed with their ability to control so much of this nation, Donald Trump too, and so far, with minimal interference. Why, they even got him elected a second time, OMG! 

 The Democratic Party has been trying hard to play by the rules of our Constitution and our laws and mostly did a commendable job.  Then, some Democrats were taken in by the same oligarchs who commandeered Trump and have bought Senate and House as well as state legislative seats.  It becomes harder and harder to see where one’s loyalties lie when elections are purchased for them with enormous donations that are “perfectly legal,” thanks to Johnny Roberts and his cons in Citizens United.  The "old Dem leaders are too willing to capitulate and pretend it is bipartisanship; it isn't. 

 I, like many others understand it is time for new Democratic leadership.  We need younger, more progressive voices.  When polled, it is issues the progressives champion that are most popular with the American people:  universal healthcare, affordable housing for all, bodily autonomy for everyone, massive moves to stop climate change and make renewable energy available everywhere, sensible gun control, DEI for all, etc. 

 A great thing, we do have Democratic leaders ready to move into top positions.  I am thinking of:  Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC), Jamie Raskin, Jasmine Crockett, Tim Walls, Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Pritzker, Katie Porter, Wes Moor, John Osoff, and many more.  They will need the guidance of Bernie Sanders and others who are excellent mentors too.  All of the above are fighters who know the truth and are willing to stand up against the Trump toddler pool to get things done. 

 Democrats need solid planks that every single rally or protest will include and every candidate will pledge to stand on.  In addition to the popular items listed above, we must have:   a strong emphasis on freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and protest (the First Amendment rights); equal justice under law (the words above the Supreme Court building but ignored by the Roberts 6) and due process; forbidding our military to be used against people living in this country, right nopw, Portland,, OR, a progressive Democratic city; climate justice and renewable energy; a fair tax code where the wealthy pay at least as high a percentage as other Americans or higher; an easier path to citizenship; a high-quality public education priority for all students, uninfected with religious or political propaganda requirements and no banning of books; improved farming practices and sufficient food for all; improved international aid wherever it is needed; tariffs dumped.  You get the idea. 

 I think a 10 to 12-point set of platform planks would work and number them so the crowds will get it and know that they are the major issues for ALL Democrats with specifics for each state and district.  This will work if we are in it together. 

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH WORDS?

By Ruth A. Sheets

September 22, 2025

Language and how it is used is really important.  Lately, we are dealing with a bunch of folks who understand the power of words and their value for themselves.  Because the very rich own so much of our media at all levels, they have been spreading negativities about people they despise and attach their hate to particular words so their followers will know who to hate and what to call them.

  The first big word was “woke.”  It was used at one time, as I understand it, in the black community to mean people coming awake to the challenges they face and how they can deal with them.  The “conservatives” (or ultra-right), attached “woke” to anyone left of themselves who is educated and believes in human rights for all people.  (I am guessing right-wingers don’t believe in those rights for anyone else.) 

The “woke” are being identified as “Communists, socialists, unpatriotic, etc., reprehensible to all Americans.  Those calling names have no clue what Communism and Socialism are, but they know they have negative connotations maybe from history.  For them, unpatriotic means the “woke” don’t wrap themselves in the flag and practically worship it as the Ult-right does.   

I remember the insult a person who cared about the environment got from the right-wingers a couple of decades ago, “tree-huggers.”  Many adopted the term and still smile when someone dredges up that title and flings it at them.  Some on the Left have been calling themselves “Democratic-Socialists,” embracing the term “socialist,”  while others own the term “woke.”  The “word” used now most frequently by Trump is ANTIFA which is not really a word but a movement for rights and against Fascism.

Our current government is trying to make certain words seem disgusting, like “educated and elite.”  That’s ironic and hypocritical when one realizes that most of them attended and graduated from Ivy League and other “elite” colleges and universities, afforded with their wealth.  They tell us they are for working people.  Uh-huh!

The Trumpers have told park rangers, for example, not to use the term biodiversity, too difficult a word for the Ult-right?  Science has become a bad word and vaccines kill people.  Refugees, asylum-seekers, immigrants, and Venezuelan gangs now mean to them, pretty much the same thing.  In addition to dumping certain words, they want us to take on their concept of which words to use and which to drop, hoping to put word and thought police wherever they can.

DEI has for the ult-right become the boogyman and they are determined to stamp it out.  They know it refers to Black people and other people of color, women, disabled persons, LGBTQ folks, and a few other groups.  They can’t imagine white people being in DEI, because white men have privilege in this society that the right claim white men don’t have.  Those  white men are trying hard to “get back” that privilege they of course, don’t have, and are sure they can’t do it if DEI is around.

We are not supposed to use words like Latine, feminist, indigenous persons, etc.  However, our Constitution provides for “free speech” in the 1^st Amendment.  The limits on that “free speech” are extreme threats, yelling fire in a crowded place, and similar very dangerous language.  Yet, the right-wing that should know better with their elite education, is trying to silence use of words they don’t like, any criticism of their “dear leader, and whatever else comes to their narrow minds. 

That is why we must all defy them at every turn, call out their fear of terminology they can't define, identify for them their fear of everyone they don't understand, tell them we know when they are lying.  We must make up chants, rhymes, and slogans to use in protests and rallies to let them know we will not be defeated.  We must together point out to people on the Right we see their racism, their hatred of women, and their fear of immigrants, activists, and LGBTQ persons (even drag performers), refusing to use the words those groups prefer for themselves.  In short, we must say to MAGAs “we see you and what you are doing to this country and we won’t have it.”  We want them with us in this struggle because they are impacted too, and this language insanity isn't helping them.  it is primarily the work of the guy in the white house and his minions, perhaps some of them even standing for things against their faith, their patriotism, their communities, and this nation.  We can do this if we don’t give up or give in!