Thank you for inviting me into your fam. I'm a 69 year old Massachusetts born and bred old fashioned liberal democrat so I don't always agree with everything but isn't that how it's supposed to be? I often wish that we were all sitting around in person so that there could be an extended give and take conversation. I sometimes talk out loud to a podcast and my husband will ask me what I said. I just smile and say "Oh, nothing. I'm just talking to Bulwark." Let's continue to do our best to save or rebuild our country together. It's a wild ride.
This might get lost in the comments but can you bring back the donation button? I am listed as a lifetime member and I cannot commit to a recurring subscription but I have supported the Bulwark from the get go, was flabbergasted when I actually found all of you and would like to support you when finances allow. I have spent the last hour scouring ways to send some financial support before the bottom drops out (in my view) of the economy to no avail. Please.
I am not being snarky, but I will begin taking The Bulwark's predictions of an American apocalypse seriously when Bulwark authors and video presenters flee the country (as least those with families to protect). If the administration is seriously moving toward a Putin style government, why are they still here putting their loved ones in harm's way? Why is Mary Trump still here? If I had attracted the vicious attention of a madman, I would have fled his domain long ago. Is this the human ego, refusing to believe that the very worst could actually happen to them? Do they seriously think a free press will survive any longer than it did in Russia after the Ukraine war began? I am not a troll. But some of these people are the darlings of "enemies of the state" media like MSNBC. Can someone explain where the confidence comes from, as they tell the audience that we are on the brink of fascism but seem to have no personal worries about their own safety? They have scared me to the point that I routinely review all my Youtube comments, often made in the spur of the moment, and delete anything that might put me on a "list" kept by people with no sense of proportion or humor. And I am a total nobody. It just seems like the people saying these things don't really take it seriously or they would be telling us all this from an "undisclosed location" north or south of the border.
Whether America as it stands today believes or is worthy of liberalism and/or democracy is a moot point. We had 9 years of bopping around in the barrel before we went over the falls, and even now, while we're in free fall, but before hitting the rocks below, more people are pleased with the barrel than ever!
America 3.0 is ending. Roughly speaking we could say 1776-1865 is America 1.0, 1865-1965 is America 2.0, and the past 60 years have been America 3.0, and that world is quickly morphing into something very different. It's sad for me that my son and any family and children he has won't remember or know the world we all knew.
But maybe that's just how things are, and it'll be OK. Kinda like how practically nobody under 40 will ever know the joy of finding an out of print album, like Neil Young's 'On the Beach' was in the early 90's, and lying on the couch listening to it while reading the lyrics on the inner sleeve and admiring the artwork. But it's a tradeoff in some ways, because now anyone who's interested can listen to his entire catalog anywhere, anytime, and watch tons of great live shit on youtube too.
For a super pessimistic guy like me, that’s kind of the optimistic lens I’m looking at things through right now. It’s going to be a really painful next 23 months, and tragically it’ll be worst for the people who are already the most vulnerable (here too, but mostly abroad). I may be wrong, but I don’t think I’m naïve in believing there will be free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028, and that the Democrats have a better than 50% shot to carry the House and White House because of how colossally unpopular the results of ‘Trump 2: Autocratic Boogaloo’ will be.
Regardless of whether the Dems come back into some semblance of power, it’s really post-Trump that will signal the beginning of America 4.0, and the world at large is going to be a whole lot different at that point. I have no idea what that will look like, but I hope it’ll be better than what my limited, morose imagination can conceive of, and I’m confident and grateful JVL will be writing presciently about it all the way through.
As a high school history teacher and government teacher in a very conservative state, this article makes me sick. I use lots of primary documents to refute the lies perpetrated by maga, most provided by the National Archives digital library. If Trump controls the source of primary documents we are screwed. Important, keep a journal of your experience, include news clips, essays, Bulwark accounts. Pass those down to someone you trust. Many of us are history keepers and while it won’t be the government record it will be a provide direction for future historians to piece together the record maga is attempting to destroy.
I also read Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American. Thank God at least there will be some reliable records by honest Americans to fall back on. And thank you for teaching history and government. IMO, our society's ignorance in both subjects has contributed to the situation we find ourselves in now.
First, Trump has of course zero interest in the national archives as our collective memory, where good and bad and of course ugly documents and other artifacts should go, as into a national soul.
It strikes me that Trump never does anything consciously - or likely even unconsciously - for the good of the country as a whole. In fact, he doesn’t really do anything for his co-conspirators, his party, his voter base or even his own family members, that does not originate in his own perceived self-interest and aggrandizement.
So, why and to what extent does he care about the archive? He wants power over it so he can take revenge on it for its actually very light-handed involvement in the documents case. He certainly wants it to make anything disparaging or maybe anything at all related to his numerous impeachment proceedings, J6 docs and footage, J6 committee docs, etc disappear. He knows Rubio will find a way to have an underling or 2 shred all those materials. He’ll most likely have Rubio shred anything positive on Biden, and shine a distorting light on some flimsy document suggesting Biden “crimes,” etc. And as an additional power play, he’ll deny any non-Trumper any access to the archives at all. He is following a very Hitlerian playbook here, consciously or not. And he has to be stopped somehow, before he’s secured all the levers of power and influence in a democracy, at which point we no longer have one. We cannot concede the archives to this maniac.
Secondly, JVL, as to your comment on who you’re doing this for: in reading about everyday soldiers in combat, across many conflicts but in particular I’ll just cite the average American foot soldier in WW2. These guys - and I’m sure it went for the women deriving in medical or logistics roles, but often near the front lines and very subject to air and artillary strikes - these combatants would most often say their real motivation for staying in the fight was to not let the guy next to them down, to cover for that guy or at most their small squad - it wasn’t usually something as lofty or abstract as the country. And I share your skepticism JVL about whether this country any longer deserves our fight and any sacrifices. I still hope it does, even after it elected this moral monster and his thuggish billionaires - but I know the Bulwark is worth fighting for and with. Because it is based on principles of truth-seeking, truth-telling and fidelity to the Constitution, rather than contempt for it.
Last thing: you said once recently JVL that capitulation is contagious. But it can also be true, and the Bulwark shows this, that courage and taking a principled stand can be contagious. Thanks for all you and the other fine Bulwark writers and podcasters are doing.
My now regular airbnb hostess in Denver invited me to lunch tomorrow and she’s an interesting woman so of course I said sure. Now I’m fearing politics will come up and we’ll be and different sides of what has become a chasm. I’ve travelled the country a whole lot over several decades and until 2016 never wondered who the folks I met had voted for.
I have a hard time keeping from venting about what’s going on, so it could get awkward. If it does at least I’ll be able to repair to the Bulwark commenters community. So thanks for that JVL, and all y’all.
Obviously I'm new-ish. Point of feedback as someone who recently onboarded: I'm always discovering certain resources for, in my case, founders. If you're looking for investments, I think someone who could be dedicated to floating these benefits to the top of the stack would drive a lot of engagement (the good kind) for you all.
I recently bought this subscription for my Canadian father-in-law. He used to get his news from Facebook but the feed is no longer available in Canada. Somehow it made things worse. Now he reads The Bulwark daily. It's better. o7
As a left of center dem I had trepidation about immersing myself in the bulwark content. I had some preconceived notion that I would hate the views of the writers at the bulwark. I came to realize that I needed to reevaluate my way of thinking. I had lived in a space where confirmation bias was all I needed. The bulwark helped break some of that thinking. I am glad to be a member and love the trio of JVL, Tim, and Sarah. Night shifts in the intensive care unit can be rough. Even though politics can be tiring; this community provides a reprieve during those long nights.
Thanks Bulwark for seeing the rough, clear value of Grumpy Combat Veteran Will Selber
About Trump and archives - maybe Trump wants his documents back, the ones he refused to return and tried to hide when the Archivist then the FBI asked for them back... for bribes, to sell for income, to give cronies as bonus gifts, etc. ...in addition to flushing all indictment materials related to Jan6, docs, fixing financials, etc. down his Mar a Lago storage room toilet.
Thank you for inviting me into your fam. I'm a 69 year old Massachusetts born and bred old fashioned liberal democrat so I don't always agree with everything but isn't that how it's supposed to be? I often wish that we were all sitting around in person so that there could be an extended give and take conversation. I sometimes talk out loud to a podcast and my husband will ask me what I said. I just smile and say "Oh, nothing. I'm just talking to Bulwark." Let's continue to do our best to save or rebuild our country together. It's a wild ride.
This might get lost in the comments but can you bring back the donation button? I am listed as a lifetime member and I cannot commit to a recurring subscription but I have supported the Bulwark from the get go, was flabbergasted when I actually found all of you and would like to support you when finances allow. I have spent the last hour scouring ways to send some financial support before the bottom drops out (in my view) of the economy to no avail. Please.
I am not being snarky, but I will begin taking The Bulwark's predictions of an American apocalypse seriously when Bulwark authors and video presenters flee the country (as least those with families to protect). If the administration is seriously moving toward a Putin style government, why are they still here putting their loved ones in harm's way? Why is Mary Trump still here? If I had attracted the vicious attention of a madman, I would have fled his domain long ago. Is this the human ego, refusing to believe that the very worst could actually happen to them? Do they seriously think a free press will survive any longer than it did in Russia after the Ukraine war began? I am not a troll. But some of these people are the darlings of "enemies of the state" media like MSNBC. Can someone explain where the confidence comes from, as they tell the audience that we are on the brink of fascism but seem to have no personal worries about their own safety? They have scared me to the point that I routinely review all my Youtube comments, often made in the spur of the moment, and delete anything that might put me on a "list" kept by people with no sense of proportion or humor. And I am a total nobody. It just seems like the people saying these things don't really take it seriously or they would be telling us all this from an "undisclosed location" north or south of the border.
❤️❤️❤️
I’ve been a member for three years, and I celebrate your success. You deserve it!
Whether America as it stands today believes or is worthy of liberalism and/or democracy is a moot point. We had 9 years of bopping around in the barrel before we went over the falls, and even now, while we're in free fall, but before hitting the rocks below, more people are pleased with the barrel than ever!
America 3.0 is ending. Roughly speaking we could say 1776-1865 is America 1.0, 1865-1965 is America 2.0, and the past 60 years have been America 3.0, and that world is quickly morphing into something very different. It's sad for me that my son and any family and children he has won't remember or know the world we all knew.
But maybe that's just how things are, and it'll be OK. Kinda like how practically nobody under 40 will ever know the joy of finding an out of print album, like Neil Young's 'On the Beach' was in the early 90's, and lying on the couch listening to it while reading the lyrics on the inner sleeve and admiring the artwork. But it's a tradeoff in some ways, because now anyone who's interested can listen to his entire catalog anywhere, anytime, and watch tons of great live shit on youtube too.
For a super pessimistic guy like me, that’s kind of the optimistic lens I’m looking at things through right now. It’s going to be a really painful next 23 months, and tragically it’ll be worst for the people who are already the most vulnerable (here too, but mostly abroad). I may be wrong, but I don’t think I’m naïve in believing there will be free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028, and that the Democrats have a better than 50% shot to carry the House and White House because of how colossally unpopular the results of ‘Trump 2: Autocratic Boogaloo’ will be.
Regardless of whether the Dems come back into some semblance of power, it’s really post-Trump that will signal the beginning of America 4.0, and the world at large is going to be a whole lot different at that point. I have no idea what that will look like, but I hope it’ll be better than what my limited, morose imagination can conceive of, and I’m confident and grateful JVL will be writing presciently about it all the way through.
As a high school history teacher and government teacher in a very conservative state, this article makes me sick. I use lots of primary documents to refute the lies perpetrated by maga, most provided by the National Archives digital library. If Trump controls the source of primary documents we are screwed. Important, keep a journal of your experience, include news clips, essays, Bulwark accounts. Pass those down to someone you trust. Many of us are history keepers and while it won’t be the government record it will be a provide direction for future historians to piece together the record maga is attempting to destroy.
I also read Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American. Thank God at least there will be some reliable records by honest Americans to fall back on. And thank you for teaching history and government. IMO, our society's ignorance in both subjects has contributed to the situation we find ourselves in now.
His mind is like a pinball machine with this steel ball banging from one grievance to another.
Classic Malignant Narcissism. Americans need to be educated about this serious personality disorder.
First, Trump has of course zero interest in the national archives as our collective memory, where good and bad and of course ugly documents and other artifacts should go, as into a national soul.
It strikes me that Trump never does anything consciously - or likely even unconsciously - for the good of the country as a whole. In fact, he doesn’t really do anything for his co-conspirators, his party, his voter base or even his own family members, that does not originate in his own perceived self-interest and aggrandizement.
So, why and to what extent does he care about the archive? He wants power over it so he can take revenge on it for its actually very light-handed involvement in the documents case. He certainly wants it to make anything disparaging or maybe anything at all related to his numerous impeachment proceedings, J6 docs and footage, J6 committee docs, etc disappear. He knows Rubio will find a way to have an underling or 2 shred all those materials. He’ll most likely have Rubio shred anything positive on Biden, and shine a distorting light on some flimsy document suggesting Biden “crimes,” etc. And as an additional power play, he’ll deny any non-Trumper any access to the archives at all. He is following a very Hitlerian playbook here, consciously or not. And he has to be stopped somehow, before he’s secured all the levers of power and influence in a democracy, at which point we no longer have one. We cannot concede the archives to this maniac.
Secondly, JVL, as to your comment on who you’re doing this for: in reading about everyday soldiers in combat, across many conflicts but in particular I’ll just cite the average American foot soldier in WW2. These guys - and I’m sure it went for the women deriving in medical or logistics roles, but often near the front lines and very subject to air and artillary strikes - these combatants would most often say their real motivation for staying in the fight was to not let the guy next to them down, to cover for that guy or at most their small squad - it wasn’t usually something as lofty or abstract as the country. And I share your skepticism JVL about whether this country any longer deserves our fight and any sacrifices. I still hope it does, even after it elected this moral monster and his thuggish billionaires - but I know the Bulwark is worth fighting for and with. Because it is based on principles of truth-seeking, truth-telling and fidelity to the Constitution, rather than contempt for it.
Last thing: you said once recently JVL that capitulation is contagious. But it can also be true, and the Bulwark shows this, that courage and taking a principled stand can be contagious. Thanks for all you and the other fine Bulwark writers and podcasters are doing.
-
Love your work❤️
I am so grateful I found you guys! You’ve definitely helped keep me not only informed, but sane!
My now regular airbnb hostess in Denver invited me to lunch tomorrow and she’s an interesting woman so of course I said sure. Now I’m fearing politics will come up and we’ll be and different sides of what has become a chasm. I’ve travelled the country a whole lot over several decades and until 2016 never wondered who the folks I met had voted for.
I have a hard time keeping from venting about what’s going on, so it could get awkward. If it does at least I’ll be able to repair to the Bulwark commenters community. So thanks for that JVL, and all y’all.
Is there anyway to read the New Yorker Magazine article without the paywall?
Obviously I'm new-ish. Point of feedback as someone who recently onboarded: I'm always discovering certain resources for, in my case, founders. If you're looking for investments, I think someone who could be dedicated to floating these benefits to the top of the stack would drive a lot of engagement (the good kind) for you all.
I recently bought this subscription for my Canadian father-in-law. He used to get his news from Facebook but the feed is no longer available in Canada. Somehow it made things worse. Now he reads The Bulwark daily. It's better. o7
As a left of center dem I had trepidation about immersing myself in the bulwark content. I had some preconceived notion that I would hate the views of the writers at the bulwark. I came to realize that I needed to reevaluate my way of thinking. I had lived in a space where confirmation bias was all I needed. The bulwark helped break some of that thinking. I am glad to be a member and love the trio of JVL, Tim, and Sarah. Night shifts in the intensive care unit can be rough. Even though politics can be tiring; this community provides a reprieve during those long nights.
I'm left of center dem also. Maybe even a little further left and I had the same concerns. I enjoy actually expanding my thought process.
Thanks Bulwark for seeing the rough, clear value of Grumpy Combat Veteran Will Selber
About Trump and archives - maybe Trump wants his documents back, the ones he refused to return and tried to hide when the Archivist then the FBI asked for them back... for bribes, to sell for income, to give cronies as bonus gifts, etc. ...in addition to flushing all indictment materials related to Jan6, docs, fixing financials, etc. down his Mar a Lago storage room toilet.