That's a passing of a life that mattered because she stood for something. The United States is supposed to stand for something and if we allow our democracy to pass in this election, I wonder who would be left to note it.
That's what Gen Mark Milley, former Joint Chiefs of Staff, told journalist Bob Woodward who discussed his new book WAR with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC last night.
People need to grasp that this not normal, this is not politics as usual. When Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger speak out, they know they're risking their own safety -- from the nuts in Donald's cult to Donald himself if he becomes president again. This isn't minor, this is about democracy, this is about the country we're going to live in and what type of country it is.
According to the Guardian’s report on
Woodward’s book, Milley warned his former colleagues in Washington that
Trump was “a walking, talking advertisement of what he’s going to try to
do,” adding: “He’s saying it and it’s not just him, it’s the people
around him.”
Milley was pointing in particular to how Steve Bannon — who
rose to White House strategist after chairing Trump’s 2016 presidential
campaign, and who is now in jail for being found in contempt of Congress
— has threatened him. “We’re gonna hold him accountable,” Bannon has
said of Milley.
Woodward’s book also details a tense
Oval Office discussion Milley had with Trump and his second secretary
of defense, Mark Esper. Trump reportedly wanted to get revenge on, or
potentially court-martial, William McRaven, the retired Navy admiral who
led the 2011 mission in which al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed. Trump was enraged that the retired admiral publicly criticized him.
Milley
told Woodward he was able to mollify Trump by saying he would “take
care” of it but then warned McRaven and other former military commanders
to keep off the “public stage” for a while and ease up on their
criticisms of Trump.
The Trump campaign did not respond to a HuffPost request for comment about Milley’s reported comments to Woodward.
Milley’s
stories about Trump in the White House are similar to recollections
from other military figures, including retired Marine Gen. John Kelly,
who was Trump’s chief of staff. As noted
by the Guardian, Kelly said Trump reportedly insisted that generals
should be “like the German generals” serving under Adolf Hitler during
World War II, who were “totally loyal.”
On the campaign trail this year Trump has said he’d be a “dictator” on his first day in office. He has also repeatedly used explicitly fascist rhetoric while talking about immigrants in the United States.
Milley is not alone in his assessment that Trump is a fascist.
Robert
Paxton, considered one of the foremost scholars of fascism, initially
declined to call Trump a fascist during his rise to the White House in
2016, but he changed his tune after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S.
Capitol.
“Trump’s incitement of the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 removes my objection to the fascist label,” Paxton wrote
at the time. “His open encouragement of civic violence to overturn an
election crosses a red line. The label now seems not just acceptable but
necessary.”
With all that's going on, you'd think FAIR would be very busy noting how the news outlets work overtime to make Donald sound sane and to ignore his racist threats but, as a former FAIR staffer pointed out to me last night on the phone, FAIR apparently can no longer cover more than one topic. And everything it's done in October -- which we're halfway through with -- has been on Gaza.
Donald's made very clear what he plans to do -- kill Palestinians -- but let's all pretend that didn't take place and let's all pretend -- like FAIR does -- that things are safe and sound in the US and we can put all of our attention across the ocean because we're not in the midst of an election -- certainly not one that'll determine whether we remain a democracy or become a fascist state.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, church. Good afternoon.
Oh, please have a seat. Please have a seat. (Laughter.)
Bishop O’neal, I thank you so very much. We — we’ve had some time to
visit before we came out into the sanctuary, and I just thank you for
the leadership that you have provided for so long.
You know, in times of crisis, and — and we’re looking at the images
of the aftermath of the hurricane. But it — it is easy in these moments
of crisis to — to question our faith, to sometimes lose our faith for a
moment, because what we see is so hard to see that we lose faith or a
vision of those things we cannot see but must know. (Applause.)
And you are such a leader in all of those ways, and I thank you.
(Applause.) I’m honored to be with you. I’m honored to be with you.
I’m honored to be with you. Thank you.
And, KCC family, thank you for welcoming me today. (Applause.)
(Laughs.) Thank you. And thank you for the opportunity to allow me to
worship with you. It does my heart and soul good.
So, scripture teaches, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at
the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
(Applause.)
So, I first encountered the words of Galatians as a young girl at
23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland, California, which is where I sang
in the children’s choir and first learned the teachings of the Bible.
My earliest memories of those teachings are about a loving God, a God
who asks us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, to
defend the rights of the poor and the needy.
And so, at an early age, I learned that faith is a verb. It is
something we show in action and in service. And we show it by heeding
the words of my pastor, who Bishop spoke with yesterday, Reverend Dr.
Amos C. Brown, who often invokes the words that we all know: One must do
justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.
That truth is important at all times and especially in moments of
difficulty and disaster, especially in moments like this, as we navigate
storms that have inflicted so much harm across our country.
And to all those who have loved ones who have been affected by
Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, Doug and I, my husband, are
holding of you close in our hearts and in our prayers. And we are
thinking of everyone who has been affected by these storms.
Now, I know Helene’s impact was further west, but I also know that
the people of Greenville, like all Americans, have been inspired by the
way communities are coming together, Bishop, in the wake of these
storms. Amid ruined homes, downed power lines, swollen rivers that have
been choked with debris, we have seen — we have seen children rescued
by neighbors in a kayak; we have seen those who have lost everything
gathering donations for others.
You know, it’s been my experience to see that in a moment of crisis,
isn’t it something when you know that, often, it is the people who have
the least, give the most? (Applause.) Right?
Moments of crisis, I believe, do have a way of revealing the heroes
among us, the angels among us, and of showing us all the best of who we
are. And these hurricanes have revealed heroes around all of us, heroes
who do not ask the injured or stranded whether they are a Republican or
a Democrat — (applause) — but who simply ask, “Are you okay?”; who ask,
“What can I do to help?” — heroes who, as I like to say, see in the
face of a stranger, a neighbor.
Yet, church, there are some who are not acting in the spirit of
community. And I am speaking of those who have been literally not
telling the truth — lying — about people who are working hard to help
folks in need; spreading disinformation, when the truth and facts are
required. And the — the problem with this, beyond the obvious, is it’s
making it harder, then, to get people lifesaving information, if they’re
led to believe they cannot trust.
And that’s the pain of it all, which is the idea that those who are
in need have somehow been convinced that the forces are working against
them in a way that they would not seek aid.
And let’s let that sink in for a moment. Right now, fellow Americans
are experiencing some of the most difficult moments in their lives.
Yet, instead of offering hope, there are those who are channeling
people’s tragedies and sorrows into grievance and hatred. And one may
ask, “Why?” And I think, sadly, frankly, the motives are quite
transparent: to gain some advantage for themselves, to play politics
with other people’s heartbreak. And it is unconscionable.
Now is not a time to incite fear. (Applause.) It is not right to
make people feel alone. That is not what — and this is a church full of
leaders — that is not what leaders, as we know, do in crisis.
Now is a time to bring folks together, to come together, to be there
for one another, and follow the example of all of the heroes all around
us. And now is the time to live up to the fundamental values that
reflect our nation at its best: the values of compassion and community
and honesty and decency — the values that define the people of
Greenville, the — the people of North Carolina, and — and the people
like a fellow who I met recently. His name is Eddie Hunnell. And I’m
going to tell you a quick story about Eddie Hunnell.
So, I met him in Charlotte the other week. He was visiting Grassy
Creek for his son’s wedding when he saw a woman in the raging
floodwaters. First, he tried to rescue her by canoe. When that didn’t
work, this ma- — a perfect stranger, he’s watching — he jumped in the
river and pulled her ashore.
And when I talked with Eddie about his act of courage, here’s what he
said to me. He said, “Well I didn’t feel I had a choice.” But, of
course, he had a choice. Of course, he had a choice.
But his choice was to take a risk for the sake of another. Didn’t
even reflect on the risk he might have been taking. (Applause.)
Right?
His choice was to follow his conscience. His choice was, in the
words of Isaiah, to be “a refuge for the needy in their distress.”
(Applause.) He chose to remember that we are all in this together.
And if that is true during a terrible storm, it is also true when the
storm passes. (Applause.) It is true in our everyday lives.
When Paul wrote his letter to the church in Galatia, he knew folks
might feel the weight of the burden of doing good, that they may feel a
temptation to turn away from others in their time of need, to believe,
“What does it matter?” But Paul reminded them and us that God calls us
not to become weary of doing good.
Because we each have the power — God tells us this — the power, each
one of us, to make a difference. And that tells us that the measure of
our strength will be clear when we see what we can do to lift other
people up — (applause) — just as Eddie did and as the heroes and the
angels in this church and all over are doing after these storms. Across
North Carolina, Florida, and impacted communities, we are witnessing
faith in action. (Applause.)
So, I close with this. Let us continue to look in the face of a
stranger and see a neighbor. (Applause.) Let us recognize that when we
shine the light in moments of darkness, it will guide our feet onto the
path of peace. And let us always remember that while weeping may
endure for a night, joy cometh in the morning. (Applause.) (Laughs.)
Thank you. May God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
Thank you, church. (Applause.) END