The real issue is that Mike Lee doesn’t care what we think. He’ll lay low for a while until the next disaster unfolds and do the same disgusting things again.
The underlying problem is that State Television daily demonizes anyone who disagrees with the ‘official’ worldview. They all autopropagandize on Fox, daily and as a consequence have lost even the will to feign empathy. After all, why have sympathy for demons?
I wonder how the LDS church in Utah feels about people being murdered? Perhaps Sen. Lee may want to study their opinion and how they came to that conclusion.
Right! He was probably stunned into silence only because he didn’t think anyone would call him out in person, not out of regret. I doubt he’s even reconsidering his posts.
I wrote this before and I’m doing it again because I think it’s important that credit be given to people who deserve it. Before the famous statement that brought down Senator McCarthy “have you no decency, sir?“ A very brave senator, Margaret Chase Smith was going after Senator McCarthy publicly and privately. She received absolutely no acknowledgment, (which is at least my understanding of what happened). And I again want to call out her courage in the very early days of McCarthy‘s vitriolic comments that she stood up to him. Margaret Chase Smith. A senator with courage. It seems as if women are almost always at the Vanguard of truth.
There’s a wonderful little play—Conscience, by Joe DiPietro—that tells this story about Senator Margaret Chase Smith. It was recently performed in my community theatre. Look it up!
Ed Shelleby's letter brought tears to my eyes. So poignant and needed in this time of cruelty. This was a fantastic article and emotional read in this time when we need hope. Thank you Jay.
Despicable Mike Lee is even getting torched by fellow Utahns and the LDS for his shitty, vile posts...the man has been sliding head-first down the MAGA rabbit-hole for some time now, and he's a long way from touching bottom.
I'm glad to hear his fellow Utahns and especially fellow LDS are calling him out. I wish his church leadership would publicly do the same. Lee is nothing but a performative mormon, in the same way most MAGAs are performative christians. They use their religion as a shield to deflect their odious behavior, and when challenged immediately claim its attack on their religious beliefs. Lee is proof that religion can't make bad people good.
It would seem imperative for other Mormons to contact their leadership *continually* and lobby for some ‘clarification’ in regards to that public-facing individual putting a bad smell on their congregation...
I'd go even further and note that religion is the crutch that many bad people use to justify their evil behavior. Mike Johnson and JD Vance are prime examples of that POV with their extremist white christian nationalist opus-dei-fueled focus on redefining American democracy.
"Also in the 1960s, Benson informed Latter-day Saints that they could not be a good Mormon and a good Democrat; the two were incompatible. He thought that Democrats and socialists and big government supporters would take away people’s free agency and make them beholden to government welfare programs, robbing them of their dignity and self-worth."
Mormons need to take back their church from the extremists, just as Catholics need to do the same from their Opus Dei contingent. But I worry their instinct to herd and their devotion to tribe over country will Trump their morality.
And if that happens, they will never recover their faith, or any part of their faith worth keeping. They will destroy the best thing about America: devotion to Democracy.
Thank you for these words. Wrong is wrong and we do need to say so whenever we see it. I have been lulled into not bothering but that changes today thanks to this post. You reminded me of my power to change.
Hillary was right to call them out as deplorables. There is nothing christian about these christians. They are morally bankrupt. The title of this article is perfect, "My Duty is to Call it Out" applies to all of us.
The far right has been working ceaselessly to get their base to see anybody not inside their circle as merely objects and things, not as people. They have succeeded with a certain percentage of that base, but that hardened chancre within the GOP is not growing. More than 13 million Americans (11.9 million was 3.5%) went out onto the streets to protest the evil that is being done, and it IS evil. The more people see just HOW evil it is, and how many of their neighbors and fellow citizens from every state in the Union agree with them, the more heartened and emboldened they will feel to stand up, speak out, and take action. This weekend marked the end of the period in which Americans were shocked into silence and confusion. We are ALL done with that.
I follow Alt National Park Service on Facebook. Here is their quote:
"We’re honored to announce a final count of 13.14 million in attendance across 2,300+ No Kings protests nationwide. It took a little longer to finalize due to the sheer scale, but the turnout was historic!
So far, 71 MAGA agitators have been arrested, with 62 additional investigations still underway. We’re actively reviewing online threats and working on escalating where needed. If you see something, say something."
Patience, Sue Munda. I have seen 6 million, 9 million, 11.2 million and now 13.14 million as final counts from various reputable sources. Since there were 2,300 (+) No Kings protests nationwide, we will likely never reach an exact number of participants. It's all good: the parade energy was described by The NY Times report as "desultory" and remarkably poorly attended (possibly 30,000) while the NO Kings demonstrations drew millions and hopefully will have awakened a
Can you help me out with a couple of pointers? My initial on-line searches don't come up with any current info, just the initial estimates from two days ago.
I'd like to dig into the AltNPS numbers as well. I don't have a Facebook account and the AltNPS Web site doesn't address the subject. Do they say how they arrived at those totals or where their data came from? I'd love it if the 13.14 million number holds up, but that's double or 2.5 times more than the biggest numbers I've come across so far. The Crowd Counting Consortium says it's going to take a while to compile the big picture.
Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'm more dense than usual today, but I didn't see anything on the 50501 Substack that gave some background on how the numbers were arrived at. A previous post pointed to AltNPS, but I haven't found any info there (yet) either, just the same conclusion. I guess in a while the Crowd Counting Consortium will complete their work. Will be interesting to see what they say.
Am not trying to be difficult -- I'm just trying to understand how the calcs worked, so I don't run around rattling off figures whose basis I can't explain.
I get it. When you go to the 50501 Substack, & read the comments, another person asked how they arrived at their numbers. They explained that every protest had a 50501 volunteer who gave a count of the protest they attended. I personally saw 2 different people taking a count of our protest in Kalamazoo, & it turned out we had over 5000! It really does warm your heart.
Thank you, Jay, for bringing these disgusting details to my attention, along with the responses from decent people. Time for action against these evil people who unfortunately have no shame.
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, as well as those in others. Use your voice and make some “good trouble” ❤️🩹🤍💙
We must stop horrible conspiracies!! Call them out!! Derrick VanOrden/WI GOP house member intimated that Walz “hired this guy”!! I wrote on his social media, which I encourage others to do that when a military veteran gunned down 12 people in 2018, was that the Military’s fault too?? It’s deplorable!!!! Mental illness that causes someone to snap in the setting of violent vitriol from our administration, has to stop!!
Great substack post, Jay. The degradation of moral values and humanity in the MAGAts is what scares me the most. That degradation is why Kristi Noem and her minions can hunt farm workers in the fields and arrest mothers and fathers while leaving children scared and without parents. It's terrifying.
This was excellent. Thank you for weaving together the information about Judge Young and covering the appalling social media posts by Sen. Lee regarding the murders of Rep. Hortman and her husband. The tragedy of everything that’s happening right now is beyond comprehension. Thank you for your voice and light during this dark time, Jay.
Beautiful and passionate defense of the need to restore decency in this country. Bravo, Jay! I applaud Sen. Smith for forcing Mike Lee to look her in the eye as she called him out for the pain he inflicted. I applaud Judge Young for having the courage to say what so many in the sane-washing media won't: that the Trump administration is pursuing an agenda of racial and sexual orientation discrimination. It's bigotry and it's unlawful. I applaud Ed Shelleby for being willing to hold a mirror up to his peers on senate staffs and call them out for participating in Mike Lee's disgusting behavior.
The fact that Mike Lee has left those posts up is the equivalent of giving the middle finger to his senate colleagues, the families of those who were murdered and injured, and to the people of Minnesota. While I'm at it, I notice he hasn't said a word about the shooter from his state who opened fire on the No Kings protest in Salt Lake City.
Yesterday, Jim Acosta echoed your thoughts, Jay, when he pointed out that 'We have a decency deficit in America.' I would clarify that statement to say 'We have a decency deficit on the American right.'
The update notes he has taken down the posts. It’s a start, I guess. Sen. Lee needs to rethink his career in public service if he thinks so little of these murders that he posts jokes about them. Sad & shameful. TY, Jay
Bravo to Judge Young, who is among the ranks of other principled courageous judges, the bulwark of this country right now, guided by the Constitution and their conscience. They, along with the Resistance, ordinary citizens who refuse to be silenced, can and will save our democracy.
I applaud this judge, I applaud Senator Smith- this is standing up and speaking out!
Small wonder Tina Smith is retiring, as who would want to share the Senate Chambers with d-bags the likes of Mike Lee and cohorts?
The real issue is that Mike Lee doesn’t care what we think. He’ll lay low for a while until the next disaster unfolds and do the same disgusting things again.
We need to focus on all those watching, not just what the mobsters do.
The underlying problem is that State Television daily demonizes anyone who disagrees with the ‘official’ worldview. They all autopropagandize on Fox, daily and as a consequence have lost even the will to feign empathy. After all, why have sympathy for demons?
Is Lee a member of the LDS church? If so, shouldn't we be asking around if that is what that church stands for? How about their other senator?
I wonder how the LDS church in Utah feels about people being murdered? Perhaps Sen. Lee may want to study their opinion and how they came to that conclusion.
I doubt they are terribly upset, as one of their "prophets" told them you could not vote "D" and be in good standing in the church.
Right! He was probably stunned into silence only because he didn’t think anyone would call him out in person, not out of regret. I doubt he’s even reconsidering his posts.
Exactly, his body language in this picture doesn't say "regret."
It would be easy enough to take down those posts which he has yet to do. He obviously stands behind them. No shame, none at all.
I wrote this before and I’m doing it again because I think it’s important that credit be given to people who deserve it. Before the famous statement that brought down Senator McCarthy “have you no decency, sir?“ A very brave senator, Margaret Chase Smith was going after Senator McCarthy publicly and privately. She received absolutely no acknowledgment, (which is at least my understanding of what happened). And I again want to call out her courage in the very early days of McCarthy‘s vitriolic comments that she stood up to him. Margaret Chase Smith. A senator with courage. It seems as if women are almost always at the Vanguard of truth.
There’s a wonderful little play—Conscience, by Joe DiPietro—that tells this story about Senator Margaret Chase Smith. It was recently performed in my community theatre. Look it up!
Wow! Thanks for the tip!
Ed Shelleby's letter brought tears to my eyes. So poignant and needed in this time of cruelty. This was a fantastic article and emotional read in this time when we need hope. Thank you Jay.
Despicable Mike Lee is even getting torched by fellow Utahns and the LDS for his shitty, vile posts...the man has been sliding head-first down the MAGA rabbit-hole for some time now, and he's a long way from touching bottom.
I'm glad to hear his fellow Utahns and especially fellow LDS are calling him out. I wish his church leadership would publicly do the same. Lee is nothing but a performative mormon, in the same way most MAGAs are performative christians. They use their religion as a shield to deflect their odious behavior, and when challenged immediately claim its attack on their religious beliefs. Lee is proof that religion can't make bad people good.
It would seem imperative for other Mormons to contact their leadership *continually* and lobby for some ‘clarification’ in regards to that public-facing individual putting a bad smell on their congregation...
^This right here^
I'd go even further and note that religion is the crutch that many bad people use to justify their evil behavior. Mike Johnson and JD Vance are prime examples of that POV with their extremist white christian nationalist opus-dei-fueled focus on redefining American democracy.
👆🎯
Well said, Jane!
"Also in the 1960s, Benson informed Latter-day Saints that they could not be a good Mormon and a good Democrat; the two were incompatible. He thought that Democrats and socialists and big government supporters would take away people’s free agency and make them beholden to government welfare programs, robbing them of their dignity and self-worth."
https://religionnews.com/2020/10/07/how-did-mormons-become-so-republican/
It seems there is no bottom.
That’s because there isn’t one. Cruelty is the main vibe, from the Orange Guy on down.
He was one of the insurrectionist senators.
Mormons need to take back their church from the extremists, just as Catholics need to do the same from their Opus Dei contingent. But I worry their instinct to herd and their devotion to tribe over country will Trump their morality.
And if that happens, they will never recover their faith, or any part of their faith worth keeping. They will destroy the best thing about America: devotion to Democracy.
Thank you for these words. Wrong is wrong and we do need to say so whenever we see it. I have been lulled into not bothering but that changes today thanks to this post. You reminded me of my power to change.
I love this.
Hillary was right to call them out as deplorables. There is nothing christian about these christians. They are morally bankrupt. The title of this article is perfect, "My Duty is to Call it Out" applies to all of us.
Hillary was right about everything.
That is why the republicans smeared her for nearly forty years, she saw them for what they are.
Thank you for posting this today.
The far right has been working ceaselessly to get their base to see anybody not inside their circle as merely objects and things, not as people. They have succeeded with a certain percentage of that base, but that hardened chancre within the GOP is not growing. More than 13 million Americans (11.9 million was 3.5%) went out onto the streets to protest the evil that is being done, and it IS evil. The more people see just HOW evil it is, and how many of their neighbors and fellow citizens from every state in the Union agree with them, the more heartened and emboldened they will feel to stand up, speak out, and take action. This weekend marked the end of the period in which Americans were shocked into silence and confusion. We are ALL done with that.
"More than 13 million..." I would love for that to be the case. Do you have a source for that number?
I follow Alt National Park Service on Facebook. Here is their quote:
"We’re honored to announce a final count of 13.14 million in attendance across 2,300+ No Kings protests nationwide. It took a little longer to finalize due to the sheer scale, but the turnout was historic!
So far, 71 MAGA agitators have been arrested, with 62 additional investigations still underway. We’re actively reviewing online threats and working on escalating where needed. If you see something, say something."
Google it! It’s been reported by several sources 🙄
Patience, Sue Munda. I have seen 6 million, 9 million, 11.2 million and now 13.14 million as final counts from various reputable sources. Since there were 2,300 (+) No Kings protests nationwide, we will likely never reach an exact number of participants. It's all good: the parade energy was described by The NY Times report as "desultory" and remarkably poorly attended (possibly 30,000) while the NO Kings demonstrations drew millions and hopefully will have awakened a
nationwide movement.
Can you help me out with a couple of pointers? My initial on-line searches don't come up with any current info, just the initial estimates from two days ago.
I'd like to dig into the AltNPS numbers as well. I don't have a Facebook account and the AltNPS Web site doesn't address the subject. Do they say how they arrived at those totals or where their data came from? I'd love it if the 13.14 million number holds up, but that's double or 2.5 times more than the biggest numbers I've come across so far. The Crowd Counting Consortium says it's going to take a while to compile the big picture.
Go to the 50501 Movement’s Substack. They tell you how they compiled their numbers. They also counted over 13 million!🤗
Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'm more dense than usual today, but I didn't see anything on the 50501 Substack that gave some background on how the numbers were arrived at. A previous post pointed to AltNPS, but I haven't found any info there (yet) either, just the same conclusion. I guess in a while the Crowd Counting Consortium will complete their work. Will be interesting to see what they say.
Am not trying to be difficult -- I'm just trying to understand how the calcs worked, so I don't run around rattling off figures whose basis I can't explain.
I get it. When you go to the 50501 Substack, & read the comments, another person asked how they arrived at their numbers. They explained that every protest had a 50501 volunteer who gave a count of the protest they attended. I personally saw 2 different people taking a count of our protest in Kalamazoo, & it turned out we had over 5000! It really does warm your heart.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/00cjCsEUcGwMtUMMqk8d0SfQA
This is from Alt National Park’s fb account. I’ll look for the other official statement.
Thank you, Jay, for bringing these disgusting details to my attention, along with the responses from decent people. Time for action against these evil people who unfortunately have no shame.
Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Use/share this spreadsheet as a resource to call/email/write members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Reach out to those in your own state, as well as those in others. Use your voice and make some “good trouble” ❤️🩹🤍💙
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit?usp=drivesdk
We must stop horrible conspiracies!! Call them out!! Derrick VanOrden/WI GOP house member intimated that Walz “hired this guy”!! I wrote on his social media, which I encourage others to do that when a military veteran gunned down 12 people in 2018, was that the Military’s fault too?? It’s deplorable!!!! Mental illness that causes someone to snap in the setting of violent vitriol from our administration, has to stop!!
Van Orden is another MAGA troll. Vote them all out!
Great substack post, Jay. The degradation of moral values and humanity in the MAGAts is what scares me the most. That degradation is why Kristi Noem and her minions can hunt farm workers in the fields and arrest mothers and fathers while leaving children scared and without parents. It's terrifying.
This was excellent. Thank you for weaving together the information about Judge Young and covering the appalling social media posts by Sen. Lee regarding the murders of Rep. Hortman and her husband. The tragedy of everything that’s happening right now is beyond comprehension. Thank you for your voice and light during this dark time, Jay.
Beautiful and passionate defense of the need to restore decency in this country. Bravo, Jay! I applaud Sen. Smith for forcing Mike Lee to look her in the eye as she called him out for the pain he inflicted. I applaud Judge Young for having the courage to say what so many in the sane-washing media won't: that the Trump administration is pursuing an agenda of racial and sexual orientation discrimination. It's bigotry and it's unlawful. I applaud Ed Shelleby for being willing to hold a mirror up to his peers on senate staffs and call them out for participating in Mike Lee's disgusting behavior.
The fact that Mike Lee has left those posts up is the equivalent of giving the middle finger to his senate colleagues, the families of those who were murdered and injured, and to the people of Minnesota. While I'm at it, I notice he hasn't said a word about the shooter from his state who opened fire on the No Kings protest in Salt Lake City.
Yesterday, Jim Acosta echoed your thoughts, Jay, when he pointed out that 'We have a decency deficit in America.' I would clarify that statement to say 'We have a decency deficit on the American right.'
The update notes he has taken down the posts. It’s a start, I guess. Sen. Lee needs to rethink his career in public service if he thinks so little of these murders that he posts jokes about them. Sad & shameful. TY, Jay
It's sad that a sitting US senator had to be publicly shamed into doing the right thing, isn't it?
Bravo to Judge Young, who is among the ranks of other principled courageous judges, the bulwark of this country right now, guided by the Constitution and their conscience. They, along with the Resistance, ordinary citizens who refuse to be silenced, can and will save our democracy.
Heart wrenching. Thank you for sharing these profound insights