A well regarded Minnesota politician – Melissa Hortman – was assassinated. Police soon caught the gun man. People who knew him testified to his political beliefs. But – people on the political right decided to take advantage of this tragedy – by deliberately spreading falsehoods. Consider the following examples from Elwood Watson’s August, 2025 column in The Progressive Populist:

1] “Several Republican politicians, including Vice President J.D. Vance, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise [whose life a Black, liberal, lesbian police officer saved], blamed the shooting on the “far left” and liberals’ continual demonization of President Donald Trump.”

2]. “Right-wing social media personality Mike Cernovich..amplified the falsehood that Governor Tim Walz demanded the assassination. Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist and Trump whisperer, posted that “Walz’s goons are now assassinating lawmakers who support legislation Walz opposes” and denounced the Democratic Party as a “terrorist organization.””

3] “Elon Musk, a Trump “frenemy” and frequent poster of unproven right-wing claims..quote-tweeting claims “the left” killed Hortman and writing “the far left is murderously violent.” Viva Frei, a right-wing X user..posted a thread casting doubt on suspected shooter Vance Boelter being a Trump supporter.”

4] “His roommate, D.C., told reporters Boelter voted for Trump and “was a strong supporter of the president. Other longtime friends told local media Boelter was right-leaning.”

For perspective – consider the following excerpt from Nathan Pemberton”s 7/13/25 New York Times article: “The Radical Trolls Who Are Influencing the White House”:

“If you want to know where Republican politics is heading, look at the memes. Since the start of its second term, the Trump administration and its G.O.P. surrogates have been crashing out onlne. Like an unhinged Zoomer, they’ve relentlessly posted sadistic memes about policy decisions in the style of social media trends. A highlight reel of ICE arrests set to “Ice Ice Baby.” An A.S.M.R.-style video that features people in shackles boarding a deportation flight. An image of a woman being arrested, rendered in the style of a Hayao Miyazaki movie. The Vice President has threatened his critics with deportation via a GIF image. One Republican congressman even suggested that an undocumented migrant be thrown out of a helicopter, Pinochet style.”

Once, a Republican President said that trust was what held government together. Much later, a leader of another country said; ‘A lie told often enough becomes the truth.’ His name was V.I. Lenin.

THE question is very simple: If we allow, encourage blatant lying – then how much longer will American democracy last? If blatant falsehoods get rewarded – then how do we have the necessary public debates ghat lead to intelligent, rational policy decisions like mitigating climate change crisis [which some claim to be “a hoax]?????

If one political ‘side” NEEDS perceived “enemies’ to be against, who ‘must” be eliminated – then are they required to lie??? If one political ‘side” NEEDS perceived “enemies’ to stoke fear, hatred, and anger – then are they required to act against these ‘enemies’ by ANY. means – in order to “save America”????????

If some people are willing to lie about an assassination. – what else are they willing to lie about ???????

*** “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” [ Proverbs 29:18 ]

1] “…President Donald Trump..has already positioned America to lose the 21st century, in three simple steps:
– Alienate your friends.
– Destroy your business environment.
– Slaughter your golden goose [ i.e., science and research ].”

*** “Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all your getting get understanding.”
[ Proverbs 4:7 ]

“Trump most vividly demonstrated Step 1 with his Oval Office tantrum against a war-torn ally. But it includes gratuitous insults of our friends; abrupt termination of programs tackling public health menaces; and threats to punish our closest trading partners.”……….
“…Step 2:…Investors have long viewed the United States as more attractive..given our free capital markets, strong property rights, [relatively] predictable regulatory landscape and – most importantly – rule of law…under the Trump administration, none of that can be taken for granted.”……
[Step 3] “Our country’s greatest global advantage, by far, is in science, research and technology.. It is this knowledge sector that determines who “wins” the 21st century.”…..
“…Trump is gutting our scientific and research infrastructure…pushing out senior scientists and ending scientific training programs…Trump has purged experts..”……
“Meanwhile, Trump’s immigration policies will cut off our international talent pipeline, which has been America’s not-so-secret weapon in building a dominant knowledge sector.” [ Catherine Rampell: “How to lose the 21st century”; Washington Post Weekly; 3/9/25] – read the entire article – and everything YOU can on her 3 points]

*** “The danger is that the indulgence and attachment of the people will keep a man in the [presidential]. chair after he becomes a dotard..” [ President Thomas Jefferson ], 1/6/ 1805 ]

2] “Earlier this month, Tillerson described Trump as “pretty undisciplined, doesn’t like to read, doesn’t read briefing reports, doesn’t like to get into details of a lot of things, but rather just kind of says, “This is what I believe.” [Julie Pace, Zeke Miller: “As advisors leave, the guardrails come off”; Assoc. Press; 12/22/2018]

*** “It would be extremely dangerous if a President were to believe in the myth of his own omnipotence.”
[ Robert Hartmann ]

3] “Trump broke the news in statements showing how he reacts instinctively, often without advice or knowing basic facts, and revealing how his basic ignorance of science..blocks his ability to understand issues when they are explained to him.”…..
“…Trump again demonstrated his backward-looking perspective on the world and his rejection of ideas, science, and technologies…Trump’s vision is not about the future but a mythical past, at best a romantic nostalgia.” [Pulitzer Prize winner David C. Johnston: “It’s Even Worse Than You Think…What the Trump Administration Is Doing To America”]

*** “Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.” [Norman Cousins]
*** “Wisdom comes not into the malicious heart.” [ Rabelais ]

*** “The highest wisdom consists of distinguishing between good and evil.” [ Socrates ]
*** “The highest wisdom is kindness.” [ Talmud ] [Leonard Frank: “Quotationary}

4] SO – YOU tell me – is the Musk-Trump KAKISTOCRACY going to “Make America Great Again”. – OR. – is this just another TRUMP. GREAT. LIE – to cover their REAL goal, which is, above all, ELIMINATING taxes on billionaires; and destroying what’s left of American democracy while they finish the 90-year FAR RIGHT project to create a PLUTOCRATIC THEOCRACY????? – plans of which are now easily seen in. PROJECT 2025. – which, of course, Trump lied about, saying [like Col. Klink] – he knew “nothing,” and then appointing numerous ‘PROJECT 2025″. authors to positions in the MUSK-TRUMP KAKISTOCRACY. YOU can, MUST, also read: Kurt Andersen’s. “Evil Geniuses” and Nancy MacLean’s “Democracy in Chains… the Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America”.

*** “.. there is absolutely nothing to be said for a government by a plutocracy, for government by men very powerful in certain lines and gifted with the ‘money touch’, but with the ideals which in their essence are merely those of so many glorified pawnbrokers.” [ Republican President Theodore Roosevelt ] r.”

People are short and tall, fat and skinny, old and young, sick and healthy, smart and stupid, have brown eyes and blue, blond hair and brown, white-brown-black-red-yellow skin, rich and poor, wise and reckless, good and evil, straight and LGBTQ. They were. ALL. created by the same God-Yaweh-Allah-Great Spirit.The premise of America was they’re ALL. equal; that government would treat them ALL as equals. Christ said as YOU do unto the least, YOU do it onto me.” The miracle of 1775-1791 was that humans built a government unlike any other: “a republic if YOU can keep it.” Lincoln spoke of “a government of the people, by the people, FOR the people.” King said: “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.” Teddy R said: “We, here in America, hold in our hands the hope of the world..and shame and disgrace will be ours..if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of man.”

WE ARE disgraced. By our conduct these last 44 years. We HAVE dishonored the sacrifices of the Founding Fathers [AND Founding Mothers!], of Valley Forge, of Gettysburg, of Belleau Wood, of Pearl Harbor-Midway-Normandy, of the Frozen Chosin, of the Nam, of Iraq-Afghanistan; the sacrifices of ALL the men and women who built America.

We ARE disgraced. because hope-love-tolerance have been replaced by greed-hate-intolerance; because we’ve listened to false prophets spouting twisted theories; because we forgot who we’re supposed to be; because we allowed the fear of “the Other” to distract us from our REAL problems – and – the people causing the damage.

We ARE disgraced because. we’ve allowed the progressive 20th century [real] reforms based around the idea that the wealth of America should be shared by ALL – to be replaced with a ‘winner-take-all’ economy in which a small rich and connected minority enjoy truly OBSCENE wealth at the expense of the other 330 million citizens.

We ARE disgraced because. we’ve voted for the increasingly radical, reactionary, greedy charlatans who’ve violated every premise America was built upon. They’ve run up the national [tax cuts for the rich]; they’ve perverted tax laws [numerous loopholes for the rich and connected]; they’ve attacked everything that is “us” – national parks [“privatize” them]; public education [let religion run it]; courts and laws [appointed hundreds of R-w zealots, topped by a CORRUPT Roberts “supreme court”]; the notion of public service [“deep state”]; public infrastructure [underfunded and disintegrating]; the political system [a “fair” election is where they win]; basic scientific knowledge [denial of global warming, demonization of vaccines, denial-demonization of 2 plus 2 equals 4 truths].

We ARE disgraced because. people who supposedly represent us are seriously proposing we kick millions off medical care and retirement benefits so “we’ can give obscenely rich billionaires MORE tax cuts; because various tax law ‘reforms’ are DESIGNED to mainly benefit the obscenely rich; because language itself has been twisted to cover up the 44 years of R-W CORRUPTION.

We ARE disgraced because. we’ve declared war on innocent countries [based on LIES]; we’ve committed war crimes – and are NOW enabling further war crimes; our policies have led to economic repression and depression; we’ve forgotten lessons of the 1920s-1930 – and ARE, right this moment – continuing to forget the lessons of 1936-12/7/41.

We ARE disgraced because. we’re not leaving our children and grandchildren the same America our parents-grandparents [the “Greatest Generation”] trie3d to leave us; some of us arrogantly try to FORCE ALL of us to live by their religious beliefs. Mark Twain said it best: “Why can’t we just leave everybody the hell alone.”

We ARE disgraced because. we not only have “trailed in the dust the hope of the world,” but the hopes of far too many decent Americans – by design, from GREED, by people already well off.

We have a choice. We CAN be the America of “Let them eat cake;” OR, we CAN be the America of “We all do better when we ALL do better.” We CAN be the America that believes 95% of ALL people are good; OR, we can be the America that wants to build walls and believes “the Other” is out to get them. We CAN be the America that. says “Government is the problem;” OR, we CAN be the America that has the faith of our Founding Generations that government exists to provide civilization to us ALL, together. We can be the America that says “freedom” is what I say it is; OR, we CAN be the America that allows others to live their lives, within fair laws, on their own terms.

We still have time. BUT….. the shadows of authoritarian austerity. are closing in on us. “The angels of our better nature” are slowly losing out to the devils of our worst natures. When tested in the past at Valley Forge, during the Civil War, during the 1930s Great Depression, during the dark days of World War II, with positive and democratic leadership – the American people have risen to meet the challenge. Will we NOW – when we have faulty and false leadership? Barbara Streisand said it best: “People who love people are the luckiest people.”