"Nowhere Else On Earth" by Josephine Humphreys, One Helluva Novel!

This is a tremendous novel! This is one of the best novels I have ever read! This is, by far, the best novel I have read since I read "Wilderness" by Robert Penn Warren. I haven't had enough time to read everything I have ever wanted to or should have read. But it still amazes me that I never heard of Josephine Humphreys until I blundered into this novel by accident. The novel is a story of the late Civil War and Reconstruction just as is "Wilderness" and a couple of other things I have read and written about on this blog lately. But I have not set out on any conscious effort to read a lot of novels about the Civil War. It just happens by accident when I am not deliberately reading for a research based purpose. But I have never been more pleased to find a great writer by accident. Humphreys novel is a masterpiece of southern literature. Her plot work is astounding in this book. Her character development is tremendously detailed, written into the flow of the novel with purpose and without visible intent. It just happens which is what great writers do when they are writing at their best. The novel is set in the late years of the Civil War in coastal North Carolina and the heroine is a daughter of a Lumbee Indian woman and a Scotsman. She is intelligent, hard working, committed to her family and her place in the world. She is in love with a fellow Indian man who is becoming the leader of the local resistance to both the Union and the Confederacy in a community which they call Scuffletown. Scuffletown is one of the great names ever created for a place where poverty is king, starvation common, discrimination a daily reality, and the development of what we victims of discrimination like to call "backbone" is the one essential quality which will keep you alive. In those ways,Scuffletown is a sister to every impoverished coal camp in Appalachia, every row of slave cabins on every plantation in the Deep South, and every ghetto in a northern metropolitan area. The people of Scuffletown know how to survive, how to adhere to each other in tough times which are guaranteed to get tougher, and how never to mistake collusion with an enemy as cooperation. Most of the people in Scuffletown live in one room cabins scattered throughout a pine woods swampy world where turpentine making from pine trees is the one way to make a living in a better way than just being a hunter gatherer or scavenger or robber. Scuffletown is located not far from Hell but always has a bit of Heaven in it. It is a place where Love of Place, loyalty to your peers, and generosity no matter how poor you are is a fact of life.

Rhoda, the heroine, falls in love with Henry Lowrie, a young man her own age who grows up to lead the local resistance to both the Union and Confederate forces neither of which has any respect for the locals. As the war degenerates toward Lee's surrender, times just keep getting harder and Henry and Rhoda's two brothers become key members of the resistance with Henry assuming the top position. They are opposed by a local sheriff, his top deputy, and a group of their henchmen who will stop at nothing to maintain control of the populace and pillage as much as they can. The resistance fighters leave home to live in the swamps and strike whenever and wherever they can in order to feed both themselves and those who are dependent upon them. The novel is regularly improved by an event of such striking oppression, suppression, and sometimes resistance to the other elements just mentioned that the reader is spellbound. It is realistic and true of nearly every war of oppression ever waged in the world. In the end, Henry is branded as an outlaw and a reward of $20,000 is placed on his head with the production of himself or his dead body as necessary to collect the money. The war ends before the novel but it does not improve conditions in Scuffletown. Bad goes to worse! One of Henry's loyal men is hanged and Rhoda takes her children to proceedings where she stands in front of the gallows with the condemned man's mother as he falls to his death. But that is not the end of the story. I have never seen a novel I am more happy to recommend. It is a beautiful and often chilling piece of work. This author, Josephine Humphreys is a tremendous writer. I realize full well that one novel is not sufficient platform on which to build monuments to a writer, but this novel is a fine start of the foundation. If her other work is as strikingly wonderful as this novel, she deserves to have her name mentioned in the same breath as Flannery O'Connor, Hemingway, Pearl Buck, and Steinbeck.

A Few Basic Truths About The 2024 US Election!

 

1) TRAITOR Trump is just that, nothing more, nothing less, a TRAITOR! 

2) You can bet your ass that Putin already has demanded, and will receive, repayment for everything he has done for TRAITOR Trump over the last forty years just as he did from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021.  

 

3) The very same hypocrites and TRAITORS who claimed that President Biden was too old and senile to be president are singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" because they supported a 78 year old TRAITOR who can't construct a complete sentence.  

4) It will be a miracle if America and American Democracy survive the next four years.

5) Even if TRAITOR Trump were to die in his sleep tonight, the same danger in a slightly more intelligent form would remain in the form of J. D. Vance who is just as criminal, just as much a TRAITOR, and just a little bit smarter than TRAITOR Trump.

6) I will continue to fight TRAITOR Trump and those who support him on a daily basis so long as he walks free and endangers this country and worldwide Democracy.  So should you!  If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem!

7) God Help Us All! 

A Further Updated Reading List For The Resistance!

In early January 2017, I posted  A Reading List For The Resistance which was primarily a list of historical works both factual and fictional which placed the illicit, illegal, irrational, and TREASONOUS rise to power of Donald Trump into its proper perspective. On October 15, 2018, I amended that list with a sizeable collection of recent memoirs and historical works and will now add some more recent political works by living critics of this TRAITOR along with further dystopian literature since we are now approaching the nadir of the worst constitutional crisis since 1861 and our very form of democracy is under daily attack by the Russian Owned Criminal Syndicate which occupies the White House illegally based on the TREASON of Donald Trump.  This has further and even more disastrously been exacerbated by the additional TREASONOUS votes in the US Senate which whitewashed a minimal selection of this TRAITOR's crimes against America which the US House of Representatives chose to focus on in the most legitimate impeachment effort in American History.  Every member of the US House and Senate who voted to whitewash these TREASONOUS acts must be voted out of office in their next election. There has been a long list of recent memoirs, biographical works, and investigative books which have furthered the body of works which every American should be reading.  I have not read all of these highly important books but they are on my "To Be Read List" and most of them are already in my possession.  They need to be on your lists of future reading also and the sooner you read them the better. Not only do you need to read these books.  You need to fully understand, comprehend, and accept what they are saying about the TREASON and stochastic terrorism which is destroying America and is centered in the White House and being directed by Vladimir Putin from Moscow.  I have reviewed nearly all of the books I have read on this blog and will continue to do so with future reading.  I do have a complex life and never find myself up to date and saying "I wish I had something to read."  It would benefit all of you to lead a similar life of reading, study, and research.  If every American had read and studied this way over the last four years, this country would not be in the current and steadily deepening crisis.  Russia would not have been able to hack our election in 2016, and we would have a legitimate president instead of a TRAITOR living in the White House. If you had read and understood these earlier books and their messages, Russia would not be in a position to hack and control another election in America. You can also always go to the bottom of the home page of this blog to the list called "Books I Have Read Lately" to find what I have thought was worth my time and effort to read.  I will admit that not everything on that list is political.  A large portion of it is Appalachian Literature and great literature along with an occasional book which some of you might legitimately refer to as "trash" or what I call "drug store fiction".  But even I need an occasional foray into lighter literature.  The heavier and more honest political analysis is often dark, depressing, and scary.  But it is also very important if we are to save American Democracy from this band of TRAITORS. 

Recent historical events led by the US Senate's whitewash of the TREASON, the firing this week of two of the most important government employees who testified in the US House, and the increase in stochastic terrorism by the TRAITOR who illegally occupies the White House have made it necessary to return to effort to induce others to read and learn what is actually happening in this TREASON. I have also had a few recent encounters which have motivated me to do this update and I admit that it is somewhat overdue based on our increasing political peril in this country.  Try to read at least one of these books between now and the federal election of November 3, 2020.  If it is not too late in your state, be certain to be registered to vote.  Register as a Democrat!  Vote the straight Democratic ticket.  It is the only way we can stop the ongoing treason in America and stymie the ongoing Russian effort to destroy America, American Democracy, and the entire free world.  If you have enough courage to find out what is actually happening in America today this list of books will assist you greatly in that effort.  Notice two things, please, about the additions to the first two lists.  The authors include an anonymous federal government employee whose legitimacy has been vetted by the New York Times, a world class political reporter whose credentials were temporarily withdrawn by the TRAITORS who live in the White House, a former US Presidential nominee, a former US prosecutor & FBI Director, a former US Director of National Intelligence, 27 of the best psychiatrists in America, a former US Secretary of State, and the man who broke the Watergate story.  The second thing to notice is that two of the titles from two of the most experienced people on the list use the word “Fear”. When some of the most dedicated political workers and journalists use the word "Fear" in book titles about the crimes of an occupant of the White House, you had better bet that it long past time for every American to do something to protect the country and democracy as a whole.

The Restless Wave by John McCain  "Worse misfits have not been seen in a White House since William Taft got stuck in his bathtub."  (John McCain, p. 327)  When I read that sentence in John McCain's last book, I laughed out loud.  I have read and reviewed this book since I did the first update to this list, and this book was the most pleasant surprise I have had in a book in quite some time.  I began reading it since McCain had recently died and he had up put some level of public resistance to TRAITOR Trump.  However, in 2016, he had failed to go the full mile and endorse Hillary Clinton for president instead of just refusing to endorse TRAITOR Trump. Yet this book is far more positive about Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama than toward TRAITOR Trump.  I had begun the book expecting to hear a pretty standard espousal of fairly Right Wing Repugnican politics and a play by play of McCain's career.  But the book is often very honest about McCain's serious misgivings, distrust, and opposition to TRAITOR Trump. I know absolutely that McCain pulled his punches in this book and failed to fully say all he knew about the crimes of TRAITOR Trump, perhaps because a lot of what he knew was classified. But whatever the reasons, he fell short of taking the full step and calling a spade a spade.  But the book is very well worth reading.  

Facts And Fears by James Clapper This book continues James Clapper's public denunciation of the crimes of TRAITOR Trump.  I have reviewed it here.  The one glaring shortcoming in the book is the use of acronyms for literally dozens of branches of the federal government and international agencies which Mr. Clapper worked with or for during his lifetime of public service.  For the person not well versed in the federal bureaucracy, this use of hundreds of acronyms is confusing and irritating in spite of the insertion of a list of full names in the back of the book.  But this book is one of the first on the list that I would suggest that you read.  It is a fine historical perspective on American intelligence efforts over the last forty years and brutally honest, especially so about the Russian collusion and hacking of our 2016 election.  With any discussion of the hacking of the previous election in 2016, you need to understand that Russia has not stopped their efforts to rule the world and to use any means to do so.  Vladimir Putin has just recently further consolidated his grip on absolute power by firing the entire upper levels of government and installing a tighter group of his loyalists. You can believe he would like to do the same thing to the rest of the world, especially the democratic countries of the world and he has a compatriot living in the White House.  You also need to understand that in spite of the efforts of the US House and the Democratic Party nothing has been done on a federal level to tighten American election security, the Iowa Caucuses on February 3, 2020, were an absolute disaster and nearly a week later of this writing we still do not have a complete set of statistics from those caucuses, and, despite Iowa denials, we have no absolute certainty that Russia was not behind the problems either in whole or in part.  

A Higher Loyalty Truth Lies And Leadership by James Comey  First and foremost, I want to say that this book is about James Comey and his life of public service much more than it is about his firing and public victimization by TRAITOR Trump.  I have reviewed it here.  This book, just as is true of James Clapper's, is much more about facts and history than it is about any emotion the author might feel toward the current illegal occupant of the White House.  It is an excellent piece of work which I do not believe would have ever been written if Mr. Comey had not felt that it was his duty as a patriot and lifetime public servant to do so because of the criminality of TRAITOR Trump.  Read it!  Learn from it!  Familiarize yourself with and utilize the truths it contains.  Also, be fully aware that since the publication of the book, James Comey has spent a great deal of his time in the effort to continue to expose the truth about the TRAITOR who illegally occupies the White House. 

Collusion Secret Meetings, Dirty Money And How Russia Helped Donald Trump Win by Luke Harding  I have reviewed this book here.  This is the first historical book that I read about the crimes of the TRAITOR Trump. It was well worth the experience and has often guided me in my choices about other subsequent reading.  Luke Harding is a writer for The Guardian and is a tremendous writer, researcher, and fact finder in the very dangerous world of international politics.  He and his colleagues are on that list of journalists whom every American citizen should read regularly. You should also regularly read The Guardian online at the link above. This book goes a very long way to explain and corroborate the information contained in the Steele Dossier which literally began the revelations about the crimes of TRAITOR Trump.  This book also does a great job of putting the timeline of the crimes of TRAITOR Trump into a logical frame for the less aware reader.  This book "reads like a spy novel" is what my friend and follower of this blog Steve Sargent said about it.  My response to that was "it is a spy novel". However, it is also the farthest thing in the world from fiction. 

The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump Edited by Bandy X. Lee, M. D. I reviewed this book here.  This is one of those books that every reasonably intelligent citizen of this country should read.  I have been promoting this book ever since the day the initial publicity campaign began when it was released.  This book was written in individual articles by 27 of the best, best known, most experienced, most respected psychiatrists in the country and edited by Dr. Bandy X. Lee, M. D. who is a psychiatrist and professor at Yale University.  Her credentials are incredible and so is this book.  Just as the letter to the senate from 2,400 law professors should have put an end to the legal career of Brett Kavanaugh, this book should have put an end to the public life of TRAITOR Trump.  Read this book even if you do not choose to read another book on this list or another book of any kind for the rest of your life. Do not let the fact that it is written by a bevy of psychiatrists deter you from reading it. It is written in highly accurate terms which are based in the principles of psychiatry but it is not a psychiatric book.  It is written in language which any high school graduate can understand. When you are done with this book,  you will have a far better understanding of the serious and dangerous mental illness of TRAITOR Trump.  You will also have a far better understanding of the pervasive terror millions of intelligent Americans suffer from because he illegally occupies the White House.

Fire And Fury by Michael Wolf  I reviewed this book here.  This book is not nearly as well written and likely not nearly as honest as any of those I have discussed earlier.  But I read it and reviewed it because it was the first book written and published by someone who was an insider in the so-called "administration" of TRAITOR Trump.  Wolf seems to have begun his research hoping to write a glowing review of the Russian Owned Criminal Syndicate.  It did not turn out that way at all.  However, put this book somewhere later in your reading since it is not nearly as high quality work as most of the others and still attempts to put a positive swing on the actions of the perpetrators.

Fascism A Warning by Madeleine Albright  Former Secretary of State Albright's book has been postively reviewed by most of the media people who have read it. I concur absolutely.  Secretary Albright was born in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the US to become our first female Secretary of State and one of our best.  This is her description of a Fascist: "A Fascist is someone who claims to speak for a whole nation or group, is utterly unconcerned with the rights of others, and is willing to use violence and whatever other means are necessary to achieve the goals he or she might have.”  There is no more accurate description of TRAITOR Trump.  This is an excellent, well written book by one of the best diplomats who ever worked in the US government.  Read this book, absorb the truths it contains, and take the title seriously.  It is a warning about the danger of the fascism being practiced in the White House today.

Trump/Russia by Seth Hettena  This book provides an excellently researched timeline of the more than 30 year history of interactions between TRAITOR Trump and Russia.  Hettena's reputation as a reporter, researcher, and writer are excellent.  He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and that, in itself, is a recommendation of his mind and ability to function successfully in a high pressure environment. I reviewed the book here.  This is also a book which every American should read and you should read it before you ever go to the polls to vote again.  This is one of the better books which have been written about the TREASON of Trump and does an excellent job of tracking, documenting, and proving the long, lurid history of the TRAITOR's involvement with Russia and his ownership by and indebtedness to Russia both for his ability to survive the disaster of his casino bankruptcies and his ability to illegally rise to power with the assistance of Russia.

The Plot To Destroy America by Malcolm Nance Malcolm Nance is a career US Navy man and the author of several books on counter terrorism, intelligence, national security, and Islamic extremism. Everyone of his books are well worth reading and should be added to your reading list just as they have been to mine.  He is a trained intelligence expert and cryptologist.  His unique perspective and ability to write about what he knows without endangering his security clearance or his reputation is remarkable.  Malcolm Nance is the kind of person you could expect someday to be a national security adviser to the next duly elected, legitimate administration to occupy the White House. He is perfectly capable of being a US Secretary of State at some point in his life.  Although I have not fully reviewed this book on this blog, I have read it and I am remiss in not having posted a review of it.  I will do so in the near future.

Russian Roulette by Michael Issikoff & David Corn  These two authors are writers for Yahoo News and Mother Jones Magazine respectively.  This book is another examination of the Russian interference in the 2016 election.  While I consider Mother Jones to be a far more reputable source of news than Yahoo, these two authors also have excellent reputations and their work is well respected. I have read this book but am also remiss in not having written a review of it for this blog.  I will also review this book in the next few days if at all possible.  It is well worth reading, instructive about the TREASON of Trump and his closest associates.  

Now we arrive at the list of books which are still sitting on my "To Be Read" shelf.  I fully intend to read and review all of them but all I can say about that is that I am behind.  If you have or choose to obtain copies of any or all of them go ahead and read them.  I have read reviews of them by others and am aware of the work of most of the authors.  They are all worth your time.  As soon as I finish each of them, I will return to this blog post and update my comments on them.

Fear by Bob Woodward Bob Woodward needs no introductions anywhere in the world.  He is one of the two men who broke the story of the Watergate Conspiracy and eventually could be said to have helped bring about the resignation of Richard Nixon.  His reputation is flawless and he has steadily written political works since the 1970's.  Nearly all his books, more than a dozen, have been best sellers and above average works.  His ability to develop sources deep within sheltered organizations was first seen in the information he and his co-author Carl Bernstein obtained from Deep Throat who eventually revealed himself as Mark Felt, a former Deputy Director of The FBI at the time he was providing information to Woodward and Bernstein.  This might be the first book some of you read or may have already read.  Tell me about it if you have.

The Apprentice: Trump, Russia and the Subversion of American Democracy by Greg Miller This book was written by Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post reporter Greg Miller.  No author should ever need to have their resume bolstered after having been employed at the best newspaper in the nation and winning a Pulitzer Prize.  Place this book high on your list of works to be read as I have.  I can't wait to get to it and neither should you. 

Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever by Rick Wilson  Numerous reputable Republicans who desire to keep their reputations intact have spoken out over the last three years about the crimes and ignorance of TRAITOR Trump. Former Republican Presidential Nominee and current US Senator Mitt Romney actually voted to convict and remove TRAITOR Trump on one charge of abuse of power.  Many have left the Republican Party over the long string of criminal actions by the current illegal occupant of the White House.  The rest should do the same.  Rick Wilson has a more than thirty year career as a Republican political operative and worked in the Department of Defense under Dick Cheney.  His resume and his political roots make this book worth examining. 

House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia by Craig Unger Craig Unger has a Harvard education and a growing list of books written primarily about connections between Republican politicians and less than desirable partners. This book examines the long history between TRAITOR Trump and the Russian Mafia whose upper echelon members own many of the apartments in Trump Tower and numerous other Trump developments all around the world.  Nothing more need be said about that connection when you look at the list of business deals and money laundering schemes which have been perpetrated between these principals. This book seems to be worth the time to read it.  Let me know what you think if you get to it before I do. 

Now we get to the earlier books which I had put on my first Reading List For the Resistance.  Each of these works is also worth your time and the entire list is intended to lay the groundwork for you to fully understand the actions of the TRAITOR Trump and his Russian Owned Criminal Syndicate.  Each of these books was listed here for an important reason.  Read them to understand those reasons.  Your mind and your self-esteem will thank you for it. 

United States Constitution The US Constitution and individual rights has been under attack from the first second the Republicans took control of the US government. The recent whitewash by the Repugnican majority in the US Senate of the crimes and TREASON of the TRAITOR Trump has been the worst of these actions. But they will not be the last such attacks on American Democracy and they may well not even be the worst before we are free of them and their tyranny. The TRAITOR Donald Trump has already, on numerous occasions, stated a desire to restrict freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and all rights of Muslim citizens and immigrants in general. Just this week, he has practiced a clearly Fascist retribution against two of the most important impeachment witnesses and the brother of one of them who was never involved in the effort to impeach.  Every citizen should have a solid understanding of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence even in the best of times for our country. Now that we are involved in the worst of times, it is even more important that you know what the Constitution says and what it does not.  It is being misrepresented, misinterpreted, and attacked on a daily basis by these TRAITORS.  Every citizen should also be willing to stand up and speak out in defense of these basic principles of American Democracy at any time the TRAITOR Trump or his generally uneducated, ignorant, and unprincipled followers make attacks on these concepts.  The Capitol Net publishes pocket copies of the Constitution and many other important American political documents which are cheap and easily ordered from their web site.   Capitol Net will actually send you a free pocket copy of the Constitution upon request. Get a copy, read it, study it, understand it, carry it with you wherever you go, and be prepared to confront ignorance about the foundations of American Democracy wherever you encounter it. 

The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay Do not ever listen to and accept the opinion of another about what the Founding Fathers thought, intended, or wanted.  Read what they said for yourself and form your own opinion.  Read this book and learn exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind as they molded the fledgling American Democracy.

"Mein Kampf" by Adolph Hitler Donald Trump's campaign was a carbon copy of the campaign Hitler used to gain power in Germany.  One of Trump's ex-wives has stated that he kept a copy of Hitler's speeches by his bed.  Many of the same techniques Adolph Hitler used to gain and maintain power are the same which have been used on a daily basis by the TRAITOR Donald Trump over the last three years and that use is not accidental.  It is deliberate emulation of Adolph Hitler and it will become more widespread now that this TRAITOR has had his TREASON whitewashed by the US Senate.  

"Night" by Elie Wiesel This is a classic and powerful personal account of the Holocaust by a Jewish survivor who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 for his work to bring about world peace. And, yes, it can happen here. The TRAITOR Trump has uncovered, nurtured, spread, and encouraged a great deal of hatred already in this country.  With great power and the recent whitewash of his TREASON, he will do worse.  

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak This is a fictional work about the Holocaust written for adolescent audiences.  But it does an excellent job of informing the reader of how the Nazis spread terror during the Holocaust.  It is well worth reading by the adult reader to learn about how terror is spread by unjust governments.  While this book is fiction, the descriptions of Nazi terrorism in Germany are factually based and quite accurate. 

Black Earth The Holocaust As History And Warning by Timothy Snyder One of the most cogent quotations from history comes from the philosopher George Santayana:  "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."  The TRAITOR Donald Trump is backed by a coalition of extremist groups ranging from the Ku Klux Klan to the American Nazi Party and, obviously, the Russian Communist Party. The TRAITOR Trump has consistently refused to condemn them, their ideologies, or their actions.  Here is a link to a great story from Mother Jones about those groups.  Most of the followers of these groups are psychologically very similar to the German citizens who became Hitler's Brown Shirts and SS Troopers.  And the most important thing to remember about the Germans who carried out Adolph Hitler's crimes against humanity is that before Adolph Hitler rose to power those people were considered to be ordinary German citizens just as most of TRAITOR Trump's followers would have us believe they are ordinary American citizens.  This book by Timothy Snyder looks at the Holocaust both as a historical event and as an event that could be repeated if the people of today do not heed the warnings provided by the Holocaust.  This is one of the most important books to have been written in the last 25 years. I bought my copy of this book during a visit to the El Paso Texas Holocaust Museum.  If you get the opportunity to visit a city which has a Holocaust Museum, make certain that you visit that site and learn from it all you can because it can be repeated in the United States.  If you do not believe that is possible, just ask yourself one more time what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12, 2017.  It can happen again on any day in America. 

Stubborn Twig: Three Generations In The Life Of A Japanese American Family For those of you who do not believe that anything remotely resembling the crimes of the Holocaust could happen in America, this book is a must read since the TRAITOR Donald Trump has risen to power and had his TREASON whiewashed by the Repugnican majority in the US Senate,  During his entire public career, the TRAITOR Trump has preached disrespect, disregard, and unconstitutional labeling of groups in America such as the United States House, the media, Muslims and immigrants.  This book details the life of a very successful and patriotic Japanese American family which had their land and property seized during World War II and were sent off to interment camps simply because of their ethnicity.  Yes, it can happen in America and it already has under the administration of one of the greatest American Presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt.  

The Cherokee Removal A Brief History With Documents edited by Theda Perdue & Michael Green  For those of you who have read "Stubborn Twig..." and still find yourselves saying it couldn't happen here, it already has...twice, once to the Japanese Americans and once to the Cherokee.  In many ways, the disrespect that the TRAITOR Trump shows to Muslims and immigrants is a lot like the attitude which Andrew Jackson showed the Native Americans.  Hispanic immigrants from Central and South America have seen on a daily basis since January 20, 2017, that their lives and their children's lives are not worth a cent to this TRAITOR who is willing to commit crimes against humanity and cage children in order to further his personal objectives in defiance of US laws and the US Constitution. 

The United States Of Appalachia How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture, and Enlightenment To America by Jeff Biggers  This book will teach you a great deal about the birth of American Democracy, especially for those of you who have never heard of the State Of Franklin or do not know where most of the men who died at the Alamo were actually from.  Jeff Biggers will also show you a lot about how a few dedicated citizens can change a country for the better. 

A Nation Defiant Polish Resistance To The German Occupation Of Poland by Richard S. Fuegner  The only way the country will be able to successfully resist, confront, and stop the destruction of American Democracy by Traitor Trump and his henchmen will be by utilizing a committed, determined, and well organized populist resistance.  Such a resistance is forming in America and can win this battle in the long run but that resistance must learn techniques which have been successful in other periods and other places.  This is an excellent book about the Polish resistance and will teach you a lot.

When Even Angels Wept by Lately Thomas During 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin led an effort known as the Communist Witch Hunts which destroyed the lives and careers of many thousand falsely accused Americans.  Senator McCarthy, another classic megalomaniac, led a senate investigation into alleged communism in the country and dragged hundreds and thousands of innocent socially active people in front of the committee where they were pilloried, denigrated, and defamed with little to no evidence in most cases.  Many of these people spent the rest of their lives unemployed, defamed, and in poverty.  But Senator McCarthy was confronted and stopped before he could completely destroy the country and American Democracy.  This is a great book to learn about one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the country and to utilize that knowledge to prevent TRAITOR Trump and his henchmen from perpetrating another such crime.  

I hope every person who reads this post will go on to read at least one of the listed works, especially the United States Constitution, which will be under attack for the next four years by the Republican Party whether or not Donald Trump is successfully prosecuted for treason.  I would also suggest that you read as much dystopian literature as you can such as the works of George Orwell, Phillip K. Dick, Aldous Huxley, and Anthony Burgess.  

“I have lived my life and I have fought my battles, not against the weak and poor—but against power, injustice, and oppression.”  Clarence Darrow 

“Why, this far into the twenty-first century, are we once again talking about Fascism?  One reason, frankly, is Donald Trump.  If we think of Fascism as a wound from the past that had almost healed, putting Trump in the White House was like ripping off the bandage and picking at the scab.”  Madeleine Albright, “Fascism A Warning”, p. 5-6. 

“Bigger misfits haven’t been seen inside a White House since William Taft got stuck in his bathtub.”  John McCain, “The Restless Wave”, p. 267

“I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written: Yes We Can. Yes We Did.  Yes We Can.”  President Barack Obama

 “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Thomas Paine 

This Is The Battle I Was Trained To Fight!

America is in the midst of the worst constitutional crisis in the history of the country.  I had considered saying that we are in the worst constitutional crisis since April 12, 1861, the day the Civil War began.  But after careful consideration, I realized that even during the Civil War, the forces which were fighting against the United States of America were not controlled by a foreign power.  They were not fully committed to destroying Democracy in North America.  They were not fully committed to destroying the US Constitution.  Today, we are in a battle in which the individual who illegally occupies the White House is fully committed to destroying America, American Democracy, the US Constitution, and everything they all represent as he works to support his Russian master and the ideas of his heroes such as Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Adolph Eichmann, and every other Fascist and dictator who ever lived.  These are the worst days in the history of the country, worse than the Civil War, worse than World War I, worse than World War II, worse than the Great Depression.  We are literally engaged in a battle which will decide if this country will survive as the greatest democracy in the history of the world.

Statue Of Liberty--Photo by Ellis Island

So the question becomes what will each of us do in response to this widespread Fascist attempt to destroy America.  I don't know about you but I will fight it to my dying breath.  Just as the title of this blog post says 'This is the battle I was trained to fight'.  I have been incredibly lucky to be born in the greatest democracy on the face of the earth and so were most of you. And, of course, some of you were born in other countries and chose to immigrate to America for a better life in a better country.  I applaud each immigrant in America and know that the great majority of you are also deeply involved in this battle for the country you loved enough to leave everything and everyone you had ever known to become Americans. Each immigrant citizen in America is under attack today and living in fear of seeing the destruction of the constitutional process which made you an American.  I was incredibly lucky to have been born into a family which was composed of intelligent, politically aware people who were able to understand an attack on our country and to train me to understand it also along with being able to see and understand any future attacks long after the people who raised me were dead.  I have been incredibly lucky to have found, wandered into, or been divinely guided to other teachers, mentors, heroes, and friends who expanded on that early education I received at the feet of my elders.  Collectively and individually these people gave me a base of knowledge, morals, values, and resources which make it not only suggested but mandatory that I stand up for what is right in the face of any attacks which occur to destroy that which is valuable to and life sustaining for a democracy.  I sincerely hope each of you who read this has also had some level of the same type of mentoring, instruction, and moral training to teach you the same things.  At this time of incredible crisis in America, it is necessary that every American citizen with enough intelligence and morals to understand the nature of the intensifying attack on our country and its sacred institutions  must be willing to stand up, stand out, speak up, and speak out on a daily basis to confront the incredibly Fascist and anti-American ideas which are arising from the Radical Right and from Russia and their minion in Washington.

Albert Stewart--Photo by Lexington Herald-Leader

I have often written on this blog about some of the people I have encountered in life who have reinforced the democratic and patriotic values which my parents instilled in me.  Probably the first such person I met was William Howard Cohen when I was about 14 years old in Upward Bound on the campus of Alice Lloyd College.  Bill Cohen became my professor, mentor, and friend and taught me both by example and by didactic methods to stand up for what is right.  Bill Cohen went out in Eastern Kentucky to strip mines and lay down in front of coal trucks in his fight against strip mining and eventually lost his job at Alice Lloyd College because of it.  But because he was right, he never stopped speaking out against wrong.  At about the same time, I met Albert Stewart who also taught at Alice Lloyd College but fought his fights in a much quieter  but just as firm a manner.  In his effort to save his family farm on Yellow Mountain in Knott County from destruction by strip mining, he eventually willed it and gifted it to the University of Kentucky to prevent that destruction.

Robert "Bob" Snyder--Photo by Southern Appalachian Circuit of Antioch College

A few years later, I became a member of a group of people in Beckley, West Virginia, who have gone on to become some of the most respected writers, teachers, and social activists in all of Appalachia.  The Southern Appalachian Circuit Of Antioch College in Beckley was created and directed by Robert "Bob" Snyder one of the best poets and most brilliant minds Appalachia has ever produced.  He also put together a tremendous group of professors and students at that time in the early 1970's who are often spoken of as a group when Appalachian writing and social activism are discussed.  In that group of professors was Don West, P. J. Laska, Rod Harless, and William C. "Bill" Blizzard.  Each of those people further reinforced my commitment to do the right thing no matter the circumstances or the opponent.  I learned valuable lessons from each of them along with several of the other students in that group.

Don West--Photo by Georgia Encyclopedia

Don West had been born in North Georgia as the son and grandson of poor mountain farmers.  He grew up to write, teach, preach, do social action work, and to influence dozens of other American social activists.  He co-created Highlander Center in New Market, Tennessee, with Miles Horton.  He and his wife Connie Adams West created the Appalachian South Folklife Center in Pipestem, West Virginia.  Don fought for the UMWA in Harlan County Kentucky in the 1920's, worked in the defense of Angelo Herndon in Georgia in the 1930's, and saw himself fired from Oglethorpe University due to his social activism.  He was run out of Georgia under a death warrant for his defense of Herndon, saw two homes burned out from under him, and was ostracized in many ways in many places.  But Don West never stopped fighting for social justice.  He also never stopped working to teach anyone he met about the importance of doing the same thing and never stopping in a fight for the good, just, correct thing in a crisis. By the time Don West died in 1992 at 86, his battles had earned him an obituary in the New York Times and a biography in the encyclopedias of two states, Georgia and West Virginia. 

Roderick Mansfield Harless--Photo by the Harless Family

Roderick Mansfield "Rod" Harless was also one of those professors at the Southern Appalachian Circuit of Antioch College.  Rod had grown up in a large family which produced both him and a brother who was a long term official in the United Mine Workers of America.  Rod was quiet, low key, and a wonderful writer.  His "Prince of New Rock" satire series about the candidacy of Jay Rockefeller for governor of West Virginia is an unknown and unrecognized classic. He was a social activist who was deeply committed to always doing the right thing in all circumstances and passed that commitment on to those who knew him.

William C. Blizzard--Photo by Kimberly Clear

William C. "Bill" Blizzard was also a member of the faculty at the Southern Appalachian Circuit of Antioch College after having spent most of his life as a writer at the Charleston Gazette  which fired him for refusing to cross a press men's picket line at the paper during a strike.  Bill Blizzard would likely have chosen to die rather than cross a picket line.  He was the son of William Blizzard, the leader of the United Mine Workers at the Battle of Blair Mountain in Logan County, West Virginia.  Bill Blizzard published a book, "When Miners March" about the West Virginia unionization effort late in life and devoted his life and much of his free lance writing to passing on the socially active values his father and the United Mine Workers had passed on to him as a child.

P. J. Laska--Photo by Roger D. Hicks

P. J. Laska was also a key member of the faculty at the Southern Appalachian Circuit of Antioch College and has been my professor, mentor, and friend since we met in the 1970's.  He is the one living member of that incredible group of teachers and activists who came together in Beckley along with a sizeable group of their students who have continued the good fight in nearly all causes we have encounter.  Laska was a finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry in 1976.  I have been blessed to have known all of these people I have listed so far in this blog post.  But I have been especially blessed to have had P. J. Laska as a friend and mentor for the past forty plus years.  Today, at 80, he is still fighting the good fight just as many of his former students are.  After knowing and having been mentored by this group of people, how could I do anything except keep up the good fight until it is won just as the American Revolution was won, just as the Civil War was won, just as all of our greatest challenges such as the Great Depression have been won?

Dr. Daya Singh Sandhu--Photo by Sikhnet.com

I have also been blessed to know several immigrants who have influenced me deeply over the years.  I have written about some of those people and their contributions to America in this blog and I will continue to do so.  Recently, I have met two new immigrants who work in two of my favorite restaurants who are also inspirations to me.  After having known people like Dr. Elif Arioglu-Oral, Dr. Daya Singh Sandu, Dr. Surjit Dhooper, Dr. Noor Loynab and his wonderful wife, Amena Loynab, all of whom are immigrants, how could I not continue to fight the good fight to keep the open door of America open to all who are willing to come and work to make this country better?  But I have also been influenced by many other immigrants who came to America, became citizens, and spent their lives working as horsemen, waiters, laborers, and other jobs which make a country function successfully?  And, of course, how could any loyal citizen of this country not fight to their dying breath against the nameless TRAITOR who now lives illegally in the White House based on his TREASON with Russia?  I call upon every person who reads this blog post to join in this greatest fight in American history and to continue unflinching until the battle is won.  Do not allow our country's greatest enemy to destroy the US Constitution, American Democracy, and America herself as they are working daily to do?   

Dr. Elif Arioglu-Oral, M. D.--Photo by U of Michigan Health Net