Your words speak Volumes. Mr Katyal I heard you speak in Boston last year. I was profoundly impressed. I hounded my brother, an attorney in DC, to look up your presentation.
As a proud American, please use your incredible knowledge and expertise to have the President removed from office. Our standing within the world needs you NOW
Thank you, Margaret! As a retired college reading instructor who taught comprehension, vocabulary development, and critical thinking/reading skills, I’m grateful for voices like yours. Watching the constant gaslighting, and the glazed-over discouragement and exhaustion of the public, I think most of us just need reassurance that we are not mistaken, and the next step is to SPEAK UP.
As a teacher/librarian for 35 years I concur with Margaret. Words do matter whether written or spoken. It is time to stop wishing and hoping and do something. Mr. Katyal I have heard your eloquent words and am a great admirer of your legal abilities. As I believe Margaret is implying, it is time to use them. The U.S. Constitution applies to everyone.
Retired French teacher here. Yes, Merry. Words do matter, especially those in a document as crucial as the Constitution. Take heed, Neal.
This morning, I was bemoaning the fact that our local grocery store's "newsstand" did not have a single copy of a single newspaper on it. Not even the local Buffalo News. Forget about trying to snag a copy of the NYTimes. Doesn't ANYONE read any more?
You can't make sense of words that aren't even available to read. It's like being held responsible for teaching students who are not in their seats. Pas possible.
This country is failing in ways too numerous to count.
Exactly. I’m not a “teacher” per se. I’m a licensed physician. And throughout my 35 years as a doctor, teaching has always been fundamental and essential to my work. Not only do I educate my patients. I also teach students doctors and colleagues. I also do a lot of research and writing and I create simple, informative hand-out and flyers.
And I’ve always been a voracious reader, including numerous, reputable, national newspapers everyday, which - as you stated - are no longer available.
In any case, I greatly appreciate your comments.
Following is my response to this important post - 👇🏻
“Neal Katyal is among the best legal scholars in our country.
And YES. Words matter.
And THIS is exactly why EDUCATION MATTERS. The BASICS - reading, writing and arithmetic. Of course those fundamentals can be expanded through more education. But even younger students can be taught how to use commonsense, logic, and how to evaluate information.
But unfortunately, when the primary goal is to “dumb-down” a society by cutting funds for public education, then eventually voters become increasingly dependent on who they listen to without the ability to assess the validity of the information they’re being fed. Instead they tend to simply believe what they’re being told.
And that’s exactly what we’re now witnessing in the world according to trump. Uneducated people still get to vote. And it’s also why corrupt, convicted felons who lie with impunity can still be elected as POTUS.”
You have truly hit a nerve in mentioning the prevailing dumbing down of the American populace, starting with Linda McMahon as US Secretary of Education whose primary goal has been to completely dismantle and destroy public education. The sciences, math, languages, art, music, social studies, literature, -and honestly- just thinking, have all become suspect in the eyes of Felon47’s “uneducated.” Why else are they incapable of responding and voting in any way other than as they are told by right-wing media?
I admire your accomplishments in medicine and applaud you for educating those you treat, work with, and instruct in countless ways. You and your honored profession have my utmost respect.
Neal Katyal has long been a voice of reason and legal activism. We should all be grateful for his passion and commitment. I am hopeful he will continue his work and prevail in ways perhaps most of us cannot.
Here on Substack, we may sometimes feel as if we are preaching to the choir, but that in of itself, ought to give us hope. It keeps the flames of resistance alive and leaves each of us feeling a little less alone.
Yes, on Substack we are to a degree preaching to the choir, and I somehow find that reassuring. I would assume that the Substack audience is better educated and more informed. Progressive. Committed to ideals rather than seeking information that’s based solely on specific political ideology.
But I’ve always been registered as an independent - although I do lean progressive - because I welcome authentic, well-informed debate from all sides.
If we stand united, we will get through this. Take care.
I agree about the general intelligence of most of the Substack subscribers and appreciate your commitment to ideals, and thank you for your quest for verifiable information and fact-based opinions. Our democracy depends on a well-educated public. Lately, my optimism is cautious and guarded.
Ah… fellow Buffalonian? Sadly I gave up my “paper” news when the cost was more than the number of pages…. But I am still an avid reader, be it magazines, (mother jones), my computer, my phone, anywhere I can glean the truth about the insanity our country is dealing with. What we really could use are some level headed, honest, but loud, democratic voices that are louder than the chaos surrounding us!!
Isn’t it just the pits that the “News” comes to us from Cleveland? I concur about the cost. And the quality and intelligence level of the articles have dropped…
Reading keeps the mind sharp and open. We will continue to find good sources of information to remain stimulated and to stay abreast of what is going on.
Margaret Ellison: Please consider taking this request to the Supreme Court yourself, on behalf of the American citizens. You, and all those who work for a living, are being injured daily as a result of our diminished buying power, constitutional rights, and human rights. Please consider being the plaintiff representing US citizens, et al. Thank you.
Thank you for your words. Too many people dance around the disturbing issues we live with every day. Excuses, claims of ignorance, blank stares. That's the norm when asking the current lemmings to comment one of DT's daily word spews. No one wants to go against a tyrant, especially an unhinged tyrant.
It does say “or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States…who having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States…
Neal Katyal is among the best legal scholars in our country.
And YES. Words matter.
And THIS is exactly why EDUCATION MATTERS. The BASICS - reading, writing and arithmetic. Of course those fundamentals can be expanded through more education. But even younger students can be taught how to use commonsense, logic, and how to evaluate information.
But unfortunately, when the primary goal is to “dumb-down” a society by cutting funds for public education, then eventually voters become increasingly dependent on who they listen to without the ability to assess the validity of the information they’re being fed. Instead they tend to simply believe what they’re being told.
And that’s exactly what we’re now witnessing in the world according to trump. Uneducated people still get to vote, and it’s also why corrupt, convicted felons who lie with impunity can still be elected as POTUS.
I think Katyal, who has argued successfully other cases before the Supreme Court deserves more credit than this. Urge to do better, but don’t accuse him of being remiss. We’re all a bit remiss at times.
In the book 1984 written by George Orwell back in 1949 some people see it as an attack on language. George Orwell called it Newspeak. It was about canceling words and when you cancel words you’re not able to have certain thoughts.
The educational system in America is a farce. A lot of kids can’t even recite the Pledge of Allegiance. They don’t even know the preamble of the constitution nor can they name the three branches of government. They don’t know what the meaning of citizen is. They don’t realize that there is no liberty injustice for all in the United States of corporate criminality.
Kids might get told that we are the greatest country on earth and they will believe it because an adult told them that but it’s a great big giant steaming pile of shit of a lie. If the United States was a great country there would be liberty injustice for all and government for and by the people.
The secret to liberty is an informed population. The way you create tyranny is by keeping people ignorant. Trump said it best when he said how much he loves the poorly educated. And the worst thing about that is that not one single dirty filthy depraved MAGAT was insulted by that remark coming out of the pecker sucking lie hole of the orange menace Donald J Trump.
Your words speak Volumes. Mr Katyal I heard you speak in Boston last year. I was profoundly impressed. I hounded my brother, an attorney in DC, to look up your presentation.
As a proud American, please use your incredible knowledge and expertise to have the President removed from office. Our standing within the world needs you NOW
Thank you, Margaret! As a retired college reading instructor who taught comprehension, vocabulary development, and critical thinking/reading skills, I’m grateful for voices like yours. Watching the constant gaslighting, and the glazed-over discouragement and exhaustion of the public, I think most of us just need reassurance that we are not mistaken, and the next step is to SPEAK UP.
What say you, Mr. Katyal?
Think she used enuff dynomite there, Butch?
An English teacher enforces the constitution when all three branches of government will not. Bravo!
Brilliant! 💜
As a teacher/librarian for 35 years I concur with Margaret. Words do matter whether written or spoken. It is time to stop wishing and hoping and do something. Mr. Katyal I have heard your eloquent words and am a great admirer of your legal abilities. As I believe Margaret is implying, it is time to use them. The U.S. Constitution applies to everyone.
Retired French teacher here. Yes, Merry. Words do matter, especially those in a document as crucial as the Constitution. Take heed, Neal.
This morning, I was bemoaning the fact that our local grocery store's "newsstand" did not have a single copy of a single newspaper on it. Not even the local Buffalo News. Forget about trying to snag a copy of the NYTimes. Doesn't ANYONE read any more?
You can't make sense of words that aren't even available to read. It's like being held responsible for teaching students who are not in their seats. Pas possible.
This country is failing in ways too numerous to count.
Exactly. I’m not a “teacher” per se. I’m a licensed physician. And throughout my 35 years as a doctor, teaching has always been fundamental and essential to my work. Not only do I educate my patients. I also teach students doctors and colleagues. I also do a lot of research and writing and I create simple, informative hand-out and flyers.
And I’ve always been a voracious reader, including numerous, reputable, national newspapers everyday, which - as you stated - are no longer available.
In any case, I greatly appreciate your comments.
Following is my response to this important post - 👇🏻
“Neal Katyal is among the best legal scholars in our country.
And YES. Words matter.
And THIS is exactly why EDUCATION MATTERS. The BASICS - reading, writing and arithmetic. Of course those fundamentals can be expanded through more education. But even younger students can be taught how to use commonsense, logic, and how to evaluate information.
But unfortunately, when the primary goal is to “dumb-down” a society by cutting funds for public education, then eventually voters become increasingly dependent on who they listen to without the ability to assess the validity of the information they’re being fed. Instead they tend to simply believe what they’re being told.
And that’s exactly what we’re now witnessing in the world according to trump. Uneducated people still get to vote. And it’s also why corrupt, convicted felons who lie with impunity can still be elected as POTUS.”
(“Be impeccable with your words.”)
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/71463-1-be-impeccable-with-your-word-speak-with-integrity-say)
Merry,
You have truly hit a nerve in mentioning the prevailing dumbing down of the American populace, starting with Linda McMahon as US Secretary of Education whose primary goal has been to completely dismantle and destroy public education. The sciences, math, languages, art, music, social studies, literature, -and honestly- just thinking, have all become suspect in the eyes of Felon47’s “uneducated.” Why else are they incapable of responding and voting in any way other than as they are told by right-wing media?
I admire your accomplishments in medicine and applaud you for educating those you treat, work with, and instruct in countless ways. You and your honored profession have my utmost respect.
Neal Katyal has long been a voice of reason and legal activism. We should all be grateful for his passion and commitment. I am hopeful he will continue his work and prevail in ways perhaps most of us cannot.
Here on Substack, we may sometimes feel as if we are preaching to the choir, but that in of itself, ought to give us hope. It keeps the flames of resistance alive and leaves each of us feeling a little less alone.
Be well.
Yes, on Substack we are to a degree preaching to the choir, and I somehow find that reassuring. I would assume that the Substack audience is better educated and more informed. Progressive. Committed to ideals rather than seeking information that’s based solely on specific political ideology.
But I’ve always been registered as an independent - although I do lean progressive - because I welcome authentic, well-informed debate from all sides.
If we stand united, we will get through this. Take care.
I agree about the general intelligence of most of the Substack subscribers and appreciate your commitment to ideals, and thank you for your quest for verifiable information and fact-based opinions. Our democracy depends on a well-educated public. Lately, my optimism is cautious and guarded.
United we are. We can move mountains.
Ah… fellow Buffalonian? Sadly I gave up my “paper” news when the cost was more than the number of pages…. But I am still an avid reader, be it magazines, (mother jones), my computer, my phone, anywhere I can glean the truth about the insanity our country is dealing with. What we really could use are some level headed, honest, but loud, democratic voices that are louder than the chaos surrounding us!!
Yes, born and raised here.
Isn’t it just the pits that the “News” comes to us from Cleveland? I concur about the cost. And the quality and intelligence level of the articles have dropped…
Reading keeps the mind sharp and open. We will continue to find good sources of information to remain stimulated and to stay abreast of what is going on.
Thank goodness for libraries!
"Ring the bells that still can ring" (L. Cohen in Anthem).
Margaret Ellison: Please consider taking this request to the Supreme Court yourself, on behalf of the American citizens. You, and all those who work for a living, are being injured daily as a result of our diminished buying power, constitutional rights, and human rights. Please consider being the plaintiff representing US citizens, et al. Thank you.
Thank you for your words. Too many people dance around the disturbing issues we live with every day. Excuses, claims of ignorance, blank stares. That's the norm when asking the current lemmings to comment one of DT's daily word spews. No one wants to go against a tyrant, especially an unhinged tyrant.
It does say “or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States…who having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States…
Wise words to a teacher who speaks truth. We are all missing something to use to oust this entire administration.
I love him, but this is brilliant! 💙
Neal Katyal is among the best legal scholars in our country.
And YES. Words matter.
And THIS is exactly why EDUCATION MATTERS. The BASICS - reading, writing and arithmetic. Of course those fundamentals can be expanded through more education. But even younger students can be taught how to use commonsense, logic, and how to evaluate information.
But unfortunately, when the primary goal is to “dumb-down” a society by cutting funds for public education, then eventually voters become increasingly dependent on who they listen to without the ability to assess the validity of the information they’re being fed. Instead they tend to simply believe what they’re being told.
And that’s exactly what we’re now witnessing in the world according to trump. Uneducated people still get to vote, and it’s also why corrupt, convicted felons who lie with impunity can still be elected as POTUS.
(“Be impeccable with your words.”)
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/71463-1-be-impeccable-with-your-word-speak-with-integrity-say
I'm with Margaret!
I think Katyal, who has argued successfully other cases before the Supreme Court deserves more credit than this. Urge to do better, but don’t accuse him of being remiss. We’re all a bit remiss at times.
We didn’t read it that way. We don’t think Margaret would write him if she didn't respect him.
On second thought, you are probably correct.
In the book 1984 written by George Orwell back in 1949 some people see it as an attack on language. George Orwell called it Newspeak. It was about canceling words and when you cancel words you’re not able to have certain thoughts.
The educational system in America is a farce. A lot of kids can’t even recite the Pledge of Allegiance. They don’t even know the preamble of the constitution nor can they name the three branches of government. They don’t know what the meaning of citizen is. They don’t realize that there is no liberty injustice for all in the United States of corporate criminality.
Kids might get told that we are the greatest country on earth and they will believe it because an adult told them that but it’s a great big giant steaming pile of shit of a lie. If the United States was a great country there would be liberty injustice for all and government for and by the people.
The secret to liberty is an informed population. The way you create tyranny is by keeping people ignorant. Trump said it best when he said how much he loves the poorly educated. And the worst thing about that is that not one single dirty filthy depraved MAGAT was insulted by that remark coming out of the pecker sucking lie hole of the orange menace Donald J Trump.