We Are Going to Overcome These Challenging Times With Compassion, Reason, and Community

The Right Is Attacking the Disability Community and Corporate Democrats Are Failing to Respond

Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I stand for humanity. I believe that all human beings should be recognized as people. I believe that the primary purpose of our government is to defend the right to basic dignity for everyone. Unfortunately, we are forced to endure the cruelty of right-wing political movements that are based on inflicting punishment and needless pain. Nick Paro [https://substack.com/profile/189675044-nick-paro] posted this call-to-action [https://app.broadbanner.com/crip-crow] with regard to the DOJ’s memo to roll back the Olmstead decision. Once again, conservatives are taking overt action to deprive disabled people of their basic human rights. As with everything that happens in this administration, it’s important to separate the smoke from the fire. A. Eevie Bateman [https://substack.com/profile/443649430-a-eevie-bateman] provides an excellent assessment of the danger here: As for me, I think the attack on the Olmstead decision is another in a long line of anti-humanitarian actions committed by this criminal regime. Since November of 2024, I’ve been working to oppose the transgressions of the modern conservative ideology which is nothing more than the manifestation of punishment, intolerance and torture. My main source of frustration is that in 2020, we the people gave our incumbent Democrats all the power they needed to prevent all the atrocities we’re being forced to endure right now. Democrats had control of congress and the presidency. Yet they failed to hold the insurrectionist accountable. The result is a list of atrocities that will rival the most shameful moments in human history. Innocent people have been round up and sent to concentration camps. Child rapists are allowed to go free. Schools and hospitals have been bombed in Venezuela, Iran, and Palestine. Energy sanctions have caused power shortages in Cuba that have led to terrible human suffering. In addition, this criminal regime has gutted healthcare throughout the country and removed our pandemic response team. Conservatives have turned human suffering into an inevitability, and they seem to celebrate every tragic death as if they’re trying to meet some sort of quota. It’s long been the case that the right-wing has shown a blatant disregard for the members of our disability community. The right-wing refused to wear masks or practice social distancing during the pandemic. White supremacy is an ideology of eugenics with genocide as one of its core concepts. At this point, we know what conservatives are. Unfortunately, our Democratic leaders have shown that they’re more interested in appeasing their corporate donors than standing up to defend the lives of their constituents. This is why I’ve essentially given up on attempting to pressure our current generation of Democrats to do anything. We can’t fall into the delusion that they’re failing to act on the Olmstead memo, or any other atrocity, because they haven’t heard about it. The Democrats know exactly what’s going on. That also applies to the Epstein files. Those files were available to them throughout the Biden administration. Yes, we need a call-to-action, but we have to pair that with the knowledge that our corporate owned representatives care more about consolidating wealth and power than standing up for humanity. Time and time again, Democrats have had the power to dramatically improve our quality of life. There were multiple opportunities to codify Roe V. Wade and ensure the women of this country had the right to reproductive healthcare. But rather than take that bold action, the Democrats were content to leave Roe vulnerable, so they could use it as leverage to secure votes. They’ve often relied on coercion and threat rather than any true promise of progressive activism. What evidence exists that this current crop of Democrats will view the Olmstead memo in any other way? Everybody knows that the criminal regime is dedicated to cruelty and human suffering. Yet the Democratic party still largely insists that they must indulge in bipartisan cooperation. This is the same party that knows our police forces have been infiltrated by white supremacy and neo-nazi groups, but they refuse to discuss reform because they fear a “defund the police” narrative. The consequence of their cowardice is that our current crop of representatives actively fund racism and antisemitism. I stand for humanity, and I’m no longer going to make apologies for political parties that have proven themselves to be two wings of the same bird. This is why I’ve dedicated my activism to elevating a new generation of progressive candidates that has the courage to stand for basic integrity. I deeply admire people like Melat Kiros, who was fired from her job as a lawyer for speaking out against genocide. We need people who are willing to endure personal sacrifice in order to stand up for the rights of their fellow human beings. Naturally, the corporate owned democrats have responded with attacks and baseless slurs. We’ve seen the mudslinging that’s been directed at Mamdani, even as he’s implemented a series of policies that have greatly improved the lives of the people of New York. At some point we have to recognize that appealing to the status quo is just a waste of our energy. This applies to both our representatives and media entities that are quick to publish baseless slurs against progressives while never offering equivalent criticism of corrupt conservatives or corporate democrats. We need to stand up for the disability community. We need to stand up for immigrants. We need to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community. We need to stand up for all humanity. Making appeals to our corrupt system is never going to achieve this. We have to stop grasping at the coattails of the illusion of power, and instead act in accordance with our personal integrity. I don’t have any faith that our current generation of corporate Democrats is going to do anything to defend the rights of the disability community. The most we can expect is that they’ll dangle the promise of action in perpetuity, to keep us in fear of the right. But that’s a cruel and reckless strategy that will leave us vulnerable should nefarious forces manage to seize power through propaganda or theft. If we truly want to stand up for the disability community and all human beings, it’s time to get behind the progressive movement. We need to usher in a new form of government. We need people of integrity who have already demonstrated they’re willing to make personal sacrifices in service of humanity. A call-to-action is worthless when it comes to corporate Democrats who are more interested in disrespecting voters and sabotaging the progressive members of their own party. Corporate Democrats know the suffering we face. They count on it, so they can say, “I told you so,” when the next election comes around. We have to stop playing their game. It’s time to support progressive leaders who actually care and have the integrity and courage to take appropriate action. Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Maybe It's Time That Republicans Faced Some Deserved Accountability

Pay what you can: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

We Are Going to Overcome These Challenging Times With Compassion, Reason, and Community

Will Fullwood [https://substack.com/profile/107973962-will-fullwood] is my good friend and he’s one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever met. He’s dedicated to anti-racism activism. We’ve been doing regular talks for the last two years. His insights have been invaluable in helping me better understand the true rot the USA’s cruel cultural identity. This was the last conversation we had before Will moved permanently to France. He’s in a new place, but the job continues and I’ll be looking forward to scheduling more talks with him. I hope you enjoy this one, it’s the culmination of a lot of work! Thank you A. Eevie Bateman [https://substack.com/profile/443649430-a-eevie-bateman], Ben Ulansey [https://substack.com/profile/134571827-ben-ulansey], 💨Ashley Schmitt🫟™️ [https://substack.com/profile/199631703-ashley-schmitt], Mandy Ohman [https://substack.com/profile/183065704-mandy-ohman], Humanitarians Unite! [https://substack.com/profile/30336021-humanitarians-unite], and many others for tuning into my live video with Will Fullwood [https://substack.com/profile/107973962-will-fullwood]! Join me for my next live video in the app. Please support me if you can! Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Corporate AIPAC Democrats Have Never Used Their Political Power to Oppose Antisemitism

Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I’m sick and tired of watching blue MAGA attempt to browbeat us with the same dishonest tactics the Republicans have been using for more than a decade. It’s also pitiful that so many intelligent, highly-educated people fall right into the trap of allowing intellectually dishonest people to frame every narrative. I’ve gotten drawn into enough disingenuous attacks disguised as conversations to develop a few tactics to derail these assaults. The fact that our corporate owned representatives haven’t adopted these methods makes me inclined to think they’re often the ones funding and deploying the bots. There’s nothing MAGA likes more than to make false accusations of bigotry or racism. They have an advantage in this kind of argument because MAGA is utterly without scruples. They like to see us defensive. You see, decent people are troubled by even the suggestion that they might have said or done something inappropriate. Meanwhile, the joy MAGA derives from behaving boorishly is matched only by their delight in accusing others of the same. MAGA always accuses the innocent of the crimes they themselves commit. For more than a decade our AIPAC owned corporate Democrats have been befuddled by this tactic. This is because they’re a bunch of silver spoon jerks who were driven to a private school by a personal chauffer. They’ve never had to deal with bullies, but they steadfastly refuse to listen to anyone who has. The answer to dealing with bullies is to not “reach across the aisle” to them. You don’t make deals with them. You don’t try to see things from their point of view. You don’t engage in wishful thinking that they’ll stop being awful. Instead, you call them out on it. I’ve been doing this for years. When MAGA shows up and starts saying, “Well, actually it’s the left that’s racist…” I interrupt. “So, you agree that being racist is wrong?” At this point they begin to sputter, “Well, obviously, I…” You have to interrupt again or they’ll just talk and talk. “Good, then why don’t we join together and pass some laws that create consequences for being racist? Enough talk, let’s have some action.” That last sentence is the critical part. All the phonies in politics, big media, and social media want to waste all your time in circular discussions that never get anywhere. This is how the fake media gets paid. This is why so many of the big platforms everybody respects so much waste all their time talking about the reflecting pool rather than using their power to elevate progressive challengers to corrupt incumbents. Many of the big platforms people support are nothing more than a cog in the distraction mechanism. They’re not with us. The platforms that do nothing but scream insults at the occupant of the Oval Office rather than providing actionable information are just another form of distraction. They’re false. They’re doing the work of the regime. Stop supporting them. Lately, we’re seeing that the corporate Democrats are going on the offensive. They’re in a full on panic after the New York primaries where the voters came out and replaced worthless representatives with some good ones. Naturally, people are going on the news and complaining that this violates some “unwritten code” about not speaking out against incumbents. Excuse me? Since when were we ruled by “unwritten codes.” If a representative is worthless and corrupt, they need to be replaced. At the end of the day, the voters get to decide and it’s time for AIPAC bought Democrats to be reminded of that. But because they’re in a panic, AIPAC Democrats are using the most deceitful tactics available to them. They’re accusing everyone who doesn’t agree with them of “antisemitism.” The purpose of making a horrific accusation like that is to get us on our heels and take the wind out of the sails of our activism. They expect us to retreat and defend ourselves. Instead, we need to double down and push back. I personally think antisemitism is disgusting. I also think it’s disgusting that neo-nazi groups have been allowed to run roughshod over our whole country. They openly gather in the street with their racist chants and propaganda. They’re domestic terrorist groups and our AIPAC funded corporate Democrats have done NOTHING to stop them. That leads me to believe that it’s actually our AIPAC funded corporate Democrats that can be accused of antisemitism. What other explanation do we have for the fact that they’ve never used their political power to stop hate groups in our country? Neo-nazi groups commit crimes all the time. Many of them attacked the Capitol. Round them up, arrest them. It’s telling that our AIPAC funded corporate Democrats are more offended by people having discussions on social media than they are by domestic terrorist groups committing violence in the streets. It’s because our AIPAC funded corporate Democrats are not being truthful. They’re fixated on a distraction. They want an argument. They don’t want action. They currently have all the power. I would be overwhelmed with happiness if they actually took an initiative to stop antisemitism. But they haven’t done that for the decade they’ve been in power, and they sure aren’t going to start now. The corporate Democrats currently in office are only concerned with keeping their own power. In pursuit of this objective, they’re going to attempt to sow the seeds of division among groups that should be allies. Authoritarians always use division. They own the media. They own the legal system. They own politics. The antisemitism in the United States is THEIR fault. They could have stopped it years ago but they don’t want to. Why don’t they want to? It’s because it’s a convenient thing to trot out again every time it appears the general public is organizing enough to become a threat to their power. They do the same thing with racism. They’re always attempting to drive wedges into our unity. Do not fall for their trick. The simple fact is that the AIPAC owned corporate Democrats are just as much as complicit in the corruption of our government as the Republicans. All of the problems in our society are their fault. We are not going to see justice until we remove the majority of our sitting politicians and replace them with women and men of integrity. They own virtually all mechanisms of communication and they’re very well-funded. They’re going to try and brainwash us. But there’s a very easy response. Simply ask why they’ve never used their political power to do anything about the rise of antisemitism in the USA? Why have they been historically tolerant of neo-nazis? Why do they allow malicious groups to erode our educational system? I’m not defending the awful things people say on social media, but we don’t even know where those comments are coming from. For all we know, it’s just a bunch of noise spewed by AI bots the AIPAC owned corporate Democrats deployed to fabricate their argument. I’m much more concerned about violent, racist criminals committing acts of terrorism in our streets. Let’s do something about that group, and not fall for the distractions or division any longer. Let’s have some accountability for a change rather than feel compelled to bow down to a feckless group of cowards who has no talent other than to deflect suspicion that they might be the authors of all our pain. Let’s end antisemitism. Let’s arrest the neo-nazi domestic terrorist groups. Let’s DO something rather than stand around pointing the finger all the time. If you agree, then help me elevate some decent candidates of integrity. The old guard has done nothing for us. It’s time for a change. Thanks for your support: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

What's the Appropriate Action for This Moment?

Wow, Jessica Denson [https://substack.com/profile/336645391-jessica-denson] is a breath of fresh air. I’ve already invited her onto another show. In this interview, she told a story of how she got kicked off a larger platform for speaking her mind. Friends, I’m telling you that you have to stop supporting millionaire owned publications. They’re censoring us. They deplatform people. They maintain a cruel status quo. We need to support people of integrity. We need to support people of authenticity. We need to support people who take action and insist on accountability. Jessica is one of those people, you can support her here: Also, here’s her call to action: Folks, this is how you move the needle. You move it by forcing a vote, by putting people’s names on the record. And when they are the holdouts, you name and shame them and then you force a vote again. We need rule and it’s called rule nine. We need rule nine invoked on House Resolution 1155. You can go to removetheregime.com [https://www.removetheregime.com/]. You will find there the number for Congress, which you should all know well, 202-224-3121. You will also find the number for Rep. John Larson’s office, 202-225-2265. Call this man. Thank you NeuroDivergent Hodgepodge [https://substack.com/profile/290170277-neurodivergent-hodgepodge], Chris Resists [https://substack.com/profile/315050911-chris-resists], 🇨🇦 Natalie Woodn’t 🇨🇦 [https://substack.com/profile/290887129-natalie-woodnt], Rachel-We are Renee and Keith [https://substack.com/profile/305439072-rachel-we-are-renee-and-keith], Jeffry Weidner [https://substack.com/profile/23683480-jeffry-weidner], and many others for tuning into my live video with Jessica Denson [https://substack.com/profile/336645391-jessica-denson]! Join me for my next live video in the app. Pay what you can: 30% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/b66e5c2e] 💙 40% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/01f1b0e8] 💙 50% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/0d3e6643] 💙 60% off [https://walterrhein.substack.com/6a8f4788] I'd Rather Be Writing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full access to I'd Rather Be Writing at walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe [https://walterrhein.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]