Heather Cox Richardson

 

"Making America great has never been about hatred or destruction or the aggregation of wealth at the very top; it has always been about building good lives for everyone on the principle of self-determination. While we have never been perfect, our democracy is a far better option than the autocratic oligarchy Trump is imposing on us.”   Heather Cox Richardson

Sleepless this night because of Charlie Kirk, and thoughts by Gabe Alves

It's another one of those nights when sleep is a concept, not a reality. I'm sleepless this night because of Charlie Kirk. Some believe Facebook is essentially a waste of time and at times I have agreed. But tonight after spending the last hour scrolling through the posts of some very thoughtful people, and feeling compelled to add something that would somehow make a difference, i.e., have some sort of bell ringing significance, I decided I couldn't share my feelings any better, or more heartfelt, than many of you "out there" have already. So, here is just one Facebook post I stumbled across that says what I might say. But understand there are many more. Nancy Argenziano, Steve Dicks. There are so many more. But, here's one that hit home and I share it for your consideration. It's by a gay person. I am not gay, but to hear such pain with such a calm sense of bewilderment encased in such sincerity and wisdom at what is happening beyond Charlie Kirk, I was struck. Perhaps you will be, too. .... Sandspur

By Gabe Alves

(FB: https://www.facebook.com/grcalves)

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As an immigrant and a gay individual, I’ve been reflecting deeply on the reactions I’ve seen since the news of Charlie Kirk’s death. On one side, there are those mourning, honoring his work, and praising his efforts to shape political life in America. On the other, there are people who—because of the pain he inflicted through his words and actions—are celebrating his death or making light of it.

I’ll be honest: I’ve felt moments of rage seeing people praise a man whose rhetoric so often divided and caused harm for political gain. And I’ve also felt sadness seeing others treat his death as a punchline. Because no matter what he stood for, Charlie Kirk was still a human being. And no one—absolutely no one—deserves to die by gun violence in such a senseless, horrific way.

This post is my attempt to hold space for both realities: to mourn the loss of a life cut short, while not erasing the painful legacy his words left behind.

⸻

The news of Charlie Kirk’s death is undeniably tragic. A life cut short by violence is never something to celebrate. Death by such means leaves behind grief, pain, and unanswered questions—not only for his family and loved ones, but also for the communities who were touched, harmed, or alienated by his words.

As we reflect, it’s important to hold two truths together. On one hand, Charlie Kirk was a son, a friend, and a figure who inspired loyalty among many young conservatives. His passing is a human loss, and compassion must extend to those who are mourning him deeply. On the other hand, his public legacy cannot be divorced from the rhetoric that left many others—immigrants, racial minorities, LGBTQIA+ communities, people outside the Christian faith—feeling targeted, excluded, or diminished.

Some of his most divisive statements left scars:

• Suggesting that the “Great Replacement” is not a theory but a reality—a concept rooted in racist conspiracy.

• Calling Martin Luther King Jr. a “mythological anti-racist creation,” downplaying one of America’s greatest civil rights leaders.

• Claiming Jewish people “control Hollywood, the colleges, the nonprofits,” repeating dangerous antisemitic tropes.

• Declaring transgender identities to be “lies that hurt people and abuse kids,” while calling for nationwide bans on affirming care.

• Comparing abortion to the Holocaust, an analogy deeply painful and offensive to many.

These words were not harmless—they carried weight, they spread widely, and they hurt people. For those who felt dehumanized or erased by them, his death does not erase the wounds of his rhetoric.

Yet, as tragic as this moment is, we are left to imagine the better outcome—the one we do not get. A future where Charlie Kirk lived long enough to confront the pain his words caused. Where he might have chosen to say, “I’m sorry”—to immigrants who were painted as threats, to LGBTQIA+ people told their identities were lies, to minorities who felt erased, to communities of faith outside Christianity who felt excluded. A future where he could have used his powerful platform not to divide, but to heal.

We cannot rejoice in the silencing of any voice by violence. Violence deepens wounds; it never resolves them. The best outcome would have been transformation, growth, and a willingness to recognize the humanity of those he once spoke against. That is the loss beneath the loss—not just of a life, but of the possibility for change.

As we mourn this tragedy, let us hold space for those who are grieving his death and those who are grieving the harm of his legacy. May we commit ourselves, in his absence, to building the bridges he often tore down. May we resist the temptation to celebrate his passing, and instead rededicate ourselves to creating a world where words are used to uplift rather than divide, and where no life is lost to senseless violence.

These men could kill you

These men could kill you

Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen are two folks who are stepping up through lawsuits to reign in the insanity being perpetrated by Trump and his perfect idiot, National health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Together, they are "determined to roll back decades of science and life-saving public health measures provided by vaccines across the nation."

Now, Trump-acolyte DeSantis and his dangerously incompetent Surgeon General Joseph Lodato, have decided that Florida kids will no longer be required to receive certain vaccines before being enrolled in public schools. Vaccines that for decades have prevented mass misery and death of millions.

It is absolute wrongheaded and irresponsible mindlessness , to purposely be putting young lives at such dangerous and needless risk. Please consider this article emailed to me this morning.

 ....Sandspur

___________________________

A few notes about polio, measles, and COVID:

• Polio used to kill or paralyze half a million people a year worldwide. If you weren’t alive then, ask your parents or grandparents, who may well have known someone who had to live inside a huge metal coffin-like contraption called an “iron lung.” A safe and effective vaccine eradicated polio from our country and nearly the entire planet.

• Measles has been and remains one of the deadliest vaccine-preventable causes of death in the world. But a safe and effective vaccine (had) basically eradicated measles in the United States.

• Just a few years ago, COVID-19 was killing Americans by the thousands every day. Donald Trump — who was president at the time — was telling us all to ingest an anti-parasitic compound commonly used in livestock and to inject bleach directly into our veins. But somehow his administration managed to get out of the way enough for the development of safe and effective vaccines that have saved millions and millions of lives.

Earlier this year — with votes from Republicans in the Senate who knew better and should have blocked the nomination — Trump installed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the federal government’s C

As we and others predicted, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is on an absolute rampage to roll back decades of science and life-saving public health measures. It goes way beyond vaccines. RFK Jr. is defunding, downsizing, and dismantling essential agencies and programs in practically every area of public health.

It seems like RFK Jr. won’t be satisfied until he has undone many of the great achievements of modern medicine, even if that means taking us back to a time when people died by the millions from preventable and treatable diseases.

By the way, it’s not like modern medicine — or the private, for-profit health insurance regime we Americans are still forced to endure when it comes to paying for it — is without fault. And nobody has done more than Public Citizen over the past half century to fight Big Pharma, the health insurance corporations, and their political puppets in pursuit of affordable medicines and Medicare for All. But let’s not, you know, throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Whatever his weird intentions may be, Kennedy is in effect on a crusade of misery and death that could result in literally millions of Americans, not to mention millions of people throughout the rest of the world, getting sick or dying.

But if all Donald Trump really cares about is what’s good for him personally — which we know is the case — even he should be able to see that the American people will blame him when they and their loved ones get sick or die because of the stupid, retrograde, and inhumane things that RFK Jr. is doing in Trump’s name.

This week, Public Citizen and 60 other organizations sent a letter to Trump urging him to fire RFK Jr.

Add your name in support of our message to Donald Trump:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the most dangerous individual ever to hold the title of Secretary of Health and Human Services. President Trump and Senate Republicans made a grievous error when entrusting RFK Jr. with our nation’s health — with results both horrible and entirely predictable. It is far past time that Trump rectifies this error by firing RFK Jr. before more lives are unnecessarily put at risk by his anti-science views and gross mismanagement.

Click to add your name now.

Thanks for taking action.

For health and safety,

- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
 
 

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