God Blessed America November 28, 2022November 27, 2022 My most recent plug for Rachel Maddow’s ULTRA elicited this me-mail from a prominent liberal Democrat: “You couldn’t pay me money to listen to a Rachel Maddow podcast. She’s smug, alarmist — a polemic who is past her sell by date.” Ouch. That’s way too harsh, in my view, but what we think of Rachel Maddow or her style is not the point. “The history she recounts,” I responded, “is history that you, of all people, you should know, and this may be the most efficient way for you to learn it. Give it a try?” He said he would. Which is good, because the parallels between Hitler’s attempts to overturn American democracy without firing a shot and Putin’s attempts to do the same will blow you away. Listen. Eighty years ago, millions of Americans were Nazi sympathizers, some of them plotting a violent coup. Today, some Republicans think we should cut back on aid to Ukraine. Some were fine with trusting Putin over the FBI. None protested removing support for Ukraine from the Republican platform. Most in Congress voted against impeachment for — or investigation of — the events of January 6. What’s so great about democracy, anyway? This wonderful piece about Casablanca — “God Blessed America” — answers that question beautifully. Have a great week!