Day: September 11, 2025

The ‘Dream’ Is Dead!

An article I recently read is what made me want to look deeper it this subject….

CNN data analyst Harry Enten crunched the numbers and discovered a large swathe of U.S. residents no longer believe in the American dream.

“America, we have a problem,” said Enten, describing a growing nation of economic pessimists.

“If you work hard, you’ll get ahead: that is the American dream,” said Enten. “[Respondents answering] ‘Never/Not true now’, in 2010 to 2011, 15 years ago, it was 51 percent who said it wasn’t true. Now look at this number! Whooo! Through the roof: 70 percent.”

https://www.alternet.org/american-voters-pessimism/

I have written a couple of times about the death of the American Dream….not too many agreed with me but I continue to believe that it has passed away.

The ‘American Dream’ Has Died

A new survey shows me that I am not as alone as I thought I was thinking the ‘Dream’ has died.

A new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll paints a dim picture of Americans’ faith in upward mobility. Just 25% of respondents believe they have a decent shot at improving their standard of living—a record low since the survey began in 1987. More than three-quarters of those who responded to the poll, which the Independent notes was “fittingly published” on Labor Day, expect that the next generation will fare no better, signaling a widespread loss of confidence in the American dream.

Almost 70% of those polled now say the idea that hard work pays off “no longer holds true or never did,” the highest level of skepticism in more than a decade. The pessimism spans political and demographic lines. While Republicans are slightly less gloomy than Democrats—consistent with the tendency for the party out of power to hold a darker view—majorities across gender, age, education, and income levels express anxiety about their future prospects.

Despite recent improvements in how people rate the current economy, concerns linger. Inflation, job security, and the soaring cost of housing weigh heavily. Only 17% now view the United States as having the world’s best economy, down sharply from just a few years ago. Many respondents across income brackets report feeling economically fragile, even when their finances are solid on paper.

Since the pandemic, economic mood has soured, even as metrics like unemployment and the stock market suggest resilience. Economists suggest today’s unease may be rooted less in current conditions and more in uncertainty about the future. A similar question in a July poll by Quinnipiac University found that 50% of respondents were also souring on the American dream, per the Miami Herald.

What say you…..is the American Dream deceased?

Can it ever be revived?

Well can it?

How much more must the American people suffer before someone steps up and leads?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

9/11/2001

Today we remember the cowardly attack on US soil by the bastards of AQ…..that attack changed America and the world forever.

September 11, 2001 is an inflection point—there was life before the terrorist attacks and there is life after them. Nearly 3,000 Americans were killed on that clear, sunny morning when two hijacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, another plowed into the Pentagon and a fourth was brought down in a crash on a Pennsylvania field by heroic passengers who fought back against terrorists.

“This was an attack unprecedented in the annals of terrorism in terms of its scale,” says Brian Michael Jenkins, a senior advisor to the president of the RAND Corporation and author of numerous reports and books on terrorism, including Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?. “It was the largest attack by any foreign entity on U.S. soil.”

The shock and horror of September 11th wasn’t confined to days or weeks. The attacks cast a long shadow over American life from which the nation has yet to fully emerge. What was once implausible and nearly unthinkable—a large-scale attack on American soil—became a collective assumption. The terrorists could very well attack again, perhaps with biological or nuclear weapons, and steps must be taken to stop them.

“Terrorism is aimed at carrying out acts of violence that will cause people to exaggerate the strength of the terrorist and the importance of their cause,” says Jenkins.

Consumed by fear, grief and outrage, America turned to its leaders for action. Congress and the White House answered with an unprecedented expansion of military, law enforcement and intelligence powers aimed at rooting out and stopping terrorists, at home and abroad.

“After the 9/11 attacks, the combination of fear and a recognition of various intelligence failures led to a range of policy changes that included restrictions on immigration, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the expansion of the ‘no fly list’ from a very small number of people to thousands,” says David Sterman, a senior policy analyst at New America who studies terrorism and violent extremism.

And that was just the beginning. Here are five significant ways that America was changed by 9/11.

https://www.history.com/articles/september-11-changes-america

There are those that still suffer from the attacks….mostly the first responders who have some catastrophic health issues.

Please take a moment and think about those that died in that attack and as a result of the attacks.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Shot Heard Throughout MAGA-ville

Yesterday there was yet another shooting and this time it took out a MAGA favorite, Charlie Kirk….

Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. A law enforcement official tells the AP that Kirk was hospitalized in critical condition. NBC News reports that disturbing videos from the scene show Kirk slumping down in his seat, with blood flowing from his neck. In an alert, the Orem, Utah, university said “a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker,” Deseret News reports.The university initially said a suspect was in custody, but UVU spokesman Scott Trotter later said police had determined the man taken into custody was not the shooter, the New York Times reports. Videos on social media showed police detaining an older man at the event.

Kirk is the CEO and co-founder of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, the AP reports. “We are confirming that he was shot and we are praying for Charlie,” said Aubrey Laitsch, the organization’s public relations manager. Kirk, 31, is a close ally of President Trump and the “America First” movement. “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot,” the president said in a Truth Social post. “A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” The shooting was condemned by Republican and Democratic politicians alike, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom calling it “disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” reports CNN.

Kirk was speaking at the university as part of his “American Comeback” tour. UVU professor Michael Andersen tells KSL News that he heard what he thought was a firework while Kirk, who was sitting in a tent, answered a question. “Then people started running out of the amphitheater and I saw some people trying to get up out of the terraces, Andersen says. “As I was walking away, as we were evacuating, the person next to me said he saw Charlie Kirk get hit.” He says the atmosphere was “fairly panicked” after the shooting.

Then later yesterday it had been confirmed the Kirk was indeed dead.

Charlie Kirk is dead, President Trump announced Wednesday, hours after the conservative commentator was shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University. Kirk was 31.

  • “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
  • In another post, Trump said he was ordering all American flags in the US be lowered to half-mast until 6pm Sunday to honor Kirk, “a truly Great American Patriot.”
  • Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz said law enforcement officials told him the Turning Point USA founder had died, Deseret News reports. University officials say the shooter is not in custody. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he had spoken to Trump about Kirk’s death, KSL News reports. “Working with the FBI and Utah law enforcement, we will bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy,” he said. “Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”

And the hunt goes on….

The person of interest who was taken into custody in connection with the murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday has been released following an interrogation, says FBI Director Kash Patel. He wrote on X, “Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.” NBC News reports Patel’s about-face came about 90 minutes after he had announced the shooter was in custody. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox had strong words for the shooter, per the Deseret News: “I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you.”

President Trump posted a four-minute video on Truth Social Wednesday night addressing the shooting:

  • He called Kirk a “martyr for truth and freedom, and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth. … This is a dark moment for America. Charlie Kirk traveled the nation joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people into the political process, which he did better than anybody ever, to share his love of country and to spread the simple words of common sense.”
  • “It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree,” Trump continued. “For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.”

What typical bullshit from Donny….stoking the fires of hatred.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family (is that not what one says when there is a shooting death?)

Never fret….this will happen again…just a matter of time.

Then there is the call for all people to come together against this type of violence…..and the House was not the poster child for this call….

Two thousand miles east of Orem, Utah, where Charlie Kirk was shot to death on Wednesday, the House of Representatives honored the political commentator with a moment of silence—followed by a shouting match. With every lawmaker in the chamber still standing quietly in observance, Rep. Lauren Boebert demanded that Speaker Mike Johnson recite a prayer for Kirk aloud, the Washington Post reports. “Silent prayers get silent results,” the Republican hollered from the back of the chamber. That was met with jeers from Democrats about gun laws. Rep. Jahana Hayes shouted that school shootings, including one earlier in the day in Boebert’s home state of Colorado, are ignored, per the Wall Street Journal.

Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a friend of Kirk’s, stormed out of the chamber while yelling profanities at the Democrats, per Politico. Johnson, who had led the moment of silence, eventually was able to gavel a brief halt to the chaos and move on to the next piece of business. That was the swearing-in of Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw, who’d won a special election the day before in northern Virginia. When he ripped President Trump in his remarks for actions including the mass layoffs of federal employees, Republicans jeered back. “Scoreboard,” one member said, referring to the GOP holding a House majority.

What a pack of clowns!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”