We have to look backward to fully understand how to move forward.

How do you see yourself and how do your think others see you, and how are the two connected? This is a thought experiment in understanding that question. open.substack.com/pub/shiveman...

When the people's will is so clear, this would suggest that this might be one of the greater tests of a democracy regarding control of its government by the people.

This is breaking the law! It is a blatant violation of the Hatch Act. www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...

Freeing the markets unchained corporations, but that, in turn, chained most of the rest of us!

The greatest scam in our economy! This is how these guys become billionaires without paying into the system that allows them to become billionaires.

Trump has designated Antifa as a terrorist organization, which will likely have all sorts of repercussions, none if them good, for American cities www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

The world is a better place with Andy Borowitz in it!

Fridays are for poetry. This week’s verse is a direct reaction to the news of the week.

All of our democratic freedoms start first with the freedom to speak our minds. It's literally the first right in the Bill of Rights. If we lose that, we lose it all.

If you like my posts, and many of you have said you do, check out my SubStack and subscribe for free! I appreciate those that have contributed money, but you don't have to in order to read my stuff. Or just subscribe and don't read it. It's up to you. But subscribe. 😀 kevinshively.com

How do you remove references of slavery from a place known for an attempted slave insurrection?

Partisanship has created a situation where many Americans don’t just disagree, they are disgusted by each other, but is the disgust based on truth or myth?

The path to dangerous extremism requires the normalization of evil.

Just another step in becoming a complete police surveillance state.

...or the ones calling for care for the sick and poor. The list goes on.

Imagine you are a new FBI recruit and you go to the boss to get your orders and he has this look on his face! 🤣

To every right winger who said this week that the left are the people who want war.

I believe an honest and open search for truth is the only path to enlightenment, and that true enlightenment is complete and total happiness.

Experiments can be volatile and sometimes dangerous, but they can also reveal truth that can free us, if we are willing to persevere.

The person who forged his signature 30 years ago in an attempt to someday frame Trump is next level clever!

There's more than one kind of liberty, and both kinds need to be satisfied if we really want to call ourselves the land of the free. Right now, we really can't.

I am once again asking you to stop sending us money. But we do need your time. ⏰ zohranfornyc.com/events

This is a great way to get countries to invest in American manufacturing! 🤦 Most of them are South Koreans, and this after South Korea had promised to invest $26 billion in the US. We can probably kiss that money goodbye!

Fridays are for poetry. This week it’s all about the coming AI tech revolution.

I had to look this up to believe it! And so far the NRA is mum!

One of the main arguments for Constitutional Orginalism is that unelected judges should not decide for the rest of us what “proper values” are. That should be left to the democratic process. The problem is, have you SEEN the kinds of decisions the American electorate has been making lately?!

The new book by Justice Amy Coney Barrett highlights just what is wrong with Constitutional Originalism. It is not only a weak attempt at justifying unacceptable decisions, it is not even an honest method of jurisprudence.

For many years, America and its government funded research institutions were the envy of the world. Now it will be Americans who are envious as science finds more fertile ground elsewhere.

If you like poetry, you should check out this collection by a friend of mine. It's a wonderful collection of poetry by a beautiful soul. You can read my review on this page, as well.

Fridays are for poetry. This week I was thinking of all the buzz about big cities and crime. I remember as a kid in rural American being taught that cities were dangerous places. When I finally spent time in them, I learned how overblown those fears were.

After all the Trump bluster about being so good at ending wars (mostly imagined ones), the killing in Ukraine has only gotten worse. Some dealmaker!

This dovetails nicely (and humorously) with my Substack article from this morning.

here's today's post: "fascism, but with morons" — can’t any of these clowns do their jobs without fucking up? thanks for reading, and please sign up for my daily newsletter to keep getting the good stuff —

If it looks like a fascist and sounds like a fascist and acts like a fascist, what is it?

If any of this seems familiar, it should. The oligarchs have been working to get control back for almost a century now, and they are succeeding.

Fridays are for poetry. I'm afraid this week's installment is a bit melancholy with just a hint of hope.

A more inclusive telling of history does not destroy heritage. In fact, it enriches it and makes it more meaningful to all Americans.

What real leadership looks like. Thank you, President Barack Obama, for standing strong with California, defending our rights, and fighting for the people of this nation.

Culture wars are ultimately unwinnable, but then, they aren’t intended to be won - only waged for power.

Once again, Friday is for poetry.

There is a deep state, but it’s not what MAGA thinks it is, and it’s not being dismantled. It’s being strengthened.

I just published my 50th article on Substack since starting in March. It's a start! Feel free to stop by and read some, if you are so inclined.

Universities have long known the importance of having a diverse student body, but there is always more than one way to skin a cat, as well as to kill it.

In a perfect world, a Capitalist economy would not only serve the interests of the Capitalists but would also generate shared wealth that would improve the lives of all people and generate enough revenue to be invested in building a better world. American Gen Xers have never seen such an economy.

Populism and democracy have similar things in common, but they are not the same. One can actually be the seed of the other’s destruction.

So Many Amendments Should Have Already Been Made To Our Constitution….

DOH!

If a democratic government is not serving the actual needs and interests of its people, can it still be called a democracy?