Republished with permission from D. Earl Stephens

Friday, April 19th—I’ll kick the obvious can off my doorstep this morning by saying it has been another volatile, scary week across the world as the most notorious America-attacking deviant in history continues to fumble with his matches and gasoline, while a Republican Party which long ago torched its moral compass ignores its responsibility to the Constitution and its citizens.

It has taken less then 100 days for stock markets to crash across the world, consumer confidence to plunge, public servants to be illegally fired, billionaires to get their fat, sweaty hands on our money and personal information, and innocent people to be swept away in the dark of night.

The American carnage Donald Trump warned about is at our door … courtesy of Donald Trump.

Me? I miss the days just three, short months ago when we aspired to clean air and water, goodwill toward our allies and neighbors, owned the strongest economy in the world, and murderous dictators were our enemies …

This morning I want to spend just a few minutes following up on my piece Thursday “We are all Afraid” about Alaska’s senior Senator Lisa Murkowski opening up to her constituents about her fears generated by the sickening Trump Administration.

Like Trump, Murkowski is a Republican, but she became the first of her me-first party of any note to speak candidly about their atrocities, while addressing Alaska’s largest gathering of nonprofit and tribal leaders earlier this week.

As reported first in the Anchorage Daily News, Murkowski fielded “questions (that) were wide-ranging. Most dealt with the extreme uncertainty felt by many working in the public sector, nonprofit services and social safety net programs since the start of the second Trump administration in January.”

At one point, Murkowski said:

“We are all afraid. It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

I had a hunch Thursday’s write would provoke reaction, but seldom has it been so forceful and varied among readers on the Left, who drop by this place pretty regularly. As always, I found most of the comments instructive, and buoyed by strong conviction.

And as of this morning, they were still pouring in …

Some readers like Terry weren’t having what sounded to her like BS from Murkowski, and will believe the senator, if and when, she finally sees some action:

“I get what you’re saying here Earl. Murkowski was born and raised in Ketchikan, and I was born and raised in Juneau. She and I are politically diametrically opposed. She voted, and will continue to vote, with every rotten law that comes from Trump and his sycophants, as she has in the past. She will feign umbrage, outrage, at what he is doing, but won’t do squat to rein him in. I fear your request of her to take a meaningful stand is hopeless. Just a brief examination of her father Frank’s time in the Senate should make that clear.”

Carl agreed:

“The lack of moral clarity is an appalling stain on her record. She often feigns a stance and then crumbles. Likewise (Maine Senator) Susan Collins.”

Claudia had this to say:

“She was elected to defend the constitution. She could have stepped up with Liz Cheney and others – she and so many others did not have the courage to step up and do right. We the people are frightened and angry by our elected representatives who have so let us and our Democracy down! Never too late to do the right thing!!”

Others like Sandy were more sympathetic and saw Murkowski’s candor as progress:

“Shaming her, as so many have, is not the way to thank someone who has shown more courage than any other Republican. We need to welcome her into whatever part of our tent she wishes to reside. And protect her, as she must protect us, to the best of our abilities.

Amalga was also in this camp:

“You need to understand that Alaska is ruby red. She’s already been primaried once by the loonies and then won as a write in. I have not always agreed with her (long time constituent) but she does have principles and she does stand up for what is right. Compare her to her Trump sycophant Jr. Senator Sullivan and the moronic Trumper Congressman Begich. She’s fighting her own backstabbers in Alaska and fighting for all of us at the same time.

“You Go Girl!!”

Deliene simply said:

“Stand up Lisa! Speak up Lisa! Dominoes will fall when you do!!”

As I typed in my piece I was heartened to finally hear a Republican admit to the danger we are in, but ultimately …

“There are two directions you can go right now, Ms. Murkowski: You can quit, go quietly into the night, and live with yourself in disgrace, or you can do what you know is right, and lead from the front, stand up for America, and provide safe haven for Americans who are under severe duress.

But you can no longer feign ignorance.

The genie is out of the bottle. We know you know. We sympathize with your fears, but we will not sympathize with any further inaction.”

Murkowski alleged she was going to keep listening and speaking out. No matter where you land with your reaction to this, I do believe it is crystal-clear to all of us that this carnage from the ghastly Trump Administration is simply not sustainable.

As always, I appreciated hearing your wide-ranging reactions.

As I wish you as peaceful a Saturday as possible under these extreme circumstances, I want to thank you for your readership, camaraderie and support. I say it all the time, and don’t intend to stop anytime soon: You help me more than you can know.

You give me your time, perspective and heart.

Whether you are a paying subscriber, who helps foot the bills by putting money on my words, a free subscriber, who takes your valuable time to read and react, or an occasional reader, who bumps into this place every now and then, I appreciate you.

There are tons of news outlets where you could be spending your time. Here in Substack alone — and why would you spend your time anyplace else? — there is some marvelous, ground-breaking work being spun all the time. I often get lost in this place, and spend hours bouncing around from piece to compelling piece.

Enough Already is a growing community of patriots who are all that is good and right about America. You make this place, my friends, because you care.

So thank you.

Please be as good to yourselves as you are to this country, and have a great weekend.

-Earl