“The United States of America must always pay bills already incurred without gamesmanship, brinksmanship, or partisanship. House Democrats will oppose any effort to hold the economy hostage as part of any scheme by Extreme MAGA Republicans to jam its right-wing agenda down the throats of the American people.” Hakeem Jeffries
Well said, Rep. Jeffries! And thank you, Heather for your important link to the past.
Really? Had I known I would have mentioned it in the letter I wrote to several Georgia officials protesting the Confederate celebration at Stone Mountain (another stain on Georgia's reputation).
It had TFG's ass - punim along with " For unto us a Son is born, for unto us a child is given ". I'm not religious but I found it offensive because the Trumpvangelicals were praising " GOP Jesus " again.
Wheww? You mean they (They - the "r"s ) actually put up a billboard? I mean, like no kidding, a billboard? Looks like someone read my posts months ago where I presented that idea, i.e, "billboards". Well.., The Demo's need to litter the landscape with some that expose the lies and hypocrites faces.. "shove" that out into public view til the election is over. Or maybe leave em up for a while :)))) //ss//
MoveOn had a billboard request for funds in the last year which I contributed to but sadly I can't remember what it was for. Our County Dem women's club put one up for 1.month and it was $5000 for the sign and the billboard. Great location but we still have 5 all Repub commissioners, 2 new Republican members of our 5 School Board (non partisan positions) members. It's expensive even in our rural conservative country in blue Maryland. The repubs every couple of.months had new disgusting billboard anti Biden Harris signs for the whole 2 years b4 2022 elections. Money talks!
They should've made it a DIGITAL billboard. That way someone could just pull out the plug. I'm surprised that it wasn't stuck by lightning. THAT would've aided my belief in a benevolent Supreme Being. Or maybe that TACKY statue of Trump would've " mysteriously " moved & been found imbedded in that blasphemous billboard !
If you need a laugh about the whole equating #45 with Jesus, take a look at the Saturday Night Live skit from Easter.
I'm a Christian. If you are also and are thin-skinned about jokes about Jesus and the Resurrection, don't watch. But if you deeply value our First Amendment rights, enjoy it!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj6E2_3nraQ
Juanita, I watched this last night with my knitting group - one Jew, two Catholics, one Lutheran, one Methodist. I literally could not speak for a couple of minutes I was laughing so hard. Best therapy in a politically fraught week.
Oh, good grief, Mr. Appleton! That is so utterly revolting...I can't believe any (true) Christian would even think of endorsing such a blasphemous sentiment--and I am not a religious believer by any means.
The MAGAs seem absolutely welded to Dump--and for the life of me, I simply cannot understand what tfg's grievance-filled whiny narratives offer them that they cling so tightly to his pant legs.
Rage, hatred, envy and self-pity are an incredibly inadequate substitute for...well, almost anything.
The MAGATs became infected by him, he goes right into the cortex. If I had a worst enemy, I would tell him / her that they were " fired " & replaced by the " spray - tanned tapeworm ".
And realizing that the gop will hold on to their refusal to eliminate the trickle-less-trump tax cuts for two reasons: First because their rich donors hold the reins, and second -and most important- eliminating the foolish tax cuts would drive down the national debt under Biden terrifically, furthering our legitimate claim to “Things are better under Democrats” (to paraphrase Simon Rosenberg from Hopium)
I am going to tell my reps, both local and national (all Dems, bless them) to loudly say what the Dominion case proved about Fox. Otherwise it’s going to be ignored by the mag-nuts who are supporting a mass murderer who attacked his own administration on January 6. A million people died and are still dying because he made covid political. Gym Jordan and others who ignored subpoenas need to be jailed. Next year we vote. Do you want to see tfg’s 💩face all over the news agsin?
Yes indeedy but as long as he sees his face on the news, and collects cash, he won’t leave the stage. Just read about this new PAC in the NYT and it’s encouraging. I like it because it’s so local.
Gifted NYT article about a new PAC targeting mag-nuts.
Thanks for this referral, BK. I started reading Rosenburg’s site and enjoy the fact-based commentary. For starters, his welcome message that “part of Greater MAGA’s strategy is to intentionally poison our discourse with negative sentiment every day” is spot on. His numbers-based conclusion that the “last 3 Republican Presidents have brought recession, spiraling deficits, [and economic] decline” is what needs to be advertised loudly and broadly (on billboards, as others are suggesting here today), supported with graphs. I’ll chip in for that!
BK’s posting has ushered me further reading, like this Washington Monthly article that urges Democrats to “Tout Your Economic Record”! This one should inspire our collective efforts:
Yes, Rose, we must tout Biden’s economic success. I’d add that Dems campaign messaging across the US can be so simple: Compare Rep and Dem goals. Reps legislatures vote to increase gun violence; to encourage the health and financial crashes of climate change; to remove women’s rights to control their own bodies; to keep women in the home; to drive-up the wealth gap; to defund the IRS so it cannot collect from wealthy Americans; to eliminate affordable healthcare and public education….
i have long encouraged local progressives to tout Biden's successes, economic and otherwise, but some of them have problems getting past their own demands that they want right now without understanding how progress actually occurs. We just received the voter pamphlet for the upcoming May election which is mostly school board members and it would behoove everyone to pay attention to these. As for the MAGAs, they are the dupes for the wealthy who, as Heather pointed out, have tried to destroy programs to help ordinary people since 1933. Keystone Kev and the rest of Kops continually prove that they don't know what they are doing and we can only hope that they will not be our undoing with the debt ceiling. And BK, I do like the name Bodirt. Kudos.
Stanley, I agree. I also suspect that most of us here are already touting Dems results, and that we must, and will, continue to do our part there. The unhelpful fact is that Democratic politicians aren't doing the same from their own pulpits to reinforce us. The Democratic party is so limp, unengaged and fickle on messaging that it's enraging. Republicans in contrast, even when touting a baseless lie, are confident, usually strident and unfailingly consistent, giving talking points even when no one asked.
I emailed both Senators and my district's HOR member a few months before midterms last. I wrote that the wins people were enjoying from COVID policy competence, stimulus for working people and seniors, unemployment extensions, pharmaceutical savings, actual job growth and the promise of jobs from the IRA, were being drowned out by right-wing fear messaging about the border, inflation and culture war gibberish. I implored them to start touting the wins they made for everyday people on air, at every opportunity in plain language. I encouraged them to get fellow legislators do the same. I warned that without these changes, there would likely be a bloodbath in the midterms. The response from all of them? A form letter, no noticeable change in messaging from most, a narrow majority in the Senate and net loss of seats in the HOR. I am added to their form email blurbs now, so I guess there's that. /S
Yet in spite of ALL the positives coming from Biden's accomplishments, he is still barely at a 30% approval rating, one of the lowest ever. We HAVE to ask ourselves, "What is going wrong??" If things are going so well economically, WHY is there still so much negativity with regard to Biden? I mean c'mon, right-wing media is simply not THAT influential. There must be something else going on. I still think that the average American family is STILL struggling, in spite of all the positive numbers. I read somewhere about the numbers about inflation receding are as a result of several things taken together. However, when taken separately, food prices are exceeding the overall inflation rate, and for many people that is the first and most direct impact. Prices for goods continue to go up, and the sizes of those goods (i.e. what you get for your money) continue to noticeably shrink. I know this is true within my own little life. I think there's a disconnect somewhere. These rosy economic numbers are somehow not passing much muster with the average "Joe Blow" out here. We'd better figure it out, and FAST!
We must not underestimate the influence of right-wing media. Fox-watcher hears doorbell, sees Black teen boy, shoots through the glass door because he is very afraid. Seems he watches tv with his gun in his lap.
Our own immediate concerns can blind us to the big picture, especially if the big picture is rarely presented. In the past when the price of orange juice went way up, we accepted the fact that freezing weather in Florida was the cause. Today’s rise in the cost of food or gasoline has more than a single natural cause, so it is easier to listen to those who pin the blame on Biden. ( I hear from a friend the problem is all that free money Biden gave people in the pandemic. She and I received it, too, and were not upset about it enough to send it back to the Treasury.)
I still refuse to believe that conservative media has the clout to convince two-thirds of the American populace that Biden is a failure. That is giving them WAY too much influence that doesn't hold up to scrutiny, if one considers other polling numbers. I firmly believe something else is at play here. Whatever it is, and I'm not naming it because I don't know what it is, we HAVE to do better at getting the message out.
Rose Agreed! The best defense is a strong offense—and President Biden has lots of which to be proud, especially contrasted to the blathering of the Republicans.
The wealthy ones are not the stupid ones. The wealthy vote R to preserve their wealth. They’re awful people, nearly all of them, but they’re not stupid. The stupid ones, and the ones responsible for every Republican victory since 1968, are the white working class, who are, by a two-to-one margin, vicious white supremacists out for blood. They’ve been that way since forever but the Republicans didn’t understand that until 1968. Since then, they’ve been riding the Southern Strategy to victory on a regular basis. The Southern Strategy works in about 30 states, not just the 11 Confederate states,
The wealthy will remain wealthy. They have planned for all contingencies. It is the rest of us who will suffer. Nothing new here. There could have been something new in the US, but rampant racism prevents it.
Without the dumbing down of America, Republicans wouldn't be able to elect a dogcatcher. They are against almost everything which is in the best interests of the majority of the American people. Yet many millions vote for them for all of the wrong reasons. I am not talking about daily newspaper readers or followers of blogs like this one, but of the many millions who do not understand the meaning of, and the difference bettween, things like our government's deficit and its debt. Pick out a few people at random and ask them. You would be surprised at the answers, most of which would be some version of 'Duh.' (And I will check out Rosenburg's site.)
I don’t see any dumbing down of the US electorate over the 60+ years I’ve been tracking it. They’ve been just as viciously stupid since 1960 (at least, and probably at least ten years longer than that) as they are now. If anything, they were, hard as it is to imagine, even more pervasively white supremacist in 1960 than they are now. It’s just that the Republicans didn’t figure out until 1968 how much they could gain by milking the white supremacist cow. They initiated their Southern Strategy in 1968 and have ridden it to every victory they’ve had since then. They will keep the milking machines operating continuously and at full speed, unless the milk runs dry, which will not happen until the US electorate is majority minority in most states, and maybe considerably longer because they will have established extreme voter suppression by that time. Our only hope is to get out the votes we have, nearly 100% of them, get a solid majority in the Senate and a majority in the House, pass laws against voter suppression, especially gerrymandering, and expand the Supreme Court. Accomplishing that is a faint hope, I admit, but unfortunately it is our only hope.
Why is the media forever talking trash... I understand FOX but why all the others? Do they only survive by creating chaos? I just don’t get why they aren’t giving us the good news along with the bad.
"BODIRT"... !!%&#*%#......aaahahhaaaahaaahaaa... BK...are you referring to the new Urination Control Officer down in Wash DC? Well, there's a 'bladder control' issue for the "Don...ald" to deal with, huh. //s// (am I being snarky enuff?). Other than it kinda causing me to lose control here.., I liked your post. Rock on, while I clean up.
The historical parallel drawn in today's Letter about the Republicans' (reps in the House) gameplan to not pass the Debt Ceiling unless government services for the American people are undone is good up to a point. The parallel depends on the American people knowing what's going on - understanding what the small minority of the Radical Right-Wing in the House are doing. That is a BIG IF!
‘Their (the Republicans today and now serving in the House) refusal to negotiate over the nation’s finances puts them in good company. We have seen a scenario just like this one before. In 1879, when the positions of the parties were reversed, Democratic former Confederates won control of Congress for the first time since the Civil War.'
‘Hayes stood firm, recognizing that allowing a radical minority of the opposition party to dictate to the elected government by holding it hostage would undermine the system set up in the Constitution. The parties fought it out for months until, in the end, the American people turned against the Democrats, who backed down. In the next presidential election, which had been supposed to be a romp for the Democrats, voters put Garfield, the Republican who had stood against the former Confederates, into the White House.’ (Letter)
The American people decided the future by their votes. We now have the propaganda engines of the far-right going full blast on Fox and social media, while state legislatures in the Red States have been cutting access to voting for Seniors, minorities and the young. Getting out the vote as never before and spreading the truth about the Democratic Party's and the Biden administration's accomplishments to the people are crucial.
Biden’s Covid recovery, and a strong as well as equitable economic recovery are Biden’s top economic accomplishments. 'The unemployment rate is at the lowest level since 1969, and wage increases have been larger for lower-income workers than higher earners. Black unemployment often takes more than four years to recover from a recession. This time, it took two years.'
The stimulus plan and the scope of his legislation is impressive. 'It includes bills to reduce medical costs; rebuild bridges, highways and other infrastructure; and expand broadband internet service, public transportation and the nation’s semiconductor sector.'
“In terms of magnitude, you have to go back to the ’50s and early ’60s to find a similar approach,” referring to infrastructure. ‘…those investments will spark investments by private companies. Already, Intel and Micron are planning semiconductor factories in response.'
What about Climate Change: '...Biden’s investments to accelerate the transition away from greenhouse gases may end up being the most important part of his economic legacy.' (NYTimes) See gifted link below.
Thank you for the link to Hopium Chroncicles. I will definitely read more of Rosenburg’s pieces. This is one of my favorite quotes:
To be optimistic is to assume things will work out. To be hopeful is to realize things can work out if you work at them. Hope requires responsibility and agency; optimism relieves us of both. In rooting for your sports team, choose optimism. In rooting for democracy, choose hope. - Eric Lui
Let us always have the wonder of optimism combined with the action of hope.
I love Rosenburg's "Hopium," which combines hope with optimism. As he writes: "Hopium is a rejection of the darkness they are trying to spread. It is a way of standing up for our great country and its remarkable people. It is the key to how we win."
Well said BK. One of several books I’ve read in the last five or six years is entitled “Shadow Networks” by Anne Nelson. Two paragraphs in the prologue of this book pretty much explains how and why the repubs have devolved into Cult that it is today.
“The CNP (Council for National Policy, was founded in 1981 dy a small group of archconservatives who realized that the tides of history had turned against them. They represented an American past dominated by white Protestant male property owners. They dreamed of restoring a nineteenth-century patatriarchy
that limited the civil rights of women, minorities, immigrants, and workers, with no income tax to vex the rich or social safety net to aid the poor. Now they faced a future in which minorities, women, gays and atheists were gaining in number, rights, and political influence. If the country abided by a clear-cut democratic process, these constituencies, leaning Democratic, would consolidate their power based on majority rule.
So the CNP decided or change the rules. This task would require developing a long-range strategy to target critical districts and activate previously Un engaged voting blocs. But, as author David Daley pointed out, the conservatives faced a deadline: once Democratic-leaning youth minorities reached a decisive majority- which could be as early as 2031- there might no turning back.”
Two other books were “Democracy in Chains” and “Dark Money”.
Has any Democrat ever bothered to ask a republican how they have or plan on making America Great Again? WTF?
Interesting how so many of us from original comment on had '-burg'. I had even gone to his Substack before responding. The brain is a tricky beast - even without the autocorrect fight!
Strange. It seems that cutting funding for the IRS is a recurring theme with repubs. They're really scared of an effective IRS that could afford to go after rich tax cheats. I'm really glad that Biden is out there drawing the contrast between his policies and chaos of the House repubs.
I'm hoping that this Dominion suit is just the beginning pull of a thread that unravels all this maga BS. Thank you for the history lesson Dr. Richardson.
Dominion won. The settlement appears to have cost Fox an immediate payment of the damages: no messing about with delays. Fox was facing more damaging exposure of its employees testimony: Rupert finally decided to cut his losses before he had to testify in person. It's a major win, as suits of this type go. And there's more to come: this is just the first of many lawsuits Fox is facing. Smartmatic is in line with a defamation suit. Part of me hopes they win; another part of me is scared s***less because their method uses the internet for on-line voting: something I will never accept, as it cannot (and I mean CANNOT) be made secure. Scott Mc Nealy, the president of Sun Microsystems, said, "There is no privacy on the internet. Get over it." The Vander Poel corollary is "if there is no privacy, there is no security." I challenge anyone to refute McNealy's assertion. Or mine.
Weakness, Annis? They.."they" are still bullies on the playground, errr 'air-waves' and 'screaming' videos. No silence there. No shortage of material for distortion. And just watch how they keep that FOX Lo-Go bright and shiney and geared to their listeners ears. Remember, they still have advertisers to satisfy with viewer/listerner counts... to keep that $$$$ tumbling in. Stay tuned //s//
Instead of railing against FNC, folks should boycott its advertisers across all its platforms: Fox sports, Fox cable, the WSJ, etc. The revenue from all sources fuels Fox's machine.
I read they don't need advertising money to make a profit. Their cable subscription fees take care of that. And those fees are currently up for contract renewal. So we need to tell our cable providers that we won't pay for Fox, so they need to renegotiate the fees downward.
I felt that way at first J.C. But Dominion is a relatively small company ? I understand that the payout is way above the company value. Also , it would not have been an auto slam to go to trial. I understand that even if Dominion prevailed, FNC, with all their money, could have broke Dominion with years of appeals. But this way, with more suits to come , Fox has got to change their tone?
MSNBC reported last night that Fox shareholders are now really up in arms about their stock value plunging. Could be a new, more, hmm, honest "news" company in the future?.
Not sure about that. Paying $787 million is admitting guilt. For the world to see. It is not required that settlement specifics be made public. Dominion demanded it.
I prefer to think of the Dominion "settlement" as the first in a series of dominoes falling over. Next, Smartmatic. Then the Grossberg suit. And then, the first of what could be many shareholder suits. Fox Follies will be in the news from now through the next election as more sharks smell the blood in the water. Let's be optimistic and visualize Murdoch being sued and sued and sued for the rest of his miserable pathetic existence.
Keep in mind that if Dominion had refused to settle, a jury might have handed them a loss. Which would have been devastating.
Even if Dominion had won a lawsuit, it is unlikely that appeals courts would have allowed a settlement figure anywhere near $787million. More likely at least ten times less, which is the appropriate value of Dominion. Plus, a trial victory could not have included any sort of FNC apology, not even the lackluster acknowledgement of the judge’s rulings on FNC lies the came from fhe settlement.
They didn’t completely lose. They delayed settling so that the emails from the discovery process could be released. We just didn’t get the hosts swearing to the content of those emails under oath.
They kind of got the worst of both. After discovery gave us every kind of information about their duplicity, Rupert paid the bill. If he had settled at the beginning, he might have gotten something for his 3/4 billion.
Jeri, I was pretty pissed off at no trial. Beau posted this and it did make me feel a tad bit better. I hope it will for you as well. BTW, I enjoy and seek out your comments daily!
The decision wasn't on my radar until I asked my wife ( a MAGE-hating Republican) why we lost. She is disgusted he isn't in cuffs at a federal institution. I still have faith. I remind her that Murdock is largely, responsible for dRump and his reign of insanity. She doesn't see Rupert as a political force ... yet.
Because they could not gotten anywhere near the settlement figure after winning the lawsuit at trial (after appeals), nor could they have gotten any sort of apology. Dominion did great! This is what winning looks like.
It is better for us than winning the lawsuit would have been. Dominion negotiated the best possible outcome, both for themselves and for us. It’s up to us to save democracy. It will require monumental effort on our part and even then may well fail, but we, ourselves, are the only hope.
I disagree. The testimony by Fox liars would have been very valuable and there's no reason Dominion couldn't request that Fox tell its viewers they were lying about their voting machines. Apparently the judge pressed for a settlement, which seems odd to me. I guess Dominion feared losing. Juries are a crapshoot.
There must be many many many tax cheats who are terrified of audits. Lord! We could collect so much money if the IRS had the resources to go after them that we might not even need to raise taxes on the rich! IF they actually paid what they owe!
Yup, I realize that it might be “controversial” to say “Dominion Won!” Yup, it would have been fun to see Tucker and Sean and Rupert (etc.) testify. BUT, FOX had a choice: Fight or Fold. They FOLDED. They chose not to FIGHT. And FOX knows that there is more FOLDING on the horizon: Not only is Smartmatic coming up, but Dominion and Smartmatic have lawsuits pending against Newsmax, OANN, and individuals like Rudy Guiliani and Sydney Powell and Mike Lindell. Forbes just published a piece on the status of these lawsuits: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/04/19/fox-news-defamation-settlement-here-are-where-dominion-and-smartmatics-other-lawsuits-stand-now/?sh=206511334a24
I can also add that I frequently comment on various Newsmax articles and very much wanted to see what those folks were saying about the FOX FOLD. Newsmax ran an article originally published by Reuters - WITH NO LINKS TO EVEN POSSIBLY COMMENT.
I really believe this is just the beginning of tearing down the “Election Fraud” meme. Cheer on Dominion and Smartmatic and continue to strengthen our position on Fair Elections.
Cheer on the suits and cheer on Biden as he inspires building from the bottom up and middle out--our only hope.
Also support Jon Tester, the only real farmer in Congress, who happens to be a Democrat in a very Republican state. We need his presence in Congress because Republicans still do not “accept” climate change, our existential enemy.
I hope this happens. I wish Dominion went to court and perhaps Smartmatic will go the distance.
I feel like Fox folding has always them to control the narrative too much. But losing a lawsuit and having their anchors testify, to me, would expedite the process of riding us of lying performative politics.
You are correct, Christopher, about “controlling the narrative.” FOX loves to do that. AND (too often) the Left allows them to control the narrative. This lawsuit is a Prime Example of that mistake. Think about it: What narrative does FOX want out there? OF COURSE they want folks to be saying FOX WON and Dominion LOST. I see people in this very Comment Thread doing FOX’s bidding. Folks, FOX didn’t win. FOX FOLDED. They gave up. They turned over 3/4 of a BILLION DOLLARS to a voting machine company. AND, to Rupert, it’s all about DOLLARS. It’s C.R.E.A.M. = Cash Rules Everything About Murdoch!!!
Christopher, I don’t know if you have ever played Poker, but FOLDING isn’t WINNING. You fold when you don’t have enough aces. “You gotta know when you hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.” FOX is running.
Obviously, Rupert is not about The Truth. Let’s not support his Untruths. Here’s another meme that Rupert and the MAGA Folks want to have out there: Biden is TOO OLD to be President. Why do sensible Liberals (yes, unknowingly) support the Rupert CREAM? The proper response to the Biden age issue should be —> “Yeah, look all that he has accomplished in a little over TWO YEARS!!! It is wonderful that we have a President who has EXPERIENCE in governance. C’mon, Jack!”
Paul, I am, without question a terrible poker player. In fact, in the small colleges throughout the Midwest, college kids play a poker game (not hold ''em) named after me, which includes flipping over the final card to signify what the "wild" suit is because I never knew what the wild suit was.
I agree with everything you said. Now I'm remembering all the great Kenny Rogers concerts I used to attend!
The left does not allow FNC or the GOP to control the narrative. The white working class does that all by itself. They are the problem. Not FNC. Not Trump. Not any propagandist. Just the people who insist on believing the propaganda and go to any lengths to find it. On FNC or elsewhere if they don’t find what the want on FNC.
To a certain extent, I agree with you Rex. Even on THIS site, however, I see “left-leaning” folks, perhaps unknowingly, allowing FOX’s narrative to shine through. In the Dominion issue, FOX folded in their STOLEN ELECTION POKER GAME. That is losing.
It isn’t by chance or by oversight that FOX is downplaying this issue. Tucker and Sean KNOW they lost. If they had won, they would be e crowing. Does anyone now believe we are going to hear FOX anchors discussing the “stolen 2020 election” ever again? No, they haven’t apologized, but their mouths are muzzled.
It is not by chance that Newsmax is now running stories about how differently their coverage of the 2020 election was VERY different from the way FOX covered it.
The TRUTH is out of the coop and there ain’t no FOXES out to destroy that TRUTH.
Here’s a reply to myself that I hope others see: The latest article on (and this time BY) Newsmax is “Newsmax did it differently than FOX in Dominion case.” An obvious attempt to save themselves MILLIONS that they don’t have.
Bill I recall the saying “if fit for the goose it’s fit for the gander.” Many corporate and bank executives favor a weak IRS that is unable to analysis and then pursue ‘deadbeats’ who are denying the United States much needed revenue. Indeed, while the number of American millionaires has increased exponentially since 1953, the number of tax auditors has decreased.
If this is such a great idea, let’s apply the same principle to their businesses. When customers are unable to pay they bills, car owners are unable to keep up with their car payments, or credit card holders accumulate a massive unpaid debt, why shouldn’t banks and companies simply ignore this situation?
Currently they do such nasty things as garnish salaries, seize assets, and force companies and individuals into bankruptcy.
Shame! If a crippled IRS is good for our country, shouldn’t banks and corporations pursue a similar policy with their ‘deadbeats?’ Shouldn’t laws intended to enable companies to recoup their losses be weakened in favor of the ‘deadbeats?’
So let’s goose the corporations (and their fat-cat executives’) with a gander similar to an emasculated IRS collection agency.
Race driven politics and deficit spending stuff started during the Civil War. Federal debt grew. The debt markets financed our growth. The Federal Reserve was founded to provide stability and monetary policy and the market for government bonds came into being at that time as Salomon Brothers & Hutzler, one of 26 government bond dealers became “corresponding dealers” with wires to the Fed, working to create a fluid federal debt market that would allow US debt to trade freely. Monetization was the term used by Marcus Nadler of Money Marketeers to teach money supply management and debt markets and debt management at CCNY in a night course. Fiscal and monetary policies were introduced and debated. The Democrats favored FDR’s New Deal and Republicans tagged with The Crash and Herbert Hoover’s record offered fiscal restraint and taxes to match debt growth, while Democrats favored debt growth and FDR’s plan for fiscal stimulus. The public was not educated on such issues and the debate over debt was and is misconstrued. Rep. David Stockman offered his version of the truth and Pres. Reagan took him to the woodshed. Ignorance ruled. Nadler was ignored.
US federal debt is the US IOU that underlies world markets. The US dollar is the reserve currency that replaced gold when Chas. De Gaul forced the Fed and the markets to exchange his US debt for gold.
China wants to replace the dollar as the reserve currency used to trade for oil. Tax and spend Democrats are now threatened by Trump’s fiscal politics that cut taxes and balloon the deficit.
Democrats seek to finance with taxes. That is the only way to protect the American people and the dollar. Trump is financed by grifting and stealing from the people via political donations. Trump fears personal bankruptcy. His Ponzi schemes are fear driven and dependent upon public stupidity.
We will not default. Biden will force tax increases to fund the treasury. The Fed will monetize. Debt markets, over 95% of all markets in size, will fluctuate. The buying power of the dollar will continue to decline.
Biden’s latest analysis is correct. McCarthy is nuts.
Our next president will have to speak on these issues. Educating the public about debt management is essential. Rand Paul is hopelessly screwed up. Ultimately, fiscal responsibility will replace monetary policy. Our currency will remain the world’s reserve currency. We must elect the next president and congress that truthfully speaks of fiscal responsibility, monetary responsibility and tax policy.
Ronald Reagan’s “supply side” economics and was labeled Voodoo Economics by G. H. W. Bush. Bush caved to get elected and failed. W failed everywhere.
Trump lies and the GOP is the party of The Big Lie.
And racism underlies our politics.
Our economy is strong. The strongest. Fiscal policy must reflect reality. Biden is truthful. Our next president and Congress should work to ensure the dollar and do as Bill Clinton did. Not Ronald Reagan.
Our entitlements are mismanaged but essential. FDR saved us from communism. The Crash was frightening.
Our challenge will require courage by all. Lying is death to the economy.
Our political leaders are not strong on markets and fiscal or monetary policy. Hopefully the leadership vacuum will attract new people. New blood.
1) Have a look at David Ricardo, economist, his short Essays - on Rent, Value, other... U Chicago’s Milton Friedman, study currency markets, soft and hard commodities, the reserve currency, oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, warming, worst case scenarios world wide, demographics, soils, Ukraine’s...
2) Focus all debt instruments and private equity, convertible debt, preferred and convertible bonds and offshore non-taxable islands, options, futures... SEC disclosure forms, disclosure, Swiss bank secrecy, venture capital and publicly traded equity....
3) develop a table of values, use Venn diagrams, use truth tables, Set Theory.
Cannot simplify, Dave Dalton. However, all in, the logic needed is quite simple: the Theory of Everything, 600 pages... I have not see it. Mathematics and mathematicians are credited. That theory runs parallel to The Smallest Living Things. More complex. Smallest is simple.
I agree Sandy, “cannot simplify”; yet the average citizen thinks this debt ceiling crisis is some form of “on/off” switch that can be corrected by flipping it back
When the economy crashes and it hits them in the face, they’ll go”wtf” but it will be too late
Thanks, Sandy. Your “truths” demand airing to the population at large. On another subject the film from your farm was very well done. You’d exposed the dangers of ubiquitous antibiotics in writing but the film really exposed the increasing toxicity we are experiencing. You’ve altered my understanding. Thank you.
Please do continue to educate us, SB Lewis. It’s complicated, but your expertise and knowledge come through loud and clear to anyone willing to read your explanations.
Very helpful analysis except FDR did not save us from communism which would never have happened here. He saved us from fascism which could happen if the people became despairing enough. Mid-century fascism did feed and employ the masses after all. The owning class would have chosen fascism for us then as much of it is doing now.
"so long as the United States government embraces the supply side economics the Republicans have advanced since 1981"
"Supply Side Economics" is one of those obfuscatory phases, like "Citizen's United" or "Stop the Steal" from the Looking Glass dictionary of Geopese. Who is supplying what to whom?
George H.W. Bush called Reaganomics "voodoo economics." The supply side economics principle is complete rubbish; it does not work.It has never worked; supply side economics is smoke and mirrors. How does it make any sense to cut the revenue stream, but continue to spend, even at a reduced rate? Even David Stockton, Reagan's budget director, eventually admitted that supply side economics was a lie. Whether they are called Democrats or Republicans is immaterial, the rich have always wanted to take from everyone else. My mother used to say that people did not become wealthy without taking advantage of or stepping on someone else.
I read Stockton's article awhile ago. He was also saying that "Supply Side Economics" does not work. It does not stimulate the economy as is promised over and over again by the Oligarchs. We should be chanting: "Stop the Lie!"
There is a Tom Rush song that goes like this: "The problem with America is that the poor have too much money and the rich don't have enough!" It goes on to explain with artful sarcasm...
A lot of factors converge to confer great wealth, including luck. The wealthy bang on that it's all because of virtue (and always have) while insisting that the poor reap what they sow: but except in marginal ways, that does not line up with evidence. No one makes more in a few hours than others do in a lifetime by hard work alone, and in the case of a crooked playboy like Trump, work hardly enters into it.
The fact is that having money makes it much easier to acquire more money in more ways than I could enumerate, and that includes other forms of coercive power, including political "clout" and violence; which is a corrupted system are highly interchangeable. The sort version is that when accumulation of wealth is not regulated, we end up with "Gilded Age" levels of worker/consumer abuse and governmental corruption, if not feudal tyranny. Plutocratic patrons managed to turn the nation away from reforms that moderated historic anti-democratic influences of concentrated wealth, including protection of voter's rights, campaign reform, inheritance taxes, and anti-trust. The word "billionaire" entered the lexicon, and the middle class shrunk. The population was methodically divided and conquered. Some were "woke" of necessity, and others may be waking. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls...
What is sad and very frustrating, as Dr. Richardson makes clear, is that 150 years later it is the same people fighting very hard over the same issues. Who rules America? Are we a government of the people, by the people, and for the people? Or, do the people who have the money make the rules? When the rich take power they take everything. The government they want will protect their interests and their profits. Nothing more. Any government spending that makes life easier, healthier, safer, and more prosperous for 95% of the country is “socialism,” especially the program helps poor people, Black people, or women. It’s all for Clarence and his friends on the yacht.
Criminal, yes, but with method in the madness. Reminiscent of the MO of organized crime. Comply with us or something real bad might happen to that little country of yours.
Le Crime de Monsieur McCarthy - ignorance combined with short-sightedness, not to mention a meanness manifest as they circle their wagons...the GOP got the leader they deserved...
Purblind. But that's not the problem. It's pretending he can see, pretending to guide, pretending he's leader, acting as though he knew what he's doing.
As my grandma used to say, "I see, said the blind man, who couldn't see at all..."
This is more than that Brueghel scene of the blind leading the blind, more than one sightless fool leading a bunch of sightless imbeciles... he's out to drag the whole world into his bottomless pit.
Section 4 of the 14th Ammendment puts the Republicans threatening not to raise the dept ceiling in the position of violating thier oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
"It would jeopardize the status of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency. Financial services firm Moody's Analytics warned that a default would cost up to 6 million jobs, create an unemployment rate of nearly 9%, and wipe out $15 trillion in household wealth."
We ought to be able to sue reckless and corrupt politicians for malpractice. There is a lot at stake here.
"The comments are in keeping with Trump’s personal counterattack strategy to sexual misconduct allegations, as cited in Bob Woodward’s White House memoir.
'You’ve got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women,' Trump said, according to Woodward. 'If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you’re dead. That was a big mistake you made.'
I can't tell you how delighted I am that the Democrats led by Joe Biden are AT LAST getting back to the basics of Democratic politics, which is to represent working-class and middle-class people - the working people, in other words - and eschewing culture wars stuff, which is a trap that current-day conservatives set for progressives and the left generally to try and separate them from centrists (and not only in the USA).
What they were missing, and we have in abundance, is a propaganda machine that has been in a rebellion against our democracy for decades - with a singular purpose. Power. Democracy be damned. If the party that is suppressing votes and destroying democracy is lauded by half the country as the “real America,” what chance is there. Less than Hayes had. Sorry to be a downer, but in Texas, democracy is on the ropes…
How can one think that McCarthy, who owes his speakership to a small band of insurrectionist rogues, won’t drive the car off the cliff?
He has embraced the election deniers who tried on Jan. 6th to block a legitimate election.
This is the financial route to do what they couldn’t do constitutionally. Drive the economy into recession, undermine our financial position in the world, and point the finger at Biden.
I'm watching the car go off the cliff with the same amazement as you. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. McCarthy is the face of a flailing spineless Republican party--yuk!
Herb Klinker, I agree with you. I think it’s correct to “not negotiate with terrorists”, but the addendum to that is that sometimes the terrorists do indeed terrorize. They will drive the clown car off the cliff. No one in the gop is going to stand up and stop them. They all just turn away and claim to not know about it. They already took away the “Peaceful Transfer of Power”. After that, anything is possible. However, if we at least get loud in our disapproval, we may make it more difficult for them to drive over the cliff with no roadblocks. http://www.FeathersOfHope.net site provides the phone numbers, names, and bios of some key House members to contact and voice your disapproval of MCCarthy’s leadership. I called and actually talked with human beings! It was methodical, succinct, and polite. More voices, less ability to say they didn’t hear from America.
I'm always relieved when I find your letter in my email. I've finally learned to read it immediately, then again later in the day after others have commented, because you have so many readers whose sentiments and thoughts I agree with, but who express thdnselves so much better than I can. The community you have nutured gives me reassurance that the USA is still alive and kicking. Later....
Susan, I have only recently had that option; I think that I am (usually, since I'm an early riser on the west coast) arriving here in the first 1/2 of comments. I really do enjoy reading other readers comments (and today I have 4 Youtube links to watch when I'm done with my morning reading). Lately, I've had the opportunity to come back later and read more; it is enlightening.
Professor, I am so happy to have the strength to thank you for penning such an important letter. The origin of the “debt ceiling” and its subsequent perversion by Republicans is critical.
“ they want to destroy the government as it has existed since 1933, but since that government is actually quite popular, they cannot get the cuts they want by going through normal legislative procedures.”
Basically, the message is the same—they want to stop moving money from the richest to benefit the poorest. This view of America depends on seeing poor people (including children) as complicit in their poverty—believing that “if they weren’t so lazy, they wouldn’t need the help”. Then they fight to keep wages so low that the majority of the workers rely on the help to make ends meet. Finally, they so demonize the programs (except for Medicare and Social Security) that the people who depend on them are ashamed of using them and won’t fight for them. When was the last time that you saw marchers with signs saying “Don’t take away my food stamps!” ?
The GOP does demonize Medicare and Social Security: they've been trying to cut both of them since their inception. They try to downplay their position, as it is extremely unpopular and, if widely known, would ruin their chances at ever winning another election. We can't be fooled by their chicanery. A vote for any Republican is a vote against democracy.
Biden was brilliant at the SOTU address! I laugh when he's called "Sleepy" because he was sharp as a tack at that, and also, after weekly/daily (HELL!! HOURLY!) scandals of the tRump administration, I delight in not being constantly embarrassed/angry/disgusted/frustrated etc, etc at the POTUS!!
Mea culpa—you’re right! However, I stand by my statement that people who get food stamps are so demonized that they don’t protest any cuts or additional hoops to jump through to qualify.
I don’t think DeSantis is going to run. His polling numbers are slipping, he now trails Trump by an average of 25 points. For a while, back in the late fall and early winter, Trump’s lead over DeSantis was shrinking. But since Trump’s indictment, his lead with the base has been growing and more Republican politicians are rallying to him. A solid 55% of the base is extremely loyal to Trump. Over 40 Republicans in Congress have endorsed Trump. 2 or 3 have endorsed DeSantis. DeSantis is not going to want to declare, and then get trounced. I think he’ll stay on the sidelines this go round.
This is good, for Biden. It’s bad, for Republicans. Trump and the Republican extremists continue to lose the support of moderates and independents. They’re likely to lose seats in Congress and the White House, if the MAGA wackos are the face of the party in 2024. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-desantis-national-polls/
“The United States of America must always pay bills already incurred without gamesmanship, brinksmanship, or partisanship. House Democrats will oppose any effort to hold the economy hostage as part of any scheme by Extreme MAGA Republicans to jam its right-wing agenda down the throats of the American people.” Hakeem Jeffries
Well said, Rep. Jeffries! And thank you, Heather for your important link to the past.
It would make a good billboard.
That would make a MUCH BETTER billboard than the one they put up in Atlanta this past Christmas equating Loser Lard - Butt # 45 with Jesus.
Really? Had I known I would have mentioned it in the letter I wrote to several Georgia officials protesting the Confederate celebration at Stone Mountain (another stain on Georgia's reputation).
It had TFG's ass - punim along with " For unto us a Son is born, for unto us a child is given ". I'm not religious but I found it offensive because the Trumpvangelicals were praising " GOP Jesus " again.
Wheww? You mean they (They - the "r"s ) actually put up a billboard? I mean, like no kidding, a billboard? Looks like someone read my posts months ago where I presented that idea, i.e, "billboards". Well.., The Demo's need to litter the landscape with some that expose the lies and hypocrites faces.. "shove" that out into public view til the election is over. Or maybe leave em up for a while :)))) //ss//
MoveOn had a billboard request for funds in the last year which I contributed to but sadly I can't remember what it was for. Our County Dem women's club put one up for 1.month and it was $5000 for the sign and the billboard. Great location but we still have 5 all Repub commissioners, 2 new Republican members of our 5 School Board (non partisan positions) members. It's expensive even in our rural conservative country in blue Maryland. The repubs every couple of.months had new disgusting billboard anti Biden Harris signs for the whole 2 years b4 2022 elections. Money talks!
They should've made it a DIGITAL billboard. That way someone could just pull out the plug. I'm surprised that it wasn't stuck by lightning. THAT would've aided my belief in a benevolent Supreme Being. Or maybe that TACKY statue of Trump would've " mysteriously " moved & been found imbedded in that blasphemous billboard !
Daniel Appleton - It had TFG's ass - punim along with " For unto us a Son is born, for unto us a child is given ".
See, for instance:
https://newschannel9.com/news/local/pastor-criticizes-now-removed-fort-oglethorpe-billboard-comparing-trump-to-jesus
The Gross Trumpkin is an equal - opportunity offender. There's something to offend, or disgust everybody. He's like Bizarro Santa !
If you need a laugh about the whole equating #45 with Jesus, take a look at the Saturday Night Live skit from Easter.
I'm a Christian. If you are also and are thin-skinned about jokes about Jesus and the Resurrection, don't watch. But if you deeply value our First Amendment rights, enjoy it!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj6E2_3nraQ
Brings back “The Life of Brian” and the embarrassing, gulping laughter that evoked.
Monty Python at its best!
I needed this today!!
Juanita, I watched this last night with my knitting group - one Jew, two Catholics, one Lutheran, one Methodist. I literally could not speak for a couple of minutes I was laughing so hard. Best therapy in a politically fraught week.
Jesus of Azkaban. Who knew? 🤣🤣🤣
Oh, good grief, Mr. Appleton! That is so utterly revolting...I can't believe any (true) Christian would even think of endorsing such a blasphemous sentiment--and I am not a religious believer by any means.
The MAGAs seem absolutely welded to Dump--and for the life of me, I simply cannot understand what tfg's grievance-filled whiny narratives offer them that they cling so tightly to his pant legs.
Rage, hatred, envy and self-pity are an incredibly inadequate substitute for...well, almost anything.
What the chief criminal defendant (aka tfg) and the GOP offer is preservation of systemic white advantages. The magats accept that offer with gusto.
The MAGATs became infected by him, he goes right into the cortex. If I had a worst enemy, I would tell him / her that they were " fired " & replaced by the " spray - tanned tapeworm ".
Great idea!👍🏻
And realizing that the gop will hold on to their refusal to eliminate the trickle-less-trump tax cuts for two reasons: First because their rich donors hold the reins, and second -and most important- eliminating the foolish tax cuts would drive down the national debt under Biden terrifically, furthering our legitimate claim to “Things are better under Democrats” (to paraphrase Simon Rosenberg from Hopium)
Shorter, Rowshan: we do not negotiate with terrorists.
Truth!!
Republican fake news debt crisis.
Here is Leigh McGowAn, Politics Girl, on the sheer audacity of KMcCarthy blaming the crisis of their own making on, well, on us.
https://youtu.be/0exegLfO3Ss
Salud, Rowshan.
🗽
I love her. ❤️
Thanks so much! Salud, Christine!
I am going to tell my reps, both local and national (all Dems, bless them) to loudly say what the Dominion case proved about Fox. Otherwise it’s going to be ignored by the mag-nuts who are supporting a mass murderer who attacked his own administration on January 6. A million people died and are still dying because he made covid political. Gym Jordan and others who ignored subpoenas need to be jailed. Next year we vote. Do you want to see tfg’s 💩face all over the news agsin?
He is already posted on the front page most days! For the life of me I don't get it! I want this old crook to crawl back under his slimy rock already!
Yes indeedy but as long as he sees his face on the news, and collects cash, he won’t leave the stage. Just read about this new PAC in the NYT and it’s encouraging. I like it because it’s so local.
Gifted NYT article about a new PAC targeting mag-nuts.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/us/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-boebert-gaetz.html?unlocked_article_code=jBYKvtAJgAdWIBHl53m9CFAy9ZgIICtMPjXotQky5DTNC8kGvlzAIwZMCE3uBr9hM3vqM0NF6M7dkGpLubiuvNnBferfjkrJUHue-Huwvz1UIGpAPARynpWfu9mWyK-3OakuB_vdTPvjc_dUpU7NM-5uv--FN49LiqkuAuSHDFMg9jAxBmrfyBYz95JSiwIbeF-LeyBCZUpHlEwGfGqTMeAg9PjZ4gnfntsfU_h_gJsi_sE4HkblrpdU7r80PrJIjolrp0j0aqFK-U01_Us_rg1WwVMqBYtToIkI8MExL7ACujUt5qFZZzN9pJ4Mcht4qvAxOrTqpWn-yOY41_TrLQjWyoDOQZGrKZi9wbheNzzKDw&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Gifted NYT article about a new PAC targeting mag-nuts. I am hopeful!!
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/us/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-boebert-gaetz.html?unlocked_article_code=jBYKvtAJgAdWIBHl53m9CFAy9ZgIICtMPjXotQky5DTNC8kGvlzAIwZMCE3uBr9hM3vqM0NF6M7dkGpLubiuvNnBferfjkrJUHue-Huwvz1UIGpAPARynpWfu9mWyK-3OakuB_vdTPvjc_dUpU7NM-5uv--FN49LiqkuAuSHDFMg9jAxBmrfyBYz95JSiwIbeF-LeyBCZUpHlEwGfGqTMeAg9PjZ4gnfntsfU_h_gJsi_sE4HkblrpdU7r80PrJIjolrp0j0aqFK-U01_Us_rg1WwVMqBYtToIkI8MExL7ACujUt5qFZZzN9pJ4Mcht4qvAxOrTqpWn-yOY41_TrLQjWyoDOQZGrKZi9wbheNzzKDw&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Would love to see them be successful!
Thanks for this referral, BK. I started reading Rosenburg’s site and enjoy the fact-based commentary. For starters, his welcome message that “part of Greater MAGA’s strategy is to intentionally poison our discourse with negative sentiment every day” is spot on. His numbers-based conclusion that the “last 3 Republican Presidents have brought recession, spiraling deficits, [and economic] decline” is what needs to be advertised loudly and broadly (on billboards, as others are suggesting here today), supported with graphs. I’ll chip in for that!
BK’s posting has ushered me further reading, like this Washington Monthly article that urges Democrats to “Tout Your Economic Record”! This one should inspire our collective efforts:
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2022/10/20/cmon-democrats-tout-your-economic-record/
Yes, Rose, we must tout Biden’s economic success. I’d add that Dems campaign messaging across the US can be so simple: Compare Rep and Dem goals. Reps legislatures vote to increase gun violence; to encourage the health and financial crashes of climate change; to remove women’s rights to control their own bodies; to keep women in the home; to drive-up the wealth gap; to defund the IRS so it cannot collect from wealthy Americans; to eliminate affordable healthcare and public education….
i have long encouraged local progressives to tout Biden's successes, economic and otherwise, but some of them have problems getting past their own demands that they want right now without understanding how progress actually occurs. We just received the voter pamphlet for the upcoming May election which is mostly school board members and it would behoove everyone to pay attention to these. As for the MAGAs, they are the dupes for the wealthy who, as Heather pointed out, have tried to destroy programs to help ordinary people since 1933. Keystone Kev and the rest of Kops continually prove that they don't know what they are doing and we can only hope that they will not be our undoing with the debt ceiling. And BK, I do like the name Bodirt. Kudos.
Stanley, I agree. I also suspect that most of us here are already touting Dems results, and that we must, and will, continue to do our part there. The unhelpful fact is that Democratic politicians aren't doing the same from their own pulpits to reinforce us. The Democratic party is so limp, unengaged and fickle on messaging that it's enraging. Republicans in contrast, even when touting a baseless lie, are confident, usually strident and unfailingly consistent, giving talking points even when no one asked.
I emailed both Senators and my district's HOR member a few months before midterms last. I wrote that the wins people were enjoying from COVID policy competence, stimulus for working people and seniors, unemployment extensions, pharmaceutical savings, actual job growth and the promise of jobs from the IRA, were being drowned out by right-wing fear messaging about the border, inflation and culture war gibberish. I implored them to start touting the wins they made for everyday people on air, at every opportunity in plain language. I encouraged them to get fellow legislators do the same. I warned that without these changes, there would likely be a bloodbath in the midterms. The response from all of them? A form letter, no noticeable change in messaging from most, a narrow majority in the Senate and net loss of seats in the HOR. I am added to their form email blurbs now, so I guess there's that. /S
Great points, Stanley!
Yet in spite of ALL the positives coming from Biden's accomplishments, he is still barely at a 30% approval rating, one of the lowest ever. We HAVE to ask ourselves, "What is going wrong??" If things are going so well economically, WHY is there still so much negativity with regard to Biden? I mean c'mon, right-wing media is simply not THAT influential. There must be something else going on. I still think that the average American family is STILL struggling, in spite of all the positive numbers. I read somewhere about the numbers about inflation receding are as a result of several things taken together. However, when taken separately, food prices are exceeding the overall inflation rate, and for many people that is the first and most direct impact. Prices for goods continue to go up, and the sizes of those goods (i.e. what you get for your money) continue to noticeably shrink. I know this is true within my own little life. I think there's a disconnect somewhere. These rosy economic numbers are somehow not passing much muster with the average "Joe Blow" out here. We'd better figure it out, and FAST!
We must not underestimate the influence of right-wing media. Fox-watcher hears doorbell, sees Black teen boy, shoots through the glass door because he is very afraid. Seems he watches tv with his gun in his lap.
Our own immediate concerns can blind us to the big picture, especially if the big picture is rarely presented. In the past when the price of orange juice went way up, we accepted the fact that freezing weather in Florida was the cause. Today’s rise in the cost of food or gasoline has more than a single natural cause, so it is easier to listen to those who pin the blame on Biden. ( I hear from a friend the problem is all that free money Biden gave people in the pandemic. She and I received it, too, and were not upset about it enough to send it back to the Treasury.)
I still refuse to believe that conservative media has the clout to convince two-thirds of the American populace that Biden is a failure. That is giving them WAY too much influence that doesn't hold up to scrutiny, if one considers other polling numbers. I firmly believe something else is at play here. Whatever it is, and I'm not naming it because I don't know what it is, we HAVE to do better at getting the message out.
Rem poll numbers did not tell the story in our 2022 election. Forget the polls. Do not forget the media for their failure.
Rose Agreed! The best defense is a strong offense—and President Biden has lots of which to be proud, especially contrasted to the blathering of the Republicans.
Remember KISS-Keep it simple stupid.
Love that KISS acronym, Keith! Even I will be able to remember that 🙃
Haunting: the stupidity and cupidity of wealthy Republicans.
The wealthy ones are not the stupid ones. The wealthy vote R to preserve their wealth. They’re awful people, nearly all of them, but they’re not stupid. The stupid ones, and the ones responsible for every Republican victory since 1968, are the white working class, who are, by a two-to-one margin, vicious white supremacists out for blood. They’ve been that way since forever but the Republicans didn’t understand that until 1968. Since then, they’ve been riding the Southern Strategy to victory on a regular basis. The Southern Strategy works in about 30 states, not just the 11 Confederate states,
If they bring down the country to “retain” their wealth? Are they changing their dollars for…?
The wealthy will remain wealthy. They have planned for all contingencies. It is the rest of us who will suffer. Nothing new here. There could have been something new in the US, but rampant racism prevents it.
The GOP 2023: the puddle that remains after a party has dissolved - no platform, no budget, no ideas. 'No' is all they have left.
Without the dumbing down of America, Republicans wouldn't be able to elect a dogcatcher. They are against almost everything which is in the best interests of the majority of the American people. Yet many millions vote for them for all of the wrong reasons. I am not talking about daily newspaper readers or followers of blogs like this one, but of the many millions who do not understand the meaning of, and the difference bettween, things like our government's deficit and its debt. Pick out a few people at random and ask them. You would be surprised at the answers, most of which would be some version of 'Duh.' (And I will check out Rosenburg's site.)
I don’t see any dumbing down of the US electorate over the 60+ years I’ve been tracking it. They’ve been just as viciously stupid since 1960 (at least, and probably at least ten years longer than that) as they are now. If anything, they were, hard as it is to imagine, even more pervasively white supremacist in 1960 than they are now. It’s just that the Republicans didn’t figure out until 1968 how much they could gain by milking the white supremacist cow. They initiated their Southern Strategy in 1968 and have ridden it to every victory they’ve had since then. They will keep the milking machines operating continuously and at full speed, unless the milk runs dry, which will not happen until the US electorate is majority minority in most states, and maybe considerably longer because they will have established extreme voter suppression by that time. Our only hope is to get out the votes we have, nearly 100% of them, get a solid majority in the Senate and a majority in the House, pass laws against voter suppression, especially gerrymandering, and expand the Supreme Court. Accomplishing that is a faint hope, I admit, but unfortunately it is our only hope.
Thanks for the link.
I've felt for months that the media was talking us into a recession. Why are we hoomans so attracted to bad news?
Why is the media forever talking trash... I understand FOX but why all the others? Do they only survive by creating chaos? I just don’t get why they aren’t giving us the good news along with the bad.
I guess it's the old 'if it bleeds, it ledes' adage. We're attracted to bad news, the more sensational, the better.
"BODIRT"... !!%&#*%#......aaahahhaaaahaaahaaa... BK...are you referring to the new Urination Control Officer down in Wash DC? Well, there's a 'bladder control' issue for the "Don...ald" to deal with, huh. //s// (am I being snarky enuff?). Other than it kinda causing me to lose control here.., I liked your post. Rock on, while I clean up.
The historical parallel drawn in today's Letter about the Republicans' (reps in the House) gameplan to not pass the Debt Ceiling unless government services for the American people are undone is good up to a point. The parallel depends on the American people knowing what's going on - understanding what the small minority of the Radical Right-Wing in the House are doing. That is a BIG IF!
‘Their (the Republicans today and now serving in the House) refusal to negotiate over the nation’s finances puts them in good company. We have seen a scenario just like this one before. In 1879, when the positions of the parties were reversed, Democratic former Confederates won control of Congress for the first time since the Civil War.'
‘Hayes stood firm, recognizing that allowing a radical minority of the opposition party to dictate to the elected government by holding it hostage would undermine the system set up in the Constitution. The parties fought it out for months until, in the end, the American people turned against the Democrats, who backed down. In the next presidential election, which had been supposed to be a romp for the Democrats, voters put Garfield, the Republican who had stood against the former Confederates, into the White House.’ (Letter)
The American people decided the future by their votes. We now have the propaganda engines of the far-right going full blast on Fox and social media, while state legislatures in the Red States have been cutting access to voting for Seniors, minorities and the young. Getting out the vote as never before and spreading the truth about the Democratic Party's and the Biden administration's accomplishments to the people are crucial.
Biden’s Covid recovery, and a strong as well as equitable economic recovery are Biden’s top economic accomplishments. 'The unemployment rate is at the lowest level since 1969, and wage increases have been larger for lower-income workers than higher earners. Black unemployment often takes more than four years to recover from a recession. This time, it took two years.'
The stimulus plan and the scope of his legislation is impressive. 'It includes bills to reduce medical costs; rebuild bridges, highways and other infrastructure; and expand broadband internet service, public transportation and the nation’s semiconductor sector.'
“In terms of magnitude, you have to go back to the ’50s and early ’60s to find a similar approach,” referring to infrastructure. ‘…those investments will spark investments by private companies. Already, Intel and Micron are planning semiconductor factories in response.'
What about Climate Change: '...Biden’s investments to accelerate the transition away from greenhouse gases may end up being the most important part of his economic legacy.' (NYTimes) See gifted link below.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/22/briefing/brian-deese-economy-biden.html?unlocked_article_code=9l44I4BrTnzW0Nlb2o3eCoyxaA_H_CbHpaYH9dNCuRp8u_Erk_CaahWqnP1pnT8kkXUs3DxlZFpjF6cnCYg5llfXx9RInlMOvIzcFSiv5fwO48Ne1457MqDDnrWBrVOlfaHerOetPWWDqg1OJ5lOCvZ6sMW5QX3gCPS6ugtn2A61_B-FmXAwHJz3EWo13Z_FqIcKubDXvpseeVp8I1Qa4NfxPYC8UIoLBVjzueAstyG1EP-vKv0mhRPtBmlGOsSj_KAV2RWedbcnVmQHGKqEbV4i1gKw00CYlai4yEXJgkQqHxvzk97OBOaMNOvdQCZzR6LC1Rrkcj3KDc80NaGs-Uxs1J8&giftCopy=0_NoCopy&smid=url-share
Thank you for the link to Hopium Chroncicles. I will definitely read more of Rosenburg’s pieces. This is one of my favorite quotes:
To be optimistic is to assume things will work out. To be hopeful is to realize things can work out if you work at them. Hope requires responsibility and agency; optimism relieves us of both. In rooting for your sports team, choose optimism. In rooting for democracy, choose hope. - Eric Lui
Let us always have the wonder of optimism combined with the action of hope.
I love Rosenburg's "Hopium," which combines hope with optimism. As he writes: "Hopium is a rejection of the darkness they are trying to spread. It is a way of standing up for our great country and its remarkable people. It is the key to how we win."
Well said BK. One of several books I’ve read in the last five or six years is entitled “Shadow Networks” by Anne Nelson. Two paragraphs in the prologue of this book pretty much explains how and why the repubs have devolved into Cult that it is today.
“The CNP (Council for National Policy, was founded in 1981 dy a small group of archconservatives who realized that the tides of history had turned against them. They represented an American past dominated by white Protestant male property owners. They dreamed of restoring a nineteenth-century patatriarchy
that limited the civil rights of women, minorities, immigrants, and workers, with no income tax to vex the rich or social safety net to aid the poor. Now they faced a future in which minorities, women, gays and atheists were gaining in number, rights, and political influence. If the country abided by a clear-cut democratic process, these constituencies, leaning Democratic, would consolidate their power based on majority rule.
So the CNP decided or change the rules. This task would require developing a long-range strategy to target critical districts and activate previously Un engaged voting blocs. But, as author David Daley pointed out, the conservatives faced a deadline: once Democratic-leaning youth minorities reached a decisive majority- which could be as early as 2031- there might no turning back.”
Two other books were “Democracy in Chains” and “Dark Money”.
Has any Democrat ever bothered to ask a republican how they have or plan on making America Great Again? WTF?
Robert🙏
Thank you for pointing to Simon Rosenburg!
It's 'RosenbErg'. (Your nitpick for today.)
Interesting how so many of us from original comment on had '-burg'. I had even gone to his Substack before responding. The brain is a tricky beast - even without the autocorrect fight!
...adjusted for purchasing power, they exceed $50,000 in Mississippi, America’s poorest state—higher than in France."
Holy mascarpone!
Strange. It seems that cutting funding for the IRS is a recurring theme with repubs. They're really scared of an effective IRS that could afford to go after rich tax cheats. I'm really glad that Biden is out there drawing the contrast between his policies and chaos of the House repubs.
I'm hoping that this Dominion suit is just the beginning pull of a thread that unravels all this maga BS. Thank you for the history lesson Dr. Richardson.
Dominion won for the company and lost for the rest of us.
Dominion won. The settlement appears to have cost Fox an immediate payment of the damages: no messing about with delays. Fox was facing more damaging exposure of its employees testimony: Rupert finally decided to cut his losses before he had to testify in person. It's a major win, as suits of this type go. And there's more to come: this is just the first of many lawsuits Fox is facing. Smartmatic is in line with a defamation suit. Part of me hopes they win; another part of me is scared s***less because their method uses the internet for on-line voting: something I will never accept, as it cannot (and I mean CANNOT) be made secure. Scott Mc Nealy, the president of Sun Microsystems, said, "There is no privacy on the internet. Get over it." The Vander Poel corollary is "if there is no privacy, there is no security." I challenge anyone to refute McNealy's assertion. Or mine.
Agreed - this exposed a weakness in Fox, which others will be prompt to exploit.
Weakness, Annis? They.."they" are still bullies on the playground, errr 'air-waves' and 'screaming' videos. No silence there. No shortage of material for distortion. And just watch how they keep that FOX Lo-Go bright and shiney and geared to their listeners ears. Remember, they still have advertisers to satisfy with viewer/listerner counts... to keep that $$$$ tumbling in. Stay tuned //s//
Instead of railing against FNC, folks should boycott its advertisers across all its platforms: Fox sports, Fox cable, the WSJ, etc. The revenue from all sources fuels Fox's machine.
Don’t forget the major cash cow, subscription cable.
I read they don't need advertising money to make a profit. Their cable subscription fees take care of that. And those fees are currently up for contract renewal. So we need to tell our cable providers that we won't pay for Fox, so they need to renegotiate the fees downward.
I am in!
I felt that way at first J.C. But Dominion is a relatively small company ? I understand that the payout is way above the company value. Also , it would not have been an auto slam to go to trial. I understand that even if Dominion prevailed, FNC, with all their money, could have broke Dominion with years of appeals. But this way, with more suits to come , Fox has got to change their tone?
As I just posted above to Jeri:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPfjcCdhMFA
Beau always explains well, like HCR.
Yeah. I checked him out.
MSNBC reported last night that Fox shareholders are now really up in arms about their stock value plunging. Could be a new, more, hmm, honest "news" company in the future?.
I have 10 shares that I keep just so I can vote against Rupert, his spawn and Paul effing Ryan as board members. Makes my day every time.
Not sure about that. Paying $787 million is admitting guilt. For the world to see. It is not required that settlement specifics be made public. Dominion demanded it.
I prefer to think of the Dominion "settlement" as the first in a series of dominoes falling over. Next, Smartmatic. Then the Grossberg suit. And then, the first of what could be many shareholder suits. Fox Follies will be in the news from now through the next election as more sharks smell the blood in the water. Let's be optimistic and visualize Murdoch being sued and sued and sued for the rest of his miserable pathetic existence.
Keep in mind that if Dominion had refused to settle, a jury might have handed them a loss. Which would have been devastating.
Even if Dominion had won a lawsuit, it is unlikely that appeals courts would have allowed a settlement figure anywhere near $787million. More likely at least ten times less, which is the appropriate value of Dominion. Plus, a trial victory could not have included any sort of FNC apology, not even the lackluster acknowledgement of the judge’s rulings on FNC lies the came from fhe settlement.
They didn’t completely lose. They delayed settling so that the emails from the discovery process could be released. We just didn’t get the hosts swearing to the content of those emails under oath.
They kind of got the worst of both. After discovery gave us every kind of information about their duplicity, Rupert paid the bill. If he had settled at the beginning, he might have gotten something for his 3/4 billion.
Jeri, I was pretty pissed off at no trial. Beau posted this and it did make me feel a tad bit better. I hope it will for you as well. BTW, I enjoy and seek out your comments daily!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPfjcCdhMFA
The decision wasn't on my radar until I asked my wife ( a MAGE-hating Republican) why we lost. She is disgusted he isn't in cuffs at a federal institution. I still have faith. I remind her that Murdock is largely, responsible for dRump and his reign of insanity. She doesn't see Rupert as a political force ... yet.
Jeri that is so true. Dominion sold out democracy for the almighty dollar.
Susan, do watch Beau. He explains it well.
Why Is their law suit a loss for all of us,, you have fantastic perspectives on the issues, THANKS Ms, Chilcutt , Linda
Why didn't Dominion go for the original amount if Faux was anxious to settle?
Because they could not gotten anywhere near the settlement figure after winning the lawsuit at trial (after appeals), nor could they have gotten any sort of apology. Dominion did great! This is what winning looks like.
Good for them, but not us.
It is better for us than winning the lawsuit would have been. Dominion negotiated the best possible outcome, both for themselves and for us. It’s up to us to save democracy. It will require monumental effort on our part and even then may well fail, but we, ourselves, are the only hope.
I disagree. The testimony by Fox liars would have been very valuable and there's no reason Dominion couldn't request that Fox tell its viewers they were lying about their voting machines. Apparently the judge pressed for a settlement, which seems odd to me. I guess Dominion feared losing. Juries are a crapshoot.
There must be many many many tax cheats who are terrified of audits. Lord! We could collect so much money if the IRS had the resources to go after them that we might not even need to raise taxes on the rich! IF they actually paid what they owe!
Yup, I realize that it might be “controversial” to say “Dominion Won!” Yup, it would have been fun to see Tucker and Sean and Rupert (etc.) testify. BUT, FOX had a choice: Fight or Fold. They FOLDED. They chose not to FIGHT. And FOX knows that there is more FOLDING on the horizon: Not only is Smartmatic coming up, but Dominion and Smartmatic have lawsuits pending against Newsmax, OANN, and individuals like Rudy Guiliani and Sydney Powell and Mike Lindell. Forbes just published a piece on the status of these lawsuits: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/04/19/fox-news-defamation-settlement-here-are-where-dominion-and-smartmatics-other-lawsuits-stand-now/?sh=206511334a24
I can also add that I frequently comment on various Newsmax articles and very much wanted to see what those folks were saying about the FOX FOLD. Newsmax ran an article originally published by Reuters - WITH NO LINKS TO EVEN POSSIBLY COMMENT.
I really believe this is just the beginning of tearing down the “Election Fraud” meme. Cheer on Dominion and Smartmatic and continue to strengthen our position on Fair Elections.
Cheer on the suits and cheer on Biden as he inspires building from the bottom up and middle out--our only hope.
Also support Jon Tester, the only real farmer in Congress, who happens to be a Democrat in a very Republican state. We need his presence in Congress because Republicans still do not “accept” climate change, our existential enemy.
I hope this happens. I wish Dominion went to court and perhaps Smartmatic will go the distance.
I feel like Fox folding has always them to control the narrative too much. But losing a lawsuit and having their anchors testify, to me, would expedite the process of riding us of lying performative politics.
You are correct, Christopher, about “controlling the narrative.” FOX loves to do that. AND (too often) the Left allows them to control the narrative. This lawsuit is a Prime Example of that mistake. Think about it: What narrative does FOX want out there? OF COURSE they want folks to be saying FOX WON and Dominion LOST. I see people in this very Comment Thread doing FOX’s bidding. Folks, FOX didn’t win. FOX FOLDED. They gave up. They turned over 3/4 of a BILLION DOLLARS to a voting machine company. AND, to Rupert, it’s all about DOLLARS. It’s C.R.E.A.M. = Cash Rules Everything About Murdoch!!!
Christopher, I don’t know if you have ever played Poker, but FOLDING isn’t WINNING. You fold when you don’t have enough aces. “You gotta know when you hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.” FOX is running.
Obviously, Rupert is not about The Truth. Let’s not support his Untruths. Here’s another meme that Rupert and the MAGA Folks want to have out there: Biden is TOO OLD to be President. Why do sensible Liberals (yes, unknowingly) support the Rupert CREAM? The proper response to the Biden age issue should be —> “Yeah, look all that he has accomplished in a little over TWO YEARS!!! It is wonderful that we have a President who has EXPERIENCE in governance. C’mon, Jack!”
Paul, I am, without question a terrible poker player. In fact, in the small colleges throughout the Midwest, college kids play a poker game (not hold ''em) named after me, which includes flipping over the final card to signify what the "wild" suit is because I never knew what the wild suit was.
I agree with everything you said. Now I'm remembering all the great Kenny Rogers concerts I used to attend!
The left does not allow FNC or the GOP to control the narrative. The white working class does that all by itself. They are the problem. Not FNC. Not Trump. Not any propagandist. Just the people who insist on believing the propaganda and go to any lengths to find it. On FNC or elsewhere if they don’t find what the want on FNC.
To a certain extent, I agree with you Rex. Even on THIS site, however, I see “left-leaning” folks, perhaps unknowingly, allowing FOX’s narrative to shine through. In the Dominion issue, FOX folded in their STOLEN ELECTION POKER GAME. That is losing.
It isn’t by chance or by oversight that FOX is downplaying this issue. Tucker and Sean KNOW they lost. If they had won, they would be e crowing. Does anyone now believe we are going to hear FOX anchors discussing the “stolen 2020 election” ever again? No, they haven’t apologized, but their mouths are muzzled.
It is not by chance that Newsmax is now running stories about how differently their coverage of the 2020 election was VERY different from the way FOX covered it.
The TRUTH is out of the coop and there ain’t no FOXES out to destroy that TRUTH.
Here’s a reply to myself that I hope others see: The latest article on (and this time BY) Newsmax is “Newsmax did it differently than FOX in Dominion case.” An obvious attempt to save themselves MILLIONS that they don’t have.
Trying to take down the IRS is a pillar of the Libertarian mindset of the GOP.
Bill I recall the saying “if fit for the goose it’s fit for the gander.” Many corporate and bank executives favor a weak IRS that is unable to analysis and then pursue ‘deadbeats’ who are denying the United States much needed revenue. Indeed, while the number of American millionaires has increased exponentially since 1953, the number of tax auditors has decreased.
If this is such a great idea, let’s apply the same principle to their businesses. When customers are unable to pay they bills, car owners are unable to keep up with their car payments, or credit card holders accumulate a massive unpaid debt, why shouldn’t banks and companies simply ignore this situation?
Currently they do such nasty things as garnish salaries, seize assets, and force companies and individuals into bankruptcy.
Shame! If a crippled IRS is good for our country, shouldn’t banks and corporations pursue a similar policy with their ‘deadbeats?’ Shouldn’t laws intended to enable companies to recoup their losses be weakened in favor of the ‘deadbeats?’
So let’s goose the corporations (and their fat-cat executives’) with a gander similar to an emasculated IRS collection agency.
Race driven politics and deficit spending stuff started during the Civil War. Federal debt grew. The debt markets financed our growth. The Federal Reserve was founded to provide stability and monetary policy and the market for government bonds came into being at that time as Salomon Brothers & Hutzler, one of 26 government bond dealers became “corresponding dealers” with wires to the Fed, working to create a fluid federal debt market that would allow US debt to trade freely. Monetization was the term used by Marcus Nadler of Money Marketeers to teach money supply management and debt markets and debt management at CCNY in a night course. Fiscal and monetary policies were introduced and debated. The Democrats favored FDR’s New Deal and Republicans tagged with The Crash and Herbert Hoover’s record offered fiscal restraint and taxes to match debt growth, while Democrats favored debt growth and FDR’s plan for fiscal stimulus. The public was not educated on such issues and the debate over debt was and is misconstrued. Rep. David Stockman offered his version of the truth and Pres. Reagan took him to the woodshed. Ignorance ruled. Nadler was ignored.
US federal debt is the US IOU that underlies world markets. The US dollar is the reserve currency that replaced gold when Chas. De Gaul forced the Fed and the markets to exchange his US debt for gold.
China wants to replace the dollar as the reserve currency used to trade for oil. Tax and spend Democrats are now threatened by Trump’s fiscal politics that cut taxes and balloon the deficit.
Democrats seek to finance with taxes. That is the only way to protect the American people and the dollar. Trump is financed by grifting and stealing from the people via political donations. Trump fears personal bankruptcy. His Ponzi schemes are fear driven and dependent upon public stupidity.
We will not default. Biden will force tax increases to fund the treasury. The Fed will monetize. Debt markets, over 95% of all markets in size, will fluctuate. The buying power of the dollar will continue to decline.
Biden’s latest analysis is correct. McCarthy is nuts.
Our next president will have to speak on these issues. Educating the public about debt management is essential. Rand Paul is hopelessly screwed up. Ultimately, fiscal responsibility will replace monetary policy. Our currency will remain the world’s reserve currency. We must elect the next president and congress that truthfully speaks of fiscal responsibility, monetary responsibility and tax policy.
Ronald Reagan’s “supply side” economics and was labeled Voodoo Economics by G. H. W. Bush. Bush caved to get elected and failed. W failed everywhere.
Trump lies and the GOP is the party of The Big Lie.
And racism underlies our politics.
Our economy is strong. The strongest. Fiscal policy must reflect reality. Biden is truthful. Our next president and Congress should work to ensure the dollar and do as Bill Clinton did. Not Ronald Reagan.
Our entitlements are mismanaged but essential. FDR saved us from communism. The Crash was frightening.
Our challenge will require courage by all. Lying is death to the economy.
Our political leaders are not strong on markets and fiscal or monetary policy. Hopefully the leadership vacuum will attract new people. New blood.
I will write again on this area.
Sandy, this is a comment I can get behind. Great points. Thank you.
Sandy, teaching a complex subject such as economics, with all its moving pieces, to the average citizen seems daunting on the surface
What approach can you suggest to simplify that effort, ie make it understandable?
1) Have a look at David Ricardo, economist, his short Essays - on Rent, Value, other... U Chicago’s Milton Friedman, study currency markets, soft and hard commodities, the reserve currency, oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, warming, worst case scenarios world wide, demographics, soils, Ukraine’s...
2) Focus all debt instruments and private equity, convertible debt, preferred and convertible bonds and offshore non-taxable islands, options, futures... SEC disclosure forms, disclosure, Swiss bank secrecy, venture capital and publicly traded equity....
3) develop a table of values, use Venn diagrams, use truth tables, Set Theory.
Cannot simplify, Dave Dalton. However, all in, the logic needed is quite simple: the Theory of Everything, 600 pages... I have not see it. Mathematics and mathematicians are credited. That theory runs parallel to The Smallest Living Things. More complex. Smallest is simple.
I agree Sandy, “cannot simplify”; yet the average citizen thinks this debt ceiling crisis is some form of “on/off” switch that can be corrected by flipping it back
When the economy crashes and it hits them in the face, they’ll go”wtf” but it will be too late
Thank you
Thanks, Sandy. Your “truths” demand airing to the population at large. On another subject the film from your farm was very well done. You’d exposed the dangers of ubiquitous antibiotics in writing but the film really exposed the increasing toxicity we are experiencing. You’ve altered my understanding. Thank you.
watch the 2-minute film❗️ ❗️ ❗️
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz7Pf5f2iDs
Regards.
Thank you so much, Sandy. You make good and useful sense here.
Please do continue to educate us, SB Lewis. It’s complicated, but your expertise and knowledge come through loud and clear to anyone willing to read your explanations.
Very helpful analysis except FDR did not save us from communism which would never have happened here. He saved us from fascism which could happen if the people became despairing enough. Mid-century fascism did feed and employ the masses after all. The owning class would have chosen fascism for us then as much of it is doing now.
"so long as the United States government embraces the supply side economics the Republicans have advanced since 1981"
"Supply Side Economics" is one of those obfuscatory phases, like "Citizen's United" or "Stop the Steal" from the Looking Glass dictionary of Geopese. Who is supplying what to whom?
The middle and working classes are providing wealth to the One Percent.
Increasingly. They call it "Reaganomics". I call it a swindle. TV can sell anything.
George H.W. Bush called Reaganomics "voodoo economics." The supply side economics principle is complete rubbish; it does not work.It has never worked; supply side economics is smoke and mirrors. How does it make any sense to cut the revenue stream, but continue to spend, even at a reduced rate? Even David Stockton, Reagan's budget director, eventually admitted that supply side economics was a lie. Whether they are called Democrats or Republicans is immaterial, the rich have always wanted to take from everyone else. My mother used to say that people did not become wealthy without taking advantage of or stepping on someone else.
I read Stockton's article awhile ago. He was also saying that "Supply Side Economics" does not work. It does not stimulate the economy as is promised over and over again by the Oligarchs. We should be chanting: "Stop the Lie!"
There is a Tom Rush song that goes like this: "The problem with America is that the poor have too much money and the rich don't have enough!" It goes on to explain with artful sarcasm...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOqAj_n7IN0&pp=ygUddG9tIHJ1c2ggcHJvYmxlbSB3aXRoIGFtZXJpY2E%3D
How prescient of Tom! That was recorded 9 years ago! Tom has always been my folk singer!
It works! Meaning it fools the rubes while the plutocrats rob them blind.
A lot of factors converge to confer great wealth, including luck. The wealthy bang on that it's all because of virtue (and always have) while insisting that the poor reap what they sow: but except in marginal ways, that does not line up with evidence. No one makes more in a few hours than others do in a lifetime by hard work alone, and in the case of a crooked playboy like Trump, work hardly enters into it.
The fact is that having money makes it much easier to acquire more money in more ways than I could enumerate, and that includes other forms of coercive power, including political "clout" and violence; which is a corrupted system are highly interchangeable. The sort version is that when accumulation of wealth is not regulated, we end up with "Gilded Age" levels of worker/consumer abuse and governmental corruption, if not feudal tyranny. Plutocratic patrons managed to turn the nation away from reforms that moderated historic anti-democratic influences of concentrated wealth, including protection of voter's rights, campaign reform, inheritance taxes, and anti-trust. The word "billionaire" entered the lexicon, and the middle class shrunk. The population was methodically divided and conquered. Some were "woke" of necessity, and others may be waking. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls...
They (the 1%) are giving the shaft to the rest of us.
"Them that's got the gold makes the rules, and that's the Golden Rule"
Yes, but it’s really less than 0.1%, and they could not do it without the votes of two-thirds of the white working class.
What is sad and very frustrating, as Dr. Richardson makes clear, is that 150 years later it is the same people fighting very hard over the same issues. Who rules America? Are we a government of the people, by the people, and for the people? Or, do the people who have the money make the rules? When the rich take power they take everything. The government they want will protect their interests and their profits. Nothing more. Any government spending that makes life easier, healthier, safer, and more prosperous for 95% of the country is “socialism,” especially the program helps poor people, Black people, or women. It’s all for Clarence and his friends on the yacht.
Oldandintheway - Jerry Garcia, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, David Grisman, and John Kahn.
I’m so old and in the way that I remember (sometimes) that album!
I'm right there with you - I still love the mournful cry at the end of "Land of the Navaho" .
YES! I had that record. Before that there was Old and also in the Way by Charlie Poole.
This is a much older fight... read how much worse it was in Caesar's Rome:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19173888-the-assassination-of-julius-caesar
A fascinating book; a powerful companion to Zinn's People's History of the United States.
Not to honor America's debts?
Not simple irresponsibility -- banditry.
But the bandits are stark raving mad. Time to intern K. McCarthy in an institution for the criminally insane.
Criminal, yes, but with method in the madness. Reminiscent of the MO of organized crime. Comply with us or something real bad might happen to that little country of yours.
They're going to send us to sleep with the fishes or bury us next to Hoffa ?
It might come to that if we let it.
Or take us to a date with a noose.
Le Crime de Monsieur McCarthy - ignorance combined with short-sightedness, not to mention a meanness manifest as they circle their wagons...the GOP got the leader they deserved...
Short-sighted?
Purblind. But that's not the problem. It's pretending he can see, pretending to guide, pretending he's leader, acting as though he knew what he's doing.
As my grandma used to say, "I see, said the blind man, who couldn't see at all..."
This is more than that Brueghel scene of the blind leading the blind, more than one sightless fool leading a bunch of sightless imbeciles... he's out to drag the whole world into his bottomless pit.
Another thing about that pit... He'd be winning Putin's unwinnable war for him.
That would be a worldwide victory for tyrants and tyranny... but the chaos of total defeat for America.
At least blind Samson knew what he was doing when he brought down the house on himself and his enemies.
Dead man walking--he must be looking behind his shoulder with every step he takes....
The entire GOP needs to spend time in a cell, either with bars or padded walls.
Cell walls lined with books. History, economics and self help.
I don't think that they can read or are interested in doing so. It would be a waste.
No pads tho
With. BUBBA!!
OurKevin needs to go to a home for Spineless Weasels, since he is one. No need for rehab. He’s perfect in that role.
Do you think kevin is smart enough to know he is spineless and on borrowed time?
Banditry! I like it. Thanks!!
Section 4 of the 14th Ammendment puts the Republicans threatening not to raise the dept ceiling in the position of violating thier oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
Maybe someone can explain me the difference between an Oath Breaker and an Oath Keeper.
Who keeps what?
Who breaks what?
Some seem to break their Oath no sooner than they've taken it, then keep breaking it as often as they break wind.
Well, there's constancy for you...
"It would jeopardize the status of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency. Financial services firm Moody's Analytics warned that a default would cost up to 6 million jobs, create an unemployment rate of nearly 9%, and wipe out $15 trillion in household wealth."
We ought to be able to sue reckless and corrupt politicians for malpractice. There is a lot at stake here.
And then, they would blame Biden for the exploded economy.
They still blame Obama for things that he wasn't even remotely responsible for.
Let's see: The Black Plague, The Hindenberg Disaster, the wreck of the Titanic. There's got to be more. And don't get me started on George Soros.
You can’t seriously think THEY would take blame for anything!!
Have they ever?
"The comments are in keeping with Trump’s personal counterattack strategy to sexual misconduct allegations, as cited in Bob Woodward’s White House memoir.
'You’ve got to deny, deny, deny and push back on these women,' Trump said, according to Woodward. 'If you admit to anything and any culpability, then you’re dead. That was a big mistake you made.'
- https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-mocks-al-franken-resignation
"They" will be too busy trying to find gasoline and electricity, as they forage for food.
And keep searching for more guns and ammunition to buy.
Walk em right to the "edge". People know where they live. The next ten years might be tough.
TFG is consistent if anything - he never was good for his debts.
The actions of the GOP are nothing more than economic terrorism. And we don't negotiate with terrorists.
Thank you!
I can't tell you how delighted I am that the Democrats led by Joe Biden are AT LAST getting back to the basics of Democratic politics, which is to represent working-class and middle-class people - the working people, in other words - and eschewing culture wars stuff, which is a trap that current-day conservatives set for progressives and the left generally to try and separate them from centrists (and not only in the USA).
Agreed. And I have to say I’m impressed.
Of course he violated the trust of DC self rule when he caved in the Reform Crime Bill.
It’s something I will never forget. (DC resident)
What they were missing, and we have in abundance, is a propaganda machine that has been in a rebellion against our democracy for decades - with a singular purpose. Power. Democracy be damned. If the party that is suppressing votes and destroying democracy is lauded by half the country as the “real America,” what chance is there. Less than Hayes had. Sorry to be a downer, but in Texas, democracy is on the ropes…
Stay with us Jeri 👍🏻🤗
FAITH. !! ....Jeri !
How can one think that McCarthy, who owes his speakership to a small band of insurrectionist rogues, won’t drive the car off the cliff?
He has embraced the election deniers who tried on Jan. 6th to block a legitimate election.
This is the financial route to do what they couldn’t do constitutionally. Drive the economy into recession, undermine our financial position in the world, and point the finger at Biden.
I, for one, wouldn’t put it past them.
I'm watching the car go off the cliff with the same amazement as you. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. McCarthy is the face of a flailing spineless Republican party--yuk!
Herb Klinker, I agree with you. I think it’s correct to “not negotiate with terrorists”, but the addendum to that is that sometimes the terrorists do indeed terrorize. They will drive the clown car off the cliff. No one in the gop is going to stand up and stop them. They all just turn away and claim to not know about it. They already took away the “Peaceful Transfer of Power”. After that, anything is possible. However, if we at least get loud in our disapproval, we may make it more difficult for them to drive over the cliff with no roadblocks. http://www.FeathersOfHope.net site provides the phone numbers, names, and bios of some key House members to contact and voice your disapproval of MCCarthy’s leadership. I called and actually talked with human beings! It was methodical, succinct, and polite. More voices, less ability to say they didn’t hear from America.
Man. He can’t even get the car started! He’s pushing it off the cliff.
When I think of McCarthy I can't help but remember Sheriff Bart from Blazing Saddles when he took himself hostage. Absurd!
Yeah Herb..., like I said: The next ten years could be rough.
I'm always relieved when I find your letter in my email. I've finally learned to read it immediately, then again later in the day after others have commented, because you have so many readers whose sentiments and thoughts I agree with, but who express thdnselves so much better than I can. The community you have nutured gives me reassurance that the USA is still alive and kicking. Later....
Oh you express yourself very well indeed. Thank you for saying what I feel.
Susan, I have only recently had that option; I think that I am (usually, since I'm an early riser on the west coast) arriving here in the first 1/2 of comments. I really do enjoy reading other readers comments (and today I have 4 Youtube links to watch when I'm done with my morning reading). Lately, I've had the opportunity to come back later and read more; it is enlightening.
Professor, I am so happy to have the strength to thank you for penning such an important letter. The origin of the “debt ceiling” and its subsequent perversion by Republicans is critical.
“ they want to destroy the government as it has existed since 1933, but since that government is actually quite popular, they cannot get the cuts they want by going through normal legislative procedures.”
Basically, the message is the same—they want to stop moving money from the richest to benefit the poorest. This view of America depends on seeing poor people (including children) as complicit in their poverty—believing that “if they weren’t so lazy, they wouldn’t need the help”. Then they fight to keep wages so low that the majority of the workers rely on the help to make ends meet. Finally, they so demonize the programs (except for Medicare and Social Security) that the people who depend on them are ashamed of using them and won’t fight for them. When was the last time that you saw marchers with signs saying “Don’t take away my food stamps!” ?
The GOP does demonize Medicare and Social Security: they've been trying to cut both of them since their inception. They try to downplay their position, as it is extremely unpopular and, if widely known, would ruin their chances at ever winning another election. We can't be fooled by their chicanery. A vote for any Republican is a vote against democracy.
Correct. The only reason they're not demonizing those programs now is because they got schooled at the State of the Union.
Agreed!
Biden was brilliant at the SOTU address! I laugh when he's called "Sleepy" because he was sharp as a tack at that, and also, after weekly/daily (HELL!! HOURLY!) scandals of the tRump administration, I delight in not being constantly embarrassed/angry/disgusted/frustrated etc, etc at the POTUS!!
And yet, the MAGAts mock him at every turn. Every. Single. Turn.
Absolutely!!
Mea culpa—you’re right! However, I stand by my statement that people who get food stamps are so demonized that they don’t protest any cuts or additional hoops to jump through to qualify.
I don’t think DeSantis is going to run. His polling numbers are slipping, he now trails Trump by an average of 25 points. For a while, back in the late fall and early winter, Trump’s lead over DeSantis was shrinking. But since Trump’s indictment, his lead with the base has been growing and more Republican politicians are rallying to him. A solid 55% of the base is extremely loyal to Trump. Over 40 Republicans in Congress have endorsed Trump. 2 or 3 have endorsed DeSantis. DeSantis is not going to want to declare, and then get trounced. I think he’ll stay on the sidelines this go round.
This is good, for Biden. It’s bad, for Republicans. Trump and the Republican extremists continue to lose the support of moderates and independents. They’re likely to lose seats in Congress and the White House, if the MAGA wackos are the face of the party in 2024. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-desantis-national-polls/