In his first major speech as Secretary of State, Antony Blinken laid out the principles of the Biden administration in foreign policy, emphasizing that this administration believed foreign and domestic policy to be profoundly linked.
This is a frightening situation, and yet, President Biden quietly moves forward with his agenda. He reminds me of you, dear Prof. HCR, in his determination and candor. We need that steady hand at the helm.
Those fascist lies that have been blazing across US headlines for the past five years give such pause for concern, but let's not lose hope. Trump did not win, Biden did! Covid numbers are looking so much better and so many of us have been vaccinated. A long ignored genocide has, at last, been recognized. We're back on the international stage in a humanitarian role. Some things are looking up. We mustn't become complacent, and careful vigilance is de rigueur, but at least we have a competent human being as POTUS.
I know it's just a mood, more or less, but today I feel as if Biden/Harris is the sum total of what we have in our corner. The Senate and therefore Congress in general are blocked by the filibuster; the census, at least at first glance, is working against us; the Republican-controlled state legislatures will gerrymander the heck out of those new seats (and based on changes in local numbers can do so in any state); the crazies continue to tell their lies and incite violence with impunity; and the lunatic fringe own most of the guns. If I were a visitor from another planet looking down with some objectivity on all this for the first time, I would be hard-pressed to see any good outcomes that are at all likely. Good for you for encouraging our vigilance and hope, but, man, some days it's hard to get there.
Reid, I have to disagree vigorously with your subcomment that "we need to get ready for being the entrenchad minority in this country and figure out how we can be the disruptors of the coming hegemony of the Right." It is burningly urgent that we who value truth, science, democracy, and liberal ideas must NOT resign ourselves. That's tantamount to giving up and giving in. We are in the majority as the popular vote showed in 2016 and 2020. We *must* keep organizing, keep speaking out, keep voting and organizing others to vote, keep supporting organizations that fight right wing lies, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and the attempts such as Ron DeSantis's new law, to strip us of our Constitutional rights. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."
I think you have misunderstood me. I believe that we must redouble our efforts in all of the areas you mention precisely BECAUSE we are effectively the minority. I believe that understanding the precarity of our situation will invigorate us, make us more defiant, louder, and far less polite. The Far Right program for minority rule is not only working, it has already worked. While the election of Biden and Harris have forestalled their takeover, for which I am very thankful, we must not be duped into any complacency by their victory. We are in deep trouble and must be prepared to fight for everything we hold dear.
I explained what I meant elsewhere. We must respond as if we are the minority because the Rs currently hold nearly all the levers of power, most importantly, the vote suppression machinery. SCOTUS has given every indication that they are hands-off state electoral rules that aren't blatantly discriminatory, even if they have that clear intent and effect. My hope in this regard is how very angry the suppressed voters may be; I actually think that in combination with an Abrams run for governor the 2022 election in Georgia may be an ugly surprise to the Rs there. But people have to vote like the lives depend on it.
YES! But we truth soldiers need a national Truth Lieutenant General (under Biden?) to lead us, a formulated strategy and plan of attack, and the opportunity to go on furlough and, hopefully, get recharged once in awhile.
I think we need to get ready for being the entrenched minority in this country and figure out how we can be disrupters of the coming hegemony of the Right. Sad to have to think this way, but it seems to me the only role that makes sense in these times. Whether we like it or not, voting and actively promoting candidates who share our values is still most likely our best weapons. And our propaganda machine needs to be at least as loud as theirs.
Reid, Harry, and Diane: I hear you, but being defeatists will get us nowhere. We have to fight for our democracy. We can't allow the GOP liars to beat us into the ground just as we've come up for air. We have to convince our ornery Maga family and neighbors that they have been hoodwinked, that they are better off now, that they are barely existing in a cesspool of hatred, that we are all from one human family regardless of skin tone, gender preference, creed, economic situation, or any other "ism" that devalues our differences -- our beautiful singularities!
Well...there is some danger in going forward as if these strategies will be in the least effective, as it robs energy from preparation for what is far more likely to happen. We need to be ready for the onslaught, and we must never forget that the insurrectionists of January 6 have not gone away, just underground. They are still out there plotting and they have nearly all the guns. Sorry to be so grim, but my perception is that we are in deep, deep trouble and pretending we're not is not going to serve us well.
Reid, I still say your mindset is, pardon me, defeatist. If you view a complete takeover by the radical Right as so likely that you see protest and voting rights organization and speaking out, etc. etc. as a set of activities that "robs energy from preparation for what is far more likely to happen...", I still say your stance is that you are resigning yourself for defeat. I refuse to do that. Why should any of us take the attitude that a far right takeover is "likely" when a) they are the voting minority, especially when we mount large scale efforts to counter their voter suppression tactics, b. demographics don't favor them: younger voters are more diverse and more, not less, progressive, and c. so much of the s**t they are trying to pull is based on tirelessly flogging egregious lies and lying and cheating in every possible way, including flooding "low information" voters with alarmist fantasies unburdened by any connection to reality, and cheerfully shredding the Constitution by proposing voter suppression laws like Georgia's and free speech and assembly suppression laws like the one DeSantis just got passed in Florida? I'll be darned if I am going to resign myself to viewing any of that as inevitable or irreversible. Millions of progressives and liberals rose up in outrage, worked our asses off, donated more than we could afford, and threw The Former Guy out in 2020. It's like the protest chants:
Then we fight back with the vote and every other weapon we can think of! We certainly don't buy guns and start a war. I'm not saying that you may not be correct as I said in my first post above our situation is frightening, but so many Republicans have crossed the line. Look at how brave those who were arrested at the Capitol have been. They are a bunch of two year olds who deny everything on 45. Are you going to sit back and give up to these leaderless semi-cultish groups who don't know their heads from their tails. We need the DOJ to arrest their leaders and all the insurrectionists in Congress and those in 45's pockets. We have to write to Biden, Harris, our AG, the FBI & the CIA, and take action.
I'm thinking and hoping that Biden's stimulus bill will sweep enough independents and GOPers to our side to compensate for the gerrymandering to come. I do think we we have a wise man in the White House--and I'm glad to read today that he's doing something about authoritarianism abroad.
Perhaps educating about authoritarianism abroad, will help to educate people at home without it feeling personal? Also, I wonder about the plan to catch up with China’s monopoly on the green energy industries will help to counter the djt/authoritarian narrative? Somehow touch people’s lives in a way that opens their eyes to the lies they have been told?
I've often wondered why, as American advertising excels at selling some of the most awful, *^*%$!, junk imaginable, we find it so difficult to "sell" the candidates and yes, the ideas, that we desperately want and need to promote. I'm thinking of people/candidates and the ideas we consider admirable, but also of the truths of science and technology. Climate change is real. Refusing to wear a mask or to be vaccinated is dangerous to the greater population as well as to yourself. This situation confounds me so much that I'm designing a (fun, I hope) board game that illustrates how Covid 19 spreads and mutates. OK, it's silly, but believe me, I think playing it will encourage my sister, who incidentally loves board games, to get the jab and wear a mask. But back to the real question: Where is advertising's soul and brain when we need it most?
What astonishes me even more is that a clear majority of people want progressive policies but continue to elect regressive oligarchs. I suspect the answer is that those voters put more weight on the manifest destiny of whiteness, the unchallenged freedom to own guns, and male control over female bodies then they do policies that's would be in their best interest and that, in isolation, many of them support.
I think the problem is that rational reasoned discourse is not nearly as exciting to Americans as crazy lies and wild propaganda. We are also requiring people to think and, as my 40 or so years as an educator can attest, most people don’t want to think. It is hard to be a self aware and humane person. The UK has David Attenborough. We have the Tiger King.
Keep in mind that people are leaving the Republican Party because of the Big Lie and subsequent attempts by Republicans to suppress voting rights. Many are seeing the light and want the government to work for the people. They grow tired of hearing “Hate thy neighbor”.
God, I hope you're right. 2022 will be one of the most consequential elections in our nation's history, and 2024 even more so. I am afraid yet remain hopeful.
Also keep in mind that those leaving Silicon valley for Texas, etc are mostly not conservatives. That implies that those incoming seats just might stay blue.
Colorado gains one seat in the House. The battle for that seat in underway with the head of the state Republican Party saying “Come 2022, Coloradons will send another strong, conservative leader to DC to fight for our state.”
Important clarification, but still, we are not completely powerless and must exert the power of justice and truth in every legal, nonviolent way we can.
I have been reading Civil War Books for inspiration. "Grant Takes Command" (by Michigander Bruce Catton) gives me hope. I think Biden needs to appoint (as Lincoln did at a hopeless stage in the 1st Civil War) a "Lieutenant General" to assess, strategize, and lead us foot soldiers in this 2nd Civil War. A comprehensive plan of attack will include a revised Fairness Doctrine, a coordinated attack from all fronts on Fox "News" (and its ilk) with laws and lawsuits and boycotts, and a search and destroy mission of QAnon, Dark Money, and, well the Republican National Party. Conceptualize and treat it as the war it is. Because it is.
An excellent reading choice, MP. Though later historians rightly cover more than battles and campaigns, Bruce Catton is the classic presentation of a Union perspective, and superior to Shelby Foote (who didn't bother with references).
When it comes to the Civil War, there are two kinds of Americans: those for whom it matters, and those for whom it does not. Clearly it matters, a lot, to you, me, and Dr Richardson.
Thank you. And thank you for author insights. I am partial to Catton because he was raised near here, and I would encounter his kind son on our local cross country trail. And his book about Michigan, "Waiting for the Morning Train" is wonderful. My last 2 books were from the southern perspective: "Co. Atch" and one from a woman's perspective. A long ways from the Gone with the Wind rot I read 55 years ago. What do recommend next?!
Now you're talking! Though I am very reluctant to endorse anything that impinges on free speech, it does seem to me that Carlson's recklessness, and that of those like him, should have to face some consequences for the violence and the lives lost that will undoubtedly ensue.
I, for one, have zero intention of going down without a fight. And making a lot of noise as I go. For all the distraction and lies out there, they are usually based on someone's self promotion or lust for power. Speaking a message of truth, about the humanity of all people and the collaborative effort needed for a healthy society, will ultimately resonate and shine through, I truly feel.
The Republicans can definitely take over the house. The gerrymandering alone for the new districts could add 5-7 Republican seats. It only takes 5 to take control. That should scare the living daylights out of us. Think of Kevin McCarthy (or Matt Gaetz, or Jim Jordan, or some other nut job) being Speaker of the House. You know the first thing they will do is impeach Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I just "followed" a group on Instagram who is focused on stopping the gerrymandering. I am not sure how good it is, but here is the link to the group in case you're interested. https://www.allontheline.org/ Also can be found on Instagram.
Annette, I wanted to check 'all on the line' to authenticate its roots, just in case. Here it is:
'All On The Line is a campaign of the National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF), an affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), which is chaired by Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States.
The All On The Line campaign began, in part, when NRAF combined forces with Organizing for Action, an organization founded by aides of President Obama and grew out of President Obama’s campaign infrastructure. The power of ordinary people coming together to enact change is central to the beliefs of President Obama and Eric Holder, and they are both active in this effort and supportive of this campaign.'
Without doubt, the first order of business for a Republican House would be the impeachment of Biden. Not once, but twice just like Trump was impeached twice.
The politics of revenge on steroids.
Republicans aren’t good at legislating but they throughly enjoy investigating.
There would be an attempt to impeach Biden, but I don't think it will get very far. Once they have control they will have more important business to attend to. An impeachment would be a distraction.
Impeachment by a Republican House is a certainty. It won’t go anywhere in the Senate like Trumps went nowhere but that doesn’t really matter. Revenge matters.
The “distraction “ issue never bothered the Democrats when they went after Trump twice knowing full well it would go nowhere in the Senate.
Michigan has an independent redistricting commission as do 16 other states, with a goal of ending gerrymandering. This article is from March, 2019, so it is possible there are more:
So does Colorado, at least in theory. Recently the chairman of the commission was forced to step down because of his public China Virus comments and massive voter fraud. Independent? Time will tell.
I think there is a fine line between being vigilant about each nascent insane blossoming of the Right, and sensationalizing it. There are times you have to call it out and there are times where you just have to deprive it of oxygen. Vigilance is obviously warranted. Agonizing over each insanity is not productive. I thought the latter part of today’s post got dangerously close to inducement of fear.
Of course what to call out and what to ignore is a tough and often individual call. Tucker Carlson is still an influencer, but he’s in a dangerous downward spiral where his ratings depend on more and more sensationalism. Thus he needs to traffic in increasingly outrageous lies and wage ever closer to the edge of illegality campaigns. He’s nightly and at least once a week he has to top himself. He’ll cross a line, or lose audience share because the majority of people have an ever more sensitive bullshit meter. Someday there will come the inevitable “Tucker, we hardly knew ye”. In the meantime, why amplify him?
On the other hand, I don’t think there can be enough publicity and pressure about two current stories. The 3rd? 4th? recount of the Arizona ballots is now underway. It is being done by the wackadoodle but possibly dangerous Cyber Ninja group. It is being underwritten and “overseen” by OAN.
Three facts stand out to me as justification to stifle laughter and drown this effort in attention.
One: they actually have the ballots in their possession and have been spotted with blue pens in proximity. Blue and black pens can be used well ex post facto to affect a ballot before it is run through a voting machine. But even the fact that this QAnon supporting group has the ballots is a terrifying abuse of democracy.
Two: To this point anyway, there is no oversight over what they are doing. No reporters of credibility are allowed in. No Democrats can participate in this recount to provide a check. There is not a “possibility” of mischief here: there is a certainty.
Three: The state of Michigan has apparently hired the Cyber Ninjas to do a recount.
Americans need to be relentless in calling this out, in shaming Arizona, in making it abundantly clear that this a bridge too far. Should this recount *show* that Trump won Arizona, then the fire will have been lit. The consequences will be serious if not deadly.
There should also be an avalanche of coverage of the latest police shooting of an unarmed Black man in Elizabeth NC. The footage is available (multiple body cams) and yet the family has only seen a heavily redacted 20 seconds. The media has been shown nothing. It is clearer with each passing hour that a cover up is underway. It might not work in the long term, but if it goes on long enough then the heretofore peaceful protests may swing into a more violent response. This will in turn feed the narrative of out of control Blacks/Antifa waging a war against peaceful citizens and police only trying to do their job.
The Governor has tried and failed to get all pertinent evidence released. I don’t know the order of operations in America, but I would LOVE to see the Department of Justice step in.
In the meantime Biden and Harris and the Cabinet continue to do a brilliant, focused job of leading the country determinedly but without an incendiary tone. They are surely winning people over. Take a hike, Tucker.
I am visiting family in AZ and am actually within walking distance of where the recount is taking place. I think today will be a fine day for a stroll in the neighborhood to see what there is to see.
Be careful out there, Syd. We want you back and commenting safely again.
It's troubling to hear about this recount in AZ. Still, it's not too worrying. I think it'll end up like all the GQP legal challenges that were thrown our because there was NO credible evidence. The secretive, even esoteric character of the recount is too blatant. It should ensure that it has little impact, apart from boosting fundraising.
So, nothing really to report. A few MAGA types protesting on the corner, I'm not even sure what about. "Death to Traitors" was one sign. I thought they might be sane people protesting the atrociously opaque manner how this recount is being done, but then I saw a trump flag, so apparently not. I think they were protesting the legal steps being taken by AZ Dems to stop the recount. I didn't have it in me to confront them, no need to cross swords with street corner crazies today. Other than that the place was under security by uniformed police, State Troopers I think. I read on a local news site the Sheriffs declined since the recount was ordered by the State Legislature. I didn't figure I'd get too far with them either. But it was fun to go recon the scene.
There have been journalists trying to get access, but can’t even get acknowledged. How does a partisan hack recount even happen? And are they being taken seriously?
One of the first thoughts I had, as well, they gave the actual ballots to the Cyber Ninjas?!?! And no “poll watchers” from the “other” side allowed? What the ... ?!
Your points are most effective and brilliantly listed. Thank you! I heard about the NC shooting -- most worrisome! And the recounts ... Isn't there a way to put a stop to them? Through SCOTUS, perhaps?
'Fear' into ACTION. The truth into ACTION. Strategy into ACTION. Eric, you wrote, 'I thought the latter part of today’s post got dangerously close to inducement of fear.' Who are you pointing to? Whether discomforted with Heather's Letter or Reid's comment, 'fear' and appropriate action taken toward the authoritarian, anti-democratic and fascistic forces are necessary. I suggest that we not be thwarted by fear but mobilized by it. The unconscionable and dangerous ideologies along with pathological behavior we have be subjected to are frightening, and we know where it leads.
Well actually, I’m not of the belief that fear always leads to productive action. I think it often leads to more fear. And I am concerned that we put all wingnuttery on the same level. Tucker, Sean, Laura et al are obnoxious, but it’s my belief that they are getting comfortably close to their Best By date. They escalate and escalate for eyeballs. At some point they become a parody to many and others who were once true believers become jaded.
Reminds me of the shift from Hitchcock-type movies where your terror was real, but the violence was offstage to the lessening of controls which allowed on screen violence - Clockwork Orange, Straw Dogs. Marathon Man are exemplars. The trap was that what once titillated quickly elicited yawns and so movies got into a cycle of showing more and more blood in more and more horrifying ways. Eventually they simply ran out of runway.
The Fox gang are headed that way. Cut the oxygen off.
But, as I pointed out, the times are truly dangerous and people must mobilize where the threat is real. And I gave two examples.
Firing back at every idiot who sticks his head above the parapet induces a reactive cycle of fear and loathing that becomes scattershot and reductive.
The “meat ban” controversy will blow away, as will the mask hysteria of TC, as did the concept of death panels by Sarah Palin some years ago.
It’s a long game.
In that vein, I’ve wondered about the extent of the breathless coverage of Matt Gaetz. Too much schadenfreude for such a weaselly, self-destructive dude (unless something big comes out such as him aiding and abetting the Jan. 6 gang). Let the law deal with him.
In answer to your question, I was referring to the latter half of Heather’s post.
Thanks Eric; your analysis of cinema history rings true. The first prominent onscreen depiction of gore, in All Quiet on the Western Front, was fleeting but shocking, not least with so many WW1 veterans in the audience to be re-traumatized. Then another 40 years of Hollywood censorship put the bloody genie back in the bottle, to art's benefit. Consider that the Seven Samurai fully succeeds in generating suspense and terror with nary a bit of gore in view. Masterful!
Did I or any comments state as you wrote, 'fear always leads to productive action'? Why did you write that? Why did you resort to the movies, some good ones, in your lecture, to shade our alarm? Do you think that what is going on in the USA is comparable to a movie? Ah, is it that you truly believe that the Republican Party and the extreme right-wing are being sensationalized? Or, are the Democratic Party and the progressives being sensationalized by the right-wing, on Social Media, by wingnuts on the radio, Fox News, etc.? Perhaps, both. Please provide examples of the articles printed in the free-press, which sensationalized the far-right. Perhaps, you are too far away. Do you think that the anti-democracy, far-right extremists are all idiots - Charles Koch, DeSantis, Hawley, Rupert Murdoch, et al. are idiots? You have raised a number of red herrings. Some well written lectures may be simply that, well written. What has been happening in the USA is not simply 'schadenfreude' or idiots at play. 'Firing back at every idiot who sticks his head above the parapet induces a reactive cycle of fear and loathing that becomes scattershot and reductive.' (Eric O'Donnell}
The movie portion was merely an analogy. I didn’t want it freighted with underlying significance.
I stand by my point that there is a cycle of fear that doesn’t discriminate. We absorb each event and give it equal weight. In time we can become paralyzed by this. You know, “we have nothing to fear but fear itself” point.
Yes I am far from it in Canada, but I have a son teaching at Carnegie Mellon and he lives not two blocks from where the Tree of Life massacre took place. So I have plenty to worry about.
Finally, one can be too close and lose perspective as well.
'We absorb each event and give it equal weight.' No 'we' don't. You underestimate the subscribers here and Heather, too. Do you not see that Democracy here has weakened and, now, seriously under attack? Do you always 'stand by my point' whoever you may be addressing? Clearly, I think that your analysis of what has been happening in the USA is incorrect. It is exacting what the smartest propagandists would like most Americans to believe. It is important to challenge your position because it is one that quiets resistance, attention and organization. Too many Americans are not close enough because they are unaware, indifferent or think as you do.
While the Repubs are interested in letting Rome burn, it is masterful that Biden and his admin are quietly but effectively, going about their business at hand. To call out the Armenian genocide is huge and bravo to Biden in doing so. Merrick Garland is looking into police departments for systemic killings by officers against people of color. So very badly needed! Twenty seconds was all of a video that was provided to the Brown family in Wilmington, NC. Eight police officers converged on Brown, shot and killed him while all were wearing cameras and the department allowed only 20 seconds of this atrocious act of violence to be seen. They know it is awful. They know they will be sued. They should know that Merrick Garland will be coming after them.
In the meantime, we are still waiting to hear about when Trump and Company will be brought to trial by SDNY. When and if Roger Stone and Michael Flynn will be charged again. When DeJoy will be removed and charged with tampering, from the Post Office. When Marjorie Taylor Greene and Borbert will be ousted. When The Sedition Gang will be punished and charged with inciting a deadly riot. Exhausting!
The killing of Andrew Brown did not occur in Wilmington, NC, where l live. It occurred in Elizabeth City in Pasquotank County in northeastern NC. Wilmington is in southeastern NC. Pasquotank County Sheriff’s deputies are the law enforcement personnel involved in the Brown case.
Yes, so sad. Tucker tells his followers what to do, some will idiotically do it (do you remember that some people actually drank bleach after Trump suggested it might kill covid to do so?), and then they will get in trouble and possibly hurt someone..
They would be allowed to, in FL, by driving a car over them. Sorry, I’m just disgusted with all of this.. the insanity in FL, and in the whole country right now.
How are these comments by meathead T Carlson even legal? Confront people that are wearing a mask? Making a child wear a mask is considered child abuse? Does he live under a lily pad? We cannot unstupid Tucker Carlson. Talk about mental health (and as someone who struggles with episodic depression, I take MH SERIOUSLY) - he needs some serious help. Simply equivocating mask wearing with child abuse greatly distracts and undermines the very serious issue of child abuse. What a disgrace. How are advertisers still supporting his show with this nonsense? I’m baffled by him and the network that supports him . . . I suppose I should grab my popcorn and watch him crash and burn.
My meathead governor allowed our mask mandate (which he didn't even order until he was safely re-elected in November) to expire April 16. The first time I went to the grocery store last week, I was relieved to see every single adult still wearing a mask. Yesterday, mostly the same, but a few customers were not, one with a Trump hat on. In a state that allows pretty much anyone to carry a gun, this call to violence by Carlson against mask wearers is terrifying. I don't think our local police are going to respond to calls about child abuse by mask wearing, but I can well imagine harassment of parents in public places as a result. I am not generally a fearful person, but between the lies these Fox watchers are gulping down and the strong gun culture in our state and nation, and after a year of avoiding public places due to the pandemic, I have zero desire to go anywhere or do anything despite being fully vaccinated. I go to work, walks with friends, essential errands and that is it.
I had a moment at my local Albertson's yesterday. There was a guy, wearing a Utilikilt with a red bandanna that was draped in the center of his belt along his back (It matched his fetching red t-shirt with some symbol on the front that I was unfamiliar with). He was engaging in permitted "open carry" here in Oregon, with some flavor of a high capacity Glock protruding from what I devoutly hope was an inside the waistband holster....buying chicken tenders at the deli. He was masked (although the lady I followed into the store wasn't; she went directly to the bagged salad department and fondled at least three bags as I walked past, but I digress).
They like to call us snowflakes and THEY can't go anywhere without a gun strapped to their body???? I carry tourniquets in my purse and I know how to use them.
It makes me want to get a blue tshirt and put some made up symbol on it that has no meaning whatsoever, just to make them wonder what MY symbol might mean that they are not familiar with, and then get a bunch of friends to do the same and just drive them nuts trying to figure out what this new symbol is about. Doesn't that sound fun? Better yet, put it on a mask! I'm losing my grip.....
I have some friends who over the last several years regularly went to MAGA rallies to sell MAGA merchandise. They donated all the profits from the sales to Democratic candidates’ campaigns. They say it was the best way they could think of to get Trump supporters to donate to Democrats. Everytime I see someone with MAGA gear it makes me think about their efforts. LoL
Bruce, What your friends are doing is so weird. I'm laughing and yet, disquieted by it. I imagine such a stunt would have appealed to Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin.
Same here in FL with a PAC that I worked with during campaign. There are many independent Dem strategists and pols that use infiltration as a way to raise money and assess the landscape. And they are the gen coming up. Their parents DID do the same thing in the 60’s and 70’s.
Since education about gun safety is wholly lacking we can only hope that the ropes with loaded pistols in their waistbands have accidents that make it impossible for them to reproduce . . .
I had my second shot, waited two weeks, and hopped on a plane to visit 97 year old dad and his girlfriend in Florida. Everywhere we went followed the science rules rather than the state's rules. It was encouraging.
Media personalities like Tucker Carlson have become cult leaders, drunk on power, whose only objective is to keep their followers loyal by stoking fear and hatred of all non followers.
Now they want them to remove masks in a pandemic. Can the poisoned kool aid be far behind?
Actually, IMHO, it is not about him at all. He is simply a tool for the propaganda machine that is being used to tear USA apart. As are the rest of FNN: the purpose is sowing the seeds of hate, resentment, and violence. And while we write and talk about it, we are complicitly silent in our actions. Me included.
Reid has a point about the resistance. I think we need a resistance NOW. Out in the streets now.
And that action could play into the fomented fascism of the iDJT-fundamentalists who would then come after the resistance with guns.
What should the Germans have done?
As I stand with people of all color, it may not be enough: it may be a point of conflagration, but not prevention.
Without the Koch’s $ support of @the daily caller”, Tucker ain’t got sh*t. He has no future. He is a Cro-Maga’n, the lowest of the deplorable. While worthless on his own, he remains a dangerous demagogic force of authoritarianism.
Right, and drunk on power. He'd be nothing without this platform and that scares the bejeebus out of him. It's about his own ego. Fox? It's all a business model - cut off the $$$ and it goes away.
Then I strongly suggest we find ways to cut off the money. You seem certain it is a business model. I'm more inclined to see it as a useful tool for the sedition corps.
The sooner the better. I understand Fox doesn’t rely on advertisers like other networks. Rather they make their money from cable companies who carry Fox. So talk to your cable co. (Good luck with that) about wanting Fox made optional. Anyone in the biz know if this is correct and the best way to impact FN?
I have requested of my cable provider on multiple occasions that Fox News and other far right media be removed from the basic cable tier and placed in a separate subscription package. People should have the right to watch whatever they choose, but I should not have to pay to support those with whom I strongly disagree.
I think we need a large group to go after the cable companies at the same time. Not sure it could be class action, I’m not a lawyer. Put them in the situation that if they don’t give the option, mass numbers cancel their cable.
I haven’t had cable since 2007 when I moved to Hawaii and had to fight to get DSL. I have high speed internet. We do streaming. We pay for a subscription and watch it until we’ve seen the show we want, then we do a different one. We never run out of anything to watch and YouTube gets us c-span.
Is there a national petition for this? How could we organize this? Would it help? I want to help DO something. Can we create a “block” of voters to say we don’t want to be pawns, indirectly supporting Fox BS?
Even ESPN? You gotta understand, my husband is an old dinosaur. I have tried to convince him to stream and he is totally against it. Sigh...thanks anyway.
We have family members who watch Fox, and only Fox. That is their sole source of information. It’s impossible to get through to these people. Simply hopeless.
Me too. They say it is the only station that has a conservative viewpoint. My mother tells me she watches Fox but not Hannity or Carlson, as if that makes it better.
And this is the only channel that plays in VA facilities & military installations! Talk about how vets are brainwashed. (this is what I heard on sirius xm from a vet who's very involved in veterans affairs)
I will have to look up who our new head of the VA is and see if we can start a campaign to remove Fox from these places. I think President Biden has named new ones.
IMHO, the point is he IS doing it (incendiary lies) and inciting the 'base' and this is really dangerous. They (FNN) had to retract the lies about meat, but the retractions are one-liners and wink-wink. The endless firehose of words meant to inflame and incite are being used to destabilize the country. These purposeful rants are, with intent, offering actions to be taken by those iDJT fundamentalists.
A town down the road, Sequim, WA, has a Q-ANON city council. I was recently confronted by a man (on the street corner with a sign that said "Take off that useless mask") yelling at me to remove my mask. (My dentist is in that town, for those of you who will recommend not going there.)
There was no recourse to this harassment. The police are in alignment with the city council. Traveling in (FL riot) groups to be safe? Then there are the guns. I certainly don't have one.
Make sure you carry pepper spray for protection. If it’s hard to find a bottle of perfume will work just as well to back them away. We carried spray perfume as teens before pepper spray was readily available.
What a great idea! I have bottles of perfume that have gone bad and now are rank-smelling; I'd love to find a good way to dispose of them. Skunking an anti-masker is a great way. I do carry pepper spray as well, but I like the perfume solution better.
kimceann, Are there any local, rights organizations and press in the area to discuss this with? Do you want to check around and or think of one to contact? Please protect yourself and, perhaps, talk to friends and neighbors. Thank you for sharing this with us. Peace.
Carlson is much like Trump; simply playing to his base. Part of “owning the libs”. When the libs go ballistic over his comments, he loves it, he wins. Ignore him.
There is no way of charging the minds of his followers any more than you can change the mind of a Trumpkin.
He is what he is. I don’t know what be says and could care less.
Agree, our thoughts exactly as we discussed this. It is not free speech to shout fire in a crowded theater or to shout mask when a child is wearing one to protect themselves and others. yes the sponsors need to pull out but the fairness doctrine needs to be restored to provide accountability for this irresponsibly inciteful dangerous rhetoric. If this kind of stuff was being spewed from MSNBC they would be off the air. Heather Cox Richardson's descriptions harken back to the era of Nixon with infiltration of the anti war movement and murder of students at Kent Sate and Jackson State. Anniversary 51 of Kent State coming up May5, 2021!!!
You know, cable networks are unregulated but there are many local Fox affiliates who broadcast under an FCC license which comes under periodic review. What if we all demanded that the FCC suspend or cancel the license of stations that carry Tucker Carlson and present as justification for our demand lists of his outrageous, authoritarian, and fascist declarations. The airwaves belong to the American people, not Fox or any other corporation.
Carlson comments are legal, protected by the First Amendment. Watch for the next story, though: People being arrested for abusing the 911 system by calling about children wearing masks.
Yes, we’re in dangerous territory. History suggests, but historians must connect the dots.
Fascism has raised its ugly head, US fascism is riding US and foreign racism, with Trump Republicans race baiting and white Americans largely silent.
Our Silent Majority of Nixon, Mitchell, Haldeman, Erlichman and Zeigler was akin in spirit to Trump claiming crowd size lies and Obama’s birthright. It’s all there in DeSantis, Abbott and Arizona now. 40 state governments are gagging Blacks at the polls coming.
White supremacy is the cornerstone, hatred is the glue, the cement.
Silence supports, silence is the quiet of Germany when Hitler was considered a clown, and England was talking about peace.
Churchill rose when all else failed. We have Biden and our GOP has Trump - Trump calling signals in his Florida mansion as AG Garland starts the judicial process to put his supporters in jail.
Our civil cold war may lead to hot both here and in Europe. Ukraine is real. Navalny is dying.
Turkey has imprisoned many journalists. Russia kills them. Trump called them fake news.
Heather writes History suggests we’re in dangerous territory.
We don’t need history. We need newspapers and a body politic that rips what’s going on in Arizona - where abortion is now all but impossible.
All the signals and signs are there. The census may flip Texas for a decade or more.
LBJ found his conscience as JFK was assassinated. Great Society was his term.
We were never great. Greatness comes when our leaders and academics tell us the whole truth and nothing else.
Thank God for Joe Knows Us. Whip James Clyburn’s words brought Black Women to the polls.
Actually, the first thing I did today when I saw HCR's words about our being in "dangerous territory" was to scroll down to see if Sandy Lewis had commented on it ... and indeed he has. Just because there is a Democrat in the White House and the barest of Democratic majorities in Congress is no reason for optimism, unbridled or otherwise. Upcoming Congressional changes due to the census results and the repressive action of Republican State legislatures are causes for alarm and portend hazards on the road ahead. Watch out for lane closures.
“...Carlson called for his audience to start direct action. He told them to confront people wearing masks, which he says are signs of “political obedience.”
When he gets hauled into court for incitement after something terrible happens, his lawyers will say again that no one reasonable would believe his bs.
In recent weeks I've begun wearing a blue ball-cap that says on the front above the bill, "US Navy Veteran", which I am, over and under the Navy embalm. I never thought it made any sort of political statement. Now I see it does. I'm thinking is it says, "I gave 4 years of my life to defend our democracy." Regardless of the fact I loved every minute of it. And at the same time it begs the question, "What have you done?" When I'm out and about in the community where I live while wearing the hat and a COVID mask, the supermarket where I shop requires a mask. If I am questioned by anyone about the mask I'll simply ask them if this is how they are defending our democracy? BTW, I don't think this will ever happen.
Thank you for your service and I’m glad it was fun! Great example of how to lead with a symbol of service on your head, and with empathy and compassion in your heart.
We live in a small, red Village in Upstate NY, I literally only know 3 other Democrats here,, I'm sure there are more.. Granted, we haven't lived here long, but there is a pancake breakfast at the Fire House this Sunday that we were looking forward to going to. After hearing what *ucker Carson has compelled the base to do, I nolonger want to go. I don't feel safe in my own Village.
The business with outrageous lying is what I started calling "The Republican Drive-By".
Someone will drop some kind of howler that's glaringly false, but which serves as red meat for the base. The press amplifies it, and the public goes nuts. Two days later some minor functionary will quietly issue a retraction, but the damage will have been done. A couple of days is all it takes.
I like your expression, "The Republican Drive-By" Call it what it is. I have been wondering what the best response from reasonable people should be. Ignore it? Quietly explain why it is a lie, then let it go? How can such blatant lies best be countered?
Here’s my script: “This simply isn’t true. If you care anything about the truth, please look it up before you repeat it again.” It’s too dangerous to simply ignore lies, we have to reject them EVERY SINGLE TIME. Silence is consent.
I am so tired, but may I repost this important message to remind and recharge myself and my friends to persist? And maybe my relatives will read it by accident. I might need to add "look it up in a reputable source."
At what point do we stop saying that Tucker Carlson is exercising his right to free speech and start saying that he is inciting public unrest? The old adage that you can't shout "fire" in a crowded public theatre is applicable here.
I believe I asked this question before Jan 6th. and its corollary question, How do we prevent the telling of lies from a popular bully pulpit. These are issues of free speech that were not present before the internet and its powerful ability to allow manipulation of masses of people. OR we could ask if since we as Americans seem to be at least 30% if not 40% gullible do we deserve the future we get? I just don't want to live through that future.
The most powerful tools to fight irresponsible speech are responsible listening and rational thought. I realize those are tools not all are equipped with but we must do our best to use them ourselves while helping others to find them in their toolkits.
Agree Bruce. And I add, know or surmise first the goal behind the egregious actions of a power monger.
McCarthy wants the House chair at all costs. And Carlson wants... (RIP because doesn’t appear he rested in life- Rush Limbaugh’s) king of the molehill chair of disinformation and wild speculation.
Problem is, it’s a very slippery slope. Because when will we be exercising our right to free speech and they come after us?? I think we need to leave this alone and try to find a better way to get through this.
HRC, Thank you for the summary of all of this. I can’t seem to wrap my head around what seems like madness, sheer madness! Could you address the current Arizona and now also Michigan audits of the 2020 election by the states Republicans? I am very worried as the company they are using is not independent in the least and not at all transparent.
That company is brought to you by QAnon. It isn't transparent at all and states it won’t be. Thus, the secrecy behind the way the audit is done, with letting only OAN be witness, is highly questionable. More than likely illegal because they are auditing using blue or black pens which means they could be actually changing the results on those ballots. The people who reside in AZ and Michigan should file a class action lawsuit protesting this audit against this vile company and it’s CEO, whomever that may be.
Yesterday, Nicole Wallace spent some time on the "audit" in AZ which Claire McCaskill is not legally an "audit". It is definitely scary that Qanon can bring in private companies to "recount" votes that have already been recounted three times! McCaskill believes these recounts are just another way to keep the BIG LIE alive, and further incite the supremacists. Where will all this end?
And Claire made very clear the fact that this is NOT an "audit." We should not give oxygen to that word in association with an obvious and blatant attempt to alter ballots. Another fact that should be noted repeatedly is that they are only "counting" ballots of Dems who voted for Biden in Maricopa County. No other votes. Plus daylight should be shown on the GOP judge who put a million dollar price tag on the Dems who were suing to stop this deliberate overthrow of the state's election process. Many lawsuits need to be filed.
It won’t end. But now only 3 people protest can be “riot”. It will end for some who protest with their legalized political murder (Florida law). SCOTUS either has to strike down this law or democracy is doomed.
If three people being a "riot" is not challenged in court (as it should be), then every single campaign rally held by one of these scumbags needs to result in multiple arrests. Any group of three or more people who get together should be arrested. Any room full of people (church, synagogue, restaurant, etc.) where more than three friends join together should be considered a "riot."
I am surprised that who ever can get their hands on the actual votes isn't vetted and screened more properly. This is such a dangerous practice, I honestly do not understand it all.
@ChrstineFederici, I feel the same. I am exhausted by the insanity, and i can't wrap my head around it either. We must all fight back, in big and smallnways, against Mr. Carkson and their ilk, or we will lose our democracy.
This is WAR. The election on November 3rd was but one battle won. The enemy of truth continues its barrage against our democracy with lying and seditious ammunition rained down on states now as well as gullible citizens. We need a National Guard of Truth, with "troops" in every community and church and school to say, "Nope, that's a lie, too." For now, we HCR readers are the truth soldiers. Time to call for reinforcements?
Cyber Nijas are a joke. That AZ recount is a clown show. Validating the Big Lie to perpetuate the discord is morally wrong. Republicans are going to cheat in 2022. And protests in some states will be illegal. Political murder during a “riot” has been “legalized” in Florida.
That actually made me laugh, Karen. I live in FL, and imagined that happening with my band of brothers who I tiff with regularly. Which we have done since we were kids. Come to think of it....I’ll have to call the police next time our county commissioners meet. That’s a full out riot every meeting.
I really hope some white male Trump dumbfuck follows Carlson's orders and comes up to me sometime while I'm wearing my mask. Mashing him face first into a brick wall would be sooooo satisfying. Sadly, in my corner of Los Angeles, it's illegal to be a Republican (thank goodness) so I won't get the privilege.
The Big Lie continues and becomes that much more tremendous. It makes me think of watching the path of a hurricane, in that it is unrelenting and unpredictable. Like all hurricanes, it will fizzle out eventually. Until then, I feel the loss of our Democracy is higher now than it was during the 4 years of Trump. Was he just the precursor, the warm up act to what we are handed today?
My fear is completely on par with my disgust to what FOX Entertainment and the GOP are pushing.
Make no mistake, this Country is firmly divided between regrowth and re-establishing and the absolute destruction by the GOP.
We are not, "One Nation", but 2 distinct Countries under one umbrella.
I live in southeastern NC. Hurricanes Florence and Dorian wreaked havoc in NC with devastating floods and tornadoes. Florence in 2018 severely flooded our house. It took about 18 months just to find someone to repair the damage. Hurricane Dorian spawned tornadoes that did further damage to homes and landscapes. No trees in my backyard anymore. Old oak trees cannot be replaced. We are doing ok.
My point is all the damage from the storms takes YEARS to repair, and the area never looks the same. New normal must be adjusted to. Trump unleashed storms of huge proportions. Rebuilding will take time and continuous effort step by step. We must keep working after Hurricane Trump.
I'm sorry that you've experienced first hand the ravages of hurricanes. But, I like you analogy of the tRump hurricane, and how we must allow the time to rebuild.
Jenn , I'm glad you are working through this. I certainly didn't mean to minimize the after workings of a hurricane. I was referring to being able to watch it on a map and how it will eventually leave and none to soon. I have been in a hurricane myself on Cape Cod and it's an experience that stays with you forever.
Once again, Tucker Carlson’s White Power Hour crosses over the lines of truth, decency, and humanity. His daily rants continue to illustrate there is no limit to the depths to which he and those on the far right will sink.
Biden and his administration demonstrate a commitment to truth, decency, history, and a more just and democratic future. Republicans have adopted the politics of grievance but without answers to society's ills. They seek only to attempt to blame liberals for whatever fears they can stoke, both real and imagined fears.
Attempting to make the imagined tragedies of disappearing hamburgers from American diets and Dr Seuss from bookshelves as more threatening than the existential threat of climate change, economic inequality, or racism and activism is not a winning strategy. Ultimately people identify the most critical issues that affect their lives and react rationally.
The best defenses against irresponsible speech are responsible listening and rational thought. Many on the far right lack those both tools. We must do our best to be sure our own are always present and available and do our best to equip the next generation in how to use them well.
My 43yrold daughter is completely apolitical (long story as to why politics is totally irrelevant to her world) but her daughter (my grand) will be 11 next month and is hungry to know about 'politics' because her friends in school all talked about the election, which they heard about in their homes. So I talked to her and continue to talk to her about 'civics.' She is our hope.
Reacting rationally is not what iDJT-fundamentalists do. React, yes. Rationally, no. The fears being stoked are taken as fact, as "news." The distraction of the mundane is an important part of the propaganda.
Consider how the Proud Boys use 'humor' to defang their violence:
I wish I shared your optimism. There was a story yesterday about Tom Wicker of the NYT and his prediction during the early 1960's that the Republicans would pursue a Southern Strategy. He was bang on about that but terribly wrong in his prediction that Southern whites would reject the strategy and its appeal to racism in favor of their own economic interests. Fifty years later and Southern and even some Northern voters still dance to the tunes of racism and fear.
This is a frightening situation, and yet, President Biden quietly moves forward with his agenda. He reminds me of you, dear Prof. HCR, in his determination and candor. We need that steady hand at the helm.
Those fascist lies that have been blazing across US headlines for the past five years give such pause for concern, but let's not lose hope. Trump did not win, Biden did! Covid numbers are looking so much better and so many of us have been vaccinated. A long ignored genocide has, at last, been recognized. We're back on the international stage in a humanitarian role. Some things are looking up. We mustn't become complacent, and careful vigilance is de rigueur, but at least we have a competent human being as POTUS.
I know it's just a mood, more or less, but today I feel as if Biden/Harris is the sum total of what we have in our corner. The Senate and therefore Congress in general are blocked by the filibuster; the census, at least at first glance, is working against us; the Republican-controlled state legislatures will gerrymander the heck out of those new seats (and based on changes in local numbers can do so in any state); the crazies continue to tell their lies and incite violence with impunity; and the lunatic fringe own most of the guns. If I were a visitor from another planet looking down with some objectivity on all this for the first time, I would be hard-pressed to see any good outcomes that are at all likely. Good for you for encouraging our vigilance and hope, but, man, some days it's hard to get there.
Reid, I have to disagree vigorously with your subcomment that "we need to get ready for being the entrenchad minority in this country and figure out how we can be the disruptors of the coming hegemony of the Right." It is burningly urgent that we who value truth, science, democracy, and liberal ideas must NOT resign ourselves. That's tantamount to giving up and giving in. We are in the majority as the popular vote showed in 2016 and 2020. We *must* keep organizing, keep speaking out, keep voting and organizing others to vote, keep supporting organizations that fight right wing lies, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and the attempts such as Ron DeSantis's new law, to strip us of our Constitutional rights. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."
I think you have misunderstood me. I believe that we must redouble our efforts in all of the areas you mention precisely BECAUSE we are effectively the minority. I believe that understanding the precarity of our situation will invigorate us, make us more defiant, louder, and far less polite. The Far Right program for minority rule is not only working, it has already worked. While the election of Biden and Harris have forestalled their takeover, for which I am very thankful, we must not be duped into any complacency by their victory. We are in deep trouble and must be prepared to fight for everything we hold dear.
Not a minority, a vote-suppressed majority
I explained what I meant elsewhere. We must respond as if we are the minority because the Rs currently hold nearly all the levers of power, most importantly, the vote suppression machinery. SCOTUS has given every indication that they are hands-off state electoral rules that aren't blatantly discriminatory, even if they have that clear intent and effect. My hope in this regard is how very angry the suppressed voters may be; I actually think that in combination with an Abrams run for governor the 2022 election in Georgia may be an ugly surprise to the Rs there. But people have to vote like the lives depend on it.
YES! But we truth soldiers need a national Truth Lieutenant General (under Biden?) to lead us, a formulated strategy and plan of attack, and the opportunity to go on furlough and, hopefully, get recharged once in awhile.
Thank you. You're absolutely right.
You’re right. Keeping the House in ‘22 just got tougher . Being optimistic is getting more difficult.
I think we need to get ready for being the entrenched minority in this country and figure out how we can be disrupters of the coming hegemony of the Right. Sad to have to think this way, but it seems to me the only role that makes sense in these times. Whether we like it or not, voting and actively promoting candidates who share our values is still most likely our best weapons. And our propaganda machine needs to be at least as loud as theirs.
Reid, Harry, and Diane: I hear you, but being defeatists will get us nowhere. We have to fight for our democracy. We can't allow the GOP liars to beat us into the ground just as we've come up for air. We have to convince our ornery Maga family and neighbors that they have been hoodwinked, that they are better off now, that they are barely existing in a cesspool of hatred, that we are all from one human family regardless of skin tone, gender preference, creed, economic situation, or any other "ism" that devalues our differences -- our beautiful singularities!
Well...there is some danger in going forward as if these strategies will be in the least effective, as it robs energy from preparation for what is far more likely to happen. We need to be ready for the onslaught, and we must never forget that the insurrectionists of January 6 have not gone away, just underground. They are still out there plotting and they have nearly all the guns. Sorry to be so grim, but my perception is that we are in deep, deep trouble and pretending we're not is not going to serve us well.
Reid, I still say your mindset is, pardon me, defeatist. If you view a complete takeover by the radical Right as so likely that you see protest and voting rights organization and speaking out, etc. etc. as a set of activities that "robs energy from preparation for what is far more likely to happen...", I still say your stance is that you are resigning yourself for defeat. I refuse to do that. Why should any of us take the attitude that a far right takeover is "likely" when a) they are the voting minority, especially when we mount large scale efforts to counter their voter suppression tactics, b. demographics don't favor them: younger voters are more diverse and more, not less, progressive, and c. so much of the s**t they are trying to pull is based on tirelessly flogging egregious lies and lying and cheating in every possible way, including flooding "low information" voters with alarmist fantasies unburdened by any connection to reality, and cheerfully shredding the Constitution by proposing voter suppression laws like Georgia's and free speech and assembly suppression laws like the one DeSantis just got passed in Florida? I'll be darned if I am going to resign myself to viewing any of that as inevitable or irreversible. Millions of progressives and liberals rose up in outrage, worked our asses off, donated more than we could afford, and threw The Former Guy out in 2020. It's like the protest chants:
The People, United, Can Never Be Defeated!
Show Me What Democracy Looks Like...
THIS Is What Democracy Looks Like!
Then we fight back with the vote and every other weapon we can think of! We certainly don't buy guns and start a war. I'm not saying that you may not be correct as I said in my first post above our situation is frightening, but so many Republicans have crossed the line. Look at how brave those who were arrested at the Capitol have been. They are a bunch of two year olds who deny everything on 45. Are you going to sit back and give up to these leaderless semi-cultish groups who don't know their heads from their tails. We need the DOJ to arrest their leaders and all the insurrectionists in Congress and those in 45's pockets. We have to write to Biden, Harris, our AG, the FBI & the CIA, and take action.
I'm thinking and hoping that Biden's stimulus bill will sweep enough independents and GOPers to our side to compensate for the gerrymandering to come. I do think we we have a wise man in the White House--and I'm glad to read today that he's doing something about authoritarianism abroad.
Perhaps educating about authoritarianism abroad, will help to educate people at home without it feeling personal? Also, I wonder about the plan to catch up with China’s monopoly on the green energy industries will help to counter the djt/authoritarian narrative? Somehow touch people’s lives in a way that opens their eyes to the lies they have been told?
Exactly, Rowshan. I was drafting my very similar comment when you posted this.
With you, every step and word of the way.
Rowshan, I admit that I love your optimism even when I find it hard to be optimistic! You are an old soul and I value that. I’m a hothead. 💁
I've often wondered why, as American advertising excels at selling some of the most awful, *^*%$!, junk imaginable, we find it so difficult to "sell" the candidates and yes, the ideas, that we desperately want and need to promote. I'm thinking of people/candidates and the ideas we consider admirable, but also of the truths of science and technology. Climate change is real. Refusing to wear a mask or to be vaccinated is dangerous to the greater population as well as to yourself. This situation confounds me so much that I'm designing a (fun, I hope) board game that illustrates how Covid 19 spreads and mutates. OK, it's silly, but believe me, I think playing it will encourage my sister, who incidentally loves board games, to get the jab and wear a mask. But back to the real question: Where is advertising's soul and brain when we need it most?
What astonishes me even more is that a clear majority of people want progressive policies but continue to elect regressive oligarchs. I suspect the answer is that those voters put more weight on the manifest destiny of whiteness, the unchallenged freedom to own guns, and male control over female bodies then they do policies that's would be in their best interest and that, in isolation, many of them support.
The unsuppressed vote(r)s keep electing regressive oligarchs. Let everyone vote easily and safely, and the results will be different.
Absolutely! I have a family member who is right there with your analysis.
If one pandemic can (allegedly) inspire a nursery rhyme, the current one can inspire a board game.
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/07/ring-around-the-rosie-metafolklore-rhyme-and-reason/
LOVE THE COVID GAME IDEA!!!
I think the problem is that rational reasoned discourse is not nearly as exciting to Americans as crazy lies and wild propaganda. We are also requiring people to think and, as my 40 or so years as an educator can attest, most people don’t want to think. It is hard to be a self aware and humane person. The UK has David Attenborough. We have the Tiger King.
Keep in mind that people are leaving the Republican Party because of the Big Lie and subsequent attempts by Republicans to suppress voting rights. Many are seeing the light and want the government to work for the people. They grow tired of hearing “Hate thy neighbor”.
God, I hope you're right. 2022 will be one of the most consequential elections in our nation's history, and 2024 even more so. I am afraid yet remain hopeful.
Also keep in mind that those leaving Silicon valley for Texas, etc are mostly not conservatives. That implies that those incoming seats just might stay blue.
Colorado gains one seat in the House. The battle for that seat in underway with the head of the state Republican Party saying “Come 2022, Coloradons will send another strong, conservative leader to DC to fight for our state.”
Just what America needs another Lauren Boebert.
Kerry Donovon is going to send Boebert home in 2022.
I’m for that but Boebert is from a very conservative district.
Fingers crossed.
Florida just gained one seat also.
True enough, but I was using the term in the political sense, which is to say, "the group out of power," which we more or less are.
Important clarification, but still, we are not completely powerless and must exert the power of justice and truth in every legal, nonviolent way we can.
I have been reading Civil War Books for inspiration. "Grant Takes Command" (by Michigander Bruce Catton) gives me hope. I think Biden needs to appoint (as Lincoln did at a hopeless stage in the 1st Civil War) a "Lieutenant General" to assess, strategize, and lead us foot soldiers in this 2nd Civil War. A comprehensive plan of attack will include a revised Fairness Doctrine, a coordinated attack from all fronts on Fox "News" (and its ilk) with laws and lawsuits and boycotts, and a search and destroy mission of QAnon, Dark Money, and, well the Republican National Party. Conceptualize and treat it as the war it is. Because it is.
An excellent reading choice, MP. Though later historians rightly cover more than battles and campaigns, Bruce Catton is the classic presentation of a Union perspective, and superior to Shelby Foote (who didn't bother with references).
When it comes to the Civil War, there are two kinds of Americans: those for whom it matters, and those for whom it does not. Clearly it matters, a lot, to you, me, and Dr Richardson.
Thank you. And thank you for author insights. I am partial to Catton because he was raised near here, and I would encounter his kind son on our local cross country trail. And his book about Michigan, "Waiting for the Morning Train" is wonderful. My last 2 books were from the southern perspective: "Co. Atch" and one from a woman's perspective. A long ways from the Gone with the Wind rot I read 55 years ago. What do recommend next?!
Now you're talking! Though I am very reluctant to endorse anything that impinges on free speech, it does seem to me that Carlson's recklessness, and that of those like him, should have to face some consequences for the violence and the lives lost that will undoubtedly ensue.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/tucker-carlson-unmasked/618730/
Inciting riots, yelling "FIRE."
I, for one, have zero intention of going down without a fight. And making a lot of noise as I go. For all the distraction and lies out there, they are usually based on someone's self promotion or lust for power. Speaking a message of truth, about the humanity of all people and the collaborative effort needed for a healthy society, will ultimately resonate and shine through, I truly feel.
The Republicans can definitely take over the house. The gerrymandering alone for the new districts could add 5-7 Republican seats. It only takes 5 to take control. That should scare the living daylights out of us. Think of Kevin McCarthy (or Matt Gaetz, or Jim Jordan, or some other nut job) being Speaker of the House. You know the first thing they will do is impeach Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I just "followed" a group on Instagram who is focused on stopping the gerrymandering. I am not sure how good it is, but here is the link to the group in case you're interested. https://www.allontheline.org/ Also can be found on Instagram.
Annette, I wanted to check 'all on the line' to authenticate its roots, just in case. Here it is:
'All On The Line is a campaign of the National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF), an affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), which is chaired by Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States.
The All On The Line campaign began, in part, when NRAF combined forces with Organizing for Action, an organization founded by aides of President Obama and grew out of President Obama’s campaign infrastructure. The power of ordinary people coming together to enact change is central to the beliefs of President Obama and Eric Holder, and they are both active in this effort and supportive of this campaign.'
Great recommendation, Annette. Thank you.
Without doubt, the first order of business for a Republican House would be the impeachment of Biden. Not once, but twice just like Trump was impeached twice.
The politics of revenge on steroids.
Republicans aren’t good at legislating but they throughly enjoy investigating.
Benghazzzzzzzzi
Repugs stink at investigating too. It is a shame that the historic Libyan city of Benghazi has become a byword for wasteful foolishness.
BENGHAZI!!!
Ugh, what a horrendous thought.....
There is also Democracy Docket. They are doing great work.
MJ has a bit of history on gerrymandering https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/07/the-courts-wont-end-gerrymandering-eric-holder-has-a-plan-to-fix-it-without-them/
There would be an attempt to impeach Biden, but I don't think it will get very far. Once they have control they will have more important business to attend to. An impeachment would be a distraction.
Impeachment by a Republican House is a certainty. It won’t go anywhere in the Senate like Trumps went nowhere but that doesn’t really matter. Revenge matters.
The “distraction “ issue never bothered the Democrats when they went after Trump twice knowing full well it would go nowhere in the Senate.
Reid, your writing my own thoughts and feelings today.
Mine too😔
We still have us. In the short run, things may well svck. In the long run, I like the odds.
Michigan has an independent redistricting commission as do 16 other states, with a goal of ending gerrymandering. This article is from March, 2019, so it is possible there are more:
https://apnews.com/article/4d2e2aea7e224549af61699e51c955dd
So does Colorado, at least in theory. Recently the chairman of the commission was forced to step down because of his public China Virus comments and massive voter fraud. Independent? Time will tell.
This is well said Rowshan.
I think there is a fine line between being vigilant about each nascent insane blossoming of the Right, and sensationalizing it. There are times you have to call it out and there are times where you just have to deprive it of oxygen. Vigilance is obviously warranted. Agonizing over each insanity is not productive. I thought the latter part of today’s post got dangerously close to inducement of fear.
Of course what to call out and what to ignore is a tough and often individual call. Tucker Carlson is still an influencer, but he’s in a dangerous downward spiral where his ratings depend on more and more sensationalism. Thus he needs to traffic in increasingly outrageous lies and wage ever closer to the edge of illegality campaigns. He’s nightly and at least once a week he has to top himself. He’ll cross a line, or lose audience share because the majority of people have an ever more sensitive bullshit meter. Someday there will come the inevitable “Tucker, we hardly knew ye”. In the meantime, why amplify him?
On the other hand, I don’t think there can be enough publicity and pressure about two current stories. The 3rd? 4th? recount of the Arizona ballots is now underway. It is being done by the wackadoodle but possibly dangerous Cyber Ninja group. It is being underwritten and “overseen” by OAN.
Three facts stand out to me as justification to stifle laughter and drown this effort in attention.
One: they actually have the ballots in their possession and have been spotted with blue pens in proximity. Blue and black pens can be used well ex post facto to affect a ballot before it is run through a voting machine. But even the fact that this QAnon supporting group has the ballots is a terrifying abuse of democracy.
Two: To this point anyway, there is no oversight over what they are doing. No reporters of credibility are allowed in. No Democrats can participate in this recount to provide a check. There is not a “possibility” of mischief here: there is a certainty.
Three: The state of Michigan has apparently hired the Cyber Ninjas to do a recount.
Americans need to be relentless in calling this out, in shaming Arizona, in making it abundantly clear that this a bridge too far. Should this recount *show* that Trump won Arizona, then the fire will have been lit. The consequences will be serious if not deadly.
There should also be an avalanche of coverage of the latest police shooting of an unarmed Black man in Elizabeth NC. The footage is available (multiple body cams) and yet the family has only seen a heavily redacted 20 seconds. The media has been shown nothing. It is clearer with each passing hour that a cover up is underway. It might not work in the long term, but if it goes on long enough then the heretofore peaceful protests may swing into a more violent response. This will in turn feed the narrative of out of control Blacks/Antifa waging a war against peaceful citizens and police only trying to do their job.
The Governor has tried and failed to get all pertinent evidence released. I don’t know the order of operations in America, but I would LOVE to see the Department of Justice step in.
In the meantime Biden and Harris and the Cabinet continue to do a brilliant, focused job of leading the country determinedly but without an incendiary tone. They are surely winning people over. Take a hike, Tucker.
I am visiting family in AZ and am actually within walking distance of where the recount is taking place. I think today will be a fine day for a stroll in the neighborhood to see what there is to see.
Looking forward to your intel from this mission.
Be careful, Syd. Those people aren't entirely sane and will do whatever they need to in order to protect their "truth".
Be careful out there, Syd. We want you back and commenting safely again.
It's troubling to hear about this recount in AZ. Still, it's not too worrying. I think it'll end up like all the GQP legal challenges that were thrown our because there was NO credible evidence. The secretive, even esoteric character of the recount is too blatant. It should ensure that it has little impact, apart from boosting fundraising.
I am curious. Would love to be there. Please post if you get something interesting.
So, nothing really to report. A few MAGA types protesting on the corner, I'm not even sure what about. "Death to Traitors" was one sign. I thought they might be sane people protesting the atrociously opaque manner how this recount is being done, but then I saw a trump flag, so apparently not. I think they were protesting the legal steps being taken by AZ Dems to stop the recount. I didn't have it in me to confront them, no need to cross swords with street corner crazies today. Other than that the place was under security by uniformed police, State Troopers I think. I read on a local news site the Sheriffs declined since the recount was ordered by the State Legislature. I didn't figure I'd get too far with them either. But it was fun to go recon the scene.
There have been journalists trying to get access, but can’t even get acknowledged. How does a partisan hack recount even happen? And are they being taken seriously?
One of the first thoughts I had, as well, they gave the actual ballots to the Cyber Ninjas?!?! And no “poll watchers” from the “other” side allowed? What the ... ?!
Your points are most effective and brilliantly listed. Thank you! I heard about the NC shooting -- most worrisome! And the recounts ... Isn't there a way to put a stop to them? Through SCOTUS, perhaps?
Alas I think that ship has sailed. The idiots are running the scotus classroom.
'Fear' into ACTION. The truth into ACTION. Strategy into ACTION. Eric, you wrote, 'I thought the latter part of today’s post got dangerously close to inducement of fear.' Who are you pointing to? Whether discomforted with Heather's Letter or Reid's comment, 'fear' and appropriate action taken toward the authoritarian, anti-democratic and fascistic forces are necessary. I suggest that we not be thwarted by fear but mobilized by it. The unconscionable and dangerous ideologies along with pathological behavior we have be subjected to are frightening, and we know where it leads.
Well actually, I’m not of the belief that fear always leads to productive action. I think it often leads to more fear. And I am concerned that we put all wingnuttery on the same level. Tucker, Sean, Laura et al are obnoxious, but it’s my belief that they are getting comfortably close to their Best By date. They escalate and escalate for eyeballs. At some point they become a parody to many and others who were once true believers become jaded.
Reminds me of the shift from Hitchcock-type movies where your terror was real, but the violence was offstage to the lessening of controls which allowed on screen violence - Clockwork Orange, Straw Dogs. Marathon Man are exemplars. The trap was that what once titillated quickly elicited yawns and so movies got into a cycle of showing more and more blood in more and more horrifying ways. Eventually they simply ran out of runway.
The Fox gang are headed that way. Cut the oxygen off.
But, as I pointed out, the times are truly dangerous and people must mobilize where the threat is real. And I gave two examples.
Firing back at every idiot who sticks his head above the parapet induces a reactive cycle of fear and loathing that becomes scattershot and reductive.
The “meat ban” controversy will blow away, as will the mask hysteria of TC, as did the concept of death panels by Sarah Palin some years ago.
It’s a long game.
In that vein, I’ve wondered about the extent of the breathless coverage of Matt Gaetz. Too much schadenfreude for such a weaselly, self-destructive dude (unless something big comes out such as him aiding and abetting the Jan. 6 gang). Let the law deal with him.
In answer to your question, I was referring to the latter half of Heather’s post.
Thanks Eric; your analysis of cinema history rings true. The first prominent onscreen depiction of gore, in All Quiet on the Western Front, was fleeting but shocking, not least with so many WW1 veterans in the audience to be re-traumatized. Then another 40 years of Hollywood censorship put the bloody genie back in the bottle, to art's benefit. Consider that the Seven Samurai fully succeeds in generating suspense and terror with nary a bit of gore in view. Masterful!
I think you could educate me in American cinema!
Thank you.
Did I or any comments state as you wrote, 'fear always leads to productive action'? Why did you write that? Why did you resort to the movies, some good ones, in your lecture, to shade our alarm? Do you think that what is going on in the USA is comparable to a movie? Ah, is it that you truly believe that the Republican Party and the extreme right-wing are being sensationalized? Or, are the Democratic Party and the progressives being sensationalized by the right-wing, on Social Media, by wingnuts on the radio, Fox News, etc.? Perhaps, both. Please provide examples of the articles printed in the free-press, which sensationalized the far-right. Perhaps, you are too far away. Do you think that the anti-democracy, far-right extremists are all idiots - Charles Koch, DeSantis, Hawley, Rupert Murdoch, et al. are idiots? You have raised a number of red herrings. Some well written lectures may be simply that, well written. What has been happening in the USA is not simply 'schadenfreude' or idiots at play. 'Firing back at every idiot who sticks his head above the parapet induces a reactive cycle of fear and loathing that becomes scattershot and reductive.' (Eric O'Donnell}
Your bow is quivering. Eric.
I apologize if I was not clear.
The movie portion was merely an analogy. I didn’t want it freighted with underlying significance.
I stand by my point that there is a cycle of fear that doesn’t discriminate. We absorb each event and give it equal weight. In time we can become paralyzed by this. You know, “we have nothing to fear but fear itself” point.
Yes I am far from it in Canada, but I have a son teaching at Carnegie Mellon and he lives not two blocks from where the Tree of Life massacre took place. So I have plenty to worry about.
Finally, one can be too close and lose perspective as well.
'We absorb each event and give it equal weight.' No 'we' don't. You underestimate the subscribers here and Heather, too. Do you not see that Democracy here has weakened and, now, seriously under attack? Do you always 'stand by my point' whoever you may be addressing? Clearly, I think that your analysis of what has been happening in the USA is incorrect. It is exacting what the smartest propagandists would like most Americans to believe. It is important to challenge your position because it is one that quiets resistance, attention and organization. Too many Americans are not close enough because they are unaware, indifferent or think as you do.
Thank god.
While the Repubs are interested in letting Rome burn, it is masterful that Biden and his admin are quietly but effectively, going about their business at hand. To call out the Armenian genocide is huge and bravo to Biden in doing so. Merrick Garland is looking into police departments for systemic killings by officers against people of color. So very badly needed! Twenty seconds was all of a video that was provided to the Brown family in Wilmington, NC. Eight police officers converged on Brown, shot and killed him while all were wearing cameras and the department allowed only 20 seconds of this atrocious act of violence to be seen. They know it is awful. They know they will be sued. They should know that Merrick Garland will be coming after them.
In the meantime, we are still waiting to hear about when Trump and Company will be brought to trial by SDNY. When and if Roger Stone and Michael Flynn will be charged again. When DeJoy will be removed and charged with tampering, from the Post Office. When Marjorie Taylor Greene and Borbert will be ousted. When The Sedition Gang will be punished and charged with inciting a deadly riot. Exhausting!
The killing of Andrew Brown did not occur in Wilmington, NC, where l live. It occurred in Elizabeth City in Pasquotank County in northeastern NC. Wilmington is in southeastern NC. Pasquotank County Sheriff’s deputies are the law enforcement personnel involved in the Brown case.
Thanks for setting the location straight here, JennSH. I was going to, but now I don’t have to. —Jan in CHL.
Sorry, you are correct!!
I would also like to see some actual charges and widely disseminated information on the identity of the January 6 traitors.
And those involved on January 5th as well.
Yes!
I understand the appropriate authorities want solid cases, but I sure wish one—just one!—of the things you mention above would materialize already.
Tucker Carlson is mentally unstable and should be committed to a hospital for psychiatric observation and treatment.
He is a loon and a liar. To allow him to continue to lie to the American people is a disgrace (“the likes of which you’ve never seen before”!).
Is he worse than Father Coughlin?
I only know of Fr. Coughlin. Never listened to him.
He is not only a disgrace, but dangerous. There are too many "loons" who believe his every word, and they'll fight to the end for him. Scary.
Maybe Matt Gaetz will succeed in pulling him into his scandal (fingers crossed)
Like his role model, he is a stable genius. When will he turn orange?
But he seems to be very effective.
Yes, so sad. Tucker tells his followers what to do, some will idiotically do it (do you remember that some people actually drank bleach after Trump suggested it might kill covid to do so?), and then they will get in trouble and possibly hurt someone..
They would be allowed to, in FL, by driving a car over them. Sorry, I’m just disgusted with all of this.. the insanity in FL, and in the whole country right now.
Law suits, I see law suits, I see lots and lots of law suits...
But will the defense that everybody knows Fox News is just outrageous entertainment work this time?
How are these comments by meathead T Carlson even legal? Confront people that are wearing a mask? Making a child wear a mask is considered child abuse? Does he live under a lily pad? We cannot unstupid Tucker Carlson. Talk about mental health (and as someone who struggles with episodic depression, I take MH SERIOUSLY) - he needs some serious help. Simply equivocating mask wearing with child abuse greatly distracts and undermines the very serious issue of child abuse. What a disgrace. How are advertisers still supporting his show with this nonsense? I’m baffled by him and the network that supports him . . . I suppose I should grab my popcorn and watch him crash and burn.
My meathead governor allowed our mask mandate (which he didn't even order until he was safely re-elected in November) to expire April 16. The first time I went to the grocery store last week, I was relieved to see every single adult still wearing a mask. Yesterday, mostly the same, but a few customers were not, one with a Trump hat on. In a state that allows pretty much anyone to carry a gun, this call to violence by Carlson against mask wearers is terrifying. I don't think our local police are going to respond to calls about child abuse by mask wearing, but I can well imagine harassment of parents in public places as a result. I am not generally a fearful person, but between the lies these Fox watchers are gulping down and the strong gun culture in our state and nation, and after a year of avoiding public places due to the pandemic, I have zero desire to go anywhere or do anything despite being fully vaccinated. I go to work, walks with friends, essential errands and that is it.
I had a moment at my local Albertson's yesterday. There was a guy, wearing a Utilikilt with a red bandanna that was draped in the center of his belt along his back (It matched his fetching red t-shirt with some symbol on the front that I was unfamiliar with). He was engaging in permitted "open carry" here in Oregon, with some flavor of a high capacity Glock protruding from what I devoutly hope was an inside the waistband holster....buying chicken tenders at the deli. He was masked (although the lady I followed into the store wasn't; she went directly to the bagged salad department and fondled at least three bags as I walked past, but I digress).
They like to call us snowflakes and THEY can't go anywhere without a gun strapped to their body???? I carry tourniquets in my purse and I know how to use them.
I think a few of the tourniquets strategically placed at the jugular would be appropriate in many cases!
I applaud the sentiment, Barbara, but violence is not the answer.
That was said sarcastically.
It makes me want to get a blue tshirt and put some made up symbol on it that has no meaning whatsoever, just to make them wonder what MY symbol might mean that they are not familiar with, and then get a bunch of friends to do the same and just drive them nuts trying to figure out what this new symbol is about. Doesn't that sound fun? Better yet, put it on a mask! I'm losing my grip.....
Great idea! Stick with the tshirt, it's most convincing. Then you could pull a Trump and start selling them.
I have some friends who over the last several years regularly went to MAGA rallies to sell MAGA merchandise. They donated all the profits from the sales to Democratic candidates’ campaigns. They say it was the best way they could think of to get Trump supporters to donate to Democrats. Everytime I see someone with MAGA gear it makes me think about their efforts. LoL
Bruce, What your friends are doing is so weird. I'm laughing and yet, disquieted by it. I imagine such a stunt would have appealed to Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin.
Same here in FL with a PAC that I worked with during campaign. There are many independent Dem strategists and pols that use infiltration as a way to raise money and assess the landscape. And they are the gen coming up. Their parents DID do the same thing in the 60’s and 70’s.
That is PRICELESS!!!
I like that. That’s sweet & cold revenge!
LOL! Thanks for this!
Ally, You're a great non-fiction story teller, and I do not digress.
your descriptive writing made me laugh. The examples--not so much.
Salad-fondling should be illegal in OR and everywhere else.
Since education about gun safety is wholly lacking we can only hope that the ropes with loaded pistols in their waistbands have accidents that make it impossible for them to reproduce . . .
A self-inflicted wound perfectly targeted. That's the best pro-life argument I've ever heard. Too good to be true and very funny.
I had my second shot, waited two weeks, and hopped on a plane to visit 97 year old dad and his girlfriend in Florida. Everywhere we went followed the science rules rather than the state's rules. It was encouraging.
I’m with you. And how sad is that??
Media personalities like Tucker Carlson have become cult leaders, drunk on power, whose only objective is to keep their followers loyal by stoking fear and hatred of all non followers.
Now they want them to remove masks in a pandemic. Can the poisoned kool aid be far behind?
Actually, IMHO, it is not about him at all. He is simply a tool for the propaganda machine that is being used to tear USA apart. As are the rest of FNN: the purpose is sowing the seeds of hate, resentment, and violence. And while we write and talk about it, we are complicitly silent in our actions. Me included.
Reid has a point about the resistance. I think we need a resistance NOW. Out in the streets now.
And that action could play into the fomented fascism of the iDJT-fundamentalists who would then come after the resistance with guns.
What should the Germans have done?
As I stand with people of all color, it may not be enough: it may be a point of conflagration, but not prevention.
Heather's last line is haunting.
Blessings
Without the Koch’s $ support of @the daily caller”, Tucker ain’t got sh*t. He has no future. He is a Cro-Maga’n, the lowest of the deplorable. While worthless on his own, he remains a dangerous demagogic force of authoritarianism.
We really must think in terms of "This is War." And in war we need to disable the propoganda machine of the enemy. Period.
Right, and drunk on power. He'd be nothing without this platform and that scares the bejeebus out of him. It's about his own ego. Fox? It's all a business model - cut off the $$$ and it goes away.
Then I strongly suggest we find ways to cut off the money. You seem certain it is a business model. I'm more inclined to see it as a useful tool for the sedition corps.
https://popular.info/p/tucker-lachlan-and-subsidized-speech?r=2xq6n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy
HORRID MAN
This Tucker Carlson bundle of malice wants to run for president.
I’m wondering if the mental health issue he’s referring to is actually what most of us would call “empathy”.
Totally! 100% Ginger
The sooner the better. I understand Fox doesn’t rely on advertisers like other networks. Rather they make their money from cable companies who carry Fox. So talk to your cable co. (Good luck with that) about wanting Fox made optional. Anyone in the biz know if this is correct and the best way to impact FN?
I have requested of my cable provider on multiple occasions that Fox News and other far right media be removed from the basic cable tier and placed in a separate subscription package. People should have the right to watch whatever they choose, but I should not have to pay to support those with whom I strongly disagree.
I think we need a large group to go after the cable companies at the same time. Not sure it could be class action, I’m not a lawyer. Put them in the situation that if they don’t give the option, mass numbers cancel their cable.
I haven’t had cable since 2007 when I moved to Hawaii and had to fight to get DSL. I have high speed internet. We do streaming. We pay for a subscription and watch it until we’ve seen the show we want, then we do a different one. We never run out of anything to watch and YouTube gets us c-span.
Is there a national petition for this? How could we organize this? Would it help? I want to help DO something. Can we create a “block” of voters to say we don’t want to be pawns, indirectly supporting Fox BS?
signed. Sigggghhh, it has less than 500 signatures! this should be much higher prioritity.
Yes, I am looking at pure streaming because no companies now will make omitting Fox and option.https://popular.info/p/tucker-lachlan-and-subsidized-speech?r=2xq6n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy
Ditch cable all together till they make Fox a for paid channel.
Remember, when a service or platform is free, you are the product.
Wish I could that but husband is a sports fanatic!
You can get all the sports streaming now and watch when u want. This is why fox is so outrageous now. Hyper competition.
Even ESPN? You gotta understand, my husband is an old dinosaur. I have tried to convince him to stream and he is totally against it. Sigh...thanks anyway.
We have family members who watch Fox, and only Fox. That is their sole source of information. It’s impossible to get through to these people. Simply hopeless.
Me too. They say it is the only station that has a conservative viewpoint. My mother tells me she watches Fox but not Hannity or Carlson, as if that makes it better.
And this is the only channel that plays in VA facilities & military installations! Talk about how vets are brainwashed. (this is what I heard on sirius xm from a vet who's very involved in veterans affairs)
I will have to look up who our new head of the VA is and see if we can start a campaign to remove Fox from these places. I think President Biden has named new ones.
Ugh
I have similarly brainwashed loved ones. I have tried to help them see the light to no avail. 😔
IMHO, the point is he IS doing it (incendiary lies) and inciting the 'base' and this is really dangerous. They (FNN) had to retract the lies about meat, but the retractions are one-liners and wink-wink. The endless firehose of words meant to inflame and incite are being used to destabilize the country. These purposeful rants are, with intent, offering actions to be taken by those iDJT fundamentalists.
A town down the road, Sequim, WA, has a Q-ANON city council. I was recently confronted by a man (on the street corner with a sign that said "Take off that useless mask") yelling at me to remove my mask. (My dentist is in that town, for those of you who will recommend not going there.)
There was no recourse to this harassment. The police are in alignment with the city council. Traveling in (FL riot) groups to be safe? Then there are the guns. I certainly don't have one.
The danger is already here.
Make sure you carry pepper spray for protection. If it’s hard to find a bottle of perfume will work just as well to back them away. We carried spray perfume as teens before pepper spray was readily available.
What a great idea! I have bottles of perfume that have gone bad and now are rank-smelling; I'd love to find a good way to dispose of them. Skunking an anti-masker is a great way. I do carry pepper spray as well, but I like the perfume solution better.
I agree with you...the danger is here. These comments are allowed to be aired on a very popular cable channel. Why??
We rock the vote. They rock the fear.
kimceann, Are there any local, rights organizations and press in the area to discuss this with? Do you want to check around and or think of one to contact? Please protect yourself and, perhaps, talk to friends and neighbors. Thank you for sharing this with us. Peace.
So sorry to hear you’re being harassed like that Kim. That is awful.
Damn, I thought eastern WA had a lock on the crazies...you know ,Tim Eyeman & Robert Culp plus our closeness to the Idaho panhandle....
Do we need to add “libertarian anarchists” to describe today’s Republican Party?
Carlson is much like Trump; simply playing to his base. Part of “owning the libs”. When the libs go ballistic over his comments, he loves it, he wins. Ignore him.
There is no way of charging the minds of his followers any more than you can change the mind of a Trumpkin.
He is what he is. I don’t know what be says and could care less.
When will they realize that our laughing at them is not really "owning" us?
Agree, our thoughts exactly as we discussed this. It is not free speech to shout fire in a crowded theater or to shout mask when a child is wearing one to protect themselves and others. yes the sponsors need to pull out but the fairness doctrine needs to be restored to provide accountability for this irresponsibly inciteful dangerous rhetoric. If this kind of stuff was being spewed from MSNBC they would be off the air. Heather Cox Richardson's descriptions harken back to the era of Nixon with infiltration of the anti war movement and murder of students at Kent Sate and Jackson State. Anniversary 51 of Kent State coming up May5, 2021!!!
I think he creates these lies intentionally. These lies gather followers for the MAGA wing of the Republican party.
You know, cable networks are unregulated but there are many local Fox affiliates who broadcast under an FCC license which comes under periodic review. What if we all demanded that the FCC suspend or cancel the license of stations that carry Tucker Carlson and present as justification for our demand lists of his outrageous, authoritarian, and fascist declarations. The airwaves belong to the American people, not Fox or any other corporation.
Carlson comments are legal, protected by the First Amendment. Watch for the next story, though: People being arrested for abusing the 911 system by calling about children wearing masks.
The First Amendment writers couldn't have envisioned Faux News.
See Judd Legum at Popular Information (yesterday) to learn about how it is the cable subscriptions supporting Carlson, not advertisers.https://popular.info/p/tucker-lachlan-and-subsidized-speech?r=2xq6n&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=copy
Yes, we’re in dangerous territory. History suggests, but historians must connect the dots.
Fascism has raised its ugly head, US fascism is riding US and foreign racism, with Trump Republicans race baiting and white Americans largely silent.
Our Silent Majority of Nixon, Mitchell, Haldeman, Erlichman and Zeigler was akin in spirit to Trump claiming crowd size lies and Obama’s birthright. It’s all there in DeSantis, Abbott and Arizona now. 40 state governments are gagging Blacks at the polls coming.
White supremacy is the cornerstone, hatred is the glue, the cement.
Silence supports, silence is the quiet of Germany when Hitler was considered a clown, and England was talking about peace.
Churchill rose when all else failed. We have Biden and our GOP has Trump - Trump calling signals in his Florida mansion as AG Garland starts the judicial process to put his supporters in jail.
Our civil cold war may lead to hot both here and in Europe. Ukraine is real. Navalny is dying.
Turkey has imprisoned many journalists. Russia kills them. Trump called them fake news.
Heather writes History suggests we’re in dangerous territory.
We don’t need history. We need newspapers and a body politic that rips what’s going on in Arizona - where abortion is now all but impossible.
All the signals and signs are there. The census may flip Texas for a decade or more.
LBJ found his conscience as JFK was assassinated. Great Society was his term.
We were never great. Greatness comes when our leaders and academics tell us the whole truth and nothing else.
Thank God for Joe Knows Us. Whip James Clyburn’s words brought Black Women to the polls.
Let’s see if white women can match Black.
I think we white women can.
Yes indeed y'all can, Liz. Yes we can.
If that isn’t the darn truth, Liz. Totally agree. And our black sisters know it.
I hope my black sisters know it.
Actually, the first thing I did today when I saw HCR's words about our being in "dangerous territory" was to scroll down to see if Sandy Lewis had commented on it ... and indeed he has. Just because there is a Democrat in the White House and the barest of Democratic majorities in Congress is no reason for optimism, unbridled or otherwise. Upcoming Congressional changes due to the census results and the repressive action of Republican State legislatures are causes for alarm and portend hazards on the road ahead. Watch out for lane closures.
wasn’t familiar with your story sir. your post here got me curious. true to yourself. Very inspiring to me, and I’m not from the world of finance.
Nice offering, Sandy. Bravo!
You have been screaming it all along.
What the what?
Indeed, Kay, Sandy's post are an acquired taste. Bit like poetry. It's all good, at least I believe very well-intentioned.
Like TC's too!
Usually!
ANY Consciences in today's GOP and their lie spewing entertainers? Any critical thinkers among delusional followers?
Yeah, dangerous times.
“...Carlson called for his audience to start direct action. He told them to confront people wearing masks, which he says are signs of “political obedience.”
This leaves me speechless.
He’s inciting violence on TV and no one seems to care.
When he gets hauled into court for incitement after something terrible happens, his lawyers will say again that no one reasonable would believe his bs.
Lock him up. But then he will be a martyr to his cause
Honestly how often can we be left speechless— they are completely ruthless.
In recent weeks I've begun wearing a blue ball-cap that says on the front above the bill, "US Navy Veteran", which I am, over and under the Navy embalm. I never thought it made any sort of political statement. Now I see it does. I'm thinking is it says, "I gave 4 years of my life to defend our democracy." Regardless of the fact I loved every minute of it. And at the same time it begs the question, "What have you done?" When I'm out and about in the community where I live while wearing the hat and a COVID mask, the supermarket where I shop requires a mask. If I am questioned by anyone about the mask I'll simply ask them if this is how they are defending our democracy? BTW, I don't think this will ever happen.
Thank you for your service and I’m glad it was fun! Great example of how to lead with a symbol of service on your head, and with empathy and compassion in your heart.
Me either and thank you for your service!!
Another good reason to wear my “Army Mom” T-shirt. I like how you think.
Me too. Un fricken believable! Just unbelievable.
We live in a small, red Village in Upstate NY, I literally only know 3 other Democrats here,, I'm sure there are more.. Granted, we haven't lived here long, but there is a pancake breakfast at the Fire House this Sunday that we were looking forward to going to. After hearing what *ucker Carson has compelled the base to do, I nolonger want to go. I don't feel safe in my own Village.
The business with outrageous lying is what I started calling "The Republican Drive-By".
Someone will drop some kind of howler that's glaringly false, but which serves as red meat for the base. The press amplifies it, and the public goes nuts. Two days later some minor functionary will quietly issue a retraction, but the damage will have been done. A couple of days is all it takes.
I like your expression, "The Republican Drive-By" Call it what it is. I have been wondering what the best response from reasonable people should be. Ignore it? Quietly explain why it is a lie, then let it go? How can such blatant lies best be countered?
Here’s my script: “This simply isn’t true. If you care anything about the truth, please look it up before you repeat it again.” It’s too dangerous to simply ignore lies, we have to reject them EVERY SINGLE TIME. Silence is consent.
I am so tired, but may I repost this important message to remind and recharge myself and my friends to persist? And maybe my relatives will read it by accident. I might need to add "look it up in a reputable source."
Is your middle name "Wisdom"?
Incendiary lies
Followup: Predictably, Fox issued their retraction on Apr 26.
see: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/fox-news-meat-biden-ban
At what point do we stop saying that Tucker Carlson is exercising his right to free speech and start saying that he is inciting public unrest? The old adage that you can't shout "fire" in a crowded public theatre is applicable here.
I believe I asked this question before Jan 6th. and its corollary question, How do we prevent the telling of lies from a popular bully pulpit. These are issues of free speech that were not present before the internet and its powerful ability to allow manipulation of masses of people. OR we could ask if since we as Americans seem to be at least 30% if not 40% gullible do we deserve the future we get? I just don't want to live through that future.
The most powerful tools to fight irresponsible speech are responsible listening and rational thought. I realize those are tools not all are equipped with but we must do our best to use them ourselves while helping others to find them in their toolkits.
Agree Bruce. And I add, know or surmise first the goal behind the egregious actions of a power monger.
McCarthy wants the House chair at all costs. And Carlson wants... (RIP because doesn’t appear he rested in life- Rush Limbaugh’s) king of the molehill chair of disinformation and wild speculation.
Absolutely.
Problem is, it’s a very slippery slope. Because when will we be exercising our right to free speech and they come after us?? I think we need to leave this alone and try to find a better way to get through this.
HRC, Thank you for the summary of all of this. I can’t seem to wrap my head around what seems like madness, sheer madness! Could you address the current Arizona and now also Michigan audits of the 2020 election by the states Republicans? I am very worried as the company they are using is not independent in the least and not at all transparent.
That company is brought to you by QAnon. It isn't transparent at all and states it won’t be. Thus, the secrecy behind the way the audit is done, with letting only OAN be witness, is highly questionable. More than likely illegal because they are auditing using blue or black pens which means they could be actually changing the results on those ballots. The people who reside in AZ and Michigan should file a class action lawsuit protesting this audit against this vile company and it’s CEO, whomever that may be.
Yesterday, Nicole Wallace spent some time on the "audit" in AZ which Claire McCaskill is not legally an "audit". It is definitely scary that Qanon can bring in private companies to "recount" votes that have already been recounted three times! McCaskill believes these recounts are just another way to keep the BIG LIE alive, and further incite the supremacists. Where will all this end?
that is where danger lies
And Claire made very clear the fact that this is NOT an "audit." We should not give oxygen to that word in association with an obvious and blatant attempt to alter ballots. Another fact that should be noted repeatedly is that they are only "counting" ballots of Dems who voted for Biden in Maricopa County. No other votes. Plus daylight should be shown on the GOP judge who put a million dollar price tag on the Dems who were suing to stop this deliberate overthrow of the state's election process. Many lawsuits need to be filed.
I’m amazed that they let Nicole Wallace in!
They did not. They would not even allow an NBC reporter to enter. This was reported with video of his attempts. Only OANN is allowed.
It won’t end. But now only 3 people protest can be “riot”. It will end for some who protest with their legalized political murder (Florida law). SCOTUS either has to strike down this law or democracy is doomed.
If three people being a "riot" is not challenged in court (as it should be), then every single campaign rally held by one of these scumbags needs to result in multiple arrests. Any group of three or more people who get together should be arrested. Any room full of people (church, synagogue, restaurant, etc.) where more than three friends join together should be considered a "riot."
I am surprised that who ever can get their hands on the actual votes isn't vetted and screened more properly. This is such a dangerous practice, I honestly do not understand it all.
The AZ "recount" is stunning in its dangerousness and its deceit.
@ChrstineFederici, I feel the same. I am exhausted by the insanity, and i can't wrap my head around it either. We must all fight back, in big and smallnways, against Mr. Carkson and their ilk, or we will lose our democracy.
This is WAR. The election on November 3rd was but one battle won. The enemy of truth continues its barrage against our democracy with lying and seditious ammunition rained down on states now as well as gullible citizens. We need a National Guard of Truth, with "troops" in every community and church and school to say, "Nope, that's a lie, too." For now, we HCR readers are the truth soldiers. Time to call for reinforcements?
Cyber Nijas are a joke. That AZ recount is a clown show. Validating the Big Lie to perpetuate the discord is morally wrong. Republicans are going to cheat in 2022. And protests in some states will be illegal. Political murder during a “riot” has been “legalized” in Florida.
If I have lunch with my siblings (6) and we get into a tiff, we can be arrested for rioting. Got it.
That actually made me laugh, Karen. I live in FL, and imagined that happening with my band of brothers who I tiff with regularly. Which we have done since we were kids. Come to think of it....I’ll have to call the police next time our county commissioners meet. That’s a full out riot every meeting.
...and maybe call the police when any church has an in person religious service, especially a mega church? (/S)
Anyone from a large family knows what we're talking about. I had to laugh when the moron said 3 people.
I wondered about upset families at Disney World. Especially when the kids don't want to leave.
Exactly.
I really hope some white male Trump dumbfuck follows Carlson's orders and comes up to me sometime while I'm wearing my mask. Mashing him face first into a brick wall would be sooooo satisfying. Sadly, in my corner of Los Angeles, it's illegal to be a Republican (thank goodness) so I won't get the privilege.
Hi TC in LA- I Applaud your fantasy.
Come to FL
Global warming can't happen fast enough if it means Florida goes swimming for its life. :-)
And Mar a Lago drowns in the Atlantic...happy days.
The golden lining in the silver cloud!
Morning, TC!!
Desantis should start with his pal trump. "Holding those who incite violence accountable "
Republicans seem to specialize in projection.
Thank you Heather.
The Big Lie continues and becomes that much more tremendous. It makes me think of watching the path of a hurricane, in that it is unrelenting and unpredictable. Like all hurricanes, it will fizzle out eventually. Until then, I feel the loss of our Democracy is higher now than it was during the 4 years of Trump. Was he just the precursor, the warm up act to what we are handed today?
My fear is completely on par with my disgust to what FOX Entertainment and the GOP are pushing.
Make no mistake, this Country is firmly divided between regrowth and re-establishing and the absolute destruction by the GOP.
We are not, "One Nation", but 2 distinct Countries under one umbrella.
Be safe, be well.
I live in southeastern NC. Hurricanes Florence and Dorian wreaked havoc in NC with devastating floods and tornadoes. Florence in 2018 severely flooded our house. It took about 18 months just to find someone to repair the damage. Hurricane Dorian spawned tornadoes that did further damage to homes and landscapes. No trees in my backyard anymore. Old oak trees cannot be replaced. We are doing ok.
My point is all the damage from the storms takes YEARS to repair, and the area never looks the same. New normal must be adjusted to. Trump unleashed storms of huge proportions. Rebuilding will take time and continuous effort step by step. We must keep working after Hurricane Trump.
We must keep working to build back better for our children and their children. 🌎👩🏾🤝👨🏻
I'm sorry that you've experienced first hand the ravages of hurricanes. But, I like you analogy of the tRump hurricane, and how we must allow the time to rebuild.
All true and I feel the loss of your old oaks. Their canopies are such a gift and their loss is terrible.
Jenn , I'm glad you are working through this. I certainly didn't mean to minimize the after workings of a hurricane. I was referring to being able to watch it on a map and how it will eventually leave and none to soon. I have been in a hurricane myself on Cape Cod and it's an experience that stays with you forever.
Hurricane Trump, that's exactly right.
Well, that's great that they have "outed" Turkey. ((https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide#Executions.), now, perhaps they might address Israel (and perhaps throw in Saudi Arabia into the mix .. the list goes on.
Thankful that the Armenian Genocide has been recognized and named by a president.
Yes Jeanne and thank god for that and President Biden and btw Jill our First Lady who keeps him strong.
Once again, Tucker Carlson’s White Power Hour crosses over the lines of truth, decency, and humanity. His daily rants continue to illustrate there is no limit to the depths to which he and those on the far right will sink.
Biden and his administration demonstrate a commitment to truth, decency, history, and a more just and democratic future. Republicans have adopted the politics of grievance but without answers to society's ills. They seek only to attempt to blame liberals for whatever fears they can stoke, both real and imagined fears.
Attempting to make the imagined tragedies of disappearing hamburgers from American diets and Dr Seuss from bookshelves as more threatening than the existential threat of climate change, economic inequality, or racism and activism is not a winning strategy. Ultimately people identify the most critical issues that affect their lives and react rationally.
The best defenses against irresponsible speech are responsible listening and rational thought. Many on the far right lack those both tools. We must do our best to be sure our own are always present and available and do our best to equip the next generation in how to use them well.
I always try to keep this advice in mind:
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." —Confucius.
My 43yrold daughter is completely apolitical (long story as to why politics is totally irrelevant to her world) but her daughter (my grand) will be 11 next month and is hungry to know about 'politics' because her friends in school all talked about the election, which they heard about in their homes. So I talked to her and continue to talk to her about 'civics.' She is our hope.
Reacting rationally is not what iDJT-fundamentalists do. React, yes. Rationally, no. The fears being stoked are taken as fact, as "news." The distraction of the mundane is an important part of the propaganda.
Consider how the Proud Boys use 'humor' to defang their violence:
https://www.npr.org/2021/04/09/985104612/conspiracy-charges-bring-proud-boys-history-of-violence-into-spotlight
This process of division is with intent.
Hahahahahahaha. “disappearing hamburgers and Dr. Seuss books”
Hahahahahahaha.
Right on Bruce. I love your viewpoint.
I wish I shared your optimism. There was a story yesterday about Tom Wicker of the NYT and his prediction during the early 1960's that the Republicans would pursue a Southern Strategy. He was bang on about that but terribly wrong in his prediction that Southern whites would reject the strategy and its appeal to racism in favor of their own economic interests. Fifty years later and Southern and even some Northern voters still dance to the tunes of racism and fear.
Well said sir!
How do you spell Joseph Goebbels with a T and a C?