Yesterday, in a long story about “the petty feud between the [New York Times] and the White House,” Eli Stokols of Politico suggested that the paper’s negative coverage of President Joe Biden came from the frustration of its publisher, A. G. Sulzberger, at Biden’s refusal to do an exclusive interview with the paper. Two people told Stokols that Sulzberger’s reasoning is that only an interview with an established paper like the
Many things weigh on my mind lately with the trials of tfg and the insanity at the SC. However, reading about the cruelty of Noem has upset me deeply and painfully. I've always loved animals and am a protector of them when and where I can. This is a despicable, disturbed person. I have other words but will let this suffice for now.
In my opinion, Republican candidates tend toward thoughtless cruelty. The Huckabees, Mitt, and now Gov. Noem all had stories about them carelessly and unrepentantly putting their animals to death. Elsewhere we saw Judge Roy Moore giving his horse a leather mouth by sawing on the reins. What kind of message IS that?
There is an old adage in business that if one will cheat about small things, one will cheat about big ones. And when it comes to cruelty, if one can be cruel to an innocent, helpless animal, you can bet your bottom dollar that that person will probably be a Trump MAGA member and treat humans likewise.
We're in agreement, Richard, as is often the case. I liken cruelty to animals to racism... both are expressions of animosity toward facts of nature rather than acts of intent.
I was very troubled by a post from a nastily conservative X account guy that included a very disturbing video of a hog tied in the back of a pick-up truck who was clearly suffering as the truck barreled along. The "author" used the video to make a snide remark about Chris Christie "after Trump takes office." It was followed by 1.7k likes, and 189 comments. I didn't read them all, but of the 30 or so that I scanned, three or four criticized the cruelty, and the vast majority either agreed, or posted their own very stupid comments in agreement, with no reference to the hog other than the derogatory comparison. Is it possible that there are parts of our country where a culture of cruelty to animals spills over to humans, and we are only seeing it more often now because of social media? And perhaps, in those parts, it's not even seen as cruelty because the animals are seen as things used for work and food, and not sensient beings that need and deserve human care. Then we get to the correlation with cruelty to people, and I agree it's not a "graduation." Very disturbing.
It is said that southerners regard their dogs as property and not family. At the end of hunting season the dogs are set lose. My daughter (in CT) went to a dog rescue event and she said most were from the south. She adopted a fiest? which looks like a larger version of a jack russell-complete with buck shot in her body.
She volunteered in a non kill cat shelter until she moved. As a matter of fact, all of us did. They had to basically shut down and revamp their program to use very few volunteers. She still has 2 cats remaining from the 5 she took home
I just replied to Richard Sutherland's comment on this subject, Chaplain Terry. Being indifferent or unkind to any living being for things they can't help, like skin color, ethnicity, temperament, or odor, is despicable.
When is this nation going to show as much compassion as they do toward animals toward abused children? Or the mentally ill and homeless? Clearly, the most vulnerable among us are no longer on our radar as I see day after day dogs and cats in strollers “walking” with their owners. Some have on clothes and sun glasses. What has happened to a nation who places the welfare of animals above that of people? Our priorities are misplaced and this vocal hatred of one another is the consequences.
As a dog owner, I understand that sometimes an aged or handicapped pet may need assistance with a stroller. A neighbor of mine sequentially adopted elderly dogs and as they began to have difficulty walking, she had one of the pet strollers. Wouldn't you have your disabled sibling/parent/child in a wheelchair if they had difficulties or even could no longer walk? My own dog has a herniated lower disk; if it had been left untreated, he could easily lose the use of his back legs.
That said, I agree wholeheartedly with you about pet owners who dress their pets up as if they are little dolls or little children. Absurd, the money spent would do far better to be a donation to your local humane society.
A good friend had a pair of rescued Great Pyrenees, probably siblings. Some time back, the make started losing the use of his hind legs, so at first a rolling harness deal worked and then for his last couple of years, his living owners pulled him around in a wagon, so he could have fresh air and see his friends at the Park, even though he couldn't run any longer. He's gone now, but not forgotten.
Amazing breed those Great Pyrenees. My daughters grew up with one - a 'small' (?) female as their companion, protector. Primarily working from 3-11:00 P.M., I never had to worry about the safety of my family. *It also just occurred to me that on topic, my experience is relative here too. We 'chose' this female GP after much study of numerous breeds under consideration as companion / guardian for our daughters. A GP falls loosely into the category of 'untrainable' dogs. There is a grand canyon of difference between intelligence and trainability when speaking of canine companions, not to mention that the nitwit Noem was speaking of a 14 month old, that has not even hit maturity, especially if it was a dog of any larger breed. A GP was bred to think for itself, prioritize and act upon the priorities of being a guardian first, as bred : that's intelligence. A canine that is trainable always looks first for "direction" to please the immediate whims of it's adopted human. There are likely better, more articulate explanations than mine if your interested. Hoping that was clear enough direction for further study anyway. I could go on and on infinitum about my knowledge and experience with both type dogs, but I won't. Cheers Ed !
I have a blind rescue dog, Judith. I'm her seeing eye person. We are each other's companions, and both of our lives would be poorer if we weren't. I don't understand cruelty at all. I think it's a sickness, probably brought on by neglect and/or unkindness in early childhood. I'm no shrink, but a sharper focus on mental health would be a step toward prevention imho.
I read that as Kristi Noem shooting her 14-month old SON for being untrainable and dangerous. I don't know if it is better or worse that she shot her dog and not her son.
Not to mention DJT's gratuitous cruelty to his loyal Press Secretary Sean Spicer, a devout Catholic, in refusing to let Spicer have an available slot in a group audience with the Pope.
The reins the rider hold in his hands are attached to each end of the metal bar, the bit, that goes inside the horse's mouth. A properly trained horse only needs a slight pull on one side or the other to know he should turn, or a slight pull directly back on both sides to know he should stop. A rider who yanks hard on (saws at) the reins hurts the horse until eventually the horse becomes numb to it (leather mouth), so that it no longer feels a gentle tug, which essentially ruins the whole enterprise for both horse and any reasonable rider.
Right DMS ! Anyone who actually 'knows' a bit about horses, actually 'felt' and saw through how utterly ignorant that was. That's in the 'manual' for how not to treat a horse, but thoroughly ruin it as a riding horse.
It means the idiot doesn't really know how to ride a horse. Probably thinks he knows everything there is to know about riding a horse. He's controlling the beast. Riding requires subtle moves between rider and horse. Harming the horse is stupid and cruel.
George, LOL, "despicable oxygen thief". I will have to pass that one on to the cousin who posts negative and often funny TikTocs about her nearly every day.
Thanks to extensions she now has that long hair. In fact, her recent appearance suggests she is taking lessons from Kimberly Guilfoyle: long locks, heavy makeup, bandage dresses. Underneath, she is truly a despicable person.
So, if it's okay with you, I'm going to refer to the GQP party f/k/a the Party of Lincoln (shudder) from now on as the DOT Party. Noem is really no different from, say, Boebert or Gangrene or Gaetz (I could go on), or Lucifer himself, is she?
DOT Party? And I'm stealing ,Gangrene. My husband says he was a feminist until Greene, Boebert, Lake, Noem, and Stefanik came on the scene. The Equal Rights Amendment doesn't stand a chance of ever being ratified with those miscreants scrambling for power.
I don't know if she's attractive enough for TFFG to pick her as his running mate, but they're made for each other. What if they were on the ticket together, he won, and then died, lost his marbles, or went to jail? Eeeeeeuuuuw!
Interesting how and what Noem divulges about cruelty and violence. From a dog being “untrainable” and “ruining” a hunt. Has she asked herself how good she is at training? Once one kills for any reason, she demonstrates universally how easy it it to escalate violence for lesser and lesser reasons, in this case a goat for being “smelly”.
I’ve had the privilege of owning and training several hunting dogs. I’ve never met a dog that didn’t tell me a lot about their owner. And I’ve never met a goat that wore deodorant.
When dogs are "untrainable" it's usually the human in the relationship who isn't good at training a dog. I imagine her idea of training is to yell at it, tug on its leash and/or hit it with something when it doesn't "behave". Not really good training techniques.
If you are responsible for an animal you are obligated to care for and train it. If you can’t handle your charge, you are obligated to find someone who can.
I would add that we don't really "own" animals. They are living beings in their own right and as such should be treated with respect. I don't like the word "pet" and prefer companion animal. We should be grateful that they agree to share their lives with us. In return we are obliged to take care of those needs they can't provide for themselves because of their captivity.
I'm with you, J. Nol. I'm a shitty trainer, and I know it, but the 9 year old blind chihuahua I live with has trained me. She lets me know when she wants to go out. I wish she wasn't such a barky little thing, but a muzzle is unthinkable - freedom of speech and all. Where we disagree is on when and what she eats. She'd eat toilet paper all day and drink coffee with half and half and whiskey in it. I give her 2 meals of kibble, with 1 snack of carrots and 1 snack of probiotic biscuits a day. I hope she lives as long as I do.
I met a service dog in training. It ran into my office and went straight to my trash can and retrived the remains of my lunch. The embarrassed human came running in after the dog. He explained that he was watching the dog for his father, who was actually training the dog.
The dog wasn't suitable as a service dog. But he probably made a wonderful companion to someone or a family.
I understand that only about 30% of dogs actually graduate from service training, but the rest mostly make really good companion animals. The training that they have had is usually rather more effective than what many dog owners manage on their own.
I quote Samuel Beckett: "There’s man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet." It probably doesn't need explanation, but I'm a nerd, so I'll tell you anyway. It was a critique of humanity's tendency to find fault with the external (play the victim), blame others for their own failings (witch hunt), and seek divine intervention (thoughts and prayers), rather than doing the hard work of becoming better people with full responsibility for their own lives.
Omg. An ex and I had a billy goat we borrowed to eat our weeds. Hated the weeds, ate the trees. Name was Preacher and he was the smelliest, horniest goat! Entertaining us? He excelled.
A biologist friend explained to me that Goats are browsers not grazers. They will always eat tree and shrub leaves first. They will only graze weeds on the ground in the absence of trees and scrubs. Sheep are the opposite, they always go for the grass and anything growing on the ground. Either way it’s pretty cool to see them hard at work trimming back the plants naturally.
lol Ted. I made some postings in this thread that you may like, one about Noem, and one about dogs that you and I would seem to have more than casual knowledge of. It's important, vital to know what is bred into the dogs - things they always favor, revert, or act upon; breed specific instincts and behaviors. I have found them true. Loveable mutts, usually combinations of instincts and behaviors.
Agree. 100% Did she say her young bird dog was chasing the chickens on her property? ( I am not buying her book to find out)
Appreciating the instincts of a hunting dong are really something to experience. The elite hunting breeds like the German Short Hari Pointer, German Wire Hair Pointer. Englinsh pointers, are such amazing athletes. Even at 6 weeks they will hold point on anything resembling a bird, and they will retrieve balls and toys to their owners. They do not need to be trained to do this. It is all instincts. The human race's survival was secured by the relationship with the dog to aid in hunting. Noem should show more respect for that fact. ( but that would involve acknowledging evolution! ha ha). These elite breeds of dogs need a fenced yard, a kennel area. They need daily runs not neighborhood walks. These breeds never turn off except in a kennel. Out of the kennel they want to be off leash and hunting. These are the Michael Jordans hunting. They work 100% of time and they give 110% of effort to their owners. These are breeds that should not be just a "family dog". These breeds do not translate well to a non working lifestyle that a Lab or Golden Retriever can. Every responsible hunter knows that hunting dogs need kennels for down time and for other animals safety. Especially if chickens are around. A shock collar can help train a bird dog for their safety around Snakes and for the safety of other farm animals; chickens, cattle, horses, etc etc. What the heck did she think would happen if she has wired haired pointers running around free on a ranch or farm? Even the worst hunting dog I have ever owned, was not that hard to control with basic knowledge, correct tools and just a little responsibility. It is not that hard to maintain control, and that is the responsibly of the owner. The best hunters can control multiple dogs at once. One doesn't hunt with an out of control dog. One doesn't hunt in places where there are free range chickens about. What the hell did she think was going to happen? She is all hat and no horse. She demonstrates irresponsibility in so many ways, with animals, her management, her lack of learning how to train a dog, she isn't explain. Lack impulse control. She seems false to me, presenting herself as a hunter to appeal to voters, when she doesn't seem to know diddly about the sport. She seems impulsive, not in control of her emotions.
I wouldn't take the book to read for free; In my possession it would only become an actual fire starter / kindling. I think the story was that while visiting a neighbor / friend farmer, the pup got loose and chased / harmed the friend's chickens. Wow,,,, a supposed pup of that breed with an inordinate attraction to fowl ? Who would've thought 'that' ? If you read my other comment, my opinion was, that this book / narrative was a wide net, poorly thought - out, election ploy, 'dog whistles' ; Obviously for 2nd amendment 'defenders', but also "folksplaining" for rural votes, where dems have been doing poorly, and imho, correctly do poorly because they fail to 'work' at relating and identifying with them; that they matter and deserve representation before and after election cycles. Near everyone, dems, news, relevance - even their boiled down lives / culture are ignored - as they so obviously live in 'fly over' country that is highly ignored in any spotlight of news, commerce (except extractive commerce), politics, relevance, etc., ad infinitum ! Everything "worth" news is coastal - until election time.
My social media is full of outrage about it, including many Democratic governors posting pictures of their dogs that “doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit.”
Beyond what this tells us about Noem, it also tells us a lot about ourselves. I see more outrage about this than I do about Republican policies that actively harm children and women.
KR, I see daily outrage about what happens to people under R policies. I am outraged by them on a daily basis as well by what happens world wide. Every time there is some policy that helps ordinary people, Rs oppose it. How about states not taking fed money to feed kids during the summer, for one example.
Thank heavens Michele. I spent some time in SD and was hard pressed to find or interact with 'anyone' I could or would disparage ! Salt of the earth, good folks in my experience.
I really enjoy the people I have met on Facebook from South Dakota, mostly my husband's Lakota relatives and their friends. They do meet up when they are out working on politics with people who do not seem so nice.
Food for thought here, for sure. Noem’s story is graphic. The damage being done to real people by draconian laws .. harder to pin down, and even when it IS clear, damn, why don’t people react … !
More outrage? Its more graphic than what becomes public about these policies. There are many more women speaking out & telling their stories - they need to become more reported!
And yeah, this sure does make clear how this woman thinks & feels. Shes part of a cult of that kind of thinking. Her attitude towards women & children seems to be the same as towards other species, doesnt it?
Like pregnant people being turned away from emergency rooms. Like children being denied school lunches. Like the abject cruelty of a man celebrating the birth of his son by cheating on his wife. The list goes on and on.
Oh Michael - no one has to be a vegan or a vegetarian to feel much more than outrage about that kind of public acknowledgement of animal abuse! What happened to that puppy(14 months old) certainly made clear this person had no concept of how to treat or train an animal to do anything. I admit I dont have knowledge of bird hunting, but I'm pretty sure you dont take a 14 month old puppy & expect to TRAIN them at a pheasant hunt! Plus its common sense that any young dog will chase whatever runs - as in chickens! This was sheer stupidity - on top of the cruelty.
Since I've never found her qualified for any public office (certainly not dog-catcher, now) my outrage is a little dulled. But yes, I now consider her utterly vile.
Raising goats for meat is very different from killing a goat because a person thinks it is nasty, mean and smelly (Noem may not be smelly, but I think she is probably the nasty and mean one here). Goats have been meat animals for thousands of years, even if they are not commonly eaten as meat in the US. The ethics of eating meat is, of course, another story.
My granddaughter worked at a farm where they raised goats for meat - the days they were trucked away were very hard for her. My kids and my grandkids are animals lovers in every sense of the word. The thought of that puppy and how she was treated will stick with me.
With the ram, I doubt it. Dog was a puppy and not mean, just puppy exuberance. My friends who had goats had to put down their ram after he knocked over my friend and could have severely injured her. And she was elderly as well.
Theres a difference between putting down an animal & bragging (thats what this was) about dragging an animal to kill it. I have to ask - considering shes the governor of a state (supposedly) why is it up to her to be the one to do the killing? Sounds like thats her thing, doesnt it?
I live in Mexico, where hardly anyone is rolling in money. I have found my Mexican hosts to be dog and cat lovers, but pragmatists about goats, sheep, and chickens. My house is on an unpaved street in a town-within-a-city. My neighbors across the street have a little family of goats they will slaughter and eat or sell to others for food one day. They do not terrorize or abuse them while they live, which is the point of the Noem story.
I respect vegans and absolutely understand their perspective; the first world is lucky to have lots of alternatives to animal protein in their diets. It just isn't the case for most of the world.
Not all environments allow for the farming and processing of food plants in adequate quantities, so we dominant humans in the second and third worlds do what we must for our own preservation. I blame the first world for sport hunting and ivory collection, but I don't blame anyone for killing animals for food, shelter, and clothing.
Agreed. I lived in Sierra Leone for three and a half years and I was never bothered by the eating of animals as protein was scarce. We ate a lot of stew made from beef that had walked from Nigeria. This was not available to everyone. In our town, they did torment one monkey which made me sick. People here especially in middle class or above areas have no idea how the rest of the world survives or in many cases, does not. I had one great aunt who raised her two grandchildren and one grandson on virtually nothing. We visited once and there was only a box of cornflakes in the cupboard and maybe some milk, nothing else.
I think the point to draw from the Noem dog killing story is two fold:
1. Her reason for killing the dog is “I hated that dog” after the dog spoiled a hunting trip suggests that she killed a highly intelligent dog out of anger .. thoughtlessly and needlessly …. Why not call an animal rescue to take dog?
2. This suggests that killing comes easily to Noem, and her relish in describing “dragging the animal to a gravel pit” to carry out the execution really made me think of WWII death pits where people were shot because they were messing up Hitler’s plans. So Noem’s dog killing story is important because it tells us she is thoughtless (what sort of person would share such a story) and vengeful (make my life uncomfortable and you’re done).
She would not be disturbed by Palestinian deaths or Israeli deaths …. Out of sight out of mind. … Return to order. This is fascism.
Exactly. Even if she is cruel enough to kill a dog, why would she include this despicable cruelty in a book? Clearly she is proud of this behavior and assumes there are others out there who will approve.
It is hard to imagine being that thoughtless and so unaware of how awful it sounds to others, that she would write it down and claim it proudly. I shake my head at the extremes Rs will go to and how many sociopaths have bubbled to the top in that party.
Exactly! she may have miscalculated., however, taking into account the virtual universal condemnation, at least in the new world, of her behavior. As for her daughter, the lesson is, don’t make mama mad!
I think the motto of her party is something like "Be large and in charge." There's a delicious moment in "My Little Chickadee" starring Mae West and WC Fields. They're on a train under attack by bandits on horseback. West is shooting at the bandits through the train window and says "Can't intimidate me!" Noem is auditioning for Veep or a remake of the 1940 classic movie.
It's clumsy 'dog whistles' to "folksplain" to rural America, whom they've convinced that only 'they' can relate to / with. *Dems are very clumsy at that.
Michele, I want to make something clear to you. Benjamin Netanyahu is a fascist holding power by appeasing a fascist coalition because he understands that the premiership is the only thing standing between him and legal jeopardy. Any vote that you cast (or refrain from casting) to punish Joe Biden for his support of Israel will help our own Netanyahu - Donald Trump - to power. Please bear that in mind as you attempt to turn people against Biden. Know also, that if Trump were president right now, he would be demanding that Netanyahu mow down the Israeli protesters who want to see Netanyahu gone, but Biden is generally supportive of them.
Rich - well said. I am amazed at the numbers of people who cannot see the forest for the trees. The conflict is one that has been simmering for decades. It defies easy solutions and there are dirty hands all around. But turning voters against Biden because of the actions of Netenyahu is not just foolish but, as you point out, will help Trump return to the Presidency. That would be terrible for our country, for the Palestinians and quite frankly the rest of the world.
For the Israelis too. Even before the October 7th attacks, when Israelis were protesting Netanyahu's assault on the Supreme Court in Israel, he had cabinet ministers urging him to "order the police to break their heads."
As I see it, what happened on October 7 was a massive atrocity. What's happened since in Gaza is a massive atrocity. I've gone from supporting Israel's right to defend itself to being appalled at how little the IDF and Netanyahu's war council care about letting innocent humans in Gaza survive. Their obstructions of humanitarian aid is what's now most unconscionable, in my book.
That said, here's how I now view whom we should hold responsible:
HIGHLY RESPONSIBLE
- Hamas.
- Netanyahu.
- His war cabinet.
- They 51% of Israelis who elected those people.
- Iran.
MUCH LESS RESPONSIBLE
- The US Congress, who voted to send billions in military aid to Israel.
- Biden, for remaining supportive of Israel (with caveats) for so many months.
- All the millions of US who did nothing the last 20 or so years as Israeli settlements were built in the West Bank. (Now they house over 600,000 people).
- All the Trump & GOP & Obama people who did not force Israel to abandon those settlements.
- All of US who support Biden.
So, boiling this down to Biden being "the war criminal" is nonsensical to me. There are tens of millions of dirty hands here. Biden could do more, but he's not the main culprit.
Years ago, an Israeli described Netanyahu to a friend of mine as "our Trump." When people hide behind public office to escape personal responsibility for their actions, it's is extemely dangerous, which is why HCR's column yesterday about Supreme Court deliberations had me very agitated.
Exactly! The leadership of both sides of the Hamas/Israel conflict are sociopaths, as is tfg. Who do we want in the White House- an ally of the Israeli fascist or an advocate for peace.
Certainly not you. If the majority of Israelis and Palestinians had their way today there would be two sovereign nations and no Hamas or Netanyahu running either. Both nations felt the need for "strong men" when the U.S. was at war with Islam and Iran with Judaism. Both Israel and Palestine made the mistakes of allowing Netanyahu and Hamas run their respective countries, both of which have a right to exist in peace. But peace has eluded that region for at least 75 years when Israel became an independent state.
We all are for peace, but how to get it is much more complex than "a pox on both their houses."
What is key here is to support and vote for Biden even while protesting Netanyahu's continuing murder of Palestinians. Biden needs to show Israel that Americans deplore what he is doing in Gaza. The student demonstrations on campuses across our nation also give the Biden team more leverage for negotiations and for decreasing military support to Israel.
I got into an argument with someone in this group about the state of affairs in Israel/Palestine, Rich. She said I was ignorant among other insults. The fact, I believe, is that Netanyahu and Hamas are in cahoots to keep the conflict hot. Hamas wants to end Israel and seeks to paint it unfavorably in the eyes of the world to that end. Netanyahu wants to retain power and uses the generations old conflict to make him indispensable to Israel. I believe most Israelis and Palestinians prefer a two state solution which would oust both Hamas and Netanyahu.
This situation is not Biden's or America's fault. It pre-dates both. Jews and Muslims are sibling rivals (both descended from Abraham) intent on dominance of both territory and ideology. Yet both religions promote peace, as did Judaism's son, Jesus. Our role is to promote and protect the independent autonomy of both nations. We must stand against the annihilation of Israel as well as its colonialism of Palestine. In a perfect world each son of Abraham would be his brother's keeper.
Lauren, I follow Israeli news, and I think that, while I wouldn't necessarily use a word like "cahoots," enough has come out to suggest that October 7th could not have happened without some enablements from his governments. He allowed the transfer of cash from Qatar to Hamas to occur; that stopped when the unity government that did not include Likud was in power, but resumed when the Arab List left that coalition, bringing the current Netanyahu government to power. Add to that his refusal to act on intelligence indicating that the attack was imminent and his movement of troops away from the Gaza envelope prior to the attack, and it becomes very difficult not to see malfeasance there.
I would use the "sibling rivalry" argument with extreme caution, though. It is worth remembering that during Ottoman rule, the Jews and Arabs in the Levant viewed each other as friends and neighbors, but when British colonialism entered the picture, it injected a lot of antisemitic propaganda into the region to avoid being expelled by an alliance of Arabs and Jews. It was really the antipathy that the Brits sowed more than any kind of Biblical inevitability that shaped the conflict as we see it today.
You say enable, I say cahoots, Rich. Tomato/tomahto. I don't think Netanyahu works or worked directly with Hamas, but both entities are intent on keeping the conflict going and not allowing a free Palestinian state to emerge. I don't follow Israeli news with any zeal or regularity, so I'm sure you know the particulars better than me.
I’m disengaging after this Michele. I am not minimizing the excessive and over the top response. What I am saying is that Hamas started this current conflict with its heinous behavior and that should not be ignored when throwing out names like genocide, war crimes, and assessing blame. Hamas is and has always been a terrorist organization who has no respect for Muslim or Jewish life and has not helped its people who it is supposed to represent. Over and out. Have a wonderful weekend
Until human beings find effective tools for dealing with conflict other than terrorism and war, people will continue their barbarism. As long as the death of innocents is viewed as collateral damage and not the wonton destruction of individual lives, nothing will change and leaders will resort to violence every time.
Her treatment of animals is despicable; her treatment of the Native/Indigenous people in the state, particularly considering that Rosebud Reservation is one of the poorest in the nation, is beyond redemption. That anyone would vote for her is gobsmacking.
It’s no wonder so many folks born in SD end up in Minnesota.
And I read elsewhere that she killed 3 horses a few weeks ago. From CNN:
" “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years. If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping, preorder ‘No Going Back,’” Noem posted on X, sharing a link to her book."
My first response to the book story was the her name should be Noem-pathy. My second was that if that's a story she *chose* to tell, can you imagine what she held back?
I hope these three old horses were actually "put down" by a vet and not "taken out to the gravel pit & shot" - possibly taking more than one shot to kill them! (goat)
And yeah - scary that those were the stories she "chose".
Kathy, the Gnome is already infamous in her misgoverning of South Dakota. The dog was probably too young to be out hunting in the first place. My hubby has many cousins in South Dakota including one who keeps track of COVID deaths and posts hilarious TikTok putdowns of the Gnome. She is now banned from four Native American lands there. Then there was her trip to Texas to have her teeth fixed. In pursuit of family values, she has had an affair. And all this doesn't come close to describing what a monster she is.
Oh well, so much for protecting life that can't protect itself. Once again, we see that they care more about the rights of fertilized eggs than actual living beings.
I agree - anyone who lacks that degree of empathy towards animals truly is a despicable, disturbed human. I also have other words! The fact that she wrote (spoke to ghostwriter?) these stories does tell what a horrible human being she is - I feel sorry for her children!
Actually, the got-ya last contest between the NYT and the Biden campaign is pretty funny.
Starting with spiking the Hillary campaign, the NYT has been trying to BE the news instead of reporting it. They've lost a lot of credibility over the years.
Also, Gary, compare the NYT's comments section with Heather's, or that of Substack.
The NYT typically makes one wait often hours before posting a comment -- and it totally lacks the ease of commenters contacting each other as Substack nicely affords. That pretty much underscores Biden's view, too, of the NYT as elitist by comparison.
They won't publish many of my comments -- and I'm a subscriber.
I've been paying $18 per month to my hometown newspaper, the New Castle News. Pa. Can't comment to anything. They will not publish my letter to the editor, allegedly because I don't live there:
To the editor,
As of 2020, 3,273 Lawrence County residents received SSI. I’m sure more do now. When I was calling for Biden in 2020, I found that some people didn't know they were eligible. The Republicans have tried to kill it. It's ironic that some on SSI slit their own throats.
About 20% of the general population needs a hand-up. I'm so old I remember when there was little hope -- before SSI came to the rescue in 1973. SSI gives people a chance to survive. Before age 65, it's limited to families who qualify economically and usually due to "disability" as that term is defined in the Social Security Act. The money comes from the general funds of the US, not from the two Social Security trust funds. Anyone over the age of 65 now qualifies if they are destitute and can show that have some kind of legal status.
Every dime an SSI beneficiary gets proves that John Maynard Keynes was right -- they must spend it -- causing a positive ripple effect. “Demand creates its own supply.” Those benefits go into the hands of practically every business in the county.
Once upon a time, I could comment on the Newsonline Facebook page, but Facebook wants my SSN and driver license and I won't give it to them. I'm probably the only person from the area who was a federal administrative law judge and worked with this stuff. I practiced law there before I went out in the world to seek my fortune. I've written papers on this issue that were peer reviewed. I'm a published author.
Metaphorically, they slit their own throats to support Trump/the Republican Party/and the wolves of Wall Street. The area heavily supports Trump. MAGATs control state house and senate seats unopposed for re-election. Biden policies helped. E.G. The unemployment rate is down to 5.2 % from a high of 7.9% in 2020 when Trump was president. Of course it's still higher than the rest of the country.
But other stats show it's an impoverished area. It has a premature death rate of 736.3 per 1000,000. A premature death rate (PDR) is the number of deaths under age 75 to residents of a specific population (during a specific time period) age-adjusted (using the direct method) to a standard population distribution (currently the 2000 U.S. population) and expressed as a rate per 100,000. On average for Pittsburgh, it's 379.1. US 175.
Median income per individual is $31,475, household is. $57,585. There are only 38,909 people in the civilian work force, of a population of 84,472. 22% are 65 or older. 900 people receive state public assistance.
As of June 12, 2023, there were 55,256 registered voters in Lawrence County. There were 27,370 registered Republicans, 21,263 registered Democrats, 4,574 registered non-affiliated voters, and 2,049 voters registered to other parties. In 2020, Trump got 29,597 votes. Biden 15,978.
Most of those Trump voters voted contrary to their own economic and physical health. I doubt if there are any billionaires left. They only have one newspaper that is obviously slanted. They won't publish many of my comments -- and I'm a subscriber --and that's the main reason.
Daniel, the other day you posted about a webinar by Focus for Democracy. I registered and watched and was amazed at the scale of what two organzations (Galvanize Action and Accelerate Action) are doing in how to reach people before the election. People were pledging "eye-popping" amounts that were being matched by someone who spoke about why he did it. I don't have those kinds of funds but it was very encouraging. It seems legit, and I'm grateful there are clever people, like our Heather, who are so dedicated to democracy and making a difference!
Thanks. The funds go directly to the organizations involved.
I'm sure they increase their results by partnering with FT6. Galvanize does. I asked Accelerate Action. They are a media group that reaches about 45% of women age 45 and younger. The FT6 device, Voterizer, can register someone immediately in some states,
Dan - I realize this is a NY journalist but I thought you might be interested in his posts - he is in another district but sure does what journalists used to do! Take a look. I think you will enjoy his take plus all his local news.
I dropped my subscription last week. I sort of miss my recipe book but lately the new recipes have not been anything I would cook or eat even if I could get the ingredients in my little rural upper midwest town. I miss the Spelling Bee and the Friday news quiz, but not really anything else.
I follow (and financially support) NPR, the Week, the Guardian, and Bridge Michigan. I'm still looking for a balanced, non-sensational, source for general news headlines. Any one have some suggestions?
Hi Shirley. I noticed on your profile that you are in or from the U.P. of Mi. I love that area ! For regular TV broadcasts, I've been favoring Scripps stations - channel 5 here. For news to read, I've been reading ProPublica > propublica.org and Axios > axios.com
Those have all seemed to be the least hyperbolic and sensational so far. There are more I follow, including The Guardian and NPR for instance. Hope that helps. *I'll add, like another herein did, that your local library, or county library should have online links to the library where you can read for free publications they subscribe to. Librarians can help you with the linking, etc.
Trae Crowder, Liberal Redneck, recommends Ground News as a source for articles across the spectrum, but with information as to their perception of transparency and bias of the article. Ground.news. It looks interesting to me. and if you want to listen to the Liberal Redneck's take, check out his recent youtube video on trampler's trial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MLnVU-P-us, at 3:12. I love the Liberal Redneck.
Actually, I get a good distillation of what's important in the news - as well as, frequently, a historical perspective on these events - from reading Heather's posts.
I quit my NYT subscription a couple years ago when I realized that if they somehow published something half way decent, someone on this site would gift the article to us. Thank you fellow commenters!!
Phil, in recent days, two comments that I made about two different articles in the NY Times were accepted within 10 minutes. Time of acceptance may vary according to how busy one column may be over another. The newspaper does monitor according to its terms of usage for the comments section. No such monitoring system works on LFAA, while subscribers may report a comment on an automated system. Acceptance by the Washington Post is immediate because it does not monitor comments, although complaints about a comment may be made by readers.
I’ve subscribed to the NYT for 25 years and frequently post comments. I’ve written criticisms of the Times unfair coverage of Biden, and those comments never get posted. I’m on the verge of canceling and subscribing to Apple News. Trying out their 3 month free subscription now.
Gary, I fully agree. I don't blame the Biden team for turning down the interview. The NYT has done a terrible job of covering the important work that Biden has done. Instead they prefer to advance Trump by keeping him constantly in their headlines. They should read Heather's letters and find out about the relevant news that they should be printing!
Not only have they kept Trump prominent, they have consistently normalized his outrageous, aberrant, and abhorrent behavior while leaning heavily on the idea that Biden is too old for the Presidency and personally unpopular.
I believe they are using a business model that caters to business, money, and marketing. Until they put Trump and his trials and tribulations on the back page and Biden’s many accomplishments to improve the lives or millions of Americans and not just the portfolios of the wealthy, they will continue to be viewed as elitist. That’s sad but that’s why I’m so grateful for Substack.
I agree. There’s been no evenness re: Biden and Trump. They always soft pedal Trump. I subscribe too....and re: Kristy Noem, she is despicable. I don’t like her. She’s blaming the liberal fake news btw....I cannot stand people that abuse animals.
They've been thumbing that scale for a LONG time. Hunter Thompson wrote about their Republican leanings in the 1970's. That it has become a matter of personal pique beyond policy concerns is just icing on the rotten cake.
Trump is clearly planning to steal the election in the courts. And a majority of the Supreme Court, when hearing the arguments about Presidential immunity, clearly indicated they will help him. We must do everything we can to provide Biden with an unassailable margin of victory, or 2024 will make 2000 seem tame.
Heather does her best today, "EcstaticRationalist," to underscore your positive hopes.
All the first half of hers celebrates advantages, strengths, Dems currently have. And the second half pairs that with Republican missteps.
So I'm glad you return, yourself, to the ugliness now on display all the more from the Clarence court. They're dangerous. Openly doing the bidding of the billionaire classes and all corrupted Republicans eager also to do their bidding.
I'm scared, too. Grateful for the positive from Dems, from Heather, but fearful at those among us who underestimate evil. (Here, I'm thinking of Max Wyman's "The Compassionate Imagination: How the arts are central to a functioning democracy." Much positive in it, but never a mention of the Powell memo, or any of its ensuing far-right foundations active in implementing its evils.)
Why do you disregard the undemocratic nature of the DNC? Is making rules like denying opponents the ability to campaign in New Hampshire before Biden did ok with you?Is suppressing information contrary to taking the Covid vaccine ok with you?Is catering to military contractors ok with you?
I don't see Phil's comment as disregarding the DNC's issues at all. By the way, what's the obsession with NH's primary? NH's dogged insistence on having the first primary as a very small, demographically heterogenous state is ludicrous. There is no real opposition to Biden within the party, anyway. There is disagreement on issues but nobody in their right mind would prefer Trump's approach to any of those issues. Are you a Republican or just an eternally bitter Bernie Bro?
Are you aware of the risks of not being vaccinated? For example the measles outbreaks in recent news, caused by parents who have been made to fear vaccinating their kids. In my pre-vaccine childhood, measles was scary, as it could cause encephalitis or pneumonia and even prove fatal.
Yes I’m aware of the risks of not being vaccinated and the effects on other people. What I’m saying is that the government should tell us about all the risks, not just the ones favorable to being vaccinated.Scientists who disagree with what the government wants should not be censored.
Do you know that John Oliver, on his show "Last Week Tonight", offered Thomas $1,000,000/year plus a new luxury recreational vehicle to retire? Thomas never responded as far as I know. If you want to spend time with informative satire, Oliver's episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-VJrdHMug
And still Heather will not address Project 2025:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025 Nor will Farron Cousins, Or other pundits I follow. I am curious at who is stopping them. This has it all: Horrible Stephen Bannon, horrible Stephem Miller, Horrible Ginni, and more I don't know. Spread the word. Ask the Magats why they want a dictatorship. I still want someone to find the lawn sign for me Top line Red for "Dictatorship" Bottom line Blue for "Democracy"
1. Heather has talked about Project 2025. This is where I learned about it.
2. With your yard sign, I'd suggest blue democracy over red dictatorship. Check with local printing companies. I have several here in the Eugene/Springfield area that will make one-off signs, or even a batch if you want to share them with friends. Look in your local area for print shops, graphic design shops, etc.
Trump has said that having pets is “low class.” At one point he expressed disappointment that Pence had pets. 2/3rds of American households have pets (or vice versa).
The ONLY sentient beings that DON'T know are MAGAts. God knows why. And let us not forget how the American Bald Eagle reacts to trampler. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7_OWYrLVOU
I’m always a little suspicious of people who don’t have pets (unless personal circumstances don’t allow it). And I can’t relate to anyone who doesn’t like animals.
Tfg's tough guy appeal is stronger to people already inclined in his direction when he gives them permission to be their lowest selves openly. The media lets him get away with it which appears to be another layer of permission along with social media opening up space for egos and ids everywhere. And there is little clash between their lower selves and any claimed religious stance when a great many churches have disinclined their moral role. It could be that people feel backed up by just claiming their religion when that religion no longer sets the tone of demanding actual moral behavior. And I do mean moral as we now understand it's evolving to incorporate all of humanity no matter what identity. But the tough guy identity approach appears to be a dying remnant of patriarchal stereotypes from so many bygone eras. Some people just don't want to make the shift to the various forms of equality that democracy embraces and supports; as if democracy itself were a personal threat to them. In reality they are run by all sorts of fears, fears of losing all sorts of things many of which are imaginary.
So no amount of meanness has apparently yet been reached by these small spirited fearfuls.
I really feel that so many of these people frightened by their imaginations have never lived in diversity with people who are all different and unique. People fear what they don't know. Republicans exploit these fears to create hatred and division. People already prone to violence and hatred feel justified to reveal their real selves. No more hiding these socially and morally unacceptable behaviors. trump and MAGA haven't just lowered the bar, they've thrown the bar away.
If you Google tribalism you can find a lot of cues and clues for some kind of understanding about the closed in quality that people rely on for a sense of safety in what they feel to be an unsafe world beyond their capabilities perhaps to handle. Fear itself is such a powerful motivation that however much it is grasped and understood or not can take somebody in very different directions. It's probably mostly true that a lack of social experience including whatever form education comes in, and combined with persistent drumbeats of furious incitement to defense and then to offense, both very tribal behaviors, train and habituate people's reactions to what they fear, including of course the fear of any change itself that might actually help in overcoming the fears. The grip of fear can insulate a mind from the very education and experience that could alleviate it. This grip is working on so many people who are not dealing with facts, with reason, not calling on the very faculties that we are born with to do so.
Thank you. I will Google tribalism. I really should have studied sociology and/or psychology in my younger years. I'm fascinated by people and why they think the way they do.
Well... I have a high school education and never went to college. I could go now, but to be honest, it's quite expensive and I don't want to be paying student loans til I die.
Very likely, as were lots of people who vote Democratic etc Reminds me of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story song that contains the phrase "Gee, Officer Krupsky.....
“that in her forthcoming book..”. What you wanna bet that that those nasty stories about her shooting animals magically disappear when the book is published?
The launch date is May 7 so it's been printed and distributed to stores awaiting the signal to display it or ship online orders. It's her job application for Trump's VP as she knows that he hates dogs and loves violence.
This right here. Not everyone who harms animals graduates to harming people, but a lot of them do. And a lot of people know that -- across the political spectrum.
Killing an adolescent dog or a goat says far more about the person doing the killing than the unfortunate animal. An un-trainable dog likely has an un-trainable trainer. Goats are what they are; if you find you don't like a goat, find someone who understands them and give it away. I find nothing whatsoever admirable about a person who can pull the trigger on an animal simply because they don't like it.
Modern "Republicans" court those who seem to see violence as a primary tool for shaping human behavior to their liking. Maybe I'm wrong, but everything I see points to it, including the violence of the Jan. 6th crowd, now hailed as heroes by Trump and the RNC. From what I have seen personally, varying degrees of child and spousal abuse appears to follow from this mindset, along with governmental abuses of power.
And yes, from what I have seen, exceptionally unruly dogs are typically a product of inadequate training, and yes these event surely do say far more about about Noem than the trainability of the animals. I suspect that Noem's hatred of there animals was triggered by what they revealed about the inadequacy of her stewardship. It's seems a case of narcissistic vengeance that should be seen as a deal-breaker for anyone occupying or seeking governmental powers over others.
I was reminded of a poster I saw in Canada of a photo of Stephen Harper, who was Canada's version of a modern "Republican" emblazoned with the words "Just Say No To Bullies".
Often saying "no" is not enough, but it's essential, and voting is a prime way to do so. There are always creeps who what to get their way by abusing power, whether it bullies in a schoolyard or Elon Musk abusing the power of money. Political corruption is abuse of power. Assault is abuse of power. War is abuse of power. I'm not complete pacifist; I believe that the aggressions of Hitler had to be met with violence; but even measured violence is like chemotherapy which can save lives yet can wreak havoc. Not something to treat lightly.
Nice allegory with chemo fighting cancer. 🤩 Zelensky knows well that simply rolling over for Putin won’t save lives. It’s why democracy has proven to be the most peaceful form of governing thru the ages.
The biggest hurdle to world peace is figuring out how to keep people from giving power away to the bullies. I maintain we need user manuals to our most precious organ, the brain, starting at age two!!!
Personally I find much that is despicable on a person who can pull the trigger on an animal unfortunate enough to have belonged to a bottom-dwelling scumsucker such as Noem.
Obviously, #45 has shown that he is what can only be described as an "un-trainable human" .., what would Kristi Noem do? A trip to the "gravelpit" perhaps? Emphasis on "grave" in "grave-el-pit". Rock on Ms Paladin! baabaabbooom! Game over (finally).
I have read books by Kurt Anderson. I definitely have ambivalence about his judgement. Also, as a several years NY Times digital subscriber, I have of late become more skeptical. Within the last week they published an essay by Mike Pence in which he again stated the fabrication about abortion up to term as something that happens and is supported by Democrats. As a retired physician and obstetric provider, I assert there is no such thing. Every viable infant receives complete life support, except in cases of fatal defects when parents choose only comfort care. Deliberate killing would be infanticide, punishable everywhere, as well as beneath medical ethics. For the NY Times to allow Pence's lie is quite inexcusable and certainly in the same editorial failure universe as Tom Cotton's fascist piece.
And as I understand it, almost all abortions after 21 or so weeks involve an emergency either to the mother or the fetus. Not what one could reasonably call a casual decision.
"Trump insisted to the former RNC chair that he did not need the RNC to work on turning out voters. He wanted the RNC to prioritize 'election integrity' efforts."
Why would tfg need to concentrate on Voters when he knows he has ZERO chance of winning the election without Cheating??
A man whose absolute goals (to stay out of prison) that depends on winning an election, who's uninterested in acquiring voter turnout, already has something up his sleeve, and it's not good for America.
I am of the same mind. Trump is willing to sacrifice America - burn it all down - to get his way. That is what I see in the coming months. The battle will be tough; how will the current administration handle another insurrection? Is this “the test” SCOTUS wants to see, so they can identify whether what Trump did four years earlier was not criminal?
Biden, being the POTUS currently in power, and perhaps will soon be blessed with an immunity from crimes by SCOTUS, diminishes the worry from insurrection.
Propaganda and voter suppression is a far greater concern.
“Christian fundamentalist nationalists in the senior ranks of the military, see Trump as an instrument of God’s plan to create an authoritarian Christian state. The military allows active proselytizing and recruitment of soldiers, contrary to the constitutional separation of church and state. Many of these officers and soldiers were involved in the events leading up to and on Jan 6th, which has been described as an attempted coup. Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news“
This is why they don’t want to make the wrong decision until the “right guy” is POTUS. What happens when Biden wins, and Trump continues to say he was robbed. Will taking a second term Biden wins be considered unconstitutional? The shitshow SCOTUS is setting up is nothing short of dangerous.
I truly believe that Rs will lose a lot more than the presidency, mainly because of the lack of money, but one never knows. Push onward till Election Day.
That de-emophasis on down ballot races suggests an underying strategy of taking office with a narrow and disputable electoral college win and then taking quick executive action to block any attempts from the House and Senate to apply checks/balances/impeachment. Trump wants "election monitoring" by the RNC to provide rationale and "evidence" to invalidate any election loss. After that, kiss the Constitution good-bye.
Which is why we need nonpartisan election monitoring to step up big time in this election. Not just for women and a prodemocracy organization. The more the better.
He’s concentrating on voter suppression, particularly people of color and young voters. And whatever MAGA finds (or even doesn’t find) is fuel for the next insurrection.
The NY Times has demonstrated a criminal lack of self awareness regarding the context in which it reports election related news since at least the 2016 election. I say “self awareness” because I don’t think it’s malicious in its intent. I think it’s a product of ignorance… of “smartest man in the room” syndrome … which makes it intellectually blind.
We are at war with fascism and the NYT cannot believe such a thing is possible in America. And you cannot report on something you don’t think is real. Professor Jay Rosen of NYU’s journalism school has written about this intellectual blindness throughout the journalism profession since Trump won in 2016. I urge people to follow him on social media.
Writer Kurt Andersen described it as a “*Total* softball interview, mostly about his personal life—but lovely, sweet, human, and Biden was terrific, consistently clear, detailed, charming, moving. Which was the point. SO much better than his opponent could do.”
In Kurt Andersen's "Fantasyland" he details how he has never hated anyone before now. This thinly veiled slam was aimed at Trump. I share his loathing and Trump is really the only person I truly hate. He turned a party and many of it's most caring politicians into a party of hate, cruelty and patriarchy.
As a side note, Kurt graduated from Westside High School in Omaha in 1972 and Ginni Thomas in 1976. Unsurprisingly Kurt was the editor of the school paper and the year book and Ginni was a member of the Young Republicans club.
Unfortunately many of his closest associates and supporters are eminently hateful and some are "hateable". I'm thinking Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, Chesebro, Eastman, Clark, Empty Greene, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Huckabee-Sanders, K-A Conway....the list goes on and on. It extends to a couple of members of the Stench Court and to several bad faith Senators and outwards into the billionaire donor's "old boy clubs" and the Federalist Society (Len Leo in particular) and the Heritage Foundation are two of many hate-filled institutions. This country has become infected with fascism and is suffering from fevers of fear, hate and anger.
I attended a discussion between Kurt Andersen and Lawrence O’Donnell at the 2024 New Orleans Book Festival (HCR was also a speaker) and I came away from that with a deeper admiration for both men and their analysis as to how we got to where we are today in the politics of our nation. Since the Festival has its own You Tube channel I am sure it is available if you are interested.
Dan - thanks for the link. The book festival (year 3) was an amazing two days. It is spearheaded by Walter Isaacson and as you can see from the lineup there was no shortage of intellectual stimulation! I was able to catch two of HCR’s presentations and chatted with her at her book signing. Save the date for 2025 (March 27-29) and you will not be disappointed.
Oh wow ! I am so very envious... You actually got to speak with her ?! How very marvelous for you Connie ! In the past, I have playfully teased Dani Smart for being "teacher's pet," as she's always recognized. *(I do so hope she takes it as silly teasing...) Can I now pick on you too ? LOL ! Do you reside near N.O. ? It's definitely on my 'bucket list.' Did you get to listen to Liz Cheney ? She is somewhat interesting to me - from a, "I wonder who she really is" kind of way. Know what I mean ?
Dan - no I didn’t hear Cheney but people who did were really impressed. The biggest problem with the festival it that it is like a huge desert table and you have to pick and choose which presentations to attend. And I’ve never been a “teacher pet” but bantering between friends (even online ones) can brighten one’s spirit.
My husband is a native New Orleanian and we have a vacation home on the Mississippi gulf coast. New Orleans is about 50 miles west and an hours’ drive. We are here now as this weekend and next is JazzFest! Another wealth of riches and deserts from the Big Easy!
I recently discovered The Atlantic and have been reading it quite thoroughly. It seems highly factual, well written and deeply informative. I’ve given NYT the boot.
Thank you for that suggestion. I think the big challenge for the Times was when things went digital and they lost a lot of advertising. There was a lot of shuffling, and a big reorg. The revenue stream must look very different. Note that the masthead has dozens of names whereas before there were very few. It's very corporate now, and I suspect it effects the news.
Between this woman’s shilling for a cosmetic dentist in Texas (apparently dissing those of her own state, but then maybe they would not have given her a freebie) and shooting defenseless animals because of her own inadequacies she is clearly appealing to tfg’s finer appetites. It is utterly astonishing to me that anyone would think she is right for the job of VP or governor of any state. Despicable and disturbed indeed.
boy, for way too long We the People have been blasted with the biased non-news produced by the Fox Propaganda machine... all along the way one hoped, and trusted, the "real" media outlets would offer up only the true information we all need and depend on. But now? All I can say is I'm glad I'm not a subscriber of the New York Times. Ha!... for 150 years the Times boasted, "All the News That's Fit to Print" but apparently only if it pleased the publisher. And after hearing about the workings of the National Enquirer... one has to wonder if the Goodnewspaper is still available. Really I will continue to watch the PBS News hour for my news. For shame, New York Times!
PBS NewsHour last night was an example of balanced and powerful reporting. Two stories. One on what Passover was like for those family members of the hostages as well as an entire town in the North - evacuated because of Hezbollah. And the next story was about Gaza and its horrors.
I get the news here and from other substacks like Joyce Vance and Hubbell, then the Guardian and a variety of press services. Just adjust your Google News feed to sources you trust. And then we cap it with the NewsHour which has a terrific team of journalists committed to fact finding and presenting all sides possible of a given subject. Highly recommend. And it's available on Youtube and streaming directly. No cable required.
What is intereting to me are my morning news feeds.... as an American expat living in Queensland, AU with a history of being a retired journalist with political leanings my almost daily news comes from a wide array of sources... PBS, BBC, CNA (Singapore international news) and a couple others... New York Times is not one of the list, but I do peek at the Oregonian once in a while. And YouTube is overloaded with updates on trumpy's problems. Inundated for sure. Be happy and stay healthy, Bill
I love to watch FreeSpeechTV......you can stream it on line. True, there are some crazies that call in, but Thom Hartman has a good, informative program, and I think he even has Bernie Sanders on it once a week. You should check him out.
John, how does one know which individual Podcaster to believe? I personally prefer to subscribe to several publications and filter out the biases and noise myself.
Perhaps Governor Noem’s problems with her dog and the goat arose from how they were treated, rather than from the animals themselves. One wonders if Mr. Noem sleeps with one eye open, and avoids gravel pits.
Dogs need months of training to behave appropriately in high distraction situations. We are training an eager-to-please one year old pup now, and have a way to go. At least at this point, I would never consider exposing her to the situations Noem described.
A by marriage relative bought a trained police dog that proved unsuitable for police work. The police didn't shoot it but sold it. It became a skilled search and rescue dog.
I have been a New York Times reader for about 82 or 83 years (from 1940 or 1941). For many years (with some exceptions) it lived up to its mast head (“All the news that’s fit to print.”)
Often I found its articles overly lengthy. Early on I preferred The Guardian, The London Times, The Financial Times, and The Economist, for crisp and succinct brevity. The American Section of The Economist I have found normally excellent, though it fumbled on Vietnam and theBush/Cheney/ Rumsfeld 2003 Iraqi war.
In recent years I have relied less and less on the NYT as a primary news source. Its opinion writers vary from excellent (Paul Krugman and Nicholas Kristoff rank among my personal favorites) to forgettable.
What I find most notable, since Biden became president, is the apparent misbalance in reporting on Biden and Trump. My impression is that Biden’s age and malopropisms are highlighted far more than Trump’s monumental mishaps.
Any balanced journalist reporting should leave the reader with the clear factual impression regarding physical and mental competence, accomplishments while president, and core commitment to the interests of the United States and the great majority of its citizens that Biden runs circles around False Fact Trump.
I can’t judge the extent that the senior editors of the New York Times are having a hissy fit with the Biden White House. Meanwhile, I find more credible, for daily political news, The Guardian, The Economist, Heather, Joyce Vance, and The Atlantic.
Since Sulzberger thinks Biden needs to do an interview with a newspaper “like” the NYT, I suggest he offer one to the WP or the Guardian. Or any of the others you mention, Keith, but an American one would be best.
I had the impression that the mainstream "press" was far more engaged in saying what needed to be said pre-Reagan. Woodward and Bernstein, for example. I stopped watching TV news in the run up to the Bush II Iraq war since it just seemed like war cheerleading to me, while the Guardian was reporting stuff that turned out to be true. In-bedded reporting was mostly useless.
Biden's age is not irrelevant as the chance of a health crisis for we "seniors" statistically rises, but while I don't think Biden has always made the right choices, he continues to display verifiable competence, and Biden vs Trump is patently an apples to "road apples" contrast by any empirical standard. The press noted that Ronald Reagan was frequently (and troublingly) confused throughout his presidency, but somehow found it charming; "The Great Communicator".
What South Dakota governor Kristi Noem did to that poor dog and goat, in my way of thinking is more of a moral disqualifier than Trump and his Hollywood Access interview and affair with Stormy Daniels. Much more disturbing...but this is the MAGA Twilight Zone after all..
"Those who show kindness and compassion towards animals often reveal the depth of their character. Cruelty towards these creatures reflects a deficiency in empathy and morality, casting doubt on one's claim to goodness." - Unknown
Odd how badly this sits with me - this wanna be vp’s story. yes 🙌 the other side are dogs and goats…. smelly and unruly. Thanks for sharing these atrocities as well as the wonderfully very positive news around town 🙏
Noem is barbaric and ruthless to kill a puppy and a goat. For her to brag about it and be proud of what she done , is completely wrong. She should of been reported for killing an innocent puppy and the goat. Here in California, that is considered a felony. She is definitely sick and mentally unstable.
Nebraska's former governor Pete Rickett's who looks a lot like FL Senator Rick Scott and is just as deplorable, went into a restaurant in Papillion without a mask. In fact, his entire party were not wearing masks. This was on Election Day 2020.
A server who filmed a viral video of Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) posing for a photo while not wearing a mask at a restaurant was fired this week.
Karina Montanez, a 25-year-old single mother, was fired from her job at an Omaha-based sports bar and restaurant called DJ’s Dugout after posting a video of Ricketts dining with a group of maskless patrons on Election Day, The Washington Post reported.
He made no apology for not wearing a state mandated mask or from getting the young lady fired.
Their is absolutely no justification for their behavior. They have no remorse for people or animals. Both belong in the jungle. Your point is valid and I agree!
Many things weigh on my mind lately with the trials of tfg and the insanity at the SC. However, reading about the cruelty of Noem has upset me deeply and painfully. I've always loved animals and am a protector of them when and where I can. This is a despicable, disturbed person. I have other words but will let this suffice for now.
In my opinion, Republican candidates tend toward thoughtless cruelty. The Huckabees, Mitt, and now Gov. Noem all had stories about them carelessly and unrepentantly putting their animals to death. Elsewhere we saw Judge Roy Moore giving his horse a leather mouth by sawing on the reins. What kind of message IS that?
Studies have shown that people who abuse animals often " graduate" to abusing people.
But, as far as I'm concerned, abusing animals is even worse.
There is an old adage in business that if one will cheat about small things, one will cheat about big ones. And when it comes to cruelty, if one can be cruel to an innocent, helpless animal, you can bet your bottom dollar that that person will probably be a Trump MAGA member and treat humans likewise.
As to Heather’s comment about Trump valuing cruelty, I wonder if he’s thought through the fact that she shot her mean, aggressive, smelly old goat.
Oh dear, another LOL moment that part of me feels a little guilty about, and part of me is glad for the comic relief. So, thank you!
I laughed out loud, and I'm not in the least ashamed. I'm going to steal that line for my own page.
🤣🤣🤣
lol Jim
Noem is a MONSTER. I cannot fathom what she would do to the homeless.
We're in agreement, Richard, as is often the case. I liken cruelty to animals to racism... both are expressions of animosity toward facts of nature rather than acts of intent.
I was very troubled by a post from a nastily conservative X account guy that included a very disturbing video of a hog tied in the back of a pick-up truck who was clearly suffering as the truck barreled along. The "author" used the video to make a snide remark about Chris Christie "after Trump takes office." It was followed by 1.7k likes, and 189 comments. I didn't read them all, but of the 30 or so that I scanned, three or four criticized the cruelty, and the vast majority either agreed, or posted their own very stupid comments in agreement, with no reference to the hog other than the derogatory comparison. Is it possible that there are parts of our country where a culture of cruelty to animals spills over to humans, and we are only seeing it more often now because of social media? And perhaps, in those parts, it's not even seen as cruelty because the animals are seen as things used for work and food, and not sensient beings that need and deserve human care. Then we get to the correlation with cruelty to people, and I agree it's not a "graduation." Very disturbing.
It is said that southerners regard their dogs as property and not family. At the end of hunting season the dogs are set lose. My daughter (in CT) went to a dog rescue event and she said most were from the south. She adopted a fiest? which looks like a larger version of a jack russell-complete with buck shot in her body.
Your daughter must come from a long line of compassionate people. What a blessing to the rest of us. Please thank her for me if you can.
She volunteered in a non kill cat shelter until she moved. As a matter of fact, all of us did. They had to basically shut down and revamp their program to use very few volunteers. She still has 2 cats remaining from the 5 she took home
I just replied to Richard Sutherland's comment on this subject, Chaplain Terry. Being indifferent or unkind to any living being for things they can't help, like skin color, ethnicity, temperament, or odor, is despicable.
When is this nation going to show as much compassion as they do toward animals toward abused children? Or the mentally ill and homeless? Clearly, the most vulnerable among us are no longer on our radar as I see day after day dogs and cats in strollers “walking” with their owners. Some have on clothes and sun glasses. What has happened to a nation who places the welfare of animals above that of people? Our priorities are misplaced and this vocal hatred of one another is the consequences.
As a dog owner, I understand that sometimes an aged or handicapped pet may need assistance with a stroller. A neighbor of mine sequentially adopted elderly dogs and as they began to have difficulty walking, she had one of the pet strollers. Wouldn't you have your disabled sibling/parent/child in a wheelchair if they had difficulties or even could no longer walk? My own dog has a herniated lower disk; if it had been left untreated, he could easily lose the use of his back legs.
That said, I agree wholeheartedly with you about pet owners who dress their pets up as if they are little dolls or little children. Absurd, the money spent would do far better to be a donation to your local humane society.
A good friend had a pair of rescued Great Pyrenees, probably siblings. Some time back, the make started losing the use of his hind legs, so at first a rolling harness deal worked and then for his last couple of years, his living owners pulled him around in a wagon, so he could have fresh air and see his friends at the Park, even though he couldn't run any longer. He's gone now, but not forgotten.
Amazing breed those Great Pyrenees. My daughters grew up with one - a 'small' (?) female as their companion, protector. Primarily working from 3-11:00 P.M., I never had to worry about the safety of my family. *It also just occurred to me that on topic, my experience is relative here too. We 'chose' this female GP after much study of numerous breeds under consideration as companion / guardian for our daughters. A GP falls loosely into the category of 'untrainable' dogs. There is a grand canyon of difference between intelligence and trainability when speaking of canine companions, not to mention that the nitwit Noem was speaking of a 14 month old, that has not even hit maturity, especially if it was a dog of any larger breed. A GP was bred to think for itself, prioritize and act upon the priorities of being a guardian first, as bred : that's intelligence. A canine that is trainable always looks first for "direction" to please the immediate whims of it's adopted human. There are likely better, more articulate explanations than mine if your interested. Hoping that was clear enough direction for further study anyway. I could go on and on infinitum about my knowledge and experience with both type dogs, but I won't. Cheers Ed !
I have a blind rescue dog, Judith. I'm her seeing eye person. We are each other's companions, and both of our lives would be poorer if we weren't. I don't understand cruelty at all. I think it's a sickness, probably brought on by neglect and/or unkindness in early childhood. I'm no shrink, but a sharper focus on mental health would be a step toward prevention imho.
Animals and children -- innocence!
It’s certainly enough.
I read that as Kristi Noem shooting her 14-month old SON for being untrainable and dangerous. I don't know if it is better or worse that she shot her dog and not her son.
Repubs would probably call that an after birth abortion and prosecute for it. I wonder how they feel about suicide?
This was true in Germany. You know the decades.
I remember the Roy Moore scandals and cruelty, also how he spoke perfect Russian when asked what he would say to Putin
Not to mention DJT's gratuitous cruelty to his loyal Press Secretary Sean Spicer, a devout Catholic, in refusing to let Spicer have an available slot in a group audience with the Pope.
Yes, that was so petty and cruel. No love for Spicer, but sheeesh.
Opportunistic cruelty.
I’d forgotten this scummy episode.
Many people have "forgotten" a LOT!! We must remind them to Remember in November!!!!
Correct. The Republicans are trying hard to befog the memory of January 6th.
It's no surprise that people who abuse animals abuse people. I wonder if DeSantis and Abbott have animals?
But Hitler loved his dogs???
But do we know how he actually treated them?
A message of arrogant cruelty.
I don't know what leather mouth is and sawing the reins.
The reins the rider hold in his hands are attached to each end of the metal bar, the bit, that goes inside the horse's mouth. A properly trained horse only needs a slight pull on one side or the other to know he should turn, or a slight pull directly back on both sides to know he should stop. A rider who yanks hard on (saws at) the reins hurts the horse until eventually the horse becomes numb to it (leather mouth), so that it no longer feels a gentle tug, which essentially ruins the whole enterprise for both horse and any reasonable rider.
Right DMS ! Anyone who actually 'knows' a bit about horses, actually 'felt' and saw through how utterly ignorant that was. That's in the 'manual' for how not to treat a horse, but thoroughly ruin it as a riding horse.
So grim!
It means the idiot doesn't really know how to ride a horse. Probably thinks he knows everything there is to know about riding a horse. He's controlling the beast. Riding requires subtle moves between rider and horse. Harming the horse is stupid and cruel.
...and the most delicate subtle process of riding a horse is equestrian riding competitions-the horse will be trained to respond to invisible cues.
It's a form of animal abuse arising out of the rider's inadequacy and probably teenyweener.
You don't wan to
Sometimes it’s thoughtfully considered cruelty. That’s worse.
SADISTS
Republicans' favorite musical comedy is Le Mis.
Fully agree. Noem is a despicable oxygen thief. Even by GQP standards, she is creating a new level of swamp scum.
What Noem did to the dog and the goat is what she would do to the country.
Hopefully it’s what she just did to her political career.
Good point! There are a lot of people love animals more than people.
Exactly. That is her value system she demonstrating … TFG likes “killlers.” This one is a literal ..
Donald liked this. At last - he may have found his "Luca Brasi"!
May they both “swim with the fishes” soon.
Ooofah!
George, LOL, "despicable oxygen thief". I will have to pass that one on to the cousin who posts negative and often funny TikTocs about her nearly every day.
Maybe she could be Putin's second in command. They're both equally cruel and sociopathic.
She's, no doubt, already on Putin's payroll.
Isn't she auditioning to be Trump's VP? Of course, it would be easier if she were 20 years younger and had long hair. So sad.
Thanks to extensions she now has that long hair. In fact, her recent appearance suggests she is taking lessons from Kimberly Guilfoyle: long locks, heavy makeup, bandage dresses. Underneath, she is truly a despicable person.
I doubt that being despicable with disqualify her.
I love that phrase “oxygen thief “. Thanks. Sums up MAGA so well.
So, if it's okay with you, I'm going to refer to the GQP party f/k/a the Party of Lincoln (shudder) from now on as the DOT Party. Noem is really no different from, say, Boebert or Gangrene or Gaetz (I could go on), or Lucifer himself, is she?
DOT Party? And I'm stealing ,Gangrene. My husband says he was a feminist until Greene, Boebert, Lake, Noem, and Stefanik came on the scene. The Equal Rights Amendment doesn't stand a chance of ever being ratified with those miscreants scrambling for power.
Despicable Oxygen Thieves Party.
That would make their press secretaries DOT coms?
I don't know if she's attractive enough for TFFG to pick her as his running mate, but they're made for each other. What if they were on the ticket together, he won, and then died, lost his marbles, or went to jail? Eeeeeeuuuuw!
He's not looking at her face.
Interesting how and what Noem divulges about cruelty and violence. From a dog being “untrainable” and “ruining” a hunt. Has she asked herself how good she is at training? Once one kills for any reason, she demonstrates universally how easy it it to escalate violence for lesser and lesser reasons, in this case a goat for being “smelly”.
I’ve had the privilege of owning and training several hunting dogs. I’ve never met a dog that didn’t tell me a lot about their owner. And I’ve never met a goat that wore deodorant.
When dogs are "untrainable" it's usually the human in the relationship who isn't good at training a dog. I imagine her idea of training is to yell at it, tug on its leash and/or hit it with something when it doesn't "behave". Not really good training techniques.
If you are responsible for an animal you are obligated to care for and train it. If you can’t handle your charge, you are obligated to find someone who can.
I would add that we don't really "own" animals. They are living beings in their own right and as such should be treated with respect. I don't like the word "pet" and prefer companion animal. We should be grateful that they agree to share their lives with us. In return we are obliged to take care of those needs they can't provide for themselves because of their captivity.
I'm with you, J. Nol. I'm a shitty trainer, and I know it, but the 9 year old blind chihuahua I live with has trained me. She lets me know when she wants to go out. I wish she wasn't such a barky little thing, but a muzzle is unthinkable - freedom of speech and all. Where we disagree is on when and what she eats. She'd eat toilet paper all day and drink coffee with half and half and whiskey in it. I give her 2 meals of kibble, with 1 snack of carrots and 1 snack of probiotic biscuits a day. I hope she lives as long as I do.
Sounds like a relationship made in heaven. At least for the dog. And what a character she is! 😂
I met a service dog in training. It ran into my office and went straight to my trash can and retrived the remains of my lunch. The embarrassed human came running in after the dog. He explained that he was watching the dog for his father, who was actually training the dog.
The dog wasn't suitable as a service dog. But he probably made a wonderful companion to someone or a family.
I understand that only about 30% of dogs actually graduate from service training, but the rest mostly make really good companion animals. The training that they have had is usually rather more effective than what many dog owners manage on their own.
"Trainability" is a breed specific characteristic J. One must understand and know what they seek in a dog and the breed characteristics.
A 14 month old dog is like a young teenager, they need training and a lot of patience. To shoot the dog and goat is simply cruel.
We can all be glad that we were not one of her teenagers 😜
I quote Samuel Beckett: "There’s man all over for you, blaming on his boots the faults of his feet." It probably doesn't need explanation, but I'm a nerd, so I'll tell you anyway. It was a critique of humanity's tendency to find fault with the external (play the victim), blame others for their own failings (witch hunt), and seek divine intervention (thoughts and prayers), rather than doing the hard work of becoming better people with full responsibility for their own lives.
Oh Lauren.. I love that. Thank you
Omg. An ex and I had a billy goat we borrowed to eat our weeds. Hated the weeds, ate the trees. Name was Preacher and he was the smelliest, horniest goat! Entertaining us? He excelled.
A biologist friend explained to me that Goats are browsers not grazers. They will always eat tree and shrub leaves first. They will only graze weeds on the ground in the absence of trees and scrubs. Sheep are the opposite, they always go for the grass and anything growing on the ground. Either way it’s pretty cool to see them hard at work trimming back the plants naturally.
G.O.A.T. 🐐 comment.
Well said!
lol Ted. I made some postings in this thread that you may like, one about Noem, and one about dogs that you and I would seem to have more than casual knowledge of. It's important, vital to know what is bred into the dogs - things they always favor, revert, or act upon; breed specific instincts and behaviors. I have found them true. Loveable mutts, usually combinations of instincts and behaviors.
Agree. 100% Did she say her young bird dog was chasing the chickens on her property? ( I am not buying her book to find out)
Appreciating the instincts of a hunting dong are really something to experience. The elite hunting breeds like the German Short Hari Pointer, German Wire Hair Pointer. Englinsh pointers, are such amazing athletes. Even at 6 weeks they will hold point on anything resembling a bird, and they will retrieve balls and toys to their owners. They do not need to be trained to do this. It is all instincts. The human race's survival was secured by the relationship with the dog to aid in hunting. Noem should show more respect for that fact. ( but that would involve acknowledging evolution! ha ha). These elite breeds of dogs need a fenced yard, a kennel area. They need daily runs not neighborhood walks. These breeds never turn off except in a kennel. Out of the kennel they want to be off leash and hunting. These are the Michael Jordans hunting. They work 100% of time and they give 110% of effort to their owners. These are breeds that should not be just a "family dog". These breeds do not translate well to a non working lifestyle that a Lab or Golden Retriever can. Every responsible hunter knows that hunting dogs need kennels for down time and for other animals safety. Especially if chickens are around. A shock collar can help train a bird dog for their safety around Snakes and for the safety of other farm animals; chickens, cattle, horses, etc etc. What the heck did she think would happen if she has wired haired pointers running around free on a ranch or farm? Even the worst hunting dog I have ever owned, was not that hard to control with basic knowledge, correct tools and just a little responsibility. It is not that hard to maintain control, and that is the responsibly of the owner. The best hunters can control multiple dogs at once. One doesn't hunt with an out of control dog. One doesn't hunt in places where there are free range chickens about. What the hell did she think was going to happen? She is all hat and no horse. She demonstrates irresponsibility in so many ways, with animals, her management, her lack of learning how to train a dog, she isn't explain. Lack impulse control. She seems false to me, presenting herself as a hunter to appeal to voters, when she doesn't seem to know diddly about the sport. She seems impulsive, not in control of her emotions.
I wouldn't take the book to read for free; In my possession it would only become an actual fire starter / kindling. I think the story was that while visiting a neighbor / friend farmer, the pup got loose and chased / harmed the friend's chickens. Wow,,,, a supposed pup of that breed with an inordinate attraction to fowl ? Who would've thought 'that' ? If you read my other comment, my opinion was, that this book / narrative was a wide net, poorly thought - out, election ploy, 'dog whistles' ; Obviously for 2nd amendment 'defenders', but also "folksplaining" for rural votes, where dems have been doing poorly, and imho, correctly do poorly because they fail to 'work' at relating and identifying with them; that they matter and deserve representation before and after election cycles. Near everyone, dems, news, relevance - even their boiled down lives / culture are ignored - as they so obviously live in 'fly over' country that is highly ignored in any spotlight of news, commerce (except extractive commerce), politics, relevance, etc., ad infinitum ! Everything "worth" news is coastal - until election time.
100%.
Ted, Do you 'like' my word invention, "Folksplaining" ? Lol... I think I invented it anyway.
As a vegan I am appalled that there is not more outrage.
My social media is full of outrage about it, including many Democratic governors posting pictures of their dogs that “doesn’t involve shooting them and throwing them in a gravel pit.”
Beyond what this tells us about Noem, it also tells us a lot about ourselves. I see more outrage about this than I do about Republican policies that actively harm children and women.
KR, I see daily outrage about what happens to people under R policies. I am outraged by them on a daily basis as well by what happens world wide. Every time there is some policy that helps ordinary people, Rs oppose it. How about states not taking fed money to feed kids during the summer, for one example.
I also see on almost daily basis posts against Noem's policies from people in South Dakota.
That is good to know, glad she’s not getting a pass from her own people
Well, both who post the most have Lakota descent and one is also black, so they may not count as her people.
Thank heavens Michele. I spent some time in SD and was hard pressed to find or interact with 'anyone' I could or would disparage ! Salt of the earth, good folks in my experience.
I really enjoy the people I have met on Facebook from South Dakota, mostly my husband's Lakota relatives and their friends. They do meet up when they are out working on politics with people who do not seem so nice.
Food for thought here, for sure. Noem’s story is graphic. The damage being done to real people by draconian laws .. harder to pin down, and even when it IS clear, damn, why don’t people react … !
I agree, Pat.
More outrage? Its more graphic than what becomes public about these policies. There are many more women speaking out & telling their stories - they need to become more reported!
And yeah, this sure does make clear how this woman thinks & feels. Shes part of a cult of that kind of thinking. Her attitude towards women & children seems to be the same as towards other species, doesnt it?
Like pregnant people being turned away from emergency rooms. Like children being denied school lunches. Like the abject cruelty of a man celebrating the birth of his son by cheating on his wife. The list goes on and on.
My thoughts exactly!
Well, on my social media feed at least (Threads), there is a LOT a LOT a LOT of outrage.
Don't waste a lot of time being appalled--there is PLENTY of outrage. There will be even more as the story becomes general knowledge.
Oh Michael - no one has to be a vegan or a vegetarian to feel much more than outrage about that kind of public acknowledgement of animal abuse! What happened to that puppy(14 months old) certainly made clear this person had no concept of how to treat or train an animal to do anything. I admit I dont have knowledge of bird hunting, but I'm pretty sure you dont take a 14 month old puppy & expect to TRAIN them at a pheasant hunt! Plus its common sense that any young dog will chase whatever runs - as in chickens! This was sheer stupidity - on top of the cruelty.
Since I've never found her qualified for any public office (certainly not dog-catcher, now) my outrage is a little dulled. But yes, I now consider her utterly vile.
There is plenty of outrage, Michael. However, I had some friends who raised goats for meat because they were not rolling in money.
Raising goats for meat is very different from killing a goat because a person thinks it is nasty, mean and smelly (Noem may not be smelly, but I think she is probably the nasty and mean one here). Goats have been meat animals for thousands of years, even if they are not commonly eaten as meat in the US. The ethics of eating meat is, of course, another story.
Agreed. We always went out to see the baby goats and tried to forget that most of them would end up in a pot.
My granddaughter worked at a farm where they raised goats for meat - the days they were trucked away were very hard for her. My kids and my grandkids are animals lovers in every sense of the word. The thought of that puppy and how she was treated will stick with me.
I could never raise animals for eating. I even apologize to my plants when I thin them.
Makes you wonder if SHE made them mean.
With the ram, I doubt it. Dog was a puppy and not mean, just puppy exuberance. My friends who had goats had to put down their ram after he knocked over my friend and could have severely injured her. And she was elderly as well.
Theres a difference between putting down an animal & bragging (thats what this was) about dragging an animal to kill it. I have to ask - considering shes the governor of a state (supposedly) why is it up to her to be the one to do the killing? Sounds like thats her thing, doesnt it?
I don't know when she did this. I haven't and wouldn't read her book....gag. Clearly she has no soul.
I live in Mexico, where hardly anyone is rolling in money. I have found my Mexican hosts to be dog and cat lovers, but pragmatists about goats, sheep, and chickens. My house is on an unpaved street in a town-within-a-city. My neighbors across the street have a little family of goats they will slaughter and eat or sell to others for food one day. They do not terrorize or abuse them while they live, which is the point of the Noem story.
I respect vegans and absolutely understand their perspective; the first world is lucky to have lots of alternatives to animal protein in their diets. It just isn't the case for most of the world.
Not all environments allow for the farming and processing of food plants in adequate quantities, so we dominant humans in the second and third worlds do what we must for our own preservation. I blame the first world for sport hunting and ivory collection, but I don't blame anyone for killing animals for food, shelter, and clothing.
Agreed. I lived in Sierra Leone for three and a half years and I was never bothered by the eating of animals as protein was scarce. We ate a lot of stew made from beef that had walked from Nigeria. This was not available to everyone. In our town, they did torment one monkey which made me sick. People here especially in middle class or above areas have no idea how the rest of the world survives or in many cases, does not. I had one great aunt who raised her two grandchildren and one grandson on virtually nothing. We visited once and there was only a box of cornflakes in the cupboard and maybe some milk, nothing else.
I think the point to draw from the Noem dog killing story is two fold:
1. Her reason for killing the dog is “I hated that dog” after the dog spoiled a hunting trip suggests that she killed a highly intelligent dog out of anger .. thoughtlessly and needlessly …. Why not call an animal rescue to take dog?
2. This suggests that killing comes easily to Noem, and her relish in describing “dragging the animal to a gravel pit” to carry out the execution really made me think of WWII death pits where people were shot because they were messing up Hitler’s plans. So Noem’s dog killing story is important because it tells us she is thoughtless (what sort of person would share such a story) and vengeful (make my life uncomfortable and you’re done).
She would not be disturbed by Palestinian deaths or Israeli deaths …. Out of sight out of mind. … Return to order. This is fascism.
Exactly. Even if she is cruel enough to kill a dog, why would she include this despicable cruelty in a book? Clearly she is proud of this behavior and assumes there are others out there who will approve.
It is hard to imagine being that thoughtless and so unaware of how awful it sounds to others, that she would write it down and claim it proudly. I shake my head at the extremes Rs will go to and how many sociopaths have bubbled to the top in that party.
Exactly! she may have miscalculated., however, taking into account the virtual universal condemnation, at least in the new world, of her behavior. As for her daughter, the lesson is, don’t make mama mad!
The word "psychopath" comes to mind. Or, as Hemingway once said about one of his wives, "She curdles my milk."
I like Proctor's remark to his wife in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible": "Oh, Elizabeth, your justice would freeze beer."
I think the motto of her party is something like "Be large and in charge." There's a delicious moment in "My Little Chickadee" starring Mae West and WC Fields. They're on a train under attack by bandits on horseback. West is shooting at the bandits through the train window and says "Can't intimidate me!" Noem is auditioning for Veep or a remake of the 1940 classic movie.
It's clumsy 'dog whistles' to "folksplain" to rural America, whom they've convinced that only 'they' can relate to / with. *Dems are very clumsy at that.
Michele, I want to make something clear to you. Benjamin Netanyahu is a fascist holding power by appeasing a fascist coalition because he understands that the premiership is the only thing standing between him and legal jeopardy. Any vote that you cast (or refrain from casting) to punish Joe Biden for his support of Israel will help our own Netanyahu - Donald Trump - to power. Please bear that in mind as you attempt to turn people against Biden. Know also, that if Trump were president right now, he would be demanding that Netanyahu mow down the Israeli protesters who want to see Netanyahu gone, but Biden is generally supportive of them.
Rich - well said. I am amazed at the numbers of people who cannot see the forest for the trees. The conflict is one that has been simmering for decades. It defies easy solutions and there are dirty hands all around. But turning voters against Biden because of the actions of Netenyahu is not just foolish but, as you point out, will help Trump return to the Presidency. That would be terrible for our country, for the Palestinians and quite frankly the rest of the world.
For the Israelis too. Even before the October 7th attacks, when Israelis were protesting Netanyahu's assault on the Supreme Court in Israel, he had cabinet ministers urging him to "order the police to break their heads."
As I see it, what happened on October 7 was a massive atrocity. What's happened since in Gaza is a massive atrocity. I've gone from supporting Israel's right to defend itself to being appalled at how little the IDF and Netanyahu's war council care about letting innocent humans in Gaza survive. Their obstructions of humanitarian aid is what's now most unconscionable, in my book.
That said, here's how I now view whom we should hold responsible:
HIGHLY RESPONSIBLE
- Hamas.
- Netanyahu.
- His war cabinet.
- They 51% of Israelis who elected those people.
- Iran.
MUCH LESS RESPONSIBLE
- The US Congress, who voted to send billions in military aid to Israel.
- Biden, for remaining supportive of Israel (with caveats) for so many months.
- All the millions of US who did nothing the last 20 or so years as Israeli settlements were built in the West Bank. (Now they house over 600,000 people).
- All the Trump & GOP & Obama people who did not force Israel to abandon those settlements.
- All of US who support Biden.
So, boiling this down to Biden being "the war criminal" is nonsensical to me. There are tens of millions of dirty hands here. Biden could do more, but he's not the main culprit.
Years ago, an Israeli described Netanyahu to a friend of mine as "our Trump." When people hide behind public office to escape personal responsibility for their actions, it's is extemely dangerous, which is why HCR's column yesterday about Supreme Court deliberations had me very agitated.
Exactly! The leadership of both sides of the Hamas/Israel conflict are sociopaths, as is tfg. Who do we want in the White House- an ally of the Israeli fascist or an advocate for peace.
Certainly not you. If the majority of Israelis and Palestinians had their way today there would be two sovereign nations and no Hamas or Netanyahu running either. Both nations felt the need for "strong men" when the U.S. was at war with Islam and Iran with Judaism. Both Israel and Palestine made the mistakes of allowing Netanyahu and Hamas run their respective countries, both of which have a right to exist in peace. But peace has eluded that region for at least 75 years when Israel became an independent state.
We all are for peace, but how to get it is much more complex than "a pox on both their houses."
You know.
What is key here is to support and vote for Biden even while protesting Netanyahu's continuing murder of Palestinians. Biden needs to show Israel that Americans deplore what he is doing in Gaza. The student demonstrations on campuses across our nation also give the Biden team more leverage for negotiations and for decreasing military support to Israel.
Thank you, Rich.
I got into an argument with someone in this group about the state of affairs in Israel/Palestine, Rich. She said I was ignorant among other insults. The fact, I believe, is that Netanyahu and Hamas are in cahoots to keep the conflict hot. Hamas wants to end Israel and seeks to paint it unfavorably in the eyes of the world to that end. Netanyahu wants to retain power and uses the generations old conflict to make him indispensable to Israel. I believe most Israelis and Palestinians prefer a two state solution which would oust both Hamas and Netanyahu.
This situation is not Biden's or America's fault. It pre-dates both. Jews and Muslims are sibling rivals (both descended from Abraham) intent on dominance of both territory and ideology. Yet both religions promote peace, as did Judaism's son, Jesus. Our role is to promote and protect the independent autonomy of both nations. We must stand against the annihilation of Israel as well as its colonialism of Palestine. In a perfect world each son of Abraham would be his brother's keeper.
Lauren, I follow Israeli news, and I think that, while I wouldn't necessarily use a word like "cahoots," enough has come out to suggest that October 7th could not have happened without some enablements from his governments. He allowed the transfer of cash from Qatar to Hamas to occur; that stopped when the unity government that did not include Likud was in power, but resumed when the Arab List left that coalition, bringing the current Netanyahu government to power. Add to that his refusal to act on intelligence indicating that the attack was imminent and his movement of troops away from the Gaza envelope prior to the attack, and it becomes very difficult not to see malfeasance there.
I would use the "sibling rivalry" argument with extreme caution, though. It is worth remembering that during Ottoman rule, the Jews and Arabs in the Levant viewed each other as friends and neighbors, but when British colonialism entered the picture, it injected a lot of antisemitic propaganda into the region to avoid being expelled by an alliance of Arabs and Jews. It was really the antipathy that the Brits sowed more than any kind of Biblical inevitability that shaped the conflict as we see it today.
You say enable, I say cahoots, Rich. Tomato/tomahto. I don't think Netanyahu works or worked directly with Hamas, but both entities are intent on keeping the conflict going and not allowing a free Palestinian state to emerge. I don't follow Israeli news with any zeal or regularity, so I'm sure you know the particulars better than me.
Or about Hamas Israeli hostages,Michele?
I’m disengaging after this Michele. I am not minimizing the excessive and over the top response. What I am saying is that Hamas started this current conflict with its heinous behavior and that should not be ignored when throwing out names like genocide, war crimes, and assessing blame. Hamas is and has always been a terrorist organization who has no respect for Muslim or Jewish life and has not helped its people who it is supposed to represent. Over and out. Have a wonderful weekend
If Biden weren't involved, it would be a lot worse.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/27/gaza-hamas-public-support-israel/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3d888c2%2F662d1c66a702ee4d203ed647%2F5f738c2fade4e27ee11a5b09%2F9%2F46%2F662d1c66a702ee4d203ed647
Until human beings find effective tools for dealing with conflict other than terrorism and war, people will continue their barbarism. As long as the death of innocents is viewed as collateral damage and not the wonton destruction of individual lives, nothing will change and leaders will resort to violence every time.
This is for votes from gun supporters.
Exactly, Craig. It’s estimated we now have more guns than people in the US !
Governor Noem was also proud her 2-yr-old granddaughter owned a gun.
⬇️
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/governor-kristi-noem-reassures-nra-audience-that-her-2-year-old-granddaughter-already-has-a-shotgun-and-rifle-the-girl-is-set-up/
And Wee 1 Tactical makes AR-15’s ( JR-15) for children !!! They took down their site after pushback but supposedly still producing.
⬇️
https://www.ammoland.com/2023/01/wee-1-tactical-jr-15-the-ar-15-for-kids/
📣
Her 2 year old grand daughter owns” a gun? Wtf??? Noem is really nuts.
Ted, got to get them inured to guns early. As the song goes, they have be carefully taught.
I wouldn’t have learned this fact about her if not for you sharing it here. So much good sharing here at LFAA.
Sickening.
Her treatment of animals is despicable; her treatment of the Native/Indigenous people in the state, particularly considering that Rosebud Reservation is one of the poorest in the nation, is beyond redemption. That anyone would vote for her is gobsmacking.
It’s no wonder so many folks born in SD end up in Minnesota.
Kathy, Noem is a perfect fit for tfg. Two disgusting wannabe humans.
DISTURBED and disgusting.
And I read elsewhere that she killed 3 horses a few weeks ago. From CNN:
" “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years. If you want more real, honest, and politically INcorrect stories that’ll have the media gasping, preorder ‘No Going Back,’” Noem posted on X, sharing a link to her book."
My first response to the book story was the her name should be Noem-pathy. My second was that if that's a story she *chose* to tell, can you imagine what she held back?
I hope these three old horses were actually "put down" by a vet and not "taken out to the gravel pit & shot" - possibly taking more than one shot to kill them! (goat)
And yeah - scary that those were the stories she "chose".
Doug, my first response to the book's title is going back is exactly what she wants to do.
First question is why anyone would purchase her book? Is she really popular enough by anyone’s standards to have an audience ? Is it self-published?
It's for an audience of *one*, and he doesn't even read.
Whoa, yes. Even scarier to think…
Kathy, the Gnome is already infamous in her misgoverning of South Dakota. The dog was probably too young to be out hunting in the first place. My hubby has many cousins in South Dakota including one who keeps track of COVID deaths and posts hilarious TikTok putdowns of the Gnome. She is now banned from four Native American lands there. Then there was her trip to Texas to have her teeth fixed. In pursuit of family values, she has had an affair. And all this doesn't come close to describing what a monster she is.
Republican “values.”
Yep. as in no decent ones.
Well, my word would be "orc", which I usually reserve for Putin's troops.
Orc.
Oh well, so much for protecting life that can't protect itself. Once again, we see that they care more about the rights of fertilized eggs than actual living beings.
Allow me to offer ‘mongrel’ as a descriptor of NoName!
Kathy, I had the same gut reaction. We know what kind of humans murder innocent animals.
There truly is no low to which some in the Republican Party will go.
This is absolutely unconscionable.
Totally agree with you, it has upset me too. It implies she definitively is very dangerous.
I agree with you Kathy. Noem sounds heartless and cruel.
I agree - anyone who lacks that degree of empathy towards animals truly is a despicable, disturbed human. I also have other words! The fact that she wrote (spoke to ghostwriter?) these stories does tell what a horrible human being she is - I feel sorry for her children!
A "weird news" day!
Actually, the got-ya last contest between the NYT and the Biden campaign is pretty funny.
Starting with spiking the Hillary campaign, the NYT has been trying to BE the news instead of reporting it. They've lost a lot of credibility over the years.
Also, Gary, compare the NYT's comments section with Heather's, or that of Substack.
The NYT typically makes one wait often hours before posting a comment -- and it totally lacks the ease of commenters contacting each other as Substack nicely affords. That pretty much underscores Biden's view, too, of the NYT as elitist by comparison.
They won't publish many of my comments -- and I'm a subscriber.
I've been paying $18 per month to my hometown newspaper, the New Castle News. Pa. Can't comment to anything. They will not publish my letter to the editor, allegedly because I don't live there:
To the editor,
As of 2020, 3,273 Lawrence County residents received SSI. I’m sure more do now. When I was calling for Biden in 2020, I found that some people didn't know they were eligible. The Republicans have tried to kill it. It's ironic that some on SSI slit their own throats.
About 20% of the general population needs a hand-up. I'm so old I remember when there was little hope -- before SSI came to the rescue in 1973. SSI gives people a chance to survive. Before age 65, it's limited to families who qualify economically and usually due to "disability" as that term is defined in the Social Security Act. The money comes from the general funds of the US, not from the two Social Security trust funds. Anyone over the age of 65 now qualifies if they are destitute and can show that have some kind of legal status.
Every dime an SSI beneficiary gets proves that John Maynard Keynes was right -- they must spend it -- causing a positive ripple effect. “Demand creates its own supply.” Those benefits go into the hands of practically every business in the county.
Dan Solomon
https://www.fieldteam6.org/actions
Once upon a time, I could comment on the Newsonline Facebook page, but Facebook wants my SSN and driver license and I won't give it to them. I'm probably the only person from the area who was a federal administrative law judge and worked with this stuff. I practiced law there before I went out in the world to seek my fortune. I've written papers on this issue that were peer reviewed. I'm a published author.
Metaphorically, they slit their own throats to support Trump/the Republican Party/and the wolves of Wall Street. The area heavily supports Trump. MAGATs control state house and senate seats unopposed for re-election. Biden policies helped. E.G. The unemployment rate is down to 5.2 % from a high of 7.9% in 2020 when Trump was president. Of course it's still higher than the rest of the country.
But other stats show it's an impoverished area. It has a premature death rate of 736.3 per 1000,000. A premature death rate (PDR) is the number of deaths under age 75 to residents of a specific population (during a specific time period) age-adjusted (using the direct method) to a standard population distribution (currently the 2000 U.S. population) and expressed as a rate per 100,000. On average for Pittsburgh, it's 379.1. US 175.
Median income per individual is $31,475, household is. $57,585. There are only 38,909 people in the civilian work force, of a population of 84,472. 22% are 65 or older. 900 people receive state public assistance.
As of June 12, 2023, there were 55,256 registered voters in Lawrence County. There were 27,370 registered Republicans, 21,263 registered Democrats, 4,574 registered non-affiliated voters, and 2,049 voters registered to other parties. In 2020, Trump got 29,597 votes. Biden 15,978.
Most of those Trump voters voted contrary to their own economic and physical health. I doubt if there are any billionaires left. They only have one newspaper that is obviously slanted. They won't publish many of my comments -- and I'm a subscriber --and that's the main reason.
Great post Daniel 🤩 Thank you!
"I'm glad there's OxyContin and video games to keep those people quiet." - Marc Andreessen (https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/index.php.)
Daniel, the other day you posted about a webinar by Focus for Democracy. I registered and watched and was amazed at the scale of what two organzations (Galvanize Action and Accelerate Action) are doing in how to reach people before the election. People were pledging "eye-popping" amounts that were being matched by someone who spoke about why he did it. I don't have those kinds of funds but it was very encouraging. It seems legit, and I'm grateful there are clever people, like our Heather, who are so dedicated to democracy and making a difference!
Thanks. The funds go directly to the organizations involved.
I'm sure they increase their results by partnering with FT6. Galvanize does. I asked Accelerate Action. They are a media group that reaches about 45% of women age 45 and younger. The FT6 device, Voterizer, can register someone immediately in some states,
https://www.fieldteam6.org/voterizer
Daniel, doing my small part by postcarding for FT6 for the first time (NC campaign). Thank you for all your valuable information.
It was very impressive!
Dan - I realize this is a NY journalist but I thought you might be interested in his posts - he is in another district but sure does what journalists used to do! Take a look. I think you will enjoy his take plus all his local news.
Well - possibly you might like the link, right??? I guess I really DO need a second cup of coffee!
https://kentingley.substack.com/p/bonus-new-legislation-hopes-to-stop?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=284971&post_id=144051588&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=b9ign&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Lol Maggie; adore your honesty.
They also refused to accept a comment of mine because it was sharply critical of their latest Times/Sienna poll.
I stopped subscribing. I will miss my recipe book, but nothing else. F 'em.
I dropped my subscription last week. I sort of miss my recipe book but lately the new recipes have not been anything I would cook or eat even if I could get the ingredients in my little rural upper midwest town. I miss the Spelling Bee and the Friday news quiz, but not really anything else.
I follow (and financially support) NPR, the Week, the Guardian, and Bridge Michigan. I'm still looking for a balanced, non-sensational, source for general news headlines. Any one have some suggestions?
Hi Shirley. I noticed on your profile that you are in or from the U.P. of Mi. I love that area ! For regular TV broadcasts, I've been favoring Scripps stations - channel 5 here. For news to read, I've been reading ProPublica > propublica.org and Axios > axios.com
Those have all seemed to be the least hyperbolic and sensational so far. There are more I follow, including The Guardian and NPR for instance. Hope that helps. *I'll add, like another herein did, that your local library, or county library should have online links to the library where you can read for free publications they subscribe to. Librarians can help you with the linking, etc.
Try the game BLOSSOM through the merriam-webster website. It is a variation of Spelling Bee. Also, you might try Huff Post for news.
Thank you for BLOSSOM! What an interesting game.
Trae Crowder, Liberal Redneck, recommends Ground News as a source for articles across the spectrum, but with information as to their perception of transparency and bias of the article. Ground.news. It looks interesting to me. and if you want to listen to the Liberal Redneck's take, check out his recent youtube video on trampler's trial, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MLnVU-P-us, at 3:12. I love the Liberal Redneck.
Actually, I get a good distillation of what's important in the news - as well as, frequently, a historical perspective on these events - from reading Heather's posts.
I quit my NYT subscription a couple years ago when I realized that if they somehow published something half way decent, someone on this site would gift the article to us. Thank you fellow commenters!!
I am able to access the recipes at no cost through my library's participation in LIBBY. Check yours out to see if they have a subscription.
You can subscribe to the recipe book separately, I have several friends who do that.
The only way to affect change is to CANCEL your subscription.
Phil, in recent days, two comments that I made about two different articles in the NY Times were accepted within 10 minutes. Time of acceptance may vary according to how busy one column may be over another. The newspaper does monitor according to its terms of usage for the comments section. No such monitoring system works on LFAA, while subscribers may report a comment on an automated system. Acceptance by the Washington Post is immediate because it does not monitor comments, although complaints about a comment may be made by readers.
I’ve subscribed to the NYT for 25 years and frequently post comments. I’ve written criticisms of the Times unfair coverage of Biden, and those comments never get posted. I’m on the verge of canceling and subscribing to Apple News. Trying out their 3 month free subscription now.
Gary, I fully agree. I don't blame the Biden team for turning down the interview. The NYT has done a terrible job of covering the important work that Biden has done. Instead they prefer to advance Trump by keeping him constantly in their headlines. They should read Heather's letters and find out about the relevant news that they should be printing!
Not only have they kept Trump prominent, they have consistently normalized his outrageous, aberrant, and abhorrent behavior while leaning heavily on the idea that Biden is too old for the Presidency and personally unpopular.
Well - yeah! They want the interview so THEY can "judge his age issues" Really? How arrogant is that? Talk about elitist!
I believe they are using a business model that caters to business, money, and marketing. Until they put Trump and his trials and tribulations on the back page and Biden’s many accomplishments to improve the lives or millions of Americans and not just the portfolios of the wealthy, they will continue to be viewed as elitist. That’s sad but that’s why I’m so grateful for Substack.
I agree. There’s been no evenness re: Biden and Trump. They always soft pedal Trump. I subscribe too....and re: Kristy Noem, she is despicable. I don’t like her. She’s blaming the liberal fake news btw....I cannot stand people that abuse animals.
‘I read it int the Times’! Means no big deal to me! They have lost their way in the daily fight to preserve our experiment with Democracy!
Power corrupts
They've been thumbing that scale for a LONG time. Hunter Thompson wrote about their Republican leanings in the 1970's. That it has become a matter of personal pique beyond policy concerns is just icing on the rotten cake.
I find many days now where there is absolutely nothing of interest to read in the NYT.
The headlines alone are enough to put me off.
Sorry to see a once great news organization fade to irrelevance.
They say they’re not. But … if the story is accurate, we see they are …
They are the instrument of the DNC. Both are undemocratic
Oh... right. What color is the sky on your planet?
Neil Young was right in his song - After the Goldrush
Trump is clearly planning to steal the election in the courts. And a majority of the Supreme Court, when hearing the arguments about Presidential immunity, clearly indicated they will help him. We must do everything we can to provide Biden with an unassailable margin of victory, or 2024 will make 2000 seem tame.
Heather does her best today, "EcstaticRationalist," to underscore your positive hopes.
All the first half of hers celebrates advantages, strengths, Dems currently have. And the second half pairs that with Republican missteps.
So I'm glad you return, yourself, to the ugliness now on display all the more from the Clarence court. They're dangerous. Openly doing the bidding of the billionaire classes and all corrupted Republicans eager also to do their bidding.
I'm scared, too. Grateful for the positive from Dems, from Heather, but fearful at those among us who underestimate evil. (Here, I'm thinking of Max Wyman's "The Compassionate Imagination: How the arts are central to a functioning democracy." Much positive in it, but never a mention of the Powell memo, or any of its ensuing far-right foundations active in implementing its evils.)
Why do you disregard the undemocratic nature of the DNC? Is making rules like denying opponents the ability to campaign in New Hampshire before Biden did ok with you?Is suppressing information contrary to taking the Covid vaccine ok with you?Is catering to military contractors ok with you?
I don't see Phil's comment as disregarding the DNC's issues at all. By the way, what's the obsession with NH's primary? NH's dogged insistence on having the first primary as a very small, demographically heterogenous state is ludicrous. There is no real opposition to Biden within the party, anyway. There is disagreement on issues but nobody in their right mind would prefer Trump's approach to any of those issues. Are you a Republican or just an eternally bitter Bernie Bro?
I’m an independent, for the environment, for truth about vaccine risks, for getting corporate control away from my government.
You're a science denier and believer in fabulists, then. RFK is a crank who can't even win support in his own family.
You won’t get any of that if Republicans win. That’s like giving up a dollar for a shiny penny.
I won’t get it if Biden wins either, I can’t keep replying to people because I will be acussed of taking up too much oxygen
Are you aware of the risks of not being vaccinated? For example the measles outbreaks in recent news, caused by parents who have been made to fear vaccinating their kids. In my pre-vaccine childhood, measles was scary, as it could cause encephalitis or pneumonia and even prove fatal.
Yes I’m aware of the risks of not being vaccinated and the effects on other people. What I’m saying is that the government should tell us about all the risks, not just the ones favorable to being vaccinated.Scientists who disagree with what the government wants should not be censored.
The DNC is a private organization. It can be as “undemocratic” as it wants.
And it certainly is undemocratic, Tammany Hall all over again
And by coincidence, Beau of the Fifth Column had this to say today about Biden, trampler, and RFKJr: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tugdv1O7Oj8&list=TLPQMjcwNDIwMjT6YUV7t-3avQ&index=8
Is there a petition around to remove Clarence (and thereby Ginni) from the Supreme Court? Care to speculate how many would sign?
Just fantasizing over coffee . . .
Do you know that John Oliver, on his show "Last Week Tonight", offered Thomas $1,000,000/year plus a new luxury recreational vehicle to retire? Thomas never responded as far as I know. If you want to spend time with informative satire, Oliver's episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-VJrdHMug
Yes!
Over a million signatures:
https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/clarence-thomas-must-go?after_action=sss
Under 200,000:
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-impeach-justice-clarence-thomas
https://act.womensmarch.com/sign/impeach-clarence-thomas-/?
Just over 4,000:
https://www.change.org/p/impeach-justice-clarence-thomas
Oh my, you are a god send! Signing and forwarding to friends!!
Move on petition great but I cannot give a mobile number so it’s moot.
I didn’t and it went through
I just make one up like 0000000000 and it accepts it
I signed the women's march petition. They already have my info, so I won't have an additional fundseeker filling up my phone and inbox.
And still Heather will not address Project 2025:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025 Nor will Farron Cousins, Or other pundits I follow. I am curious at who is stopping them. This has it all: Horrible Stephen Bannon, horrible Stephem Miller, Horrible Ginni, and more I don't know. Spread the word. Ask the Magats why they want a dictatorship. I still want someone to find the lawn sign for me Top line Red for "Dictatorship" Bottom line Blue for "Democracy"
Eva, Dr. Richardson has discussed Project 2025. Repeatedly.
1. Heather has talked about Project 2025. This is where I learned about it.
2. With your yard sign, I'd suggest blue democracy over red dictatorship. Check with local printing companies. I have several here in the Eugene/Springfield area that will make one-off signs, or even a batch if you want to share them with friends. Look in your local area for print shops, graphic design shops, etc.
Staples does these and they hold up well--years outside, in my experience.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat has discussed it
Put democracy on top of
I see it discussed repeatedly in articles in my newsfeed.
As being from a generation traumatized by Ole Yeller, I ask: “What did Gov. Noem hope to accomplish with this admission?”
Maybe she thought, Trump doesn’t like dogs, this will please him. Or perhaps she was trying to appeal to the “kill puppies” contingent?
Her antics are a doggone shame.
Trump hates dogs.
Well, I already had plenty of reasons to want him off my planet, but that just beats all.
Anecdotally, that meme works, especially at dog parks.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/05/opinion/trump-military-dog.html
Trump has said that having pets is “low class.” At one point he expressed disappointment that Pence had pets. 2/3rds of American households have pets (or vice versa).
Try it on animal charity web sites.
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/trump-hates-dogs
Defendant Donny doesn't like pets because it means you have to *care* for them, and he doesn't care about any other living thing but himself.
They probably don’t like him either……seriously.
Dogs (and cats, and horses and even parakeets) KNOW.
The ONLY sentient beings that DON'T know are MAGAts. God knows why. And let us not forget how the American Bald Eagle reacts to trampler. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7_OWYrLVOU
Schedule a debate and fill the room with dogs. I truly believe mine would have teeth bared. They do know .❤️
Keith Olbermann did a couple of episodes on his YouTube show about Trump's relationship with dogs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8xKAYLXbYA
Whoa!!! Good on Keith Olbermann!
Thank You. Sending to my trump-loving dog-loving friends.
I’m always a little suspicious of people who don’t have pets (unless personal circumstances don’t allow it). And I can’t relate to anyone who doesn’t like animals.
Ouch!
Tfg's tough guy appeal is stronger to people already inclined in his direction when he gives them permission to be their lowest selves openly. The media lets him get away with it which appears to be another layer of permission along with social media opening up space for egos and ids everywhere. And there is little clash between their lower selves and any claimed religious stance when a great many churches have disinclined their moral role. It could be that people feel backed up by just claiming their religion when that religion no longer sets the tone of demanding actual moral behavior. And I do mean moral as we now understand it's evolving to incorporate all of humanity no matter what identity. But the tough guy identity approach appears to be a dying remnant of patriarchal stereotypes from so many bygone eras. Some people just don't want to make the shift to the various forms of equality that democracy embraces and supports; as if democracy itself were a personal threat to them. In reality they are run by all sorts of fears, fears of losing all sorts of things many of which are imaginary.
So no amount of meanness has apparently yet been reached by these small spirited fearfuls.
I really feel that so many of these people frightened by their imaginations have never lived in diversity with people who are all different and unique. People fear what they don't know. Republicans exploit these fears to create hatred and division. People already prone to violence and hatred feel justified to reveal their real selves. No more hiding these socially and morally unacceptable behaviors. trump and MAGA haven't just lowered the bar, they've thrown the bar away.
If you Google tribalism you can find a lot of cues and clues for some kind of understanding about the closed in quality that people rely on for a sense of safety in what they feel to be an unsafe world beyond their capabilities perhaps to handle. Fear itself is such a powerful motivation that however much it is grasped and understood or not can take somebody in very different directions. It's probably mostly true that a lack of social experience including whatever form education comes in, and combined with persistent drumbeats of furious incitement to defense and then to offense, both very tribal behaviors, train and habituate people's reactions to what they fear, including of course the fear of any change itself that might actually help in overcoming the fears. The grip of fear can insulate a mind from the very education and experience that could alleviate it. This grip is working on so many people who are not dealing with facts, with reason, not calling on the very faculties that we are born with to do so.
Thank you. I will Google tribalism. I really should have studied sociology and/or psychology in my younger years. I'm fascinated by people and why they think the way they do.
So, as our sage, R. Hillel says "If not now, when?"
:-)
Well... I have a high school education and never went to college. I could go now, but to be honest, it's quite expensive and I don't want to be paying student loans til I die.
Yes! "Tfg's tough guy appeal is stronger to people already inclined in his direction when he gives them permission to be their lowest selves openly."
Worse, it's all a lie. There is plenty of evidence that Trump, while a bully, has little or no personal courage.
Mary Trump has confirmed that.
I'm sure many of those who love him were messed up by their parents, just as he was.
Very likely, as were lots of people who vote Democratic etc Reminds me of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story song that contains the phrase "Gee, Officer Krupsky.....
Nobody wants a fella with a social disease...."
“that in her forthcoming book..”. What you wanna bet that that those nasty stories about her shooting animals magically disappear when the book is published?
The launch date is May 7 so it's been printed and distributed to stores awaiting the signal to display it or ship online orders. It's her job application for Trump's VP as she knows that he hates dogs and loves violence.
Wouldn't surprise me in the least, but it might be too late. Or so I hope and pray.
Or maybe she just wanted to play a unique pro-life riff to her audience.
Or perhaps: “when beings don’t behave how I want them to, I just execute them”. Fascists are gonna do fascism.
I wonder if she threw any animals off the bridge as a kid?
Psychopath comes to mind
This right here. Not everyone who harms animals graduates to harming people, but a lot of them do. And a lot of people know that -- across the political spectrum.
Herb—maybe, “We don’t need no stinking government, just a shotgun to solve our problems!” If I were an elderly relative, I’d worry <sarcasm>.
Idiocy may explain her actions!
Killing an adolescent dog or a goat says far more about the person doing the killing than the unfortunate animal. An un-trainable dog likely has an un-trainable trainer. Goats are what they are; if you find you don't like a goat, find someone who understands them and give it away. I find nothing whatsoever admirable about a person who can pull the trigger on an animal simply because they don't like it.
Modern "Republicans" court those who seem to see violence as a primary tool for shaping human behavior to their liking. Maybe I'm wrong, but everything I see points to it, including the violence of the Jan. 6th crowd, now hailed as heroes by Trump and the RNC. From what I have seen personally, varying degrees of child and spousal abuse appears to follow from this mindset, along with governmental abuses of power.
And yes, from what I have seen, exceptionally unruly dogs are typically a product of inadequate training, and yes these event surely do say far more about about Noem than the trainability of the animals. I suspect that Noem's hatred of there animals was triggered by what they revealed about the inadequacy of her stewardship. It's seems a case of narcissistic vengeance that should be seen as a deal-breaker for anyone occupying or seeking governmental powers over others.
They’re bullies. Bullies bully. My way or the guillotine, no highway!
I was reminded of a poster I saw in Canada of a photo of Stephen Harper, who was Canada's version of a modern "Republican" emblazoned with the words "Just Say No To Bullies".
Often saying "no" is not enough, but it's essential, and voting is a prime way to do so. There are always creeps who what to get their way by abusing power, whether it bullies in a schoolyard or Elon Musk abusing the power of money. Political corruption is abuse of power. Assault is abuse of power. War is abuse of power. I'm not complete pacifist; I believe that the aggressions of Hitler had to be met with violence; but even measured violence is like chemotherapy which can save lives yet can wreak havoc. Not something to treat lightly.
Nice allegory with chemo fighting cancer. 🤩 Zelensky knows well that simply rolling over for Putin won’t save lives. It’s why democracy has proven to be the most peaceful form of governing thru the ages.
The biggest hurdle to world peace is figuring out how to keep people from giving power away to the bullies. I maintain we need user manuals to our most precious organ, the brain, starting at age two!!!
Only a truly despicable ammo-sexual scumwad could look at this story with anything other than revulsion.
Personally I find much that is despicable on a person who can pull the trigger on an animal unfortunate enough to have belonged to a bottom-dwelling scumsucker such as Noem.
Obviously, #45 has shown that he is what can only be described as an "un-trainable human" .., what would Kristi Noem do? A trip to the "gravelpit" perhaps? Emphasis on "grave" in "grave-el-pit". Rock on Ms Paladin! baabaabbooom! Game over (finally).
Exactly!! Not a wise choice for one’s “1 heartbeat away” VP 🙄
I have read books by Kurt Anderson. I definitely have ambivalence about his judgement. Also, as a several years NY Times digital subscriber, I have of late become more skeptical. Within the last week they published an essay by Mike Pence in which he again stated the fabrication about abortion up to term as something that happens and is supported by Democrats. As a retired physician and obstetric provider, I assert there is no such thing. Every viable infant receives complete life support, except in cases of fatal defects when parents choose only comfort care. Deliberate killing would be infanticide, punishable everywhere, as well as beneath medical ethics. For the NY Times to allow Pence's lie is quite inexcusable and certainly in the same editorial failure universe as Tom Cotton's fascist piece.
And as I understand it, almost all abortions after 21 or so weeks involve an emergency either to the mother or the fetus. Not what one could reasonably call a casual decision.
Spot on Scott 👍
"Trump insisted to the former RNC chair that he did not need the RNC to work on turning out voters. He wanted the RNC to prioritize 'election integrity' efforts."
Why would tfg need to concentrate on Voters when he knows he has ZERO chance of winning the election without Cheating??
A man whose absolute goals (to stay out of prison) that depends on winning an election, who's uninterested in acquiring voter turnout, already has something up his sleeve, and it's not good for America.
I am of the same mind. Trump is willing to sacrifice America - burn it all down - to get his way. That is what I see in the coming months. The battle will be tough; how will the current administration handle another insurrection? Is this “the test” SCOTUS wants to see, so they can identify whether what Trump did four years earlier was not criminal?
Biden, being the POTUS currently in power, and perhaps will soon be blessed with an immunity from crimes by SCOTUS, diminishes the worry from insurrection.
Propaganda and voter suppression is a far greater concern.
“Christian fundamentalist nationalists in the senior ranks of the military, see Trump as an instrument of God’s plan to create an authoritarian Christian state. The military allows active proselytizing and recruitment of soldiers, contrary to the constitutional separation of church and state. Many of these officers and soldiers were involved in the events leading up to and on Jan 6th, which has been described as an attempted coup. Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news“
https://theanalysis.news/powerful-christian-nationalists-in-military-see-trump-as-vehicle-for-authoritarian-religious-state-mikey-weinstein/
This is why they don’t want to make the wrong decision until the “right guy” is POTUS. What happens when Biden wins, and Trump continues to say he was robbed. Will taking a second term Biden wins be considered unconstitutional? The shitshow SCOTUS is setting up is nothing short of dangerous.
If we turn out a tsunami of voters for Democrats up and down he ballot we can still keep the criminals from stealing our democracy! 🇺🇸🌊🗳️💪🏼
I truly believe that Rs will lose a lot more than the presidency, mainly because of the lack of money, but one never knows. Push onward till Election Day.
Thanks for the link. Stunning statistics and examples.
A very long but important read.
In the Trumpoverse, only one thing counts.
Who more than self his country loved? Not a scintilla.
"Winning" JL. At any cost / price. "Any and all" means justifies their 'righteous' ends, to win.
That de-emophasis on down ballot races suggests an underying strategy of taking office with a narrow and disputable electoral college win and then taking quick executive action to block any attempts from the House and Senate to apply checks/balances/impeachment. Trump wants "election monitoring" by the RNC to provide rationale and "evidence" to invalidate any election loss. After that, kiss the Constitution good-bye.
Which is why we need nonpartisan election monitoring to step up big time in this election. Not just for women and a prodemocracy organization. The more the better.
https://www.lwv.org/
Dictator from day one.
He’s concentrating on voter suppression, particularly people of color and young voters. And whatever MAGA finds (or even doesn’t find) is fuel for the next insurrection.
Well stated.
The "Ministry of Truth" wanted the RNC to prioritize 'election integrity' efforts."
The NY Times has demonstrated a criminal lack of self awareness regarding the context in which it reports election related news since at least the 2016 election. I say “self awareness” because I don’t think it’s malicious in its intent. I think it’s a product of ignorance… of “smartest man in the room” syndrome … which makes it intellectually blind.
We are at war with fascism and the NYT cannot believe such a thing is possible in America. And you cannot report on something you don’t think is real. Professor Jay Rosen of NYU’s journalism school has written about this intellectual blindness throughout the journalism profession since Trump won in 2016. I urge people to follow him on social media.
I regret that I had but one subscription to the NYT to cancel for my country
The only thing good about the NYTimes is Wordle and you don’t need to subscribe 😝
Well done.
Writer Kurt Andersen described it as a “*Total* softball interview, mostly about his personal life—but lovely, sweet, human, and Biden was terrific, consistently clear, detailed, charming, moving. Which was the point. SO much better than his opponent could do.”
In Kurt Andersen's "Fantasyland" he details how he has never hated anyone before now. This thinly veiled slam was aimed at Trump. I share his loathing and Trump is really the only person I truly hate. He turned a party and many of it's most caring politicians into a party of hate, cruelty and patriarchy.
As a side note, Kurt graduated from Westside High School in Omaha in 1972 and Ginni Thomas in 1976. Unsurprisingly Kurt was the editor of the school paper and the year book and Ginni was a member of the Young Republicans club.
I say this to people all the time: "I hate that I hate, but never have I hated anything more than I hate trump."
Welp.. #45 certainly qualifies as a 'hate-able' person. Seems like quite a number of people feel that way. Despicable, does it for me.
Unfortunately many of his closest associates and supporters are eminently hateful and some are "hateable". I'm thinking Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon, Chesebro, Eastman, Clark, Empty Greene, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Huckabee-Sanders, K-A Conway....the list goes on and on. It extends to a couple of members of the Stench Court and to several bad faith Senators and outwards into the billionaire donor's "old boy clubs" and the Federalist Society (Len Leo in particular) and the Heritage Foundation are two of many hate-filled institutions. This country has become infected with fascism and is suffering from fevers of fear, hate and anger.
I attended a discussion between Kurt Andersen and Lawrence O’Donnell at the 2024 New Orleans Book Festival (HCR was also a speaker) and I came away from that with a deeper admiration for both men and their analysis as to how we got to where we are today in the politics of our nation. Since the Festival has its own You Tube channel I am sure it is available if you are interested.
Thanks Connie, I will definitely check it out.
Kurt had several pictures in my 1971 & 1972 yearbooks. He never smiled once in any of them.
That is so cool that you went to that Festival. Sounds like some really good speakers.
Here's one link > https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGYZiPjWHja4F9UGVSiaTEw-PaM4vm-RX
Thanks. D4N. I shared it in today's conversation.
Here's one link > https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGYZiPjWHja4F9UGVSiaTEw-PaM4vm-RX
Dan - thanks for the link. The book festival (year 3) was an amazing two days. It is spearheaded by Walter Isaacson and as you can see from the lineup there was no shortage of intellectual stimulation! I was able to catch two of HCR’s presentations and chatted with her at her book signing. Save the date for 2025 (March 27-29) and you will not be disappointed.
Oh wow ! I am so very envious... You actually got to speak with her ?! How very marvelous for you Connie ! In the past, I have playfully teased Dani Smart for being "teacher's pet," as she's always recognized. *(I do so hope she takes it as silly teasing...) Can I now pick on you too ? LOL ! Do you reside near N.O. ? It's definitely on my 'bucket list.' Did you get to listen to Liz Cheney ? She is somewhat interesting to me - from a, "I wonder who she really is" kind of way. Know what I mean ?
Dan - no I didn’t hear Cheney but people who did were really impressed. The biggest problem with the festival it that it is like a huge desert table and you have to pick and choose which presentations to attend. And I’ve never been a “teacher pet” but bantering between friends (even online ones) can brighten one’s spirit.
My husband is a native New Orleanian and we have a vacation home on the Mississippi gulf coast. New Orleans is about 50 miles west and an hours’ drive. We are here now as this weekend and next is JazzFest! Another wealth of riches and deserts from the Big Easy!
I recently discovered The Atlantic and have been reading it quite thoroughly. It seems highly factual, well written and deeply informative. I’ve given NYT the boot.
Thank you for that suggestion. I think the big challenge for the Times was when things went digital and they lost a lot of advertising. There was a lot of shuffling, and a big reorg. The revenue stream must look very different. Note that the masthead has dozens of names whereas before there were very few. It's very corporate now, and I suspect it effects the news.
I’ve read the NYT niw makes a lot of money from digital subscribers who pay so they can play online games like Wordall (sp?)
Once again I point to Friedman's "The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits." and former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/leslie-moonves-donald-trump-may-871464/
If she were any sort of human she wouldn’t have done it in the first place. I hope South Dakotans throw her into a proverbial gravel pit.
Between this woman’s shilling for a cosmetic dentist in Texas (apparently dissing those of her own state, but then maybe they would not have given her a freebie) and shooting defenseless animals because of her own inadequacies she is clearly appealing to tfg’s finer appetites. It is utterly astonishing to me that anyone would think she is right for the job of VP or governor of any state. Despicable and disturbed indeed.
I'm guessing she's toast even in South Dakota.
It would be nice, but I'm afraid there are too many South Dakotans who are going to read this, chuckle, and think: 'Been there, dun that."
Here's hoping!
How would someone like that respond to a misbehaviong child?
Ask CPS
boy, for way too long We the People have been blasted with the biased non-news produced by the Fox Propaganda machine... all along the way one hoped, and trusted, the "real" media outlets would offer up only the true information we all need and depend on. But now? All I can say is I'm glad I'm not a subscriber of the New York Times. Ha!... for 150 years the Times boasted, "All the News That's Fit to Print" but apparently only if it pleased the publisher. And after hearing about the workings of the National Enquirer... one has to wonder if the Goodnewspaper is still available. Really I will continue to watch the PBS News hour for my news. For shame, New York Times!
PBS NewsHour last night was an example of balanced and powerful reporting. Two stories. One on what Passover was like for those family members of the hostages as well as an entire town in the North - evacuated because of Hezbollah. And the next story was about Gaza and its horrors.
I get the news here and from other substacks like Joyce Vance and Hubbell, then the Guardian and a variety of press services. Just adjust your Google News feed to sources you trust. And then we cap it with the NewsHour which has a terrific team of journalists committed to fact finding and presenting all sides possible of a given subject. Highly recommend. And it's available on Youtube and streaming directly. No cable required.
What is intereting to me are my morning news feeds.... as an American expat living in Queensland, AU with a history of being a retired journalist with political leanings my almost daily news comes from a wide array of sources... PBS, BBC, CNA (Singapore international news) and a couple others... New York Times is not one of the list, but I do peek at the Oregonian once in a while. And YouTube is overloaded with updates on trumpy's problems. Inundated for sure. Be happy and stay healthy, Bill
I love to watch FreeSpeechTV......you can stream it on line. True, there are some crazies that call in, but Thom Hartman has a good, informative program, and I think he even has Bernie Sanders on it once a week. You should check him out.
While cuts in funding to PBS through federal programs are being promoted. PBS is under attack for partisan programming content.
PBS isn’t much better. You might want to try watching podcast interviews for truth
John, how does one know which individual Podcaster to believe? I personally prefer to subscribe to several publications and filter out the biases and noise myself.
I listen to a variety of podcast interviews of RFKJR, some interviews for and some against. This way I hear directly from him
That's more than I did about one specific issue. How did he sound to you?
Perhaps Governor Noem’s problems with her dog and the goat arose from how they were treated, rather than from the animals themselves. One wonders if Mr. Noem sleeps with one eye open, and avoids gravel pits.
Dogs need months of training to behave appropriately in high distraction situations. We are training an eager-to-please one year old pup now, and have a way to go. At least at this point, I would never consider exposing her to the situations Noem described.
A by marriage relative bought a trained police dog that proved unsuitable for police work. The police didn't shoot it but sold it. It became a skilled search and rescue dog.
Sounds like a mature, positive way of treating animals.
I have been a New York Times reader for about 82 or 83 years (from 1940 or 1941). For many years (with some exceptions) it lived up to its mast head (“All the news that’s fit to print.”)
Often I found its articles overly lengthy. Early on I preferred The Guardian, The London Times, The Financial Times, and The Economist, for crisp and succinct brevity. The American Section of The Economist I have found normally excellent, though it fumbled on Vietnam and theBush/Cheney/ Rumsfeld 2003 Iraqi war.
In recent years I have relied less and less on the NYT as a primary news source. Its opinion writers vary from excellent (Paul Krugman and Nicholas Kristoff rank among my personal favorites) to forgettable.
What I find most notable, since Biden became president, is the apparent misbalance in reporting on Biden and Trump. My impression is that Biden’s age and malopropisms are highlighted far more than Trump’s monumental mishaps.
Any balanced journalist reporting should leave the reader with the clear factual impression regarding physical and mental competence, accomplishments while president, and core commitment to the interests of the United States and the great majority of its citizens that Biden runs circles around False Fact Trump.
I can’t judge the extent that the senior editors of the New York Times are having a hissy fit with the Biden White House. Meanwhile, I find more credible, for daily political news, The Guardian, The Economist, Heather, Joyce Vance, and The Atlantic.
Since Sulzberger thinks Biden needs to do an interview with a newspaper “like” the NYT, I suggest he offer one to the WP or the Guardian. Or any of the others you mention, Keith, but an American one would be best.
Ditto Keith. I like Scripps TV news broadcasts as well. Add to that for reading, Iike ProPublica and Axios.
Dan I contribute to ProPublica whose investigative reporting I find excellent.
I had the impression that the mainstream "press" was far more engaged in saying what needed to be said pre-Reagan. Woodward and Bernstein, for example. I stopped watching TV news in the run up to the Bush II Iraq war since it just seemed like war cheerleading to me, while the Guardian was reporting stuff that turned out to be true. In-bedded reporting was mostly useless.
Biden's age is not irrelevant as the chance of a health crisis for we "seniors" statistically rises, but while I don't think Biden has always made the right choices, he continues to display verifiable competence, and Biden vs Trump is patently an apples to "road apples" contrast by any empirical standard. The press noted that Ronald Reagan was frequently (and troublingly) confused throughout his presidency, but somehow found it charming; "The Great Communicator".
It’s interesting that both Gov. Noem and tRump can easily be considered smelly and unruly.
tRump. Love it!
Thank you, Heather.
What South Dakota governor Kristi Noem did to that poor dog and goat, in my way of thinking is more of a moral disqualifier than Trump and his Hollywood Access interview and affair with Stormy Daniels. Much more disturbing...but this is the MAGA Twilight Zone after all..
"Those who show kindness and compassion towards animals often reveal the depth of their character. Cruelty towards these creatures reflects a deficiency in empathy and morality, casting doubt on one's claim to goodness." - Unknown
Both are malign. Trump is a one-man crime wave.
Odd how badly this sits with me - this wanna be vp’s story. yes 🙌 the other side are dogs and goats…. smelly and unruly. Thanks for sharing these atrocities as well as the wonderfully very positive news around town 🙏
Smelliness and unruliness might well be a index of how well the animals were cared for.
Yes 🙌 same for the ornery people…
Noem is barbaric and ruthless to kill a puppy and a goat. For her to brag about it and be proud of what she done , is completely wrong. She should of been reported for killing an innocent puppy and the goat. Here in California, that is considered a felony. She is definitely sick and mentally unstable.
Nebraska's former governor Pete Rickett's who looks a lot like FL Senator Rick Scott and is just as deplorable, went into a restaurant in Papillion without a mask. In fact, his entire party were not wearing masks. This was on Election Day 2020.
A server who filmed a viral video of Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) posing for a photo while not wearing a mask at a restaurant was fired this week.
Karina Montanez, a 25-year-old single mother, was fired from her job at an Omaha-based sports bar and restaurant called DJ’s Dugout after posting a video of Ricketts dining with a group of maskless patrons on Election Day, The Washington Post reported.
He made no apology for not wearing a state mandated mask or from getting the young lady fired.
Who's the bigger scumbag -- Ricketts or Noem?
And THAT is the kind of "contest" Republicans are trying to turn life into!
"who looks a lot like FL Senator Rick Scott and is just as deplorable,"
Ouch!
"Who's the bigger scumbag -- Ricketts or Noem?"
Scumbags in their own ways? Bigly?
Their is absolutely no justification for their behavior. They have no remorse for people or animals. Both belong in the jungle. Your point is valid and I agree!
Helping King of Con Don by distracting the people away from all his bad publicity.
Goats are sometimes killed for meat, but in this case, for meanness.