Every chance they get, modern-day Republicans will invent new ways to strip us of the value of our vote. Case in point:
This week in Ohio, there is a Special Issue-Based Election that will change the rules by which the people can change the state Constitution, because there is a ballot initiative in November to protect abortion rights in the state Constitution, thereby spoiling their 6-week abortion ban. This is the same state legislature who banned August Special Elections, because it was too difficult to get voters to the polls; but they made this last exception. Why? Well the measure changes the threshold to pass a ballot initiative from a simple 50%+1 to 60%, which is statistically improbable, given ballot initiatives of the last 20 years, (none have passed 59% majority). So now, approximately 25% of Ohio’s voting population is going to make all Ohioans pay by closing the door of democracy in their state.
We all must vote - in every election, for every candidate, and for every ballot initiative and ballot question, without fail. The trixters lie in wait, to catch us sleeping.
According to Vote Forward, more than 275,000 letters were sent to Ohio voters for tomorrow's election. I managed 200 and plan to do at least that many for the November vote.
As I understand it, the vote in November is about the abortion rights for Ohio.
Tomorrow's election: "Ohio will hold a special election on August 8 to determine if the threshold for amending the state's constitution should be raised. If passed, Issue 1 would raise the threshold for passing future constitutional changes from a simple majority, as it's been for more than a century, to 60%." Obviously, it would be hard to attain 60% as opposed to 51%.
So yes, if Issue 1 is passed, Ohio will have to work harder to have their abortion rights initiative passed.
Great! Sending postal cards is today's replacement for knocking on doors. Nationally, check this out at activateamerica.vote where some address lists are available for selected elections and there are local sources of addresses as well.
It’s probably too late to send postcards unless you live in OH, but there are also phone banks and text chains you can join.
If you join a postcard club, they will keep you busy all year with special elections and the lesser-known elections of consequence. These wonderful volunteers keep the spotlight on elections that most Republicans want voters to ignore.
kdsherpa, there are phone banks going on today and tomorrow to reach out to OH voters to get out the vote. Here's a link to signup for one with the DNC. You'll get training on the dialer and on the campaign itself. It's a great dialer too - very easy to use. We've been phone banking in OH and will continue today and tomorrow. Hope to see you there!
Vote Forward votefwd.org is for letters to voters. VF provides letter templates to which the sender adds a sentence or two plus salutation & signature (first name and initial), then addresses the envelope. You can opt for 5 or 20 addressees. I found that far easier than postcards which cramp my hand writing several sentences on half of a postcard.
Postcards to Voters postcardstovoters.org/ is one of several sources for names & messages for sending postcard. My experience from early this year was that they provide 50 addressees at a time.
Lynell, do you know if anyone is running postcards campaigns in favor of Ted Cruz's opponents? A couple of friends want to do that, one current Texan and one former Texan, and so far, I'm not finding anything. It looks like their best bet is to contact the opponent's campaign directly.
That is an excellent point. We need to make it clear to ALL minorities - YOU MUST VOTE DEMOCRATIC. Whatever your concerns and grievances are, they will only be made worse and never cured by a Republican-controlled government. This is our "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" moment. If we don't walk away with a victory againt Trump and Trumpism, Democracy will be left lying in the dust. It can't get more serious than this. We desperately need to recognize this.
OUR LORD !, Had John, in the Right Place !. AND, The RIGHT TIME ! , . When His " FAMOUS THUMB ! .............Swung, ! , DOWNWARD " . BRAVO ! , For Our TRUE !, VETERANS !! ( PS ! HE'S An "ON TIME !" . GOD ! , ........Yes !, HE IS ! )
The usual turnout for August elections is 7%. That’s why they were made illegal. Most people don’t turn out for special elections, and the first 3 weeks of August is a stretch when people go on summer vacations. Please, find a phone bank to call Democrats with today or even tomorrow, even if you can only spare an hour! Go to mobilize.com and they’ll show you what’s available.
Not all states have early in person voting or mail in ballots. Here in NH, there is neither. The only option to in person voting is to request an absentee ballot and there are rules that mandate the conditions one may apply for one. One can online download the application but this must be done in a timely manner since one has to allow mail in time for processing the application or to go to the Town Clerk in person to apply for one in person.
Timmy Taes Writes Timmy’s Substack - "Paper in person ballots are the way to go."
In what way is that superior?
I have for the past 20+ years voted (in every election) by mail. In that time there has never been a single piece of evidence that mail-in ballots were less valid than in-person votes... although it is much more convenient and increases participation.
(FWIW, prior to that (30 years) I missed voting in a great number of elections. And even then, it was simply quickly voting along party lines because after waiting in a queue and knowing others were suffering the same behind me, I simply wanted it over with as quickly as possible.)
I too have voted for over 20 years by mail and there have been very few snags. The prominent one occurred in Clackastan (Clackamus County) where a R poll worker marked placers on ballots that voters had left unmarked. The clerk there was incompetent and gave way too much leeway to the party of death. Finally, she was defeated last election and so elections in that county will go much smoother and be more honest. After the incident, btw, two people open ballots, one D and one R.
Fact Check; FALSE. All folks in the County can physically vote at a "Vote Center". The Sonima County Registrar of Voters has the granular data posted.
I am assertimg to Substack Inc that intentional misinformation by anyone is a breach of the 2023 Publisher's Agreement to be mediated at JAMS SF putting aside the bssue of other legal remedies for overt acts disrupting Constitutional rights in Sonoma County or anywhere in the United States.
In my county (Columbus, Ohio), the lines for early voting have been hours long for the past two weeks at least. All day. This is true in all of our cities - we are limited to one early voting site per county. In rural districts, there are no lines at all. This is voter suppression too.
I live in an affluent suburb, and I’ve never waited in line to vote longer than ten minutes, no matter what time I show up on voting day. But I’ve driven through precincts in the city of Columbus, and seen lines that were blocks long. That was especially visible during the presidential elections when Obama was on the ticket. This is voter suppression too.
Thank you to all who helped with get out the vote efforts in Ohio. We’re not as red as people think we are. We are waiting with bated breath for tomorrow!
You are not alone. Many of US will be waiting “with bated breath” also. (My mother used that expression and have never known the spelling of “bated.” Thank you.)
Exactly right. Check out this segment from A Way With Words, discussing the term "bated breath" and the falconry term meaning when the bird flaps its wings (and for lagniappe, how the latter relates to fluttering one's eyelashes): https://www.waywordradio.org/falcon-wings-terminology/.
Kansas tried this last year and it was a total disaster for the misogynist neofascists. So the thugs in the state legislature and the moron AG (who was once a colleague of mine and got out of academia before he was charged with multiple cases of sexual harassment) have tried to upend the Will of the People by introducing all kinds of nuisance litigation and blatantly unconstitutional legislation to overturn the 63% of Kansans' wish to keep women's health choices in the hands of women and their doctors. It's super interesting: they love law and order as long as it doesn't affect their white asses adversely. Now the shoe is on the other foot and they are howling about defunding the courts and the police. Interesting, huh? I was thinking this morning about Ronnie Ray-gun and his invention of the Cadillac-driving "welfare queen." He was one of the most nefarious influences in the history of US politics, and yet he is still canonized by those who saw his avuncular make-up slathered exterior and failed to pay attention to the rest of it.
Linda, I well remember the Cowboy President. He made being poor the equivalent of the N- word. And his comments about how government WAS the problem occurred just as I was starting a new job, in government, to assist disabled and homeless adults. That was the time when I learned that when people at a social function asked me what I did for a living, I merely said I was a statistician. Forty years later I was less-easily intimidated and would say, “I help homeless people move into housing.” I was quite willing to engage with those people who are afraid/disgusted by people they don’t understand.
Marge, I honor you. As a person who has devoted her life to liberal arts education, I sympathize: we are not a particularly popular group, especially among the "believe, don't think" crowd.
i did not vote for the Ray Gun and loathed him, and we have so many problems caused by his policies. However, in the loathe department, death star beats everyone.
Linda, as CA state employee for 41 years—40 years at a CA State Univ (now retired)—we got dubious distinction of also having him for two terms as governor….seeing what he did to CA education & healthcare (especially mental health) & social programs just confirmed that I didn’t want him as president….sigh, then he was elected for two terms, and thus inflicted even more damage nation wide. Sigh.
It’s worse than that. For a citizen to get an issue on the ballot, they must get signatures from all 88 counties (currently 44.) Thus, the smallest county can prevent an issue from coming to the people. (I think this is about 11%.)
YES! It basically puts an end to constitutional change and other ballot initiatives. The one they are really worried about will update the fair maps initiative they passed 2 years ago, when they allowed the majority to approve the maps.
To clarify, Patty is referring to a different provision in Issue 1 which is on tomorrow's ballot. If Issue 1 passes, not only would a 60% majority become a requirement for a constitutional amendment initiative to be approved by voters but the requirement of signatures from all 88 counties includes (from Ballotopedia) "Require campaigns for initiated constitutional amendments to collect signatures from each of the state's 88 counties, an increase from the current requirement of 50% (44) of the state's 88 counties. Campaigns need to collect a number of signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last governor's election in each of the counties. This is known as a signature distribution requirement." Note penultimate sentence. Tricky and trickier.
A third element of Issue 1 is (from Ballotopedia): "Eliminate the cure period of 10 days for campaigns to gather additional signatures for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments when the original submission did not have enough valid signatures."
“You’ve got to show up everywhere, and you’ve got to speak to everyone, and you've got to speak in plain language and in practical terms,” …' He (Josh Shapiro) noted that in his 2022 campaign, “I went to counties the Democrats had written off a long time ago and spoke about workforce development and spoke about how we're going to bring back the economy and talked about it in very tangible, practical ways.”
'It worked. In a state Biden carried in 2020 by a little more than 80,000 votes, Shapiro swept past Republican Doug Mastriano in 2022 by more than 790,000.
'Last week’s indictment of Donald Trump brought home the urgency of transforming our nation’s public life. Special counsel Jack Smith lived up to his responsibility by holding the former president accountable for his crimes against democracy. Only politicians can break the grip of Trump’s politics of resentment.'
'This has long been one of President Biden’s central goals, but his Democratic colleagues at the state and local levels might have the best shot at moving their fellow citizens away from cultural, racial and religious divisions and toward the (often literally) concrete ground of jobs and building things. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ranks as one of the most determined and, so far, successful practitioners of this new politics of addition.'
'You might know Shapiro as the guy who got a collapsed part of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia fixed within 12 days. Given how long public projects take to complete, he deserved all the attention he got for this achievement.'
'It sure made him popular at home. In late June, a Quinnipiac Poll found that 57 percent of Pennsylvania voters approved of Shapiro’s job performance while only 23 percent disapproved. Strikingly, 53 percent of independents and even 34 percent of Republicans gave their Democratic governor positive marks.'
'As governor, Shapiro said he’s determined to signal to economically struggling voters that they’re being “seen and heard.” One of his first acts was to sign an executive order doing away with the college degree requirement for 92 percent of state government jobs.'
'His emphasis on opportunities for those without college degrees might be seen as a bow to the White working class, which he, like Biden, is certainly interested in winning back to the Democratic coalition. But the actual (as opposed to the pundit’s) working class is heavily Black and Latino. So Shapiro’s focus on expanding funding for apprenticeships, vocational education and job training for those who aren’t college-bound is aimed at a broad swath of Pennsylvanians.'
'Representative of what Shapiro is trying to do is an executive order he signed last week directing some $400 million from Biden’s infrastructure investments to “on-the-job training” to install broadband internet and fix roads, bridges and pipes. “We’re the first state in the nation to do that,” he noted.'
The paragraphs above were taken from E..J. Dionne Jr.'s OPINION, 'Josh Shapiro is showing how to break the politics of resentment'. It is worth reading in full. See the gifted link below.
Thank you, Ally. This forum, in addition to HCR's Letter, truly helps us be informed citizens and, in my opinion, you are a shining example of what it takes!
<blush> Thank you, Fern. I do offer things when I have a solid foundation for something to say.
Bonnie, I have also noted the "disruption in the force" of the comments section recently. The presence of agitators waxes and wanes here, and it is far to easy to get sucked into their pot-stirring. There are two commenters that have been here for the entirety of my time here (although one left and came back with another "handle") with whom I seldom agree, but are generally at least on point with what is being discussed. There are a handful of new people who are agitators and will try and stir up contentious commentary who may fall into a definition of "troll" or who simply get entertainment value for their on-line "sparring". I find that for me, I just have to scroll on by when seeing their names.
When you find something truly offensive, there are ways to report it to Substack: those three dots to the right of "reply" give you an option to report the comment (or the one I use most frequently, to edit your own comment!)
Please join in the commentary; it is what enriches the platform.
I've been bothered to see so much petty arguments and a deterioration of the comments on this forum recently. I am happy that you continue to participate and appreciate what you contribute. Thank you. (this is the first comment I've made here !)
Bonnie, I am working on those issues (plural) with Substack Inc per the 2023 Punlisher's Agreement. I have asserted to Substack that such behavior amounts to Platform disruption when intentionally false such as one post above. I am in Oregon City right now where I found folks encouraging & willing to tackle the disruption. "We are all in this together". Joyce Vance.
Bonnie, thank you for commenting here for the first time. Please share what you think will help us understand better. Do not be discouraged. These times wear us down but not for long. We are here to learn and share. I am happy that you are among us.
Welcome to commenting, Bonnie!!! Note that this site recently was invaded by a nasty troll, Timmy T., which has changed the tenor of our rich discussions in places to meaningless spats. There is a way to Report those kind of baiting comments, and I urge you to do so. Thanks.
Thank You for this Fern! I watched our Michigan then governor, Jennifer Granholm, disparage our entire skilled trades working class population with her new fiscal policies pushing every high school student to go to college to be proficient in computers to run our "new techy economy." There was no arguing with her. She essentially pushed our now denigrated excellent workers into tRump's fat, welcoming arms.
Racism combined with white Christian nationalism have been with us since virtually the beginning of the country. That Trump commands 52% of Republican voters while under indictment for attempting to overthrow our government speaks to this fact - racist attitudes and white Christian nationalism trump the democratic process for them. They'd rather have a dictatorship than have non-whites and non-Christians having an equal say in government. This is a cancer on the body politic and the only way to defeat it is to out-vote them, even with the obstacles that are being constructed to disinfranchise many or else make it virtually impossible for them to vote. They will not listen to reason.
Lynell, While I agree, I would add that the Ohio August Special Election will be consequential for the entire country, given it will indicate Republicans’ effectiveness at using deceptive tactics to impose minority rule over the will of the majority.
There is a wonderful football-themed ad against the ballot initiative that ends with "Ohio State 59, Michigan 41. Michigan Wins." Perfect way to tell the story. I think the initiative also requires signatures (not sure how many) from each of the 80 state legislative districts. Another nearly impossible task. The Ohio legislature as currently composed with Republican majorities as a result of gerrymandered districts has absolutely no respect for its constituents.
From Ballotopedia re Ohio's Issue 1: "Require campaigns for initiated constitutional amendments to collect signatures from each of the state's 88 counties, an increase from the current requirement of 50% (44) of the state's 88 counties. Campaigns need to collect a number of signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last governor's election in each of the counties. This is known as a signature distribution requirement."
Issue 1, if passed, also would eliminate the cure period of 10 days for campaigns to gather additional signatures for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments when the original submission did not have enough valid signatures.
I wrote postcards and letters to voters in Ohio. Friends did phone banking. All of us are capable to get out the vote, every election, every state. Our freedoms are our responsibility and we must not take them for granted.
So exactly how would you have it (besides paper ballots/in-person)? It seems you are jaded against democracy-- the worst form of government except for all the others, to paraphrase W. Churchill. Or is it government itself you are opposed to, in which case, how do you propose keeping me safe from anarchy, chaos, environmental despoliation, free-wheeling vigilantism and its attendant bloodshed? How deep is your seemingly libertarian bent? Or do I misjudge your few comments here?
Paper ballots are not the be-all and end-all either - remember the "hanging chads" problems in Florida in the 2000 election? There can be all kinds of problems with paper ballots marked in person, so that's not the end of the discussion. And beyond paper or otherwise, not every legal voter can be at the polls on election day - people working jobs who are not allowed to leave, people caring for sick relatives (and those relatives themselves who may be bedridden or contagious), military serving abroad, kids in college out of state, the disabled without ready access to transportation, etc. Mail-in and early voting allow more legal voters to actually vote, albeit still on paper for mail-in. Everyone's vote should count, and no one should try to keep legal voters from voting.
Doug Gagne: Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
Make government as small as possible. Just large enough to deal with the problems you mention and that is it. Government's job is to protect our liberty. That's all.
Why? Why not act on problems that we cannot deal with as individuals, or as well, as Lincoln put it? Liberty could include freedom to breathe unpolluted air, to drive on highways designed for safety, etc., etc. At one time it wasn’t against any law to adulterate milk with chalk. Let the buyer beware. Until laws and inspections curtailed someone’s liberty to sell that milk. Now we are able to trust that the milk we buy won’t sicken our children or give them TB. (My sister-in-law did get TB from milk in the 1930’s)
Tim, shame on you, equating voting, a civic duty and right so that one's voice can be heard, with involuntary servitude. Humans are social creatures. Your extreme form of Libertarianism went out of vogue somewhere around 1450. Sorry, but society today is very complex. Your theories don't work except perhaps in a Utopia.
Richard -- point of order -- Utopianism is just as dead as libertarianism. AFAIK every utopian experiment ever essayed has failed, utterly. Just like every libertarian experiment.
Democracy: one person, one vote, majority rule. What's the alternative, Tim? Trump's world where voting machines are rigged? Surely you don't want that. If you don't, you should vote.
To govern by the consent of the governed is what stands out in a democracy. I think that the reason that so many lawyers and historians consider this latest indictment to be the most serious is that TFG’s actions strike at the heart of the consent—that when someone is voted out of office, they concede and transfer power to the person that has the consent of a plurality of those governed. Garfield and Johnson recognized this and took action. Our elected representatives need to put the needs and wishes of the governed ahead of their (the representatives’) wishes.
Daily Kos: "Under the scheme Trump is now charged with, 81 million Americans would have had their votes for the highest elected office in this land rendered meaningless, effectively erased, as if they’d never existed. That’s 81 million Biden voters instantly disenfranchised."
I wish, speaking of the fundraising, that he weren’t running against Katie Porter for this Senate seat. He will be very powerful in a Democratic House, but she needs to get out of that conservative district she’s from.
I think his district is safely blue and hers likes her - so I fear hers (in the scarily purple OC) turning if she leaves it! And I live just miles from each of them, so I feel informed enough to have a first-hand opinion.
That’s a very good point. Though it means keeping her muzzled, and hiding her light. And losing a very powerful progressive House member to a very junior Senate seat. I saw that in MA with Senator Markey.
Schiff is going to be the next Senator. I like Katie Porter a lot, but she is not running what looks like a winning campaign. And she is likely the only Democrat who could hold that seat.
The difference is, Schiff was planning this a long time, waiting for the right opportunity. Porter just came to it thinking how hard she had to work in her last campaign. For what's coming in the future in the battle against MAGA, he's the right candidate. The difference really shows. And if she stays in the Senate run, then the best candidate to keep her seat will not be running.
A couple of CA people here have offered good explanations of why Schiff would be a better choice if a CA rep has to give up a seat for a Senate seat. Someone who lives close to Porter's district said they like her but it's very purple--they wouldn't like just any Democrat. Whereas Schiff's district is blue: he'd certainly be replaced by a Democrat. Barbara Lee is also running, who I like a lot and who is also from a safely Democratic district: it would be a good thing to have at least one more Black senator--there are only 3 right now!
It's a tough choice - Schiff or Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against the Iraq War. I like her, but I think that Schiff will do a better job. Still, a very, very tough call.
Has she resigned her position? Is she not running for re-election in Orange County? If so, I didn't know that. Elizabeth Warren managed to run for Senator and President of the US at one (overlapping) time, so she's still the senior Massachusetts Senator.
Lynell- thanks for posting about the Letter. I did sign on for the requested broadcast of the D.C. trial. For those who haven't read the letter, it was co-signed by 38 members of Congress, many of whom we know.
It does go to the heart of the democratic system: one person, one vote, majority rule. That's not what they want because they realize that they cannot win elections that way and they have no desire to change their policies to make them more palatable.
Thank you so much for your wonderful ability to put the current madness of the Republican Party into a historical context. I write this as a former Republican voter whose eyes were opened in 2016. I’m so glad I voted as I did and am hugely grateful for your writings that have under pinned what we have witnessed since.
Speaking of the current madness of the Republican Party, foam-at-the-mouth Ron "kill, kill, kill!" DeSantis is about to lose his biggest super-megabucks donor if he doesn't "go moderate." Buyer's remorse?
John, I'm not certain about your theory because of a Yale, B.A. and a Harvard J.D. Chief Justic John Roberts is a Harvard J.D. Roberts is responsible for the Citizens United case as well as the Shelby County vs. Holder which gutted the Voting Rights Act. I have a J.D. and a Ph.D. from Harvard but my political philosophy did not mature to what it is now until 12 years out, in the middle of Reagan's term in office. At that point I left the Republican Party forever. DeSantis is a Fascist, by any measure. Roberts? I think that he may be the dullest tack in the board. I don't think the schools that we attended had any impact on our political thinking.
My "inner conspiracy theorist" is a snarky figment of my imagination that oversimplifies and gets it wrong.
p.s. I studied the jurisprudence of the Declaration of Independence in grad school. I proved that Bernard Bailyn (Harvard) was dead wrong about Locke's influence on the American Revolutionary argument.
John, this from The Daily Signal. It would be interesting to have your take on this.
Arguably no philosopher had a greater influence on America’s founding than John Locke, says Joseph Loconte, director of the Center for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
Locke’s ideas about property and freedom helped to shape America as the Founders drew on his ideas when they wrote the nation’s founding documents.
“[T]here was no philosopher who was quoted more often than John Locke by the American revolutionaries,” Loconte told “The Daily Signal Podcast.”
Richard, Loconte provides a good example of the dead-weight momentum of an obsolete paradigm that has been thoroughly shattered.
The problem is, my work (with one small peer-reviewed exception) has been suppressed, and there is still a strong residue of old-paradigm die-hards out there.
The publication of my research was blocked by the former leading expert on the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, Michael Zuckert at "American Political Thought." (It was Zuckert's assistant editor who published the core of my research elsewhere.)
Interesting. Thank you, John, for sharing this. It seems that the conservatives also misunderstand the Christian message. In this regard, however, the book by Acharya S (Dorothy Murdock) "The Christ Conspiracy" makes a great case that Jesus never existed but is an amalgam of various gods concocted in the first several centuries of the common era. For that matter, not only did Jesus never exist, neither did Moses, Abraham, Noah, David, Solomon, there was no exile to Egypt, and more. The New Testament has a number of contradictions and unexplained phenomena.
What a lovely way to bring us from Garfield to current times. The contrast between Garfield and Trump - in fact, Garfield and way too many political leaders - is stark. The What Ifs had Garfield lived remind us to get active and engaged in civic affairs now, at any level of governance that moves you. There are many James Garfields out there -- let's hope one of them steps up and speaks up soon.
Laurie, I was particularly affected by your call for our active engagement “now” in civic affairs. Hence, when you wrote, “There are many James Garfields out there,” I thought, before reading the rest of your sentence, that you were referring to the tens of millions of us who are training ourselves and acquiring the knowledge and strength to resist the yearning for heroes. I believe we have to resist it because the yearning for heroes at a moment like this is to expect someone else to solve our problems, to carry the weight for us. I would note I read somewhere that America at its best, democracy at its best, is a system that doesn’t need heroes because its ordinary people understand that it’s they that have to become engaged, recognizing it’s impossible to foretell precisely when any of our endeavors will reach critical mass, suddenly creating change.
Barbara, I love your comment, especially because of your caution about yearning for heroes. It is up to each of us, of course, to keep democracy. So how about hundreds or thousands of James Garfields to run for office - and be elected - everywhere, at every level of government and public service.
Laurie, I like your thinking so long as we remember that it’s us that must help to cultivate a base that supports these Garfield-like candidates so they can run and win.
agreed, and we also have to want them and support them, before and after they are elected' if it's to be government of the people, by the people, for the people. Reagan was wildly popular because is was a professional performer on TV. More social-justice oriented Carter was rather unpolished as a TV star. I doubt Lincoln would made it with out current de facto criteria for electability. It's not a play, it's not a sport, it's attempting to affect our future.
A terrific book about Garfield is "Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Millard. A "page turner".
If you ever thought presidential nominating conventions have been straight forward, think again. Garfield didn't even campaign for the party's nomination!
I just took out the audiobook through my local library's access to interlibrary loan. Local libraries FTW! So far it seems very well written - thank you for the recommendation!
Garfield was glossed over in my American history classes, because he was assassinated after serving only a few months. I had no idea he was so progressive in his attitude. Thank you so much for sharing such a magnificent speech with us before adding the contrast with our current situation.
I agree. I knew nothing about Garfield, though there is a statue of him in a block long park named after him in Cincinnati. Another excellent piece in which Dr. Cox Richardson seamlessly weaves past and present together to provide a more complete tapestry of current events.
Although the first eight years of my life were spent in England, here comes my radical white-haired Grannie again. (We all cried when FDR died.) We lived in a house full of books; one was "From Log Cabin to White House".
I am originally from Australia. ‘From Log cabin to White House’ was among the books in our home. Professor Richardson’s Letters, and information in the comments, continue my education. I have the book, ‘Destiny…’, about Garfield on hold at the library and will soon be able to learn more of that time. I am fortunate to live near an excellent library, in MN. Librarians, always kind and helpful are among the many courageous people of this very troubled time.
It is too bad that Garfield had such a short life. His ideals were so progressive. Heather, I don’t know if you have had time to listen to Rachel Maddow’s podcast called “Deja News” but she and her co-writer, Issac-Davy Aronson, zeroed in on Johnson’s speech in their last episode. Such an important speech during yet another tumultuous time in our lives.
And too bad (though in the context of present discovery) that I learned more about Garfield in the last few minutes than in the precious 76 years of my lifetime. His "ideas" speak to our time.
I think that education, conversation, and contemplation open our constrained bubbles of awareness of the larger patterns that pull the fragments of our consciousness into threads of some kind of sense, our best shot at approximating and recognizing "immortal ideas" that serve our person and our people.
Marlene, if you haven't seen Ava DuVernay's SELMA, it's the most amazing two hours of history of that period, told as a riveting thriller. It dramatizes point by point how Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. constructed the Selma to Montgomery marches to manipulate Johnson's —and the nation's— stance on voting rights.
To me, film and TV are among the most powerful ways to reach "lower education" voters. And we have to.
I haven’t seen it yet, Alexandra, but want to and thanks for the reminder. I remember that march vividly as I was a 13 yr old girl in segregated NC. It’s still amazing to me that Reverend Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are alive and active.
LBJ and King were partners in their struggle to get the Voting Rights Act through congress. As soon as the great Civil Rights Act was passed Johnson sat down with his attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach to draft the “G**d*** toughest voting rights act that you can.” Johnson, King, and other powerful civil rights leaders met and talked frequently about keeping this issue in public view. You can listen to their recorded conversations, they are in the archives of the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin. After the brutal Selma attack both King and Johnson were ready, King keeping the eyes of a horrified nation on the valiant citizens marching for their right to vote, and Johnson ready with the Voting Rights Act which he personally delivered to the congress. Ms. DuVernay’s powerful film was flawed in that she portrayed Johnson as less than fully committed to this cause. The film was about the many civil rights heroes - John Lewis, Andrew Young, the multitude on whose shoulders King and Johnson stood - who were the story of Selma.
On the fourth floor of the LBJ Library a small wooden desk has place of honor. In 1898 a Supreme Court justice joined his colleagues to uphold the “separate but equal” Louisiana law.
On August 5 LBJ sat at this same modest desk to sign the Voting Rights Act into law. He was surrounded by those American heroes who made it happen. The young woman at his side was his daughter, Luci Baines Johnson.
How amazing to have actual memories of that time. I lived in NC for a few years, after having grown up in California, and I never really got the reality of segregation u until I was there in that environment, decades later.
Marlene, about a month ago, Jesse Jackson retired from the the Rainbow, PUSH Coalition that he formed in 1971. He has been dealing with Parkinson's disease for eight years and other health issues, while getting around with the help of a wheelchair.
Yes, I knew that info but his son says he is still connected to the Coalition. I am sure he wants to stay informed even with the effects of Parkinson’s. Really makes me sad for him.
Mike S, that is the most chilling thing I've read in ages: "It has probably been pulled from all the libraries in the south at this point." My God, these times.
I think most libraries now have it where you can “rent” movies or audiobooks and download them through your devices. I am positive NY libraries have this.
I remember the speech and the times. Does everyone know Johnson’s background as a school teacher in small town Texas? When I lived there (1961-1966, San Antonio) it was more like Johnson than now. The Kennedy assassination may have led to the change, giving rich Republicans an edge. I’ve often wondered what happened to the Texas of Ralph Yarborough and Henry B. Gonzalez, my congressman.)
The right to vote and have one’s vote counted sounds so obvious and logical.
And the 2020 election complete with Covid and whole lot of ‘mailed in votes’ nationwide was assessed as the most error free and excellent presidential election ever….
In many states because of Covid folks didn’t want to ‘congregate’..that mailed ballot already used in Oregon and a few other states was embraced far more broadly….
We know it works…and folks who really don’t want free and fair elections are hugely opposed to these simple decent voting styles.
They are the enemy..make absolutely no mistake….they are racist/sexist and every other ‘ism’…they ARE the enemy of every black, brown and female person in this country….
Please read “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President” for a glimpse at one of the finest men ever elected to the presidency.
Thank you for the reference. Like many, all I knew about Garfield was his assassination. The speech should be part of every young American’s history books. Back to the three r’s and public schools, everyone. And don’t forget the Latin for the language literacy even if we really don’t need much hackin’ and hewin’. (With apologies to Monty Python.)
Virginia, while "Destiny..." specifically covers his assassination, Garfield was, sadly, a long time dying. But in the manner of his dying he showed the quality of his character. It was profoundly sad for the country that, at such a critical time, we lost Garfield and ended up with the low-energy Chester Arthur. At present I am searching for a really good biography of his entire life.
Marshall Rafferty, thank you for teaching us about this largely forgotten president whose oratory is quite splendid in the history of civil rights. Please continue to let us know his history and his words. As we try to quell the racism among us, it’s important to know who took over from
Abraham Lincoln, the first great civil rights for every American advocate. Has everyone seen the history channel’s series on US Grant?
Obvious and logical. Essential to democracy, to unalienable human rights, to liberty and justice for all. SCOTUS shrugs while their cronies openly steal what some many were willing to die to win and preserve. Whether by negligence or malice, a legitimate vote blocked or diluted should be recognized as a serious injury to the person thus deprived, as well as to the foundation of our republic as a whole. It's lunacy to see it being perpetrated en masse, in broad daylight, and not, as one people rise up and demand this epic betrayal immediately cease.
Where else but from Letters from an American would we even know how our history speaks to us in this, the 21st Century. I am so grateful for having found these Letters!
LBJ found his conscience. JFK was dead. Assassinated by a skinny creep in Texas. Jack Ruby killed the skinny killer. And he died. Texas was notorious for racism and LBJ knew it. “Nigger don’t let the sun set on you” was the banner that crossed Beaumont Texas Main Street in June 1960. I saw it. That town was a Sundown Town. My brother Roger married there. SUNDOWN Towns is the name of the book that spells it out. Buy it. Study it.
If Texan LBJ can find his conscience, why not Gov. Abbott the cripple?
What’s changed? Simple. Half black President Obama’s two terms frightened the White Trash of Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and everywhere else. Two step forward, one backward.
Racist America doesn’t care.
LBJ cared. And he took charge. Then he got trapped lying about Vietnam.
What campus president has spoken out?
Name one that has labeled Trump a fascistic racist.
Don't let TT grab your attention. Once again, begins by teetering on the edge of the trolldom abyss, then dives right in. Ignore them and hopefully they'll go away.
Let us be clear: feckless john roberts wrote the Shelby decision - joined by scalia and alito (both of whom enjoyed expensive vacations they could not afford, but for their rich friends generosity), and concurred with by clarence (who too received excessive gifts). Did I mention roberts wife receiving huge referral fees for strategic lawyer placements?
How utterly devoid of character - these vagabonds of gifts and graft and injustice.
In an August 2 article in The Atlantic, "Trump's Threat to Democracy Is Now Systematic", Ronald Brownstein questions whether Republicans will ever accept the outcome of an election they don't win. He writes:
"Trump may constitute a unique threat to America’s democratic traditions. But he has always connected his claims of pervasive electoral fraud to the widespread anxiety among white, Christian conservatives that they are losing control of the country to a racially diverse, secular, and LGBTQ-friendly Democratic coalition centered in the nation’s largest cities. As Trump put it during one 2020 rally before a predominantly white, rural audience in Georgia: “This is our country. And you know this, and you see it, but they are trying to take it from us through rigging, fraud, deception, and deceit.” Whether Trump is convicted for trying to overturn the 2020 election or not, voters who accept that argument will remain the most powerful force in the GOP coalition. And they will continue to demand leaders who will fight the changes that they believe threaten their position in American society.
"Those other Republican leaders may not attempt to overturn an election as brazenly as Trump did with the conduct Smith catalogs in his indictment. But . . . for the foreseeable future, they are likely to pursue other means “toward the same end: that majoritarian democracy cannot be tolerated under any circumstances if the outcome is not what you wanted it to be.”
We must not expect this problem to be solved in the next election. We must prepare, as President Kennedy urged, " 'to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle ... against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.' " He had just begun to confront the tyranny of racism in the summer before he was murdered. President Johnson used his considerable political skills to pass the Civil Rights Act go 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. And on the evening he signed the VRA, he told his aide Bill Moyers, "Well, I think we may have lost the south for your lifetime – and mine."*
And so we continue the struggle against tyranny both here at home and around the globe.
I suspect the refusal of the former Republican Party to recognize outcomes to elections began in 1964 with Goldwater’s loss of the Presidential Election.
John Birchers and every ultra-Conservative wealthy family in America was convinced the tide of History would reassert their nationalist religious fervor into America.
You don’t trip billionaires with unfavorable facts and they certainly know how to organize confusion of reality.
Since that time the Right has spawned dilution and diminution of the Rights of Man through the vote seeding their members with hate and the Spector of a non-white nation run by minorities.
Thank you Dr Richardson, we seem to get one step toward equality to see it trampled down by bigotry. We thought after the Civil Rights and Voting Rights we were on the road to equality for all. But we relax a little too much and find we are facing the same battle all over again. The bigots and racists are a minority in the US, so how does this travesty keep recurring? I think even if we were to carve out a chunk of the US and give it to them to live happily ever after in bigotry, fascism, and racism; they still would not be content. If we could educate their children to analyze and think, perhaps we could have a future, but they'd probably find a way to continue their selfish useless lives.
Republicans don’t want their constituents to be educated. An educated society with critical thinkers is more resistant to propaganda and fabricated social wars. So many Americans pathetically lack critical thinking skills.
Next, school boards will be taking the science of evolution and dinosaurs out of school curricula — likely supported by the Supreme Court religious right wing.
A dumbed-down society is easier to manipulate. It is the dumped-down society that sees Trump as their savior — the biggest dumb-dumb of them all.
I agree, Cathy. I didn't want to refer to them as Republicans, because they aren't. They espouse authoritarianism and fascism. I prefer the POT, Party of Trump - although DeSantis is at least a little more honest in giving his real motivation. At least he says he wants a Christian Nation and he supports authoritarianism. And yes, the last thing any of those bigoted, racist, authoritarians want is an educated constituency. I also agree not only is Trump the worst President ever, the is also the least intelligent. I loved it when he referred to himself as a stable genius; the most common inhabitant of stables are horses. While horses are a beautiful and useful animal, (which Trump is neither) it is a rare horse who is also intelligent. Goats and pigs are much smarter. The only farm animals dumber than horses are sheep and turkeys. The horse may be smarter than cattle. I raised all these animals on a small farm for 12 years so I'm talking from experience
The last thing current "Republicans" want is a republic. "Citizens United"? " Patriot Act"? "ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse". Everything they say is what it isn't.
Just Sayin', in the first year of Trump's presidency, I realized that I was surrounded by "Christians" in my church who supported him. (The Sunday after the election in 2020, the person who delivered the opening prayer said, " Lord, the man we wanted didn't win, so please help us try to understand.") The preacher we had at the time was a Trump man. I was the pianist at the church and felt that I couldn't leave. I should have.
Anyway, I sent a letter to several columnists in our paper who wanted us to view Trump as the Second Coming. I found a verse in the Bible (Galatians 5: 22-23) which listed the fruits of the Spirit which Christians should embrace, and compared Trump's actions and speech to those qualities.
LOVE- He loves himself, rich white people, beautiful women, but mostly he loves himself.
JOY- He finds no joy in anything in which he is not the center of attention.
PEACE- I realized his propensity for promoting violence before he reveled in the violence of Jan 6.
PATIENCE- He certainly has none of that.
KINDNESS-There is not a speck of kindness in him, except to those people who bow down to him.
GENEROSITY- He was/is generous only to those who can further his cause.
FAITHFULNESS- I don't think he's been faithfu to anyone a day in his life,
GENTLENESS- He is a huge bear lumbering around, trying to influence and frighten us with his "strength".
SELF-CONTROL- He is a MOST INFANTILE person and I'm sure those around him in office were subjected to his many rants.
GENTLENESS- Again, he is a big, awkward, bully of a bear.
SO, what Christian in this world would wave their Red MAGa hats in the air of his hatred and intolerance and proclaim him a Christian. Makes you wonder.Just sayin'. :)
Bravo, Pat. I hope you can find an opportunity to spread this far and wide. Churches (and other houses of worship) pay no taxes, because they are not supposed to espouse preferences for political candidates, and now some of them might as well be headquarters for their guy.
Horses are dumb and self destructive! But they do have good memories and high emotional intelligence. There is nothing better than the peace and quiet of a barn just listening to them munch hay on a still afternoon. My horses are my therapists and my sanity.
You know how Heather talks about people who try to differentiate “republic” from “democracy” and compares it to saying “I don’t have a dog; I have a golden retriever”? When texting for Ohio last week, i got someone who went on and on about that; didn’t I realize the difference; we are a REPUBLIC. Unfortunately when texting I cannot get into name calling …
I am sad that people fall for the kind of definitions that the person you talked to buy into, not realizing that they are thereby setting themselves up for a form of autocratic governance. My town was in that place when I moved here- a selectboard run by one man- the rest sat on their thumbs. Many unexplained closed door meetings. Special meetings "warned" (this is New Englandese) an hour before the meeting was held. Minutes of meetings I had attended that sounded like they had attended a whole different meeting. Decisions not recorded.
I felt trapped, because I couldn't afford to move. So I got active. So did other people. A couple of fiscal and professional ethics scandal brought things to a head, and we rode them to get some good people in.
Things were improving. But recently the mix on the board changed and we ended up with a group of guys who basically only talked about what they were interested in, and it wasn't always about what the town needed. The previous chair had just been hired to be our town manager-he had had begun the process of change, which we badly needed, and many of us were afraid we'd go backward and become again a town with a marginally effective and sometimes corrupt governance (one that only responded to law suits, of which there were many). Things got off track, and people started speaking up. One of the issues is that one member resigned due to family illness. Replacements are selected by the board from applicants who express interest. Of three applicants, two were women, both well qualified and active in the town. The other was a friend of members of the board, who wrote only that he wouldn't mind serving on the board. Guess who got selected?
New chair of our selectboard said several times that once the election is over, the "democracy" part is over, and then we are a republic. This by way of claiming that we elect people to make decisions for us, and we shouldn't question them. I was watching online the first time he said this. I made sure to go to the next few meetings, and when he repeated this, I stood up and went head to head with him.
I said loudly and firmly: "WE are a democracy, and WE elect people to represent our interests and needs in the decision-making process. WE are entitled to be included in that process and to be kept informed of what decisions were being considered and what the outcomes were. The law requires that all sessions be open and that public input be, not merely allowed, but considered."
I got an ovation (well, ok, a little ovation: this is a small town). But there were folks there who spoke up and supported what I said. We now have members of the selectboard who hear us, and act on it. We had had an election in which one of the women who'd previously expressed interest was elected. Now we had a new vacancy with a term to be filled by appointment. A woman who is well-known and respected in town had applied and was selected over two other candidates, one male and one female. Well, knock me over with a feather. The woman who was selected has added balance and ballast to the board, and the other one has really changed the tenor of the board.
Now we have a board that has three appointed members and two elected (one of them being the chair I mentioned above). Townspeople are actively participating again, and our town commissions have new members. I expressed the thought that once we have elections so that all the members of the select board are actually elected, we'd be back on track to being a real democracy again. Surprised looks: it appears that that hadn't occurred to many how inbred our town governance had become, even though that is the issue that brought people out in numbers to the meetings.
Oh, and in this process, I was appointed (by the gov) to fill a Justice of the Peace position vacated by one of the people seeking office. I don't do much at present unless there is an Executive Board meeting for assessments, taxes etc, but expect that the next year will be interesting as we start preparing for the elections. I can marry people, but so far no requests. I'm a Quaker, so the idea of officiating at marriages kind of tickles me. Other Quakers will understand why.
Thanks, MLM & Barbara. Small things add up, especially when we join together. Any one out there who doubts their ability to have an impact: I'm proof you can. I am 80 years old, and have a disability that often limits my energy. I can't do all that I'd like to do, but I keep up on what's going on, and I choose carefully how to use the energy I do. I try not to waste it on complaining, but focus on those issues where what I have to say just might make a difference. I can draw on my past experience to guide me in this, but we each have a voice that brings a variety of perspectives. All of you: please use your voices, in whatever ways works for you. It adds up.
Deflection, distraction, denial, etc. It's rather like what the Second Amendment QWNJs would have us believe, that somehow "well-regulated militia" is not part of the US Constitution.
How about the DesPOT party - there is nothing recognizably conservative about the followers of either J6 D1078 or Desantis, at least the way we have always understood conservatism in this country. Neither moral, nor honorable, nor honest, nor compassionate, and not even basically sensible. Differing intelligently with actual conservatives is possible, but there is no intelligent anything with these people.
It seems to me that many human beings are very slow learners, as we keep on repeating the errors of the past. We are easily deluded and succumb to flattery and self interest, ignoring real and very present dangers.
Just as people develop according to their environment and opportunities, animals also develop to their potentials, accordingly.
. I have only known several horses but one in particular, was a noble being. He had been trained as a war horse, the time of change from horses to mechanization of war. Now war progresses to AI. What was that about human beings and slow learning when our efforts continue to be focused to a great extent upon destruction, people and larger environments.
Thanks for the alt. take on "stable genius". He failed to drain the swamp (tho he tried, but wetland restoration is a noble response) – wonder how he'd do mucking out stalls...
Exactly right, Cathy. It was really illuminating for me to learn that the antebellum South had no schools for white children either— the South only got schools for white kids when the Freedman's Bureau and the newly freed Black population started opening schools for Black AND white.
It's so clear the R leadership wants to go back to just that— virtually non-existent education for their voters as well as everyone else.
To clarify: there were schools for white children, just not everyplace, especially in rural areas where often the only whites were the plantation owners. And they tended to educate only the eldest son, who would inherit everything. A will might make provisions for the other children (one or two slaves, a plot of land, a horse, maybe an allowance if they were very wealthy). But yeah, in those areas no public schools.
The former "Republican" party embraced big lies party-wide with Ronald Reagan. Now Big Lies and Big Money is all they have left. When lies are your superpower, education is your nemesis.
And that has been going on for lots longer than I realized—state republicans reduced or stopped funding higher education in their states, thus leading to an increase in need for student loans.
Exactly. This was my experience in working for a Cal State Univ Financial Aid Office for 40 + years (one year @ UCSB Fin Aid) & seeing what Reagan did to education in CA—was appalled when he was elected president…twice!!! There are other factors that led to the increase in student loan borrowing, but reduction in public funding/support is a biggie. Back in the 80’s I prepared a presentation for Univ-wide staff (a staff “enhancement program”) on the coming student loan debt crisis…and NO one came. Wasn’t on anyone’s radar (except fin aid folks) as a looming problem. Was really hard to watch it unfold & see where we are now.
Christopher Coffer, you are so right. And when they got cover with trump’s administration, they popped up like mushrooms in your yard after rain. They were always among us but in disguise in many cases. Vote. Everyone must vote.
“... the right to vote, and the right to have that vote counted....” is a precious treasure, that we all must protect and fight for...Thank you, Heather, for another inspiring letter.
Every chance they get, modern-day Republicans will invent new ways to strip us of the value of our vote. Case in point:
This week in Ohio, there is a Special Issue-Based Election that will change the rules by which the people can change the state Constitution, because there is a ballot initiative in November to protect abortion rights in the state Constitution, thereby spoiling their 6-week abortion ban. This is the same state legislature who banned August Special Elections, because it was too difficult to get voters to the polls; but they made this last exception. Why? Well the measure changes the threshold to pass a ballot initiative from a simple 50%+1 to 60%, which is statistically improbable, given ballot initiatives of the last 20 years, (none have passed 59% majority). So now, approximately 25% of Ohio’s voting population is going to make all Ohioans pay by closing the door of democracy in their state.
We all must vote - in every election, for every candidate, and for every ballot initiative and ballot question, without fail. The trixters lie in wait, to catch us sleeping.
I heard that over 553,000 mail-in ballots were received by the Ohio election officials. That is outstanding!!👏🏼👏🏼
Outstanding indeed, and hopefully signaling that the GOP proposal will be voted thumbs down with a McCain-esque flourish
I understand that tomorrow's vote to defeat Issue 1 will need only a simple majority. Keeping my fingers crossed! (I sent 200 postcards)
I sent Vote Forward letters too. Hoping.
Sally Jenks Roth -as did I. Vote Forward is an excellent way to encourage voter participation.
Thank you! Blessings....
👍
According to Vote Forward, more than 275,000 letters were sent to Ohio voters for tomorrow's election. I managed 200 and plan to do at least that many for the November vote.
👍
Thank you! Blessings....
👍
I did as well, Lynell. Hoping they made a difference.
Spouse and I did same. Hope my lack of handwriting skill did not detract from the message. We did two rounds of 100 each.
Thank you! Blessings....
👍
It’s a proven aid to getting out the vote. Brava!
Me too!! 🤞
Thank you! Blessings....
👍
Bless you, Lynell! 💞
Back at ya, Marlene...thanks!
Me, too!
Yay for you, Sally, Jackie and Carol, and everyone else who contributed to the effort!
There’s another vote in Ohio (November?). We need to plan ahead for that one. A busy time until the end of October ‘24!
As I understand it, the vote in November is about the abortion rights for Ohio.
Tomorrow's election: "Ohio will hold a special election on August 8 to determine if the threshold for amending the state's constitution should be raised. If passed, Issue 1 would raise the threshold for passing future constitutional changes from a simple majority, as it's been for more than a century, to 60%." Obviously, it would be hard to attain 60% as opposed to 51%.
So yes, if Issue 1 is passed, Ohio will have to work harder to have their abortion rights initiative passed.
Thank All you prolific post writers!!
So did I. Good for US!
Thank you! Blessings....
I sent 500. Great work Lyhell. Postcard are productive.
Wow, Gail, that's terrific!
Great! Sending postal cards is today's replacement for knocking on doors. Nationally, check this out at activateamerica.vote where some address lists are available for selected elections and there are local sources of addresses as well.
Exactly...thanks, Jack!
I want to get involved. How do you know to whom you should send your postcards??
It’s probably too late to send postcards unless you live in OH, but there are also phone banks and text chains you can join.
If you join a postcard club, they will keep you busy all year with special elections and the lesser-known elections of consequence. These wonderful volunteers keep the spotlight on elections that most Republicans want voters to ignore.
kdsherpa, there are phone banks going on today and tomorrow to reach out to OH voters to get out the vote. Here's a link to signup for one with the DNC. You'll get training on the dialer and on the campaign itself. It's a great dialer too - very easy to use. We've been phone banking in OH and will continue today and tomorrow. Hope to see you there!
https://events.democrats.org/event/569897/?force_banner=true&share_context=event_details&share_medium=copy_link
Vote Forward is the organization I have used to send postcards. Very easy, they send all information that is easily downloaded.
Vote Forward votefwd.org is for letters to voters. VF provides letter templates to which the sender adds a sentence or two plus salutation & signature (first name and initial), then addresses the envelope. You can opt for 5 or 20 addressees. I found that far easier than postcards which cramp my hand writing several sentences on half of a postcard.
Postcards to Voters postcardstovoters.org/ is one of several sources for names & messages for sending postcard. My experience from early this year was that they provide 50 addressees at a time.
Thanks so much!
Here's a list of several I know of, kd. For most of these you provide the postcards and stamps. They will send you a suggested script with addresses.
Blue Wave Postcards:
https://www.bluewavepostcards.org/
Postcards to Swing States:
https://secure.everyaction.com/p4M7r_F2MEOhu-EzaVRfyg2?
Activate America:
https://www.activateamerica.vote/programs/postcarding#:~:text=Activate%20America%20provides%20voter%20addresses%20and%20scripts%20to,when%20they%20were%20sent%20a%20follow-up%20reminder%20postcard.
Postcards4Va: Sends to Virginia candidates:
https://postcards4va.com/?
THANK YOU so much, Lynell!
Also Postcards to Voters.
Lynell, do you know if anyone is running postcards campaigns in favor of Ted Cruz's opponents? A couple of friends want to do that, one current Texan and one former Texan, and so far, I'm not finding anything. It looks like their best bet is to contact the opponent's campaign directly.
Thank you! Blessings....
Thank you, Lynell. Oh, and Good Morning!
Morning, Ally! Thanks for keeping in touch with me. It's a good feeling.
Works both ways…
Thank you! I received some!
"McCainesque"!!!! I love that!
Wow! Do I miss that man!
Can you imagine how he would feel about today's republicans, especially his one time friend Lindsey Graham?
Spending years as a P.O.W. to protect and defend only to see his party support fascism and a dictator wannabe. It's just wrong!
That is an excellent point. We need to make it clear to ALL minorities - YOU MUST VOTE DEMOCRATIC. Whatever your concerns and grievances are, they will only be made worse and never cured by a Republican-controlled government. This is our "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" moment. If we don't walk away with a victory againt Trump and Trumpism, Democracy will be left lying in the dust. It can't get more serious than this. We desperately need to recognize this.
OUR LORD !, Had John, in the Right Place !. AND, The RIGHT TIME ! , . When His " FAMOUS THUMB ! .............Swung, ! , DOWNWARD " . BRAVO ! , For Our TRUE !, VETERANS !! ( PS ! HE'S An "ON TIME !" . GOD ! , ........Yes !, HE IS ! )
The usual turnout for August elections is 7%. That’s why they were made illegal. Most people don’t turn out for special elections, and the first 3 weeks of August is a stretch when people go on summer vacations. Please, find a phone bank to call Democrats with today or even tomorrow, even if you can only spare an hour! Go to mobilize.com and they’ll show you what’s available.
From Jessica Craven:
“Win Races! 🗳
Here are some excellent options for final phonebanks and textbanks for the August 8th elections in Ohio—including an event with Sherrod Brown!
Activate America and Grassroots Dems HQ today and tomorrow. Pick your shift from 7am to 5pm PT. Sign up here.
Ohio Progressive Leaders Dials Pro-Democracy Voters Monday, August 7th at 4pm ET. Sign up here.
Zoom phonebank with special guest Sherrod Brown! Monday, August 7th 5:30-7:30 ET. Sign up here.
Phonebanking not for you? Try Stand Up America’s fast textbanks
Mon 8/7 shifts all day 12pm to 5pm ET.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions/p/chop-wood-carry-water-810-48f?r=2xpfg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
The link you gave went to a private company's page. I believe the proper link is mobilize.us
Laura yes: https://www.mobilize.us/ Thanks for spotting that--I just assumed (despite the 11th Commandment, "Never Assume").
I wrote postcards for and texted Ohioans, however small the effort in the big picture (but efforts are additive!).
Add my similar efforts to yours 🤗
Thank You!
I wrote letters for Vote Forward to Ohio voters and to my relatives who live there. Every bit we do counts....just like compound interest!
Thank You!
Thank You!
Per the Ohio Secretary of State, as of 8/4/23 there have been 578,490 mail-in votes returned 👍 not counting the receipt of votes by Ohioans overseas.
Not only mail-in votes . . . :
151,977 absentee ballots have been returned by mail (including UOCAVA ballots)
9,997 ballots have been hand delivered to the boards of elections
26,185 ballots have been placed in secure drop boxes at Ohio's county boards
390,331 votes have been cast by in-person early voters
Thank you for the count! It’s a gift to everyone who wrote, texted or called.
❤️❤️
KEEP EM COMIN' ! Keep The FAITH ! GO !, DEMS ! . GLORY !
I was heartened, too, until I learned how many Millions yet to go
Not only mail-in ballots, but early voting in person. People are voting in-person in record numbers throughout the state.
Wonderful!
Not all states have early in person voting or mail in ballots. Here in NH, there is neither. The only option to in person voting is to request an absentee ballot and there are rules that mandate the conditions one may apply for one. One can online download the application but this must be done in a timely manner since one has to allow mail in time for processing the application or to go to the Town Clerk in person to apply for one in person.
Michigan expanded our voter rights and options via tge passage of our ballot initiative. Our Democratic Trifecta came about after that change.
California has had early voting and mail-in voting for like…forever! Thank goodness!
Not really when you think of the total adult population of Ohio is 8,464,801.......just sayin....(its like that in Florida too)
Timmy Taes Writes Timmy’s Substack - "Paper in person ballots are the way to go."
In what way is that superior?
I have for the past 20+ years voted (in every election) by mail. In that time there has never been a single piece of evidence that mail-in ballots were less valid than in-person votes... although it is much more convenient and increases participation.
(FWIW, prior to that (30 years) I missed voting in a great number of elections. And even then, it was simply quickly voting along party lines because after waiting in a queue and knowing others were suffering the same behind me, I simply wanted it over with as quickly as possible.)
I too have voted for over 20 years by mail and there have been very few snags. The prominent one occurred in Clackastan (Clackamus County) where a R poll worker marked placers on ballots that voters had left unmarked. The clerk there was incompetent and gave way too much leeway to the party of death. Finally, she was defeated last election and so elections in that county will go much smoother and be more honest. After the incident, btw, two people open ballots, one D and one R.
Fact Check; FALSE. All folks in the County can physically vote at a "Vote Center". The Sonima County Registrar of Voters has the granular data posted.
I am assertimg to Substack Inc that intentional misinformation by anyone is a breach of the 2023 Publisher's Agreement to be mediated at JAMS SF putting aside the bssue of other legal remedies for overt acts disrupting Constitutional rights in Sonoma County or anywhere in the United States.
Thank You, Bryan.
Timmy Taes Writes Timmy’s Substack - "Ron Boyd: Voting in the county I live in is only by mail-in ballot."
How does that explain why you believe in-person voting is better than mail-in?
Timmy ! , SOMTIMES ! , You are an Absolute RIOT ! Right ON !
Repubs know about the Stalin quote
In my county (Columbus, Ohio), the lines for early voting have been hours long for the past two weeks at least. All day. This is true in all of our cities - we are limited to one early voting site per county. In rural districts, there are no lines at all. This is voter suppression too.
I live in an affluent suburb, and I’ve never waited in line to vote longer than ten minutes, no matter what time I show up on voting day. But I’ve driven through precincts in the city of Columbus, and seen lines that were blocks long. That was especially visible during the presidential elections when Obama was on the ticket. This is voter suppression too.
Thank you to all who helped with get out the vote efforts in Ohio. We’re not as red as people think we are. We are waiting with bated breath for tomorrow!
Democracy in action!
You are not alone. Many of US will be waiting “with bated breath” also. (My mother used that expression and have never known the spelling of “bated.” Thank you.)
Do you think it’s ‘bated as in abated as in held breath?
Exactly right. Check out this segment from A Way With Words, discussing the term "bated breath" and the falconry term meaning when the bird flaps its wings (and for lagniappe, how the latter relates to fluttering one's eyelashes): https://www.waywordradio.org/falcon-wings-terminology/.
Thank you so much for this. Words and maxims have fascinating histories. Many maxims are forever.
Thank you for your excellent reporting on the front lines about the effects of limiting access of minority voters in Ohio, KR.
Kansas tried this last year and it was a total disaster for the misogynist neofascists. So the thugs in the state legislature and the moron AG (who was once a colleague of mine and got out of academia before he was charged with multiple cases of sexual harassment) have tried to upend the Will of the People by introducing all kinds of nuisance litigation and blatantly unconstitutional legislation to overturn the 63% of Kansans' wish to keep women's health choices in the hands of women and their doctors. It's super interesting: they love law and order as long as it doesn't affect their white asses adversely. Now the shoe is on the other foot and they are howling about defunding the courts and the police. Interesting, huh? I was thinking this morning about Ronnie Ray-gun and his invention of the Cadillac-driving "welfare queen." He was one of the most nefarious influences in the history of US politics, and yet he is still canonized by those who saw his avuncular make-up slathered exterior and failed to pay attention to the rest of it.
Linda, I well remember the Cowboy President. He made being poor the equivalent of the N- word. And his comments about how government WAS the problem occurred just as I was starting a new job, in government, to assist disabled and homeless adults. That was the time when I learned that when people at a social function asked me what I did for a living, I merely said I was a statistician. Forty years later I was less-easily intimidated and would say, “I help homeless people move into housing.” I was quite willing to engage with those people who are afraid/disgusted by people they don’t understand.
Marge, I honor you. As a person who has devoted her life to liberal arts education, I sympathize: we are not a particularly popular group, especially among the "believe, don't think" crowd.
Thank You for Your Service, Marge!!
Good for you!!! That's the spirit! 👏
i did not vote for the Ray Gun and loathed him, and we have so many problems caused by his policies. However, in the loathe department, death star beats everyone.
Linda, as CA state employee for 41 years—40 years at a CA State Univ (now retired)—we got dubious distinction of also having him for two terms as governor….seeing what he did to CA education & healthcare (especially mental health) & social programs just confirmed that I didn’t want him as president….sigh, then he was elected for two terms, and thus inflicted even more damage nation wide. Sigh.
I remember. It’s f- around and find out when it comes to taking away women’s rights. I really hope we keep up the momentum through 2024 and beyond.
This is another tactic of autocrats, change the rules, rather than engage in debate or actually solve a problem.
It’s worse than that. For a citizen to get an issue on the ballot, they must get signatures from all 88 counties (currently 44.) Thus, the smallest county can prevent an issue from coming to the people. (I think this is about 11%.)
YES! It basically puts an end to constitutional change and other ballot initiatives. The one they are really worried about will update the fair maps initiative they passed 2 years ago, when they allowed the majority to approve the maps.
To clarify, Patty is referring to a different provision in Issue 1 which is on tomorrow's ballot. If Issue 1 passes, not only would a 60% majority become a requirement for a constitutional amendment initiative to be approved by voters but the requirement of signatures from all 88 counties includes (from Ballotopedia) "Require campaigns for initiated constitutional amendments to collect signatures from each of the state's 88 counties, an increase from the current requirement of 50% (44) of the state's 88 counties. Campaigns need to collect a number of signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last governor's election in each of the counties. This is known as a signature distribution requirement." Note penultimate sentence. Tricky and trickier.
A third element of Issue 1 is (from Ballotopedia): "Eliminate the cure period of 10 days for campaigns to gather additional signatures for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments when the original submission did not have enough valid signatures."
Mabe Michigan can annex Ohio.
“You’ve got to show up everywhere, and you’ve got to speak to everyone, and you've got to speak in plain language and in practical terms,” …' He (Josh Shapiro) noted that in his 2022 campaign, “I went to counties the Democrats had written off a long time ago and spoke about workforce development and spoke about how we're going to bring back the economy and talked about it in very tangible, practical ways.”
'It worked. In a state Biden carried in 2020 by a little more than 80,000 votes, Shapiro swept past Republican Doug Mastriano in 2022 by more than 790,000.
'Last week’s indictment of Donald Trump brought home the urgency of transforming our nation’s public life. Special counsel Jack Smith lived up to his responsibility by holding the former president accountable for his crimes against democracy. Only politicians can break the grip of Trump’s politics of resentment.'
'This has long been one of President Biden’s central goals, but his Democratic colleagues at the state and local levels might have the best shot at moving their fellow citizens away from cultural, racial and religious divisions and toward the (often literally) concrete ground of jobs and building things. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ranks as one of the most determined and, so far, successful practitioners of this new politics of addition.'
'You might know Shapiro as the guy who got a collapsed part of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia fixed within 12 days. Given how long public projects take to complete, he deserved all the attention he got for this achievement.'
'It sure made him popular at home. In late June, a Quinnipiac Poll found that 57 percent of Pennsylvania voters approved of Shapiro’s job performance while only 23 percent disapproved. Strikingly, 53 percent of independents and even 34 percent of Republicans gave their Democratic governor positive marks.'
'As governor, Shapiro said he’s determined to signal to economically struggling voters that they’re being “seen and heard.” One of his first acts was to sign an executive order doing away with the college degree requirement for 92 percent of state government jobs.'
'His emphasis on opportunities for those without college degrees might be seen as a bow to the White working class, which he, like Biden, is certainly interested in winning back to the Democratic coalition. But the actual (as opposed to the pundit’s) working class is heavily Black and Latino. So Shapiro’s focus on expanding funding for apprenticeships, vocational education and job training for those who aren’t college-bound is aimed at a broad swath of Pennsylvanians.'
'Representative of what Shapiro is trying to do is an executive order he signed last week directing some $400 million from Biden’s infrastructure investments to “on-the-job training” to install broadband internet and fix roads, bridges and pipes. “We’re the first state in the nation to do that,” he noted.'
The paragraphs above were taken from E..J. Dionne Jr.'s OPINION, 'Josh Shapiro is showing how to break the politics of resentment'. It is worth reading in full. See the gifted link below.
https://wapo.st/3rYbECe
Thank you Fern
Thank you, Helen. Your attention as a reader and citizen are crucial for our support of democracy. Salud!
Oh I am paying attention.
Thank you, Fern!
Thank you, Ally. This forum, in addition to HCR's Letter, truly helps us be informed citizens and, in my opinion, you are a shining example of what it takes!
<blush> Thank you, Fern. I do offer things when I have a solid foundation for something to say.
Bonnie, I have also noted the "disruption in the force" of the comments section recently. The presence of agitators waxes and wanes here, and it is far to easy to get sucked into their pot-stirring. There are two commenters that have been here for the entirety of my time here (although one left and came back with another "handle") with whom I seldom agree, but are generally at least on point with what is being discussed. There are a handful of new people who are agitators and will try and stir up contentious commentary who may fall into a definition of "troll" or who simply get entertainment value for their on-line "sparring". I find that for me, I just have to scroll on by when seeing their names.
When you find something truly offensive, there are ways to report it to Substack: those three dots to the right of "reply" give you an option to report the comment (or the one I use most frequently, to edit your own comment!)
Please join in the commentary; it is what enriches the platform.
I've been bothered to see so much petty arguments and a deterioration of the comments on this forum recently. I am happy that you continue to participate and appreciate what you contribute. Thank you. (this is the first comment I've made here !)
Bonnie, I am working on those issues (plural) with Substack Inc per the 2023 Punlisher's Agreement. I have asserted to Substack that such behavior amounts to Platform disruption when intentionally false such as one post above. I am in Oregon City right now where I found folks encouraging & willing to tackle the disruption. "We are all in this together". Joyce Vance.
Thanks, Bryan.
Bonnie, thank you for commenting here for the first time. Please share what you think will help us understand better. Do not be discouraged. These times wear us down but not for long. We are here to learn and share. I am happy that you are among us.
Welcome to commenting, Bonnie!!! Note that this site recently was invaded by a nasty troll, Timmy T., which has changed the tenor of our rich discussions in places to meaningless spats. There is a way to Report those kind of baiting comments, and I urge you to do so. Thanks.
Thank You for this Fern! I watched our Michigan then governor, Jennifer Granholm, disparage our entire skilled trades working class population with her new fiscal policies pushing every high school student to go to college to be proficient in computers to run our "new techy economy." There was no arguing with her. She essentially pushed our now denigrated excellent workers into tRump's fat, welcoming arms.
Racism combined with white Christian nationalism have been with us since virtually the beginning of the country. That Trump commands 52% of Republican voters while under indictment for attempting to overthrow our government speaks to this fact - racist attitudes and white Christian nationalism trump the democratic process for them. They'd rather have a dictatorship than have non-whites and non-Christians having an equal say in government. This is a cancer on the body politic and the only way to defeat it is to out-vote them, even with the obstacles that are being constructed to disinfranchise many or else make it virtually impossible for them to vote. They will not listen to reason.
Thanks for the reminder, Jane! August 8 will be consequential for Ohioans.
Lynell, While I agree, I would add that the Ohio August Special Election will be consequential for the entire country, given it will indicate Republicans’ effectiveness at using deceptive tactics to impose minority rule over the will of the majority.
Completely agree, Barbara Jo. I fear my comment was more than a bit short-sighted. Thanks for the correction!
Trick as old as the hills, commonly used by lawyers in the employ of tricksters and mobsters.
Basically the same as robbery when the householders are absent.
There is a wonderful football-themed ad against the ballot initiative that ends with "Ohio State 59, Michigan 41. Michigan Wins." Perfect way to tell the story. I think the initiative also requires signatures (not sure how many) from each of the 80 state legislative districts. Another nearly impossible task. The Ohio legislature as currently composed with Republican majorities as a result of gerrymandered districts has absolutely no respect for its constituents.
Yes, and we in Michigan won bigtime with our ballot initiative threshold of a simple majority.
From Ballotopedia re Ohio's Issue 1: "Require campaigns for initiated constitutional amendments to collect signatures from each of the state's 88 counties, an increase from the current requirement of 50% (44) of the state's 88 counties. Campaigns need to collect a number of signatures equal to 5% of the votes cast in the last governor's election in each of the counties. This is known as a signature distribution requirement."
Issue 1, if passed, also would eliminate the cure period of 10 days for campaigns to gather additional signatures for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments when the original submission did not have enough valid signatures.
I wrote postcards and letters to voters in Ohio. Friends did phone banking. All of us are capable to get out the vote, every election, every state. Our freedoms are our responsibility and we must not take them for granted.
Thank You, Joanne!
Well stated Jane.
Another Whack-A-Mole whacked. Keep vigilant for the next one, until THEY KNOW WE AREN’T BACKING DOWN!
People can donate to the Ohio effort to defeat the Ohio 60% ballot measure: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/indivisible-ohio-ads
I wrote Vote Forward letters for this Special Election. It's a way to encourage voters to participate.
PS: This is why I think voting means nothing.
So don't vote. This isn't Australia, where citizens are fined for not voting.
Steve Abbott: Force voting in Australia. More involuntary servitude to the State. In Australia can they write in on the ballot "None of the Above"?
So exactly how would you have it (besides paper ballots/in-person)? It seems you are jaded against democracy-- the worst form of government except for all the others, to paraphrase W. Churchill. Or is it government itself you are opposed to, in which case, how do you propose keeping me safe from anarchy, chaos, environmental despoliation, free-wheeling vigilantism and its attendant bloodshed? How deep is your seemingly libertarian bent? Or do I misjudge your few comments here?
Paper ballots are not the be-all and end-all either - remember the "hanging chads" problems in Florida in the 2000 election? There can be all kinds of problems with paper ballots marked in person, so that's not the end of the discussion. And beyond paper or otherwise, not every legal voter can be at the polls on election day - people working jobs who are not allowed to leave, people caring for sick relatives (and those relatives themselves who may be bedridden or contagious), military serving abroad, kids in college out of state, the disabled without ready access to transportation, etc. Mail-in and early voting allow more legal voters to actually vote, albeit still on paper for mail-in. Everyone's vote should count, and no one should try to keep legal voters from voting.
Doug Gagne: Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
Make government as small as possible. Just large enough to deal with the problems you mention and that is it. Government's job is to protect our liberty. That's all.
Tim, that theory of government prevailed before the Enlightenment.
Why? Why not act on problems that we cannot deal with as individuals, or as well, as Lincoln put it? Liberty could include freedom to breathe unpolluted air, to drive on highways designed for safety, etc., etc. At one time it wasn’t against any law to adulterate milk with chalk. Let the buyer beware. Until laws and inspections curtailed someone’s liberty to sell that milk. Now we are able to trust that the milk we buy won’t sicken our children or give them TB. (My sister-in-law did get TB from milk in the 1930’s)
Oh yeah - I remember that "bathtub" idea - didnt work.
Tim, shame on you, equating voting, a civic duty and right so that one's voice can be heard, with involuntary servitude. Humans are social creatures. Your extreme form of Libertarianism went out of vogue somewhere around 1450. Sorry, but society today is very complex. Your theories don't work except perhaps in a Utopia.
Richard -- point of order -- Utopianism is just as dead as libertarianism. AFAIK every utopian experiment ever essayed has failed, utterly. Just like every libertarian experiment.
Yes, they can. They can leave it blank.
Carol C: Who is "they"? What is "it?" Please use a noun in your comments.
Aussie voters can leave their ballots blank if they wish.
Democracy: one person, one vote, majority rule. What's the alternative, Tim? Trump's world where voting machines are rigged? Surely you don't want that. If you don't, you should vote.
To govern by the consent of the governed is what stands out in a democracy. I think that the reason that so many lawyers and historians consider this latest indictment to be the most serious is that TFG’s actions strike at the heart of the consent—that when someone is voted out of office, they concede and transfer power to the person that has the consent of a plurality of those governed. Garfield and Johnson recognized this and took action. Our elected representatives need to put the needs and wishes of the governed ahead of their (the representatives’) wishes.
Adam Schiff authored this letter regarding televising the upcoming trials: https://schiff.house.gov/imo/media/doc/trump_trial_transparency_letter.pdf
Daily Kos: "Under the scheme Trump is now charged with, 81 million Americans would have had their votes for the highest elected office in this land rendered meaningless, effectively erased, as if they’d never existed. That’s 81 million Biden voters instantly disenfranchised."
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/2/2184459/-Trump-s-plan-was-to-disenfranchise-all-Democrats-and-shoot-us-the-streets-if-we-protested?
You can sign on below to Adam Schiff's petition to have the cases televised.
FYI, it's also part of a fundraising appeal for his campaign, but you don't have to donate to sign the petition. https://act.adamschiff.com/signup/engagement-29239896-broadcast/?
I wish, speaking of the fundraising, that he weren’t running against Katie Porter for this Senate seat. He will be very powerful in a Democratic House, but she needs to get out of that conservative district she’s from.
I think his district is safely blue and hers likes her - so I fear hers (in the scarily purple OC) turning if she leaves it! And I live just miles from each of them, so I feel informed enough to have a first-hand opinion.
That’s a very good point. Though it means keeping her muzzled, and hiding her light. And losing a very powerful progressive House member to a very junior Senate seat. I saw that in MA with Senator Markey.
This is good to know, Charlotte.
Schiff is going to be the next Senator. I like Katie Porter a lot, but she is not running what looks like a winning campaign. And she is likely the only Democrat who could hold that seat.
So wish Katie would not do this
I like Katie, but I like Adam for Senator and Gavin for POTUS. Biden must step aside and not being another Ginsberg or Feinstein.
I hear you. Sigh.
The difference is, Schiff was planning this a long time, waiting for the right opportunity. Porter just came to it thinking how hard she had to work in her last campaign. For what's coming in the future in the battle against MAGA, he's the right candidate. The difference really shows. And if she stays in the Senate run, then the best candidate to keep her seat will not be running.
I live in Schiff’s district and he will be a powerful and very effective senator.
Really pisses me off. Why are they doing this.
A couple of CA people here have offered good explanations of why Schiff would be a better choice if a CA rep has to give up a seat for a Senate seat. Someone who lives close to Porter's district said they like her but it's very purple--they wouldn't like just any Democrat. Whereas Schiff's district is blue: he'd certainly be replaced by a Democrat. Barbara Lee is also running, who I like a lot and who is also from a safely Democratic district: it would be a good thing to have at least one more Black senator--there are only 3 right now!
It's a tough choice - Schiff or Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against the Iraq War. I like her, but I think that Schiff will do a better job. Still, a very, very tough call.
Why did he decide to run against her? He could have choosen from lots of other options. Orange County needs her to fight the mafia.
Has she resigned her position? Is she not running for re-election in Orange County? If so, I didn't know that. Elizabeth Warren managed to run for Senator and President of the US at one (overlapping) time, so she's still the senior Massachusetts Senator.
Good lord that is disappointing news!!
Thanks for the link, Lynell. Will share.
Lynell- thanks for posting about the Letter. I did sign on for the requested broadcast of the D.C. trial. For those who haven't read the letter, it was co-signed by 38 members of Congress, many of whom we know.
Sadly, I did not see my rep among the signers, though she's really a staunch supporter of my (our) values.
Signed, thanks much for the link.
You're welcome, Chere!
Absolutely, Barbara. Feel free to forward it on to others in your orbit!
Great point - disinfranchising 81,000,000 votes. Staggering.
Yes, Richard. All the focus is on the Trump voters, none on the Biden voters!
Lynell, thank you for the links!
You're welcome, Mary!
Thank you for the post.
It does go to the heart of the democratic system: one person, one vote, majority rule. That's not what they want because they realize that they cannot win elections that way and they have no desire to change their policies to make them more palatable.
Thank you so much for your wonderful ability to put the current madness of the Republican Party into a historical context. I write this as a former Republican voter whose eyes were opened in 2016. I’m so glad I voted as I did and am hugely grateful for your writings that have under pinned what we have witnessed since.
Really thrilled to hear this and to have you here, John.
Speak your experience to other Republicans!
Speaking of the current madness of the Republican Party, foam-at-the-mouth Ron "kill, kill, kill!" DeSantis is about to lose his biggest super-megabucks donor if he doesn't "go moderate." Buyer's remorse?
https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/mega-donor-threatens-to-cut-off-funding-if-desantis-doesnt-go-moderate-5446880
EDIT: Here's a source for Ron DeSantis advocating killing government workers:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/04/ron-desantis-slitting-throats-federal-jobs-president-campaign
My inner conspiracy theorist whispers darkly that DeSantis is extra-super Establishment because he graduated from both Yale and Harvard.
John, I'm not certain about your theory because of a Yale, B.A. and a Harvard J.D. Chief Justic John Roberts is a Harvard J.D. Roberts is responsible for the Citizens United case as well as the Shelby County vs. Holder which gutted the Voting Rights Act. I have a J.D. and a Ph.D. from Harvard but my political philosophy did not mature to what it is now until 12 years out, in the middle of Reagan's term in office. At that point I left the Republican Party forever. DeSantis is a Fascist, by any measure. Roberts? I think that he may be the dullest tack in the board. I don't think the schools that we attended had any impact on our political thinking.
Richard Sutherland,
My "inner conspiracy theorist" is a snarky figment of my imagination that oversimplifies and gets it wrong.
p.s. I studied the jurisprudence of the Declaration of Independence in grad school. I proved that Bernard Bailyn (Harvard) was dead wrong about Locke's influence on the American Revolutionary argument.
John, this from The Daily Signal. It would be interesting to have your take on this.
Arguably no philosopher had a greater influence on America’s founding than John Locke, says Joseph Loconte, director of the Center for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
Locke’s ideas about property and freedom helped to shape America as the Founders drew on his ideas when they wrote the nation’s founding documents.
“[T]here was no philosopher who was quoted more often than John Locke by the American revolutionaries,” Loconte told “The Daily Signal Podcast.”
Richard, Loconte provides a good example of the dead-weight momentum of an obsolete paradigm that has been thoroughly shattered.
The problem is, my work (with one small peer-reviewed exception) has been suppressed, and there is still a strong residue of old-paradigm die-hards out there.
The publication of my research was blocked by the former leading expert on the meaning of the Declaration of Independence, Michael Zuckert at "American Political Thought." (It was Zuckert's assistant editor who published the core of my research elsewhere.)
I demolished Zuckert's Lockean scholarship here:
https://www.academia.edu/29164747/The_Declaration_of_Independence_without_Locke_A_Rebuttal_of_Michael_Zuckerts_Natural_Rights_Republic_
Interesting. Thank you, John, for sharing this. It seems that the conservatives also misunderstand the Christian message. In this regard, however, the book by Acharya S (Dorothy Murdock) "The Christ Conspiracy" makes a great case that Jesus never existed but is an amalgam of various gods concocted in the first several centuries of the common era. For that matter, not only did Jesus never exist, neither did Moses, Abraham, Noah, David, Solomon, there was no exile to Egypt, and more. The New Testament has a number of contradictions and unexplained phenomena.
What a lovely way to bring us from Garfield to current times. The contrast between Garfield and Trump - in fact, Garfield and way too many political leaders - is stark. The What Ifs had Garfield lived remind us to get active and engaged in civic affairs now, at any level of governance that moves you. There are many James Garfields out there -- let's hope one of them steps up and speaks up soon.
Laurie, I was particularly affected by your call for our active engagement “now” in civic affairs. Hence, when you wrote, “There are many James Garfields out there,” I thought, before reading the rest of your sentence, that you were referring to the tens of millions of us who are training ourselves and acquiring the knowledge and strength to resist the yearning for heroes. I believe we have to resist it because the yearning for heroes at a moment like this is to expect someone else to solve our problems, to carry the weight for us. I would note I read somewhere that America at its best, democracy at its best, is a system that doesn’t need heroes because its ordinary people understand that it’s they that have to become engaged, recognizing it’s impossible to foretell precisely when any of our endeavors will reach critical mass, suddenly creating change.
Barbara, I love your comment, especially because of your caution about yearning for heroes. It is up to each of us, of course, to keep democracy. So how about hundreds or thousands of James Garfields to run for office - and be elected - everywhere, at every level of government and public service.
Laurie, I like your thinking so long as we remember that it’s us that must help to cultivate a base that supports these Garfield-like candidates so they can run and win.
agreed, and we also have to want them and support them, before and after they are elected' if it's to be government of the people, by the people, for the people. Reagan was wildly popular because is was a professional performer on TV. More social-justice oriented Carter was rather unpolished as a TV star. I doubt Lincoln would made it with out current de facto criteria for electability. It's not a play, it's not a sport, it's attempting to affect our future.
A terrific book about Garfield is "Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Millard. A "page turner".
If you ever thought presidential nominating conventions have been straight forward, think again. Garfield didn't even campaign for the party's nomination!
I just took out the audiobook through my local library's access to interlibrary loan. Local libraries FTW! So far it seems very well written - thank you for the recommendation!
Her other books about Teddy Roosevelt and young Churchill are good as well.
Garfield was glossed over in my American history classes, because he was assassinated after serving only a few months. I had no idea he was so progressive in his attitude. Thank you so much for sharing such a magnificent speech with us before adding the contrast with our current situation.
I agree. I knew nothing about Garfield, though there is a statue of him in a block long park named after him in Cincinnati. Another excellent piece in which Dr. Cox Richardson seamlessly weaves past and present together to provide a more complete tapestry of current events.
Although the first eight years of my life were spent in England, here comes my radical white-haired Grannie again. (We all cried when FDR died.) We lived in a house full of books; one was "From Log Cabin to White House".
I am originally from Australia. ‘From Log cabin to White House’ was among the books in our home. Professor Richardson’s Letters, and information in the comments, continue my education. I have the book, ‘Destiny…’, about Garfield on hold at the library and will soon be able to learn more of that time. I am fortunate to live near an excellent library, in MN. Librarians, always kind and helpful are among the many courageous people of this very troubled time.
It is too bad that Garfield had such a short life. His ideals were so progressive. Heather, I don’t know if you have had time to listen to Rachel Maddow’s podcast called “Deja News” but she and her co-writer, Issac-Davy Aronson, zeroed in on Johnson’s speech in their last episode. Such an important speech during yet another tumultuous time in our lives.
And too bad (though in the context of present discovery) that I learned more about Garfield in the last few minutes than in the precious 76 years of my lifetime. His "ideas" speak to our time.
I think that education, conversation, and contemplation open our constrained bubbles of awareness of the larger patterns that pull the fragments of our consciousness into threads of some kind of sense, our best shot at approximating and recognizing "immortal ideas" that serve our person and our people.
Marlene, if you haven't seen Ava DuVernay's SELMA, it's the most amazing two hours of history of that period, told as a riveting thriller. It dramatizes point by point how Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. constructed the Selma to Montgomery marches to manipulate Johnson's —and the nation's— stance on voting rights.
To me, film and TV are among the most powerful ways to reach "lower education" voters. And we have to.
I haven’t seen it yet, Alexandra, but want to and thanks for the reminder. I remember that march vividly as I was a 13 yr old girl in segregated NC. It’s still amazing to me that Reverend Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are alive and active.
LBJ and King were partners in their struggle to get the Voting Rights Act through congress. As soon as the great Civil Rights Act was passed Johnson sat down with his attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach to draft the “G**d*** toughest voting rights act that you can.” Johnson, King, and other powerful civil rights leaders met and talked frequently about keeping this issue in public view. You can listen to their recorded conversations, they are in the archives of the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin. After the brutal Selma attack both King and Johnson were ready, King keeping the eyes of a horrified nation on the valiant citizens marching for their right to vote, and Johnson ready with the Voting Rights Act which he personally delivered to the congress. Ms. DuVernay’s powerful film was flawed in that she portrayed Johnson as less than fully committed to this cause. The film was about the many civil rights heroes - John Lewis, Andrew Young, the multitude on whose shoulders King and Johnson stood - who were the story of Selma.
On the fourth floor of the LBJ Library a small wooden desk has place of honor. In 1898 a Supreme Court justice joined his colleagues to uphold the “separate but equal” Louisiana law.
On August 5 LBJ sat at this same modest desk to sign the Voting Rights Act into law. He was surrounded by those American heroes who made it happen. The young woman at his side was his daughter, Luci Baines Johnson.
I visit that desk occasionally. Holy ground.
How amazing to have actual memories of that time. I lived in NC for a few years, after having grown up in California, and I never really got the reality of segregation u until I was there in that environment, decades later.
Marlene, about a month ago, Jesse Jackson retired from the the Rainbow, PUSH Coalition that he formed in 1971. He has been dealing with Parkinson's disease for eight years and other health issues, while getting around with the help of a wheelchair.
Yes, I knew that info but his son says he is still connected to the Coalition. I am sure he wants to stay informed even with the effects of Parkinson’s. Really makes me sad for him.
Just looked up Selma DVD at my local library branch. They have it. I will watch it later this pm.
I guess I am glad I live in NY. It has probably been pulled from all the libraries in the south at this point. If it was ever there.
Thanks for the reference.
Mike S, that is the most chilling thing I've read in ages: "It has probably been pulled from all the libraries in the south at this point." My God, these times.
I think most libraries now have it where you can “rent” movies or audiobooks and download them through your devices. I am positive NY libraries have this.
We have to.
I remember the speech and the times. Does everyone know Johnson’s background as a school teacher in small town Texas? When I lived there (1961-1966, San Antonio) it was more like Johnson than now. The Kennedy assassination may have led to the change, giving rich Republicans an edge. I’ve often wondered what happened to the Texas of Ralph Yarborough and Henry B. Gonzalez, my congressman.)
The right to vote and have one’s vote counted sounds so obvious and logical.
And the 2020 election complete with Covid and whole lot of ‘mailed in votes’ nationwide was assessed as the most error free and excellent presidential election ever….
In many states because of Covid folks didn’t want to ‘congregate’..that mailed ballot already used in Oregon and a few other states was embraced far more broadly….
We know it works…and folks who really don’t want free and fair elections are hugely opposed to these simple decent voting styles.
They are the enemy..make absolutely no mistake….they are racist/sexist and every other ‘ism’…they ARE the enemy of every black, brown and female person in this country….
Please read “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President” for a glimpse at one of the finest men ever elected to the presidency.
Written by Candice Millard in 2011.
Thank you for the reference. Like many, all I knew about Garfield was his assassination. The speech should be part of every young American’s history books. Back to the three r’s and public schools, everyone. And don’t forget the Latin for the language literacy even if we really don’t need much hackin’ and hewin’. (With apologies to Monty Python.)
Virginia, while "Destiny..." specifically covers his assassination, Garfield was, sadly, a long time dying. But in the manner of his dying he showed the quality of his character. It was profoundly sad for the country that, at such a critical time, we lost Garfield and ended up with the low-energy Chester Arthur. At present I am searching for a really good biography of his entire life.
Marshall Rafferty, thank you for teaching us about this largely forgotten president whose oratory is quite splendid in the history of civil rights. Please continue to let us know his history and his words. As we try to quell the racism among us, it’s important to know who took over from
Abraham Lincoln, the first great civil rights for every American advocate. Has everyone seen the history channel’s series on US Grant?
an excellent book.
Obvious and logical. Essential to democracy, to unalienable human rights, to liberty and justice for all. SCOTUS shrugs while their cronies openly steal what some many were willing to die to win and preserve. Whether by negligence or malice, a legitimate vote blocked or diluted should be recognized as a serious injury to the person thus deprived, as well as to the foundation of our republic as a whole. It's lunacy to see it being perpetrated en masse, in broad daylight, and not, as one people rise up and demand this epic betrayal immediately cease.
Openly, in broad daylight. None of that innocent until proven guilty. “Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes.”
Where else but from Letters from an American would we even know how our history speaks to us in this, the 21st Century. I am so grateful for having found these Letters!
LBJ found his conscience. JFK was dead. Assassinated by a skinny creep in Texas. Jack Ruby killed the skinny killer. And he died. Texas was notorious for racism and LBJ knew it. “Nigger don’t let the sun set on you” was the banner that crossed Beaumont Texas Main Street in June 1960. I saw it. That town was a Sundown Town. My brother Roger married there. SUNDOWN Towns is the name of the book that spells it out. Buy it. Study it.
If Texan LBJ can find his conscience, why not Gov. Abbott the cripple?
What’s changed? Simple. Half black President Obama’s two terms frightened the White Trash of Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and everywhere else. Two step forward, one backward.
Racist America doesn’t care.
LBJ cared. And he took charge. Then he got trapped lying about Vietnam.
What campus president has spoken out?
Name one that has labeled Trump a fascistic racist.
Abbott doesn’t have one to find, neither does Patrick
...and isn't interesting that Paxton, the impeached TX AG, has donated big bucks to Patrick, the judge in the Senate trial? https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/18/ken-paxton-impeachment-dan-patrick/
Texas politics, insanity in action. Karl Rove started it
Sorry. Conscience is a vestigial organ in the Republican Tribe.
Ain't that the truth. I thought Dirksen had one. Last of his breed
One plus one is a million.
Not one campus prez in Florida or Ohio, though the legislatures of both seem to want changes in academic offerings and freedom of hate speech.
Troll spewing false data on your platform with a syntax gaffe. Platform for Trolls?
Don't let TT grab your attention. Once again, begins by teetering on the edge of the trolldom abyss, then dives right in. Ignore them and hopefully they'll go away.
Report him. If enough of us do, he (she, it) will be off this site.
My take as well, Bryan. Hope it goes away soon.
BSM: Goodbye Bryan Sean McKown.
S B Lewis a long gunman theorist? Hah! You just like to make Schitt up about people, now, don't you.
Let us be clear: feckless john roberts wrote the Shelby decision - joined by scalia and alito (both of whom enjoyed expensive vacations they could not afford, but for their rich friends generosity), and concurred with by clarence (who too received excessive gifts). Did I mention roberts wife receiving huge referral fees for strategic lawyer placements?
How utterly devoid of character - these vagabonds of gifts and graft and injustice.
Wealthy white males still running things. Thank you for underscoring the timeline Professor ⭐
When will we grownup and into the ideals on which this country was founded?
In an August 2 article in The Atlantic, "Trump's Threat to Democracy Is Now Systematic", Ronald Brownstein questions whether Republicans will ever accept the outcome of an election they don't win. He writes:
"Trump may constitute a unique threat to America’s democratic traditions. But he has always connected his claims of pervasive electoral fraud to the widespread anxiety among white, Christian conservatives that they are losing control of the country to a racially diverse, secular, and LGBTQ-friendly Democratic coalition centered in the nation’s largest cities. As Trump put it during one 2020 rally before a predominantly white, rural audience in Georgia: “This is our country. And you know this, and you see it, but they are trying to take it from us through rigging, fraud, deception, and deceit.” Whether Trump is convicted for trying to overturn the 2020 election or not, voters who accept that argument will remain the most powerful force in the GOP coalition. And they will continue to demand leaders who will fight the changes that they believe threaten their position in American society.
"Those other Republican leaders may not attempt to overturn an election as brazenly as Trump did with the conduct Smith catalogs in his indictment. But . . . for the foreseeable future, they are likely to pursue other means “toward the same end: that majoritarian democracy cannot be tolerated under any circumstances if the outcome is not what you wanted it to be.”
We must not expect this problem to be solved in the next election. We must prepare, as President Kennedy urged, " 'to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle ... against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.' " He had just begun to confront the tyranny of racism in the summer before he was murdered. President Johnson used his considerable political skills to pass the Civil Rights Act go 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. And on the evening he signed the VRA, he told his aide Bill Moyers, "Well, I think we may have lost the south for your lifetime – and mine."*
And so we continue the struggle against tyranny both here at home and around the globe.
The future of freedom depends on us.
*https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/22/we-may-have-lost-the-south-lbj-democrats-civil-rights-act-1964-bill-moyers#:~:text=A%20brilliant%20political%20analyst%2C%20Johnson,the%20south%20for%20a%20generation.”
I suspect the refusal of the former Republican Party to recognize outcomes to elections began in 1964 with Goldwater’s loss of the Presidential Election.
John Birchers and every ultra-Conservative wealthy family in America was convinced the tide of History would reassert their nationalist religious fervor into America.
You don’t trip billionaires with unfavorable facts and they certainly know how to organize confusion of reality.
Since that time the Right has spawned dilution and diminution of the Rights of Man through the vote seeding their members with hate and the Spector of a non-white nation run by minorities.
Thank you Dr Richardson, we seem to get one step toward equality to see it trampled down by bigotry. We thought after the Civil Rights and Voting Rights we were on the road to equality for all. But we relax a little too much and find we are facing the same battle all over again. The bigots and racists are a minority in the US, so how does this travesty keep recurring? I think even if we were to carve out a chunk of the US and give it to them to live happily ever after in bigotry, fascism, and racism; they still would not be content. If we could educate their children to analyze and think, perhaps we could have a future, but they'd probably find a way to continue their selfish useless lives.
Republicans don’t want their constituents to be educated. An educated society with critical thinkers is more resistant to propaganda and fabricated social wars. So many Americans pathetically lack critical thinking skills.
Next, school boards will be taking the science of evolution and dinosaurs out of school curricula — likely supported by the Supreme Court religious right wing.
A dumbed-down society is easier to manipulate. It is the dumped-down society that sees Trump as their savior — the biggest dumb-dumb of them all.
I agree, Cathy. I didn't want to refer to them as Republicans, because they aren't. They espouse authoritarianism and fascism. I prefer the POT, Party of Trump - although DeSantis is at least a little more honest in giving his real motivation. At least he says he wants a Christian Nation and he supports authoritarianism. And yes, the last thing any of those bigoted, racist, authoritarians want is an educated constituency. I also agree not only is Trump the worst President ever, the is also the least intelligent. I loved it when he referred to himself as a stable genius; the most common inhabitant of stables are horses. While horses are a beautiful and useful animal, (which Trump is neither) it is a rare horse who is also intelligent. Goats and pigs are much smarter. The only farm animals dumber than horses are sheep and turkeys. The horse may be smarter than cattle. I raised all these animals on a small farm for 12 years so I'm talking from experience
The last thing current "Republicans" want is a republic. "Citizens United"? " Patriot Act"? "ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse". Everything they say is what it isn't.
up is down, black is white, day is night, etc. etc. Get your damned alternate facts off my truth!
At the "GOP" Ministry of Alternate Facts, "Anti-Progress is Our Most Important Product".
Yup, a guy who completely misses the primary precepts of Christianity wants a "Christian" nation.
Just Sayin', in the first year of Trump's presidency, I realized that I was surrounded by "Christians" in my church who supported him. (The Sunday after the election in 2020, the person who delivered the opening prayer said, " Lord, the man we wanted didn't win, so please help us try to understand.") The preacher we had at the time was a Trump man. I was the pianist at the church and felt that I couldn't leave. I should have.
Anyway, I sent a letter to several columnists in our paper who wanted us to view Trump as the Second Coming. I found a verse in the Bible (Galatians 5: 22-23) which listed the fruits of the Spirit which Christians should embrace, and compared Trump's actions and speech to those qualities.
LOVE- He loves himself, rich white people, beautiful women, but mostly he loves himself.
JOY- He finds no joy in anything in which he is not the center of attention.
PEACE- I realized his propensity for promoting violence before he reveled in the violence of Jan 6.
PATIENCE- He certainly has none of that.
KINDNESS-There is not a speck of kindness in him, except to those people who bow down to him.
GENEROSITY- He was/is generous only to those who can further his cause.
FAITHFULNESS- I don't think he's been faithfu to anyone a day in his life,
GENTLENESS- He is a huge bear lumbering around, trying to influence and frighten us with his "strength".
SELF-CONTROL- He is a MOST INFANTILE person and I'm sure those around him in office were subjected to his many rants.
GENTLENESS- Again, he is a big, awkward, bully of a bear.
SO, what Christian in this world would wave their Red MAGa hats in the air of his hatred and intolerance and proclaim him a Christian. Makes you wonder.Just sayin'. :)
Bravo, Pat. I hope you can find an opportunity to spread this far and wide. Churches (and other houses of worship) pay no taxes, because they are not supposed to espouse preferences for political candidates, and now some of them might as well be headquarters for their guy.
Well done. Thank you. Child Donald continues to throw plates and catsup at the wall. It may get him in trouble at last.
Hate the poor, Worship the rich? Machine gun your enemy? Nope.
Horses are dumb and self destructive! But they do have good memories and high emotional intelligence. There is nothing better than the peace and quiet of a barn just listening to them munch hay on a still afternoon. My horses are my therapists and my sanity.
You know how Heather talks about people who try to differentiate “republic” from “democracy” and compares it to saying “I don’t have a dog; I have a golden retriever”? When texting for Ohio last week, i got someone who went on and on about that; didn’t I realize the difference; we are a REPUBLIC. Unfortunately when texting I cannot get into name calling …
I am sad that people fall for the kind of definitions that the person you talked to buy into, not realizing that they are thereby setting themselves up for a form of autocratic governance. My town was in that place when I moved here- a selectboard run by one man- the rest sat on their thumbs. Many unexplained closed door meetings. Special meetings "warned" (this is New Englandese) an hour before the meeting was held. Minutes of meetings I had attended that sounded like they had attended a whole different meeting. Decisions not recorded.
I felt trapped, because I couldn't afford to move. So I got active. So did other people. A couple of fiscal and professional ethics scandal brought things to a head, and we rode them to get some good people in.
Things were improving. But recently the mix on the board changed and we ended up with a group of guys who basically only talked about what they were interested in, and it wasn't always about what the town needed. The previous chair had just been hired to be our town manager-he had had begun the process of change, which we badly needed, and many of us were afraid we'd go backward and become again a town with a marginally effective and sometimes corrupt governance (one that only responded to law suits, of which there were many). Things got off track, and people started speaking up. One of the issues is that one member resigned due to family illness. Replacements are selected by the board from applicants who express interest. Of three applicants, two were women, both well qualified and active in the town. The other was a friend of members of the board, who wrote only that he wouldn't mind serving on the board. Guess who got selected?
New chair of our selectboard said several times that once the election is over, the "democracy" part is over, and then we are a republic. This by way of claiming that we elect people to make decisions for us, and we shouldn't question them. I was watching online the first time he said this. I made sure to go to the next few meetings, and when he repeated this, I stood up and went head to head with him.
I said loudly and firmly: "WE are a democracy, and WE elect people to represent our interests and needs in the decision-making process. WE are entitled to be included in that process and to be kept informed of what decisions were being considered and what the outcomes were. The law requires that all sessions be open and that public input be, not merely allowed, but considered."
I got an ovation (well, ok, a little ovation: this is a small town). But there were folks there who spoke up and supported what I said. We now have members of the selectboard who hear us, and act on it. We had had an election in which one of the women who'd previously expressed interest was elected. Now we had a new vacancy with a term to be filled by appointment. A woman who is well-known and respected in town had applied and was selected over two other candidates, one male and one female. Well, knock me over with a feather. The woman who was selected has added balance and ballast to the board, and the other one has really changed the tenor of the board.
Now we have a board that has three appointed members and two elected (one of them being the chair I mentioned above). Townspeople are actively participating again, and our town commissions have new members. I expressed the thought that once we have elections so that all the members of the select board are actually elected, we'd be back on track to being a real democracy again. Surprised looks: it appears that that hadn't occurred to many how inbred our town governance had become, even though that is the issue that brought people out in numbers to the meetings.
Oh, and in this process, I was appointed (by the gov) to fill a Justice of the Peace position vacated by one of the people seeking office. I don't do much at present unless there is an Executive Board meeting for assessments, taxes etc, but expect that the next year will be interesting as we start preparing for the elections. I can marry people, but so far no requests. I'm a Quaker, so the idea of officiating at marriages kind of tickles me. Other Quakers will understand why.
👏👏👏 Wow—good for you. One voice can make an avalanche (mixing my metaphors…)
Brava, Annie, brava!!! Participatory democracy works for us only when WE work for it.
Thanks, MLM & Barbara. Small things add up, especially when we join together. Any one out there who doubts their ability to have an impact: I'm proof you can. I am 80 years old, and have a disability that often limits my energy. I can't do all that I'd like to do, but I keep up on what's going on, and I choose carefully how to use the energy I do. I try not to waste it on complaining, but focus on those issues where what I have to say just might make a difference. I can draw on my past experience to guide me in this, but we each have a voice that brings a variety of perspectives. All of you: please use your voices, in whatever ways works for you. It adds up.
We are a democratically elected republic. Why do people get into these semantics battles?
Deflection, distraction, denial, etc. It's rather like what the Second Amendment QWNJs would have us believe, that somehow "well-regulated militia" is not part of the US Constitution.
How about the DesPOT party - there is nothing recognizably conservative about the followers of either J6 D1078 or Desantis, at least the way we have always understood conservatism in this country. Neither moral, nor honorable, nor honest, nor compassionate, and not even basically sensible. Differing intelligently with actual conservatives is possible, but there is no intelligent anything with these people.
LOL! The best one yet. I love the DesPOT party, it says it all in one word (:-)
It seems to me that many human beings are very slow learners, as we keep on repeating the errors of the past. We are easily deluded and succumb to flattery and self interest, ignoring real and very present dangers.
Just as people develop according to their environment and opportunities, animals also develop to their potentials, accordingly.
. I have only known several horses but one in particular, was a noble being. He had been trained as a war horse, the time of change from horses to mechanization of war. Now war progresses to AI. What was that about human beings and slow learning when our efforts continue to be focused to a great extent upon destruction, people and larger environments.
AI + war/conflict = what could possibly go wrong???? /s
Thanks for the alt. take on "stable genius". He failed to drain the swamp (tho he tried, but wetland restoration is a noble response) – wonder how he'd do mucking out stalls...
Exactly right, Cathy. It was really illuminating for me to learn that the antebellum South had no schools for white children either— the South only got schools for white kids when the Freedman's Bureau and the newly freed Black population started opening schools for Black AND white.
It's so clear the R leadership wants to go back to just that— virtually non-existent education for their voters as well as everyone else.
To clarify: there were schools for white children, just not everyplace, especially in rural areas where often the only whites were the plantation owners. And they tended to educate only the eldest son, who would inherit everything. A will might make provisions for the other children (one or two slaves, a plot of land, a horse, maybe an allowance if they were very wealthy). But yeah, in those areas no public schools.
The former "Republican" party embraced big lies party-wide with Ronald Reagan. Now Big Lies and Big Money is all they have left. When lies are your superpower, education is your nemesis.
And that has been going on for lots longer than I realized—state republicans reduced or stopped funding higher education in their states, thus leading to an increase in need for student loans.
That was Reagan's legacy to California.
Exactly. This was my experience in working for a Cal State Univ Financial Aid Office for 40 + years (one year @ UCSB Fin Aid) & seeing what Reagan did to education in CA—was appalled when he was elected president…twice!!! There are other factors that led to the increase in student loan borrowing, but reduction in public funding/support is a biggie. Back in the 80’s I prepared a presentation for Univ-wide staff (a staff “enhancement program”) on the coming student loan debt crisis…and NO one came. Wasn’t on anyone’s radar (except fin aid folks) as a looming problem. Was really hard to watch it unfold & see where we are now.
bigots, racists, enforced ignorance and voter apathy add up to...fascism
“ideas outlive men; ideas outlive all earthly things" very true.
But this could also apply to Trumpism. Watch out America.
Christopher Coffer, you are so right. And when they got cover with trump’s administration, they popped up like mushrooms in your yard after rain. They were always among us but in disguise in many cases. Vote. Everyone must vote.
“... the right to vote, and the right to have that vote counted....” is a precious treasure, that we all must protect and fight for...Thank you, Heather, for another inspiring letter.
One of your gems, Heather!
Among many LFAA gems. ✍📧