The Washington Post editorial board today wrote that “the battle for democracy will be fought—and won” by “explaining to the world why freedom matters to everyone, every day.” So, on an evening when our power has finally been restored, but too late for me to do a deep dive on anything, let’s see what that might look like from today’s news:
As a Michigander, I'm amazed how well known our governor is. We were in Europe last May, and even Europeans have a positive impression of her. She has made positive and even-handed progress on roads, schools, social justice, and worker rights.
In early November, some friends and I attended the Nebraska-Michigan state football game in East Lansing. We came in a few days before to check things out. The amount of work being done to the interstates in central and eastern Michigan is amazing. Everywhere we went the people were warm and friendly.
We have lived in 10 different states and we love ME, but if we chose to live anywhere else it would be somewhere in MI.
It's not only Whitmer who is amazing. Senator Mallory McMarrow is as well. I'm sure there are many other Democrats in Michigan ready to step up to get things done there. And Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm was governor of MI. She has done an excellent job.
Thank you for your kind words. I hope we are welcoming to all visitors and would-be residents. We have many leafy neighborhoods with great schools and affordable housing! Next time you visit, don't miss Pierce Stocking Drive, part of the National Lakeshore near Traverse City. The views are spectacular. We have wonderful independent bookstores in Traverse City and Ann Arbor too.
We took a drive up to the tip of the thumb, wrong side of Michigan from Traverse City. We ate at a wonderful Inn/Restaurant in Bay Port. She told us about a couple of her summer waiters that were working in Lansing at restaurants and we looked them up. They gave us some great tour advice.
They were still harvesting sugar beets. There were huge mountains of them piled up in the processing centers. When I lived in Davis, CA I ran over a sugar beet. It was like hitting a rock. But, we saw no beets trying to escape in Michigan from the trucks.
I worked in Lansing for a year and loved it. A group of us would drive to Ann Arbor to meet up with some other programmers there. We usually just ate drank and talked. No real exploring.
Lansing has a fantastic chocolate shop with hand made candy -- Fabianos Candies.
I appreciate the many things I see being done in Maine and even in the many Red states and districts where the Republicans are happy to take credit for much of what their citizens see and appreciate, DESPITE their votes against that legislation that is increasing the benefits the public can see more clearly.
I wish Jennifer Granholm had been born in the US (as an anchor baby, just 4 years before she was born in Canada). Even if she was a Canadian citizen for her first 4 years), she would have had the option to choose which country she wanted to be a citizen of at age 18, and I believed/believe she would be eligible to run for President or Vice President .
I haven't followed her as much as I would have wished (since she is not eligible to become President of the U.S.), but was always impressed by the things she accomplished and tried to do.
A taste of what I liked about her can be found at:
I had swapped assignments coming out of our PCS student assignment to the Weather Maintenance 7-level school at Chanute AFB. My top grades gave me the 1st choice at Kingsley Field, Oregon with its great location and ranking in the top 4% of our field. To the amazement of one who's dream assignment was Kingsley Field, had traded for the assignment at Selfridge ANGB (which I believe was in last place at 203rd), and so close to Detroit and its problems in 1973 with the Oil Embargo. Years later he asked why I had done that. I told him we all got assignments overseas after a year in the states, asking him where he went after a year at Kingsley. I believe he said he ended up with an unaccompanied assignment to Korea. while I was able to tell him I had picked the worst site with the most opportunity for improvement (and one of the last CPS-9 radar they no longer taught at the 7-level school). With the help of the Field Maintenance Shop in Illinois and authorization to do Field Maintenance Shop level repairs ourselves raising the performance of the weather maintenance shop from last place to the top 4%. Actually they gave us an award for being most improved without acknowledging that we had made it into the top 4%. I believe that got us a non-volunteer assignment to 4 years in Hawaii (hit me with that stick anytime you want). As much as we would have liked to stay in Michigan (our daughter was born in Mt Clemens, during the 11 months we were there), and help the rest of the Michiganders build on the many good parts of their potential to make more improvements in some target rich areas, we bailed out on them for Hawaii (to me a top 1 or 2% opportunity).
I think Jennifer Granholm made much better progress, even without our help.
YES! Voters Not Politicians is how we were able to undo the Republican gerrymandering of 2010 so we could elect Governor Whitmer, Secretary of State Benson and Attorney General Nessel. Plus, candidate Gretchen Whitmer hiked, biked, snow shoed and/or cross country skied through every county, city and village in Michigan asking us what we needed. Her "Fix the Damn Roads" campaign was OURS!
That's what we did in California in 2016 supporting Bernie Sanders and getting a lot of independents, Republicans (current and former), and non-corporate Democrats to tell us what their priorities were. Back then the PTB in the party didn't want to talk to us at all, so we had trouble getting them to vote for Hillary like most I knew did.
After the loss, I was amazed at the Indivisible veterans and effective campaigners that were now willing to join our Unity Coalitions that focused on far less divisions separating us to avoid splitting support for those that gave Democrats the 41 seat increase in the House in the 116th Congress, and 7 more Governors.
To me, it makes the Unity Coalition, though identified as Democrats, a fitting description as much as the Opposition Coalition was in the 34th Congress that was the majority. That Majority had 100 identified by an "O" for Opposition, and 51 still identified by "A" for the American party otherwise known as the No Nothing party.
Perhaps we should stress the "Unity Coalition" with fuller support from the talent in the Indivisible organizations.
Most effective politician on the national stage, now that Pelosi has stepped down. Biden is third and also plenty damn good, up there with the best since Lincoln.
Biden has done well for the most part in his presidency. But I believe he has made some serious mis-steps regarding Gaza. Terrorists fighting terrorists is a terrible thing, and our perceived support of the Israeli government could be an unmitigated disaster for the United States and the world. The world is watching.
Actually, leaders of both sides have been awful, and are both culpable. It's time we stopped taking sides, and put equal pressure on both to finally grow up and stop behaving like warring children.
As an aside, has anyone else noticed Blinken’s travel schedule? I used to do a lot of international travel for work, and there is absolutely no way I could ever keep up the pace Blinken has. Of course, he has a lot of support, but even so, I bet he doesn’t even know what time zone he’s in half the time. The guy is amazing!
Hey, Larry. This latest FB chat from Heather helped me to better understand what Biden is trying to accomplish re the MidEast: keeping America safe and keeping Iran from getting involved in the war. Her talk about immigration starts at time 33:04. Her talk about the MidEast starts at time 56:12.
What would you do if you were faced with having to decide what to do regarding Gaza? It’s highly unlikely you would support Hamas vs the Israel government. But what would you support doing (if anything) regarding Hamas invasion of Israel? Of Hamas’s killing/ murdering innocent civilians, some in brutal, horrific ways including the rape and dismemberment of women? What would you support doing?
Would the worlds perception of the United States be the determining factor, the driving force of what action or non-action you would take? Keep in mind Hamas initiated this conflict (aka they started it) when they invaded Israel. Biden could have done nothing. But how would the world perceive him doing nothing?
Take a walk in Biden’s shoes. Those shoes are likely much more difficult to walk in than it is to offer critique from a distance. I suspect the decisions he has made, and must make weigh heavily upon him. Many leaders of the world likely know how heavy a burden this is too. It’s not a burden I’d want to bear.
I get that. Too many either have never heard of or ignore, the "Walk a mile in my shoes" quote. BUT 20,000 people - many women and children - killed so far? I'm really not sure that Biden COULD do something to prevent that - but continuing to send military help rubs me the wrong way. And yes - a very heavy burden - serving as President & DOING THE JOB which the tfg didnt do, didnt care to do, and did not know HOW to do!
Biden is definitely the best president of my lifetime, which began the first summer of the Eisenhower Administration. No earlier president has ever made me feel like I had the wind at my back as I rode my bicycle across the Great Plains of Montana and North Dakota, and then again on my record day of riding, Arnprior Ontario to Montreal--150 miles.
Biden has done so well despite the GOP holding the Senate, and the Democrats' slimmest of slim Democratic majorities in the House. And as Ellen an J. Nol point out, below, the blame over Gaza belongs with Netanyahoo and Hamas.
I think Biden is in a no win situation, yet he keeps acting like a leader. I think he has done a wonderful job. Can you even imagine what state the world (and the US) would be in if tfg was the POTUS? Makes my skin crawl.
She would undoubtedly make a very good one. It could happen in four years!
I do have to say though that Biden is the best president of my lifetime, which began during the first summer of the Eisenhower Administration. I'm not looking to replace him before his second term is up. But after that, I'd happily vote for Gretchen Whitmer!
This Virginian would be very pleased to support your Governor Whitmer for President. She is on my short list for bigger jobs in the future. And that's something he can't say for his own present governor.
Unfortunately one would have to move to a different state since the President and Vice President can't be from the same state (Bush 43 and Cheney were both from Texas at the start so Cheney changed to Wyoming).
I've always seen that logic as why we got Andrew Johnson from Tennessee, after Hannibal Hamlin, a former Democrat from Maine, served as the first Republican Vice President, selected to sort of balance the West (Illinois) with the East.
An interesting surprise came a few minutes ago when I looked at a comment at
"Yes. However, the electors of their state in the Electoral College may not vote for both of them if they are both from that state, and in a close election this could mean the president could be elected, but not the Vice President on the same ticket.
This was the situation in 2000 with W Bush and Cheney both residing in Texas. Solution? Cheney moves out of state..."
I rather think I would have liked to have seen George W without Dick Cheney in the position he was in (to break 8 ties in the Senate), though I doubt that would change as much as much as having someone less competent in tricks in the office.
I'll never forget the looks and body posture of Cheney listening to Dan Quayle giving him advice on how to be a Vice President.
Back when I was a Republican, the one thing that always bothered me was Republican President's seeming to choose Vice Presidents much less respected than themselves, I came to assume to help avoid impeachments because who would become President. I felt that especially after the great pains and careful negotiating to let Spiro Agnew off so lightly s long as he stepped out of the way so they could get a more trusted replacement in place before convincing Nixon to resign.
University of Michigan is my alma mater. Ann Arbor is my second home town. My professor taught me Lincoln's second inaugural as the governing spirit of America. My problem is I am too excited with every Michigan FB game in the fall.
The Trumplican's and the members of the "Freedom Caucus" declare that they defend freedom but they are the LEAST FREE AMONG US! They have given up their freedom to dissent and stay the party line. Through Orwelian Doublespeak and gaslighting they use deceit to create a false reality. Only TRUTH can set them, and us, free.
I went to Ohio State for grad school for physics. Columbus, Ohio doesn't necessarily share my ability to watch somewhat disinterested in the contest, while simultaneously drawn in :-).
Enjoy your pleasure for what might have been the best football team M ever fielded.
Tamp that down, though, with nod to how this year's Juwan Howard's basketball team stinks. And the Detroit Tigers during hot stove league have still not gotten a power hitter.
I, too, went to U of M. But I don’t care about football, which is a good thing, since we live in Columbus. My husband, also a Michigan grad, teaches at OSU. He roots for OSU now.
Hoosier by birth (real estate) and by choice (IU). No football team, except for ‘68 when I wasn’t even there yet, but great, stupendous basketball with Bob Knight (who died last month).
As a native Michigander, I am the first to admit that the University of Michigan deserves kudos where it is due. There are many fine profs and programs. Their football team, however, should be ashamed to go to a bowl game knowing they got there by cheating. The UofM should demand their forfeit, if they are an institution modeling integrity and merit. Many MAGA are UofM fans. Harbaugh & Company’s behavior this season highlights the maga-fication of society: “If you cannot win legitimately, CHEAT” (but with lots of fanfare, cheerleaders, and that perennial side-dish of Righteous Indignation)
Oh, I envy you. My dear Catholic father insisted I attend a Catholic school, so I went to Marquette University in Milwaukee. (We did have Al Maguire,...) I missed the whole football frenzy that would have been so much fun.
My parents and my kids went to U of M, but I chose Michigan State University because I planned to be both a nurse and a political advocate. Best Education at MSU and our Capitol!
Do you live in East Lansing? I recall spectacular fall yellow leaves throughout Michigan. My professor was a Republican and an elder of First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor. I was also a choir member there. Of course he will never be a member of Trump and MEGA Republicans.
Yes, Michigan can be very proud of its Democrats in office, particularly Whitmer and Benson. I'd vote for either one for anything at the drop of a hat and Whitmer has what it takes to be POTUS, as does Gov. Newsom of California. I've been thinking that perhaps Obama would during the holidays persuade Biden to step aside to make way for Whitmer or Newsom.
Part of the problem with our Democratic leaders is that they don't hit the opposition hard enough to take some of the pressure off of Pres. Biden who has and is doing an outstanding job.
Biden has done everything correctly with regard to the economy. The pandemic was just as serious as the 2008 collapse of Wall Street. This time we had a President and Congress who did the right things to save the citizens. Biden should stay as president.
Having lived in Michigan for over 20 years, I too am proud of the Democratic, democratic, leaders of the state. Governor Whitmer is something else. Whitmer for president?
Yes, me too. I live in Indiana, a quiet but red state and I implore that we can overcome the nasty nonsense Republicans are putting forth. Our Democracy must prevail.
In 2004, Kerry and Democrats failed to come to Michigan and in this instance Detroit.
When I was living in Livingston County, we knew Clinton was in trouble in 2016 and Dems failed to take Michigan's warnings. Clinton lost due to a record "Voting for others Vote" in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
In 2020 while still in Michigan, I watched the drama in Detroit as the elections board was deciding whether the vote could be certified. It was and trump lost and Biden won quite handily. The others vote dropped to its regular numbers as seen in the past.
It was an "oh crap" moment. I thought Michigan Dems and the political infrastructure would fail again. It was welcome relief.
This year Michigan has to redraw their Districts again as they were found to disadvantage Black citizens. The new citizen comprised congressional district mapping committee was in error. Not deliberately as found in southern states sometimes. Something brand new and inexperience was the cause.
I'm sure you've heard about the Gerrymandering of Wisconsin, which could lead to elections for most state legislative offices being required. And I'm reading David Pepper's book "Laboratories of Autocracy" which lays out how state government in the hands of Republicans has led to much of the ills we see today.
Lived in Mad City. Gov Lee Dreyfus of the red vest and the Gildersleeve of Wisconsin called Madison "30 square miles surrounded by reality."
It was a magical place for families. Good school, great parks, a downtown small theater that did Christmas Carol to which we took our three to watch each year till too old. And then off to Uno's on State Street for pizza where a young female UW student with a purple mohawk cut would wait on the five of us.
Things were tight for us. We camped a lot including Madeline Island in Lake Superior. My NYC wife learned how to sleep on an air mattress, and unzip a tent if our daughter had to go to the bathroom. Zip, zip to get out and zip-zip to get back into the family size umbrella tent. Swatting mosquitoes and the black flies. Jungle juice, the 90+ Deet paid off.
We all need to have the courage shown by the citizens of Wayne County. We must stand up strong and fight for our democracy. And when I say fight, I do not mean the kind of battle that requires violence. I mean using our voices, writing letters, and voting.
“Hundreds—hundreds (!)—of citizens showed up to the meeting of the Wayne County Canvassing Board to remind them of their duty under the law to ensure their votes counted. Their voices mattered. Their votes mattered.”
Ginni, what gives me hope is that so many people that I know are no longer complacent and are paying attention. Look at Indivisible and Red, Wine and Blue along with Stacey Abrams. Look at Taylor Swift telling her fans to vote.
The writer's email is at the bottom and I just sent him an analysis (as a former member of the R&D staff at Exxon Mobil) of where America is at in terms of oil production. Nothing that is not public of course.
I did also mention where he might have his head at as long as he is writing stuff like that at the link. Could not help myself.
BUT, with Rupert Murdoch paying people to write this trash and say this trash on his cable propaganda forums, we DO have our work cutout for us.
Thanks for the gifted opinion piece, Mike S, from which comes the following:
"Mr. Biden’s trillions, beyond expanding unemployment benefits and existing transfer payments, went primarily to infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing and renewable energy projects. That’s like dropping dollars from 50,000 feet. Talk about trickle-down economics."
No, let's talk about the JOBS that were and are being created, which Republicans don't care to acknowledge.
The corptocracy wants plenty of eager consumers but is loathe to hire and decently pay workers. That's no formula for societal prosperity.
My understanding is that the popular board game of Monopoly was originally, in its first version, meant to teach the hazards of monopoly; but wound up glorifying it. The problem is that the game always begins with a level playing field, and losers go off to sleep in their beds, not under a bridge. Realistically there would already be houses and hotels on most for the properties from the outset, and "Get out of jail free" cards would only be for the politically connected.
Mike S, good for you for calling them out! We, who live in the forest, heard you. I like Red, Wine, and Blue’s action plan (as I understand it): 1) make sure that 5 of your friends vote (and have them make sure that 5 of their friends vote, who each makes sure that 5 of their friends vote…) and 2) meet periodically with like-minded friends to bolster your spirits and get hints of what has worked for them.
I agree it’s a propaganda piece. But his argument that people are still feeling angry about the shut downs from the pandemic, aka “The economy” makes sense. Of course, people don’t know that’s why they’re still unhappy, but it’s an interesting take. I decided to follow him. Friends close, enemies closer, you know?
Good thinking, it pains me however to read, listen, and have counter tactics beyond just a blue vote. Propaganda is indeed in full force, effective, and journalist’s bread and butter nowadays..probably for the same reasoning the soap operas became suddenly ‘fashionable’ people are bored, haven’t had a hard row to hoe ever , and drama junkies.
If you’re struggling to feed yourself , hide from bombs , or cartels
of pushers, there isn’t much time to read BS!
I’ll try harder to spread a little good news today.
Mike S, you mention being a former member of the R&D staff at Exxon Mobile though I don't know which years. I am much in awe of the technical expertise I've seen in all I did meet even though I most appreciated how the ones before 1983 were able to do the research and document what they found.
I'd appreciate your views on the ones like Edward Garvey, Engineer, Exxon Research & Engineering, 1978-83 that was the first one interviewed in the Frontline Special, The Power of Big Oil Part 1, but I really appreciated what he had to say, and how your experiences compare.
I did get to meet Dr Tony Ingraffea in the company of Dr Tom Williams, advisor to the LA Sierra Club ,whom I had several discussions with after meetings. I just listened as the two of them covered everything I could imagine and more. Tony Ingraffea had been a major contributor to helping develop far more efficient fracking for 25 years before he turned against it as he saw the growing damage it caused. He is a major part of Part 3 of the documentary and has the last remark at the end.
The transcript covers all 3 parts but their are audio and video versions that cover each Part separately.
Mike, the main point I take from that editorial is that people were upset by the lockdowns and have yet to fully recover. So out of a pile of fertilizer comes a gem of information. He further pointed out that Trump obfuscated the message on Covid which cost him votes (ignoring Trump's attempt 5o steal the election). Beyond those 2 points his analysis is sludge,.
Aside from that, I'm curious why you think XOM's analysis of oil production is relevant to the topics covered.
Many were in nursing homes, and their voting relatives are pissed at the lockdowns, nor at the confused messaging that allowed incompetent operators to avoid implementing tough protocols that saves lives. Those tough protocols saved everyone in my mother's home because they worked. But to many ignored advice. Still, the blame goes to Biden and Fauci for the lockdowns, not blame on Trump for the excess deaths caused by politicized messaging. The excess deaths were highest in safely-Republican states, not in swing states so they won't affect the next election. On top of that, many of the deaths were of frontline workers, who might not have been Republicans anyway. Like the Trump indictments, Trump will get a pass for his deadly covid policies. (I won't be relieved of my pessimism until Trump's in jail, MAGA is in the trash, extremists are voted out, and a Democratic administration wins in 2024.)
Well thankfully our democratic government’s DOJ has been succeeding at providing future potential insurrectionists with good reason to not be a criminal:
One could argue we should have put more resources into DOJ so that they could have worked faster. Maybe if we vote fewer Republicans into office we could put more $$ into effecting Justice?? Certainly we know fewer Republicans in office will enable a more effective IRS!!
If I remember correctly, the Reagan administration argued that tax cuts for the rich would so supercharge the economy that it would bring even more tax revenue in, then they baited and switched to "tax cuts for themselves" coupled to "the unemployed are lazy bums" and we can't do such and such because the government is "broke" (for that kind of thing). The not-rocket-science logical disconnect there remains mostly unspoken.
I like your thinking but it makes me sad. Unless the Democrats control the White House and Congress none of those provisions will take place. MAGA Republicans don't want a more efficient government. As Steve Bannon put it, they want to "deconstruct the administrative state."
Yup! Vote Blue or continue to be tortured by a government (in our name) that craps on children throughout the world and locks up (or worse) those of us who advocate for freedom to criticize those in power, and a truthful accounting of our past
Yes! It’s showing up that will make the difference. Not with pitchforks but with demands for proper behavior, following the rules. That’s hoe WE take our country back.
This is an excellent post about the battle for democracy. I find that some of the best writing can be spontaneous and relatively unpolished, congratulations.
In my realm as a family doctor, working in parallel with public health, the battle for democracy and truth in medicine is just as critical.
For example, I wrote this post last night about the serious Covid, RSV, and flu situation in many of this country’s hospitals right now. Should Trump be elected, expect a chilling silence about all things public health that might slow down the American carnage economy, or be inconvenient truths:
I cross posted this on Daily Kos today. It was the number one trending story, so at least I helped get the word out among the progressive crowd while I have a voice not yet silenced…
THANK YOU for your service! Truly! As an "extremely" (per my immunologist) immune-suppressed person, ending up in the hospital now is one of my biggest fears. Thank you for your work and your posts. I do follow you.
Dense, I, too, am immunosuppressed and deeply grateful for my wonderful doctor. She sent me for remdesivir infusions the one and only time I tested positive. Brilliant.
I still sincerely believe that Trump is responsible for the 1M+ American deaths from COVID. His actions (I refuse to say ‘leadership’ ) were so inept and just damned ignorant. Taking veterinary medicine, UV light, and drinking bleach, my God!! Those were some dark days. And to think some people actually want this idiot back in power. It still blows my mind.
I also share that belief. His comment about needing the vaccine before the election told me everything about the guy. Makes me wonder what kind of people would support such a person? But millions do. I have been reading The deadly rise of Anti-science. This country has people who wish we were still looking for a way to stop small pox. Because vaccines are harmful. Huh?
Hard to pinpoint how many COVID deaths to attribute to GOP lies, but I think it's a very significant percentage of the whole, and counting. In a perfectly performing society, at least some infections/deaths were probably inevitable, and occurred in societies more rational than ours, but we, allegedly the richest and medically advanced nation, led the pack of percentage of deaths. That would seem to be due to sabotaged containment responses.
Well said. The MAGAS will just see such a crisis as a way to rid the country of vermin not even stopping to think that it will affect them as well and be even more deadly since they forget to do the protective measures because they want their freedom......
I agree. It’s amazing to me - they brush off Covid because “it’s only dangerous for vulnerable people” without understanding that Covid makes new vulnerable people. Never mind that throwing the vulnerable under the bus is despicable. I’m immunocompromised from chemotherapy and radiation, and my world has gotten pretty small.
Thank you for your dedication to your service. I have LUPUS and am a Breast Cancer Survivor. Many of my colleagues are terrified at the thought of another MAGA win
“Should Trump be elected, expect a chilling silence about all things public health that might slow down the American carnage economy, or be inconvenient truths:”
But of course! And why; because acknowledging public health issues would make him “look bad”. His vanity outweighs any concern for others.
It should not be that hard, but there's a lot of money weighing on promotion of lies. The next step in that direction would be, as in Hungary, lies enforced by force and terror.
JL, I was there in '56 as a toddler (but my Dad, a Diplomat and former Intelligence Officer
with SOE in WWII was engaged). I was there in '68 as a teenager. And I was next door as an old fart in Feb. 2022. I've seen too much, to believe in fairy tales, and easy struggles.
When Russia kills anyone who disagreed with their dictatorship. The traitors like Tucker Carlson, Rudy Giuliani, etc. etc. are already at work here with force and terror. My ancestors fled Russia in 1923 when dictators tried to impose totalitarianism on them, but many cousins died or went to the Gulag for 40, 50, 60 years when they didn't fight or leave.
The seemingly "easy part" would be for enough people to focus and think about the choice to empower or reject or sit out the transition to a "wannabee dictator". But somehow, exactly that seems to be the hard part.
Yes, it’s going to be very hard. For Republicans, cruelty is the point. There are upwards of 74 million US citizens who endorse that strategy and vote to make it the law of the land (although “law” seems like too noble a concept to describe the machinations of Orbsn acolytes).
Here’s the issue as I see it. MAGA Republicans can think all they want, but as Americans they’ve never lived it. Go ask any Eastern European how much they enjoyed totalitarian rule under the Jack boot of the Soviets. Nazi Germany where school kids were encouraged to denounce their parents if they didn’t agree with Hitler. The problem is, getting totalitarian rule is much easier than getting rid of it. Once these MAGA fools realize what they’ve done, it’s too late.
I recently read Joanne D. Gilbert's book "A victory for Miriam: the little Jewish girl who defied the Nazis". While the focus is evasion of Nazi soldiers etc, there are a number of sectors in which Miriam Brysk describes living in the Russian sectors she and her parents ended up in several times during their flight from the Nazis. The only difference from the Nazis is that they weren't sending Jews to be murdered. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48920056-a-victory-for-miriam
Thanks, Joanne, subscriber here I think, or on another substack I subscribe to. After you mentioned your books, I ordered "A Victory for Miriam" and downloaded "Women of Valor" for my Christmas travel reading.
Rickey, do me a favor. Take a pause from reading the Applebaum (can you say Russiaphobe? Sure you can!) book and watch the following three-way interview on Gaza/Israel and Ukraine/Russia. There will probably be things said that you don’t agree with, but if you are at all curious about the world outside of the American narrative, you might also learn something that you didn’t fully grasp before. The interview is slightly over an hour and a half, but well worth it. Peace, t
Thanks Tom, but we will have to disagree on Applebaum. Red Famine is an in depth history of Ukraine and Russia. Then you can add Timothy Snyder in the mix. IF you also want to pick up something beyond the American narrative try some Naomi Klein, and the book Guns, Germs, and Steel. Lots of history about where this all leads.
It’s an in-depth look at one period of history, in which Applebaum took primary source material and then layered her anti-Russian American propagandist bias on it. Think Victoria Nuland channeling Bandera, post-2014 coup. See this Amazon review - “Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2017
Having worked through Conquest's 'Harvest of Sorrows' and Wheatcroft and Davies' 'The Years of Hunger', I am trying to work out whether it's worth taking up this book.
Based on the reviews, it doesn't seem so.
Wheatcroft and Davies have already worked through what the Soviet authorities in Kyiv and Moscow knew and what they did (and didn't do) based on the archival documents. The evidence accepted by the 97% on the 1932-33 famine is that millions died, especially across Ukraine, the Kuban and into Kazakhstan, that local authorities were ruthless in methods to secure grain, and that the death toll was a combination of poor weather and an unfinished and ongoing struggle with a peasantry that were seen as hostile to Moscow, exacerbated if not primarily caused by a lack of good, trustworthy and timely information about conditions on the ground.
To take this and brand the famine "Stalin's War on Ukraine" is a highly political move. Perhaps Applebaum's thesis is more nuanced than her title suggests, but in the context of current international relations between Russia, Ukraine and the US with journalists like Applebaum committed to opposing Moscow's 'campaigns of misinformation', it's hard not to see this book as another front in such a war. Applebaum thus seems predisposed to approach this historical fact with a particular, not-too-hidden, agenda that concurs with the line that the Ukrainian state has been trying to push since 1991 -- that this tragic famine was in fact a genocide.
To call this famine a war suggests it was man-made, while the regular famines across Russia preceding it and that year's climactic conditions suggest otherwise. To call it Stalin's war would seem to neglect the role of everyone else, including Russians and Ukrainians, and the longstanding antagonisms between Party and peasantry. To call it a war on Ukraine does no justice to half of the casualties who neither lived in Ukraine nor spoke Ukrainian - especially in Kazakhstan and southern Russia.
My suggestion to those here would be to read instead Wheatcroft and Davies' Years of Hunger. Yes, it will be considerably drier, but it's chock full of primary documents which allow you to make your own judgement based on the available evidence.”
No to Snyder. Have read all of Klein’s books, and G,G&S. I’m not saying Red Famine isn’t factual, I’m saying Applebaum is a neo-con Russiaphobe. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2NJrZtJxzY
I just asked you to take a pause and watch the interview I linked. Did you?
Did Fox ever hire fact checkers after they fired them in 2020? It would seem prudent to have them around especially with the second defamation case looming.
It would be also be nice to see Hannity disappear like Tucker did.
Oh Tucker is still around. Our benighted troll above just shared a video from The Juran. Another of their videos presents Tucker as the cat’s pajamas. Cynicism has caused some to become strange bedfellows in the depths of YouTube. Which is then spouted as something other than the propaganda it is. This was readily apparent in one of those “let’s interview dumb people at a Trump rally” videos.
Not so much "dumb" but captured by cult ideology. It seems to be a pretty common proclivity. A "virus" of the mind. More education is protective, but not infallibly so.
People already agree that it's up to us to defend and keep our democracy. At every meeting, at every turn, we need one person to stand up for democracy, and then a second person, and others will follow. We, ordinary citizens, are going to have to be at the forefront of this essential fight, whether it's school board meetings or Canvassing Board meetings or whatever kinds of meetings there are where we can show up for democracy.
Betsy….i get your point…about attending those meetings and speaking up….but I’m wondering if ‘meetings’ are the right place to speak up? I’m wondering if just explaining what is happening in Hungary with the total loss of rights isint a better tactic and if using billboards isint more effective..using fear ….in a meeting you have ‘resistance’ ‘defensiveness’ and opposition….not fear…think the Trumpies have used fear very effectively..think quite possibly we should….
And a further thought…we’ve all seen school board meetings and similar type other meetings end up in a public food fight…one side insults the other..there’s media coverage…it’s a mess. My background is in human development and I know enough about human interaction to infinitely prefer to avoid direct confrontation which basically firms up everybody’s biases. But I really like introducing the fear piece….something the reps do very well…and there’s serious and very legitimate reason for fear right now….Hungary being a screaming example…
There isn't necessarily one right way to go about strengthening our democracy. Each person needs to do whatever seems to be the most productive to them at any given time.
But I think that you miss the point about the effectiveness of the folks who went to the Canvassing Board meeting. They didn't go to fight or to call names or to instill fear. They went to stand up for democracy. As a retired union activist, I know the power of collective action, of many people speaking in one voice. I prefer solidarity over fear as a tactic.
I think what's going to be "hard" is fighting the voter suppression and vote nullification laws enacted by all the states controlled by the Republicans.
it is immensely difficult, Kathy. I wish more people would see that, and start preparing. Get a plan, and be ready. Then, at least you'll have a chance when they come for us!
Bruce, I have already started preparing......... Preparing to leave the United States for good if those fascist Authoritarian jackass MAGAs and TFG win next November. I have been saving all i can for 2 years and a half and i have the means to do it. Those fascist creeps aren't going to tell me what i can and can't do. They will probably beat and murder me if i stay here. I will not abide by their Christian Nationalist BS for one minute. I would certainly lose if i even tried to fight them. I will not let them own me. That is my plan.
I was an active resister to the Vietnam war and I heard a lot of 'Love It or Leave It' in my travels around the US. To which I said, 'Fix It or Forget It.'
I'm not giving up. My ancestors came here in search of a better life, in search of freedom and I intend to honor the sacrifices they made, with my last breath, if I have to.
That said, I hate these Christian fascists with every fiber of my being, and I will not leave my country to their control. I may go down fighting, but I will resist to the end.
You are right, Suzanne. I get emails from an organization that call themselves. ''Faith America.'' They are not any way affiliated with the ''Christian Nationalists''. They are the real Christians and strongly oppose the Christian Nationalists and stress their total opposition to them and call them out as a phony organization that do not share any Christian beliefs. The Cristian Nationalists are religious fanatics that hide their unlawful and corrupt Fascist intentions as a cover for their criminal and dishonest activities.
I think a more accurate phrase would be "Facist Christians". Because they do proclaim themselves as Christians, whatever we may consider them to be. I believe everyone here understands the difference between actual Christians and Fascist Christians (who are not, in reality, Christian).
I am not wanting to leave either, i just believe our side will win if someone can stop the Fascist GQP from flaunting our voting laws like gerrymandering and reducing places people can vote at. I can't figure out why they are being allowed to this. They are defying voting laws because those creeps cannot win unless they cheat and suppress voters.
I am very disgusted that TFG is even being allowed to run for anything with the enormous amount of crimes he has committed. He should have been imprisoned 3 years ago and been convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Those terrorists in our House of Representatives should also been imprisoned and sentenced to '' life without parole'' It is hard for me to be optimistic when the game is rigged in their favor even before we vote. I don't trust that corrupt Supreme Kangaroo Court none whatsoever.
I am going to hang around until the election is over and do what i can to encourage every one i can to vote Democrat. I have tried and failed to convince some of the people in my area the danger we are in if TFG and those Fascist GQP domestic terrorists are elected. Some of these people in my area are so ignorant, gullible, arrogant, and just plain stupid they believe everything those ''so called'' news outlets, Fox Spews, Spewsmax, OANN, and others spew daily. They have been conned by the most evil person in North America, Donald TUMP. If he wins, i am gone from here. They are NOT going to dictate and control me.
Good for you, John. I assume you are doing everything possible to influence that not happening. That said, since you appear to be a pacifist, prepare to add to your plan even if they lose. I have this "thorn in my side" that they are not just going to walk away peacefully. Where would you go?
Yes Bruce, i am doing everything possible to influence that not happening.. I am a peace loving pacifist and try to think there must be some good in everyone, but TFG and his rabid followers have shattered that idea, somewhat. I am laid back and courteous to others when i go out in public and i hate to see good people being mistreated of any race. I stand up and sign petitions for LBGTQ and the abortion rights and women's rights and all of the other good causes for the average everyday people.
For months, i have been set on going to Canada to the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or even the interior of British Columbia in the city of Smithers or Prince George. I have chatted online with several Canadians, and i really like them. I had considered other nations like Sweden or Norway, but the language barrier would be a huge problem for me in those nations.
I don't qualify to immigrate to Canada by the regular immigration rules, but one lady i chatted with said i could get a passport and live there for 6 months while i applied for citizenship for retirees in order to live there permanently. I have passed the citizenship test a year or so ago.
I considered the UK to go to, but this lady from the UK that writes on a Substack thing said this Authoritarian crap was trying to get established there now too... Go figure. I do not see how anyone could want such a thing.
If Dems win in 2024, i am going to use that money i have saved to build onto my house, My daughter, grandson and one of my sons and his stepson live here us kind of cramped up right now. I just hope we can keep those Fascists and TFG out of our government. TFG absolutely SHOULD NOT be allowed to run for anything, that includes '' Dog Catcher''. He is a horrible person and extremely corrupt, and has been all of his retched, sorry, life.
If you think the outcome of the ‘24 elections should be the deciding factor in making the cross-border move, go right ahead, but I think there’s a bigger reason to make it. Most ex-pats I come into contact with are glad they made the move because they saw the U.S. sliding into corporate control, and saw no end on the horizon to the resulting degradation of the social safety net. That won’t change, absent public pressure, regardless of the ‘24 outcome. We whipsaw between the Rs and Ds, and the circling of the drain continues.
I prefer to stay and fight the fascists here, because I know their tentacles will reach every nation on earth eventually if they are not stopped here; as you noted with the UK, and even Sweden, France and Canada, are infected, and/or are succumbing to an overreaction by illiberal forces cutting into civil liberties in a misguide reaction to the fascists.
Bumpy ride ahead for all of us. Good luck, whatever you decide to do. Peace, t
New Zealand — I’ve thought a lot about this. But, they are in the Asian realm of influence and if China makes a move on Taiwan, I presume they along with Australia would quickly be drawn into that fight.
I agree, Kathy and Heather -- all we need to do is stop reacting in fear or even anger and approach these terrorists for what they are. The wording from the House Speaker "who has said that immigration is such a national crisis that House Republicans will not pass a bill providing supplemental funding for Ukraine to help it fight off Russia’s invasion without significant changes to the nation’s border policy, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to make those changes himself through executive action." is the wording used by kidnappers and those determined to win at any cost, i.e. terrorists, fascists, etc.. These are not people who wish to negotiate, to arrive at a solution when they already have a 'final solution' in mind. We are supposed to 'never forget' for a reason!
Hopefully, Trump will be found guilty in some of the criminal trials he has going already. But yes, that would be helpful. Do you know if the statute of limitations is looming if MI decides to pursue charges?
Such a concise and strangely rousing report.The year we have anticipated with dread, loathing, vengeful hearts, and hope is almost here, and I find I am ready for it. For that, I must thank your faithfully accurate and inspiring essays, along with columns by several other writers whom you can probably name. Thank you, Heather!
“Well,” she wrote, “then something I’ll never forget happened.
“Hundreds—hundreds (!)—of citizens showed up to the meeting of the Wayne County Canvassing Board to remind them of their duty under the law to ensure their votes counted. Their voices mattered. Their votes mattered."
Sounds something like a Frank Capra movie, but was real democracy doing its thing. I had no idea.
I'm happy to hear, but somewhat surprised, that the WaPo editorial board is taking a stand. So many of their feature stories seem inclined to point harshly at Biden's weaknesses while giving his anti-democracy predecessor a pass. It is certainly in their best interest if they value press freedom.
After many years I canceled my Washington Post subscription. The editorial board was a joke. It has turned into the Biden bashing paper. Their opinion pieces other than Jennifer Rubin and Max Boot have turned into the victimhood cries for the GQP. They now have a Murdoch man at the helm. That was it for me.
Lisa, Rubin and Boot are both neo-cons to their core. Agree with you about the WaPo; it’s been a neoliberal/domestic policy neocon/foreign policy cheerleading rag for decades. Same with the NYT, and most of the ‘serious’ periodicals that liberals tend to gravitate to (Atlantic, New Yorker, etc). Not to say these media outlets are totally bereft of quality journalism, just the time spent trying wade through the BS to find it could be better spent elsewhere.
Check out the interview here when you have an hour and half to spare. You’ll come away with more awareness about Gaza/Israel and Ukraine/Russia than 95% of America, including our elected ‘leaders’.
We are already there Michael, we just can't believe it yet. It is not just 2024 that is in darkness, but the foreseeable future, or do you think these animals are going to quit if they lose an election?
They certainly have not been shining any light on the truth of the Biden administration's achievements or the intentions and threats so loudly expressed by MAGA to remove our Constitution and install a Kristyun Nationalist dictatorship.
Maybe they really do believe that "Democracy dies in Darkness" and some of us have gotten through to them that the "Darkness" is here NOW when we bombarded them.
"Ukraine’s former Minister of Defense and head of the Center for Defense Strategies Andriy Zagorodnyuk sits down with Euromaidan Press editor-in-chief Alya Shandra to discuss whether the accusations levied at Ukraine’s defense officers in the Washington Post two-part article on what went wrong with the 2023 counteroffensive are legit, how the war has entered uncharted territory, the victory plan and million drones that Ukraine needs, the three scenarios of the war’s development in 2024, and why Ukraine’ supporters should not despair."
Sorry to be a cynic but I'll believe it when I see it. They may just be playing for some clicks as we try to determine if they were telling the truth. The MSM have been big players in the destruction of our democracy. They have been Trump fans since he announced because they knew he'd help them gather "clicks".
By executive order, Biden should give Ukraine the frozen Russian assets and tell Mike (the dick in name and in temperament) Johnson and his miserable band of trump loving traitors to go you know what themselves.
That is a great idea! And maybe one the Executive Branch could pull it off. Or if not get a majority of Congress to agree. Wouldn't take many Repubs to defect!
He could do that, but there would be major political fallout. Better to make the MAGANAZIs look like the Fascists they are. Hopefully, our allies will continue to provide enough weapons and ammo until Congress acts.
The Democrats need to show up in hundreds - hundreds- like the citizens of Wayne County to assure that the rule of law prevails. Thank you, Heather, this gives me hope.
I agree, Patricia. It's going to take an all out effort on our part to assure that the ''rule of law'' prevails. It is appalling that almost half the population of the United States embraces the idea of having a Dictator and Authoritarian rule.
What if Democrats showed up at TFFG rallies and heckled him all the way through his lying screed. Of course, Trump would try to have them thrown out, which would make him look like the Fascist he is. A few hundred people at a TFFG rally would be hard to haul off to jail especially in some of the small towns TFFG holds his rallies.
What is occurring in Hungary is chilling. I was born in Europe, and because of that I feel a certain kinship with other Europeans. It’s disconcerting to witness authoritarian beliefs and ideas taking hold. It’s so very easy to appeal to an “imagined past” when everything and everyone was good. Of course, that is the imagined past of ourselves as children, of old family photographs and magazines and children’s stories. Adulthood is something completely different, a time when we need to wrestle with contradictions and chaos. It can seem easier to have a father who will “take care of everything”, just as he did during our childhood. I know I don’t speak for every child, of course. (The ones who had to wrestle with contradictions and chaos from an early age.) But I think you will understand what I mean.
By reading the NYR and WaPo headlines and subheadlines for quite a while now, one would believe they are fully behind Trump and in no way suggest that the serious threat to our democracy is news, Project 2025 and Operation 47 be damned. It's time to pull the plug. Ad rates are controled by readership.Hit them where it hurts.
I presume the NYT headlines are meant to be clickbait, as often the stories are more honest. But I wish they understood that in today's world many people don't go past the headlines.
This December will be remembered as the month when the media, finally, got a clue that our democracy is under a withering, potentially fatal attack. It should never have taken this long. But the timid heads-in-the-sand looked around after much prodding and began reporting reality.
With this shamefully late pivot spread and intensify, as it must? I suspect it will. After all, journalism in all its wonderful and crappy forms is in Trump's crosshairs, too.
“To be honest it doesn’t seem that hard” (to identify the rep/Trump future chamber of horrors…says Heather and then she developed a description of Hungary’s total loss of democracy and my personal favorite a committee in Hungary that would most likely convict all of us….Heather’s readers myself included….) I think it’s going to be very hard …and boy does it need to be done!
You may want to check into recent news on efforts to undermine elections in Texas. Travis County (Austin, TX) has run primary elections jointly for the Democratic and Republican Parties. The Travis County Republican Party would not agree to a joint election until December 19--the primary is March 5 and early voting starts Feb. 20. The Travis County wanted hand written and hand counted ballots on a precinct by precinct basis. Travis County has had county-wide polling (if you are a Travis County voter) you can vote anywhere on Election Day. The concession that they got was hand-counted mail ballots. Gillespie County (Fredricksberg Texas) will have a completely paper and hand-counted election. There were at least 6 challenges against our November 2023 Constitutional Propositions Election that appear to be test challenges against voting procedures and voting machines in several counties. The challenges failed on procedural grounds but they learn by their mistakes--preparing for November 2024. (And then there is always Ken Paxton- Seattle Children's Hospital is suing him over his efforts to get the medical records of a trans child from Texas who was allegedly treated at Seattle Children's Hospital. )
There's an "old Texanism" about what the late-departed "needed" that was a traditional defense when scum like Paxton were found face down in a dark alley bleeding out from large caliber exit wounds. That's an old "Texas tradition" that ought to be revived in his particular case.
Tom, this thinly veiled threat about Paxton makes you sound like the people threatening the Colorado Supreme Court justices. You know better than that!
I’m so very proud of Secretary, Benson, Governor Whitmer, and AG Nessel of my great state of Michigan.
I am proud of Michigan too! (As a child I lived in Wayne County.) Wish we could have Gov. Whitmer for President....
Eventually, I do believe she will be our president.
As a Michigander, I'm amazed how well known our governor is. We were in Europe last May, and even Europeans have a positive impression of her. She has made positive and even-handed progress on roads, schools, social justice, and worker rights.
In early November, some friends and I attended the Nebraska-Michigan state football game in East Lansing. We came in a few days before to check things out. The amount of work being done to the interstates in central and eastern Michigan is amazing. Everywhere we went the people were warm and friendly.
We have lived in 10 different states and we love ME, but if we chose to live anywhere else it would be somewhere in MI.
It's not only Whitmer who is amazing. Senator Mallory McMarrow is as well. I'm sure there are many other Democrats in Michigan ready to step up to get things done there. And Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm was governor of MI. She has done an excellent job.
Thank you for your kind words. I hope we are welcoming to all visitors and would-be residents. We have many leafy neighborhoods with great schools and affordable housing! Next time you visit, don't miss Pierce Stocking Drive, part of the National Lakeshore near Traverse City. The views are spectacular. We have wonderful independent bookstores in Traverse City and Ann Arbor too.
We took a drive up to the tip of the thumb, wrong side of Michigan from Traverse City. We ate at a wonderful Inn/Restaurant in Bay Port. She told us about a couple of her summer waiters that were working in Lansing at restaurants and we looked them up. They gave us some great tour advice.
They were still harvesting sugar beets. There were huge mountains of them piled up in the processing centers. When I lived in Davis, CA I ran over a sugar beet. It was like hitting a rock. But, we saw no beets trying to escape in Michigan from the trucks.
I worked in Lansing for a year and loved it. A group of us would drive to Ann Arbor to meet up with some other programmers there. We usually just ate drank and talked. No real exploring.
Lansing has a fantastic chocolate shop with hand made candy -- Fabianos Candies.
https://www.fabianoscandies.com
If it's not the best chocolate you have ever had let me know who is better.
Aside from brief layovers at the airport in Detroit, I have never been to Michigan. Sounds like I should visit!
I appreciate the many things I see being done in Maine and even in the many Red states and districts where the Republicans are happy to take credit for much of what their citizens see and appreciate, DESPITE their votes against that legislation that is increasing the benefits the public can see more clearly.
Pete Buttigieg will be an amazing president, too!
I wish Jennifer Granholm had been born in the US (as an anchor baby, just 4 years before she was born in Canada). Even if she was a Canadian citizen for her first 4 years), she would have had the option to choose which country she wanted to be a citizen of at age 18, and I believed/believe she would be eligible to run for President or Vice President .
I haven't followed her as much as I would have wished (since she is not eligible to become President of the U.S.), but was always impressed by the things she accomplished and tried to do.
A taste of what I liked about her can be found at:
https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2017/03/21/clean-power-good-jobs-energy-independence-april-21-2011/
I had swapped assignments coming out of our PCS student assignment to the Weather Maintenance 7-level school at Chanute AFB. My top grades gave me the 1st choice at Kingsley Field, Oregon with its great location and ranking in the top 4% of our field. To the amazement of one who's dream assignment was Kingsley Field, had traded for the assignment at Selfridge ANGB (which I believe was in last place at 203rd), and so close to Detroit and its problems in 1973 with the Oil Embargo. Years later he asked why I had done that. I told him we all got assignments overseas after a year in the states, asking him where he went after a year at Kingsley. I believe he said he ended up with an unaccompanied assignment to Korea. while I was able to tell him I had picked the worst site with the most opportunity for improvement (and one of the last CPS-9 radar they no longer taught at the 7-level school). With the help of the Field Maintenance Shop in Illinois and authorization to do Field Maintenance Shop level repairs ourselves raising the performance of the weather maintenance shop from last place to the top 4%. Actually they gave us an award for being most improved without acknowledging that we had made it into the top 4%. I believe that got us a non-volunteer assignment to 4 years in Hawaii (hit me with that stick anytime you want). As much as we would have liked to stay in Michigan (our daughter was born in Mt Clemens, during the 11 months we were there), and help the rest of the Michiganders build on the many good parts of their potential to make more improvements in some target rich areas, we bailed out on them for Hawaii (to me a top 1 or 2% opportunity).
I think Jennifer Granholm made much better progress, even without our help.
Glad to see Granholm redeeming herself on the national level.
There’s not a woman in Michigan who is holding office right now, who I do not like.
That is fantastic and most of them seem to be Democrats.
The same is true of Maine and our officeholders in my opinion.
And your state has Voters Not Politicians doing good work!
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
YES! Voters Not Politicians is how we were able to undo the Republican gerrymandering of 2010 so we could elect Governor Whitmer, Secretary of State Benson and Attorney General Nessel. Plus, candidate Gretchen Whitmer hiked, biked, snow shoed and/or cross country skied through every county, city and village in Michigan asking us what we needed. Her "Fix the Damn Roads" campaign was OURS!
That's what we did in California in 2016 supporting Bernie Sanders and getting a lot of independents, Republicans (current and former), and non-corporate Democrats to tell us what their priorities were. Back then the PTB in the party didn't want to talk to us at all, so we had trouble getting them to vote for Hillary like most I knew did.
After the loss, I was amazed at the Indivisible veterans and effective campaigners that were now willing to join our Unity Coalitions that focused on far less divisions separating us to avoid splitting support for those that gave Democrats the 41 seat increase in the House in the 116th Congress, and 7 more Governors.
To me, it makes the Unity Coalition, though identified as Democrats, a fitting description as much as the Opposition Coalition was in the 34th Congress that was the majority. That Majority had 100 identified by an "O" for Opposition, and 51 still identified by "A" for the American party otherwise known as the No Nothing party.
Perhaps we should stress the "Unity Coalition" with fuller support from the talent in the Indivisible organizations.
I had no idea! Isn’t she amazing?!
Most effective politician on the national stage, now that Pelosi has stepped down. Biden is third and also plenty damn good, up there with the best since Lincoln.
Biden has done well for the most part in his presidency. But I believe he has made some serious mis-steps regarding Gaza. Terrorists fighting terrorists is a terrible thing, and our perceived support of the Israeli government could be an unmitigated disaster for the United States and the world. The world is watching.
It's Netanyahu who has made serious missteps regarding Gaza. Put the blame where it belongs.
Actually, leaders of both sides have been awful, and are both culpable. It's time we stopped taking sides, and put equal pressure on both to finally grow up and stop behaving like warring children.
Easier to criticize Biden, Blinken (and others) than to do what they have been trying to do.
As an aside, has anyone else noticed Blinken’s travel schedule? I used to do a lot of international travel for work, and there is absolutely no way I could ever keep up the pace Blinken has. Of course, he has a lot of support, but even so, I bet he doesn’t even know what time zone he’s in half the time. The guy is amazing!
Hey, Larry. This latest FB chat from Heather helped me to better understand what Biden is trying to accomplish re the MidEast: keeping America safe and keeping Iran from getting involved in the war. Her talk about immigration starts at time 33:04. Her talk about the MidEast starts at time 56:12.
https://fb.watch/p5oZia8cCC/
True — easier said than done
What would you do if you were faced with having to decide what to do regarding Gaza? It’s highly unlikely you would support Hamas vs the Israel government. But what would you support doing (if anything) regarding Hamas invasion of Israel? Of Hamas’s killing/ murdering innocent civilians, some in brutal, horrific ways including the rape and dismemberment of women? What would you support doing?
Would the worlds perception of the United States be the determining factor, the driving force of what action or non-action you would take? Keep in mind Hamas initiated this conflict (aka they started it) when they invaded Israel. Biden could have done nothing. But how would the world perceive him doing nothing?
Take a walk in Biden’s shoes. Those shoes are likely much more difficult to walk in than it is to offer critique from a distance. I suspect the decisions he has made, and must make weigh heavily upon him. Many leaders of the world likely know how heavy a burden this is too. It’s not a burden I’d want to bear.
I get that. Too many either have never heard of or ignore, the "Walk a mile in my shoes" quote. BUT 20,000 people - many women and children - killed so far? I'm really not sure that Biden COULD do something to prevent that - but continuing to send military help rubs me the wrong way. And yes - a very heavy burden - serving as President & DOING THE JOB which the tfg didnt do, didnt care to do, and did not know HOW to do!
Biden is definitely the best president of my lifetime, which began the first summer of the Eisenhower Administration. No earlier president has ever made me feel like I had the wind at my back as I rode my bicycle across the Great Plains of Montana and North Dakota, and then again on my record day of riding, Arnprior Ontario to Montreal--150 miles.
Biden has done so well despite the GOP holding the Senate, and the Democrats' slimmest of slim Democratic majorities in the House. And as Ellen an J. Nol point out, below, the blame over Gaza belongs with Netanyahoo and Hamas.
I think Biden is in a no win situation, yet he keeps acting like a leader. I think he has done a wonderful job. Can you even imagine what state the world (and the US) would be in if tfg was the POTUS? Makes my skin crawl.
I, too, greatly admire Whitmer's skills but I think it will take too long for Americans to shake off the misogyny that remains rife in our society.
Unfortunately, too many of us still are afraid of women's power, thus the misogyny.
No doubt. As supposedly one of the best countries on the planet, we still have some serious hang ups.
After the Trump and GQP debacle, I believe the thinking will change.
Wait 'til you meet Gretchen on the campaign trail!
We can certainly hope. I'd vote for her.
Who?
Gretchen Whitmer
She would undoubtedly make a very good one. It could happen in four years!
I do have to say though that Biden is the best president of my lifetime, which began during the first summer of the Eisenhower Administration. I'm not looking to replace him before his second term is up. But after that, I'd happily vote for Gretchen Whitmer!
Agree 100%
This Virginian would be very pleased to support your Governor Whitmer for President. She is on my short list for bigger jobs in the future. And that's something he can't say for his own present governor.
My hope exactly!
I as thinking that myself.
And Katie Fahey! Who started an effort in Michigan to end gerrymandering.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/21/fix-american-democracy-voting-rights-supreme-court-senate/
Thanks for the article. Fahey is a rockstar.
Here is the direct website for Voters Not Politicians:
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
And another way to protest clerical fascism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/16/world/middleeast/a-viral-dance-and-happiness-campaign-frustrates-irans-clerics.html?mwgrp=c-mbar&unlocked_article_code=1.H00.e5kK.028wxRLHALNg&smid=url-share
Wonderful. The 70 year old gentleman is a hero and an inspiration!
Til, I'm looking forward to President Whitmer!
Mallory McMorrow for VP
McMorrow
Unfortunately one would have to move to a different state since the President and Vice President can't be from the same state (Bush 43 and Cheney were both from Texas at the start so Cheney changed to Wyoming).
Per history .com there is no law nor restriction on the Presidentv& Vice President (VP) being from the SAME state.
Confusion may arise from misunderstandings of the Electoral College system. See Article 2 of the Constitution.
I have long supported 1 person 1 vote: A vote in Freeport Maine is the same as a vote in AZ, MI, NV, FL or PA ... anywhere in the USA.
I can even write in McMorrow for President although I do like Senator Warren a lot.
No law, but common political sense is that the President and V.P. should come from different parts of the country to garner more votes.
I've always seen that logic as why we got Andrew Johnson from Tennessee, after Hannibal Hamlin, a former Democrat from Maine, served as the first Republican Vice President, selected to sort of balance the West (Illinois) with the East.
An interesting surprise came a few minutes ago when I looked at a comment at
https://www.quora.com/Can-the-president-and-vice-president-be-from-the-same-state
Frank Langben's answer was
"Yes. However, the electors of their state in the Electoral College may not vote for both of them if they are both from that state, and in a close election this could mean the president could be elected, but not the Vice President on the same ticket.
This was the situation in 2000 with W Bush and Cheney both residing in Texas. Solution? Cheney moves out of state..."
I rather think I would have liked to have seen George W without Dick Cheney in the position he was in (to break 8 ties in the Senate), though I doubt that would change as much as much as having someone less competent in tricks in the office.
I'll never forget the looks and body posture of Cheney listening to Dan Quayle giving him advice on how to be a Vice President.
Back when I was a Republican, the one thing that always bothered me was Republican President's seeming to choose Vice Presidents much less respected than themselves, I came to assume to help avoid impeachments because who would become President. I felt that especially after the great pains and careful negotiating to let Spiro Agnew off so lightly s long as he stepped out of the way so they could get a more trusted replacement in place before convincing Nixon to resign.
You are right except it is the 12th Amendment, (I assume just a typo)
See https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96427&page=1
Unless that article is wrong
And as much as I LOVE that Pete Buttigieg now lives in my Michigan county, there went my dream team with Whitmer for the White House.
University of Michigan is my alma mater. Ann Arbor is my second home town. My professor taught me Lincoln's second inaugural as the governing spirit of America. My problem is I am too excited with every Michigan FB game in the fall.
The Trumplican's and the members of the "Freedom Caucus" declare that they defend freedom but they are the LEAST FREE AMONG US! They have given up their freedom to dissent and stay the party line. Through Orwelian Doublespeak and gaslighting they use deceit to create a false reality. Only TRUTH can set them, and us, free.
Oh the irony of it all Marilyn.
I went to Ohio State for grad school for physics. Columbus, Ohio doesn't necessarily share my ability to watch somewhat disinterested in the contest, while simultaneously drawn in :-).
But Hiro, you are way too intelligent to be a fan of the obnoxious Jim Harbaugh, it seems to me😀
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Also M grad here, Hiro.
Enjoy your pleasure for what might have been the best football team M ever fielded.
Tamp that down, though, with nod to how this year's Juwan Howard's basketball team stinks. And the Detroit Tigers during hot stove league have still not gotten a power hitter.
I, too, went to U of M. But I don’t care about football, which is a good thing, since we live in Columbus. My husband, also a Michigan grad, teaches at OSU. He roots for OSU now.
I miss Ann Arbor. I love that town.
Hoosier by birth (real estate) and by choice (IU). No football team, except for ‘68 when I wasn’t even there yet, but great, stupendous basketball with Bob Knight (who died last month).
The ISU basketball games when Larry Bird was there — some of the best games ever played!
As a native Michigander, I am the first to admit that the University of Michigan deserves kudos where it is due. There are many fine profs and programs. Their football team, however, should be ashamed to go to a bowl game knowing they got there by cheating. The UofM should demand their forfeit, if they are an institution modeling integrity and merit. Many MAGA are UofM fans. Harbaugh & Company’s behavior this season highlights the maga-fication of society: “If you cannot win legitimately, CHEAT” (but with lots of fanfare, cheerleaders, and that perennial side-dish of Righteous Indignation)
Oh, I envy you. My dear Catholic father insisted I attend a Catholic school, so I went to Marquette University in Milwaukee. (We did have Al Maguire,...) I missed the whole football frenzy that would have been so much fun.
My parents and my kids went to U of M, but I chose Michigan State University because I planned to be both a nurse and a political advocate. Best Education at MSU and our Capitol!
Do you live in East Lansing? I recall spectacular fall yellow leaves throughout Michigan. My professor was a Republican and an elder of First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor. I was also a choir member there. Of course he will never be a member of Trump and MEGA Republicans.
I too feel very fortunate to be living in Michigan during this important time in our history.
Agree, Cathy!
Whitmer for President
Yes, Michigan can be very proud of its Democrats in office, particularly Whitmer and Benson. I'd vote for either one for anything at the drop of a hat and Whitmer has what it takes to be POTUS, as does Gov. Newsom of California. I've been thinking that perhaps Obama would during the holidays persuade Biden to step aside to make way for Whitmer or Newsom.
Part of the problem with our Democratic leaders is that they don't hit the opposition hard enough to take some of the pressure off of Pres. Biden who has and is doing an outstanding job.
Biden has done everything correctly with regard to the economy. The pandemic was just as serious as the 2008 collapse of Wall Street. This time we had a President and Congress who did the right things to save the citizens. Biden should stay as president.
Having lived in Michigan for over 20 years, I too am proud of the Democratic, democratic, leaders of the state. Governor Whitmer is something else. Whitmer for president?
Yes, me too. I live in Indiana, a quiet but red state and I implore that we can overcome the nasty nonsense Republicans are putting forth. Our Democracy must prevail.
For once Democrats took Michigan seriously.
In 2004, Kerry and Democrats failed to come to Michigan and in this instance Detroit.
When I was living in Livingston County, we knew Clinton was in trouble in 2016 and Dems failed to take Michigan's warnings. Clinton lost due to a record "Voting for others Vote" in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
In 2020 while still in Michigan, I watched the drama in Detroit as the elections board was deciding whether the vote could be certified. It was and trump lost and Biden won quite handily. The others vote dropped to its regular numbers as seen in the past.
Astonishing to me that I hadn't heard this account years ago. What's up with that?
I do not believe it made the national news. It should have as Michigan was one of three states which decided the 2016 election.
The failure of U.S. media is on clear display.
Les:
It was an "oh crap" moment. I thought Michigan Dems and the political infrastructure would fail again. It was welcome relief.
This year Michigan has to redraw their Districts again as they were found to disadvantage Black citizens. The new citizen comprised congressional district mapping committee was in error. Not deliberately as found in southern states sometimes. Something brand new and inexperience was the cause.
I'm sure you've heard about the Gerrymandering of Wisconsin, which could lead to elections for most state legislative offices being required. And I'm reading David Pepper's book "Laboratories of Autocracy" which lays out how state government in the hands of Republicans has led to much of the ills we see today.
Les:
Lived in Mad City. Gov Lee Dreyfus of the red vest and the Gildersleeve of Wisconsin called Madison "30 square miles surrounded by reality."
It was a magical place for families. Good school, great parks, a downtown small theater that did Christmas Carol to which we took our three to watch each year till too old. And then off to Uno's on State Street for pizza where a young female UW student with a purple mohawk cut would wait on the five of us.
Things were tight for us. We camped a lot including Madeline Island in Lake Superior. My NYC wife learned how to sleep on an air mattress, and unzip a tent if our daughter had to go to the bathroom. Zip, zip to get out and zip-zip to get back into the family size umbrella tent. Swatting mosquitoes and the black flies. Jungle juice, the 90+ Deet paid off.
Being an old boy scout and XMarine paid off.
Me, too. I hope AG Nessel steps forward on the DQ issue re: Trumputin.
We all need to have the courage shown by the citizens of Wayne County. We must stand up strong and fight for our democracy. And when I say fight, I do not mean the kind of battle that requires violence. I mean using our voices, writing letters, and voting.
“Hundreds—hundreds (!)—of citizens showed up to the meeting of the Wayne County Canvassing Board to remind them of their duty under the law to ensure their votes counted. Their voices mattered. Their votes mattered.”
Ginni, what gives me hope is that so many people that I know are no longer complacent and are paying attention. Look at Indivisible and Red, Wine and Blue along with Stacey Abrams. Look at Taylor Swift telling her fans to vote.
Mary,
Here is what we face: Today's Wall Street Journal. Gift link. A real propaganda piece for sure.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pandemic-killed-bidens-presidency-inflation-economy-green-spending-bidenomics-733295e2?st=9mia0snv3wryp6j&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
The writer's email is at the bottom and I just sent him an analysis (as a former member of the R&D staff at Exxon Mobil) of where America is at in terms of oil production. Nothing that is not public of course.
I did also mention where he might have his head at as long as he is writing stuff like that at the link. Could not help myself.
BUT, with Rupert Murdoch paying people to write this trash and say this trash on his cable propaganda forums, we DO have our work cutout for us.
I read half the piece and the first few comments. Those people are deluded.
Thanks for the gifted opinion piece, Mike S, from which comes the following:
"Mr. Biden’s trillions, beyond expanding unemployment benefits and existing transfer payments, went primarily to infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing and renewable energy projects. That’s like dropping dollars from 50,000 feet. Talk about trickle-down economics."
No, let's talk about the JOBS that were and are being created, which Republicans don't care to acknowledge.
Perhaps throwing paper towel rolls at hurricane devastated crowds is the kind of direct help they were looking for???
Jobs are for export.
The corptocracy wants plenty of eager consumers but is loathe to hire and decently pay workers. That's no formula for societal prosperity.
My understanding is that the popular board game of Monopoly was originally, in its first version, meant to teach the hazards of monopoly; but wound up glorifying it. The problem is that the game always begins with a level playing field, and losers go off to sleep in their beds, not under a bridge. Realistically there would already be houses and hotels on most for the properties from the outset, and "Get out of jail free" cards would only be for the politically connected.
Not simply JOBS created but, with semiconductor manufacturing, we soon will be less - or not at all - dependent on semiconductors from overseas.
Mike S, good for you for calling them out! We, who live in the forest, heard you. I like Red, Wine, and Blue’s action plan (as I understand it): 1) make sure that 5 of your friends vote (and have them make sure that 5 of their friends vote, who each makes sure that 5 of their friends vote…) and 2) meet periodically with like-minded friends to bolster your spirits and get hints of what has worked for them.
I agree it’s a propaganda piece. But his argument that people are still feeling angry about the shut downs from the pandemic, aka “The economy” makes sense. Of course, people don’t know that’s why they’re still unhappy, but it’s an interesting take. I decided to follow him. Friends close, enemies closer, you know?
Good thinking, it pains me however to read, listen, and have counter tactics beyond just a blue vote. Propaganda is indeed in full force, effective, and journalist’s bread and butter nowadays..probably for the same reasoning the soap operas became suddenly ‘fashionable’ people are bored, haven’t had a hard row to hoe ever , and drama junkies.
If you’re struggling to feed yourself , hide from bombs , or cartels
of pushers, there isn’t much time to read BS!
I’ll try harder to spread a little good news today.
💙💙VOTE ALL THE COMPLICIT OUT💙💙
Thanks, Mike. The op ed, and the comments, are delusional.
Mike S, you mention being a former member of the R&D staff at Exxon Mobile though I don't know which years. I am much in awe of the technical expertise I've seen in all I did meet even though I most appreciated how the ones before 1983 were able to do the research and document what they found.
I'd appreciate your views on the ones like Edward Garvey, Engineer, Exxon Research & Engineering, 1978-83 that was the first one interviewed in the Frontline Special, The Power of Big Oil Part 1, but I really appreciated what he had to say, and how your experiences compare.
See https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/the-power-of-big-oil/transcript/
I did get to meet Dr Tony Ingraffea in the company of Dr Tom Williams, advisor to the LA Sierra Club ,whom I had several discussions with after meetings. I just listened as the two of them covered everything I could imagine and more. Tony Ingraffea had been a major contributor to helping develop far more efficient fracking for 25 years before he turned against it as he saw the growing damage it caused. He is a major part of Part 3 of the documentary and has the last remark at the end.
The transcript covers all 3 parts but their are audio and video versions that cover each Part separately.
Mike, the main point I take from that editorial is that people were upset by the lockdowns and have yet to fully recover. So out of a pile of fertilizer comes a gem of information. He further pointed out that Trump obfuscated the message on Covid which cost him votes (ignoring Trump's attempt 5o steal the election). Beyond those 2 points his analysis is sludge,.
Aside from that, I'm curious why you think XOM's analysis of oil production is relevant to the topics covered.
Trump's obfuscation in Covid didn't just cost him votes, it cost him many actual voters who refused vaccination so died.
Many were in nursing homes, and their voting relatives are pissed at the lockdowns, nor at the confused messaging that allowed incompetent operators to avoid implementing tough protocols that saves lives. Those tough protocols saved everyone in my mother's home because they worked. But to many ignored advice. Still, the blame goes to Biden and Fauci for the lockdowns, not blame on Trump for the excess deaths caused by politicized messaging. The excess deaths were highest in safely-Republican states, not in swing states so they won't affect the next election. On top of that, many of the deaths were of frontline workers, who might not have been Republicans anyway. Like the Trump indictments, Trump will get a pass for his deadly covid policies. (I won't be relieved of my pessimism until Trump's in jail, MAGA is in the trash, extremists are voted out, and a Democratic administration wins in 2024.)
Next time the MAGAs might show up too. That won't be pretty.
Not might, will show up and will not do so as citizens but as insurrectionists.
Well thankfully our democratic government’s DOJ has been succeeding at providing future potential insurrectionists with good reason to not be a criminal:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/30-months-jan-6-attack-capitol
One could argue we should have put more resources into DOJ so that they could have worked faster. Maybe if we vote fewer Republicans into office we could put more $$ into effecting Justice?? Certainly we know fewer Republicans in office will enable a more effective IRS!!
If I remember correctly, the Reagan administration argued that tax cuts for the rich would so supercharge the economy that it would bring even more tax revenue in, then they baited and switched to "tax cuts for themselves" coupled to "the unemployed are lazy bums" and we can't do such and such because the government is "broke" (for that kind of thing). The not-rocket-science logical disconnect there remains mostly unspoken.
👍🏼A few lone voices are doing their best to inform the brainwashed
I like your thinking but it makes me sad. Unless the Democrats control the White House and Congress none of those provisions will take place. MAGA Republicans don't want a more efficient government. As Steve Bannon put it, they want to "deconstruct the administrative state."
Yup! Vote Blue or continue to be tortured by a government (in our name) that craps on children throughout the world and locks up (or worse) those of us who advocate for freedom to criticize those in power, and a truthful accounting of our past
They might even bring their guns too
I wish that statement could be labeled hyperbole, but they're willingly being prepped to do so, on many levels.
In many states, including Michigan, that's a certainty.
I'll ask my proud boy neighbor what the plan is...
Frown emoji and condolences.
THIS!
Yes! It’s showing up that will make the difference. Not with pitchforks but with demands for proper behavior, following the rules. That’s hoe WE take our country back.
This is an excellent post about the battle for democracy. I find that some of the best writing can be spontaneous and relatively unpolished, congratulations.
In my realm as a family doctor, working in parallel with public health, the battle for democracy and truth in medicine is just as critical.
For example, I wrote this post last night about the serious Covid, RSV, and flu situation in many of this country’s hospitals right now. Should Trump be elected, expect a chilling silence about all things public health that might slow down the American carnage economy, or be inconvenient truths:
https://mccormickmd.substack.com/p/covid-its-on-again
I cross posted this on Daily Kos today. It was the number one trending story, so at least I helped get the word out among the progressive crowd while I have a voice not yet silenced…
THANK YOU for your service! Truly! As an "extremely" (per my immunologist) immune-suppressed person, ending up in the hospital now is one of my biggest fears. Thank you for your work and your posts. I do follow you.
Dense, I, too, am immunosuppressed and deeply grateful for my wonderful doctor. She sent me for remdesivir infusions the one and only time I tested positive. Brilliant.
There with you in body, mind and soul Denee!
I still sincerely believe that Trump is responsible for the 1M+ American deaths from COVID. His actions (I refuse to say ‘leadership’ ) were so inept and just damned ignorant. Taking veterinary medicine, UV light, and drinking bleach, my God!! Those were some dark days. And to think some people actually want this idiot back in power. It still blows my mind.
I also share that belief. His comment about needing the vaccine before the election told me everything about the guy. Makes me wonder what kind of people would support such a person? But millions do. I have been reading The deadly rise of Anti-science. This country has people who wish we were still looking for a way to stop small pox. Because vaccines are harmful. Huh?
MDAGA
Make the Dark Ages Great Again.
Hard to pinpoint how many COVID deaths to attribute to GOP lies, but I think it's a very significant percentage of the whole, and counting. In a perfectly performing society, at least some infections/deaths were probably inevitable, and occurred in societies more rational than ours, but we, allegedly the richest and medically advanced nation, led the pack of percentage of deaths. That would seem to be due to sabotaged containment responses.
Well said. The MAGAS will just see such a crisis as a way to rid the country of vermin not even stopping to think that it will affect them as well and be even more deadly since they forget to do the protective measures because they want their freedom......
I agree. It’s amazing to me - they brush off Covid because “it’s only dangerous for vulnerable people” without understanding that Covid makes new vulnerable people. Never mind that throwing the vulnerable under the bus is despicable. I’m immunocompromised from chemotherapy and radiation, and my world has gotten pretty small.
Thank you for your dedication to your service. I have LUPUS and am a Breast Cancer Survivor. Many of my colleagues are terrified at the thought of another MAGA win
“Should Trump be elected, expect a chilling silence about all things public health that might slow down the American carnage economy, or be inconvenient truths:”
But of course! And why; because acknowledging public health issues would make him “look bad”. His vanity outweighs any concern for others.
You are very appreciated, Dr. McCormick! Stay safe and well!
A Merry Christmas to you, and hope you get the day off (retired med tech here--many a Christmas in the lab.)
Dr. McCormick, thanks for your comment and the link to your post. May I post it to my Facebook page? Either way, I'm cracking some windows open.
Absolutely! Thanks for asking, I'll respond more later but having a typical crazy day right now. Stay safe and happy holidays!
Thank you for this clarion cry to rally for what democracy means for all and to get that message to All! As Heather says, it shouldn’t be that hard!
It should not be that hard, but there's a lot of money weighing on promotion of lies. The next step in that direction would be, as in Hungary, lies enforced by force and terror.
JL, I was there in '56 as a toddler (but my Dad, a Diplomat and former Intelligence Officer
with SOE in WWII was engaged). I was there in '68 as a teenager. And I was next door as an old fart in Feb. 2022. I've seen too much, to believe in fairy tales, and easy struggles.
When Russia kills anyone who disagreed with their dictatorship. The traitors like Tucker Carlson, Rudy Giuliani, etc. etc. are already at work here with force and terror. My ancestors fled Russia in 1923 when dictators tried to impose totalitarianism on them, but many cousins died or went to the Gulag for 40, 50, 60 years when they didn't fight or leave.
The seemingly "easy part" would be for enough people to focus and think about the choice to empower or reject or sit out the transition to a "wannabee dictator". But somehow, exactly that seems to be the hard part.
Yes, it’s going to be very hard. For Republicans, cruelty is the point. There are upwards of 74 million US citizens who endorse that strategy and vote to make it the law of the land (although “law” seems like too noble a concept to describe the machinations of Orbsn acolytes).
Here’s the issue as I see it. MAGA Republicans can think all they want, but as Americans they’ve never lived it. Go ask any Eastern European how much they enjoyed totalitarian rule under the Jack boot of the Soviets. Nazi Germany where school kids were encouraged to denounce their parents if they didn’t agree with Hitler. The problem is, getting totalitarian rule is much easier than getting rid of it. Once these MAGA fools realize what they’ve done, it’s too late.
Exactly. Or the ughuirs in China or the Rohingya in Myanmar or thearmenians or Kurds in Türkiye or …
I recently read Joanne D. Gilbert's book "A victory for Miriam: the little Jewish girl who defied the Nazis". While the focus is evasion of Nazi soldiers etc, there are a number of sectors in which Miriam Brysk describes living in the Russian sectors she and her parents ended up in several times during their flight from the Nazis. The only difference from the Nazis is that they weren't sending Jews to be murdered. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48920056-a-victory-for-miriam
Thanks, Joanne, subscriber here I think, or on another substack I subscribe to. After you mentioned your books, I ordered "A Victory for Miriam" and downloaded "Women of Valor" for my Christmas travel reading.
I am currently engrossed in Red Famine by Anne Applebaum about Ukraine and the tragedy of Soviet policies on the Ukrainians.
I’m reading Timothy Snyder’s Bloodlands, same subject. I find that I can only read it in small bites, because it’s so horrifying.
Rickey, do me a favor. Take a pause from reading the Applebaum (can you say Russiaphobe? Sure you can!) book and watch the following three-way interview on Gaza/Israel and Ukraine/Russia. There will probably be things said that you don’t agree with, but if you are at all curious about the world outside of the American narrative, you might also learn something that you didn’t fully grasp before. The interview is slightly over an hour and a half, but well worth it. Peace, t
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L59yXaPaXI&t=5074s
Thanks Tom, but we will have to disagree on Applebaum. Red Famine is an in depth history of Ukraine and Russia. Then you can add Timothy Snyder in the mix. IF you also want to pick up something beyond the American narrative try some Naomi Klein, and the book Guns, Germs, and Steel. Lots of history about where this all leads.
It’s an in-depth look at one period of history, in which Applebaum took primary source material and then layered her anti-Russian American propagandist bias on it. Think Victoria Nuland channeling Bandera, post-2014 coup. See this Amazon review - “Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2017
Having worked through Conquest's 'Harvest of Sorrows' and Wheatcroft and Davies' 'The Years of Hunger', I am trying to work out whether it's worth taking up this book.
Based on the reviews, it doesn't seem so.
Wheatcroft and Davies have already worked through what the Soviet authorities in Kyiv and Moscow knew and what they did (and didn't do) based on the archival documents. The evidence accepted by the 97% on the 1932-33 famine is that millions died, especially across Ukraine, the Kuban and into Kazakhstan, that local authorities were ruthless in methods to secure grain, and that the death toll was a combination of poor weather and an unfinished and ongoing struggle with a peasantry that were seen as hostile to Moscow, exacerbated if not primarily caused by a lack of good, trustworthy and timely information about conditions on the ground.
To take this and brand the famine "Stalin's War on Ukraine" is a highly political move. Perhaps Applebaum's thesis is more nuanced than her title suggests, but in the context of current international relations between Russia, Ukraine and the US with journalists like Applebaum committed to opposing Moscow's 'campaigns of misinformation', it's hard not to see this book as another front in such a war. Applebaum thus seems predisposed to approach this historical fact with a particular, not-too-hidden, agenda that concurs with the line that the Ukrainian state has been trying to push since 1991 -- that this tragic famine was in fact a genocide.
To call this famine a war suggests it was man-made, while the regular famines across Russia preceding it and that year's climactic conditions suggest otherwise. To call it Stalin's war would seem to neglect the role of everyone else, including Russians and Ukrainians, and the longstanding antagonisms between Party and peasantry. To call it a war on Ukraine does no justice to half of the casualties who neither lived in Ukraine nor spoke Ukrainian - especially in Kazakhstan and southern Russia.
My suggestion to those here would be to read instead Wheatcroft and Davies' Years of Hunger. Yes, it will be considerably drier, but it's chock full of primary documents which allow you to make your own judgement based on the available evidence.”
No to Snyder. Have read all of Klein’s books, and G,G&S. I’m not saying Red Famine isn’t factual, I’m saying Applebaum is a neo-con Russiaphobe. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2NJrZtJxzY
I just asked you to take a pause and watch the interview I linked. Did you?
J L,
"there's a lot of money weighing on promotion of lies"
Right. Americans are lapping up Fox News lies like kittens lap up warm milk.
Did Fox ever hire fact checkers after they fired them in 2020? It would seem prudent to have them around especially with the second defamation case looming.
It would be also be nice to see Hannity disappear like Tucker did.
Oh Tucker is still around. Our benighted troll above just shared a video from The Juran. Another of their videos presents Tucker as the cat’s pajamas. Cynicism has caused some to become strange bedfellows in the depths of YouTube. Which is then spouted as something other than the propaganda it is. This was readily apparent in one of those “let’s interview dumb people at a Trump rally” videos.
Not so much "dumb" but captured by cult ideology. It seems to be a pretty common proclivity. A "virus" of the mind. More education is protective, but not infallibly so.
I'm not sure what it is about ME. Amazing people like HCR and Stephen King and then there's the villains like Leonard Leo and Tucker Carlson.
There has always been a ready audience for those who tell people that they are "the master race" or master anything.
Something like touting "American exceptionalism"?
“… lies enforced by force and terror.” You mean like what Stephen Miller and the PutinRepublicans have planned for President-“Only on Day-One.”
I think what’s going to be “hard’ is finding folks to agree!
People already agree that it's up to us to defend and keep our democracy. At every meeting, at every turn, we need one person to stand up for democracy, and then a second person, and others will follow. We, ordinary citizens, are going to have to be at the forefront of this essential fight, whether it's school board meetings or Canvassing Board meetings or whatever kinds of meetings there are where we can show up for democracy.
Betsy….i get your point…about attending those meetings and speaking up….but I’m wondering if ‘meetings’ are the right place to speak up? I’m wondering if just explaining what is happening in Hungary with the total loss of rights isint a better tactic and if using billboards isint more effective..using fear ….in a meeting you have ‘resistance’ ‘defensiveness’ and opposition….not fear…think the Trumpies have used fear very effectively..think quite possibly we should….
And a further thought…we’ve all seen school board meetings and similar type other meetings end up in a public food fight…one side insults the other..there’s media coverage…it’s a mess. My background is in human development and I know enough about human interaction to infinitely prefer to avoid direct confrontation which basically firms up everybody’s biases. But I really like introducing the fear piece….something the reps do very well…and there’s serious and very legitimate reason for fear right now….Hungary being a screaming example…
There isn't necessarily one right way to go about strengthening our democracy. Each person needs to do whatever seems to be the most productive to them at any given time.
But I think that you miss the point about the effectiveness of the folks who went to the Canvassing Board meeting. They didn't go to fight or to call names or to instill fear. They went to stand up for democracy. As a retired union activist, I know the power of collective action, of many people speaking in one voice. I prefer solidarity over fear as a tactic.
And sign up as election workers.
I think what's going to be "hard" is fighting the voter suppression and vote nullification laws enacted by all the states controlled by the Republicans.
it is immensely difficult, Kathy. I wish more people would see that, and start preparing. Get a plan, and be ready. Then, at least you'll have a chance when they come for us!
Bruce, I have already started preparing......... Preparing to leave the United States for good if those fascist Authoritarian jackass MAGAs and TFG win next November. I have been saving all i can for 2 years and a half and i have the means to do it. Those fascist creeps aren't going to tell me what i can and can't do. They will probably beat and murder me if i stay here. I will not abide by their Christian Nationalist BS for one minute. I would certainly lose if i even tried to fight them. I will not let them own me. That is my plan.
This is MY country, too. And I'm not leaving.
I was an active resister to the Vietnam war and I heard a lot of 'Love It or Leave It' in my travels around the US. To which I said, 'Fix It or Forget It.'
I'm not giving up. My ancestors came here in search of a better life, in search of freedom and I intend to honor the sacrifices they made, with my last breath, if I have to.
That said, I hate these Christian fascists with every fiber of my being, and I will not leave my country to their control. I may go down fighting, but I will resist to the end.
FYI not all Christians are fascists.
You are right, Suzanne. I get emails from an organization that call themselves. ''Faith America.'' They are not any way affiliated with the ''Christian Nationalists''. They are the real Christians and strongly oppose the Christian Nationalists and stress their total opposition to them and call them out as a phony organization that do not share any Christian beliefs. The Cristian Nationalists are religious fanatics that hide their unlawful and corrupt Fascist intentions as a cover for their criminal and dishonest activities.
I think a more accurate phrase would be "Facist Christians". Because they do proclaim themselves as Christians, whatever we may consider them to be. I believe everyone here understands the difference between actual Christians and Fascist Christians (who are not, in reality, Christian).
I am not wanting to leave either, i just believe our side will win if someone can stop the Fascist GQP from flaunting our voting laws like gerrymandering and reducing places people can vote at. I can't figure out why they are being allowed to this. They are defying voting laws because those creeps cannot win unless they cheat and suppress voters.
I am very disgusted that TFG is even being allowed to run for anything with the enormous amount of crimes he has committed. He should have been imprisoned 3 years ago and been convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Those terrorists in our House of Representatives should also been imprisoned and sentenced to '' life without parole'' It is hard for me to be optimistic when the game is rigged in their favor even before we vote. I don't trust that corrupt Supreme Kangaroo Court none whatsoever.
I am going to hang around until the election is over and do what i can to encourage every one i can to vote Democrat. I have tried and failed to convince some of the people in my area the danger we are in if TFG and those Fascist GQP domestic terrorists are elected. Some of these people in my area are so ignorant, gullible, arrogant, and just plain stupid they believe everything those ''so called'' news outlets, Fox Spews, Spewsmax, OANN, and others spew daily. They have been conned by the most evil person in North America, Donald TUMP. If he wins, i am gone from here. They are NOT going to dictate and control me.
Good for you, John. I assume you are doing everything possible to influence that not happening. That said, since you appear to be a pacifist, prepare to add to your plan even if they lose. I have this "thorn in my side" that they are not just going to walk away peacefully. Where would you go?
Yes Bruce, i am doing everything possible to influence that not happening.. I am a peace loving pacifist and try to think there must be some good in everyone, but TFG and his rabid followers have shattered that idea, somewhat. I am laid back and courteous to others when i go out in public and i hate to see good people being mistreated of any race. I stand up and sign petitions for LBGTQ and the abortion rights and women's rights and all of the other good causes for the average everyday people.
For months, i have been set on going to Canada to the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or even the interior of British Columbia in the city of Smithers or Prince George. I have chatted online with several Canadians, and i really like them. I had considered other nations like Sweden or Norway, but the language barrier would be a huge problem for me in those nations.
I don't qualify to immigrate to Canada by the regular immigration rules, but one lady i chatted with said i could get a passport and live there for 6 months while i applied for citizenship for retirees in order to live there permanently. I have passed the citizenship test a year or so ago.
I considered the UK to go to, but this lady from the UK that writes on a Substack thing said this Authoritarian crap was trying to get established there now too... Go figure. I do not see how anyone could want such a thing.
If Dems win in 2024, i am going to use that money i have saved to build onto my house, My daughter, grandson and one of my sons and his stepson live here us kind of cramped up right now. I just hope we can keep those Fascists and TFG out of our government. TFG absolutely SHOULD NOT be allowed to run for anything, that includes '' Dog Catcher''. He is a horrible person and extremely corrupt, and has been all of his retched, sorry, life.
If you think the outcome of the ‘24 elections should be the deciding factor in making the cross-border move, go right ahead, but I think there’s a bigger reason to make it. Most ex-pats I come into contact with are glad they made the move because they saw the U.S. sliding into corporate control, and saw no end on the horizon to the resulting degradation of the social safety net. That won’t change, absent public pressure, regardless of the ‘24 outcome. We whipsaw between the Rs and Ds, and the circling of the drain continues.
I prefer to stay and fight the fascists here, because I know their tentacles will reach every nation on earth eventually if they are not stopped here; as you noted with the UK, and even Sweden, France and Canada, are infected, and/or are succumbing to an overreaction by illiberal forces cutting into civil liberties in a misguide reaction to the fascists.
Bumpy ride ahead for all of us. Good luck, whatever you decide to do. Peace, t
Canada has a huge share of wonderful people. The country is gorgeous.
New Zealand — I’ve thought a lot about this. But, they are in the Asian realm of influence and if China makes a move on Taiwan, I presume they along with Australia would quickly be drawn into that fight.
I agree, Kathy and Heather -- all we need to do is stop reacting in fear or even anger and approach these terrorists for what they are. The wording from the House Speaker "who has said that immigration is such a national crisis that House Republicans will not pass a bill providing supplemental funding for Ukraine to help it fight off Russia’s invasion without significant changes to the nation’s border policy, wrote a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to make those changes himself through executive action." is the wording used by kidnappers and those determined to win at any cost, i.e. terrorists, fascists, etc.. These are not people who wish to negotiate, to arrive at a solution when they already have a 'final solution' in mind. We are supposed to 'never forget' for a reason!
Michigan needs to bring charges against Trump and McDaniels!
Hopefully, Trump will be found guilty in some of the criminal trials he has going already. But yes, that would be helpful. Do you know if the statute of limitations is looming if MI decides to pursue charges?
Such a concise and strangely rousing report.The year we have anticipated with dread, loathing, vengeful hearts, and hope is almost here, and I find I am ready for it. For that, I must thank your faithfully accurate and inspiring essays, along with columns by several other writers whom you can probably name. Thank you, Heather!
“Well,” she wrote, “then something I’ll never forget happened.
“Hundreds—hundreds (!)—of citizens showed up to the meeting of the Wayne County Canvassing Board to remind them of their duty under the law to ensure their votes counted. Their voices mattered. Their votes mattered."
Sounds something like a Frank Capra movie, but was real democracy doing its thing. I had no idea.
I didn't either, JL!
I'm most proud of Ms. Benson and all those valiant Michiganers!
YES!!
I'm happy to hear, but somewhat surprised, that the WaPo editorial board is taking a stand. So many of their feature stories seem inclined to point harshly at Biden's weaknesses while giving his anti-democracy predecessor a pass. It is certainly in their best interest if they value press freedom.
After many years I canceled my Washington Post subscription. The editorial board was a joke. It has turned into the Biden bashing paper. Their opinion pieces other than Jennifer Rubin and Max Boot have turned into the victimhood cries for the GQP. They now have a Murdoch man at the helm. That was it for me.
Lisa, Rubin and Boot are both neo-cons to their core. Agree with you about the WaPo; it’s been a neoliberal/domestic policy neocon/foreign policy cheerleading rag for decades. Same with the NYT, and most of the ‘serious’ periodicals that liberals tend to gravitate to (Atlantic, New Yorker, etc). Not to say these media outlets are totally bereft of quality journalism, just the time spent trying wade through the BS to find it could be better spent elsewhere.
Check out the interview here when you have an hour and half to spare. You’ll come away with more awareness about Gaza/Israel and Ukraine/Russia than 95% of America, including our elected ‘leaders’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L59yXaPaXI
I'll watch that when I've got some time for sure.
Perhaps they are hedging their bets. If a Repub wins in 2024, they won't need any damn First Amendment to land lucrative propaganda contracts.
Then they can remove "Democracy Dies in Darkness" from their banner. For we will all be in darkness.
We are already there Michael, we just can't believe it yet. It is not just 2024 that is in darkness, but the foreseeable future, or do you think these animals are going to quit if they lose an election?
They certainly have not been shining any light on the truth of the Biden administration's achievements or the intentions and threats so loudly expressed by MAGA to remove our Constitution and install a Kristyun Nationalist dictatorship.
Change it to "Democracy Died in Darkness....and We Shut Off the Light"
Maybe they really do believe that "Democracy dies in Darkness" and some of us have gotten through to them that the "Darkness" is here NOW when we bombarded them.
Come to the dark side...
"Ukraine’s former Minister of Defense and head of the Center for Defense Strategies Andriy Zagorodnyuk sits down with Euromaidan Press editor-in-chief Alya Shandra to discuss whether the accusations levied at Ukraine’s defense officers in the Washington Post two-part article on what went wrong with the 2023 counteroffensive are legit, how the war has entered uncharted territory, the victory plan and million drones that Ukraine needs, the three scenarios of the war’s development in 2024, and why Ukraine’ supporters should not despair."
https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/12/22/ukraines-2023-counteroffensive-ex-minister-zagorodnyuk-on-what-went-wrong-and-whats-next/
Sorry to be a cynic but I'll believe it when I see it. They may just be playing for some clicks as we try to determine if they were telling the truth. The MSM have been big players in the destruction of our democracy. They have been Trump fans since he announced because they knew he'd help them gather "clicks".
By executive order, Biden should give Ukraine the frozen Russian assets and tell Mike (the dick in name and in temperament) Johnson and his miserable band of trump loving traitors to go you know what themselves.
Why Nancy, such salacious sauciness has me somewhat stirred!😀
Awesome alliteration, Ace.
Ha!
Thank you, my friend!
That is a great idea! And maybe one the Executive Branch could pull it off. Or if not get a majority of Congress to agree. Wouldn't take many Repubs to defect!
He could do that, but there would be major political fallout. Better to make the MAGANAZIs look like the Fascists they are. Hopefully, our allies will continue to provide enough weapons and ammo until Congress acts.
yes, I have wondered why Biden cant use an executive order to provide money to Ukraine.
The Democrats need to show up in hundreds - hundreds- like the citizens of Wayne County to assure that the rule of law prevails. Thank you, Heather, this gives me hope.
I agree, Patricia. It's going to take an all out effort on our part to assure that the ''rule of law'' prevails. It is appalling that almost half the population of the United States embraces the idea of having a Dictator and Authoritarian rule.
What if Democrats showed up at TFFG rallies and heckled him all the way through his lying screed. Of course, Trump would try to have them thrown out, which would make him look like the Fascist he is. A few hundred people at a TFFG rally would be hard to haul off to jail especially in some of the small towns TFFG holds his rallies.
Thou cannot serve the US Constitution and Orbán.
Thou cannot serve the Democracy and Trump.
Verily, verily I say unto thee, Man cannot serve both God and Mammon (Orban, Trump, Putin, MBS, Netanyahu, etc.)
What is occurring in Hungary is chilling. I was born in Europe, and because of that I feel a certain kinship with other Europeans. It’s disconcerting to witness authoritarian beliefs and ideas taking hold. It’s so very easy to appeal to an “imagined past” when everything and everyone was good. Of course, that is the imagined past of ourselves as children, of old family photographs and magazines and children’s stories. Adulthood is something completely different, a time when we need to wrestle with contradictions and chaos. It can seem easier to have a father who will “take care of everything”, just as he did during our childhood. I know I don’t speak for every child, of course. (The ones who had to wrestle with contradictions and chaos from an early age.) But I think you will understand what I mean.
Great observation, Annie!
Thanks for this comment, Annie.
Interesting! Thank you.
By reading the NYR and WaPo headlines and subheadlines for quite a while now, one would believe they are fully behind Trump and in no way suggest that the serious threat to our democracy is news, Project 2025 and Operation 47 be damned. It's time to pull the plug. Ad rates are controled by readership.Hit them where it hurts.
I presume the NYT headlines are meant to be clickbait, as often the stories are more honest. But I wish they understood that in today's world many people don't go past the headlines.
Click bait is what a headline is. The choice of words establishes the reality and defines the couse of discussion.
Spin.
Not quite. Spin is on air obfuscation in real time. Headlines have for many decades set the reality. "Terrorists did.... " "Freedom fighters did.. "
Which headline do you want? Same event..
Spin in print is in the text of the article.
Maybe we are!? Keep up the pressure folks!!!
This December will be remembered as the month when the media, finally, got a clue that our democracy is under a withering, potentially fatal attack. It should never have taken this long. But the timid heads-in-the-sand looked around after much prodding and began reporting reality.
With this shamefully late pivot spread and intensify, as it must? I suspect it will. After all, journalism in all its wonderful and crappy forms is in Trump's crosshairs, too.
Michael Bales, let's hope rational thinking and physical self-preservation kicks in for them and they go full blown truth screaming, incessantly.
“To be honest it doesn’t seem that hard” (to identify the rep/Trump future chamber of horrors…says Heather and then she developed a description of Hungary’s total loss of democracy and my personal favorite a committee in Hungary that would most likely convict all of us….Heather’s readers myself included….) I think it’s going to be very hard …and boy does it need to be done!
Right again, Joan!
It certainly does.
Daniel, we are agreeing a LOT!
We are, Joan. I'm enjoying it!
You may want to check into recent news on efforts to undermine elections in Texas. Travis County (Austin, TX) has run primary elections jointly for the Democratic and Republican Parties. The Travis County Republican Party would not agree to a joint election until December 19--the primary is March 5 and early voting starts Feb. 20. The Travis County wanted hand written and hand counted ballots on a precinct by precinct basis. Travis County has had county-wide polling (if you are a Travis County voter) you can vote anywhere on Election Day. The concession that they got was hand-counted mail ballots. Gillespie County (Fredricksberg Texas) will have a completely paper and hand-counted election. There were at least 6 challenges against our November 2023 Constitutional Propositions Election that appear to be test challenges against voting procedures and voting machines in several counties. The challenges failed on procedural grounds but they learn by their mistakes--preparing for November 2024. (And then there is always Ken Paxton- Seattle Children's Hospital is suing him over his efforts to get the medical records of a trans child from Texas who was allegedly treated at Seattle Children's Hospital. )
There's an "old Texanism" about what the late-departed "needed" that was a traditional defense when scum like Paxton were found face down in a dark alley bleeding out from large caliber exit wounds. That's an old "Texas tradition" that ought to be revived in his particular case.
Tom, this thinly veiled threat about Paxton makes you sound like the people threatening the Colorado Supreme Court justices. You know better than that!
Tom, be careful, please. We are not THEM, even though it might come to it, God Forbid.
You know I’ve commented before on your over-the-top violent ideation. Keep it to yourself, please! You’re such an eloquent voice otherwise.
I didn't read that here, Tom.
Texastan Taliban
Austin is an oasis. Or was, or might be again.