It should never have been that squeaky close, but a win is a win and is to be celebrated.
I must say that I am disappointed that newly reelected Senator Warnock in his speech tonight did not also thank all the get out the vote groups like Red Wine & Blue; and Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water; and The Union, and Indivisible, and Substack authors like Robert Hubbell and you, Heather, who kept up our spirits and urged us to action.
I’m sure Senator Warnock didn’t intend to snub anyone who helped him win. He’s probably so exhausted from all the effort he kept his speech shorter than he wished. Please write to him and he’ll reply I’m sure.
It reminds me of when Oscar winners forget to thank their spouses! This is HUGE for Sen. Warnock and for the whole country. I'm sure he WAS exhausted, which makes the challenge of speaking on a national stage even more of a nearly "out of body" experience. I bet we will hear much from him in the near future about what this took and how we can replicate in other elections.
I may have already said this here, but I want to say it again....connecting with Heather, and Robert and Jessica's communities and doing whatever I could with post cards, phone calls and small amounts of cash that I could afford all made me feel like these victories from Nov 8 and last night were personal. I am now, and will be till my demise, an active, participating citizen of these United States!!! So thanks, everyone!!!
You are welcome, kdsherpa (BTW sherpa is one of my favorite words)! And it didn't really feel like work most of the time because I also got connected to "Markers for Democracy," a group of activists who've been writing post cards (with markers!) since 2016, who have a Slack account (I'm getting so technology-hip!) and meet several times during the week on Zoom - with special times like last night where some of us followed the returns together. I'm so grateful!
(My husband is actually a Sherpa, from Nepal. He grew up in the high Himalayas, and was later a Tibetan Buddhist monk for 17 years! So I like the word, "Sherpa", too! :-) )
It's Mim, and I am an avid reader of especially but not exclusively those three Substack authors. They, and Dan Rather, have kept our hopes and spirits up during these stressful months/years.
Apologies! My eyes shadowed the "m" and I thought it was an "i." Guess I'd better get some reading glasses!!
You said it perfectly "kept up our hopes and spirits." I haven't connected with Dan Rather but you inspire me to check. (no cable but I can check on youtube)
Not only Trump, not only Germany, but yesterday the president of Peru!
NYTimes: Peru’s President Tried to Dissolve Congress. By Day’s End, He Was Arrested.
LIMA, Peru — It was a day on which much of Peru was focused on Congress, where an impeachment vote was planned against the president on corruption charges.
But shortly before noon, the Peruvian leader addressed the country in a surprise televised address. He announced the dissolution of Congress and the installation of an emergency government, stunning political leaders across the spectrum, including his own allies, by effectively trying to carry out what was widely condemned as an attempted coup to cling to power.
I read his speech. Among his long list of thank-you’s he did not thank any volunteers but those in Georgia working directly for the Democratic Party—a very small percentage of us. It’s not a major issue—few politicians are nice people. I’ve worked very hard for him and will again if I have to. Because it’s important that the Democrats aren’t marginalized in the Senate. I still get to wish for better Democrats!
Well, I am not from GA; instead from TN (check out the Senators I have to live with). From my knothole, you Georgians have two of the finest young Senators that you could ever hope for. Not just that they are Democrats, but that they appear to be fine human beings. Pretty sure Senator Warnock (I like the sound of those words) is very thankful to all who contributed to his win, and he will make sure that is known. May Warnock and Ossoff continue to serve for many more years.
I strongly agree with everything you've said. Two fine senators and two FINE HUMAN BEINGS, and all the rest. Those who are disappointed (something I find hard to believe) should try to put themselves in the place of Senator Reverend Warnock over the last few months. It's had to have been absolutely grueling. If I were in his place, last night I would have wanted a good stiff bourbon and to get to bed.
I'm just incredibly happy that Warnock beat that no-good Walker.
Me too. I was exhausted writing 1,000 get-out-the-vote postcards between July and November. I can't imagine what the level of exhaustion of running a campaign must me.
Don’t count on any progress in Tennessee. It’s 80% white. Democrats can manage occasional victories in Georgia, in spite of vigorous vote suppression by Republicans, because Georgia is only 56% white.
Well - 77% anyway. Yeah Rex - Unfortunately I agree with your premise. TN is quite rural, and the big city suburbs are very conservative and white. I live in one, and the great majority of people I am acquainted with are anti-progressive, and hate Democrats. Quite a few states in the US are nearly irredeemable when it comes to progressive values, and TN is one of them. Never say never, I suppose, but I am not holding my breath. One must ask however why Alabama and Mississippi and Louisiana have not become at least purple. They have black proportions even larger than Georgia. Is it the Stacey A. effect?
Mary, while I agree that he didn't articulate his gratitude for many of his supporters, please keep in mind that he didn't begin his career in politics. I believe that Warnock is a nice, decent person, and he'll do his best to reward our support by performing in the country's and our best interests.
Is that why you think I worked the last year of my life for Warnock and (Shapiro and Hassan and Mandala Barnes and Nina Turner) till 1 or 2 a.m. most nights, through lunch breaks and Thanksgivings and in parking lots on my phone, and gave up a sizeable chunk of my retirement nest egg--for a pat on the head? The nastiness of this thread is mindboggling. I do not like, as I said, any man who supports Trump's Title 42. What's your complaint?--you wanted him elected and I busted my ass to do it. I don't have to approve of his support of Trump policies against asylum seekers as well. Do you?
You took the words out of my mouth, Kristin. This was a nail-biter, which was something of a surprise to me. Considering the contrast between Warnock and Walker, it was beyond comprehension. No wonder that he didn't cover all his bases in one speech.
Thank You, Mim and Mary for all you did to contribute to this watershed moment in our history!! We watched his entire speech, live. We heard him graciously recognize and thank everyone for their hard work. He seemed to be very much aware of why and how he was standing up there, victorious. We felt his sincere gratitude and appreciation to his many volunteers and hard workers. Kind of like an Oscar speech, you can't name every single person or group and every single thing they did in your thank you speech. Thank You, again!! The world is better tonight and we can sleep more peacefully. The trend is moving is a constructive direction.
My wife often warns me not to put people on pedestals. That I don't know them so should not make assumptions. But I have to tell you - I have watched Senator Warnock since he came on the scene during the 2020 campaign. He appears to have the right stuff and then some. I am not Christian (I was for half my life life until I turned more atheistic) - but Senator Warnock IMO is the embodiment of what Christians should be. Just a fine compassionate intelligent human being, who seems to have the skills to take that view he has and put it to work as a politician. Oh how I wish I had a Senator like that - instead I have to put up with Marsha Blackburn. The contrast is laughable if it weren't so sad.
Hearing the Rev. Sen. Warnock sermonize a bit during his acceptance speech was not at all disturbing to me, a non-religious person, because I know he speaks from his big heart and will now have at least six more years to be of service to the people of Georgia, for whom he ran for office in the first place.
Mim, now in proud GA: There were many catalysts, many contributors. With only five (5) days for Early [ & limited] Voting, the Warnock lawsuit to preserve SATURDAY early voting was very important as well. Good work to All.
I watched Herschel Walker. He was calm, humble, grateful, exhorted his fans to hold on to their dream, and always to respect our elected representatives. Then he said it all again, and left the stage.
He even mentioned that everyone needs to honor the Constitution... and elected officials. It was shockingly good. A normal concession speech in a not-normal time. Wow.
I feel badly for Walker, a bit anyway He got used and abused by the Republican Party and Trump. Thing is, he cast his lot for the wrong side and should have known that. He also should have seen the cynical racist corrupt reasons that he was tapped by the Q-publicans in the first place. He of all people should know the seriousness of the job of a US Senator, and that he was fundamentally unqualified to do the job. That his selection was nothing more than an envisioned formula to siphon off black vote in a still-conservative state, so that Warnock would lose.
Walker's concession speech was surprisingly good in that it makes the Trump wing look bad. His speeches in general got better as he got more used to speaking in front of crowds, but still not close to being good. Instead of crying about a stolen election, he said "no excuses" like a fine athlete would say (and he was if nothing else a fine athlete). And he gave reverence to the Constitution at a time when the presumptive leader of the Republican party has stated he would throw it all out the window in order to restore him to power. A big contrast to say a Kari Lake, or a Donald Trump. Maybe more Republican voters will take notice.
For all his faults, Walker took his loss like a good sport. Good sportsmanship went out the window when Trump came on the scene and revealed himself to be a prima donna and a crybaby with no class.
I have always thought it was appalling that Walker was even a candidate. The MAGA Republicans saw him as a token in a racist party, a useful idiot that could be manipulated into being a vote in the Senate for the most odious right wing legislation. Now perhaps Walker can get himself checked out for football-related brain injury and get on with his life. He has a lot of amends to make.
He must have finally realized he was just being used or he would not have said we must respect the Consitution or have been such a good losers. Maybe some level-headed advisors got to him rather than Trumpers. IMO, It is otherwise unbelievable that he said what he did!
Walker has a history of mental illness including violence against his spouses and children. He was never a suitable candidate for any political office.
I imagine that it is very possible that Herschel Walker is very relieved that he does not have to listen to his puppetmasters for the next SIX (thanks everyone) years.
He can get back to doing whatever he was not doing before.
Herschel's post win would have been much worse than just trying to do a job one is not qualified for (which, by the way, happens all the time in corporations, however, that is mostly white guys being incompetent so nobody writes about it until, like Kodak, the entire company goes under).
Herschel Walker would have spent every day being told what to do AND having to do it because of whatever money he took when his puppet masters showed up at his door with a bag of it.
One cannot really liken Walker's post win existence to slavery, since, it was a choice he made, however, in many ways it would have seemed like that after a few weeks of taking orders every morning form his puppet "master".
Not tokenism, because that suggests at least some ability to do the job.
His insertion into politics at all is an AFFRONT to the idea that one Black man is "the same" as any other,
and that the MAGA-extremists could pretend they were not racist by voting for him over the imminently more qualified Senator they took such delight in demonizing.
Yes, insofar as cold weather doesn't last long and is tolerable since there is practically never any ice or appreciable snow, and I have a home and garden that I love and a fenced yard for my little dogs. But I do miss Carnegie Hall and Broadway and the great energy of NYC, though I could not possibly live there again anymore. Plus, now I'm a Covid hermit and I couldn't take advantage of the cultural opportunities anymore.
Beautifully said. Every word. I'm saving that. It could go on a banner. Or a yard sign. I'd write democracy with a small "d", though - it may take a few more post-Trump years for them to start to get the idea. A few more Biden years would be good, but we may have to make the most of the next two.
Thank you Barbara! This is perfect. I would add as a sub-statement that being an active participant in the process (now we have post cards, phone calls, texts, door knocking as well as cash donations to choose from) makes every victory a personal one, and every defeat a motivation to keep working....in community!
Agreed. I've worked hard twice now getting out the vote and "chasing ballots" for Rev. Warnock, and contributed often to his campaigns and to RideShare2Vote to get people to the polls in a state where the number of polling places and drop boxes have been sharply reduced, and dates and times of early voting and dropbox accessibility in this runoff election seemed to change almost daily. (Today they decided to stop letting the disabled and the over-75 go to the head of the line after 4:30--and without alerting anyone!) But never a word of thanks to the volunteers who gave up their own work and leisure and nest eggs to get him elected. I'm not crazy about him for bigger reasons--he supports Trump's Title 42, e.g., which turns away asylum seekers at the border, against international law (and the Bible he preaches). But I'm very glad he won. With 51 Democrats we can get justices in place and issue subpoenas.
I don’t see how working my ass off for him through 2 runoffs and contributing to his campaigns from my retirement nest egg constitutes “letting perfect be the enemy of the good”?
Write to him and let him know he dropped the ball. I’d also like to know why his stand on asylum seekers is what it is. Seems a smidge less than Biblical to me too. I’m from NC though and we’ve got representation issues here big time so I can’t say much.
Title 42 was also supported by the 2 Democratic Senators in AZ and Biden's administration.....in lieu of a better fix from Congress which we have been waiting for for decades.
Yep. Not that surprising as he kept Trump's going for 2 years. He wants to expand it to include blocking Nicaraguans, among other points. https://www.axios.com/2022/11/30/biden-title-42-immigration-news. Not saying I know how to deal with the needs of so many refugees from countries we destabilized with our century-long support of right-wing governments and coups, just that extending Title 42 doesn't strike me as the right answer.
We humans do so love to go to the absolute and the linear. "If he did this he's good, if he did that he's bad." We are all so imperfect and still some of us work toward improving the lot for all. Some of us volunteer to lead. Some of us volunteer to support - even with all of our imperfections. We are all in this together.
Well. Let's not get too negative about someone's perceived negativity. These Midterms have been excruciating. We were already worn out from the fight begun in 2016. I am going to chalk up the negativity in these comments and in the news as a people suffering from PTSD, political fatigue and just plain stress.
Did you spend weeks going without sleep and skipping meals to work for Senator Warnoff like I did? This last month and also in his last runoff election? If not, keep your snark to yourself.
Ask yourself if you did all that in order to receive his recognition as the first thing on Warnock’s mind last night or if you did it because it was what you thought was the right thing to do
My snark is toward the motivation and the disservice that comes from it
Look, I’ve got no dog in this brouhaha. I was responding to a campaign worker who felt slighted because they didn’t get thanked in Warnock’s acceptance speech. That’s all. As an outsider, I’m thrilled he won. I know how hard everyone worked to fight the right wing money machine that helped keep Walker viable. So let’s leave it there, ok?
"he (Warnock) supports Trump's Title 42, e.g., which turns away asylum seekers at the border, against international law (and the Bible he preaches). But I'm very glad he won."
The population of these United States currently stands at roughly 370 million or so (on the books at least).
The population of the rest of the world? Around 7.8 billion people.
Of that population, roughly 70% of the human population is greatly impoverished. In fact, the words "greatly impoverished" cannot communicate the dire straights those people currently live under and with.
Now, that is entirely a human disasater. No doubt.
But, let's say we, the USA, open our doors and let in, tomorrow, all of those folks (0.7 * 7.8 Billion)?
That means, tomorrow, we let in 5.46 BILLION people who have no education, no place to live, no relatives to help them be fed, no relatives to help them find a place to live.
That means, tomorrow, 5.46 Billion people would be at your doorstep asking for help, and, appropriately because, well, your kind heart brought them here.
Now, me? I think that yours and my standard of living, which is fantastically, amazingly high by world standards (basically only Canada is better), is not irrelevant as part of the discussion around "immigrants".
IF we let in 5.46 Billion poor people tomorrow, well, we get points for good hearts, no doubt.
But, your standard of living will decline precipitously. You will no longer have time to read HCR or money to give her. All of your time and money will be gone to cloth and feed all the people living here who cannot do that for themselves upon finding themselves here without language skills or any other skills. Yes, they have to live with you because there are just too many people to build houses and high rises for.
So, what is my point?? Warnock is thinking for himself, not feeling for himself or pandering to those who have not thought through clearly the consequences of massive immigration of poor people without skill, money, language or helpful relatives.
Please re-read the inscription on the Statue of Liberty!!
A friend of mine who is a native of El Salvador once emphatically said me “Do you think I WANTED to leave my country, my mother and all of my family?” Let that sink in regarding this absurd scenario!
YES!!! Same with most of us whose ancestors made that same desperate choice. NO ONE leaves everyone and everything they've known to come here because life was so great where they were.
Maybe not but between climate, wars and in many cases economic conditions usually caused by the first two issues have caused massive human movement from one affected area to another. It’s mostly happened away from us BUT we are seeing it here as well as conditions south of us deteriorate. So instead of squabbling and infighting trying to look important, why not work together to actually solve the problem as best we all can? The theory IMHO, is to follow the money. Who profits from the world being in disarray?
Immigration is a much more complex picture than the one you paint. And our leadership has let this issue languish, and kicked down the road repeatedly. What we haven't done as much about is all of the US policies that reverberate negatively in other countries that contribute to them being dangerous places. The high standard of living that some Americans enjoy, is partly the result of our exploitation of resources in other countries, leaving many people in dire straits. We have also contributed to the rise of the drug lords, with our draconian drug policies, designed more to punish than help. Those groups of thugs make life untenable for many who then come to our shores, pick our produce, clean our houses, work in our factories to provide us with the things that make our lives good all at low pay without benefits.
And that's all before we even talk about growing environmental issues driving more and more people to leave their homes and seek new lives elsewhere. The pressure is only going to increase.
5.46 billion? Not exactly. The issue is complex. Covid is no longer a reason to hold those seeking asylum on the Mexican doorstep to the US but there currently is nothing to take its place. Why can't Congress dig deep and come up with a reasonable fix for this issue? We have been waiting decades.
We cannot/do not even care for our own who are houseless. We need to get our act together and learn how to care for our own so that we can care for others.
SPW, there is absolutely NOTHING stopping all 5.46 billion people from showing up at the southern border tomorrow. Except for their own ability to get there.
Given Kemp and the Republican majority legislature's ongoing efforts to suppress voting, I'm not the least surprised that they decided to take away the front of the line option for the disabled and elderly folks.
The fact that these efforts are so clearly aimed at reducing the number of voters tells us everything we need to know about how much they support American democracy.
Dear Mim, give him time, he saved his people, his state, the Senate, the nation, the free world, you and me... pretty good for one night: CREDiT Black women, not white historians.
And that was despite all the voter suppression (Sen. Warnock mentioned) and we ALL know was a big player in this election. Yay, Georgia!!!! Thank YOU!!!
Georgia tried as hard as Texas to suppress votes, it takes Herculean efforts to overcome, the evil trio of Texas did it better. Sorry, Beto. Don’t give up, you are needed.
Texas has a reconstruction constitution that makes many of its public offices elected positions, and this can confuse voters. Nonetheless, Greg Abbott has been able to accumulate much power in his position as governor, and he has more power than most governors of Texas have had historically. For the sake of Texans, I wish Abbott would deign to use his power to weatherize the power grid, but I am not holding my breath waiting for this to happen.
Yes, but the truly alarming part is the number of Americans who support them. It’s not the candidates who are scary. It’s the magats. If the candidates were the problem, there would be an easy solution.
I do a tiny bit of work for, and donating to, DFA and Warnock’s election, and what it means to the Country and Georgia, is all the thanks I need. Many hands make the load light.
Those of us involved with these groups knew the work we did to re-elect him. As I tell those who do not have time to volunteer, just telling the reason you are voting Democratic in a respectful, civil tone to co-workers, family, neighbors and friends does a lot to plant the seed that the Democratic Party is working for the average man. Word of mouth endorsement is gold to candidates.
It takes a village...Senator Warnock's support was countrywide, funds, postcards, speeches. Georgians turned out in droves, despite limited days to vote. It could have been otherwise - CSPAN radio yesterday morning asked for call-ins about which candidate should win. Gobsmacking, from the sublime to the ridiculous 'why ain't the press talking about the time he ran over his wife's foot?' So many people rightly targeted and decried the Republican strategy of choosing puppets who only know to read the script they are handed.
I sent money from Illinois and asked my very wealthy Governor to do so as well. I am thrilled and thank you for your work on the ground! I think everyone in the country who is sane appreciates your work!
Not wanting to throw rain on your parade of enthusiasm, this "win" was by a photo-finish. It is not a mandate; it is marginal. All true and well-meaning patriots -- Democrat, Republican and Independent -- must "muscle up" for 2024. "A win is a win" for now. This country cannot afford any slippage.
However, the fact that so many Georgians voted for Walker does not speak well for them. I wonder how many were enthusiastically supporting him or whether they were basically holding their noses. Or were they assuming he would be the puppet of the White Supremacists running the party? Who knows, and now, who cares?
'Who can know what the win would be if efforts to remove people from the rolls were not so widespread in Georgia."
voter suppression isn't even hidden in some of these states... including GA. the fact that Warnock won at all by any margin means the efforts to accomplish that victory were huge.
Mim you are in GA; my understanding is Warnock's magrin approached 100,000 votes under conditions of multiple tactics to suppress 'early voting' (just 5 days. & just plain voting at anytime. This is the first "Midterm" that any President has held the Senate since FDR. Meanwhile more NARA classified documents have neen located near Trump's Florida home: Indictments on several fronts are coming.
Show time tonight was in Georgia. Not in Arizona. President Trump was trashed in Atlanta, Georgia by Black women, just as the Black women decided to elect President Joseph Biden when James Clyburn uttered the three words that made history and flipped the nation: Joe knows us.
Chips and jobs and jobs and jobs are most important, but the Senate is more important. Rev. Warnock’s victory in Georgia ends Sen. Mitch McConnell’s reign in the senate and likely his career and all senate committees will have Democratic leaders and Democratic majorities. All Democratic senators will worship Sen. Warnock.
Modest President Biden’s record matches FDR’s in 1932. Historians take note. President Biden is a master of the Senate and he is quietly changing American and the world.
Joe knows us, too, and we whites can learn from the Blacks in Georgia - about tolerance and the wisdom of President Biden.
Cause for optimism? Not yet, but it’s a huge improvement. Georgia’s Black voters saved us all by voting, by passive resistance, by voting for the Democratic candidate that may now lead the Senate as the preacher that he is.
May God bless Black women. They performed when the chips were down, smiling.
And Joe does know us - all.
Arizona joined the union in 1912. Arizona just elected an honest governor. Newscaster Lake is toast. TV promotor Trump is slow meeting Justice and will be charged, tried and convicted. He will be sentenced to home detention. He will be our first president jailed for life with consecutive sentences.
lol ! If there's any such thing as 'justice for all' you might eventually find it behind bars, where you, I, or anyone else would find themselves if we offended as he surly has. 'Justice' would by my preference, include the jumpsuit being a gaudy, or putrid shade of orange just for the bigly, so that it stands out.
Thank the Black women of Georgia - thank Rev. Warnock’s belief in the people, and thank the college football community for their common and predictable banality, hopefully they are watching the world cup and learning that soccer breeds brains and American football culture worships the helmet and brain death, rather like boxing. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world.. FIFA refs and big money are busy destroying sportsmanship with FIFA corruption and jocks with no clue are cashing in. Message: money wrecks even the best.
Back in the late 80’s my husband and I spent a few hours at a Miami hotel pool talking with the man who was the then FIFA head. Until his 14-15 year old “companion” joined us. When corruption charges were levied later I wasn’t surprised. Kind of turned me off the entire sport. Even when my daughter played. Current husband has been glued to the TV. Big fan. I still don’t understand off side. ; ) Happy day after victory!
My son and DIL visited over Thanksgiving and were glued to Soccer. We watched and ask a million questions which they willingly answered. I still don’t get offsides
As a football (Euro football - my high school coaches called it Commie Football back in the 60s and 70s when I first started playing club soccer in my hometown) fan, ref and player for over 50 years, I agree - it's Socratic.
At last - the word "soccer" explained! I know the story about Oxford university, where the rugger form of footer was played, and "association" footer morphed into "soccer", but this explanation is far more fitting. All things and circumstances considered. ;)
Sandy, what is even more remarkable about Georgia is that on top of the Gerrymandering and removing of voting ballot boxes in many "Democratic" communities, and not allowing food or drink to be given to people in line, and other suppress the Democratic vote tricks, Warnock still won! Hallelujah!
Amid all the extraordinarily good news today, I missed the president's visit to Arizona and his update on the economy and big boost for manufacturing. What a great day for America!
Trump, of course, deflected blame for his company's huge loss in court, which portends him likely facing charges for financial crimes — both state and federal.
I hope someone points out to Trump, whose loser status is approaching legendary status, that Joe Bidden keeps on winning. This is the first midterm election since 1934 when a Democrat held the White House that no Democratic Senate seats were lost.
Yes, Michael! Joe Biden does keep on winning! And as Heather relates:
“After the results came out, Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser tweeted: ‘Huh, so Democrats managed to pick up a Senate seat in a cycle where they should have been crushed. Consider the possibility that Joe Biden is very good at his job.’”
However "felony" for an organization means loan clawbacks and loss of government contracts are possible, and those are big stings. I had to look for it a few times. Plus remember, this is the comparatively fiddly part of the upcoming investigations.
Yeah, I know there will be ginormous financial penalties that will kill the company in all likelihood. I’ve listened to so many different takes on the ruling that my brain is tired. I do remember that Weiselberg can be called to any future trial(s)as part of his plea agreement.
I'm going to take the Christmas Spirit approach and say that this is the first real crack in the floodwall TFG has around him that keeps an entire swamp full of sewage out. It may be small right now, but it portends greater things to come....
You sound hopeful-and your spirit seems good. Though I can make guesses, I am but at a loss regarding "TFG has around him...".. trump's field gurus?.....
Maybe not, but it’s a building block. 17 felony counts, yes, for the company but in spite of Weiselberg’s testimony, the great unspoken word was Trump and as head of that company, the ultimate party responsible for the trouble it has found itself in.
It's a problem that it took more to prove guilt than is penalized. Whilst this is "better than nothing" one would hope that rules and systems would promote equity to prevail. My guess is that people are using extant systems in a way to circumvent normal restraints... and perhaps the black and white assessments give way to reasonable conclusion.
In addition to all of this was seeing McConnell today being ever so subtly snubbed at the Congressional medal ceremony. I wonder how he felt, and McCarthy too, to have their handshakes refused. I wouldn’t have noticed except that Heather mentioned it on her chat.
As I was watching all the moving speeches made about the actions of those J6 heroes and sheroes, I was "saying" to McConnell and McCarthy, "Are you listening to these words?"
What did McConnell and McCarthy expect? Officer Dunn commented on MSNBC that yesterday was the first time some of the officers had been back in the rotunda and he was flooded with emotion: the smell of tear-gas, the sounds of clubs beating against shields all came back to him. I’m glad McConnell and McCarthy were snubbed but I highly doubt they learned anything from the experience. They don’t understand consequences.
Profound news from Germany today. 3,000 police officers were deployed to arrest 25 Coup plotters (QAnon affiliated) in Germany. They wanted to install an “Emperor” and a right-wing” government. Sound familiar? Also, Russia seems to be involved with them. Russia, of course denies everything. Sound familiar?
Cheers for the Democrats and the United States of America! More good news about the Biden Agenda and the DOJ doing it’s job. And still in our country, with an understanding how racism and antisemitism can escalate into a War: “I do not see this just as a Jewish issue,” Emhoff said. “This is an issue for all of us. Because we’ve seen this before. This is how it started 70 years ago. So I don’t want it to feel normal. I don’t want people to think, ‘Well it’s just words, it’s just Kanye.’ No. This matters.”
YES. I think it's wonderful that the Second Gentleman is taking on the issue of rising antisemitism. And FWIW, I don't understand people coming to Kanye's defense.
I am so giddy tonight! Trying to find my tap shoes. I want to make noise as if it’s New Year’s! 🎉🎉 It has been an absolutely incredible highly tense day. A Warnock win is exactly how democracy was saved, for all of us, by the voters in Georgia. So much legislation can now be accomplished without a knife driven in by Mitch McConnell and his evil ilk. If I am right, Biden can fill judges and nominees to benches, even quicker than he’s already done. Also, we might even see him expand SCOTUS. I sure hope so! I want to take just a breath right now.
Trump Org is guilty which means Weisselberg ain’t the only one who should be held responsible.
I will no longer tolerate people on Facebook running down Democrats on my posts. The people who do it are mostly not MAGA. They are lefties who hate Democrats. There is enough of that in the news as the media seems determined to keep this president from getting his due.
This is a problem for me too. The news today is good for Biden and for Ds. In fact, every post on my Facebook page were celebratory and there were some very funny ones, one of which I will not repeat here, but i laughed. I also enjoyed a single malt whisky neat.
I deleted the Twitter app from my Iphone, but I still look at it on my old android because it’s like watching a black hole. I check it from time to time because the vacuum that is being formed is like my 5th grade science project.
Substack and especially Dr R have held my sanity in check for a few years now. I’m so grateful for the learning experiences here and the hope that we could keep our democracy intact is being realized. Tattered and wounded, we rise up and put our country before party. We pledged allegiance to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Not a party, person or institution that doesn’t hold the Constitution as the basis of our government. We need to separate the persons responsible and hold accountable the individuals who actively decided to move against our democracy.
Trump Corporation CFO Allen Weisselberg has found out how he was repaid for not turning on TFG and his family ( by telling who directed him to break the law.). Now he’s being thrown under the bus and described as a rogue employee who came up with the scheme, even though there’s a memo with TFG’s initials on it. It seems that TFG is able to convince his minions that, although he’s turned on past loyalists, that they know how to keep him from turning on them—until he does. His past is littered with people who were very successful until they worked for him: Rex Tillerson (global head of Exxon); Michael Flynn (lieutenant general), etc.
I hope, as the projects are completed and people get good jobs, that the American public realizes that Biden and the Democrats are who has their best interests at heart.
Now that the D's have that slim majority do the committee assignments change? Will D's be chairmen, particularly the judicial committee? More judges appointed?
Ps we owe the voters in Georgia a huge thank you 👍
Because they have a majority in the Senate, not a 50/50 split, they get to have a majority on the committees and therefore can issue subpoenas which when the committee composition had to be evenly split the Republicans would block.
I think that is one of the most important things, because it allows the Dems in the Senate to continue to investigate Trump now that House investigations will be stymied by the Republicans.
I didn't know what a felony conviction of an organization meant, but apparently according to Michael Eppner it means that banks can claw back their loans (refinance is gonna be a challenge with higher interest rates) and the govt can break any contracts they have with the felon organizations (think super high cost whole floor at trump tower forced on the Secret Service and extremely expensive digs at Maralago, for 2. Not guaranteed, but given that this is just the fiddly tax evasion stuff and there are more prosecutions to come, bashing Weiselberg seems unwise.
Yeah! What a fine day for Democracy! ...Also Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia hitting targets at three Russian Air Force bases. Now, only if the FBI could find the Proud Boys who shot up that North Carolina electricity substation causing a black out for over 40,000 people.
To reinforce the legal news part of today's essay, here's how Joyce Vance put it: "The legal system is in high gear."
Continued thanks, Heather, for your good and important work. I wrote the following to Vance and would like you to see it too:
If there were a nutrition label for my daily information diet, three of the most important ingredients would be
Joyce Vance
Heather Cox Richardson
Robert Hubbell
What a trio! For proper nourishment I make sure to get my RDA (Recommended Democracy Allowance?!) of these thoughtful and thorough servants of truth and the rule of law.
GA: I phonebanked and wrote letters to GOTV for Warnock. Phew!!
My satisfaction with Raphael Warnock's reelection was muted by my disquiet that his margin of victory over Herschel Walker was by only a single percentage point. Walker' candidacy was so atrociously bad that to call Warnock's victory 'progress' drains the word of all meaning. Walker's voters, and by extension, Trump voters, have so disrespected our country that they have forfeited any claim to our trust to preserve whatever is good and praiseworthy in our country. I see them as the functional equivalent of the most irresponsible people in our society --- serial abusers, drug addicts, con artists and scammers. You don't give the keys to the car or your house to people who demonstrate such poor judgment as an act of defiance. In my lifetime, I cannot recall any candidate for public office whose who was so fundamentally unqualified for the office they were seeking, including the former president, Donald Trump, although each of them is a close correlative of the other. Stunning.
Arthur I share your disquiet that anyone with the abominable character and track record of Hershel Walker could even be a senatorial candidate much less garner close to 50% of the vote.
I find irony that the great majority of Georgia counties, steeped in ‘white supremacy’, felt obliged to vote for the Trump-imposed Black candidate over an admirable sitting Black senator.
In Georgia Trump is a modern reminder of the Lost Cause, as so many Georgians have no sense of shame.
JVL posted the story of the Munn family, attendees of J6 in Bulwark yesterday. What a sad group of deluded scum. I suppose I can feel some pity for those deceived but as time goes by willfully ignorant just looks like head in the sand obstinacy.
Of course these lowlife voted for Walker so they could curse him for the next six years. They can't bear the thought of a black man getting something out of their reach; and they'd rather tear our country apart than admit that Raphael Warnock was a far better candidate than anyone the Georgia GOP could offer up. Their foolishness, envy, and resentments over everything and everyone not like themselves are what made the South the fetid backwater it is. These people have a way of validating the worst possible vision of what they are like. Their stereotypes are the loathsome characters in the 1972 movie Deliverance. Intellectually, we know that's not true, but these rural folks reinforce that notion at the gut level all the time. This election has had the effect of holding up a mirror to these people and showing them how unworthy they are of citizenship and the right to vote. For them, this election cycle was an enormous minstrel show, with them voting for the worst possible stereotype of a black candidate, just so they could curse him afterwards. They're going to tell themselves and each other that they 'had no choice' in the matter; that's a lie, because the people in their communities who selected Herschel Walker as the Republican Party's candidate for Senate, and the outcome of the Republican Primary Election in which these folks had an opportunity to vote for someone else, proves their own complicity in the outcome.
Brian Kemp won by double digits over Stacy Abrams, even though he defied the former president, and yet he threw his weight and financial resources behind Walker to get him elected. Kemp was throwing the GOP a bone, trying to play both side of the political game. He certainly didn't have Georgia's future in mind. Kemp played the GOP like someone getting a dog to chase its own tail; but he didn't advance the quality of life in Georgia one bit. Time is running out for the GOP. The next election cycle will see the Democrats even stronger than this time. Politicians like Brian Kemp could help themselves, but they won't, because it's too much fun pretending things are what they used to be. You need to earn your way into a better future; and with leadership that Brian Kemp and his friends provide, that better future will be slow in coming.
Understood. California could serve as a model for a whole lot of states. We're a highly diverse polity of engaged people, really engaged. It's hard to keep up with my neighbors. And I live in the Sacramento area.
Today was a fine day, a very fine day! Congratulations Georgia on your Senator Warnock win! Thank you for your record-breaking voter turnout. Fabulous news, too, that the tRump Organization was found guilty on all 17 counts. I hear the footprints of Jack Smith coming closer down the halls of justice. And gas and food prices are coming down. If this is what getting back to normal is like, I want it to continue! The snub of McConnell and McCarthy was the cherry on top of a scrumptious day.
Unfortunately, we will be going into a mild (at the very least) recession in 2023. We need to open our borders and attract legal immigrants to do the jobs that have no one to fill them. That will bring down prices even more and move us back to normalcy.
We, the People of Georgia, have spoken.
It should never have been that squeaky close, but a win is a win and is to be celebrated.
I must say that I am disappointed that newly reelected Senator Warnock in his speech tonight did not also thank all the get out the vote groups like Red Wine & Blue; and Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water; and The Union, and Indivisible, and Substack authors like Robert Hubbell and you, Heather, who kept up our spirits and urged us to action.
I’m sure Senator Warnock didn’t intend to snub anyone who helped him win. He’s probably so exhausted from all the effort he kept his speech shorter than he wished. Please write to him and he’ll reply I’m sure.
It reminds me of when Oscar winners forget to thank their spouses! This is HUGE for Sen. Warnock and for the whole country. I'm sure he WAS exhausted, which makes the challenge of speaking on a national stage even more of a nearly "out of body" experience. I bet we will hear much from him in the near future about what this took and how we can replicate in other elections.
I may have already said this here, but I want to say it again....connecting with Heather, and Robert and Jessica's communities and doing whatever I could with post cards, phone calls and small amounts of cash that I could afford all made me feel like these victories from Nov 8 and last night were personal. I am now, and will be till my demise, an active, participating citizen of these United States!!! So thanks, everyone!!!
Thank you so much for all of your hard work on the behalf of ALL of us!!
You are welcome, kdsherpa (BTW sherpa is one of my favorite words)! And it didn't really feel like work most of the time because I also got connected to "Markers for Democracy," a group of activists who've been writing post cards (with markers!) since 2016, who have a Slack account (I'm getting so technology-hip!) and meet several times during the week on Zoom - with special times like last night where some of us followed the returns together. I'm so grateful!
(My husband is actually a Sherpa, from Nepal. He grew up in the high Himalayas, and was later a Tibetan Buddhist monk for 17 years! So I like the word, "Sherpa", too! :-) )
How fun to have that sweet community, Chaplain Terry!! Sounds like you are all indeed way techie these days!
I'm glad you're a part of the Heather/Robert/Jessica communities, Chaplain Terry.
Thanks, Mimi, me too! And you?
It's Mim, and I am an avid reader of especially but not exclusively those three Substack authors. They, and Dan Rather, have kept our hopes and spirits up during these stressful months/years.
Apologies! My eyes shadowed the "m" and I thought it was an "i." Guess I'd better get some reading glasses!!
You said it perfectly "kept up our hopes and spirits." I haven't connected with Dan Rather but you inspire me to check. (no cable but I can check on youtube)
Not only Trump, not only Germany, but yesterday the president of Peru!
NYTimes: Peru’s President Tried to Dissolve Congress. By Day’s End, He Was Arrested.
LIMA, Peru — It was a day on which much of Peru was focused on Congress, where an impeachment vote was planned against the president on corruption charges.
But shortly before noon, the Peruvian leader addressed the country in a surprise televised address. He announced the dissolution of Congress and the installation of an emergency government, stunning political leaders across the spectrum, including his own allies, by effectively trying to carry out what was widely condemned as an attempted coup to cling to power.
Thank you, I hadn't seen this. Wow! An epidemic of would-be despots!
Earlier to day, when I read about this, I was chilled thinking, "That could have been us."
Wow! That's something I wasn't aware of. I'm grateful he was arrested.
Couldn't agree more, well said!
I agree with you whole-heartedly!
I read his speech. Among his long list of thank-you’s he did not thank any volunteers but those in Georgia working directly for the Democratic Party—a very small percentage of us. It’s not a major issue—few politicians are nice people. I’ve worked very hard for him and will again if I have to. Because it’s important that the Democrats aren’t marginalized in the Senate. I still get to wish for better Democrats!
Well, I am not from GA; instead from TN (check out the Senators I have to live with). From my knothole, you Georgians have two of the finest young Senators that you could ever hope for. Not just that they are Democrats, but that they appear to be fine human beings. Pretty sure Senator Warnock (I like the sound of those words) is very thankful to all who contributed to his win, and he will make sure that is known. May Warnock and Ossoff continue to serve for many more years.
I strongly agree with everything you've said. Two fine senators and two FINE HUMAN BEINGS, and all the rest. Those who are disappointed (something I find hard to believe) should try to put themselves in the place of Senator Reverend Warnock over the last few months. It's had to have been absolutely grueling. If I were in his place, last night I would have wanted a good stiff bourbon and to get to bed.
I'm just incredibly happy that Warnock beat that no-good Walker.
Me too. I was exhausted writing 1,000 get-out-the-vote postcards between July and November. I can't imagine what the level of exhaustion of running a campaign must me.
I wish I could give you most of my likes. You earned them.
agreed!
and hang in there in Tennessee,
truth is going to be more attractive than what the opposition has been offering
and more people are going to come around.
Don’t count on any progress in Tennessee. It’s 80% white. Democrats can manage occasional victories in Georgia, in spite of vigorous vote suppression by Republicans, because Georgia is only 56% white.
Well - 77% anyway. Yeah Rex - Unfortunately I agree with your premise. TN is quite rural, and the big city suburbs are very conservative and white. I live in one, and the great majority of people I am acquainted with are anti-progressive, and hate Democrats. Quite a few states in the US are nearly irredeemable when it comes to progressive values, and TN is one of them. Never say never, I suppose, but I am not holding my breath. One must ask however why Alabama and Mississippi and Louisiana have not become at least purple. They have black proportions even larger than Georgia. Is it the Stacey A. effect?
Mary, while I agree that he didn't articulate his gratitude for many of his supporters, please keep in mind that he didn't begin his career in politics. I believe that Warnock is a nice, decent person, and he'll do his best to reward our support by performing in the country's and our best interests.
and did we really put our shoulders to the wheel in hopes of getting a pat on the head??
Is that why you think I worked the last year of my life for Warnock and (Shapiro and Hassan and Mandala Barnes and Nina Turner) till 1 or 2 a.m. most nights, through lunch breaks and Thanksgivings and in parking lots on my phone, and gave up a sizeable chunk of my retirement nest egg--for a pat on the head? The nastiness of this thread is mindboggling. I do not like, as I said, any man who supports Trump's Title 42. What's your complaint?--you wanted him elected and I busted my ass to do it. I don't have to approve of his support of Trump policies against asylum seekers as well. Do you?
Good point!
And lets all push to make those elected the better Democrats we deserve!
Hear hear!
You took the words out of my mouth, Kristin. This was a nail-biter, which was something of a surprise to me. Considering the contrast between Warnock and Walker, it was beyond comprehension. No wonder that he didn't cover all his bases in one speech.
I will, Kristin.
Thank You, Mim and Mary for all you did to contribute to this watershed moment in our history!! We watched his entire speech, live. We heard him graciously recognize and thank everyone for their hard work. He seemed to be very much aware of why and how he was standing up there, victorious. We felt his sincere gratitude and appreciation to his many volunteers and hard workers. Kind of like an Oscar speech, you can't name every single person or group and every single thing they did in your thank you speech. Thank You, again!! The world is better tonight and we can sleep more peacefully. The trend is moving is a constructive direction.
My wife often warns me not to put people on pedestals. That I don't know them so should not make assumptions. But I have to tell you - I have watched Senator Warnock since he came on the scene during the 2020 campaign. He appears to have the right stuff and then some. I am not Christian (I was for half my life life until I turned more atheistic) - but Senator Warnock IMO is the embodiment of what Christians should be. Just a fine compassionate intelligent human being, who seems to have the skills to take that view he has and put it to work as a politician. Oh how I wish I had a Senator like that - instead I have to put up with Marsha Blackburn. The contrast is laughable if it weren't so sad.
Hearing the Rev. Sen. Warnock sermonize a bit during his acceptance speech was not at all disturbing to me, a non-religious person, because I know he speaks from his big heart and will now have at least six more years to be of service to the people of Georgia, for whom he ran for office in the first place.
Despite vicious Voter Suppression tactics, Senator Warnock & Georgians will prevail by nearly 100,000 votes!
I love that we both thought of the Oscar speeches!!!
:-)
Mim, now in proud GA: There were many catalysts, many contributors. With only five (5) days for Early [ & limited] Voting, the Warnock lawsuit to preserve SATURDAY early voting was very important as well. Good work to All.
I watched Herschel Walker. He was calm, humble, grateful, exhorted his fans to hold on to their dream, and always to respect our elected representatives. Then he said it all again, and left the stage.
He even mentioned that everyone needs to honor the Constitution... and elected officials. It was shockingly good. A normal concession speech in a not-normal time. Wow.
I feel badly for Walker, a bit anyway He got used and abused by the Republican Party and Trump. Thing is, he cast his lot for the wrong side and should have known that. He also should have seen the cynical racist corrupt reasons that he was tapped by the Q-publicans in the first place. He of all people should know the seriousness of the job of a US Senator, and that he was fundamentally unqualified to do the job. That his selection was nothing more than an envisioned formula to siphon off black vote in a still-conservative state, so that Warnock would lose.
Walker's concession speech was surprisingly good in that it makes the Trump wing look bad. His speeches in general got better as he got more used to speaking in front of crowds, but still not close to being good. Instead of crying about a stolen election, he said "no excuses" like a fine athlete would say (and he was if nothing else a fine athlete). And he gave reverence to the Constitution at a time when the presumptive leader of the Republican party has stated he would throw it all out the window in order to restore him to power. A big contrast to say a Kari Lake, or a Donald Trump. Maybe more Republican voters will take notice.
For all his faults, Walker took his loss like a good sport. Good sportsmanship went out the window when Trump came on the scene and revealed himself to be a prima donna and a crybaby with no class.
I have always thought it was appalling that Walker was even a candidate. The MAGA Republicans saw him as a token in a racist party, a useful idiot that could be manipulated into being a vote in the Senate for the most odious right wing legislation. Now perhaps Walker can get himself checked out for football-related brain injury and get on with his life. He has a lot of amends to make.
He must have finally realized he was just being used or he would not have said we must respect the Consitution or have been such a good losers. Maybe some level-headed advisors got to him rather than Trumpers. IMO, It is otherwise unbelievable that he said what he did!
Given his professional life, the concern about CTE is very much warranted.
Walker has a history of mental illness including violence against his spouses and children. He was never a suitable candidate for any political office.
Hopefully, those who voted for him heard his speech and will heed his words!
Damn, chump probably spit in his diet Coke
And then drank it.
Get that DNA if he did not.
What a hoot!
LOL!!!
YEP!!! :D
LOL, Jeri!
LOL!!!
I imagine that it is very possible that Herschel Walker is very relieved that he does not have to listen to his puppetmasters for the next SIX (thanks everyone) years.
He can get back to doing whatever he was not doing before.
He can go back to his home in Texas.
Six. Senators serve for six years.
Rest for 4 years, run for the next two
Let's hope he seeks help for his problems. They are severe. The GOP leadership sunk to a new low using Walker. Beyond shameful.
SIX years!!!
If I had awakened to that news, my faith in humanity would likely have ended (but the fight would have intensified)
Yes, and he did it well.
The only time he has left a positive impression on me.
He was probably secretly relieved to have escaped getting a job for which he is manifestly unqualified.
Herschel's post win would have been much worse than just trying to do a job one is not qualified for (which, by the way, happens all the time in corporations, however, that is mostly white guys being incompetent so nobody writes about it until, like Kodak, the entire company goes under).
Herschel Walker would have spent every day being told what to do AND having to do it because of whatever money he took when his puppet masters showed up at his door with a bag of it.
One cannot really liken Walker's post win existence to slavery, since, it was a choice he made, however, in many ways it would have seemed like that after a few weeks of taking orders every morning form his puppet "master".
It was called tokenism by black commenters.
Definitely a less inflammatory term Barbara.
However, it is somewhat an oblique derivative of the more accurate language:
Beholden to his Puppet Master. Like, for example, Kavanaugh is "beholden to his Puppet Masters at the Federalist Society".
Tokenism or Puppet Master.
You pick.
:-)
Not tokenism, because that suggests at least some ability to do the job.
His insertion into politics at all is an AFFRONT to the idea that one Black man is "the same" as any other,
and that the MAGA-extremists could pretend they were not racist by voting for him over the imminently more qualified Senator they took such delight in demonizing.
I just watched it, too. Thankfully he was gracious and did not contest the hard-fought and closely-won result.
Which he easily could have done, going all "Hari Kari" on us!
Like Georgia?
Yes, insofar as cold weather doesn't last long and is tolerable since there is practically never any ice or appreciable snow, and I have a home and garden that I love and a fenced yard for my little dogs. But I do miss Carnegie Hall and Broadway and the great energy of NYC, though I could not possibly live there again anymore. Plus, now I'm a Covid hermit and I couldn't take advantage of the cultural opportunities anymore.
can so relate, Mim!!
I'm sorry, sometimes I find these threads confusing when we get past one or two replies! Was "Like Georgia?" for me? thank you!
Yes, the threading is not clear. Wish they would fix it.
I know, right? It was almost shocking. As though he got it that he didn't have to pretend to want to be a senator any more.
I was watching MSNBC, and they blew it, switching to Walker only as he was leaving the microphone.
I got so tired of the chattering laughing magpies of MSNBC, all talking over one another, that we switched to CNN.
There was more chattering laughter than usual.
Celebratory bottle off-camera?
Elections are not about each of us. They are about all of us. Politics is exhausting. The reward is living in a Democracy.
Beautifully said. Every word. I'm saving that. It could go on a banner. Or a yard sign. I'd write democracy with a small "d", though - it may take a few more post-Trump years for them to start to get the idea. A few more Biden years would be good, but we may have to make the most of the next two.
People do not realize the rareness of a peaceful transfer of power.
That is a huge part of what American democracy gets right.
At least, it was.
The maxim about eternal vigilance as the price of freedom applies to politics too, and you’re correct about the reward.
I’ll share your words … powerful, honest, clear. Thank you!
Thank you Barbara! This is perfect. I would add as a sub-statement that being an active participant in the process (now we have post cards, phone calls, texts, door knocking as well as cash donations to choose from) makes every victory a personal one, and every defeat a motivation to keep working....in community!
Agreed. I've worked hard twice now getting out the vote and "chasing ballots" for Rev. Warnock, and contributed often to his campaigns and to RideShare2Vote to get people to the polls in a state where the number of polling places and drop boxes have been sharply reduced, and dates and times of early voting and dropbox accessibility in this runoff election seemed to change almost daily. (Today they decided to stop letting the disabled and the over-75 go to the head of the line after 4:30--and without alerting anyone!) But never a word of thanks to the volunteers who gave up their own work and leisure and nest eggs to get him elected. I'm not crazy about him for bigger reasons--he supports Trump's Title 42, e.g., which turns away asylum seekers at the border, against international law (and the Bible he preaches). But I'm very glad he won. With 51 Democrats we can get justices in place and issue subpoenas.
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Dems are good at that
I don’t see how working my ass off for him through 2 runoffs and contributing to his campaigns from my retirement nest egg constitutes “letting perfect be the enemy of the good”?
Write to him and let him know he dropped the ball. I’d also like to know why his stand on asylum seekers is what it is. Seems a smidge less than Biblical to me too. I’m from NC though and we’ve got representation issues here big time so I can’t say much.
Title 42 was also supported by the 2 Democratic Senators in AZ and Biden's administration.....in lieu of a better fix from Congress which we have been waiting for for decades.
And now President Biden has come up with an even worse version to replace it.
What??
Yep. Not that surprising as he kept Trump's going for 2 years. He wants to expand it to include blocking Nicaraguans, among other points. https://www.axios.com/2022/11/30/biden-title-42-immigration-news. Not saying I know how to deal with the needs of so many refugees from countries we destabilized with our century-long support of right-wing governments and coups, just that extending Title 42 doesn't strike me as the right answer.
How did he drop the ball? He worked literally for years to win.
OMG !!! Here we go again, huh? The negatives from Democrats are just bubbling to the surface immediately
I read Warnock’s bio after Sandy Lewis suggested it
Warnock’s been working towards meaningful change his whole life, but lordy lordy, someone didn’t get thanked, someone else’s ox is still gored
Do we just naturally do this?
We humans do so love to go to the absolute and the linear. "If he did this he's good, if he did that he's bad." We are all so imperfect and still some of us work toward improving the lot for all. Some of us volunteer to lead. Some of us volunteer to support - even with all of our imperfections. We are all in this together.
Well. Let's not get too negative about someone's perceived negativity. These Midterms have been excruciating. We were already worn out from the fight begun in 2016. I am going to chalk up the negativity in these comments and in the news as a people suffering from PTSD, political fatigue and just plain stress.
We all sure could use a Holiday break.
Did you spend weeks going without sleep and skipping meals to work for Senator Warnoff like I did? This last month and also in his last runoff election? If not, keep your snark to yourself.
Stop please. Everyone is exhausted. These midterms were brutal.
I have never seen so much negativity in Dr. Richardson's comment section. It's disheartening.
Ask yourself if you did all that in order to receive his recognition as the first thing on Warnock’s mind last night or if you did it because it was what you thought was the right thing to do
My snark is toward the motivation and the disservice that comes from it
Look, I’ve got no dog in this brouhaha. I was responding to a campaign worker who felt slighted because they didn’t get thanked in Warnock’s acceptance speech. That’s all. As an outsider, I’m thrilled he won. I know how hard everyone worked to fight the right wing money machine that helped keep Walker viable. So let’s leave it there, ok?
You do realize that if you comment you stand the chance of someone responding. All you had to do was "leave it there."
That track runs both ways, yes?
Mary Baine:
"he (Warnock) supports Trump's Title 42, e.g., which turns away asylum seekers at the border, against international law (and the Bible he preaches). But I'm very glad he won."
The population of these United States currently stands at roughly 370 million or so (on the books at least).
The population of the rest of the world? Around 7.8 billion people.
Of that population, roughly 70% of the human population is greatly impoverished. In fact, the words "greatly impoverished" cannot communicate the dire straights those people currently live under and with.
Now, that is entirely a human disasater. No doubt.
But, let's say we, the USA, open our doors and let in, tomorrow, all of those folks (0.7 * 7.8 Billion)?
That means, tomorrow, we let in 5.46 BILLION people who have no education, no place to live, no relatives to help them be fed, no relatives to help them find a place to live.
That means, tomorrow, 5.46 Billion people would be at your doorstep asking for help, and, appropriately because, well, your kind heart brought them here.
Now, me? I think that yours and my standard of living, which is fantastically, amazingly high by world standards (basically only Canada is better), is not irrelevant as part of the discussion around "immigrants".
IF we let in 5.46 Billion poor people tomorrow, well, we get points for good hearts, no doubt.
But, your standard of living will decline precipitously. You will no longer have time to read HCR or money to give her. All of your time and money will be gone to cloth and feed all the people living here who cannot do that for themselves upon finding themselves here without language skills or any other skills. Yes, they have to live with you because there are just too many people to build houses and high rises for.
So, what is my point?? Warnock is thinking for himself, not feeling for himself or pandering to those who have not thought through clearly the consequences of massive immigration of poor people without skill, money, language or helpful relatives.
Please re-read the inscription on the Statue of Liberty!!
A friend of mine who is a native of El Salvador once emphatically said me “Do you think I WANTED to leave my country, my mother and all of my family?” Let that sink in regarding this absurd scenario!
YES!!! Same with most of us whose ancestors made that same desperate choice. NO ONE leaves everyone and everything they've known to come here because life was so great where they were.
Those who believe in American exceptionalism are delusional! Thanks for your comment!
I openly admit humans have created dire straights with overpopulation.
But. Moving from one country to another is not a viable solution.
Maybe not but between climate, wars and in many cases economic conditions usually caused by the first two issues have caused massive human movement from one affected area to another. It’s mostly happened away from us BUT we are seeing it here as well as conditions south of us deteriorate. So instead of squabbling and infighting trying to look important, why not work together to actually solve the problem as best we all can? The theory IMHO, is to follow the money. Who profits from the world being in disarray?
Work together as countries? As people? Compromise? Consider others needs?
Intersting thought.
:-)
well... what else are they supposed to do?
Immigration is a much more complex picture than the one you paint. And our leadership has let this issue languish, and kicked down the road repeatedly. What we haven't done as much about is all of the US policies that reverberate negatively in other countries that contribute to them being dangerous places. The high standard of living that some Americans enjoy, is partly the result of our exploitation of resources in other countries, leaving many people in dire straits. We have also contributed to the rise of the drug lords, with our draconian drug policies, designed more to punish than help. Those groups of thugs make life untenable for many who then come to our shores, pick our produce, clean our houses, work in our factories to provide us with the things that make our lives good all at low pay without benefits.
And that's all before we even talk about growing environmental issues driving more and more people to leave their homes and seek new lives elsewhere. The pressure is only going to increase.
5.46 billion? Not exactly. The issue is complex. Covid is no longer a reason to hold those seeking asylum on the Mexican doorstep to the US but there currently is nothing to take its place. Why can't Congress dig deep and come up with a reasonable fix for this issue? We have been waiting decades.
Kathy, I also think Congress can't. or more likely won't, fix immigration because they are too busy working to remain in power.
Why can’t Congress? Not enough votes. Thats why
We cannot/do not even care for our own who are houseless. We need to get our act together and learn how to care for our own so that we can care for others.
Ugh.
Indigestion bothering you?
No, Mike S's bizarro-world nasty paranoid comment about refugees and immigrants bothered me.
Ye gods! No one has said a word about allowing 5.46billion people into this country. Exaggerating your point as you have makes it lack credibility.
Wait.
SPW, there is absolutely NOTHING stopping all 5.46 billion people from showing up at the southern border tomorrow. Except for their own ability to get there.
Right?
Wrong.
Given Kemp and the Republican majority legislature's ongoing efforts to suppress voting, I'm not the least surprised that they decided to take away the front of the line option for the disabled and elderly folks.
The fact that these efforts are so clearly aimed at reducing the number of voters tells us everything we need to know about how much they support American democracy.
You thanked them, Mim, and we thank you, too! Carry on, with more victories ahead!
Dear Mim, give him time, he saved his people, his state, the Senate, the nation, the free world, you and me... pretty good for one night: CREDiT Black women, not white historians.
You suggested I read his bio. I did
I suggest that those here who haven’t might consider learning more about who he is
he's no angel... and who is?
So happy the people of Georgia bit back!
And that was despite all the voter suppression (Sen. Warnock mentioned) and we ALL know was a big player in this election. Yay, Georgia!!!! Thank YOU!!!
Georgia tried as hard as Texas to suppress votes, it takes Herculean efforts to overcome, the evil trio of Texas did it better. Sorry, Beto. Don’t give up, you are needed.
Right?!!? We know it is so. If Beto couldn't win... something is truly rotten here.
Texas has a reconstruction constitution that makes many of its public offices elected positions, and this can confuse voters. Nonetheless, Greg Abbott has been able to accumulate much power in his position as governor, and he has more power than most governors of Texas have had historically. For the sake of Texans, I wish Abbott would deign to use his power to weatherize the power grid, but I am not holding my breath waiting for this to happen.
Now…Greene has to go. The Atlantic had an article about her. Weird woman.
Weird? She's alarming.
She and Lauren Boebert are both alarming.
Yes, but the truly alarming part is the number of Americans who support them. It’s not the candidates who are scary. It’s the magats. If the candidates were the problem, there would be an easy solution.
those numbers may be waning, as the pink splash instead of red wave shows us
Thank you and the other voters who showed your confidence with Sen. Warnock. I also agree it shouldn’t have been that close.
I do a tiny bit of work for, and donating to, DFA and Warnock’s election, and what it means to the Country and Georgia, is all the thanks I need. Many hands make the load light.
I agree with Mim: thank you, Robin!
Thanks for being one of those hands, Robin.
Those of us involved with these groups knew the work we did to re-elect him. As I tell those who do not have time to volunteer, just telling the reason you are voting Democratic in a respectful, civil tone to co-workers, family, neighbors and friends does a lot to plant the seed that the Democratic Party is working for the average man. Word of mouth endorsement is gold to candidates.
Thank you, Sally. 💙
It takes a village...Senator Warnock's support was countrywide, funds, postcards, speeches. Georgians turned out in droves, despite limited days to vote. It could have been otherwise - CSPAN radio yesterday morning asked for call-ins about which candidate should win. Gobsmacking, from the sublime to the ridiculous 'why ain't the press talking about the time he ran over his wife's foot?' So many people rightly targeted and decried the Republican strategy of choosing puppets who only know to read the script they are handed.
I sent money from Illinois and asked my very wealthy Governor to do so as well. I am thrilled and thank you for your work on the ground! I think everyone in the country who is sane appreciates your work!
Thank you, Linda.
Nonsense. His speech was very good.
Not wanting to throw rain on your parade of enthusiasm, this "win" was by a photo-finish. It is not a mandate; it is marginal. All true and well-meaning patriots -- Democrat, Republican and Independent -- must "muscle up" for 2024. "A win is a win" for now. This country cannot afford any slippage.
Who can know what the win would be if efforts to remove people from the rolls were not so widespread in Georgia.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2021/04/19/georgias-voter-suppression-bill-is-an-assault-on-our-democracy/
However, the fact that so many Georgians voted for Walker does not speak well for them. I wonder how many were enthusiastically supporting him or whether they were basically holding their noses. Or were they assuming he would be the puppet of the White Supremacists running the party? Who knows, and now, who cares?
We must still care. They are still there. We must continue to be ready to contest them as each election comes and get out the blue vote going forward.
'Who can know what the win would be if efforts to remove people from the rolls were not so widespread in Georgia."
voter suppression isn't even hidden in some of these states... including GA. the fact that Warnock won at all by any margin means the efforts to accomplish that victory were huge.
Yes.
Admittedly, Warnock did not win by a mandate, but the impact is substantial on how the Senate can operate now.
Mim you are in GA; my understanding is Warnock's magrin approached 100,000 votes under conditions of multiple tactics to suppress 'early voting' (just 5 days. & just plain voting at anytime. This is the first "Midterm" that any President has held the Senate since FDR. Meanwhile more NARA classified documents have neen located near Trump's Florida home: Indictments on several fronts are coming.
Thanks, Bryan.
Thanks everyone good for me to hear that level appellate advocacy again; very good to have good people to doing diligent work.
Predicated on the following: Manchin and Sinema stick with the Democrats; or, a few Republicans cross over.
Show time tonight was in Georgia. Not in Arizona. President Trump was trashed in Atlanta, Georgia by Black women, just as the Black women decided to elect President Joseph Biden when James Clyburn uttered the three words that made history and flipped the nation: Joe knows us.
Chips and jobs and jobs and jobs are most important, but the Senate is more important. Rev. Warnock’s victory in Georgia ends Sen. Mitch McConnell’s reign in the senate and likely his career and all senate committees will have Democratic leaders and Democratic majorities. All Democratic senators will worship Sen. Warnock.
Modest President Biden’s record matches FDR’s in 1932. Historians take note. President Biden is a master of the Senate and he is quietly changing American and the world.
Joe knows us, too, and we whites can learn from the Blacks in Georgia - about tolerance and the wisdom of President Biden.
Cause for optimism? Not yet, but it’s a huge improvement. Georgia’s Black voters saved us all by voting, by passive resistance, by voting for the Democratic candidate that may now lead the Senate as the preacher that he is.
May God bless Black women. They performed when the chips were down, smiling.
And Joe does know us - all.
Arizona joined the union in 1912. Arizona just elected an honest governor. Newscaster Lake is toast. TV promotor Trump is slow meeting Justice and will be charged, tried and convicted. He will be sentenced to home detention. He will be our first president jailed for life with consecutive sentences.
The Big Lie is going to jail in his big tent.
Jack Smith will now roll.
Sandy, you made my day bigly!
lol !
I seem to have misplaced my bigly! Has anyone seen my bigly. LOL.
lol ! If there's any such thing as 'justice for all' you might eventually find it behind bars, where you, I, or anyone else would find themselves if we offended as he surly has. 'Justice' would by my preference, include the jumpsuit being a gaudy, or putrid shade of orange just for the bigly, so that it stands out.
LOL, Pat! I'll put out a BOLO for you!
Thank you.
Thanks Sandy! It’s so nice to face today with optimism rather than dread!
Thank the Black women of Georgia - thank Rev. Warnock’s belief in the people, and thank the college football community for their common and predictable banality, hopefully they are watching the world cup and learning that soccer breeds brains and American football culture worships the helmet and brain death, rather like boxing. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world.. FIFA refs and big money are busy destroying sportsmanship with FIFA corruption and jocks with no clue are cashing in. Message: money wrecks even the best.
And we humans have a lot to learn.
Off side assures balance in defense. Soccer is Socratic.
Aargh! I love the concept.
Love it!
Back in the late 80’s my husband and I spent a few hours at a Miami hotel pool talking with the man who was the then FIFA head. Until his 14-15 year old “companion” joined us. When corruption charges were levied later I wasn’t surprised. Kind of turned me off the entire sport. Even when my daughter played. Current husband has been glued to the TV. Big fan. I still don’t understand off side. ; ) Happy day after victory!
Offside, me neither, but they have instant cameras for proof
Dave, picture husband pausing action and carefully pointing out the action. Picture me, nodding, uh huh. Thinking (wo)man’s game indeed!
My son and DIL visited over Thanksgiving and were glued to Soccer. We watched and ask a million questions which they willingly answered. I still don’t get offsides
He scored!!!!!, No wait….
Amen!!
Sandy -- very well said. Rolled all of it up nicely, concisely.
Thanks.
Wasn't it good!! And I loved the Socratic postscript. That is, or should be, the governing rule of sport. And by extension, life.
As a football (Euro football - my high school coaches called it Commie Football back in the 60s and 70s when I first started playing club soccer in my hometown) fan, ref and player for over 50 years, I agree - it's Socratic.
At last - the word "soccer" explained! I know the story about Oxford university, where the rugger form of footer was played, and "association" footer morphed into "soccer", but this explanation is far more fitting. All things and circumstances considered. ;)
Socratic association, indeed! ;)
Lordy, I love your prognostications
Yes,sir!
Sandy, what is even more remarkable about Georgia is that on top of the Gerrymandering and removing of voting ballot boxes in many "Democratic" communities, and not allowing food or drink to be given to people in line, and other suppress the Democratic vote tricks, Warnock still won! Hallelujah!
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2021/04/19/georgias-voter-suppression-bill-is-an-assault-on-our-democracy/
I’ll drink to that! Turning on my coffee now.
My second cup, coming up! Here's to all of us.
Sandy, you've put a warm tear in my eye.
Drum roll for Sandy. I'll have what he's having! :D
YES!!! Thank you for this Sandy!!
Amid all the extraordinarily good news today, I missed the president's visit to Arizona and his update on the economy and big boost for manufacturing. What a great day for America!
Trump, of course, deflected blame for his company's huge loss in court, which portends him likely facing charges for financial crimes — both state and federal.
I hope someone points out to Trump, whose loser status is approaching legendary status, that Joe Bidden keeps on winning. This is the first midterm election since 1934 when a Democrat held the White House that no Democratic Senate seats were lost.
Yes, Michael! Joe Biden does keep on winning! And as Heather relates:
“After the results came out, Vox senior correspondent Ian Millhiser tweeted: ‘Huh, so Democrats managed to pick up a Senate seat in a cycle where they should have been crushed. Consider the possibility that Joe Biden is very good at his job.’”
Just consider the possibility ...
Unfortunately the penalty will only be about $1.6 million...which is not quite equal to a mosquito bite.
However "felony" for an organization means loan clawbacks and loss of government contracts are possible, and those are big stings. I had to look for it a few times. Plus remember, this is the comparatively fiddly part of the upcoming investigations.
Yeah, I know there will be ginormous financial penalties that will kill the company in all likelihood. I’ve listened to so many different takes on the ruling that my brain is tired. I do remember that Weiselberg can be called to any future trial(s)as part of his plea agreement.
Ah-ha.
I'm going to take the Christmas Spirit approach and say that this is the first real crack in the floodwall TFG has around him that keeps an entire swamp full of sewage out. It may be small right now, but it portends greater things to come....
You sound hopeful-and your spirit seems good. Though I can make guesses, I am but at a loss regarding "TFG has around him...".. trump's field gurus?.....
The Former Guy. (He whose name shall not be uttered.)
Anyone left, apart from Bannon? (Farage is invisible as usual, but if that rat has left, the water is over the bows).
The Republican party
Stephen Miller, for one.
🤢
Maybe not, but it’s a building block. 17 felony counts, yes, for the company but in spite of Weiselberg’s testimony, the great unspoken word was Trump and as head of that company, the ultimate party responsible for the trouble it has found itself in.
And chump is famous for micromanaging, may the ooze snare him like slime on the move
"Everything tRump touches dies."
Rick Wilson
His gratitude toward the man who shouldered the load and kept the great Trump family out of it was touchingly expressed.
Hahaha, should piss off the scapegoat, but put his own head in the noose
It's a problem that it took more to prove guilt than is penalized. Whilst this is "better than nothing" one would hope that rules and systems would promote equity to prevail. My guess is that people are using extant systems in a way to circumvent normal restraints... and perhaps the black and white assessments give way to reasonable conclusion.
Trump lost. He’s a loser for all to see. With more to come.
He’s living his worst nightmare
Of other people's money.
Let New Year's bells ring, calling out TRUMP'S 'LEGENDARY LOSER STATUS'!
Today was full of excellent news. Life IS good.
In addition to all of this was seeing McConnell today being ever so subtly snubbed at the Congressional medal ceremony. I wonder how he felt, and McCarthy too, to have their handshakes refused. I wouldn’t have noticed except that Heather mentioned it on her chat.
As I was watching all the moving speeches made about the actions of those J6 heroes and sheroes, I was "saying" to McConnell and McCarthy, "Are you listening to these words?"
I watched his face. He got the message.
Did it fall a little more?
It actually had a bit of a hurt look. Less turtle.
What did McConnell and McCarthy expect? Officer Dunn commented on MSNBC that yesterday was the first time some of the officers had been back in the rotunda and he was flooded with emotion: the smell of tear-gas, the sounds of clubs beating against shields all came back to him. I’m glad McConnell and McCarthy were snubbed but I highly doubt they learned anything from the experience. They don’t understand consequences.
Wow. That was certainly a strong message to the turtle and his handmaiden. Those guys seem to have no conscience between them.
Where are the celebrations strongest,
in New York City or Atlanta, Georgia?
We won't keep all this happiness,
due to justice,
and the wisdom of voters to elect
Senator Raphael Warnock
to ourselves.
The rest of America has reason to
CHEER, ✨ 🎉✨
We’re going to have A Happy New Year!
And it is high time for America’s Renewal!
HIGH TIME, FERN!!! Thanks.
Profound news from Germany today. 3,000 police officers were deployed to arrest 25 Coup plotters (QAnon affiliated) in Germany. They wanted to install an “Emperor” and a right-wing” government. Sound familiar? Also, Russia seems to be involved with them. Russia, of course denies everything. Sound familiar?
Cheers for the Democrats and the United States of America! More good news about the Biden Agenda and the DOJ doing it’s job. And still in our country, with an understanding how racism and antisemitism can escalate into a War: “I do not see this just as a Jewish issue,” Emhoff said. “This is an issue for all of us. Because we’ve seen this before. This is how it started 70 years ago. So I don’t want it to feel normal. I don’t want people to think, ‘Well it’s just words, it’s just Kanye.’ No. This matters.”
Been saying this for years, glad others are, but damn, the evidence has been clear.
YES. I think it's wonderful that the Second Gentleman is taking on the issue of rising antisemitism. And FWIW, I don't understand people coming to Kanye's defense.
I am so giddy tonight! Trying to find my tap shoes. I want to make noise as if it’s New Year’s! 🎉🎉 It has been an absolutely incredible highly tense day. A Warnock win is exactly how democracy was saved, for all of us, by the voters in Georgia. So much legislation can now be accomplished without a knife driven in by Mitch McConnell and his evil ilk. If I am right, Biden can fill judges and nominees to benches, even quicker than he’s already done. Also, we might even see him expand SCOTUS. I sure hope so! I want to take just a breath right now.
Trump Org is guilty which means Weisselberg ain’t the only one who should be held responsible.
Now if we can retire a couple SC justices in the next two years…
Can we dream of impeachment?
Or do a serious ethics probe, perhaps?
Enlarge the Court?
🎼On the good ship USA, its a quick trip to the rule of law shop…🎶❤️
This is precious's 💖 Step Shuffle Bal change all over the place! ✨
Yes! I've gotta buy new tap shoes, too! Though I need a mat to save my floors, cuz a LOT of happy dancing coming on!!
Still smiling over here, MaryPat!
So glad you’re with me, Lynell!!💓
Aha Lynell, you found bigly.
Morning, Marlene! Reveling here in your joy!
I will no longer tolerate people on Facebook running down Democrats on my posts. The people who do it are mostly not MAGA. They are lefties who hate Democrats. There is enough of that in the news as the media seems determined to keep this president from getting his due.
This is a problem for me too. The news today is good for Biden and for Ds. In fact, every post on my Facebook page were celebratory and there were some very funny ones, one of which I will not repeat here, but i laughed. I also enjoyed a single malt whisky neat.
I bet that went down smoothly...
It did. I save it for special occasions.
Had a shot of Jameson last night myself with my neighbors! Slainte!! (Irish for cheers)
I don't know what the Scots say, but Slainte works for me.
Lefties who hate Democrats, Damn, can’t even depend on those who should appreciate the struggle. Bill Maher comes to mind.
Propaganda raises some boats as well?????
Good on ya
Let every good deed be overshadowed by “that one thing I don’t like” seems to be a curse on the Democratic agenda
One reason I left FB
Left it, don’t miss it.
I deleted the Twitter app from my Iphone, but I still look at it on my old android because it’s like watching a black hole. I check it from time to time because the vacuum that is being formed is like my 5th grade science project.
Substack and especially Dr R have held my sanity in check for a few years now. I’m so grateful for the learning experiences here and the hope that we could keep our democracy intact is being realized. Tattered and wounded, we rise up and put our country before party. We pledged allegiance to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Not a party, person or institution that doesn’t hold the Constitution as the basis of our government. We need to separate the persons responsible and hold accountable the individuals who actively decided to move against our democracy.
Trump Corporation CFO Allen Weisselberg has found out how he was repaid for not turning on TFG and his family ( by telling who directed him to break the law.). Now he’s being thrown under the bus and described as a rogue employee who came up with the scheme, even though there’s a memo with TFG’s initials on it. It seems that TFG is able to convince his minions that, although he’s turned on past loyalists, that they know how to keep him from turning on them—until he does. His past is littered with people who were very successful until they worked for him: Rex Tillerson (global head of Exxon); Michael Flynn (lieutenant general), etc.
I hope, as the projects are completed and people get good jobs, that the American public realizes that Biden and the Democrats are who has their best interests at heart.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/12/06/politics/trump-organization-fraud-trial-verdict/index.html
Chump’s battle field is littered with the reputations of his most ardent supporters. Sort of sounds like der fuhrer
“Everything Trump Touches Dies” is very true as well as the title of a great book.
Republicans make no effort to govern, only to destroy.
That's obviously what they think they're there for.
They are driven by a hunger for Absolute Power.
They might not have been gung ho about Walker, but they never have doubts about power. It is right up there with greed
Agreed,James...pretty good at campaigning, which Trump never stopped doing for those 4 horrible years. Once elected, then destroy and obstruct.
that trend may be ever so slightly shifting direction
Now that the D's have that slim majority do the committee assignments change? Will D's be chairmen, particularly the judicial committee? More judges appointed?
Ps we owe the voters in Georgia a huge thank you 👍
Because they have a majority in the Senate, not a 50/50 split, they get to have a majority on the committees and therefore can issue subpoenas which when the committee composition had to be evenly split the Republicans would block.
I think that is one of the most important things, because it allows the Dems in the Senate to continue to investigate Trump now that House investigations will be stymied by the Republicans.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/senate-democrats-majority-advantages/index.html
I think the House will have R majority chairs and the Senate will have D majority chairs.
Excellent news.
I didn't know what a felony conviction of an organization meant, but apparently according to Michael Eppner it means that banks can claw back their loans (refinance is gonna be a challenge with higher interest rates) and the govt can break any contracts they have with the felon organizations (think super high cost whole floor at trump tower forced on the Secret Service and extremely expensive digs at Maralago, for 2. Not guaranteed, but given that this is just the fiddly tax evasion stuff and there are more prosecutions to come, bashing Weiselberg seems unwise.
Can’t wait to see those tax fraud returns!!! Going to be juicy when that happens!
Let's hope Chairman Neal publishes them in the Congressional Record
Yeah! What a fine day for Democracy! ...Also Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia hitting targets at three Russian Air Force bases. Now, only if the FBI could find the Proud Boys who shot up that North Carolina electricity substation causing a black out for over 40,000 people.
I hope there are more drones supplied to Ukraine. Latvia was right.
I understand that at least some of the long-range drones used were developed by the Ukrainians themselves.
And they evaded Russian air defenses for more than a hundred miles. And accurate. That’s worrisome for Vladimir.
That threat is hanging like the sword of Damocles, over us ALL
THANK YOU, GEORGIA! ❤️
To reinforce the legal news part of today's essay, here's how Joyce Vance put it: "The legal system is in high gear."
Continued thanks, Heather, for your good and important work. I wrote the following to Vance and would like you to see it too:
If there were a nutrition label for my daily information diet, three of the most important ingredients would be
Joyce Vance
Heather Cox Richardson
Robert Hubbell
What a trio! For proper nourishment I make sure to get my RDA (Recommended Democracy Allowance?!) of these thoughtful and thorough servants of truth and the rule of law.
GA: I phonebanked and wrote letters to GOTV for Warnock. Phew!!
Excellent choices, Eric...what a trifecta, for sure. I would add Greg Olear to that list. He has the goods on Russian history.
And TCinLA
Thank you for your phone banking and writing letters, Eric D!
My satisfaction with Raphael Warnock's reelection was muted by my disquiet that his margin of victory over Herschel Walker was by only a single percentage point. Walker' candidacy was so atrociously bad that to call Warnock's victory 'progress' drains the word of all meaning. Walker's voters, and by extension, Trump voters, have so disrespected our country that they have forfeited any claim to our trust to preserve whatever is good and praiseworthy in our country. I see them as the functional equivalent of the most irresponsible people in our society --- serial abusers, drug addicts, con artists and scammers. You don't give the keys to the car or your house to people who demonstrate such poor judgment as an act of defiance. In my lifetime, I cannot recall any candidate for public office whose who was so fundamentally unqualified for the office they were seeking, including the former president, Donald Trump, although each of them is a close correlative of the other. Stunning.
Arthur I share your disquiet that anyone with the abominable character and track record of Hershel Walker could even be a senatorial candidate much less garner close to 50% of the vote.
I find irony that the great majority of Georgia counties, steeped in ‘white supremacy’, felt obliged to vote for the Trump-imposed Black candidate over an admirable sitting Black senator.
In Georgia Trump is a modern reminder of the Lost Cause, as so many Georgians have no sense of shame.
However, we now know what counties the ignorant and hateful live in.
Evangelical Christians aka Republican Jesus Christians voted overwhelmingly for Walker. Nuff Said.
That voters saw this candidate (Walker) as normal is scary.
Not viable, but pliable!
Walker was the person he called Warnock. And Walker would have been on his knees sooner than later.
JVL posted the story of the Munn family, attendees of J6 in Bulwark yesterday. What a sad group of deluded scum. I suppose I can feel some pity for those deceived but as time goes by willfully ignorant just looks like head in the sand obstinacy.
Of course these lowlife voted for Walker so they could curse him for the next six years. They can't bear the thought of a black man getting something out of their reach; and they'd rather tear our country apart than admit that Raphael Warnock was a far better candidate than anyone the Georgia GOP could offer up. Their foolishness, envy, and resentments over everything and everyone not like themselves are what made the South the fetid backwater it is. These people have a way of validating the worst possible vision of what they are like. Their stereotypes are the loathsome characters in the 1972 movie Deliverance. Intellectually, we know that's not true, but these rural folks reinforce that notion at the gut level all the time. This election has had the effect of holding up a mirror to these people and showing them how unworthy they are of citizenship and the right to vote. For them, this election cycle was an enormous minstrel show, with them voting for the worst possible stereotype of a black candidate, just so they could curse him afterwards. They're going to tell themselves and each other that they 'had no choice' in the matter; that's a lie, because the people in their communities who selected Herschel Walker as the Republican Party's candidate for Senate, and the outcome of the Republican Primary Election in which these folks had an opportunity to vote for someone else, proves their own complicity in the outcome.
Brian Kemp won by double digits over Stacy Abrams, even though he defied the former president, and yet he threw his weight and financial resources behind Walker to get him elected. Kemp was throwing the GOP a bone, trying to play both side of the political game. He certainly didn't have Georgia's future in mind. Kemp played the GOP like someone getting a dog to chase its own tail; but he didn't advance the quality of life in Georgia one bit. Time is running out for the GOP. The next election cycle will see the Democrats even stronger than this time. Politicians like Brian Kemp could help themselves, but they won't, because it's too much fun pretending things are what they used to be. You need to earn your way into a better future; and with leadership that Brian Kemp and his friends provide, that better future will be slow in coming.
Used to live among them when I was in NC from 1951-1969. High-tailed it outta there!
Understood. California could serve as a model for a whole lot of states. We're a highly diverse polity of engaged people, really engaged. It's hard to keep up with my neighbors. And I live in the Sacramento area.
Today was a fine day, a very fine day! Congratulations Georgia on your Senator Warnock win! Thank you for your record-breaking voter turnout. Fabulous news, too, that the tRump Organization was found guilty on all 17 counts. I hear the footprints of Jack Smith coming closer down the halls of justice. And gas and food prices are coming down. If this is what getting back to normal is like, I want it to continue! The snub of McConnell and McCarthy was the cherry on top of a scrumptious day.
Unfortunately, we will be going into a mild (at the very least) recession in 2023. We need to open our borders and attract legal immigrants to do the jobs that have no one to fill them. That will bring down prices even more and move us back to normalcy.
Just Jane: You summed up the day perfectly!