Once again, thank you Heather! Although I watched several hours of the first three days of the impeachment proceedings, I was unwilling to watch Friday’s shenanigans. As a result, tonight’s analysis is all the more appreciated.
I just happened upon an opinion piece I think you and this community will appreciate, so I’m sharing it here. …
Once again, thank you Heather! Although I watched several hours of the first three days of the impeachment proceedings, I was unwilling to watch Friday’s shenanigans. As a result, tonight’s analysis is all the more appreciated.
I just happened upon an opinion piece I think you and this community will appreciate, so I’m sharing it here.
In his 2/10/2021 tweet, David Rothkoph urges us to “Never forget the bloody Capitol insurrection. Never forget his attempt to end democracy in America. But don't forget the rest either. Each of his abuses compounds and colors and explains and worsens the others. We must never forget any of it.”
The thread in its entirety:
“Many commentators are saying that the House impeachment managers case is so compelling and that it lays out the truth so clearly, that it will become the defining legacy of the Trump presidency. And face it, a president orchestrating a deadly coup attempt is a big deal.
But is it a bigger deal than the half a million who died of COVID, hundreds of thousands of whom would have lived had Trump not put his political interests before the public health of the US? Bigger than the massive economic crisis that accompanied that public health catastrophe?
Is it bigger than the fact that Trump was a traitor who sold out the country to Russia? Bigger than the fact that he was impeached twice? Bigger than the fact he separated families and put babies in cages? Bigger than his corruption, and nepotism?
Is it more defining of Trump than his history as a rapist, a serial abuser of women, a tax fraud, a racist, a misogynist? More defining than his serial obstruction of justice and efforts to undermine the rule of law in the United States?
The answer is, of course, it does not have to be bigger than these things and we should not want it to supplant them in our memories. Trump was the totality of all his crimes and betrayals, all his character defects and all the damage he did to others.
Never forget the bloody Capitol insurrection. Never forget his attempt to end democracy in America. But don't forget the rest either. Each of his abuses compounds and colors and explains and worsens the others. We must never forget any of it.
And we must be absolutely clear that every single enabler and defender of Trump is a co-author of the tragic travesty that was his disastrous presidency. We must never forget them or their role in this either.”
Remember and continue the D efforts to FIGHT AGAINST voter suppression (emphasis intended as there is a way to fight peacefully). Continue to register voters. Find and support Democratic candidates at the local levels and on up. Michigan has worked since 2016 to replace redistricting by the legislature with a citizen commission. Constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018 accomplished this. And yes I was a signature gather for the petitions. Boots on the ground is how it gets done. It takes a village to do anything but most importantly it takes getting the populace woke and involved. As I was door to door in 2018 (that Covid thing you know) I would tell those with jobs and involved lives that the best way to help the party was, in a respectful voice, tell friends, family, co-workers, club members, etc., why you are voting Democratic or for a particular candidate. From the ground up is how Stacey Abrams did it and we must continue that work.
Yes! But for the likes of local office holders like Ratffensperger, this election might have been overturned. Such a frightening thought that so few held the line of our democracy. We need to all be more like Stacey Abrams!
Yes, Raffensperger did the correct thing. However, he and most Republicans in Georgia are scrambling to enact voter suppression legislation as we speak. He was defending the performance of the new voting equipment that he purchased, not the rights of the voters, and now he and other Republicans are trying to throw barriers in front of all who turned Georgia blue, in order that it remains reliably red. Stacey Abrams is wonderful, and will remain a hero as long as she lives - no showboat, but immeasurably intelligent and a fantastic strategist.
You know what? We need to change our definition of beauty, and then we need to learn how to see the unique beauty in everyone. Stacey Abrams is a big, beautiful, dark-skinned woman with a smile that could beat out the sun. She has a strong, powerful, beautiful voice that teaches young women of all kinds that they have something to say and the means to say it. Really, we've got to get over this old idea (I remember hearing it when I was very young- and it was old then) that women without the looks had to use their brains and hard work to "make up for it". Yes, Stacey is a hero. She is intelligent, hard-working, AND attractive. If we just get over our ideas about what that means.
Yes! There was some chatter here yesterday about not talking to people who appear kind and wonderful but relationships would be strained bringing up politics. It’s not politics, for goodness sake, it’s our democracy. And that requires active participation from all.
Thank you so much for your efforts and your boots on the ground talking and working and teaching. I’m doing that more and more myself but need to join a more formal grass roots movement as we work on midterms. Reading and blogging helps me understand so much but it’s not enough in protecting and strengthening our democracy.
One of my favorite things to do is speak with people who are more conservative than I am and try to understand why they are. I’m not talking about the folks who have gone too far right or too supremist to return to sanity, but people I live and work with. I do learn a lot.
I live in Michigan and sincerely thank you for all you've done. You're inspiration for all of us to participate, and to do so in the ways that we are able.
Oh, of course! It's the Russians! the Russians! Certainly, the core has absolutely nothing to do with Americans messing up the lives of millions of their American compatriots. Monopolistic no tax paying behemoth corporations, the 1%pouring millions into the coffers of the insurrectionists who happen to be members of Congress, Obama's ever protection of Wall Streeter greed hounds freed of any scruples to mess with their fellow Americans' mortgages and retirement accounts and liberated by bail outs and freed from indictments, nothing to do with Katrina, war crimes, the poisoning by water of our Flint brothers and sisters, the only materially advanced country without health care for all, penitentiaries for profit, children in cages, big oil's conscious evisceration of earth while propagandizing its denial, destruction of unions, corporate closing up American shops and sending manufacturing overseas, "800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad—from giant “Little Americas” to small radar facilities. Britain, France and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases combined." (Google), Iraq invasion with hundreds of thousands dead and a broken country, "Johnson & Johnson exposed as the mastermind corporation behind the opioid epidemic that kills 60,000 Americans a year" (opioidnews.com), endemic structural rascism....Hey! Naw!!! it's the Russians! the Russians! and when it's not the Russians, it's the Chinese!!!
Sadly, the election's verdict that Rothkopf was looking forward to was distorted by the Traitor and his minions, resulting in The Big Lie and then in the January 6th insurrection and the second impeachment trial, from which all predictions point to another acquittal. Our country is in deep trouble.
Once again, thank you Heather! Although I watched several hours of the first three days of the impeachment proceedings, I was unwilling to watch Friday’s shenanigans. As a result, tonight’s analysis is all the more appreciated.
I just happened upon an opinion piece I think you and this community will appreciate, so I’m sharing it here.
In his 2/10/2021 tweet, David Rothkoph urges us to “Never forget the bloody Capitol insurrection. Never forget his attempt to end democracy in America. But don't forget the rest either. Each of his abuses compounds and colors and explains and worsens the others. We must never forget any of it.”
The thread in its entirety:
“Many commentators are saying that the House impeachment managers case is so compelling and that it lays out the truth so clearly, that it will become the defining legacy of the Trump presidency. And face it, a president orchestrating a deadly coup attempt is a big deal.
But is it a bigger deal than the half a million who died of COVID, hundreds of thousands of whom would have lived had Trump not put his political interests before the public health of the US? Bigger than the massive economic crisis that accompanied that public health catastrophe?
Is it bigger than the fact that Trump was a traitor who sold out the country to Russia? Bigger than the fact that he was impeached twice? Bigger than the fact he separated families and put babies in cages? Bigger than his corruption, and nepotism?
Is it more defining of Trump than his history as a rapist, a serial abuser of women, a tax fraud, a racist, a misogynist? More defining than his serial obstruction of justice and efforts to undermine the rule of law in the United States?
The answer is, of course, it does not have to be bigger than these things and we should not want it to supplant them in our memories. Trump was the totality of all his crimes and betrayals, all his character defects and all the damage he did to others.
Never forget the bloody Capitol insurrection. Never forget his attempt to end democracy in America. But don't forget the rest either. Each of his abuses compounds and colors and explains and worsens the others. We must never forget any of it.
And we must be absolutely clear that every single enabler and defender of Trump is a co-author of the tragic travesty that was his disastrous presidency. We must never forget them or their role in this either.”
Remember and continue the D efforts to FIGHT AGAINST voter suppression (emphasis intended as there is a way to fight peacefully). Continue to register voters. Find and support Democratic candidates at the local levels and on up. Michigan has worked since 2016 to replace redistricting by the legislature with a citizen commission. Constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2018 accomplished this. And yes I was a signature gather for the petitions. Boots on the ground is how it gets done. It takes a village to do anything but most importantly it takes getting the populace woke and involved. As I was door to door in 2018 (that Covid thing you know) I would tell those with jobs and involved lives that the best way to help the party was, in a respectful voice, tell friends, family, co-workers, club members, etc., why you are voting Democratic or for a particular candidate. From the ground up is how Stacey Abrams did it and we must continue that work.
Yes! But for the likes of local office holders like Ratffensperger, this election might have been overturned. Such a frightening thought that so few held the line of our democracy. We need to all be more like Stacey Abrams!
Yes, Raffensperger did the correct thing. However, he and most Republicans in Georgia are scrambling to enact voter suppression legislation as we speak. He was defending the performance of the new voting equipment that he purchased, not the rights of the voters, and now he and other Republicans are trying to throw barriers in front of all who turned Georgia blue, in order that it remains reliably red. Stacey Abrams is wonderful, and will remain a hero as long as she lives - no showboat, but immeasurably intelligent and a fantastic strategist.
You know what? We need to change our definition of beauty, and then we need to learn how to see the unique beauty in everyone. Stacey Abrams is a big, beautiful, dark-skinned woman with a smile that could beat out the sun. She has a strong, powerful, beautiful voice that teaches young women of all kinds that they have something to say and the means to say it. Really, we've got to get over this old idea (I remember hearing it when I was very young- and it was old then) that women without the looks had to use their brains and hard work to "make up for it". Yes, Stacey is a hero. She is intelligent, hard-working, AND attractive. If we just get over our ideas about what that means.
Yes, she is beautiful in so many ways.
Love her! She's a hero, and smiles while she proves that she doesn't suffer fools.
This!!!! Like I said, reading and blogging is a good information source, but doing is where democracy thrives.
Amen sister.
Yes
Yes! There was some chatter here yesterday about not talking to people who appear kind and wonderful but relationships would be strained bringing up politics. It’s not politics, for goodness sake, it’s our democracy. And that requires active participation from all.
Thank you so much for your efforts and your boots on the ground talking and working and teaching. I’m doing that more and more myself but need to join a more formal grass roots movement as we work on midterms. Reading and blogging helps me understand so much but it’s not enough in protecting and strengthening our democracy.
One of my favorite things to do is speak with people who are more conservative than I am and try to understand why they are. I’m not talking about the folks who have gone too far right or too supremist to return to sanity, but people I live and work with. I do learn a lot.
Find your local Democratic Club of Indivisible Group.
Thanks for this tip!
Yes! Thanks
I live in Michigan and sincerely thank you for all you've done. You're inspiration for all of us to participate, and to do so in the ways that we are able.
Great work, Sally.
David Rothkoph is the author of Traitor. If interested, you can read about it here:
https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/18/traitor-review-benedict-arnold-donald-trump-david-rothkopf
Oh, of course! It's the Russians! the Russians! Certainly, the core has absolutely nothing to do with Americans messing up the lives of millions of their American compatriots. Monopolistic no tax paying behemoth corporations, the 1%pouring millions into the coffers of the insurrectionists who happen to be members of Congress, Obama's ever protection of Wall Streeter greed hounds freed of any scruples to mess with their fellow Americans' mortgages and retirement accounts and liberated by bail outs and freed from indictments, nothing to do with Katrina, war crimes, the poisoning by water of our Flint brothers and sisters, the only materially advanced country without health care for all, penitentiaries for profit, children in cages, big oil's conscious evisceration of earth while propagandizing its denial, destruction of unions, corporate closing up American shops and sending manufacturing overseas, "800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad—from giant “Little Americas” to small radar facilities. Britain, France and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases combined." (Google), Iraq invasion with hundreds of thousands dead and a broken country, "Johnson & Johnson exposed as the mastermind corporation behind the opioid epidemic that kills 60,000 Americans a year" (opioidnews.com), endemic structural rascism....Hey! Naw!!! it's the Russians! the Russians! and when it's not the Russians, it's the Chinese!!!
Well said, Selina! You're on a roll. Go for it.
Thanks Annie, sometimes it seems to happen on its own...
Sadly, the election's verdict that Rothkopf was looking forward to was distorted by the Traitor and his minions, resulting in The Big Lie and then in the January 6th insurrection and the second impeachment trial, from which all predictions point to another acquittal. Our country is in deep trouble.
‘Don’t like’
Thanks!