“The measure went to the House of Representatives, where House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he will not take it up, even though his far-right supporters acknowledged that a majority of the representatives supported it and that if it did come to the floor, it would pass. “
Strange that the Jesus focus on love has been abandoned by the evangelicals (and many others who profess). I agree, it is more powerful when it is real.
She stands heads & shoulders above any recent gop speaker & things got done. Now that johnson heads the house, this is the most do-nothing congress in history. Yes, Nancy was fair & brave to stand up to the monster that is trump.
I don't know if anything trump does well is moral or ethical. Clearly, much isn't even legal. And one of those bad things he does so well is to find the little places in our laws and regulations that aren't perfectly buttoned up and impenetrable. So, in this situation, there are no laws that stipulate that a party can't do what an unelected person tells them to do with his threats. And although the gop has chosen not to defy him since they were faced with who to nominate in 2016, and have passed on every opportunity since, he keeps on doing it. They are the ones most responsible for how "cock-eyed" the system has gotten. Strange that he is self-destructing and they are going down with him and continue to stay on that sinking ship. They're even tossing buckets of water onto the ship. So weird!
I have no thoughts on how to protect ourselves from this kind of manipulation with laws. I think there are a number of things that voters can do if they haven't already, starting with, wake up, pay attention, read a book or take a class on critical thinking, think about what conspiracy theorists, pundits and politicians or even friends and family tell you, think for yourself and vote. And I hate to say it, but till the gop regains it's sanity, vote Blue...Democrat, liberal or left. Just stop electing these wealthy con men and women.
Sorry. I don't know why I slip into sermonizing so much nowadays. It never was my way til around 2020. I wonder what happened that year. Does turning 70 make it worse? LOL!
I think it's a given that political corruption isn't new. Human beings are corrupt. But I've rarely, if ever seen anyone as blatantly corrupt as dt. He barely tries to hide it as he clearly thinks he should be able to do whatever he wants to without consequences. And when the law tries to hold him accountable, he acts as if the law and everyone else who disapproves is being unreasonable. Again, Im kinda old and I've never seen anyone quite like him, except an actual 3 year old.
But yeah, all corruption is a problem. The funny thing is, I know there are plenty of corrupt democrats, but they are practically invisible when trump dominates the corruption spotlight nearly everyday. The trump era is just so fu*in' strange.
So, patriotism, national defense, and being tough on crime are not worthwhile goals and the left should not support them? That was a full sentence you wrote but makes no sense. What are you trying to say?
I will be simplistic. If we in the US move to the center of politics, we will be victorious. If we insist on moving to the left as we seem to be, the right wins under autocratic regimes. Even ole man himself, Plato ruminated that Tyranny follows Democracy. It’s that simple but I don’t have faith that this concept will be followed.
Bill, it appears we are winning, as the House control is shifting toward Dems, the Oval Office and Senate (albeit barely) are still Blue, and voter support up and down the list of issues that are most relevant today (abortion, climate, taxes, investment in infrastructure, guns, censorship, and I'd posit even immigration, as Dems have been trying for years to pass a bill; etc.) is in the Blue column. Where would you like to position us on these issues? Shouldn't women have the right to bodily self-determination? Shouldn't we continue to try to slow/stop/reverse the effects of climate change? Aren't we all happy to see roads, bridges, internet access etc. improved? Shouldn't we all be able to live without the dread fear of ready access to guns by the mentally ill? Why should religious zealots determine what a child may or may not read -- isn't that the parents' role? As to immigration, the Senate passed a bill that meets the stated demands of Republicans and Pres Biden said he'd sign it -- but Johnson declares it DOA on orders from the would-be autocrat. And let's not forget support for Ukraine and defense of NATO -- certainly popular.
So I'll ask again, in a different way: if all of the above issues are generally popular, isn't *that* the center?
Doug, you are absolutely correct. Mainstream voters back commonsense legislation on gun control, immigration, fair taxation, climate change, universal healthcare, education. The media creates a false image of division in this country. Dobbs proved it. A vocal religious minority got what they wanted, and since then, in election after election, the centrist viewpoint (women deserve to control their reproductive healthcare) has prevailed. We have to continue to work hard.
Thank you for a very thoughtful and well articulated comment, Doug. Before I read it I bought into the idea that those positions are far left, but you're right. This is the new center.
Yes yes yes. Fully agree. But when I was suggesting a further left, these weren’t this issues I had in mind. As to guns, the frustration is that a super majority of Americans want real gun control. But unless we win super majorities, we will never get it. Why? Because the NRA has destroyed our chances. They have instilled the notion the 2nd amendment really gives everyone the right to own weapon but it doesn’t and never did. If you repeat the same lie the lie is believed. I had a chat with a cop not long ago. I asked him how he felt about guns and his unthinking response was that the 2nd amendment give all the right to protect ourselves and h is quite mistaken. So even if the NRA is in a dying stage, they have already done their damage.
I agree about the guns issue, Bill. Today's horrific news in Kansas City is further proof of the danger that the NRA, its supporters and lackeys, including Scalia, Alito, Robert's, Thomas and Kennedy wrought upon our country.
Personally, I take what cops say about social subjects with a grain of salt as for 2 years police nationwide were dying from Covid because they wouldn't get the vaccine. It was the number one killer of cops for 2 years in a row, so there's that. Most police, including the ones I'm related to, are very pro 2nd amendment & pro NRA & are anti red flag laws. I don't get it, as cops are often of the victims of people who should not ever have access to guns & they also witness what domestic victims go through when they encounter them, but here we are.... I agree with you about the damage the NRA has done to our country. When the NRA wouldn't stand up when little elementary kids & their teachers were slaughtered my husband quit them, saying that he was ashamed of them & wanted no part of them despite being a gun owner of many years . After seeing the news of late with the man who headed the NRA & his almost predictable money crimes, what does this group have to offer except their hatred & more death to innocents?
I need to respond. My theory about cops relating to 2nd amendment is that and I think this goes to self selection. Those who go to war or spend much time serving in the military are more destined to want to go into law enforcement. Personally I think those who have been in war zones are the least capable of staying steady in close encounters with the public as a cop. The suffer to varying degrees, ptsd. Lastly, my father was a card member of the NRA. When he died in 1982, his membership lapsed. Yes, he was a VP even that long ago and a letter from his office asked my father to renew membership. Since my name was the same as his, my mother gave me the letter and I was incensed over it. I soon wrote what would be my first op-ed in my local paper and I was rather proud of myself for the youthful response I gave. The only purpose of the NRA is to serve the interested of the very profitable gun lobby. When people are hardwired to think a certain way, all logic is tossed out the window. The NRA has achieved their damaging goal. It’s over until super majorities of democrats can gain power. But we democrats are too thick-headed to realize that we must stop pushing unpopular issues or we will never ultimately win. And one ver big issue is the border. Why Biden refused for 3 years to stop this scourge I don’t know but I do know that many democrats don’t think we have a problem. Why? Because we are hard wired to think we don’t have this problem. In my opinion, our golden period is behind us.
I was a left leaning centrist for most of my life. The appalling tack the right has taken pushed me farther to the left. I don't know about the green new deal, for example, but climate change MUST be addressed. The right won't do it. Same with gun safety. Same with immigration. Same with women's health. I was always for a woman's right to decide to carry a pregnancy to term or not, but the extremism of forced birth made me hold my breath until I turned true blue.
Fortunately or unfortunately, we live in a two party system. Party identity has become so rigid and extreme due to the advent of cable networks that escalate every issue to existential threat levels to keep loyalty intact and gerrymandered districts that ensure the only challenge must come from the extreme. I'll say this is more true of Republicans after their 'Red State' project in the 2000s. We need those who collaborate with respect in congress, and we are getting those who tear things apart.
A perfect witch’s brew of old cable, social media, unlimited money as in companies are people there, spending unlimited, gerrymandering. It’s a perfect storm for authoritarian rule and it won’t be from the left. But as I’ve said, the progressive left does t help much and indeed, insures break up.
You're just too cynical, Bill. The progressive left is younger and more 21st century in its approach to our policies and laws (Sanders and Warren being the exceptions to the young part). In today's world it makes economic sense to fix the tax structure, provide public day care and early education, install renewable energy systems, reduce medical costs, and make high-speed internet available everywhere. America needs all that to be competitive.
The racism, sexism, and nationalism of the right are 19th century positions that are simply not viable any more. We can blame the media and corporate greed, but better to fix the problems than the blame, no?
A new dance craze is sweeping the nation called, The Goose-Step, Two-step March. This invigorating new exercise is easy to learn! First, link arms on the dance floor. As you move backward in line, turn your head to the right and lift your left leg straight up as high as it will go. Then step forward as you turn your head to the left and lift your right leg straight up in the air.
It's very similar to square dancing or line dancing. Soon the dance floor will be filled with goose-steppers. Forward, backward, round and round. If you step out of line, you are tagged, the caller detains you, interrogates you, strip searches you, and sends you off to detainment camps for disloyalty.
This new dance craze is not to be confused with serious charges of criminal activity. By the time the youngins reach the age of reason, they will be quick to form into lines upon request for impromptu Goose-Step, Two-Step Marches and other forms of family entertainment.
Yada yada yada. This theory has been proven wrong so often in recent U.S. electoral history that it is incredible that anyone still has a delusional belief in it. Joe Biden, Mitt Romney, Hilary, etc etc are all theoretical centrists and all losers except for Biden’s win which happened only through the manipulation of the DNC to assure no progressive candidate would win. The progressive candidates - roundly mocked and critized by people like you are winning their elections handily while those who pander to the so-called center find themselves in contests where they are often indistinguishable from their opponents after they - like Biden - eschew any progressive independence and offer only weak centrist alternatives. If it weren’t for the polarizing and regressive attacks on progressive policies such as the right to choose by SCOTUS Democratic candidates would have even less chance of winning against all the rapid MAGA candidates out there.
Let me remind you that a progressive bloated-headed consumer aging advocate single-handedly destroyed the nation when he ran in 2000 taking 90,000 votes from a real environmentalist candidate and through his efforts the Ahole that was elected nominated two blowhard federalist Justices thereby cementing a tyrannical rule for the next 50 years.
Next up, 2016 your wonderful Blowhard ego maniac Jack and Jill Stein ran pulling votes for our dearly beloved— not Hillary Clinton and who knows maybe she could have won.
So keep up your good work. One day we should eventually have our own A—doff the Meat Tenderizer Hitler running things. Hope you’re not Jewish. Oops I thing things are in process. Bye y’all.
Hey. Almost half the Senate Republicans voted Yes! And there are some House Republicans ready to vote Yes. We'll need more if members of the House Progressive Caucus follow Sanders' and Merkley's purity test bad precedent.
(They could've voted for aid to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Gaza - and used Biden's new National Security Memorandum to withhold delivery of aid to the criminal Netanyahu regime. Broadcasting this would also put more pressure on Israel for a ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian aid.)
Yes AIPAC and the Evangelicals are the security threat to Israel and a disaster for Palestinians and all people of good conscience.
But Sanders and Merkley took a self indulgent, simplistic, and symbolic stance - which blocks aid to Ukraine and Gaza, without stopping Netanyahu. They had a better choice through Biden's National Security Memorandum.
Lin. There have been several serious attempts to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian issue. Even one that Arafat agreed to but extremists on both side rejected the terms. On the Israeli side, Rabin was assassinated and the Palestinians reacted with the Intifada which I think Arafat promoted. Biden does have the leverage to help unseat Netanyahu.
Yes, on both sides extremists have sought their own personal political advantage over peace. We see the result. But all along there have been people on both sides working together for justice. Maybe this time they will be listened to.
Before Oct 7, Israelis were in the streets in thousands for months protesting the Netanyahu regime. They still are. They will unseat him if he allows an election.
Biden and Blinken are marginalizing Netanyahu through international diplomacy, while bringing forward negotiating a two state solution. Of course, AIPAC, the Evangelicals, and the 'genocide joe' crew are more interested in their own political agendas than actually taking constructive action. They, like Bibi, would like to see Trump back in power, for their own reasons - none of them good.
Jim Holley. Biden has issued a Memorandum to a Foreign Military Aid bill that the arms can not be used in violation of humanitarian rights. It was, in my humble opinion, a reminder to Netanyahu that the aid does come with a restriction that could be invoked. Obviously this is a difficult political issue and the House has not yet passed the foreign aid package..But it might come in handy when the negotiations for two states or for political control in the Gaza get serious. I do need to point out that Hamas expected even welcomed a brutal response by Israel in the hope that a world reaction to the violence might push Israel towards a two state solution. It is a painful event to watch but when you push a stick in a giant's eye, there will be a reaction.
My thought exactly, maybe congress needs to create a rule, no, make it a freakin' law, that says once a bill passes in either body, the other body has to vote on it too? WTF.
In theory they're there to legislate, but they seem to think their role is to obstruct and pontificate, not to mention disinform. What else can we take away from Mayorkas' impeachment, Hunter's laptop, Benghazi, Hillary's emails, and frickin' Tuberville?
Power isn't given, it is taken, atleast as per the current world circumstances. If Rs fail to show full support, Puttin will take it, much to the detriment of the US. Putting isn't fighting Ukraine. It is indirectly fighting US to render it powerless and now exert its authoritarianism to the rest of the world. Puttin's way of working is a replica of how they are working in Africa. He profits from chaos and push US to the periphery of the continent. Rs should know Supporting Ukraine shouldn't start first with opposing Ds. The far-right Rs should know when to fight and when not to fight for that's where real strength lies.
NB. If you haven't read the Making of Shakahola massacre (e-book), I kindly invite you to do so. Check in my referral program. 2 subs and you get it. (Sorry for the reminder).
Have to agree, when to fight and when not to fight. Repubs can’t get past the hate of anything Dem since Rush spewed his libtard crap. Then the righteous whiteys joined in with a bit of greed and the pot began to boil. Not a melting pot, but a witch’s brew. A little nuance would serve them better.
Repubs... Dem... libtard crap..righteous whiteys.. the pot began to boil..not a melting pot..but a witch's brew.....
Political speak these days... clever and "Rush-ish" : back atcha sorta
Regarding the *bit* of greed. they "shoot themselves in the foot" because all of this boomerangs sooner or later... when the Dems wake up from being too "woke".
"repubs", "libtard", "whiteys"....I love to hate it. Name-calling that is ubiquitous now and now here is complaining about Rush Limbaugh, the father of it all... hateful partisanship. That is where we are.
Putin is a very bad character trying to stay in power in a sort of pyramid scheme where everyone around him is in cahoots to keep their own status. The country is subdued and appeased and lied to. The Federation similarly to some degree. Putin has his tentacles almost everywhere, Africa, the Middle East, making trouble, gaining influence and power with those leaders or aspiring leaders of like mind. Trump is threatening the US with the same. He's in a minority right now but gaining, looking to take over. We cannot let that happen out of fear or complacency.
All it takes is people of good will to fail to act... including "independents" who would put a pox on both houses and tune out... or would rather complain about Biden's forgetfulness.
I listen to Mark Galeotti's In Moscow's Shadows podcast.. very insighful about Putin and Russia. Putin seems weaker than he projects...
"Putin is a very bad character trying to stay in power in a sort of pyramid scheme where everyone around him is in cahoots to keep their own status. The country is subdued and appeased and lied to." Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Just substitute Trump for Putin.
No it's not at that point here at all. We are threatened by this especially if you feel it's an accomplished fact... then you can go back to your knitting and tune out.
If you think that what is happening here is equivalent to what Putin has done to hold power in Russia, the whole country, I was being facetious that you should keep your head down. We are not there, not yet and we have a ways to go. This is a battle here and by no means settled and not subduing the population.
If you do think that, then that means, that you would be going back to your knitting (so to speak) and keeping your head down. Here, there are those that are enthusiastic about Trump/MAGA and some close for their own status but this is by no means the whole country. Nor is there a ruling force out to get those that dare speak in opposition... we still have our freedom and the freedom to argue and vote.
It is well-known in Africa that Kenya licks the boot of the American neo-imperialists. Putin is respected in Africa for his resistance to American imperialist meddling. African countries on good terms with Russia include Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Mali, Algeria and others.
"Russian soldiers... believe that they are defending Russia, plain and simple. And the emotional gain from a possible victory in the fight with the entire West - not the entire world - is simply enormous, like nothing it has been for generations. The fact that the “Global South” is seen as supporting this Russian struggle – against the arrogant imperialist West – helps.
Die Tatsache, dass der „globale Süden“ als Unterstützer dieses russischen Kampfes – gegen den arroganten imperialistischen Westen – angesehen wird, hilft dabei.
No John, corrupt governments get paid off by outsiders such as Putin not realizing that they are selling out their people. That’s an old refrain. You read a few inferior articles and call yourself a historian and then pontificate like a professor. You must fill in your down time in your truck on the interstates with such gibberishness.
Regarding Ukraine, I don’t disagree that we naively instigated what eventually became a Russian invasion. I never thought Ukraine was worth a huge destabilizing war. Half of Ukraine was Russian anyway like the US and Canada. So we never learn to avoid wars. But that ship has sailed, John. Now it arm the Ukraine until victory or more likely, a settlement perhaps with Crimea returning to Russia. But overall, our system of government is still the one preferred over authoritarianism. Maybe you disagree but that’s your prerogative.
Here's an article about democracy in Ukraine by a respected British think tank. It observes that Ukraine failed to hold parliamentary elections back in October, but neglects to mention that the government "suspended" all the opposition parties and seized their TV stations:
During our Civil War, I do believe Lincoln proclaimed the suspension of habeas corpus and other freedoms in order to prosecute the war. A natural response to any war effort.
Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and has a "fifth Column" within. A state of military rule was necessary. Ukraine otherwise is headed towards democracy.
I disagree with your assessment of Putin. The United States, by supporting regime change in Ukraine in 2014, imposed a reverse "Cuban Missile Crisis" on Russia with the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO and hosting NATO missiles pointed at Russia. We backed Russia into a corner, and they lashed out at us.
In addition, the post-revolution Ukrainian rump parliament began by passing a law to ban the use of the Russian language in government, in a multi-ethnic country where Russian was the first language of about half the population. This ban was enforced by making the far-right leader Arsen Avakov the Interior Minister, in charge of the police.
With Avakov in charge of the police, bigoted far-right extremist gangs operated with impunity in Ukraine, in an environment of lawless terror.
See "Far-Right Extremism as a Threat to Ukrainian Democracy":
The U.S.-sponsored Maidan Revolution brought ongoing civil war to Ukraine, in which neighboring Russia intervened. Before that, Russia under Putin was considered a reliable business partner: The G-7 expanded for a while to include Russia, becoming the G-8.
I get your point and the explanation is on point. But Russia is what it is. Provoked or unprovoked, it remains authoritarian. While the US might have exacerbated by Interference, Putin is intent on meddling even the peaceful.
Please read my above to Schmeeckle. Misinformation keeps getting repeated and accepted as fact. This is why we are in trouble.
We did support the Maidan, Ukraine's turning to the West and need of support against Putin. We did not cause regime change. Russia was interfering in a major way in Ukraine. Trump, all about himself and kissing up to Putin, both dangerous men. We can at least be informed.
Russia knows no country would want to take over Russia. Where are immigrants lining up to get in? It's only using that ploy for propaganda. Russia needs an enemy to keep its people in fear and in line.
All this talk of geopolitical this and that, and all the blame game as well misses the point. The only thing that really matters here is who is dying here, and why, and what will be the cost/benefit when it's over, if ever? It is the same question that has haunted us since large scale aggressive warfare for geographical and political gain was invented in the hot wastes of Mesopotamia over 4,000 years ago. (Check out the Stele of the Vultures).
Thousands have died in this struggle, and before any other consideration we have to ask what makes this terrible price worth paying? What is Vladimir Putin buying with the lives of his people, let alone those of the Ukrainians, and is the purchase worth the price? And if he wins, what will he have gained?
As just one example, let's ask the ghosts of Hitler and the German Army what they gained, even at the height of their conquests? A whole lot of very angry people who consistently rose against the Wehrmacht and the quislings it put in charge of those conquests, even when those risings were initially futile and beaten back over and over. And even if the Germans had managed to hold onto their gains in Europe, what would the cost/benefit have been? Does anyone actually think the Germans would have slept any more soundly than all those Southern slaveowners did, despite all their claims about the benefits of slavery?
What did we gain in Vietnam except the enmity of the very people we claimed we were trying to save for whatever we thought we were saving them from.
What would the British have gained if they'd won the Revolution?
What did we or the Russians actually win in Afghanistan?
As Israeli prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin famously said, "It is with your bitter enemy whom you make peace."
Russia was clear about its stated goals at the beginning. Then, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sabotaged Russia's and Ukraine's early mutual effort at a peace settlement, things changed.
I'll suggest revisiting the terms of that proposed early settlement (April 2022?) as a starting point.
Reported to Substack Inc as part of a proposed "Declaratory Relief Mediation" (DRM) at JAMS SF against Substack Inc not Trolls. I have alleged on-going Substack Inc violations of its contracts with "Authors" (one author has left) & "Readers" (at least one LFAA Reader has left). Substack picked the forum at JAMS SF. Substack picked the choice of California law.
I also invite Substack Inc to mediate at JAMS SF its written, express, representations to "Readers" about platform management or lack thereof.
Substack have your Counsel call or email me. Respectfully, BSM
Why do you believe "...Russian was the first language of about half the population."? You ignore the fact that Ukraine and other countries such as Hungary were a part of the USSR bloc, where everyone in those countries was forced to learn Russian as their first language, and use of their native language was not allowed in their schools and governments.
In 1921 little Ukraine was stapled together weith Russian-speaking Novorossiya ("New Russia, depopulated by the Crimean Tatar slave-raiders and re-claimed in the 18th century by Russia) to make the core of present-day Ukraine.
The Moscow supported Regime in Ukraine was toppled by popular protest.. the Maidan, "Revolution of Dignity". We did NOT sponsor it.
Ukrainians were led to believe that they were headed towards the EU and the Moscow pressured leader, Yanukovych did an about turn. Russia was meddling in Ukraine big time. Their propaganda took hold here apparently. See Tim Snyder's lecture series on the history ( the REAL history) of Ukraine and the guest lecture by Prof. Marci Shore on the Maidan Revolution; she was there.
Perhaps you missed that the Maidan Revolution was a popular revolution. Ukraine does not want to be part of Russia. Ukraine is sovereign and was invaded, has been invaded since it gave up it's nuclear weapons. Ukraine deserves to be defended by the West... and was promised. Perhaps you missed that.
Ukraine is an artificial state, where around half the population was Russian-speaking. A lot of them would rather live in Russia than in the new post-Maidan bigoted anti-Russian far-right police state.
That's why Crimea broke away, and then civil war extending to Kharkiv, Odessa (quickly suppressed) and the Donbass.
The Budapest Memorandum promised protection to a NEUTRAL Ukraine, but the new post-revolutionary thug regime abandoned neutrality and sought NATO membership, so no more guarantees.
When assessing the rights and wrongs of all that has unfolded between Ukraine and Russia, a critical question is the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of the Maidan Revolution.
The Maidan was a Popular Revolution. People were angry over Russia's interference in their domestic business and wanted a relationship with the West. They are sovereign and have this right. They elected Zelensky overwhelmingly because of this. The US will support democracy movements wherever and will act against violations of international law.
So I suppose you think the U.S. will condemn itself for violations of international law in Iraq, Libya and Syria.
The Maidan Revolution did include a prominent popular element, but it was the right-wing thugs who gave it staying power, and they were rewarded with control over the police stations.
Zelensky was elected with a campaign pledge to make peace in the Donbass, but he capitulated to neo-Nazi war-mongers and reneged on his promise. And Zelensky has suppressed all opposition parties and seized their TV stations. What an othermucking "democrat."
We were acting under on a UN Resolution and in coalition. Putin is not; he is in violation of the UN, the charter and international law (ICJ as well) Russia needs to be kicked off the Security Council.
Zelensky is presiding over a war of aggression perpetrated upon the country with a fifth column within. The so-called "neo-Nazi"'s that were fighting Russian aggression in Donbas have since joined the national fight. Peace in Donbass has depended on getting the Russians out and to stop claiming they own Ukraine, especially because folks spoke Russian.. and also some infiltrated. This has been going on for years, at least 10. If this does not make sense to you I don't know what would. Zelensky has the confidence of the people.
PS I do not think I would convince you of anything...but at least i am not calling you names ( at the moment).
Our system isn't flawed so much as reliant on customs and traditions instead of written rules. It was designed by people who couldn't dream that members of Congress would allow a tyrant to rule them, especially one who is merely a citizen.
Agreed. I think they also expected that a majority of people with honor and integrity and decency would serve we, the people. They’d be horrified by the vile humans who follow Trump/Putin in our Congress.
Though this article deals specifically with the presidency, it isn't too much to think that the framers would have expected about the same from members of Congress.
“The process of election affords a moral certainty,” [Alexander] Hamilton wrote, “that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”
One flaw is the electoral college. It needs to be abolished in my opinion. Colorado can’t decide apart from the other states which candidates are qualified for the federal ticket—that’s what I heard from the SCOTUS questions the other day. Well as it stands now a minority of states decide who is president. Makes no sense. It is a leftover from our shameful days of slavery when a minority of states with a lot of money (made with free labor) could influence our country. Why are our law makers NOT making laws? They are too busy making $ deals. How can we still be saddled with a system leftover from our days of slavery? Makes no sense.
...or that SCOTUS justices have no code of ethics, literally. The appearance of being bought & sold by the rich is now traceable to 4 of them. Why did the FBI not interview Anita Hill or Christine Blasey Ford's witnesses to their sexual abuse by Thomas & Kavanaugh? They were given lists of names to back up these & multiple other women's experiences with these men. The FBI didn't investigate a single one. Who paid off Kavanaugh's huge debt? In 2017 he owed between $60,000 to $200,00 on 3 credit cards & a loan against his retirement account. By the time he was nominated in 2018 the debts vanished. His reported income & assets were not seemly sufficient to pay off all that debt with his upper class lifestyle. He had 2 kids in an expensive private school & a posh country club membership with a $92,000 initiation fee. No other recent SC nominee had so many unanswered questions regarding their finances. Who would get a job if they yelled at their job interview like Brett yelled at Senator Klobuchar while screaming how he liked beer? Good gawd.
However, the good thing is that after the win in both NY and Pennsylvania by Dems taking Republican seats, Republicans might be more willing to vote in their self interest as opposed to voting in Trump's self interest. When I say self interest as a presidential candidate, not as a citizen of the USA, whom he may be permanently tarnishing. Right on Hakeem! Right on for all Republicans who support this work-around. Here is the recent interview with Jeffries himself on the topic. https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/leader-jeffries-right-thing-do-or-down-vote-comprehensive-bipartisan-national
The amount of control that Trump has fashioned over the congress and over the Republican Party amazes me. The "brownshirts" that threaten everyone that fails to do as he wishes are a big part of the takeover. Anybody know who is running that? Russians? Trump becomes ever more dangerous.
In 30 days, any member of the House can file a discharge petition to bypass the Speaker and bring the bill to the floor for a vote. It's likely that Johnson sees a 30-day delay in passing the supplemental as some sort of face-saving measure he can lay before his orange puppeteer and the Freedumb Caucus trogs, but he's still going to lose.
On top of this impending loss, Johnson is going to lose on the Lankford-Sinema-Murphy border deal as well. Suozzi's victory in NY last night shows that the "crisis at the border" trope the GOP has manufactured to drum up their base is a losing strategy. Every GOP Rep in a swing seat is going to drop that campaign narrative like a hot potato - likely a few GOP Senators up for reelection will as well. This impending loss of support may even allow negotiation of a better bill, with fewer capitulations the chaos agents in Congress.
The best part about the impending loss of the power of the fake "border crisis" narrative is that it will hurt tRump.
Maybe Heather or someone else can site a time in American history when one unelected person told an entire party what to do. This ain't right. Shouldn't a representative democracy be led by who the voters elect, not the one voted out; the one we fired?
I am sure that if Johnson or a few others really loved and valued Americans and our democracy, they'd be willing to follow Liz Cheney's lead and take a hit in their careers by standing up to trump. C'mon Mike, defy donnie for your country. Let the house vote on the Ukraine/Israel bill for the good of the US and world democracy. Let the maga gop fire you. Be a big boy and defy trump. You have the power to free yourself from his withering grip. Serve the people and you wont need to be so dishonest and shake in your boots in fear that the little don will be mean to you.
Yes, I just saw that it may b on Thursday or he'll have to wait till after the House takes an extended recess for President's Day, the end of the monthl
There's someone wrong here. All those - including President Biden - who are saying "History is watching" appear to believe the GOP actually cares about history... about "the" history of America standing for democracy here at home and abroad. The GOP only cares about power. Trump shows this to be true every time he opens his mouth. And many other GOP members do the same.
So... what is wrong here to me is that Biden and the other Democrats are continuing to "play nice" with the GOP. Rather than calling them out - with details from their statements and actions - for being anti-American threats to democracy, they act as if they can use "patriotic appeals" to change how they will behave. This is maddeningly divorced from reality. Doesn't Biden realize who he's dealing with at this point? Doesn't he know that people who want dictatorship don't care about appeals to protect Ukraine? He needs to call them out, so it's absolutely clear - including to idiots like Jon Stewart - that Election 2024 is about democracy vs fascism!
Why weren’t they arrested 3 years ago? And McConnell could have stopped it and put us on the road to moral recovery. He kept the insurrection going making it look like normal politics. He’s a traitor and key leader of the MAGA WAR ON DEMOCRACY, not a patriot.
McCarthy resurrected him and got kicked to the curb. Same with Ronna, when will his arse be kicked to the curb. Money buys loyalty, is Putin still buying him…
They are addressing the whole of America, not the miscreants, setting out clearly what's so terribly wrong. As Dan Rather wrote when tfg got into the White House, "This is not normal, folks. It's not normal." If you don't keep on telling them, they'll forget what normal looks like.
Normal is tricky. Normal is what people get used to. We, on the whole, were used to slavery. Twelve US Presidents have been identified as slave-owners. Certainly to women have only partial rights as citizens. But yes, Trump and the "Republican" party is a gross aberration not only of precedent, but of any defensible concept of decency and just rule of law. The "Republican" Party overall has truly become a criminal organization. Like Trump's 91 felony charges, in many ways the impact of any particular crime is blunted by the constant barrage of them. It time we stop, hey what's that sound, everybody look what's going down.
JL Today’s ‘normal’ is that whatever monstrous thing that Trump says or does, many excuse it because ‘that’s the way he is.’
By contrast, decent, hard-working, patriotic Biden gets crucified by the media over minor mishaps. If a similar media standard were applied with Trump, he would long since have been barbecued.
Yes! Many Americans are so sick from drugs and/or overweight that they do not recognize the health of Biden. To them he looks frail because his weight is appropriate to his frame. Also he did not have a bad case of Covid.
Virginia @148 pounds with a full head of silver hair, I might look healthy (even vigorous and erudite), if I wasn’t using my walker or cane. AND I don’t have an orange tint.
What’s that sound. The gurgle of us circling the drain. Ye hear that Heritage Society. Not the sound that you want, but a sound that you have permitted. Some normal is planned, some just oozes up through the floorboard as we are distracted by shinny objects, like celebrity of whatever stripe, like hate, like green (but no other colors, thank you).
And don’t forget SCOTUS with Citizens United to give corporations power to control US. When I think Big Ag, Big Pharma, AMA (yes, their greed led to Big Pharma and they are in league with each other), and the buying of the American education system to make it a job factory, I am sickened.
The whole of America needs Walter back to blast them out of the Torpor that has set in. The most trusted man in America, long gone. Dan tried but was targeted by Rupert early on; now many people trust loonacy (Alternative facts) rather than our MSM, which disappoints more every day, as they chase the bucks (which would have been anathema in Walter’s day). You are right. Blast it to all THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Jesus would throw these people out of the temple.
Jeri, I am staying overnight at a VA sponsored (very similar to an extended stay hotel) house where veterans and their support person can stay when an overnight hospital stay is required.). I’m up at my usual 0500, and went to the common area to make a cup of coffee.
From the room next to us (audible through their door in the hallway) was a “newscast” being watched on a phone. About 10’ past the door I heard the door open and I was able to discern some Faux-like pundit bemoaning something Biden had done. Said person (the male half) followed me into the common area, got something, then left.
I couldn’t discern what was being said, but the tone and strident quality was enough to provoke either an anger or other charged negative emotion. It’s fed into their amygdalae every minute.
It is a new normal for them. I’m starting to see it in the childish memes showing up on my friend’s Facebook pages.
Ally, I have to wonder how fear-mongering right-wing media exposure affects veterans with post traumatic stress disorder. They are already suffering from an over-reactive fear-anger disorder. Feeding that disorder a steady diet of perceived threat and hatred for “others” who are responsible for unfulfilled expectations…. Seems to me a recipe for some individuals to have considerable difficulties in the regulation of anger, rage and reactive aggression.
(Can’t edit on phone) While folks with PTSD are most vulnerable, anyone with a larger amygdala - which is associated with very conservative viewpoints - is also susceptible.
FOX, One American, etc. can (IMHO) spark explosive behavior.
And speaking of TFG, his increasing cognitive problems and rage behavior could be symptomatic of late-stage syphilis. While he proclaimed that he avoided STIs in his younger days, we all know that could be a cue that he didn’t avoid syphilis. My grandfather had late-stage syphilis and he became one very angry, explosive guy. Just a thought…..
It’s what they want - Don’t Tread on Me. I realize avoiding challenging them just emboldens them, but I’m more fearful now that I’m old and handicapped!
Watched such play out with my best friend's son (who was a pain in jr high). As an adult watching Fox he was angry and volatile about all the time, but with a smiling smirk that hid God knows what. I moved so glad I don't have to be around him anymore. Fox hasn't changed in all these years, nor has he.
The patriotic appeals aren't aimed at the GOTP zealots or their "base". They're all firmly in Donald's pants pocket and they're beyond persuasion. But everybody else needs to hear that the time IS now, and that how we respond will make all the difference.
History is watching right now but it will stop watching for awhile if Putin & Donald succeed. It comes down to us - It's OUR Republic only if we can keep it.
The “base” may be in the insipid clown’s pocket but all they are doing there is helping support his overflowing diaper, and doing everything in their power to prevent the leaking from becoming more obvious, the maggots are serving their useful purpose, and for some reason they are proud of it. 🤷♂️
So viscerally disappointed in the debut of the Jon Stewart Daily Show. Actually nauseated by him seeking self promoting laughs by equating Biden and Trump as equally incapable of governing.
Yes it sucks that Biden is old. But he has appointed intelligent cabinet leaders with integrity. And is Jon’s head so up his ass that he can’t see what the Biden administration has accomplishments despite the treasonous MAGA & GOP enablers!
Trump appoints incompetent, sycophantic useful idiots to deconstruct democracy.
Stewart is telling a large portion of the population to not vote… and that’s a vote for the end of democracy!
I respectfully suggest you read Mary L. Trump’s latest essay. In it she explains why Jon Stewart is doing great harm (because he’s living in the past). She also shows (with data) how he harmed voter turnout years ago. (Edited to add link below)
And I respectfully hear you. I haven’t watched the brand new John Stewart show, but I used to love him deeply. And I actually subscribe to Mary’s Substack so I’m gonna go read her now. Thank you for educating me.
Thank you for being open to my remarks. Honestly, Mary’s essay was a real eye opener for me. Please let me know what you think of it. Good night from Route 66 in Oklahoma.
Of course and you're welcome. I'm a paid subscriber to Mary's page - first I tried to watch last night's Jon Stewart - I couldn't stand it! TUrned off after 5 min. Then I read Mary's page and yep, she's got it right - we cannot afford to give air space to the both sides argument - we have way too much to lose.
I watched it last night as well and felt rumblings of disgust at his smug comments and no good words about President Biden’s accomplishments. I hadn’t put my finger on it, but you (Melanie) did. You’re right. We don’t have time to give to his both sides argument. Thanks. Now I’m off to read Mary Trump.
Just read Mary's essay about John Stewart's normalization of Trump's behavior. One way to combat his dangerous rant is to somehow encourage his peers to call him out. Hopefully JS's words will not be unchallenged in the minds of his viewers.
Thanks for reading Mary Trump’s essay. I’ve shared it on Threads and BlueSky and hope others do too, tagging both The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert. I hope Jon Stewart gets a lot of pushback!
Not to sidetrack this important conversation, but I find your comment interesting. I’m 62. Many boomers like me who were born in the 1960s have little in common with those boomers born in the immediate post-war period. My childhood was way more Gen X than Boomer - our fathers weren’t WWII vets, many of us like me had divorced parents and a working mother, we grew up always having a TV, and we are way more tech savvy than earlier boomers. We came to adulthood during a time of stagflation and Reagan, not during the prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s. I absolutely don’t consider myself a boomer, and feel like “Generation Jones” describes us better. Obviously there’s a spectrum, and some of us might be more like earlier boomers than Gen Xers. I don’t know enough about Jon Stewart to be able to guess where he lies on this spectrum.
Yeah, sounds right. I'm a very early Boomer (2/46) but I don't act like one nor do most of my friends the same age or older.
Likely because of paths taken and choices made when young. I read a lot of sci-fi (anything really) when young, embraced technology early at every stage....transistor radios, short wave radios, TV when the mid sized city I lived in got it then later the first IBM pcs after working with Prime mini computers back in the very early 80's. So most of the people I worked with were young. That likely helped.
I loathed Reagan as President and before that as Governor. I didn't mind him as an actor....saw Bedtime For Bonzo at the local theater first run.... or spokesman for 20 mule team borax on Death Valley Days. Although later I wished he'd never come in from the desert
My brother and sister, both younger, have voted Republican their entire lives and only now are they sensing they might have made a mistake. I was raised as one but it never took even though I read Conscience of a Conservative the year I graduated HS ('64). 3 years in the Army during Vietnam cured me of that.
I'm hoping that my generation has lost its potency at the ballot box. I wish the next round of candidates to all be under 50. Boomers need to let go of the reins so Millenials/Zoomers can run the show. After all they have to live through much more of whats coming than Boomers or Gen X.
I am a Boomer and a progressive. I found a UCC church in my teen years that offered incredible opportunities for volunteer work. The religion didn’t take but the volunteering did; I got an MSW and spent 1974 - 2021 working to create housing and support services for people experiencing homelessness and/or disabilities.
Throughout my career, I met hundreds of Boomers doing likewise. Thus you can see why I am mystified and irritated that we are all being disparaged just because some are Forever Trumpers, greedy CEOs, etc.
KR, look up the Jones generation. It is tag-end Boomers and early Gen-X ers, especially those who are first-born kids (or whose older siblings are first-born in the same window).
Also, my older brother was born in 1957, while my younger brother and I were 1961 and 1962. Our older brother is very definitely in a different generation than we are. He was kind of tag end hippie, and we most definitely were not. And my younger brother and I strived more, and didn’t smoke weed haha. (Maybe those two things are connected lol)
President Joe Biden along with other true, decent hardworking Americans are busy getting
the work of governing done for us....NOT spending time fighting.
It is so easy for us to believe we are dealing with rational people when we are dealing with many who are part of a cult following or those who are only enjoying the power, money and attention they are receiving for the moment,
President Biden is not serving for his own glory but he and many others are daily pouring out their lives for our freedom....and many cannot even see who truly cares that we are "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA....WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER, THERE IS NOTHING WE CANNOT ACCOMPLISH!!!" ....that is what Joe Biden believes!
One of the points in today's Letter is that, according to an informal exit-poll conducted by Dana Bash, Trump's loony behavior has cost him the votes of some members of the educated classes. If her poll is a good indicator, this loss on the MAGAt side could be enough to sink them in November. I hope other analysis based on more scientifically collected data reveals similar cracks in the MAGAt base.
When Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson was running for president in the 1950s, a supporter purportedly said to him: “Every thinking person in America will be voting for you.” Stevenson replied, “I’m afraid that won’t do — I need a majority.”
The problem is the undereducated and don't care to be Republicans. As someone pointed out here a while ago. The average IQ is 100 and many of the fools get their information solely from far-right media sites.
I have removed some information which was not accurate.
The basic literacy rate in the US is in the high 90s* The political literacy rate is far far lower. The ability to understand propaganda is lower than that. (I remember being taught about types of propaganda in 6th grade. I think maybe that needs to be reintroduced into the curriculum!) *basic literacy means one reads well enough to read a bus schedule, directions on a box, and a ballot
Kimberly- this is from world populationreview.com. There are several sites that report on US literacy rate with wide ranging estimates of basic literacy rate. I agree with you about political literacy rate and propaganda. And I was wrong about the Southern states having lower literacy rates. A more accurate correlation would be the larger population states have lower literacy rates.
I've also seen other statistics where it lists basic literacy (6th grade proficiency and below) at 54%. These statistics are like polling in that they are only an extrapolation of smaller samples.
U.S. Literacy Rates by State 2024
The literacy rate is the total number of literate persons (people able to both read and write) in a given age group, expressed as the percentage of that age group. The adult literacy rate measures literacy among persons age 15 and older.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about four out of five U.S. adults (79%) have medium to high English literacy skills. These literacy levels are sufficient to compare and contrast information, paraphrase, and make low-level inferences. This means that about one in five U.S. adults (21%) have low literacy skills, translating to about 43.0 million adults.
Of those who have low English literacy skills, 35% are White, 2% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 23% are Black, 3% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 34% are Hispanic, 24% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 8% are of other races/ethnicities. Non-U.S.-born adults comprise 34% of the U.S. population with low literacy skills.
Literacy rates vary greatly by state and are affected by several factors.
The key of course is in the definition. In the early years of our country literacy was defined as being able to write one's name. Basic literacy- as I defined it- being able to read a bus schedule, the directions on a cake mix and a ballot (3rd-4th grade) is in the high 90s in the US. That is how literacy is defined in much of the world. Now, I will grant you that one needs much better literacy skills than that to be financially successful in an developed country such as ours. But no matter how you define literacy, rates have been steadily improving for over 100 years. Of course, there is always room for improvement. There is a lot of research being done of teaching of reading right now. (*Large states have lower rates most likely because they have the biggest populations of immigrants)
It’s true that undereducated white people are even more MAGAt than educated white people, but they are a majority of white people across the board. I think the problem is that undereducated white people are even more desparate to preserve their systemic advantages than educated ones. If the white working class had been certain that no advantages would accrue to black people, the progress made starting with FDR and continuing through Eisenhower would have kept going, and the US would br more like the UK, France, and Canada instead of on a slope declining to third-world status in income distribution.
Steve, I subscribe wholly to every syllable of your comment, except for your parting attack on Jon Stewart’s character and intellect. To clarify, for months, I painfully have observed D.C. political operatives circling the wagons, listening only to each other, and trying to persuade the rest of us of the focus and discipline Biden regularly sustains behind the scenes where decisive leadership, they submit, most matters.
This past Monday, on the inaugural return of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” when Stewart appealed to those surrogates “to show us the tapes,” I viewed Stewart as expressing genuine concern about Biden’s ability, without a script, from the heart, to summon the focus and discipline to project, contrary to Trump who feasts on hatred and division, an alternate, admittedly arduous, path showing, particularly those who doubt Democrats care about the wreckage of their dreams, that a Biden team can work on legitimate issues and grievances.
I suppose my point, while perhaps not as readily transparent, is that Stewart’s concerns about 24 are no less urgent than ours.
Not sure why you're including Jon Stewart in your rant or why you thought it necessary to call him an idiot, but I'm sure he knows how important the outcome of this election in November is.
Ultimately it's the electorate that needs to heed the warning and urgency that this presidential election is about keeping democracy or giving it away to fascism or autocracy.
I call Jon Stewart an idiot because I read Mary L Trump’s essay about how dangerous what he did on Monday night’s show was. Please read it too and get back to me…
Horhai, It would be wonderful if "the electorate."..would "heed the warning" that Trump does not care about them, only about himself. His supporters certainly don't read these Letters, or listen to any news outlets other than FOX. They will not hear any criticism of Trump, and will not accept any evidence that President Biden has succeeded in bringing about improvements to help ALL Americans.
I heard a statement that is so true. " There are some people, that, if they don't know, you can't tell them." Can't remember who said that, but Trump's supporters will never be able to "know" the truth about how dangerous he is for our country.
We shouldn't give up trying to help them see the light, but it won't be easy.
You’re right about the Dem’s need to get tough and call out the Trumpers for what they are - anti-American. I watched Jon Stewart and was very disappointed. He doesn’t get it anymore. The election isn’t between two old men, it’s between whether we’re going to keep our democracy, as messy as it is, or become a dictatorship controlled by the plutocracy.
Jon Stewart's TDS first program was ageist. He had the camera zoom in on him so we could see what "old" looked like. Yes, he's aged. So what? George Burns at 100 was still a great comedian.
"Old" should not equal not OK to be president, or speaker of the house (Pelosi), or pope, or movie director (Scorsese), or businessman (Warren Buffett), etc. Poor health would be a reason. Old, in and of itself, as a disqualifier is prejudicial and needs to be called out just as racism is.
Don’t call Jon an idiot although I was disappointed by his first foray back on TDS. Dens still think it’s politics as usual. So do voters. It ain’t folks. Call them out with every breath.
It's all about power and the hatred they feel for the "other party", those non Evangelicals who believe doing good for every American, not just people who believe in a hateful God, thinking they're owed something for being lucky enough to be born here. That's true ignorance.
Remember when Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz were running for president? RS said,"They want you to send your children to college!" "You don't have to send your kids to college." Spoken by a true hypocrite. And a Harvard grad. I think that was when I noticed a real turn in the Republican party, keep our people dumb, wave the flag, throw in a few Dixie phrases once in a while. So sad. That's where the Maga base comes from, in my opinion.
At least many Republicans in the Senate are seeing that playing pure politics is dangerous for this country. I was hoping for some light, and they gave me some. On the matter of JON Stewart I was extremely disappointed with his joke fest with no mention humorously or not of the difference in TFP and Biden with respect to judgment. Sometimes jokes are just not funny!
Uncle Joe has a problem: there are not enough Democrats in the Capitol. Thus, he's not slagging the entirety of the Trumplickin' delegation. Because there's work to be done and that takes majorities. The rest of us are free to slag Trumplickins all we want, and have at it!
“House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner (R-OH)—who had just returned from his third trip to Ukraine, where he told President Volodymyr Zelensky that reinforcements were coming—told Politico’s Rachel Bade: “We have to get this done…. This is no longer an issue of, ‘When do we support Ukraine?’ If we do not move, this will be abandoning Ukraine.”
“The speaker will need to bring it to the floor,” Turner said. “You’re either for or against the authoritarian governments invading democratic countries.… You’re either for or against the killing of innocent civilians. You’re either for or against Russia reconstituting the Soviet Union.”
YES! Bring it to the floor and pass it for God’s sake!
Turner is a Republican. He can call to vacate the chair. If Johnson won’t bring the bill to the floor he should be ousted. Hopefully there are a handful of republicans that would vote with democrats to do that if push comes to shove. But hopefully a credible threat to Johnson would get the bill to the floor.
It is just beyond bizarre that one trump a$$ kisser can hold up a bill that the majority of Americans want passed. At least according to polls, which I trust as far as I can throw them. But really, it is loony tunes that bills can’t even be discussed and then voted on. Arrrrrrg!
"Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas by a vote of 214 to 213."
After Suozzi is sworn in and Judy Chu (D-CA) returns from Covid, that makes the House (D) 213 + Suozzi +Chu = 215. When Steve Scalise (R-LA) goes to his next treatment 214 - Scalise = 213. Looks like the new Speaker of the House is Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)! Let the festivities begin!
It is my understanding that McCarthy’s deal with the devil still stands. But. If Johnson were to be ousted it would probably mean another 2 weeks of chaos while the ineffective House republicans try to find another victim, err I mean speaker. Which would delay the passage of aid for Ukraine. Still i hope that the threat of it would make Johnson move on bringing the bill to a vote.
That’s what Matt Gaetz brought to the floor when he and other MAGATS caused McCarthy’s departure. Little Mikey needs to go because he is Trump’s lackey and also an insurrectionist. The problem is that the R’s do not trust one another and there’s tons of infighting which is kind of fun, until it isn’t. They don’t have a viable candidate for speaker…well, they do…Romney…but they avoid him like the plague.
That is a good point. Apparently even the old school republicans are afraid of drumpf to the point they refuse to do their job. Vacating the speakership once again is a nice thought, and it's hard to imagine Jim Jordan could be worse that Johnson, but it might be him. I think the rethugs are not afraid of drumpf so much as the many automatic weapon toting constituents.
I’m not sure a seated senator could be Speaker, so neither Romney nor Jordan would be eligible; it is not stated that the Speaker must be a current Representative, but that has a long history of past practice. I wonder if Cheney or Kinzinger would be a choice, or possibly another former Republican congressman.
Turner himself would be a better speaker than Johnson. I've been in his district off and on (OH gerrymandering, ya know), and it makes me nervous he's called this out because he's pretty tight with Wright-Patt AFB. He's still GOP but normally not a grandstander.... wondering if he knows more than his committee does if he's asking to blow the lid off this.
How about the 90 others. It's gotta be hard to enjoy the fruits fermenting on his table day after day. I wonder, does Aleena Habeena scrub his toes? She could scrub mine. Just sayin.. :)) What's happened to the ex-FL? #45.. poor bastard.., he's got to be running on fumes. And just think of all those unpaid bills if HE carffs. Wheww. Nothiin he does needs to be "front page news".. nothing. Go watch the 60 Minutes Isle of Man video onYou Tube. I rode that course back in 1980. Just VOTE FOR JOE.
There is something wrong with a system that has one person able to stop important legislation from even coming to a vote. I can only hope the majority of voting Americans will see through Republican dysfunction and vote the bums out. However, the Senate may go Republican by virtue of who is running this year. What an injustice it would be to have an all Republican government after all their obstruction and plainly dumb moves!!
One of my tuba ensemble member’s wife wrote 200. She’s having hip replacement surgery, and I think I’ll be hanging out over there writing postcards with them.
Yes! I’ve been writing since 2018, when, as far as I know, postcard writing was first quantified as successful “campaigning.” Keep at it, everyone! Together we can make a real difference in November when everything must go 💙. I heard Speaker Johnson’s press conference this morning. Putin couldn’t have done better at lying, though he may have been brighter.
I think that's already happening. Tom Suozzi won his seat back (from Santos!) last night with a 10 point margin. I think Johnson knew that was going to happen, which is why he rushed that ridiculous impeachment. Something is changing for the better at the grassroots level. And I LOVE feeling like/being a part of it just with my postcarding and phone banking!
Great question! I got involved by joining Markers for Democracy because they've been around since 2016 - started with two women fed up with the election meeting in a coffee shop to write cards and grown to nearlh 2k! They meet several times a week on zoom - writing post cards while listening to awesome guests from campaigns and experts around the country. They are also a way to connect with other groups that fundraise, do phone banking and ballot curing and other grassroots work. Here's a link to their newsletter. I try to be there every Friday morning, and sometimes other times - like our "watch party" last night for Tom Suozzi. https://mailchi.mp/9607fe8ef6a2/mfd-news-211-homestretch-for-suozzi-tuesday-special-election-night-zoom-colin-allred?e=e91036c2eb
I sincerely hope that these MAGA actions in the House will be the ultimate “shot in the foot” that brings on the downfall of these insurrectionists! Mike Johnson is merely Trump’s puppet and mouthpiece. His hypocrisy,as a Christian Nationalist, is not reflective of real Christianity!
This feels very strange to be up late enough to read Heather's letter when it first comes out. But I'm still wound up from making calls for Tom Suozzi the past three days (after writing post cards) AND HE WON!!! Grassroots works!!! So I might as well do something besides watch tv!
I just want to say, reading Heather's comment about Trump's horrific NATO messsage that he would “encourage [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that ... are not devoting 2% of the gross domestic product to their militaries," that I don't think Trump knows that's the commitment that NATO members make - to commit 2% of GDP to their militaries.
When he quoted "the leader of a big country" who said, "Sir, if we don't pay would you still defend us?" I think he really thinks there's a fund that everyone pays into. The two tells: what "leader of a big country" would call him Sir, and what leader would say "if we don't pay," when surely they know that it's not about paying a bill, it's about committing to a line item in their budget. Just saying.....
The fact that his crowd cheered at this ridiculous posturing says to me that many of us don't understand the great harm of "America first," posturing - or what it means to be part of the "changing world order." (Ray Dalio) We've got to change that!
Yes! That's why it was a tell for me as soon as I heard it. Imagine his little ego swelling up as he imagines a leader of a "big country" calling him Sir. It's very sad, actually. as well as dangerous. But I don't think nearly as many citizens will settle for blind ignorance and apathy after this MAGA SAGA!!
I profoundly hope you are right. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that lots of people voted for him twice. Once, I could kind of get. But twice, after the fiasco that was his presidency? It’s behind my ken. A third time? How is that even possible.
I agree, Ally. And Fox News continually stirs that pot, because anger and fear are powerful motivators to get people to vote. Rationality and morality be damned.
I would add to that: the Republican cynical power grabbers, "greed leaders" figured out before Reagan how to stir up a base of folks who have felt ignored and "replaced," and haven't heard anything better, more relevant to them specifically from the Democrats up until very recently. That's changing, but I think it's going to take a couple of generations to wake people up to how they are being used by the billionaires whose only goals are low taxes and little or no regulation.
Heather has said in an interview, and I'm sure elsewhere that true democracy means: to be treated equally by the law, to have a say in our government and to fight and advocate for that. I bet there are very few if any MAGA's who have ever heard that.
I don't think anyone of our "public servants" realized how important it is that our "leaders" explain how important to "world peace" is our collaboration with and support of our allies. T's ability to rally his base has brought that to light. Thank you Donald!!!
I know it's tempting. I try not to do "ad hominem" and focus on behaviors - that's part of my mission on XTwitter to engage in respectful discussions with folks on the right. More to create a space for the energy of facts and different opinions rather than to persuade anyone to change their mind. So if someone is already nasty, I stay away.
"House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has said he will use every possible tool to force a vote on the national security supplemental bill." -- it shocks me that one man, the House Speaker, can hamstring the political process like this... so what tools does Jeffries (or the Senate, or the President) actually have to force full House votes on things that the Speaker won't bring to the floor?
It's called a "discharge petition". From Wikipedia:
"In United States parliamentary procedure, a discharge petition is a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee by "discharging" the committee from further consideration of a bill or resolution.[1]
"Discharge petitions are most often associated with the U.S. House of Representatives, though many state legislatures in the United States have similar procedures. There, discharge petitions are used when the chair of a committee refuses to place a bill or resolution on the committee's agenda: by never reporting a bill, the matter will never leave the committee, and the full House will not be able to consider it. The discharge petition, and the threat of one, gives more power to individual members of the House and removes a small amount of power from the leadership and committee chairs. In the U.S. House, successful discharge petitions are rare, as the signatures of an absolute majority of House members are required.[2]"
Like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde Two!!! That's how I knew what it is!!!! And now that Tom is back in his seat, that's one less Republican he will need to recruit!!! The tide is turning because of all of this lovely grassroots energy!!!
As an historian, I have searched for a historical character that personifies the multiple facets of Trump’s cultism and absolute (often irrational) domination of his cultists.
Hitler, Stalin, and Ivan the Terrible came to mind. The character Svengali, in the gothic-horror novel TRILBY, reflects many of Trump’s traits.
Svengali has come to represent a seducer “who completely dominates another, usually with selfish or sinister motives.” Svengalism, like the word Machiavellian, provides an image—in this instance of a person with evil intent to manipulate and controls others.
There is no one in American history who is more Svengalian than Trump. No American politician has ever been so dominate in imposing his whims on a once-distinguished political party.
I find it astonishing that a muddle-minded Trump can dictate that he seeks to destroy NATO, abandon Ukraine, reject a bipartisan improvement of immigration policy, or shut down government, and a vast number of his Trumpists meekly obey.
As with other personal cults (often tinged with religious mysticism), Trumpism reflects fear and absolute obedience. Those who object are ridiculed and destroyed.
How Trump has become an American Svengali is one of the most astonishing horror stories in American history.
I urge the American people to take a silver bullet and a wooden spike to remove this ‘me, me, me’ cultist from the soul of America.
lol, silver and stakes — don't forget garlic? the most tragic aspect is that ridding ourselves of all the rotten apples and correcting the mass delusions CAN'T & WON'T be as easy as applying superstitious remedies — even taken metaphorically, what do these "proof against monsters" weapons symbolize?
We cannot afford saying "History watching" and do nothing. We must come up with means to send aids to Ukraine now. There is no other choice. Trump is the enemy of America within.
lol, Jeri. How about WE are watching-or, OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN are watching. The destruction wrought by tfg and his ilk both nationally and internationally will last for generations.
"The measure went to the House of Representatives, where House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he will not take it up, even though his far-right supporters acknowledged that a majority of the representatives supported it and that if it did come to the floor, it would pass." HOW IS THAT NOT TREASON ?????
It's an insurrection directed by Donald Trump and executed by the Speaker and his co-conspirators. It puts our national security at risk and threatens the safety of our allies. It will lead to a world war and world fascism against the express wishes of Congress, the Biden administration, and the American people.
I’m entirely sympathetic, but it is bad, misguided policy(s) wrapped in myopic partisan politics led by a troubled man, opposed by some in Congress but by no means all, along with a sizable chunk of American citizens. A bad situation, yes, but it’s politics.
Nice that our Heather concludes hers today with a nod to Tom Suozzi's Dem win in the New York race.
Nice precisely due to everything else in her column -- all about the miasmic Republicans groveling to their cult leader and to all the extremists so evidently totally out of touch with reality.
Reality is Americans would like to fix the border, aid democracies, restore rights to women and their families which far-right ideologues and manifestly corrupt on the Supreme Court have arrogated to themselves.
And now, House Speaker Howdy Doody -- fawning over his orange-encrusted, diaper-stench fat guy -- leads impeachment for someone other than Hunter's dad, with zero evidence, just as the efforts in the dad case lies evidence-free untethered from reality.
That's why the Suozzi win rings so true. Americans are energized in the face of Republican lemmings all jumping into the black pit with their unhinged cult leader -- but it's not into a go-nowhere pit. It's into the madness, the death wish of the orange fat guy's Putin model dictator still trying to kill as many as need to die of his citizens and those of Ukraine, too.
The groveling to their cult leader description is well put. But there is a scary practical side to the groveling. If you talk to them, they are well and truly insane, and they are the people who love them their AR15s.
The arming of the stupid in this country by the Supreme Court is terrifying.
Hey folks, it was always about Ukraine. This dance Johnson made about “ The Border” was a cover to stall funds to Ukraine. Trump’s goal ALWAYS was to stop US aid to Ukraine; that’s how we came to read these letters in the first place! It was and will always be about Trump’s fealty to Putin, which begs explanation - why? Is it that Russia has supported him and the Trump organization since his financial failures of the early 90s?
Given that most of the money that we send to Ukraine is spent in the United States, stuffing the coffers of America’s military industrial complex, I doubt that those arms manufacturers will allow this to drag on too much further. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the profits from sales of weaponry to Israel. Johnson will be crushed by the weight of the pressure he’ll be put under.
So many overlapping motivations. Putin probably has incriminating/humiliating Kompromat on Trump and calls in favors/blackmail. Putin has allegedly promised Trump real estate deals in Russia (he could become a Russian oligarch?!). Trump has been getting strongman strategic advice from his mentor Putin. Lastly, Russia has no extradition treaty with the United States (in case Trump needs to exit stage left).
“History is watching,” President Joe Biden said this afternoon. He warned “Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable” that “[f]ailure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.”
GOVERN BY ONE - AGAIN
“The measure went to the House of Representatives, where House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he will not take it up, even though his far-right supporters acknowledged that a majority of the representatives supported it and that if it did come to the floor, it would pass. “
This government by one needs to stop!
If legal, the system is cock-eyed.
Corrupted by Repubs over the 50 years
Seems to be the only thing they do with energy and enthuriasm.
And collect their dark money-they are pretty energized by that, too. Sheesh…
Hate is powerful.
... but so too is LOVE ... [respect is the missing ingredient]!!!
Strange that the Jesus focus on love has been abandoned by the evangelicals (and many others who profess). I agree, it is more powerful when it is real.
And, in fairness, by Democrats as well. Speakers have been consolidating their power for years, the recent Republicans just aren't as subtle about it.
Or as obviously anti-democracy.
Nancy was non too subtle either.
Not at all, except when she needed to be. That's a degree of political maturity that Johnson has yet to achieve.
Pelosi was never taking marching orders, as the neophyte Johnson is.
Pelosi could be the most polite blunt instrument, as when she politely stopped Trump’s first State of the Union speech due to his government shutdown.
Really Nancy Pelosi was a fair speaker?
She stands heads & shoulders above any recent gop speaker & things got done. Now that johnson heads the house, this is the most do-nothing congress in history. Yes, Nancy was fair & brave to stand up to the monster that is trump.
Subtle, like as a heart attack.. I've been watching for 50 years. Dems ignored too much for too long.
AKA "corrupt".
I don't know if anything trump does well is moral or ethical. Clearly, much isn't even legal. And one of those bad things he does so well is to find the little places in our laws and regulations that aren't perfectly buttoned up and impenetrable. So, in this situation, there are no laws that stipulate that a party can't do what an unelected person tells them to do with his threats. And although the gop has chosen not to defy him since they were faced with who to nominate in 2016, and have passed on every opportunity since, he keeps on doing it. They are the ones most responsible for how "cock-eyed" the system has gotten. Strange that he is self-destructing and they are going down with him and continue to stay on that sinking ship. They're even tossing buckets of water onto the ship. So weird!
I have no thoughts on how to protect ourselves from this kind of manipulation with laws. I think there are a number of things that voters can do if they haven't already, starting with, wake up, pay attention, read a book or take a class on critical thinking, think about what conspiracy theorists, pundits and politicians or even friends and family tell you, think for yourself and vote. And I hate to say it, but till the gop regains it's sanity, vote Blue...Democrat, liberal or left. Just stop electing these wealthy con men and women.
Sorry. I don't know why I slip into sermonizing so much nowadays. It never was my way til around 2020. I wonder what happened that year. Does turning 70 make it worse? LOL!
And he is the only one that is blatantly doing it. What about all the others that hide their corruption?
I guess it has been there since the beginning of time.
I think it's a given that political corruption isn't new. Human beings are corrupt. But I've rarely, if ever seen anyone as blatantly corrupt as dt. He barely tries to hide it as he clearly thinks he should be able to do whatever he wants to without consequences. And when the law tries to hold him accountable, he acts as if the law and everyone else who disapproves is being unreasonable. Again, Im kinda old and I've never seen anyone quite like him, except an actual 3 year old.
But yeah, all corruption is a problem. The funny thing is, I know there are plenty of corrupt democrats, but they are practically invisible when trump dominates the corruption spotlight nearly everyday. The trump era is just so fu*in' strange.
Well,at least we can still reach across the aisle for a stick of gum,some orange juice,or nasty pictures of.....
The system is cock-eyed, but it was one of the key factors that allowed Nancy Pelosi to get so much done.
So, patriotism, national defense, and being tough on crime are not worthwhile goals and the left should not support them? That was a full sentence you wrote but makes no sense. What are you trying to say?
I will be simplistic. If we in the US move to the center of politics, we will be victorious. If we insist on moving to the left as we seem to be, the right wins under autocratic regimes. Even ole man himself, Plato ruminated that Tyranny follows Democracy. It’s that simple but I don’t have faith that this concept will be followed.
Bill, it appears we are winning, as the House control is shifting toward Dems, the Oval Office and Senate (albeit barely) are still Blue, and voter support up and down the list of issues that are most relevant today (abortion, climate, taxes, investment in infrastructure, guns, censorship, and I'd posit even immigration, as Dems have been trying for years to pass a bill; etc.) is in the Blue column. Where would you like to position us on these issues? Shouldn't women have the right to bodily self-determination? Shouldn't we continue to try to slow/stop/reverse the effects of climate change? Aren't we all happy to see roads, bridges, internet access etc. improved? Shouldn't we all be able to live without the dread fear of ready access to guns by the mentally ill? Why should religious zealots determine what a child may or may not read -- isn't that the parents' role? As to immigration, the Senate passed a bill that meets the stated demands of Republicans and Pres Biden said he'd sign it -- but Johnson declares it DOA on orders from the would-be autocrat. And let's not forget support for Ukraine and defense of NATO -- certainly popular.
So I'll ask again, in a different way: if all of the above issues are generally popular, isn't *that* the center?
Doug, you are absolutely correct. Mainstream voters back commonsense legislation on gun control, immigration, fair taxation, climate change, universal healthcare, education. The media creates a false image of division in this country. Dobbs proved it. A vocal religious minority got what they wanted, and since then, in election after election, the centrist viewpoint (women deserve to control their reproductive healthcare) has prevailed. We have to continue to work hard.
Thank you, GMB. That is the struggle -- when the views of the majority are ignored and subverted by a gerrymandered minority.
Well-said
Thank you, Deanna
Thank you for a very thoughtful and well articulated comment, Doug. Before I read it I bought into the idea that those positions are far left, but you're right. This is the new center.
Thank you, Lauren.
Yes yes yes. Fully agree. But when I was suggesting a further left, these weren’t this issues I had in mind. As to guns, the frustration is that a super majority of Americans want real gun control. But unless we win super majorities, we will never get it. Why? Because the NRA has destroyed our chances. They have instilled the notion the 2nd amendment really gives everyone the right to own weapon but it doesn’t and never did. If you repeat the same lie the lie is believed. I had a chat with a cop not long ago. I asked him how he felt about guns and his unthinking response was that the 2nd amendment give all the right to protect ourselves and h is quite mistaken. So even if the NRA is in a dying stage, they have already done their damage.
I agree about the guns issue, Bill. Today's horrific news in Kansas City is further proof of the danger that the NRA, its supporters and lackeys, including Scalia, Alito, Robert's, Thomas and Kennedy wrought upon our country.
Personally, I take what cops say about social subjects with a grain of salt as for 2 years police nationwide were dying from Covid because they wouldn't get the vaccine. It was the number one killer of cops for 2 years in a row, so there's that. Most police, including the ones I'm related to, are very pro 2nd amendment & pro NRA & are anti red flag laws. I don't get it, as cops are often of the victims of people who should not ever have access to guns & they also witness what domestic victims go through when they encounter them, but here we are.... I agree with you about the damage the NRA has done to our country. When the NRA wouldn't stand up when little elementary kids & their teachers were slaughtered my husband quit them, saying that he was ashamed of them & wanted no part of them despite being a gun owner of many years . After seeing the news of late with the man who headed the NRA & his almost predictable money crimes, what does this group have to offer except their hatred & more death to innocents?
I need to respond. My theory about cops relating to 2nd amendment is that and I think this goes to self selection. Those who go to war or spend much time serving in the military are more destined to want to go into law enforcement. Personally I think those who have been in war zones are the least capable of staying steady in close encounters with the public as a cop. The suffer to varying degrees, ptsd. Lastly, my father was a card member of the NRA. When he died in 1982, his membership lapsed. Yes, he was a VP even that long ago and a letter from his office asked my father to renew membership. Since my name was the same as his, my mother gave me the letter and I was incensed over it. I soon wrote what would be my first op-ed in my local paper and I was rather proud of myself for the youthful response I gave. The only purpose of the NRA is to serve the interested of the very profitable gun lobby. When people are hardwired to think a certain way, all logic is tossed out the window. The NRA has achieved their damaging goal. It’s over until super majorities of democrats can gain power. But we democrats are too thick-headed to realize that we must stop pushing unpopular issues or we will never ultimately win. And one ver big issue is the border. Why Biden refused for 3 years to stop this scourge I don’t know but I do know that many democrats don’t think we have a problem. Why? Because we are hard wired to think we don’t have this problem. In my opinion, our golden period is behind us.
I was a left leaning centrist for most of my life. The appalling tack the right has taken pushed me farther to the left. I don't know about the green new deal, for example, but climate change MUST be addressed. The right won't do it. Same with gun safety. Same with immigration. Same with women's health. I was always for a woman's right to decide to carry a pregnancy to term or not, but the extremism of forced birth made me hold my breath until I turned true blue.
I toss rose petals in your path.
Fortunately or unfortunately, we live in a two party system. Party identity has become so rigid and extreme due to the advent of cable networks that escalate every issue to existential threat levels to keep loyalty intact and gerrymandered districts that ensure the only challenge must come from the extreme. I'll say this is more true of Republicans after their 'Red State' project in the 2000s. We need those who collaborate with respect in congress, and we are getting those who tear things apart.
A perfect witch’s brew of old cable, social media, unlimited money as in companies are people there, spending unlimited, gerrymandering. It’s a perfect storm for authoritarian rule and it won’t be from the left. But as I’ve said, the progressive left does t help much and indeed, insures break up.
You're just too cynical, Bill. The progressive left is younger and more 21st century in its approach to our policies and laws (Sanders and Warren being the exceptions to the young part). In today's world it makes economic sense to fix the tax structure, provide public day care and early education, install renewable energy systems, reduce medical costs, and make high-speed internet available everywhere. America needs all that to be competitive.
The racism, sexism, and nationalism of the right are 19th century positions that are simply not viable any more. We can blame the media and corporate greed, but better to fix the problems than the blame, no?
Welcome to The New Snazzy Nazi States of America
(Introducing The Goose-Step, Two-Step March)
A new dance craze is sweeping the nation called, The Goose-Step, Two-step March. This invigorating new exercise is easy to learn! First, link arms on the dance floor. As you move backward in line, turn your head to the right and lift your left leg straight up as high as it will go. Then step forward as you turn your head to the left and lift your right leg straight up in the air.
It's very similar to square dancing or line dancing. Soon the dance floor will be filled with goose-steppers. Forward, backward, round and round. If you step out of line, you are tagged, the caller detains you, interrogates you, strip searches you, and sends you off to detainment camps for disloyalty.
This new dance craze is not to be confused with serious charges of criminal activity. By the time the youngins reach the age of reason, they will be quick to form into lines upon request for impromptu Goose-Step, Two-Step Marches and other forms of family entertainment.
I’ve laid out my vision. And btw, you may access my book on the topic if you wish.
And you have your version. As they say at the graveyard humor, “See ya in hell.”
Except we’re not.
Except we are not what. Speak in full sentences, please.
Moving to the left. You must have missed the memo: Democrats stand for patriotism, a strong national defense and being tough on crime.
Yada yada yada. This theory has been proven wrong so often in recent U.S. electoral history that it is incredible that anyone still has a delusional belief in it. Joe Biden, Mitt Romney, Hilary, etc etc are all theoretical centrists and all losers except for Biden’s win which happened only through the manipulation of the DNC to assure no progressive candidate would win. The progressive candidates - roundly mocked and critized by people like you are winning their elections handily while those who pander to the so-called center find themselves in contests where they are often indistinguishable from their opponents after they - like Biden - eschew any progressive independence and offer only weak centrist alternatives. If it weren’t for the polarizing and regressive attacks on progressive policies such as the right to choose by SCOTUS Democratic candidates would have even less chance of winning against all the rapid MAGA candidates out there.
Oh… Oh… Oh… fight time :)
Yada yada yada…
Let me remind you that a progressive bloated-headed consumer aging advocate single-handedly destroyed the nation when he ran in 2000 taking 90,000 votes from a real environmentalist candidate and through his efforts the Ahole that was elected nominated two blowhard federalist Justices thereby cementing a tyrannical rule for the next 50 years.
Next up, 2016 your wonderful Blowhard ego maniac Jack and Jill Stein ran pulling votes for our dearly beloved— not Hillary Clinton and who knows maybe she could have won.
So keep up your good work. One day we should eventually have our own A—doff the Meat Tenderizer Hitler running things. Hope you’re not Jewish. Oops I thing things are in process. Bye y’all.
The system is cock-eyed.
Koch, "eyed" is more like it.
Hey. Almost half the Senate Republicans voted Yes! And there are some House Republicans ready to vote Yes. We'll need more if members of the House Progressive Caucus follow Sanders' and Merkley's purity test bad precedent.
(They could've voted for aid to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Gaza - and used Biden's new National Security Memorandum to withhold delivery of aid to the criminal Netanyahu regime. Broadcasting this would also put more pressure on Israel for a ceasefire and delivery of humanitarian aid.)
Yes AIPAC and the Evangelicals are the security threat to Israel and a disaster for Palestinians and all people of good conscience.
But Sanders and Merkley took a self indulgent, simplistic, and symbolic stance - which blocks aid to Ukraine and Gaza, without stopping Netanyahu. They had a better choice through Biden's National Security Memorandum.
Lin. There have been several serious attempts to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian issue. Even one that Arafat agreed to but extremists on both side rejected the terms. On the Israeli side, Rabin was assassinated and the Palestinians reacted with the Intifada which I think Arafat promoted. Biden does have the leverage to help unseat Netanyahu.
Yes, on both sides extremists have sought their own personal political advantage over peace. We see the result. But all along there have been people on both sides working together for justice. Maybe this time they will be listened to.
George, I’d like to know more about Biden’s leverage to unseat Bibi. That seems like a complex proposition.
Before Oct 7, Israelis were in the streets in thousands for months protesting the Netanyahu regime. They still are. They will unseat him if he allows an election.
Biden and Blinken are marginalizing Netanyahu through international diplomacy, while bringing forward negotiating a two state solution. Of course, AIPAC, the Evangelicals, and the 'genocide joe' crew are more interested in their own political agendas than actually taking constructive action. They, like Bibi, would like to see Trump back in power, for their own reasons - none of them good.
Jim Holley. Biden has issued a Memorandum to a Foreign Military Aid bill that the arms can not be used in violation of humanitarian rights. It was, in my humble opinion, a reminder to Netanyahu that the aid does come with a restriction that could be invoked. Obviously this is a difficult political issue and the House has not yet passed the foreign aid package..But it might come in handy when the negotiations for two states or for political control in the Gaza get serious. I do need to point out that Hamas expected even welcomed a brutal response by Israel in the hope that a world reaction to the violence might push Israel towards a two state solution. It is a painful event to watch but when you push a stick in a giant's eye, there will be a reaction.
My thought exactly, maybe congress needs to create a rule, no, make it a freakin' law, that says once a bill passes in either body, the other body has to vote on it too? WTF.
Soundgood, but I need to think it through. It may have some negative repercussions.
I don't see a downside to that rule. What could be wrong with an up or down vote? After all, isn't that what they are there to do?
In theory they're there to legislate, but they seem to think their role is to obstruct and pontificate, not to mention disinform. What else can we take away from Mayorkas' impeachment, Hunter's laptop, Benghazi, Hillary's emails, and frickin' Tuberville?
Power isn't given, it is taken, atleast as per the current world circumstances. If Rs fail to show full support, Puttin will take it, much to the detriment of the US. Putting isn't fighting Ukraine. It is indirectly fighting US to render it powerless and now exert its authoritarianism to the rest of the world. Puttin's way of working is a replica of how they are working in Africa. He profits from chaos and push US to the periphery of the continent. Rs should know Supporting Ukraine shouldn't start first with opposing Ds. The far-right Rs should know when to fight and when not to fight for that's where real strength lies.
NB. If you haven't read the Making of Shakahola massacre (e-book), I kindly invite you to do so. Check in my referral program. 2 subs and you get it. (Sorry for the reminder).
Have to agree, when to fight and when not to fight. Repubs can’t get past the hate of anything Dem since Rush spewed his libtard crap. Then the righteous whiteys joined in with a bit of greed and the pot began to boil. Not a melting pot, but a witch’s brew. A little nuance would serve them better.
Repubs... Dem... libtard crap..righteous whiteys.. the pot began to boil..not a melting pot..but a witch's brew.....
Political speak these days... clever and "Rush-ish" : back atcha sorta
Regarding the *bit* of greed. they "shoot themselves in the foot" because all of this boomerangs sooner or later... when the Dems wake up from being too "woke".
I'm not one of those "too woke" that Bill Maher denigrates non stop. Just one who has been waiting for the boomerang, which is surely on the way.
Well what a an enlightened and useful comment.
"repubs", "libtard", "whiteys"....I love to hate it. Name-calling that is ubiquitous now and now here is complaining about Rush Limbaugh, the father of it all... hateful partisanship. That is where we are.
Putin is a very bad character trying to stay in power in a sort of pyramid scheme where everyone around him is in cahoots to keep their own status. The country is subdued and appeased and lied to. The Federation similarly to some degree. Putin has his tentacles almost everywhere, Africa, the Middle East, making trouble, gaining influence and power with those leaders or aspiring leaders of like mind. Trump is threatening the US with the same. He's in a minority right now but gaining, looking to take over. We cannot let that happen out of fear or complacency.
All it takes is people of good will to fail to act... including "independents" who would put a pox on both houses and tune out... or would rather complain about Biden's forgetfulness.
I listen to Mark Galeotti's In Moscow's Shadows podcast.. very insighful about Putin and Russia. Putin seems weaker than he projects...
The consequences of people voting the No Labels party terrifies me.
Stupidity...we have it... plenty. This is a scary time.
"Putin is a very bad character trying to stay in power in a sort of pyramid scheme where everyone around him is in cahoots to keep their own status. The country is subdued and appeased and lied to." Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Just substitute Trump for Putin.
No it's not at that point here at all. We are threatened by this especially if you feel it's an accomplished fact... then you can go back to your knitting and tune out.
Potter, were you trying to be insulting?
If you think that what is happening here is equivalent to what Putin has done to hold power in Russia, the whole country, I was being facetious that you should keep your head down. We are not there, not yet and we have a ways to go. This is a battle here and by no means settled and not subduing the population.
If you do think that, then that means, that you would be going back to your knitting (so to speak) and keeping your head down. Here, there are those that are enthusiastic about Trump/MAGA and some close for their own status but this is by no means the whole country. Nor is there a ruling force out to get those that dare speak in opposition... we still have our freedom and the freedom to argue and vote.
(Part 3)
It is well-known in Africa that Kenya licks the boot of the American neo-imperialists. Putin is respected in Africa for his resistance to American imperialist meddling. African countries on good terms with Russia include Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Mali, Algeria and others.
Russia loves where there is war. Ethiopia, Chad, CAR, Niger, and Mali have rebels. Any coup is beneficial to Russia
Here's a quote from the German magazine Overton:
"Russian soldiers... believe that they are defending Russia, plain and simple. And the emotional gain from a possible victory in the fight with the entire West - not the entire world - is simply enormous, like nothing it has been for generations. The fact that the “Global South” is seen as supporting this Russian struggle – against the arrogant imperialist West – helps.
https://overton-magazin.de/top-story/was-medien-und-politik-des-westens-ueber-russland-nicht-verstehen/
Part of the original German:
Die Tatsache, dass der „globale Süden“ als Unterstützer dieses russischen Kampfes – gegen den arroganten imperialistischen Westen – angesehen wird, hilft dabei.
Russia loves where there is war. Ethiopia, Chad, CAR, Niger, and Mali have rebels. Any coup is beneficial to Russia
Right you are!
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No John, corrupt governments get paid off by outsiders such as Putin not realizing that they are selling out their people. That’s an old refrain. You read a few inferior articles and call yourself a historian and then pontificate like a professor. You must fill in your down time in your truck on the interstates with such gibberishness.
Regarding Ukraine, I don’t disagree that we naively instigated what eventually became a Russian invasion. I never thought Ukraine was worth a huge destabilizing war. Half of Ukraine was Russian anyway like the US and Canada. So we never learn to avoid wars. But that ship has sailed, John. Now it arm the Ukraine until victory or more likely, a settlement perhaps with Crimea returning to Russia. But overall, our system of government is still the one preferred over authoritarianism. Maybe you disagree but that’s your prerogative.
please do not feed the troll.
Here's an article about democracy in Ukraine by a respected British think tank. It observes that Ukraine failed to hold parliamentary elections back in October, but neglects to mention that the government "suspended" all the opposition parties and seized their TV stations:
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/11/democracy-ukraine
Here's a source for Ukraine becoming a one-party state:
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/1110577439/zelenskyy-has-consolidated-ukraines-tv-outlets-and-dissolved-rival-political-par
For the -nth time: Ukraine is at war and military rule is essential. No one except you gets it? LOL
President Lincoln didn’t do that during the Civil War.
During our Civil War, I do believe Lincoln proclaimed the suspension of habeas corpus and other freedoms in order to prosecute the war. A natural response to any war effort.
But he didn't seize newspapers or shut down the Democratic Party or cancel congressional or presidential elections.
Ukraine is just as authoritarian as Russia. It's a one-party police state where the ruling party controls the news media.
Maybe that's how you like it.
Everyone is controlled by everyone else. Don’t you know that? You are controlled by that inferior rubbish you read then heap on others as gospel.
Ukraine has been invaded by Russia and has a "fifth Column" within. A state of military rule was necessary. Ukraine otherwise is headed towards democracy.
I disagree with your assessment of Putin. The United States, by supporting regime change in Ukraine in 2014, imposed a reverse "Cuban Missile Crisis" on Russia with the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO and hosting NATO missiles pointed at Russia. We backed Russia into a corner, and they lashed out at us.
In addition, the post-revolution Ukrainian rump parliament began by passing a law to ban the use of the Russian language in government, in a multi-ethnic country where Russian was the first language of about half the population. This ban was enforced by making the far-right leader Arsen Avakov the Interior Minister, in charge of the police.
With Avakov in charge of the police, bigoted far-right extremist gangs operated with impunity in Ukraine, in an environment of lawless terror.
See "Far-Right Extremism as a Threat to Ukrainian Democracy":
https://freedomhouse.org/report/analytical-brief/2018/far-right-extremism-threat-ukrainian-democracy
The U.S.-sponsored Maidan Revolution brought ongoing civil war to Ukraine, in which neighboring Russia intervened. Before that, Russia under Putin was considered a reliable business partner: The G-7 expanded for a while to include Russia, becoming the G-8.
I get your point and the explanation is on point. But Russia is what it is. Provoked or unprovoked, it remains authoritarian. While the US might have exacerbated by Interference, Putin is intent on meddling even the peaceful.
Please do not feed the troll
As if the USA isn't governed by the plutocracy!
read my above.. this is so annoying. Misinformation gets repeated and repeated.
"While the US might have exacerbated by Interference, Putin is intent on meddling even the peaceful."
What does this mean?
I believe it means that Putin does not need an excuse of Chaos to cause trouble.
Please read my above to Schmeeckle. Misinformation keeps getting repeated and accepted as fact. This is why we are in trouble.
We did support the Maidan, Ukraine's turning to the West and need of support against Putin. We did not cause regime change. Russia was interfering in a major way in Ukraine. Trump, all about himself and kissing up to Putin, both dangerous men. We can at least be informed.
I'm all for breaking Russia up into as many pieces as can be done.
Please do not feed the troll.
...said the hate-filled imperialist war-monger.
You are not even worthy debating this since you have an agenda. And it’s predicted on fake arguments.
Please do not feed the troll.
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Well spoken Vlad. But you really need to look in the mirror.
If he looked in the mirror there would be no reflection.
Please do not feed the troll.
I see that you write The Planets Speak.
The one that speaks the loudest seems to be Uranus.
@Tom, that was funny. But responding to trolls encourages them.
Russia knows no country would want to take over Russia. Where are immigrants lining up to get in? It's only using that ploy for propaganda. Russia needs an enemy to keep its people in fear and in line.
Please do not feed the troll.
Oh John, you "expertise" is once again showing.
He thinks
Please do not feed the troll.
I see it does give you therapeutic relief as Katz suggests.
Remember the iron curtain? Poland was not allowed to use their language. Russian was the official language of Poland for many many years.
You don't know what you're talking about. A couple centuries BEFORE the Iron Curton, Poland got gobbled up by its neighbors, including Russia.
East Germans shot in the back if they tried to get into West Germany with their families...
Please do not feed the troll.
All this talk of geopolitical this and that, and all the blame game as well misses the point. The only thing that really matters here is who is dying here, and why, and what will be the cost/benefit when it's over, if ever? It is the same question that has haunted us since large scale aggressive warfare for geographical and political gain was invented in the hot wastes of Mesopotamia over 4,000 years ago. (Check out the Stele of the Vultures).
Thousands have died in this struggle, and before any other consideration we have to ask what makes this terrible price worth paying? What is Vladimir Putin buying with the lives of his people, let alone those of the Ukrainians, and is the purchase worth the price? And if he wins, what will he have gained?
As just one example, let's ask the ghosts of Hitler and the German Army what they gained, even at the height of their conquests? A whole lot of very angry people who consistently rose against the Wehrmacht and the quislings it put in charge of those conquests, even when those risings were initially futile and beaten back over and over. And even if the Germans had managed to hold onto their gains in Europe, what would the cost/benefit have been? Does anyone actually think the Germans would have slept any more soundly than all those Southern slaveowners did, despite all their claims about the benefits of slavery?
What did we gain in Vietnam except the enmity of the very people we claimed we were trying to save for whatever we thought we were saving them from.
What would the British have gained if they'd won the Revolution?
What did we or the Russians actually win in Afghanistan?
As Israeli prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin famously said, "It is with your bitter enemy whom you make peace."
Russia was clear about its stated goals at the beginning. Then, when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sabotaged Russia's and Ukraine's early mutual effort at a peace settlement, things changed.
I'll suggest revisiting the terms of that proposed early settlement (April 2022?) as a starting point.
I'm sure all of that will be of great comfort to the dead of both countries.
The idea of peace negotiations is to find a way to stop killing people.
Umm…Crimea? And Ukraine was NOT and HAS NOT been invited to join NATO. I could see it happening now after Putin’s onslaught of war crimes.
Reported to Substack Inc as part of a proposed "Declaratory Relief Mediation" (DRM) at JAMS SF against Substack Inc not Trolls. I have alleged on-going Substack Inc violations of its contracts with "Authors" (one author has left) & "Readers" (at least one LFAA Reader has left). Substack picked the forum at JAMS SF. Substack picked the choice of California law.
I also invite Substack Inc to mediate at JAMS SF its written, express, representations to "Readers" about platform management or lack thereof.
Substack have your Counsel call or email me. Respectfully, BSM
Why do you believe "...Russian was the first language of about half the population."? You ignore the fact that Ukraine and other countries such as Hungary were a part of the USSR bloc, where everyone in those countries was forced to learn Russian as their first language, and use of their native language was not allowed in their schools and governments.
Lucy Johnson, you are badly mistaken. See "Languages of the Soviet Union":
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Soviet_Union
In 1921 little Ukraine was stapled together weith Russian-speaking Novorossiya ("New Russia, depopulated by the Crimean Tatar slave-raiders and re-claimed in the 18th century by Russia) to make the core of present-day Ukraine.
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Is there actually a comment here, other than a blank page?
That IS my comment to the troll.
You are repeating Putin's propaganda.
Fact: NATO missiles were not pointed at Russia.
Misinformation lives on and on. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/115204.htm#:~:text=Fact%3A%20NATO%20ballistic%20missile%20defence,outside%20the%20Euro%2DAtlantic%20area.
The Moscow supported Regime in Ukraine was toppled by popular protest.. the Maidan, "Revolution of Dignity". We did NOT sponsor it.
Ukrainians were led to believe that they were headed towards the EU and the Moscow pressured leader, Yanukovych did an about turn. Russia was meddling in Ukraine big time. Their propaganda took hold here apparently. See Tim Snyder's lecture series on the history ( the REAL history) of Ukraine and the guest lecture by Prof. Marci Shore on the Maidan Revolution; she was there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_of_Dignity
https://snyder.substack.com/p/ukraines-maidan-revolution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg_CLI3xY58
Potter,
Perhaps you missed my word "prospect," referring to a future likelihood
Perhaps you missed that the Maidan Revolution was a popular revolution. Ukraine does not want to be part of Russia. Ukraine is sovereign and was invaded, has been invaded since it gave up it's nuclear weapons. Ukraine deserves to be defended by the West... and was promised. Perhaps you missed that.
Perhaps you missed my reply to your other post: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-13-2024/comment/49542213
Ukraine is an artificial state, where around half the population was Russian-speaking. A lot of them would rather live in Russia than in the new post-Maidan bigoted anti-Russian far-right police state.
That's why Crimea broke away, and then civil war extending to Kharkiv, Odessa (quickly suppressed) and the Donbass.
The Budapest Memorandum promised protection to a NEUTRAL Ukraine, but the new post-revolutionary thug regime abandoned neutrality and sought NATO membership, so no more guarantees.
Perhaps you missed that.
(Part 2)
When assessing the rights and wrongs of all that has unfolded between Ukraine and Russia, a critical question is the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of the Maidan Revolution.
See https://therealnews.com/iiopatonok0810ukraine
and
https://mate.substack.com/p/by-using-ukraine-to-fight-russia
Did the United States violate the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of another state?
https://pesd.princeton.edu/node/551
If so, was this part of an ongoing campaign to subjugate and/or dismember Russia?
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The Maidan was a Popular Revolution. People were angry over Russia's interference in their domestic business and wanted a relationship with the West. They are sovereign and have this right. They elected Zelensky overwhelmingly because of this. The US will support democracy movements wherever and will act against violations of international law.
So I suppose you think the U.S. will condemn itself for violations of international law in Iraq, Libya and Syria.
The Maidan Revolution did include a prominent popular element, but it was the right-wing thugs who gave it staying power, and they were rewarded with control over the police stations.
Zelensky was elected with a campaign pledge to make peace in the Donbass, but he capitulated to neo-Nazi war-mongers and reneged on his promise. And Zelensky has suppressed all opposition parties and seized their TV stations. What an othermucking "democrat."
He's been cancelling elections, too.
We were acting under on a UN Resolution and in coalition. Putin is not; he is in violation of the UN, the charter and international law (ICJ as well) Russia needs to be kicked off the Security Council.
Zelensky is presiding over a war of aggression perpetrated upon the country with a fifth column within. The so-called "neo-Nazi"'s that were fighting Russian aggression in Donbas have since joined the national fight. Peace in Donbass has depended on getting the Russians out and to stop claiming they own Ukraine, especially because folks spoke Russian.. and also some infiltrated. This has been going on for years, at least 10. If this does not make sense to you I don't know what would. Zelensky has the confidence of the people.
PS I do not think I would convince you of anything...but at least i am not calling you names ( at the moment).
So I suppose you think the U.S. will condemn itself for violations of international law in Iraq, Libya and Syria.
And then the U.S. military will just go home and tell Israel to stop violating those United Nations resolutions.
p.s. Perhaps you are hallucinating about Zelensky being popular.
"Ukrainians are losing trust in Zelensky over his handling of the Russian invasion and his rule is becoming increasingly autocratic..."
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelensky-increasingly-authoritarian-unpopular-mxv30mf6r
Zelensky has been VERY DEEPLY unpopular ever since before the Russian invasion, with less than 25% saying they would vote for him:
https://euobserver.com/opinion/152478
I hope you're not on drugs.
And that "one" is Trump, not Johnson Johnson is a tool, in every sense of the word.
An empty cab pulled up in front of the Capitol and Mike Johnson got out.
Our system is deeply flawed, and these flaws may become our undoing in the age of the Trump cult.
Our system isn't flawed so much as reliant on customs and traditions instead of written rules. It was designed by people who couldn't dream that members of Congress would allow a tyrant to rule them, especially one who is merely a citizen.
Agreed. I think they also expected that a majority of people with honor and integrity and decency would serve we, the people. They’d be horrified by the vile humans who follow Trump/Putin in our Congress.
Though this article deals specifically with the presidency, it isn't too much to think that the framers would have expected about the same from members of Congress.
“The process of election affords a moral certainty,” [Alexander] Hamilton wrote, “that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/george-conway-trump-unfit-office/599128/
One flaw is the electoral college. It needs to be abolished in my opinion. Colorado can’t decide apart from the other states which candidates are qualified for the federal ticket—that’s what I heard from the SCOTUS questions the other day. Well as it stands now a minority of states decide who is president. Makes no sense. It is a leftover from our shameful days of slavery when a minority of states with a lot of money (made with free labor) could influence our country. Why are our law makers NOT making laws? They are too busy making $ deals. How can we still be saddled with a system leftover from our days of slavery? Makes no sense.
Another flaw is that SCOTUS justices do not have term limits.
...or that SCOTUS justices have no code of ethics, literally. The appearance of being bought & sold by the rich is now traceable to 4 of them. Why did the FBI not interview Anita Hill or Christine Blasey Ford's witnesses to their sexual abuse by Thomas & Kavanaugh? They were given lists of names to back up these & multiple other women's experiences with these men. The FBI didn't investigate a single one. Who paid off Kavanaugh's huge debt? In 2017 he owed between $60,000 to $200,00 on 3 credit cards & a loan against his retirement account. By the time he was nominated in 2018 the debts vanished. His reported income & assets were not seemly sufficient to pay off all that debt with his upper class lifestyle. He had 2 kids in an expensive private school & a posh country club membership with a $92,000 initiation fee. No other recent SC nominee had so many unanswered questions regarding their finances. Who would get a job if they yelled at their job interview like Brett yelled at Senator Klobuchar while screaming how he liked beer? Good gawd.
John I haven’t played bridge for years, but I am inclined to play again so I can bid THREE NO TRUMP.
Get past Mike Johnson: discharge petition
https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-propose-discharge-petition-get-past-mike-johnson-1869521
How long would this take?
depends on support and determination
I read in a substack today that there is a work-around that Hakeem Jeffries is pursuing. It will require some Republican votes.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/02/08/congress/dems-open-to-discharge-petition-00140539
However, the good thing is that after the win in both NY and Pennsylvania by Dems taking Republican seats, Republicans might be more willing to vote in their self interest as opposed to voting in Trump's self interest. When I say self interest as a presidential candidate, not as a citizen of the USA, whom he may be permanently tarnishing. Right on Hakeem! Right on for all Republicans who support this work-around. Here is the recent interview with Jeffries himself on the topic. https://democraticleader.house.gov/media/press-releases/leader-jeffries-right-thing-do-or-down-vote-comprehensive-bipartisan-national
The amount of control that Trump has fashioned over the congress and over the Republican Party amazes me. The "brownshirts" that threaten everyone that fails to do as he wishes are a big part of the takeover. Anybody know who is running that? Russians? Trump becomes ever more dangerous.
A wolf in sheep's clothing.
https://yadontknow.blogspot.com/2023/11/sheeps-clothing.html
(Although the cloak of Evangelicalism is getting pretty grungy)
In 30 days, any member of the House can file a discharge petition to bypass the Speaker and bring the bill to the floor for a vote. It's likely that Johnson sees a 30-day delay in passing the supplemental as some sort of face-saving measure he can lay before his orange puppeteer and the Freedumb Caucus trogs, but he's still going to lose.
On top of this impending loss, Johnson is going to lose on the Lankford-Sinema-Murphy border deal as well. Suozzi's victory in NY last night shows that the "crisis at the border" trope the GOP has manufactured to drum up their base is a losing strategy. Every GOP Rep in a swing seat is going to drop that campaign narrative like a hot potato - likely a few GOP Senators up for reelection will as well. This impending loss of support may even allow negotiation of a better bill, with fewer capitulations the chaos agents in Congress.
The best part about the impending loss of the power of the fake "border crisis" narrative is that it will hurt tRump.
Maybe Heather or someone else can site a time in American history when one unelected person told an entire party what to do. This ain't right. Shouldn't a representative democracy be led by who the voters elect, not the one voted out; the one we fired?
I am sure that if Johnson or a few others really loved and valued Americans and our democracy, they'd be willing to follow Liz Cheney's lead and take a hit in their careers by standing up to trump. C'mon Mike, defy donnie for your country. Let the house vote on the Ukraine/Israel bill for the good of the US and world democracy. Let the maga gop fire you. Be a big boy and defy trump. You have the power to free yourself from his withering grip. Serve the people and you wont need to be so dishonest and shake in your boots in fear that the little don will be mean to you.
And if truth be known, that "one" is not the so-called "Speaker." We all know who that "one" really is.
When will Tom Souzzi be seated, John?
I have read as early at tomorrow (Thursday 2/15) or as late as the end of the month of Feb.
Yes, I just saw that it may b on Thursday or he'll have to wait till after the House takes an extended recess for President's Day, the end of the monthl
There's someone wrong here. All those - including President Biden - who are saying "History is watching" appear to believe the GOP actually cares about history... about "the" history of America standing for democracy here at home and abroad. The GOP only cares about power. Trump shows this to be true every time he opens his mouth. And many other GOP members do the same.
So... what is wrong here to me is that Biden and the other Democrats are continuing to "play nice" with the GOP. Rather than calling them out - with details from their statements and actions - for being anti-American threats to democracy, they act as if they can use "patriotic appeals" to change how they will behave. This is maddeningly divorced from reality. Doesn't Biden realize who he's dealing with at this point? Doesn't he know that people who want dictatorship don't care about appeals to protect Ukraine? He needs to call them out, so it's absolutely clear - including to idiots like Jon Stewart - that Election 2024 is about democracy vs fascism!
It’s time to call every person in Congress who voted against certifying the election what they are: traitors.
Next to make certain none of them gets re-elected.
Why weren’t they arrested 3 years ago? And McConnell could have stopped it and put us on the road to moral recovery. He kept the insurrection going making it look like normal politics. He’s a traitor and key leader of the MAGA WAR ON DEMOCRACY, not a patriot.
McConnell is craven.....all about keeping his power. America is lower down on his list.
Just think had the Senate voted to remove trump his political career could be over saving us from his insanity. Thank you McConnell.
McCarthy resurrected him and got kicked to the curb. Same with Ronna, when will his arse be kicked to the curb. Money buys loyalty, is Putin still buying him…
Will you include Sanders and Merkley? Sadly HCR doesn't.
They are addressing the whole of America, not the miscreants, setting out clearly what's so terribly wrong. As Dan Rather wrote when tfg got into the White House, "This is not normal, folks. It's not normal." If you don't keep on telling them, they'll forget what normal looks like.
Normal is tricky. Normal is what people get used to. We, on the whole, were used to slavery. Twelve US Presidents have been identified as slave-owners. Certainly to women have only partial rights as citizens. But yes, Trump and the "Republican" party is a gross aberration not only of precedent, but of any defensible concept of decency and just rule of law. The "Republican" Party overall has truly become a criminal organization. Like Trump's 91 felony charges, in many ways the impact of any particular crime is blunted by the constant barrage of them. It time we stop, hey what's that sound, everybody look what's going down.
JL Today’s ‘normal’ is that whatever monstrous thing that Trump says or does, many excuse it because ‘that’s the way he is.’
By contrast, decent, hard-working, patriotic Biden gets crucified by the media over minor mishaps. If a similar media standard were applied with Trump, he would long since have been barbecued.
Yes! Many Americans are so sick from drugs and/or overweight that they do not recognize the health of Biden. To them he looks frail because his weight is appropriate to his frame. Also he did not have a bad case of Covid.
Virginia @148 pounds with a full head of silver hair, I might look healthy (even vigorous and erudite), if I wasn’t using my walker or cane. AND I don’t have an orange tint.
I’m disappointed in you! Thought with your sense of humor you’d be wearing orange hair and appropriate Trump outfit (your choice). 👹
What’s that sound. The gurgle of us circling the drain. Ye hear that Heritage Society. Not the sound that you want, but a sound that you have permitted. Some normal is planned, some just oozes up through the floorboard as we are distracted by shinny objects, like celebrity of whatever stripe, like hate, like green (but no other colors, thank you).
And don’t forget SCOTUS with Citizens United to give corporations power to control US. When I think Big Ag, Big Pharma, AMA (yes, their greed led to Big Pharma and they are in league with each other), and the buying of the American education system to make it a job factory, I am sickened.
Oh, I never forget SCOTUS and all the "bigs." In league is an understatement.
The whole of America needs Walter back to blast them out of the Torpor that has set in. The most trusted man in America, long gone. Dan tried but was targeted by Rupert early on; now many people trust loonacy (Alternative facts) rather than our MSM, which disappoints more every day, as they chase the bucks (which would have been anathema in Walter’s day). You are right. Blast it to all THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Jesus would throw these people out of the temple.
Jeri, I am staying overnight at a VA sponsored (very similar to an extended stay hotel) house where veterans and their support person can stay when an overnight hospital stay is required.). I’m up at my usual 0500, and went to the common area to make a cup of coffee.
From the room next to us (audible through their door in the hallway) was a “newscast” being watched on a phone. About 10’ past the door I heard the door open and I was able to discern some Faux-like pundit bemoaning something Biden had done. Said person (the male half) followed me into the common area, got something, then left.
I couldn’t discern what was being said, but the tone and strident quality was enough to provoke either an anger or other charged negative emotion. It’s fed into their amygdalae every minute.
It is a new normal for them. I’m starting to see it in the childish memes showing up on my friend’s Facebook pages.
Ally, I have to wonder how fear-mongering right-wing media exposure affects veterans with post traumatic stress disorder. They are already suffering from an over-reactive fear-anger disorder. Feeding that disorder a steady diet of perceived threat and hatred for “others” who are responsible for unfulfilled expectations…. Seems to me a recipe for some individuals to have considerable difficulties in the regulation of anger, rage and reactive aggression.
While folks with PTSD are most vulnerable,
(Can’t edit on phone) While folks with PTSD are most vulnerable, anyone with a larger amygdala - which is associated with very conservative viewpoints - is also susceptible.
FOX, One American, etc. can (IMHO) spark explosive behavior.
And speaking of TFG, his increasing cognitive problems and rage behavior could be symptomatic of late-stage syphilis. While he proclaimed that he avoided STIs in his younger days, we all know that could be a cue that he didn’t avoid syphilis. My grandfather had late-stage syphilis and he became one very angry, explosive guy. Just a thought…..
Damn, isn't that certifiable? Well, surely such a secret could not be kept these days.
Marge, I think that is exactly why that medium is so freaking effective with that population.
Yep. That’s my belief. And I suspect it’s being done quite deliberately to provoke exactly this outcome.
We have a segment of the population that are on tender hooks. Best not to rile an "unknown quantity."
It’s what they want - Don’t Tread on Me. I realize avoiding challenging them just emboldens them, but I’m more fearful now that I’m old and handicapped!
Grammarnazi writes:
"tenter hooks" Look it up. Sorry sorta.
Watched such play out with my best friend's son (who was a pain in jr high). As an adult watching Fox he was angry and volatile about all the time, but with a smiling smirk that hid God knows what. I moved so glad I don't have to be around him anymore. Fox hasn't changed in all these years, nor has he.
The patriotic appeals aren't aimed at the GOTP zealots or their "base". They're all firmly in Donald's pants pocket and they're beyond persuasion. But everybody else needs to hear that the time IS now, and that how we respond will make all the difference.
History is watching right now but it will stop watching for awhile if Putin & Donald succeed. It comes down to us - It's OUR Republic only if we can keep it.
The “base” may be in the insipid clown’s pocket but all they are doing there is helping support his overflowing diaper, and doing everything in their power to prevent the leaking from becoming more obvious, the maggots are serving their useful purpose, and for some reason they are proud of it. 🤷♂️
So viscerally disappointed in the debut of the Jon Stewart Daily Show. Actually nauseated by him seeking self promoting laughs by equating Biden and Trump as equally incapable of governing.
Yes it sucks that Biden is old. But he has appointed intelligent cabinet leaders with integrity. And is Jon’s head so up his ass that he can’t see what the Biden administration has accomplishments despite the treasonous MAGA & GOP enablers!
Trump appoints incompetent, sycophantic useful idiots to deconstruct democracy.
Stewart is telling a large portion of the population to not vote… and that’s a vote for the end of democracy!
Jon Stewart, an idiot?!?
And I respectfully disagree with your belief that D's should play more like the R's because that bs game has already been taken. There are other ways.
I respectfully suggest you read Mary L. Trump’s latest essay. In it she explains why Jon Stewart is doing great harm (because he’s living in the past). She also shows (with data) how he harmed voter turnout years ago. (Edited to add link below)
https://open.substack.com/pub/marytrump/p/jon-stewarts-danger-to-democracy?r=2hk55&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
I watch Jon Stewart and was deeply disappointed and troubled. His show was dated and divisive.
And I respectfully hear you. I haven’t watched the brand new John Stewart show, but I used to love him deeply. And I actually subscribe to Mary’s Substack so I’m gonna go read her now. Thank you for educating me.
Thank you for being open to my remarks. Honestly, Mary’s essay was a real eye opener for me. Please let me know what you think of it. Good night from Route 66 in Oklahoma.
Of course and you're welcome. I'm a paid subscriber to Mary's page - first I tried to watch last night's Jon Stewart - I couldn't stand it! TUrned off after 5 min. Then I read Mary's page and yep, she's got it right - we cannot afford to give air space to the both sides argument - we have way too much to lose.
Oklahoma. Which town?
I watched it last night as well and felt rumblings of disgust at his smug comments and no good words about President Biden’s accomplishments. I hadn’t put my finger on it, but you (Melanie) did. You’re right. We don’t have time to give to his both sides argument. Thanks. Now I’m off to read Mary Trump.
Just read Mary's essay about John Stewart's normalization of Trump's behavior. One way to combat his dangerous rant is to somehow encourage his peers to call him out. Hopefully JS's words will not be unchallenged in the minds of his viewers.
Thanks for reading Mary Trump’s essay. I’ve shared it on Threads and BlueSky and hope others do too, tagging both The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert. I hope Jon Stewart gets a lot of pushback!
Exactly. John Stewart is 61 Still a boomer.
Not to sidetrack this important conversation, but I find your comment interesting. I’m 62. Many boomers like me who were born in the 1960s have little in common with those boomers born in the immediate post-war period. My childhood was way more Gen X than Boomer - our fathers weren’t WWII vets, many of us like me had divorced parents and a working mother, we grew up always having a TV, and we are way more tech savvy than earlier boomers. We came to adulthood during a time of stagflation and Reagan, not during the prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s. I absolutely don’t consider myself a boomer, and feel like “Generation Jones” describes us better. Obviously there’s a spectrum, and some of us might be more like earlier boomers than Gen Xers. I don’t know enough about Jon Stewart to be able to guess where he lies on this spectrum.
Yeah, sounds right. I'm a very early Boomer (2/46) but I don't act like one nor do most of my friends the same age or older.
Likely because of paths taken and choices made when young. I read a lot of sci-fi (anything really) when young, embraced technology early at every stage....transistor radios, short wave radios, TV when the mid sized city I lived in got it then later the first IBM pcs after working with Prime mini computers back in the very early 80's. So most of the people I worked with were young. That likely helped.
I loathed Reagan as President and before that as Governor. I didn't mind him as an actor....saw Bedtime For Bonzo at the local theater first run.... or spokesman for 20 mule team borax on Death Valley Days. Although later I wished he'd never come in from the desert
My brother and sister, both younger, have voted Republican their entire lives and only now are they sensing they might have made a mistake. I was raised as one but it never took even though I read Conscience of a Conservative the year I graduated HS ('64). 3 years in the Army during Vietnam cured me of that.
I'm hoping that my generation has lost its potency at the ballot box. I wish the next round of candidates to all be under 50. Boomers need to let go of the reins so Millenials/Zoomers can run the show. After all they have to live through much more of whats coming than Boomers or Gen X.
I am a Boomer and a progressive. I found a UCC church in my teen years that offered incredible opportunities for volunteer work. The religion didn’t take but the volunteering did; I got an MSW and spent 1974 - 2021 working to create housing and support services for people experiencing homelessness and/or disabilities.
Throughout my career, I met hundreds of Boomers doing likewise. Thus you can see why I am mystified and irritated that we are all being disparaged just because some are Forever Trumpers, greedy CEOs, etc.
KR, look up the Jones generation. It is tag-end Boomers and early Gen-X ers, especially those who are first-born kids (or whose older siblings are first-born in the same window).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Jones
Also, my older brother was born in 1957, while my younger brother and I were 1961 and 1962. Our older brother is very definitely in a different generation than we are. He was kind of tag end hippie, and we most definitely were not. And my younger brother and I strived more, and didn’t smoke weed haha. (Maybe those two things are connected lol)
Yup, Ally, I referenced Generation Jones too. I think it describes us better.
More on GenJones https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/generation-jones-boomer-x-natalie-straight/
That was spot on. Thanks.
Steve Brant,
President Joe Biden along with other true, decent hardworking Americans are busy getting
the work of governing done for us....NOT spending time fighting.
It is so easy for us to believe we are dealing with rational people when we are dealing with many who are part of a cult following or those who are only enjoying the power, money and attention they are receiving for the moment,
President Biden is not serving for his own glory but he and many others are daily pouring out their lives for our freedom....and many cannot even see who truly cares that we are "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA....WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER, THERE IS NOTHING WE CANNOT ACCOMPLISH!!!" ....that is what Joe Biden believes!
One of the points in today's Letter is that, according to an informal exit-poll conducted by Dana Bash, Trump's loony behavior has cost him the votes of some members of the educated classes. If her poll is a good indicator, this loss on the MAGAt side could be enough to sink them in November. I hope other analysis based on more scientifically collected data reveals similar cracks in the MAGAt base.
When Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson was running for president in the 1950s, a supporter purportedly said to him: “Every thinking person in America will be voting for you.” Stevenson replied, “I’m afraid that won’t do — I need a majority.”
The problem is the undereducated and don't care to be Republicans. As someone pointed out here a while ago. The average IQ is 100 and many of the fools get their information solely from far-right media sites.
I have removed some information which was not accurate.
The basic literacy rate in the US is in the high 90s* The political literacy rate is far far lower. The ability to understand propaganda is lower than that. (I remember being taught about types of propaganda in 6th grade. I think maybe that needs to be reintroduced into the curriculum!) *basic literacy means one reads well enough to read a bus schedule, directions on a box, and a ballot
Kimberly- this is from world populationreview.com. There are several sites that report on US literacy rate with wide ranging estimates of basic literacy rate. I agree with you about political literacy rate and propaganda. And I was wrong about the Southern states having lower literacy rates. A more accurate correlation would be the larger population states have lower literacy rates.
I've also seen other statistics where it lists basic literacy (6th grade proficiency and below) at 54%. These statistics are like polling in that they are only an extrapolation of smaller samples.
U.S. Literacy Rates by State 2024
The literacy rate is the total number of literate persons (people able to both read and write) in a given age group, expressed as the percentage of that age group. The adult literacy rate measures literacy among persons age 15 and older.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about four out of five U.S. adults (79%) have medium to high English literacy skills. These literacy levels are sufficient to compare and contrast information, paraphrase, and make low-level inferences. This means that about one in five U.S. adults (21%) have low literacy skills, translating to about 43.0 million adults.
Of those who have low English literacy skills, 35% are White, 2% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 23% are Black, 3% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 34% are Hispanic, 24% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 8% are of other races/ethnicities. Non-U.S.-born adults comprise 34% of the U.S. population with low literacy skills.
Literacy rates vary greatly by state and are affected by several factors.
The key of course is in the definition. In the early years of our country literacy was defined as being able to write one's name. Basic literacy- as I defined it- being able to read a bus schedule, the directions on a cake mix and a ballot (3rd-4th grade) is in the high 90s in the US. That is how literacy is defined in much of the world. Now, I will grant you that one needs much better literacy skills than that to be financially successful in an developed country such as ours. But no matter how you define literacy, rates have been steadily improving for over 100 years. Of course, there is always room for improvement. There is a lot of research being done of teaching of reading right now. (*Large states have lower rates most likely because they have the biggest populations of immigrants)
It’s true that undereducated white people are even more MAGAt than educated white people, but they are a majority of white people across the board. I think the problem is that undereducated white people are even more desparate to preserve their systemic advantages than educated ones. If the white working class had been certain that no advantages would accrue to black people, the progress made starting with FDR and continuing through Eisenhower would have kept going, and the US would br more like the UK, France, and Canada instead of on a slope declining to third-world status in income distribution.
Steve, I subscribe wholly to every syllable of your comment, except for your parting attack on Jon Stewart’s character and intellect. To clarify, for months, I painfully have observed D.C. political operatives circling the wagons, listening only to each other, and trying to persuade the rest of us of the focus and discipline Biden regularly sustains behind the scenes where decisive leadership, they submit, most matters.
This past Monday, on the inaugural return of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” when Stewart appealed to those surrogates “to show us the tapes,” I viewed Stewart as expressing genuine concern about Biden’s ability, without a script, from the heart, to summon the focus and discipline to project, contrary to Trump who feasts on hatred and division, an alternate, admittedly arduous, path showing, particularly those who doubt Democrats care about the wreckage of their dreams, that a Biden team can work on legitimate issues and grievances.
I suppose my point, while perhaps not as readily transparent, is that Stewart’s concerns about 24 are no less urgent than ours.
Emphasis Biden TEAM. So many forget that a President's choice of cabinet really matters!
Pat, In my view, while choosing well is necessary, it might not be sufficient, particularly when running for re-election.
Not sure why you're including Jon Stewart in your rant or why you thought it necessary to call him an idiot, but I'm sure he knows how important the outcome of this election in November is.
Ultimately it's the electorate that needs to heed the warning and urgency that this presidential election is about keeping democracy or giving it away to fascism or autocracy.
I call Jon Stewart an idiot because I read Mary L Trump’s essay about how dangerous what he did on Monday night’s show was. Please read it too and get back to me…
https://open.substack.com/pub/marytrump/p/jon-stewarts-danger-to-democracy?r=2hk55&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Steve, yes, it needs to be read, thank you for the link
Horhai, It would be wonderful if "the electorate."..would "heed the warning" that Trump does not care about them, only about himself. His supporters certainly don't read these Letters, or listen to any news outlets other than FOX. They will not hear any criticism of Trump, and will not accept any evidence that President Biden has succeeded in bringing about improvements to help ALL Americans.
I heard a statement that is so true. " There are some people, that, if they don't know, you can't tell them." Can't remember who said that, but Trump's supporters will never be able to "know" the truth about how dangerous he is for our country.
We shouldn't give up trying to help them see the light, but it won't be easy.
You’re right about the Dem’s need to get tough and call out the Trumpers for what they are - anti-American. I watched Jon Stewart and was very disappointed. He doesn’t get it anymore. The election isn’t between two old men, it’s between whether we’re going to keep our democracy, as messy as it is, or become a dictatorship controlled by the plutocracy.
This guy - Steve Brant - has actually blocked me.
Presumably because he doesnt agree with my opinions. Bear this in mind when reading his.
Rather childish from someone so opinionated.
Jon Stewart is an idiot?
Really?
Jon Stewart's TDS first program was ageist. He had the camera zoom in on him so we could see what "old" looked like. Yes, he's aged. So what? George Burns at 100 was still a great comedian.
"Old" should not equal not OK to be president, or speaker of the house (Pelosi), or pope, or movie director (Scorsese), or businessman (Warren Buffett), etc. Poor health would be a reason. Old, in and of itself, as a disqualifier is prejudicial and needs to be called out just as racism is.
(I didn't write this)
Trump has 91 felony counts -- but Biden is old.
Trump vows to be dictator on day one -- but Biden is old.
Trump vows to put Latinos in detention camps -- but Biden is old.
Trump vows to let Putin invade our NATO allies -- but Biden is old.
Trump and MAGA Republicans are gearing up to destroy democracy and end constitutional order -- but Biden is old.
ok Judy, he is an "idiot", let's block him.
(Actually I didn't see that show)
I didn't use the term "idiot" as it is just a putdown and adds nothing constructive. I also don't want to block him, but his ageism is prejudice. .
I quite agree Judy, absolutely agree. I probably wouldn't use that term for precisely those reasons.
I was just following the thread and assumed you were agreeing with the guy who blocked me. You seemed to be supporting that oponion.
As I said, I didn't see the show you are referencing.
I see the beginning.
Don’t call Jon an idiot although I was disappointed by his first foray back on TDS. Dens still think it’s politics as usual. So do voters. It ain’t folks. Call them out with every breath.
It's all about power and the hatred they feel for the "other party", those non Evangelicals who believe doing good for every American, not just people who believe in a hateful God, thinking they're owed something for being lucky enough to be born here. That's true ignorance.
Remember when Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz were running for president? RS said,"They want you to send your children to college!" "You don't have to send your kids to college." Spoken by a true hypocrite. And a Harvard grad. I think that was when I noticed a real turn in the Republican party, keep our people dumb, wave the flag, throw in a few Dixie phrases once in a while. So sad. That's where the Maga base comes from, in my opinion.
At least many Republicans in the Senate are seeing that playing pure politics is dangerous for this country. I was hoping for some light, and they gave me some. On the matter of JON Stewart I was extremely disappointed with his joke fest with no mention humorously or not of the difference in TFP and Biden with respect to judgment. Sometimes jokes are just not funny!
Uncle Joe has a problem: there are not enough Democrats in the Capitol. Thus, he's not slagging the entirety of the Trumplickin' delegation. Because there's work to be done and that takes majorities. The rest of us are free to slag Trumplickins all we want, and have at it!
“House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner (R-OH)—who had just returned from his third trip to Ukraine, where he told President Volodymyr Zelensky that reinforcements were coming—told Politico’s Rachel Bade: “We have to get this done…. This is no longer an issue of, ‘When do we support Ukraine?’ If we do not move, this will be abandoning Ukraine.”
“The speaker will need to bring it to the floor,” Turner said. “You’re either for or against the authoritarian governments invading democratic countries.… You’re either for or against the killing of innocent civilians. You’re either for or against Russia reconstituting the Soviet Union.”
YES! Bring it to the floor and pass it for God’s sake!
Turner is a Republican. He can call to vacate the chair. If Johnson won’t bring the bill to the floor he should be ousted. Hopefully there are a handful of republicans that would vote with democrats to do that if push comes to shove. But hopefully a credible threat to Johnson would get the bill to the floor.
It is just beyond bizarre that one trump a$$ kisser can hold up a bill that the majority of Americans want passed. At least according to polls, which I trust as far as I can throw them. But really, it is loony tunes that bills can’t even be discussed and then voted on. Arrrrrrg!
"Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas by a vote of 214 to 213."
After Suozzi is sworn in and Judy Chu (D-CA) returns from Covid, that makes the House (D) 213 + Suozzi +Chu = 215. When Steve Scalise (R-LA) goes to his next treatment 214 - Scalise = 213. Looks like the new Speaker of the House is Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)! Let the festivities begin!
Fingers crossed, 100P!
God, I hope so. The clown show is really tiresome.
I dream, over and over
He can call to vacate the chair? So there IS a way.
It is my understanding that McCarthy’s deal with the devil still stands. But. If Johnson were to be ousted it would probably mean another 2 weeks of chaos while the ineffective House republicans try to find another victim, err I mean speaker. Which would delay the passage of aid for Ukraine. Still i hope that the threat of it would make Johnson move on bringing the bill to a vote.
So, before ousting, there's this discharge petition that could get the bill passed. I'm not sure how that happens, but I am all for it!
Update: Here's an explanation of how a discharge petition works:
https://indivisible.org/resource/legislative-process-101-discharge-petitions#:~:text=After%20a%20bill%20has%20been,delegates)%20must%20sign%20the%20petition.
That’s what Matt Gaetz brought to the floor when he and other MAGATS caused McCarthy’s departure. Little Mikey needs to go because he is Trump’s lackey and also an insurrectionist. The problem is that the R’s do not trust one another and there’s tons of infighting which is kind of fun, until it isn’t. They don’t have a viable candidate for speaker…well, they do…Romney…but they avoid him like the plague.
Romney's in the Senate though, not House.
Oopsy! You’re right!🙄
That is a good point. Apparently even the old school republicans are afraid of drumpf to the point they refuse to do their job. Vacating the speakership once again is a nice thought, and it's hard to imagine Jim Jordan could be worse that Johnson, but it might be him. I think the rethugs are not afraid of drumpf so much as the many automatic weapon toting constituents.
I’m not sure a seated senator could be Speaker, so neither Romney nor Jordan would be eligible; it is not stated that the Speaker must be a current Representative, but that has a long history of past practice. I wonder if Cheney or Kinzinger would be a choice, or possibly another former Republican congressman.
I'm sure you've forgotten Jim Jordan is a representative and was nominated for speaker but failed. I think next time he wouldn't fail.
That could actually boomerang since he's certifiable.
(Smacks forehead)
I had confused the “rasslin” coach with Tuberville (the ol’ ball coach) in my head.
Turner himself would be a better speaker than Johnson. I've been in his district off and on (OH gerrymandering, ya know), and it makes me nervous he's called this out because he's pretty tight with Wright-Patt AFB. He's still GOP but normally not a grandstander.... wondering if he knows more than his committee does if he's asking to blow the lid off this.
Yikes!
Trump will lose his lawsuits, money, support, the election (if he hangs on). He will go down as America's biggest loser.
He already is, regardless of the outcomes. Nothing can obliterate these terrible years.
How long is it going to take for TFFG's fraud case to be announced?
We need this to be front page news for the run up to Super Tuesday.
How about the 90 others. It's gotta be hard to enjoy the fruits fermenting on his table day after day. I wonder, does Aleena Habeena scrub his toes? She could scrub mine. Just sayin.. :)) What's happened to the ex-FL? #45.. poor bastard.., he's got to be running on fumes. And just think of all those unpaid bills if HE carffs. Wheww. Nothiin he does needs to be "front page news".. nothing. Go watch the 60 Minutes Isle of Man video onYou Tube. I rode that course back in 1980. Just VOTE FOR JOE.
🙏🙏🙏
There is something wrong with a system that has one person able to stop important legislation from even coming to a vote. I can only hope the majority of voting Americans will see through Republican dysfunction and vote the bums out. However, the Senate may go Republican by virtue of who is running this year. What an injustice it would be to have an all Republican government after all their obstruction and plainly dumb moves!!
Tom Suozzi won (I wrote 250 GOTV cards for him and he thanked postcard writers!), and there will be others.
Me, too, Virginia. A ray of hope shines through; and we postcard writers helped make it happen!
I wrote cards too, Virginia. Now writing to Pennsylvania voters.
Thanks to all postcard writers (and phone bankers, and text bankers, etc); exciting grassroots movement
Who knew our roots were made of grass!
But of course they are! “All flesh is grass” (Brahms, from Ecclesiastes. Sang it many times.)
One of my tuba ensemble member’s wife wrote 200. She’s having hip replacement surgery, and I think I’ll be hanging out over there writing postcards with them.
Not so good having to have surgery, I reckon. But I'm sure you'll have fun spending time during the recuperation!
For her it’s good, much needed and twice Covid/infection postponed. She’s ready and wants her role model (me!) there.
Then it's a win for everybody, yay!
We had postcard parties around my dining room table in ‘18 (‘20 was Covid still). Now my Indivisible group writes together.
Me too! I wrote 100 cards. Easy peasy. Just ordered more names for Ohio/Pennsylvania/Arizona.
Me, too. Postcards for Suozzi. I have to believe we're making a difference!
Me too. Now on to the next !
Yes! I’ve been writing since 2018, when, as far as I know, postcard writing was first quantified as successful “campaigning.” Keep at it, everyone! Together we can make a real difference in November when everything must go 💙. I heard Speaker Johnson’s press conference this morning. Putin couldn’t have done better at lying, though he may have been brighter.
You Virginia, and we as a group ROCK!
Yes - postcard writers are making a difference and are united across the country!
I participated in 4 phone banks for Suozzi — the effort was very well-organized and an easy way to help save democracy.
I think that's already happening. Tom Suozzi won his seat back (from Santos!) last night with a 10 point margin. I think Johnson knew that was going to happen, which is why he rushed that ridiculous impeachment. Something is changing for the better at the grassroots level. And I LOVE feeling like/being a part of it just with my postcarding and phone banking!
Me too! I am still amazed at how just the act of writing cards relieves some of my feelings of hopelessness and anxiety.
Exactly!
How do I become part of the postcarding and phone banking? Is there an organization or do I just create my own list?
Great question! I got involved by joining Markers for Democracy because they've been around since 2016 - started with two women fed up with the election meeting in a coffee shop to write cards and grown to nearlh 2k! They meet several times a week on zoom - writing post cards while listening to awesome guests from campaigns and experts around the country. They are also a way to connect with other groups that fundraise, do phone banking and ballot curing and other grassroots work. Here's a link to their newsletter. I try to be there every Friday morning, and sometimes other times - like our "watch party" last night for Tom Suozzi. https://mailchi.mp/9607fe8ef6a2/mfd-news-211-homestretch-for-suozzi-tuesday-special-election-night-zoom-colin-allred?e=e91036c2eb
There is a WEALTH of information in that link to Markers for Democracy — thank you!
postcardstovoters.org is one.
For lots of other great ideas, look for Jessica Craven's Substack "Chop Wood, Carry Water" well worth looking into
I sincerely hope that these MAGA actions in the House will be the ultimate “shot in the foot” that brings on the downfall of these insurrectionists! Mike Johnson is merely Trump’s puppet and mouthpiece. His hypocrisy,as a Christian Nationalist, is not reflective of real Christianity!
Join us, it can be a solitary experience or get a group together; my neighbor (from red..WY!) has contributed a few for me
Thank you. I just signed up.
This feels very strange to be up late enough to read Heather's letter when it first comes out. But I'm still wound up from making calls for Tom Suozzi the past three days (after writing post cards) AND HE WON!!! Grassroots works!!! So I might as well do something besides watch tv!
I just want to say, reading Heather's comment about Trump's horrific NATO messsage that he would “encourage [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that ... are not devoting 2% of the gross domestic product to their militaries," that I don't think Trump knows that's the commitment that NATO members make - to commit 2% of GDP to their militaries.
When he quoted "the leader of a big country" who said, "Sir, if we don't pay would you still defend us?" I think he really thinks there's a fund that everyone pays into. The two tells: what "leader of a big country" would call him Sir, and what leader would say "if we don't pay," when surely they know that it's not about paying a bill, it's about committing to a line item in their budget. Just saying.....
The fact that his crowd cheered at this ridiculous posturing says to me that many of us don't understand the great harm of "America first," posturing - or what it means to be part of the "changing world order." (Ray Dalio) We've got to change that!
All of his “sir” stories are fairy tales (aka lies).
Yes! That's why it was a tell for me as soon as I heard it. Imagine his little ego swelling up as he imagines a leader of a "big country" calling him Sir. It's very sad, actually. as well as dangerous. But I don't think nearly as many citizens will settle for blind ignorance and apathy after this MAGA SAGA!!
I profoundly hope you are right. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that lots of people voted for him twice. Once, I could kind of get. But twice, after the fiasco that was his presidency? It’s behind my ken. A third time? How is that even possible.
KR, the only thing I can attribute to that is that anger, hatred, and fear are greater than common sense.
I agree, Ally. And Fox News continually stirs that pot, because anger and fear are powerful motivators to get people to vote. Rationality and morality be damned.
I would add to that: the Republican cynical power grabbers, "greed leaders" figured out before Reagan how to stir up a base of folks who have felt ignored and "replaced," and haven't heard anything better, more relevant to them specifically from the Democrats up until very recently. That's changing, but I think it's going to take a couple of generations to wake people up to how they are being used by the billionaires whose only goals are low taxes and little or no regulation.
Heather has said in an interview, and I'm sure elsewhere that true democracy means: to be treated equally by the law, to have a say in our government and to fight and advocate for that. I bet there are very few if any MAGA's who have ever heard that.
Agreed! Anger, fear and hatred override the prefrontal cortex. THINKING falls victim.
Does anybody ever explain tha5 it’s not like a protection racket. Each country puts resources into their own defense systems...
I don't think anyone of our "public servants" realized how important it is that our "leaders" explain how important to "world peace" is our collaboration with and support of our allies. T's ability to rally his base has brought that to light. Thank you Donald!!!
Hard to thank him for anything.
I know....I just couldn't resist "tongue in cheek."
Mocking fools is good with me.
I know it's tempting. I try not to do "ad hominem" and focus on behaviors - that's part of my mission on XTwitter to engage in respectful discussions with folks on the right. More to create a space for the energy of facts and different opinions rather than to persuade anyone to change their mind. So if someone is already nasty, I stay away.
Thank You for your (successful) service, Chaplain Terry!!
My great pleasure and joy!!!
RNC: Republicans Now Capitulate (Again)
RNC: tRump Needs Cash
RNC: Relatives Naturally Complicit
RNC: Right-wing Nationalist Christians
RNC: Russia Never Complains (about the GOP)
Republicans Not Competent?
Lara trump
"House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has said he will use every possible tool to force a vote on the national security supplemental bill." -- it shocks me that one man, the House Speaker, can hamstring the political process like this... so what tools does Jeffries (or the Senate, or the President) actually have to force full House votes on things that the Speaker won't bring to the floor?
It's called a "discharge petition". From Wikipedia:
"In United States parliamentary procedure, a discharge petition is a means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee by "discharging" the committee from further consideration of a bill or resolution.[1]
"Discharge petitions are most often associated with the U.S. House of Representatives, though many state legislatures in the United States have similar procedures. There, discharge petitions are used when the chair of a committee refuses to place a bill or resolution on the committee's agenda: by never reporting a bill, the matter will never leave the committee, and the full House will not be able to consider it. The discharge petition, and the threat of one, gives more power to individual members of the House and removes a small amount of power from the leadership and committee chairs. In the U.S. House, successful discharge petitions are rare, as the signatures of an absolute majority of House members are required.[2]"
Thanks, Sandy! I just saw this on my news crawl as well: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-propose-discharge-petition-to-get-past-mike-johnson/ar-BB1idkpK
Like Elle Woods in Legally Blonde Two!!! That's how I knew what it is!!!! And now that Tom is back in his seat, that's one less Republican he will need to recruit!!! The tide is turning because of all of this lovely grassroots energy!!!
Thank you, Sandy.
There is a method. Someone here will know. Problem is that it’s slow and we like fast.
We actually need fast.
If you were on the ground in Ukraine facing the russians and running out of ammo, fast would definitely be of help.
As an historian, I have searched for a historical character that personifies the multiple facets of Trump’s cultism and absolute (often irrational) domination of his cultists.
Hitler, Stalin, and Ivan the Terrible came to mind. The character Svengali, in the gothic-horror novel TRILBY, reflects many of Trump’s traits.
Svengali has come to represent a seducer “who completely dominates another, usually with selfish or sinister motives.” Svengalism, like the word Machiavellian, provides an image—in this instance of a person with evil intent to manipulate and controls others.
There is no one in American history who is more Svengalian than Trump. No American politician has ever been so dominate in imposing his whims on a once-distinguished political party.
I find it astonishing that a muddle-minded Trump can dictate that he seeks to destroy NATO, abandon Ukraine, reject a bipartisan improvement of immigration policy, or shut down government, and a vast number of his Trumpists meekly obey.
As with other personal cults (often tinged with religious mysticism), Trumpism reflects fear and absolute obedience. Those who object are ridiculed and destroyed.
How Trump has become an American Svengali is one of the most astonishing horror stories in American history.
I urge the American people to take a silver bullet and a wooden spike to remove this ‘me, me, me’ cultist from the soul of America.
lol, silver and stakes — don't forget garlic? the most tragic aspect is that ridding ourselves of all the rotten apples and correcting the mass delusions CAN'T & WON'T be as easy as applying superstitious remedies — even taken metaphorically, what do these "proof against monsters" weapons symbolize?
We cannot afford saying "History watching" and do nothing. We must come up with means to send aids to Ukraine now. There is no other choice. Trump is the enemy of America within.
History watching, such a past action. History is pissed better…
lol, Jeri. How about WE are watching-or, OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN are watching. The destruction wrought by tfg and his ilk both nationally and internationally will last for generations.
Indeed, some of us are. Texas lagging but hopefully some will rouse like the bears do in the Spring...
"The measure went to the House of Representatives, where House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he will not take it up, even though his far-right supporters acknowledged that a majority of the representatives supported it and that if it did come to the floor, it would pass." HOW IS THAT NOT TREASON ?????
It isn’t treason. It’s politics. 😢
It's an insurrection directed by Donald Trump and executed by the Speaker and his co-conspirators. It puts our national security at risk and threatens the safety of our allies. It will lead to a world war and world fascism against the express wishes of Congress, the Biden administration, and the American people.
I’m entirely sympathetic, but it is bad, misguided policy(s) wrapped in myopic partisan politics led by a troubled man, opposed by some in Congress but by no means all, along with a sizable chunk of American citizens. A bad situation, yes, but it’s politics.
I suppose you're technically correct. But it is too dark. Too Hitlerian. Any sane House would expel the Speaker for cause.
Roger that.
Nice that our Heather concludes hers today with a nod to Tom Suozzi's Dem win in the New York race.
Nice precisely due to everything else in her column -- all about the miasmic Republicans groveling to their cult leader and to all the extremists so evidently totally out of touch with reality.
Reality is Americans would like to fix the border, aid democracies, restore rights to women and their families which far-right ideologues and manifestly corrupt on the Supreme Court have arrogated to themselves.
And now, House Speaker Howdy Doody -- fawning over his orange-encrusted, diaper-stench fat guy -- leads impeachment for someone other than Hunter's dad, with zero evidence, just as the efforts in the dad case lies evidence-free untethered from reality.
That's why the Suozzi win rings so true. Americans are energized in the face of Republican lemmings all jumping into the black pit with their unhinged cult leader -- but it's not into a go-nowhere pit. It's into the madness, the death wish of the orange fat guy's Putin model dictator still trying to kill as many as need to die of his citizens and those of Ukraine, too.
The groveling to their cult leader description is well put. But there is a scary practical side to the groveling. If you talk to them, they are well and truly insane, and they are the people who love them their AR15s.
The arming of the stupid in this country by the Supreme Court is terrifying.
Hey folks, it was always about Ukraine. This dance Johnson made about “ The Border” was a cover to stall funds to Ukraine. Trump’s goal ALWAYS was to stop US aid to Ukraine; that’s how we came to read these letters in the first place! It was and will always be about Trump’s fealty to Putin, which begs explanation - why? Is it that Russia has supported him and the Trump organization since his financial failures of the early 90s?
Given that most of the money that we send to Ukraine is spent in the United States, stuffing the coffers of America’s military industrial complex, I doubt that those arms manufacturers will allow this to drag on too much further. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the profits from sales of weaponry to Israel. Johnson will be crushed by the weight of the pressure he’ll be put under.
So many overlapping motivations. Putin probably has incriminating/humiliating Kompromat on Trump and calls in favors/blackmail. Putin has allegedly promised Trump real estate deals in Russia (he could become a Russian oligarch?!). Trump has been getting strongman strategic advice from his mentor Putin. Lastly, Russia has no extradition treaty with the United States (in case Trump needs to exit stage left).
It is so much to absorb on a daily basis. Obstructing a bill that contains so much of what you wanted simply to obstruct. Whodathunk??
“History is watching,” President Joe Biden said this afternoon. He warned “Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable” that “[f]ailure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.”
Just wanted to give you a heads up that according to this news report, Tom Suozzi won NY-03 Special Election.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-specieal-elections/new-york-house-results
A smile at last.
Oops! I wrote this post before reading HCR's Letter. But bears repeating, I say. Thanks, Anne-Louise!
Morning, Lynell. Great news no matter how it’s presented!
Morning, Ally! Always something to celebrate, I say, though there are some days where the something is well hidden.
Agreed!