Four years ago today, on February 13, 2021, Senate Republicans acquitted former president Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection in his second impeachment trial.
We keep asking what we, the people, can do. Here is something that we can do. You may already have heard about it, but in case you haven't, please join in the economic boycott on February 28. There's a group called The People's Union USA
(https://jointhepeoplesunion.com/) that has been organizing it. I just joined, so that I can keep up to date and learn what further actions they're planning. This is a one-day boycott, but it probably won't be the last.
Please tell everyone you know about the boycott--the more people who take part, the more effective it will be. We, the people, can make a difference, especially when we all work together.
Betsy, I appreciate the effort, but I question how effective it will be. There will probably be a slight increase on sales on the day before or after. Were I on the other side, I wouldn't worry much about this kind of action.
What is needed is something more durably sustained, lasting weeks or longer, asking consumers to spend less on things in general, and eliminating non-essential purchases.
!!! I've been a reader of HRC for several years now, but until very recently I've not paid an awful lot of attention to the responses; I guess byl New Year's I had been sufficiently satisfied by the power of her analyses in and of themselves. More recently I began paying much more time and attention to the comments, too. My entire mornings for six weeks now have been totally consumed by that activity. I'm now fully retired since the pandemic, living alone in a retirement facility, cooked for by others, and have time to do pretty much what I want.
Since my late pre-teen years (circa 1948) when I first began to learn the art and sheer fun of banter, I also began to master the arts of argument and, later, the delights of snark (a lot of fun, yes, but very little productive outcome except for the entertainment of those immediately exposed to it). In HCR, however, our national cimmunity has a treasure, but I have to confess there seem to be more instances where our own reader comments do less to honor HCR's bodacious heart and intellectual power than display lesser character on our part than the heights toward which HCR's efforts reach. I take it as another sign of the stress on all of us that the constirtutional coup has placed on each of us.
By addressing this I risk, perhaps, coming across as a scold. Still, there is a difference between sound argument and being argumentative, between sharing hurt and paying back with hurt, between smaller pictures and bigger ones, between advancing a point and pressing it beyond readers' exhaustion, between keeping the eye on the ball and just bawling into the wilderness. HCR busts her tail for us every day. How we comment in her space -- and to each other -- should be guided by as much respect for her -- and the rest of us, too -- as she shows to us by undertaking her invaluable labors day after day after day.
'Nuff said. And thank you, HCR, one retired professor to one of us still in the traces.
Nicely said, Professor (Ret). I have noted that the general state of upset has infiltrated this space, and that there are more expressions that range from "snippyness" through "argumentative" and into "anger/profanity". It feels as if it has backed down from the more hostile messaging and is slowly returning to "the way it was".
I can say for myself, Deputy, (Ret.) and about 10 years younger than you, that this has been a very difficult time for me, as I watch both the disintegration of my government and all the standards which it upheld and the degree to which my retired cop cohort is eating this up like candy. It is hard for me to see people that I worked with (in the street, that I trained, I was in the training cadre with, I served in peer support with, and faced danger with buy into the "cost savings" that are decimating our nation and support wholeheartedly the grossly unqualified people being confirmed in positions of leadership.
It is hard not to be emotional when actions taken threaten your life as you know it. As women, we look at actions that are dismantling the gains we have made since the 1970's. As a lesbian, I see my very existence being threatened, my marriage being terminated (and my wife losing my retirement benefits because PERS follows national laws).
Yeah, I get a bit snippy, let the junior high brain out for walk, and slip into my second and third and languages of sarcasm and profanity occasionally. It is only because of all that is implied with your very well articulated "'Nuff said" that I do my level best to maintain the decorum this page deserves.
Hendrik .. I've only been a fan of HRC since last year when I became aware of Substack. Agree with you're observations & opinions of her genius.
Like many of the commenters, I’ve been struggling on just how to react to the buffoonery of the current administration, the complete capitulation of so-called republican law makers & how some people are just bamboozled. Do I resist ? Do I dissent?
Last night I remember a book of essays titled Paths of Dissent. It was published in 2022. Its a collection of essays written by veterans that have spoken out about the conduct of past wars and conflicts. There is one essay, What Good Is Dissent? written by Roy Scranton (Army Vet who served in OIF like me). What follows is the closing paragraph. I wish there was a link to the complete essay. It is truly worth the read and I believe it is my compass on how to go forward.
Thank you Roy for your essay.
v/r … tjb
"Today as we confront a global ecological crisis with no easy answer or simple answer, while at the same time being faced with an interlocking proliferation of social crises that range from rising inequality to the failure of democracy to the deeply disturbing effects of social media, we would be wise to ask ourselves what lies behind our dissent, what goals we hope to achieve and whether our means are consonant with our ends.
Speaking out may no longer be enough. In our time of flood & fire, much like the calamitous 13th century in which Saint Francis found his order, dissent may need to take form not in words but in deeds: not as yet another public profession of critique but as the solid accomplishment of repair.”
Well said! Thank you for your wise comment, Hendrik. Yesterday's dueling perspectives coupled with reading about the archetypal Indra's Net (a view of the universe as a completely interconnected web vs a machine or disconnected parts) later in the day led me to an aha moment. Both perspectives described in yesterday's comments are valid--as are many others. Let's give ourselves some slack. It's understandable that we're all experiencing huge anxiety and fear at this time. We are dealing with new frightening situations; the old reactive dynamics are not working, and indeed are counterproductive. At the same time, we are facing the possibility of connecting with multiple perspectives in multiple ways across multiple differences like connecting nodes in a web. Imagine the strength we will amass when we link our diverse perspectives, views, values, languages etc together in a weblike way--not pit ourselves against each other in a linear tug of war. Let us leave the dualistic blaming, either/or thinking behind, and embrace our common concerns and goals in ways that strengthen us. Once we start thinking of ourselves as connected in a web, new transformative ideas and solutions will arise. No doubt, many from this forum.
Let a thousand flowers bloom. I think HCR does not ask for or require fealty or praise. We each comment from our own vantage point prompted by HCR's telling of the news. Her detailed knowledge of American history inspires, including the telling or it's implications. Her view is extremely valuable and trustworthy. No one can see feel or know it all. I think comments, respectful for the great most part, are valuable. People come to this from where they are in their heads. That is also a truth. That alone is instructive and invites participation and should be welcomed. We need community now. This is one place for that.
Hello Professor Gideonse. If your comment about being argumentative was directed to me, please let me clarify. In keeping with academic tradition, my question was just that--a question to spark further thought. It was not disparaging, arguing, or dueling. I have participated in this community of commenters for 4 years and treasure my reputation for posting respectful, constructive comments, often with resources to support our civil engagement, as Professor Richardson routinely advocates in her Facebook Chats.
I just wrote a snappy (my opinion) comment, but I get your gist. I stop reading comments when it becomes — not exactly what you said, but — doom scrolling.
Thank you, Hendrik, for this very well written post. There is a need to vent, but using junior high school vocabulary truly diminishes the point of view. Remember the old adage “Sticks and stones will hurt my bone’s but names will never hurt me” nor will they be effective in changing another’s viewpoint. BTW, I think that comes from my grammar school days:)
Totally off topic, but reminds me of another of my favorite Lily Tomlin quotes: "I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific."
Bravo. I am in my 7th decade on this earth, and although I began my adult life as a social and political activist, not long after that I gained a family and a child and a career, limiting my ability to continue in that vein. I began to believe I had become a 'nobody.' But now I'm on the battlements again, doing everything I'm able to do to stop this madness that's taken over too large a part of our lives. And I'll keep on doing that, come what may. Small protests, large protests--a mighty oak begins as an acorn.
Ellie, I can't find the reference to “they” that I've made as I don't use the substack app (I dislike it on my phone.) It used to be that the words your comment were hyperlinked to the comment, but they no longer are, at least without the app. And I've made a lot of comments today, so I'm unsure.
I sure agree it's hard to navigate these comments, and thank you for clarifying your agreement. A few others interpreted that I was chastising you, which was not my intention at all. I routinely remind ourselves that when we say "they," like Heather reminds us in her Facebook Chats, they = we to speak up and express ourselves.
Speaking of speaking up, we have a group of HCR Substackers who focus on civic engagement, also as advocated by Heather in her Chats. If you'd like more info, email:
Beans and rice and maybe a chicken or two in the backyard. I agree with the buying habits. As I've said before, from Starman..."We are at our best when things are at their worst." AND When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
But Dee, no rice or beans from Goya, I hope, right? We've shunned that company since they supported voldemort the first time. We also don't buy from Chick fil A or Hobby Lobby (and haven'tfor years) because of their stances against LGBTQ+ members of our immediate family amd general population.
AND I found a pork butt, tongue and some honey comb tripe in the freezer and lard for the tortillas way back there in the fridge! Hell, I may be doing more than just fine here! Menudo or Pozole Roja ? i can hardly decide.
Dee, I agree in some ways, but when I have or others have suggested this, there is a barrage of people who cannot seem to understand that we cannot address everyone's situations. So I would begin by saying for those who are able....i have been raked over the coals for being married and having a garden. Yes, I have gratitude for what I have and am not unaware of where many people find themselves who cannot do the same. We have so much work to do to better the world for everyone, but find ourselves going backwards. As things get worse in terms of climate change now being erased from government documents as if we no longer have to do anything about it, people will become more angry. The Rs efforts to increase the birth rate(white babies only) makes no sense.
And maybe this is the start of something bigger and that it may grow and expand might just scare the living daylights out of the oligarchs aka CEOs. Let’s get started. Let’s be in this for the long haul. No whining! No letting the quest for perfection get in the way of a potential growing movement.
Yes,I agree.We must do everything necessary to get rid of this vermin that has infested our government.I will support the February 28 effort.To not do so is to surrender in advance.We do not know ahead of time that this action will not have an impact.People are asking what they can do.This is something they can do from their own homes.
I don’t believe the people with the power, control and money will even notice or if they even hear about it up in their ivory tower do more than scoff at the action.
Of course they will scoff especially if a news camera is there to hear them but also know that they will be shaking in their boots at the potential of the people!
Doug has raised a concern that one day boycott could work for Trump, not against as he could select higher than average sales before and after, and if some prices go down he could say he has controlled inflation.
Trump will ALWAYS blame anything negative on Biden or someone else. ALWAYS!
We're not going to break Walmart, with a short term boycott, but there are consequences to their suppliers. Or Amazon, but Bezos depends on clicks for advertising revenue. Don't even log on to any of the Fascist sites. This includes Fox News, WSJ, New York Post, etc.
AMEN. I think a targeted boycott of all things Amazon or Walmart would be effective... but it has to last more than a week for Bezos or the Walton clan to take notice.
While I agree, my concern with boycotting Amazon is that we would be hurting the independent suppliers that use the services to sell their wares. It would not affect Bezos at all. But I have stopped going to them before anywhere else….
I started boycotting Amazon weeks ago. It has been my go-to for a lot of my everyday and personal stuff. Unfortunately, I still subscribe to Prime primarily for streaming.
One dilemma is that a wide-spread, long-lasting boycott could make economic life even more difficult for low-paid people at the margins.
I don't want to give any more of my money to bro-zillionaires. They can ride out any recession, far more easily than most of the rest of us. We have been watching for small businesses who talk about being careful about the environment. We especially appreciate Certified B Corp businesses.
David H, Many commenters here have seen my many rants about raising the minimum wage to $15.00/hour. NOONE in Congress has the balls to do this. Of course, startups and small companies may get hurt but right now, if someone is only making $10/hour by raising the wage to $15/hour for a full time employee would cost them $10k. I a small business doesn't have room to pay someone a living wage, should they really have employees?
Most companies would rather see their employees leave and then hire another untrained unskilled unknown person for $10/hour than to pay their trusted hard working employee $15 hour.
America has a "workers are widgets" mentality where we are ALL interchangeable.
Gary, maintaining a large class of people living in poverty facilitates forcing people to seek work to pay the cost of living. Raising the minimum wage would not spoil that stratagem, as people would begin to be able to take a vacation, and to save for retirement, and to pay for education, and to pay for car repairs, and so on. Years ago we referred to that as the "Middle Class". Today at least 30 million people are living in poverty, at least 11 % of our fellow citizens. The imbalance is obvious when we look at the percentage of money held by the billionaire class. At least part of that wealth was generated by those working class people living in poverty. More of the nation's wealth should flow from hand-to-hand at the lower tiers of the economy, for the sake of the "pursuit of happiness".
He points his little finger all over the place and everyone knows that. He will never be accountable. I think we're just going to see how long it takes, while we get going, for his base to 'get it' and maybe some of them never will but we will keep on!
Ellie, I support any action that people take at this point. Unfortunately, we have allowed a few companies to have way too much power which makes it much more difficult to make them pay economically. We try to buy and eat locally although we are careful to avoid restaurants we know are Rs. As for Doug's suggestion, we are lucky enough to be retired and not in need to spend too much money on goods. So it is much easier for us not to shop. People in rural areas are really up against it because they do have a whole lot of choices.
Agreed, Doug. While we should tread cautiously with such collective actions -- after all, the economy affects ALL of us, and punishing corporations eventually winds its way down to employees, which has a bit of cut-off-one's-nose-to-spite-one's-face feel to it -- I think there is a smart and effective way it could be done to send a message. It would need to be at least a week long. One day is merely a rounding error on a quarterly P&L. A week might get some attention. Target it mostly against those corporations that are major Republican/Trump funders (Target, Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot, Menards, etc...). Limit spending to groceries, dining at locally owned establishments, gas for necessary commuting. Avoid unnecessary purchases during that week, and even reconsider whether those purchases need to be made at all either before or after the week is up.
Yes indeed. I have noticed a couple things or words if you will, missing here: commitment and sacrifice. Am I truly ready for this? No matter the cost to me? Loss of friendship. loss of time. loss of money, going to jail, bodily injury. That and those things are the commitment and sacrifice. For me, the answer must be yes, I am ready.
I didn't say "lightly," I said tread "cautiously." But perhaps other words would have conveyed my intent better: deliberately, judiciously, purposefully. My point is don't do things that ultimately will inflict as much damage on yourself just for the sake of doing things.
On the other hand, I suppose, once most of have lost our jobs or incomes, it does leave plenty of free time for storming the Capitol.
As I said earlier, this may need to go on for a long time. A week? A month? A year. How much more stuff do I need. Shop locally, cook at home, don't go to the box stores. Write to folks that you admire. I think you are on the right track, Justin. Right now, I am boycotting all of those stores with the possible exception of Amazon as my husband recently self-published his book. I can hold out for a long, long time without any of those stores.
Use Amazon as a search engine ONLY! Find what you need, then go directly to the makers web page. Buy direct from the maker, and NOT Amazon. Works for me!
Related to this, in Canada there is a HUGE "Buy Canadian" and "buy local" movement underway in the wake of Trump's tariff assault which has nothing to do with practical economies. FB abounds with what is Canadian made, given so many businesses are branch plant American, but a number make use on actual Canadian sourced product. I've been a mildly patriotic Canadian, but what Trump is doing is tantamount to imperialist aggression. What a wake up call this has been. PS. At a Canadian hockey game the audience national anthem outburst overwhelmed both the singer and the tv announcer. AND if Canada were "somehow" the 51st state, that's like adding California to the mix, and that would be Dems would win forever.
Imperialist aggression! That is exactly what Republican Party of the United States is supporting!
I urge you all refer to the current USA administration as The Republican Party (or THE REPUBLICAN PARTY) and stop using the individual names of the various perpetrators of this fascist coup.
it's one way to honor our voice and do something that's IT! nothing more nothing less - since we have no power and our elected senators and congress people are doing nothing so we need to act in some way and will see if there's any impact or not but at least we did something.
It seems like one voice can't be heard. But when we all make these concerted efforts together, the impact is heard and felt. (Horton Hears a Who..from my kids' cartoon days...comes to mind).
That is really the only conceivable possibility. My suggestion is truly nonpolitical and patriotic Joint Chiefs instituting a temporary caretaker government, asking George W Bush and Barak Obama to serve as co-Presidents, possibly John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Katanji Brown Jackson as temporary Court, maybe Congressional Stand ins of John Thune and Hakeem Jeffries. After stabilization, then an election could be run in which no one who has been any part of Trump's cadre or who voiced support of the insurrection may run. A complete pipe dream, of course, but our whole system is being destroyed.
They will fail Frank, mostly because they will be ignored and chaos fill follow for weeks and months. It's going to keep us distracted while they concentrate on the international arena rearranging the world with Putin. Whatever maga accomplishes internally, could be reversed, no so what happens internationally. That's what should keep our military in high alert.
Bill Katz, you do not want this to happen. Based on my, admittedly unscientific, calculations a military coup would NOT come down on the side of the Constitution. Do you really want to release a heavily armed fighting force on US citizens without knowing what or who they'd be fighting for? There are too many MAGATs in our armed forces to chance this right now. If things go as we all fear they will, our best chance is to wait till more have seen the havoc this administration will wrought and come to their senses.
DG. You question how effective this boycott will be and say something more is needed. Your comments are often skeptical in a way that seems, intentional or not, to aim at discouraging protest. Please do not let 'the better be the enemy of the best.' Each protest is effective resistance in that people show up. And encourage more people to stand up. It gives us something to build on. Perhaps to 'a something more.'
lin*, I'm more of a cynic than a skeptic when it comes to the American consumer and business person. Example: if the 28th is a day to boycot any purchases but you need to fuel up the car, you'll do it on the 27th or the 1st. Same with groceries, and the business owners know that. We will participate in the boycotting and I look forward to hearing about the impact it had (if it ever gets reported.)
All I'm saying (and here's the skeptic in me) is that I think any effect, if indeed there is one, will be miniscule and momentary. Do this for a few days, or a week, and things change. But we've already diminished our purchasing — not for reasons of cost, as we live comfortably, but of not wanting to line the pockets of those who have fallen into line. Substack and Instagram are my only social media feeds, and I'm considering removing my Insta account. How about if we all declare a day or a week per month of boycotting FB, Threads, Insta, X, etc.? That would affect ad rates and be more effective than this idea of a single day.
It's true that I'm increasingly a skeptic of street protests, and I've participated in a few — mainly because I haven't seen anything in the way of calls for massive national protests — I couldn't find anything local for the Women's (or Peoples( March, for instance. But protests in general should be happening — unions across the US could declare a day of work stoppage: show up to work and then everybody leaves at a certain time (I’m retired though, and never belonged to a union.) Somebody else mentioned Blue states boycotting products from Red states, such as KY/TN whiskeys — I think that shows promise (I don't drink, so my contribution is null as it pertains to alcohol, but there may be others.) I'm strongly in favor of each of these actions, and leave it to others to come up with more that I could participate in.
I so want to do something (beyond writing postcards and donating, 2 things I've done and continue to do.) I do what I can, and am primed to do much more.
There are useful things suggested here. National strikes/boycots will work but only if they secure the energetic support (and dollars) of national organizations (including corporations with cajones) and their offshoots. I'm struck, too, since giving up my drivers license and shopping for my pharmacy needs and groceries how quickly I became sidelined from the interactive social flow of adult life before I mothballed my truck and moved to a college dorm for people over 80. It happens before you know it and has been quite shocking to me. The subtle cues that such as us should NOT talk about political matters is almost palpable (perhaps because we've lost the ability/inclination to do so) but also the extent to which these environments can reek of in loco parentis inclinations.
Boycotts against manufacturing corporations are often somewhat successful. Those corporations survive on their specific sales and profits.
Those same tactics against distributive corporations like Amazon and Walmart are less likely to be successful, especially when far more than a majority of the public are likely to either oppose you or turn a deaf ear because they need the food and products those companies provide.
My roommate and I survive on deliveries by Amazon. We mostly can't go shopping even locally because of cost and because we have medical conditions that make that difficult. We both live on social security in San Francisco and the cost of using local stores would be prohibitive.
We get a delivery every two weeks. I don't believe a short term "boycott" by us would be noticed and a long term boycott could be physically disastrous, leaving us without food or supplies.
Using the same tactics against a government are, IMHO, a compete waste of energy and potentially dangerous. Governments don't need profits. They can pick their enemies and ultimately they would pick us.
During the occupation of France during WW2, the most effective response to the Nazis was not open rebellion which was swiftly put down by the German occupation, but rather subterranean resistance.
I believe this is going to be a long haul situation. Trump and his authoritarian government is not going away because of a protest or boycott m they are in power because like Hitler, WE (all of us collectively) elected them.
They have quickly made it clear that they will use whatever means necessary to dominate us if possible with the appointment of totally incompetent leadership like RFK, Hegseth and Bondi (to name just a few).
Our ability to resist will require patience and endurance, things that are not easy to come by if you openly identify yourself as an enemy. That just puts the target on your back.
This will not be easy and it will not be short. They aren't going to roll over at the first sign of a boycott. Expect significant responses, including round ups of leadership and incarceration.
We are going to attempt to survive but also provide underground resistance wherever possible.
If I were in the Frisco area, Jon, I'd volunteer to either take you to the local establishments, or take a list and go for you. Anything to help you avoid Amazon or Walmart. Anybody out there in the Frisco area can offer up the help? Helping each other in the resistance is also going to be key in this effort. I'm in the Cleveland OH area if any help is needed here.
Sandra, I'll check out The People's Union. Meanwhile I've offered suggestions elsewhere in this thread, starting with declaring a day or a week of abstinence from social media per month (FB, Insta, X, and using Google as a search engine). Advertisers would quickly take notice, as would Meta and Alphabet who benefit from ads.
Doug...I know, I know, but it's a start that can escalate. I can do it. I'm going to be growing a garden this year and give away some as I go...a Victory garden. II think we need to try and through that we can help one another be strong as well as share resources.
Great point Dee. Growing a garden provides you with fresher organic produce. If you are unable to start your plants from seed, then purchase from a nursery or small local provider. On more than one occasion, when we bought plants from Home Depot they were infected with a fungus or parasites. They care about quantify not quality.
I got my tomato hating wife to suggest we have at least 5 tomato plants this year. She does like the sauce base that I make (tomatoes, peppers, and onions roasted in the smoker, pureed, pulp removed, and smoky goodness remains) and use in all the recipes that call for tomato sauce. I'm also thinking potatoes, onions, squash, peppers (more varieties!).
Sounds delicious Ally. My sister-in-law and my wife use the Traeger to smoke tomatoes. Wow! what a difference. My sister-in-law also purees them. We still have 6 months worth of tomato sauce in our freezer. 5 plants can produce a lot of tomatoes as you are aware. We have a local food bank that gladly accepts locally grown produce from gardeners all over the county. We try not to be wasteful, but we are, so it helps to have somewhere to bring the excess.
Not without a commercial kitchen. I do gift stuff; I also process culinary herbs, smoke both pepper and salt, and made some fabulous Guinness jam that I gave for Christmas.
Doug, I would note, aside from the 2/28 24-Hour Nationwide Economic Blackout, The Peoples Union, whose organizing is still in its early stages, also has launched The Amazon Boycott March 7-14 and The Nestle Boycott March 21-28. And, as noted, they’re just getting started.
As for our most vulnerable communities, that David H, who’s part of this thread, rightly referenced, if we’re serious about rescuing consensual governance from those intent on pulverizing it, then we’ll need to do whatever we can to work to ensure we all remain whole.
Barbara Jo, we've been doing the Amazon boycotting since Bezos obeyed in advance (with a few unavoidable exceptions.) I’ve tried not to buy Nestlé products for years (not always easy to do.)
I'm going to check out the People’s Union. Knowing myself as I do, I'll probably sign up.
Doug, I appreciate you writing. I would note my husband and I have boycotted the same and, as co-leaders of a recently launched Indivisible chapter, plan to do all we can to exact as much pain as possible on the small handful of huge conglomerates that have a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence.
Check The People's Union HOME page and mouse around there and see if it looks like the place to start aligning people from all over.....If not, you know it is there and what its objectives are, if wanted down the road. It looked promising to me as a start in the direction the WE might take.
Sally, To clarify, as a co-leader of an Indivisible chapter, my aim is to educate myself and our group about actions we can take to contribute to the nationwide effort to resist authoritarian and divisive agendas and to build a democracy that works for us all. It’s this mission that led me to The Peoples Union, about which, per your suggestion, I will find out all I can about how to exact significant pain on the handful of conglomerates that have a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence.
Barbara Jo, I wasn't as fulsome in my comment as I've been previously, where I stated that those with the least suffer the most already. They must not be made to suffer more (but will anyway, with the proposed reductions in SNAP benefits 😟 ). Rather, it's more directed at the middle class — which is where my wife and I are) and above.
I agree with you Doug. The grape boycott in California was only effective because it went on for a long time. And it eventually changed the lives (for the better) for all farm workers. As Americans we are so spoiled. What if we said, we will never order from Amazon again. Never go to Home Depot. Never go to Hobby Lobby. Look at the companies that support the MAGAs. Boycott them - for a long time. If everyone did - it would make a difference. Are you willing to resign your job? I did once, and glad that I did.
I quit many times, Penny. But I was working for myself so it didn't count 😅 I've since retired.
Seriously, people should consider pausing, or giving up completely, social media from FB to Insta to X and even Google (use duck duck go or similar) etc. That's an action that would cause advertisers to take notice of.
I'm closing my FB account (I don't use Insta or X). My husband has already done so. I've had some friends and family try to convince me to stay on it, to push for the Zuck to make changes, but that ship has sailed.
Canadians are boycotting many American products and targeting specific items like Kentucky Bourbon in response to Trump’s threatened tariffs of 25% on all products from Canada and Mexico plus an additional 25% on steel and aluminum imports from all countries. Even before these countries impose retaliatory tariffs the cost of virtually everything manufactured in the US is going to go up, a self inflicted economic disaster for all Americans. Trump doesn’t care because he’ll be collecting tariffs (actually another form of taxation) to pay for the massive tax cuts for billionaires. The time for Americans to use intense targeted boycotts on products from states that voted for Trump or products/services that support his oligarchs is now. The pain that is coming with the tariffs will far exceed the pain you’ll inflict on fellow Americans now.
Jim, it's 2 hours to Calais from our house, give or take. My daughter substituted as a pharmacy tech there a few weeks ago. I took the day off work and drove her up there. I explored St. Stephen thoroughly and went into about a dozen stores. The big box pharmacy store (PJC Jean Couto) was very interesting. Pretty similar to Walgreens, but some really interesting differences. Overall the shopping was better on the Canadian side than the US side and so were the restaurants.
It's not Montreal, but it had everything we would need.
I went through the border crossings 4 times each way. I saw the same agent 3 of the 4 times on the Canadian side. The last time he said, "see you in a couple of hours" as I drove away.
Covering for some who went to Montreal while we did their snow removal once and ours twice. I went to the Saturday protest again Portland had great conversations with a History teacher with an interesting history and a Maine House Rep. will try to be in Augusta Monday.
Christopher, I fully support Canadians’ boycotting of American products (and I’m 2nd generation French-Canadian, so I have a strong affinity for Canada anyway.) As for American whiskey, I no longer drink alcohol, so I'm already boycotting that. I think the notion of Americans boycotting products from red states is interesting. But it's one step closer to a civil war.
I appreciate your point about civil war so target the big corporations and oligarchs that are driving this insanity. But it’s also the senators and elected representatives that need to feel the pain they’re inflicting on their own supporters. Funding was withheld from Pennsylvania. The cuts to federal employees and programs affects all Americans.
Christopher, I wonder if the civil war has already started. The governor of New York is pushing back against her counterpart in Louisiana who sent an extradition warrant to her. Louisiana is trying to arrest a NY ob-gyn who prescribed mifepristone to a LA resident. Gloves have been dropped.
And as to federal funding cuts, that is the one thing which may arouse sufficient anger and pushback from enough Americans, even those who voted (or chose not to vote at all) for the evil one.
It reminds me of the Fugitive Slave Acts and the 1850 one that generated the most opposition in the North. Our family considered that act as the biggest increase in opposition to slavery, since the South tried to even more forcefully require Northerners to allow slave hunters to rampage through areas they had banned slavery in and even be forced to participate in capturing, them.
To us, the final insult was the Kansas-Nebraska Act when the founders' belief that slaver would gradually die out, in a quarter century or so, was so completely seen as going in the wrong direction.
There ya go Patty. And it only takes a few extra minutes to buy from somewhere other than Amazon or a big box store.
I remember when I was in elementary school, my mom would drag us 3 kids to the grocery store. But, she never went to just one. She would check the ads every week and go to three or four different grocery stores to save a few bucks. And back then gas was .25 a gallon so it wasn't like she was spending a lot driving from store to store.
That's been our approach as well, Patty. (But I need — or do I? — a pair of binoculars for a bird ID class I've signed up for. I won't buy them off Amazon, at least. I'd buy them from a mom-and-pop shop, but I can't find one nearby.)
You can have mine, if you want. At 90, I am no longer a birder. I don't use Amazon. they swallowed up the two best on line book stores for finding old books. Use your local stores for books, for groceries (local Co-0p maybe) Support your locality as best you can.
Thanks, Sally. I've been buying books from a nearby independent, and buy groceries (90%+) from about large but family-owned supermarket with a great reputation and presence around New England (Market Basket.) We don't have a co-op nearby; wish we did.
Nikon makes affordable, good, useful binoculars. Go direct to manufactures that you find by googling. You can skip Amazon and all that packaging we throw away, or hopefully recycle. Or use Amazon to see what makers they sell and then go direct. Good luck and happy birding.
A Slice of Reality: Trump is thoroughly enjoying every moment of his second Presidency and laughing at the discussion of every one of his “events”!
Liberals are saying things like SCANDAL and ILLEGAL and DAMAGING to the planet, the USA, to democracy. Liberals (in government and in Substacks) are growling and snarling and pontificating.
Trump is saying: Full Speed Ahead!! Try and Stop Me. Yipppeeee!!
Trump is saying/feeling/believing “I’m getting rid of the SCUM. Illegal? Watch - no one can or will stop me. We are BUILDING a Greater America. And his followers are totally in sync!
I’m saying - Trump is WINNING - Big Time!!
I am asking myself: Who CAN stop him?
Possibles?
The US Senate - NOPE
The US House of Representatives - NOPE
The US Supreme Court - NOPE
Governors? - maybe some of them
The Media? - NOPE
Late Night Comedians - NOPE
WE, the PEOPLE? MAYBE — Except for the 77.3 million people who are greasing Trump’s wheels.
Sorry, lin, but you didn’t understand me. Perhaps it’s my fault, but, we need to face REALITY! Trump is winning, we are losing AND we seem to have no defense - or offense, for that matter.
That’s about the most defeatist position possible. If you do to want to fight you don’t have to. But “little” things collectively add up. As for me, I feel better when I resist.
Sorry, ML, but that is today’s reality. It’s not “defeatist” to admit that your side is LOSING at the present moment. I have been endorsing a CIVILIZED War for many weeks now.
Paul- Join your local Indivisible group or other local action-oriented grassroots groups and pitch in for the fight. We make the road by walking not talking. We get to work instead of telling ourselves all is lost. We need you in the fight, and you will no longer feel hopeless once you know you’re not helpless.
Yup, I already have joined 3 PACs and no longer use META and Amazon, etc. I believe we need to “hit ‘em” where it hurts (pocketbook, mainly), BUT, what I was trying to communicate is not “hopelessness,” but REALITY. We are in a Deep Hole and there are very few RELIABLE power sources available to us. I’m 80 years old and have participated in many protests, etc. 1968 Democratic National Convention - Chicago, for example.
I agree that we need to do less TALKING and more WALKING, but right now, all I am seeing is TALKING and email requests for donations.
All excellent actions and they will attract others to do the same. Those accomplishments will lead to more opportunities to take action and more people participating and it will snowball into causing “good trouble!”
While I think it is good to motivate people into some action, ANY action, boycotts like these hurt small independent businesses. Our daughter is one of those people since she owns and operates a one person letterpress card business (ladypilot letterpress). I would rather see a boycott of Amazon (both on watching their channel and ordering), a boycott of anything with the Tesla name on it, a boycott of Home Depot and Hobby Lobby since they contributed to the orange turds campaign or any company that donated money to ANY republican.
One of the things I've seen in several places is "if you must buy, buy local".
I need to know more about your daughter's business. I have two 'lady pilots" in my family; my sister-in-law is a FedEx Captain (flying 777's) and her oldest daughter (our niece who got her pilot's license and multi engine ratings living with us) who is a UAL First Officer. I've bookmarked her website. I wish she did business cards...I need some!
Betsy, the most important part of your comment is "please tell everyone", "the more people the more effective " and " we the people can make a difference" Thanks for sharing.
A one-day boycott is just a trial run. Later it will extend to 2 days, 3 days, a week. The oligarchs are trying to train us. We must train them right back.
Thank you for a pushback. David Brooks wrote in NYT that federal government wemployees are willing to spend 60 hours a week to support citizens. We need to show our concerted appreciation to them to show our support now.
Let’s face it: Until we are all willing to take to the streets, crowd college campuses, city halls, capitols and courthouse steps with peacefully protesting hordes; until House and Senate Dems are willing to sling their bully pulpits every single day against the coup; and until and unless PrezMusk’s military refuses orders to shoot or blanket the crowds with tides of tear gas, then the path to tyranny is pretty clear — and will continue to go on as planned.
While I will participate, the effectiveness of this action is certainly questionable! Since a massive, or multiple massive peaceful protests would be used as a pretext to institute martial law, what is needed is a nationwide strike, and not just for one day! At the rate this administration, and the GOP congress, is working to destroy the country it’ll be over in a month (much less than the 53 days it took Hitler)! We are in a Constitutional Crisis and again unfortunately, there's only limited leadership being offered by the Democrats! Without some decisive actions in the next 30 days you can expect to bring in a klepotocracy run by Musk, using Trump as a clunky! Better wake up, or kiss our democracy and in essence, our country, goodbye!
Betsy, thank you. The entirety of the 28th it is. For the first time ever I am concerned/afraid to join the People’s Union, given what is going on, and that’s exactly why I plan to sign up.
… and keep calling your Representative’s and two Senator’s local and DC offices everyday with your concerns about [pick a subject]. A total of six phone calls. They need to keep hearing from us. Silence allows them cover to destroy.
A friend wrote a guest opinion for his local paper and gave me permission to post it for others to adapt:
In a recent letter to constituents entitled “The Amodei Report: Roundup of Presidential Actions”, MAGA Mark Amodei stated that a “90-day pause in foreign assistance fulfills President Trump’s commitment to ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
Amodei goes on to list a “few initiatives” funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Biden’s watch with which he apparently disagrees, and I quote:
— $2.5 million for electric vehicles for Vietnam
— $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala
— Hundreds of thousands of dollars to a non-profit linked to designated terrorist organizations, even after an Inspector General initiated an investigation
— $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia
— $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru
Now, let’s put on our Critical Thinking Caps, shall we?
According to the most recent full-year fiscal report for USAID, USAID spent $39 billion dollars on its mission around the world. However, USAID also carries out programs funded by the US State Department. Adding in those expenditures, USAID executed missions totaling between $50 and $60 billion in 2023, according to public reporting. Let’s use $55 billion as an estimate.
Apparently, Mr. Amodei has a gripe with the five programs he mentioned. The approximate total expenditure for these five is about $5.1 million dollars. Dividing $5.1 million dollars by USAID’s total expenditures of $55 billion dollars, we find that Mr. Amodei is apparently complaining about expenditures totaling 0.00927% of USAID’s budget!!!
In other words, Mr. Amodei is literally ignoring the remaining 99.9907% of USAID’s expenditures. One would wonder if he knows or cares what activities are included in 99.9907% of USAID’s activities? Do you, Mark? How about holding one of your very rare constituent town halls so that we can discuss?
A rhetorical point is being made, not a point of substance. In truth, Mr. Amodei’s email to his constituents is not a product of his own independent thinking about USAID, but instead merely a subset of 12 talking points distributed by MAGA, intent upon attacking USAID in districts around the country with the usual “culture war” messages. Fact-checker Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post has declared that 11 of the 12 are wrong: "The White House’s wildly inaccurate claims about USAID spending: Eleven out of 12 claims about the agency’s work are misleading, wrong or lack context.” https://wapo.st/3X2I77c
In truth, USAID performs the vital mission of supporting the U.S. government’s foreign policy by helping countries with economic development, disaster relief, and promoting democracy.
What has USAID accomplished in recent years with the other 99.9907% of the budget that Mr. Amodei didn’t mention?
Well, only saved over 25 million lives in Africa under a program started by President George W. Bush called PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), called by many the most successful humanitarian aid program in history.
What else has USAID done? Daily, USAID saves starving people in sub-Saharan Africa using a substance manufactured from Georgia peanuts, suppresses the production of cocaine in South America, fights to save the Amazon rainforest, and acts through its nearly 100 missions worldwide as a pandemic early-warning system as it provides rudimentary anti-viral health care for the poorest people on earth.
The eradication of smallpox was achieved by a collaboration between USAID and the CDC and the World Health Organization (from which President Trump recently had us withdraw).
The bottom line is that every year, again using the 99.9907% of the budget that Mr. Amodei does not mention, USAID saves millions of lives worldwide, promotes democracy, and promotes American “soft power.”
But don’t just take my word for it, listen to conservative former USAID chief under President G.W. Bush, Andrew Natsios. He says “the notion that the agency are criminals and all that, that’s a lot of garbage. It’s a lie, it’s an insult.” Simply Google "Andrew Natsios USAID", and you will find numerous interviews where Mr. Natsios explains all the good that USAID does, and why America is worse off without it.
It is an abomination that the wealthiest man in the world, Elon Musk, bragged on “X” about how he and his young coders and hackers “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the woodchipper.” The wealthiest man on earth is bragging about an action that will cause thousands and probably millions of deaths of the poorest people on earth, without any review by the U.S. Congress.
This is a sad, disgusting chapter in our country’s history, and Mr. Amodei is complicit, spreading defaming tidbits about USAID while ignoring its magnificent accomplishments for the world and for all Americans. I am disgusted that he apparently condones Mr. Musk’s “feeding USAID through the woodchipper.”
As Mr. Natsios has pointed out, true conservatives don’t feed agencies through the woodchipper, they make course corrections, eliminating the bad and improving on the good works being done. Musk and Trump’s approach is not conservatism… it’s nihilism and anarchy.
I call on Mark Amodei to think for himself, and to stop supporting the ravings of Elon Musk and Donald Trump, before it is too late. American foreign policy and American democracy are at stake. If today’s MAGA will lie about USAID and “feed it through the woodchipper", soon they will come for FEMA, for Medicaid, for Social Security, for Medicare and other programs vital to American citizens to justify the $4.5 trillion dollar tax cut for billionaires that they just proposed in the upcoming budget talks.
Wake up, citizens, before it is too late. As I write this, Donald Trump has abandoned Ukraine, essentially promised disputed territory to Vladimir Putin, and invited this man, a war criminal, to the White House. These are disgraceful moments in American history, and we all need to wake up and think for ourselves.
Especially our elected representatives, like Mark Amodei.
Musk’s real reason for going after USAID is because the agency’s inspector general was investigating whether Musk had deliberately turned off his Starlink satellites in Ukraine on several occasions before Russian attacks. He also has it in for the SEC because they are investigating possible securities manipulation. It galls me this guy gets our tax money and uses it to undermine our government. Trump illegally gives Musk and his incel hackers access to our government computers in violation of the Privacy Act and a whole host of cybersecurity laws and then permits them to alter coding to undercut Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.
Musk can’t even get a security clearance from the FBI because of his suspect business relationships with Russia and China, and his chronic drug abuse. Right now, Musk’s drug of choice is Special K, and it’s adversely affecting his concept of reality.
Musk bought the US government for $300 million -- $290 million in campain-related donations and his $10 million settlement with Trump for Twitter suspending him. He now owns the government and can do whatever he wants. What an investment!
Kathy, how prodigiously more craven and galling is it that tRump "gets our tax money and uses it to undermine our government”?!! He gets not just our tax money but he gets or got, or appeared to get the votes of nearly half the voting public!
Unlimited money in his pocket also affects his concept of reality and then you have the cumulative effect of drugs and money. What do we have to loose?
It has been written before that the cruelty is the point. For no good reason, it's pretty obvious to me, that racism is also the point. Vast numbers of people in Africa will die of starvation and it's a hell of a painful way to die.
When he said, "I am your retribution", he meant it and now he is inflicting it on everyone. His whole life has been about, if you hit me, I will hit back harder. So, we need to figure out a way to crush him.
Every. Stinkin'. Day. Both online, and in person. I have lost "friendships"* over it. I have also gotten good feedback, but that is from like-minded people.
One thing that I have slowly come to realize over the last 15 years (which is how long I have been doing work outside this forum) is that you cannot reason with unreasonable people. These are the people that LBJ mentioned when he made his famous statement: “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.” Every single time.
One thing that troubles me personally is the strong anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments that they post, and when I call them on it, they say "Oh, not you and your wife. You're "normal" lesbians. Not weirdos."
I'm reminded of the adage: You can lead a horse to water but cannot make him drink.
Jason, thank you. That is a powerful letter, and I'll use it. Especially disgusting to me was the gaslighting Musk did to all of us from the Oval Office, hoisting his son while denying that life-saving food for starving African children. That has to be called out in every medium we can use. And I need to increase the dosage of my blood pressure meds.
Well, God Bless you! Whatever you lost weren’t true friendships, but emotional extorting linkages. The sophistry with which our rhetoric is dismissed, is revolting. Being gay/lesbian obviously makes our brains mush. Being directly involved makes us biased. Being from a certain state renders our arguments invalid. We are subjected to straw men, illogical syllogisms, racist smears, all the cognitive biases and outright lies and misinformation. It’s maddening. Where is the referee?
as Jason Orcamoon's long (but well worth reading) post above notes, 11 of the 12 MAGA talking points about USAID, no doubt including the one about comics, are lies.
Fact-checker Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post has declared that 11 of the 12 are wrong: "The White House’s wildly inaccurate claims about USAID spending: Eleven out of 12 claims about the agency’s work are misleading, wrong or lack context.” https://wapo.st/3X2I77c
Appreciate you posting your friend's pertinent LTE. I appreciate the clearly articulated comparative size of USAID budget spent in relation to the infinitesimal dog whistle budget lines picked out by Mr. Amodei as justification for tanking the whole. The immorality and injustice of what is happening continues to be shocking. The Republican Party and a couple of Democratic (?) congressmen/women continue to serve their own interests by betraying the health and safety and interests of the American people. I can't help but wonder how foreign boycotts for Musk related products will impact president F Elon's ambitions? Go Canada!! Will we be able to count on our representatives when this all blows back on US economic security? I am cheering the noisemakers in our party. May they get louder and stronger and stay energized for the difficult fight ahead.
K Barnes - I'm getting used to the idea that there is no longer a conservative, Republican Party; just MAGA. And the MAGA reckoning is coming: Out of Chaos and Corruption, a Revelation and a Reckoning
Thank you for highlighting the accomplishments and importance of USAID. Mr. Amodei’s heinous and disgraceful comments and actions are reprehensible. It is astonishing to learn about how evil and destructive the elected Republicans in Congress truly are!
Jason…they don’t care…wake up yourself! No logic. No reasonings. No Law deters their goal. No proof of claims. No plan but to destroy, take the money, and Run -the World . No One Knows the Troubles ..MAGA expects the Great Bow Down…The dead are mere casualties of the grande transition.
Patricia - I am giving all this 100 days from the inauguration to settle out. I have yet to give up hope. Each day that goes by there are MAGA voters who are realizing that they were duped.
I fully expect MAGA to shut down the government on 14 March. I believe that this will happen because MAGA already has a talking point blaming the Ds.
What we need is a handful of House and Senate members to switch parties or go Independent and caucus with the Ds. If this hasn't happened by 1 May we will be in deep trouble.
I do not know one MAGA party member that disagrees with Trump. I am glad you do. MAGA believes Trump must totally destroy and he is going to build it back. Right now, I am looking for strong democratic leadership. No time like the present to point out the difference in Biden Cabinet and Trump cabinet. Top Ten accomplishments of Biden, no matter he is gone, the country can benefit from knowing his greatness. One of my most hurt moments is when the media asked Biden if Trump was responsible for the peace treaty in Gaza, he said "are you kidding me?'. That was the time for a rant, a time to set the world straight. I would be glad to Harris back out there but with a new message, one that tells the story of what the dems have done for this country and all out Tump.
Who didn’t see this coming. Vlad just stayed in the shadows and knew when to emerge. We have been played. Give chump credit, the flim flam man has made fools of those who subscribe to decency, honor, and dare I say DEI. I do indeed.
Indeed. The 'strongman's' policies are destroying us from within. The strengths of America past are being systematically cratered. If you've not, Dr. Snyders most recent post breaks it down in understandable terms. We've passed the point of crisis to deal with academically. I don't post there as he has a paywall, but I do read him and in many ways concur.
I haven't read that one yet but read Timothy Snyder's post a couple mornings ago detailing his train ride to Zaporizhzhia, the eastern frontline in Ukraine's defense against Russian incursions and attacks. He was going to an elementary school that has been built underground to avoid being blown up by Russian missiles that only take about 35 seconds to hit Zaporizhzhia from the Russian front.
I can't afford another paid subscription right now either but really love his writing and posts. I got his book 'On Tyranny' at the beginning of Trump's first horror show of a presidency. It felt scary and daunting to read it at first but was actually very helpful and even reassuring and empowering, so much so that I reread chapters of it quite often now.
Professor Snider was interviewed by Joyce Vance a few weeks back. It was really a great interview and at the end of the interview something he said stood out to me: "Admire the admirable..." I admire Timothy Snider and Joyce Vance, and, of course I admire Heather Cox Richardson too for all that they do.
Joyce: When I heard you speak recently, you offered some ideas for what people can do to prepare for and care for themselves during Trump 2.0. So many of us have taken your advice from On Tyranny, “do not obey in advance,”to heart. What other advice do you have?
Tim: That little book gathered the best that I have. Read books, longer ones than that. The flow of information is going to itself be erosive. Keep your mind going with concepts and words that don’t come from the screen. Meet people in real life. Hug your friends. Admire the admirable. Remember that it’s not on you to repair everything. It is on you to repair something. Usually some little thing. But it’s not on you to do it alone. Work with people you know, and get to know people who work. If you are not sure how to start, just find someone doing any good thing and join them. Be true to yourself. Remember who you are. And laugh when you can.
The piece you mention, from the train to Zaporizhzhia, was the most powerful writing I have seen in many years. I went out yesterday and bought a copy of "On Freedom" - from my local bookstore. No delivery from Amazon this time.
horhai, I have written everyone I know or am related to to exhort them to this call on VALENTINE'S DAY:
As I have grown ever more disturbed and distressed at the lawlessness in our nation's Capitol I find myself searching for ways to get involved, to DO something useful. With such feelings pressing me I find professor Timothy Snyder's recommendations in his book On Tyranny well-conceived, especially for those of us with a tendency to withdraw and lie low hoping it will all pass as the American people try to regain their sanity. To wit: That little book gathered the best that I have. Read books, longer ones than that. The flow of information is going to itself be erosive. Keep your mind going with concepts and words that don’t come from the screen. Meet people in real life. Hug your friends. Admire the admirable. Remember that it’s not on you to repair everything. It is on you to repair something. Usually some little thing. But it’s not on you to do it alone. Work with people you know, and get to know people who work. If you are not sure how to start, just find someone doing any good thing and join them. Be true to yourself. Remember who you are. And laugh when you can.
May you deploy Dr. Snyder's tactics with heartfelt goodwill today and in the coming days and weeks and months for however long it takes us to reclaim what we valued most about our form of government and our way of life. J
Christopher, if Putin has worked toward the dismantling of our government it’s only WITH the money and manipulation of SCOTUS and our electoral system by behind-the-scenes billionaires like the Koch Bros and Peter Thiele over the past decades! It is our own homegrown fascists who stand to benefit and literally profit from the oligarchy and/or kakistocracy they are installing!
"Two cars down sleeps a Ukrainian soldier. Spare a thought for him and for the other Ukrainian soldiers on my train, on their way to the front. They are, in every sense of the word, holding a line, not only for themselves and their country, but for all of us. But for their resistance, it would be a worse and more tyrannical world. They have been giving us a chance to stay on our side of the line for three years now, and at horrible cost. By comparison to what they have done for us, we have done very little for them."
That made me cry for all of those in Ukraine who have suffered and died.
I knew Trump could/would never support Zelenskyy because of the phone call that spurred the first impeachment. Vengeance is all he knows. Pathetic little man.
my heart breaks for them and their future. Putin has been given the pathway to walk all over them and assassinate Zelensky while he's at it. Trump has to pull out of NATO if he wants to break international law and invade Panama and Greenland, as well as try to take over Canada-!!!
Mitch McConnell. John Roberts & Co. The American electorate. These, not Trump, are the real destroyers, aren't they? Trump is merely the putrefaction and stench that comes from the rotting corpse of the republic.
Most Trump voters didn't vote for anything specific. They voted to unleash a menace and allow it to run amok. This is the result, and they are not able to understand the objections.
Trump is a symptom, not a cause of our internal rot. We neglected our system and took things for granted for far too long, and now we’re facing the horrific consequences of our neglect.
Mitch McConnell is a world class, world historical dick. If he thinks his puny too little too late votes not to confirm manifestly unqualified candidates for cabinet offices can redeem him, he is sadly mistaken. No one person, not even Trump, can be blamed for the situation we find ourselves in. But if one were to identify the single person most responsible for this mess, McConnell would be my nominee.
Even more, Jeff: Mitch McConnell used to be able to garner votes, used to have influence over his fellow Republicans, used to wield POWER. And, Mitch knows this. He sees his rapid decline - not just physically, but also strategically.
I wonder if he wants to switch parties - become a Democrat?? Let’s ask him if that is something he would like.
Jeff, I sadly fear you may be mistaken in that Mitch would have very little effect without the millions upon millions of dollars and organizing behind the scenes over the past 20 years by the would-be billionaire oligarchs like the Koch Bros and Peter Thiele, etc and most recently Elon Musk!
Leaving aside a long record of "sins," the bottom line is that he could have gotten the votes to convict Trump at the second impeachment trial (insurrection). That alone puts him in the hall of shame forevermore.
Have to admit - seeing Robert Kennedy Jr confirmed was deflating. As a physician, all I can think about are the numbers of people who are going to die in this regime.
And I remember the refrigerated trucks and mass graves during the pandemic in 2020.
The emperor Tiberius (emperor 14-37 CE) tried to give the Roman senate freer rein than had his predecessor Augustus. But the Senate fell into a habit of servitude under Augustus and was always eager to flatter Tiberius, who did not appreciate it. He was heard one day in disgust to utter a caustic aside while leaving the Senate, recorded by Tacitus: O homines ad servitutem paratos! O men fit to be slaves.
Of course, unlike the current creature the Republican senators are trying to flatter, Tiberius was a capable and diligent administrator, and a very competent general of some personal fortitude and courage.
O homines ad servitutem paratos indeed. It bears noting that Tacitus was one of Jefferson's favorite authors. Tacitus also wrote, cupido dominandi cunctis adfectatibus flagrantior est: Lust for power is the most flagrant of all passions. We see the lived truth of this. Gruesome, no?
I could add Tacitus' remarks about how the major orders at Rome, the senators and equestrians, rushed into servitude, and about how the emperor gradually assumed into his person all the powers of the republic, but I'm in the Roman capital of Gaul, and breakfast awaits.
And now Dumpf owns Adams. "Do whatever we want, or we revive the case against you." And no Republican bats an eye.
In 69 years I've only seen corruption on this scale twice before. And both times involved Republican presidents. Getting mighty sick of this "party before country" crowd.
While that's true to a degree, Dumpf didn't drag out an unpopular war he ran on ending for 3 years so he could be elected again. Nor did he turn Southern racists from the Democratic party to he Republican one. And all for his efforts at reelection in '72. It wasn't just Watergate I was talking about.
But, he at least wasn't so in-your-face blatant about it. He also didn't have a compliant press, or media echo chamber to help him along as well. It's hard to believe that the same paper that brought him down is the same one that helped elect the buffoon and his toadies.
Their refusals would have resulted in their terminations Steve. I prefer that they join the resistance. As insiders it would've been nice, but you must concede my point, that they would have been terminated for refusals to submit.
The Contrarian's Morning Roundup leads with this. ("Individual acts of courage and integrity"). I think I'd better go back to bed (it's 2 am) - I've got some reading/watching to do when my morning gets here! Cup of coffee.
I think Trump will spin the resignations to his advantage. Few people will recognize that she was a trump appointment. And his cronies move up the ladder. BUT IF SHE RUNS FOR PRESIDENT she gets my vote.
Really? She's a solid right wing Republican member of the Federalist society. I applaud her for her actions in favor of the rule of law but I would NEVER consider voting for a candidate like Sasoon.
We need to be careful when we position ourselves. Randomly directed adulation of people based on single acts can be just as dangerous as wide spread attacks by a nazi-like group of storm troopers.
Surely the Federalist Society is going to be talking about this. At least some. Surely, some have integrity. And, maybe, the more things that Trump has to aggravate him, the sooner he melts down.
Thank you. This was good and also encouraging. This corrupt behavior in the light of day is "not sustainable." In other words, the resistance will spread.
I saw this last night and confess that I was not persuaded that these resignations are "cataclysmic." Rather, I think Cohen and Elias are trying to hold a magnifying glass in front of any tiny glimmer of light they find in this environment of deepening darkness.
The only benefit I can see is the remote possibility that The Federalist Society might be offended enough to exert a little influence on their members of the Extreme Court to actually follow the Constitution when Musk's lawlessness comes before them.
Apparently, when The Federalist Society pushed Donald and the Senate to install their picks on SCOTUS, they didn't anticipate that Donald would later subsume the judiciary into his executive powers, making SCOTUS redundant.
I personally don't want ANYONE in our military to comply when 47 orders them to GAZA for his Middle Eastern Resort, nor into the various states to attack civilians. If I were in the military, I would resign.
The officers can resign their commissions. But all military personnel are bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and are only bound to obey LEGAL orders from their superiors. An order for troops to go to Gaza would be patently illegal: the US has no legitimate reason for any military intervention there. But don't think for a minute that T**** and Bibi won't try to come up with a reason for Marines in Gaza. It's so tawdry: it's all about the money. In the end, power-hungry though he is, T**** is just a common thief.
This is a nonsensical idealistic viewpoint. No enlisted person is going to voluntarily decide on their own that an order to go to Gaza is "illegal". We send people in the military every day to places that some might consider illegal. But the vast majority follow orders. And the penalty for disobeying such orders is at minimum jail (brig) and could be considered a capital offense (ie penalty of death).
You are living in LA LA land of you think enough soldiers in our more than a million person military are going to unilaterally decide that such an order justifies risking their freedom or worse their life by disobeying.
Officers in the military can resign their commission but enlisted service members can't resign at will. When one enlists in one of the branches of the military they sign a contract that releases them from service at the end of their End of Active Obligated Service (EAOS).
The resignations may mean that they'll be replaced with more pliable attorneys, but they have had the effect of raising the issue. The attorneys' steadfast refusal to kneel in obedience is something the press cannot ignore. It will be one of the matches that might finally light the fire under the dumbed-down masses of the all too tolerant populace. We need something, anything, that will bring people out of their stupor, to get this orange menace out of the Oval Office. By whatever means we can find.
Thank you, Kathy. These people, from ffpotus on down the line, have dishonored themselves and their oath.
The oath I swore carries with me in my status as "honorably retired" and expires on 12-31-2099. I'll expire long before then. I devoutly hope our Constitution does not.
Steve, I respect and honor these choices to resign, but their positions will just be filled with more flexible adherents to the cultist coup. Although they may have been fired for insubordination if they stayed and fought, they took the noble path.
I completely disagree. Their bravely has brought the details of the episode to the attention of the legacy media in a manner that would not have happened otherwise. Many more of us need to have their bravery. Apart from which, what they were being asked to do was ILLEGAL and a violation of their code of ethics!!
My heavens, Ally, thanks for this link. What an incredible story. It happened yesterday, but it will unfold further for a long time to come. Prime facie evidence of the corruption to come from the Trump DOJ and FBI. WOW!!
Remember in Trumps first term, it was the prosecutors who threatened to resign that kept him from hiring hacks that would do his will. Well, he’s now firing them faster than they can threaten to resign! It’s up to the people, now, with boycotts and general strikes, to bring this fiasco to heel. There aren’t enough scabs to fill vacancies if the workforce walks out. And imagine an empty Target, not for one day, but a week. Walmart especially. Empty parking lots. They will be anyway if entitlement programs are on the chopping block. Maybe GOP Senators might remember then who their constituents are! The Dems can’t do it alone.
Do you REALLY think the parking lots at Walmart are going to empty? I want what you are smoking. First half the people at least support this monster. And many more don't
care much if at all.. finally a large group of opponents live lives so close to the line economically that places like Walmart and Amazon are a real life line. I am in that latter group. Giving up Amazon for us would be tantamount to suicide. If you still have a nice income you can afford to shop at more expensive local stores. You can still drive to them by car. my partner and I live on Social security, and we can't drive anywhere (no car, significant disabilities). We DEPEND on Amazon.
My point is that it might be easy to talk about civil disobedience and boycotts for those with means but for many of us it is out of the question. I ask that you be at least tolerant that there are those of us who have more difficult lives that might not be able to survive without some of these means.
We live primarily on Social Security as well. I’m not talking about a permanent boycott , of course. My point is that those of us who do have limited funds have much more to lose in this Trump “economy”. He just said we will feel the pain
“ for awhile”. Not all of us, just the poorest. Certainly we can go a day or even a week without shopping at stores that will get a huge tax break on our shoulders? That’s the perspective that could lead to more reasonable governance. Yes, our single issue voters got us into this mess, some over the price of eggs, right? How’s that working for them now? While Bernie is calling for increases in healthcare, and Social Security, Musk is eyeing those sources for increased tax breaks for the 1%.
I live part time in an area that makes a complete boycott not feasible, but I don’t discourage, nor disparage those with a choice. When I return north where I have options I’ll join. Perhaps you should consider a move from one of the most expensive cities in the country.
I live on Social security only. Fortunately it isn't minimal but it's not a lot either.
I fortunately live in a rent controlled apartment based on an original occupancy in 1983. Our rent is about 1/3 of the normal 2 bedroom apartment rent in SF. It actually costs LESS than almost anything I could rent elsewhere unless I moved to a red state which I could never do.
Most people say they can't afford to live in San Francisco. I can't really afford to move away.
Everyone is different. I wish I had the luxury to live part time in one place and part time in another but I don't.
Maybe instead of lecturing people you might have the humanity to understand that someone else's circumstances might be different than yours.
I would rather imagine mass resignations in the Justice Department, leaving Trump with no one to defend him in court....other than Emil Bove. Would help me to sleep
At the same time as RFK Jr. being confirmed we have the worst Flu Epidemic in 15 years.
Democracy Labs created this map of the areas with the most infections - overlaid with the Congressperson and Senator for that area. The goal is to make it easier for people to know who to hold accountable for their votes.
Disruption in TB treatment protocols, which will result in further spread and more resistant cases, worldwide.
Dozens of cases of measles in Texas, with many children hospitalized (!)
Infant mortality rates rising due to Dobbs and other laws restricting access to necessary reproductive health care.
One in three women living in a "maternity desert" without access to obstetric/childbirth providers or facilities.
Women miscarrying, then being arrested and criminally charged with "abuse of a corpse" or even homicide; rather than given compassionate care for their health complications, and fetuses with no chance for survival.
States (Louisiana, Texas) sending extradition orders for doctors who provide medication prescriptions to women who need them (such as in states where care is legal, like New York.)
States ready to return to the Comstock Act and outlaw access to medications through the mail.
Ebola cases arising again.
...
and a regime where, apparently, cruelty is the point.
Today, we saw a principled prosecutor, who is a card carrying Federalist Society member, walk off her job because she refused to play “quid pro quo” with Assistant AG Bove and AG BonDEI. See, the powers that be thought that placing one of their own in a high position would get them what they wanted. Turns out that this young prosecutor has integrity that the powers that be weren’t counting on. Then when Bove directed another agency within the SDNY to follow through with their diabolical plan, 5 or 6 attorneys said “See Ya” also! Perhaps BonDEI will replace them all with toadies but maybe not as the lawsuits will mount against her. In the meantime, RFK, Jr. got confirmed because there isn’t a backbone to be had by the Repubs. Deaths are occurring, as we speak but it is the innocent who are dying, not the ones we wish to suffer. The best news I saw yesterday was Robert Garcia’s presentation of what a real dick looks like. <iframe loading='lazy' width='560' height='315' src='https://www.nbcnews.com/news/embedded-video/mmvo231769157585' scrolling='no' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
The ONLY way we succeed to cut through the muck is constantly challenging our reps in Congress with relentless phone calls and emails and to participate in demonstrations.
The bus boycotts in the south started small and grew, but the important point is that they started. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Start somewhere, keep it up, and let people know. 69.7 million people did NOT vote for the grifter so if 1% of people concertedly shut their wallets that’s 700000 people. The next time maybe it’s 3% and on and on. But we need to start.
It is disturbing how Republican senators who have had reservations about the unqualified Cabinet nominees change their minds after the nominee swears they will not do “ the bad thing” . Every single nominee has acted in the way they swore they would not. Is there no penalty for lying during Senate confirmation hearings?
Only if the Senate chooses to take action. Last I checked the Senate is controlled by the bad guys. They aren't going to charge anyone with perjury. They INVITE it.
Oh please, may there be more people like Sassoon and the others who resigned - we need them more than anything. Andrew Weismann described Bove's response letter as unhinged, laughable and without merit -- kind of describes the whole administration. I live in Brooklyn - and there is no way on earth I would vote for the corrupt Adams - throwing immigrants under the buss to save his corrupt skin. Thinking of Sassoon will brighten my day -- going to find her email and write to thank her. Also I love the fact that it was a young woman who had the courage and integrity to stand up to this toxic male administration.
Yes. Mr. Bove will always be remembered for his HOW DARE YOU YHINK ! letter. Let's see what the Court does now. And the NY Attorney General. And the voters, for as the saying goes, it's worse than criminal.....
We keep asking what we, the people, can do. Here is something that we can do. You may already have heard about it, but in case you haven't, please join in the economic boycott on February 28. There's a group called The People's Union USA
(https://jointhepeoplesunion.com/) that has been organizing it. I just joined, so that I can keep up to date and learn what further actions they're planning. This is a one-day boycott, but it probably won't be the last.
Please tell everyone you know about the boycott--the more people who take part, the more effective it will be. We, the people, can make a difference, especially when we all work together.
Betsy, I appreciate the effort, but I question how effective it will be. There will probably be a slight increase on sales on the day before or after. Were I on the other side, I wouldn't worry much about this kind of action.
What is needed is something more durably sustained, lasting weeks or longer, asking consumers to spend less on things in general, and eliminating non-essential purchases.
Like the Indivisible leaders say, we are in a time of needing to try a lot of different things, and some will work better than others.
I get that, Ellie. I'm just saying they should call for more meaningful changes to our buying habits to exert greater control.
Who's "they?"
"I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody." ~ Lily Tomlin
!!! I've been a reader of HRC for several years now, but until very recently I've not paid an awful lot of attention to the responses; I guess byl New Year's I had been sufficiently satisfied by the power of her analyses in and of themselves. More recently I began paying much more time and attention to the comments, too. My entire mornings for six weeks now have been totally consumed by that activity. I'm now fully retired since the pandemic, living alone in a retirement facility, cooked for by others, and have time to do pretty much what I want.
Since my late pre-teen years (circa 1948) when I first began to learn the art and sheer fun of banter, I also began to master the arts of argument and, later, the delights of snark (a lot of fun, yes, but very little productive outcome except for the entertainment of those immediately exposed to it). In HCR, however, our national cimmunity has a treasure, but I have to confess there seem to be more instances where our own reader comments do less to honor HCR's bodacious heart and intellectual power than display lesser character on our part than the heights toward which HCR's efforts reach. I take it as another sign of the stress on all of us that the constirtutional coup has placed on each of us.
By addressing this I risk, perhaps, coming across as a scold. Still, there is a difference between sound argument and being argumentative, between sharing hurt and paying back with hurt, between smaller pictures and bigger ones, between advancing a point and pressing it beyond readers' exhaustion, between keeping the eye on the ball and just bawling into the wilderness. HCR busts her tail for us every day. How we comment in her space -- and to each other -- should be guided by as much respect for her -- and the rest of us, too -- as she shows to us by undertaking her invaluable labors day after day after day.
'Nuff said. And thank you, HCR, one retired professor to one of us still in the traces.
Nicely said, Professor (Ret). I have noted that the general state of upset has infiltrated this space, and that there are more expressions that range from "snippyness" through "argumentative" and into "anger/profanity". It feels as if it has backed down from the more hostile messaging and is slowly returning to "the way it was".
I can say for myself, Deputy, (Ret.) and about 10 years younger than you, that this has been a very difficult time for me, as I watch both the disintegration of my government and all the standards which it upheld and the degree to which my retired cop cohort is eating this up like candy. It is hard for me to see people that I worked with (in the street, that I trained, I was in the training cadre with, I served in peer support with, and faced danger with buy into the "cost savings" that are decimating our nation and support wholeheartedly the grossly unqualified people being confirmed in positions of leadership.
It is hard not to be emotional when actions taken threaten your life as you know it. As women, we look at actions that are dismantling the gains we have made since the 1970's. As a lesbian, I see my very existence being threatened, my marriage being terminated (and my wife losing my retirement benefits because PERS follows national laws).
Yeah, I get a bit snippy, let the junior high brain out for walk, and slip into my second and third and languages of sarcasm and profanity occasionally. It is only because of all that is implied with your very well articulated "'Nuff said" that I do my level best to maintain the decorum this page deserves.
Hendrik .. I've only been a fan of HRC since last year when I became aware of Substack. Agree with you're observations & opinions of her genius.
Like many of the commenters, I’ve been struggling on just how to react to the buffoonery of the current administration, the complete capitulation of so-called republican law makers & how some people are just bamboozled. Do I resist ? Do I dissent?
Last night I remember a book of essays titled Paths of Dissent. It was published in 2022. Its a collection of essays written by veterans that have spoken out about the conduct of past wars and conflicts. There is one essay, What Good Is Dissent? written by Roy Scranton (Army Vet who served in OIF like me). What follows is the closing paragraph. I wish there was a link to the complete essay. It is truly worth the read and I believe it is my compass on how to go forward.
Thank you Roy for your essay.
v/r … tjb
"Today as we confront a global ecological crisis with no easy answer or simple answer, while at the same time being faced with an interlocking proliferation of social crises that range from rising inequality to the failure of democracy to the deeply disturbing effects of social media, we would be wise to ask ourselves what lies behind our dissent, what goals we hope to achieve and whether our means are consonant with our ends.
Speaking out may no longer be enough. In our time of flood & fire, much like the calamitous 13th century in which Saint Francis found his order, dissent may need to take form not in words but in deeds: not as yet another public profession of critique but as the solid accomplishment of repair.”
I agree!!!
Well said! Thank you for your wise comment, Hendrik. Yesterday's dueling perspectives coupled with reading about the archetypal Indra's Net (a view of the universe as a completely interconnected web vs a machine or disconnected parts) later in the day led me to an aha moment. Both perspectives described in yesterday's comments are valid--as are many others. Let's give ourselves some slack. It's understandable that we're all experiencing huge anxiety and fear at this time. We are dealing with new frightening situations; the old reactive dynamics are not working, and indeed are counterproductive. At the same time, we are facing the possibility of connecting with multiple perspectives in multiple ways across multiple differences like connecting nodes in a web. Imagine the strength we will amass when we link our diverse perspectives, views, values, languages etc together in a weblike way--not pit ourselves against each other in a linear tug of war. Let us leave the dualistic blaming, either/or thinking behind, and embrace our common concerns and goals in ways that strengthen us. Once we start thinking of ourselves as connected in a web, new transformative ideas and solutions will arise. No doubt, many from this forum.
Let a thousand flowers bloom. I think HCR does not ask for or require fealty or praise. We each comment from our own vantage point prompted by HCR's telling of the news. Her detailed knowledge of American history inspires, including the telling or it's implications. Her view is extremely valuable and trustworthy. No one can see feel or know it all. I think comments, respectful for the great most part, are valuable. People come to this from where they are in their heads. That is also a truth. That alone is instructive and invites participation and should be welcomed. We need community now. This is one place for that.
Democracy.
Hello Professor Gideonse. If your comment about being argumentative was directed to me, please let me clarify. In keeping with academic tradition, my question was just that--a question to spark further thought. It was not disparaging, arguing, or dueling. I have participated in this community of commenters for 4 years and treasure my reputation for posting respectful, constructive comments, often with resources to support our civil engagement, as Professor Richardson routinely advocates in her Facebook Chats.
I'm confused. What part of the preceding dialogue do you find argumentative and disrespectful?
I just wrote a snappy (my opinion) comment, but I get your gist. I stop reading comments when it becomes — not exactly what you said, but — doom scrolling.
Thank you, Hendrik, for this very well written post. There is a need to vent, but using junior high school vocabulary truly diminishes the point of view. Remember the old adage “Sticks and stones will hurt my bone’s but names will never hurt me” nor will they be effective in changing another’s viewpoint. BTW, I think that comes from my grammar school days:)
Totally off topic, but reminds me of another of my favorite Lily Tomlin quotes: "I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific."
I like it anyway; It has a place here in this thread, whether it's taken or not.
Humor in times like these is essential!
She also said, "We're in this alone...together."
Love and empathy…not quite alone, yet.
Bravo. I am in my 7th decade on this earth, and although I began my adult life as a social and political activist, not long after that I gained a family and a child and a career, limiting my ability to continue in that vein. I began to believe I had become a 'nobody.' But now I'm on the battlements again, doing everything I'm able to do to stop this madness that's taken over too large a part of our lives. And I'll keep on doing that, come what may. Small protests, large protests--a mighty oak begins as an acorn.
Reminiscent of Pogo: Somebody is us. We are the somebody.
My Dad, Sid, used to say that “even little birds know not to shit in their nest.” Now the little birds have targeted all our nests! What to do?
Ellie, I can't find the reference to “they” that I've made as I don't use the substack app (I dislike it on my phone.) It used to be that the words your comment were hyperlinked to the comment, but they no longer are, at least without the app. And I've made a lot of comments today, so I'm unsure.
But I agree with your sentiment completely.
Hi Doug, here's your comment from 15 hours ago:
Doug Gagne
15h
I get that, Ellie. I'm just saying they should call for more meaningful changes to our buying habits to exert greater control.
https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/february-13-2025?r=6pp8t&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=93399907
I sure agree it's hard to navigate these comments, and thank you for clarifying your agreement. A few others interpreted that I was chastising you, which was not my intention at all. I routinely remind ourselves that when we say "they," like Heather reminds us in her Facebook Chats, they = we to speak up and express ourselves.
Speaking of speaking up, we have a group of HCR Substackers who focus on civic engagement, also as advocated by Heather in her Chats. If you'd like more info, email:
heathersherd@gmail.com
Happy Valentine's Day!
The best comment of the day. Couldn't stop laughing.
I wonder if this is what the House Democrats are saying?
Beans and rice and maybe a chicken or two in the backyard. I agree with the buying habits. As I've said before, from Starman..."We are at our best when things are at their worst." AND When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
But Dee, no rice or beans from Goya, I hope, right? We've shunned that company since they supported voldemort the first time. We also don't buy from Chick fil A or Hobby Lobby (and haven'tfor years) because of their stances against LGBTQ+ members of our immediate family amd general population.
Boycotting Goya has definitely hurt their bottom line and they know it.
Also their anti-choice stand.
Beans, rice, Guajillos, flour and masa harina for tortillas. I'm just fine here.
AND I found a pork butt, tongue and some honey comb tripe in the freezer and lard for the tortillas way back there in the fridge! Hell, I may be doing more than just fine here! Menudo or Pozole Roja ? i can hardly decide.
Dee, I agree in some ways, but when I have or others have suggested this, there is a barrage of people who cannot seem to understand that we cannot address everyone's situations. So I would begin by saying for those who are able....i have been raked over the coals for being married and having a garden. Yes, I have gratitude for what I have and am not unaware of where many people find themselves who cannot do the same. We have so much work to do to better the world for everyone, but find ourselves going backwards. As things get worse in terms of climate change now being erased from government documents as if we no longer have to do anything about it, people will become more angry. The Rs efforts to increase the birth rate(white babies only) makes no sense.
And maybe this is the start of something bigger and that it may grow and expand might just scare the living daylights out of the oligarchs aka CEOs. Let’s get started. Let’s be in this for the long haul. No whining! No letting the quest for perfection get in the way of a potential growing movement.
This! ThankYou!
Step by Step. Pete Seeger.
https://youtu.be/dcBgUNz3EbI?si=lGhQjhYmBBA6hSmT
Excellent! Out of many, One!!
Doug, please check out these options
- join Indivisible - Ezra Levin and Leh Greenberg are building a great movement!
- https://generalstrikeus.com/
You gotta start somewhere.
Agreed, MLM. So make it a monthly event, or even weekly.
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
Doug, that is one of the things being suggested in this economic boycott; to shop at locally owned businesses.
And that's what we've been trying to do, as much as possible.
Same here, Doug. Local grocery chains and hardware stores.
Try, if you can, to avoid local businesses that support death star. That can be hard, but we do avoid certain restaurants here in Salem.
Good point, Michele.
Doug, for meaningful change check out these options:
- join Indivisible - Ezra Levin and Leh Greenberg are building a great movement!
- https://generalstrikeus.com/
Thanks Laine. I've already signed up for Indivisible (again).
Yes,I agree.We must do everything necessary to get rid of this vermin that has infested our government.I will support the February 28 effort.To not do so is to surrender in advance.We do not know ahead of time that this action will not have an impact.People are asking what they can do.This is something they can do from their own homes.
Agree. It’s a start!
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
I don’t believe the people with the power, control and money will even notice or if they even hear about it up in their ivory tower do more than scoff at the action.
Of course they will scoff especially if a news camera is there to hear them but also know that they will be shaking in their boots at the potential of the people!
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
Do you have other suggestions?
Doug has raised a concern that one day boycott could work for Trump, not against as he could select higher than average sales before and after, and if some prices go down he could say he has controlled inflation.
Trump will ALWAYS blame anything negative on Biden or someone else. ALWAYS!
We're not going to break Walmart, with a short term boycott, but there are consequences to their suppliers. Or Amazon, but Bezos depends on clicks for advertising revenue. Don't even log on to any of the Fascist sites. This includes Fox News, WSJ, New York Post, etc.
AMEN. I think a targeted boycott of all things Amazon or Walmart would be effective... but it has to last more than a week for Bezos or the Walton clan to take notice.
While I agree, my concern with boycotting Amazon is that we would be hurting the independent suppliers that use the services to sell their wares. It would not affect Bezos at all. But I have stopped going to them before anywhere else….
I started boycotting Amazon weeks ago. It has been my go-to for a lot of my everyday and personal stuff. Unfortunately, I still subscribe to Prime primarily for streaming.
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
I already do…
Just the first shot.
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
One dilemma is that a wide-spread, long-lasting boycott could make economic life even more difficult for low-paid people at the margins.
I don't want to give any more of my money to bro-zillionaires. They can ride out any recession, far more easily than most of the rest of us. We have been watching for small businesses who talk about being careful about the environment. We especially appreciate Certified B Corp businesses.
David H, Many commenters here have seen my many rants about raising the minimum wage to $15.00/hour. NOONE in Congress has the balls to do this. Of course, startups and small companies may get hurt but right now, if someone is only making $10/hour by raising the wage to $15/hour for a full time employee would cost them $10k. I a small business doesn't have room to pay someone a living wage, should they really have employees?
Most companies would rather see their employees leave and then hire another untrained unskilled unknown person for $10/hour than to pay their trusted hard working employee $15 hour.
America has a "workers are widgets" mentality where we are ALL interchangeable.
Gary, maintaining a large class of people living in poverty facilitates forcing people to seek work to pay the cost of living. Raising the minimum wage would not spoil that stratagem, as people would begin to be able to take a vacation, and to save for retirement, and to pay for education, and to pay for car repairs, and so on. Years ago we referred to that as the "Middle Class". Today at least 30 million people are living in poverty, at least 11 % of our fellow citizens. The imbalance is obvious when we look at the percentage of money held by the billionaire class. At least part of that wealth was generated by those working class people living in poverty. More of the nation's wealth should flow from hand-to-hand at the lower tiers of the economy, for the sake of the "pursuit of happiness".
yep, sales go down, people get laid off
He points his little finger all over the place and everyone knows that. He will never be accountable. I think we're just going to see how long it takes, while we get going, for his base to 'get it' and maybe some of them never will but we will keep on!
Since when does Trump rely on facts? The formula you propose is way too complicated for his feeble brain. If prices go up, it’s still Biden’s fault.
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
Ellie, I support any action that people take at this point. Unfortunately, we have allowed a few companies to have way too much power which makes it much more difficult to make them pay economically. We try to buy and eat locally although we are careful to avoid restaurants we know are Rs. As for Doug's suggestion, we are lucky enough to be retired and not in need to spend too much money on goods. So it is much easier for us not to shop. People in rural areas are really up against it because they do have a whole lot of choices.
Ellie,
The trying begins the actual!! Let ‘s begin and help this movement grow. Ours will grow like a happy vine. Theirs’ has grown like a cancer.
Yes. It is up to us. No one is going to save us.
Agreed, Doug. While we should tread cautiously with such collective actions -- after all, the economy affects ALL of us, and punishing corporations eventually winds its way down to employees, which has a bit of cut-off-one's-nose-to-spite-one's-face feel to it -- I think there is a smart and effective way it could be done to send a message. It would need to be at least a week long. One day is merely a rounding error on a quarterly P&L. A week might get some attention. Target it mostly against those corporations that are major Republican/Trump funders (Target, Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot, Menards, etc...). Limit spending to groceries, dining at locally owned establishments, gas for necessary commuting. Avoid unnecessary purchases during that week, and even reconsider whether those purchases need to be made at all either before or after the week is up.
I think “treading lightly” got us here
Yes. Bold action is required.
Do you hear yourselves “tread lightly”. Trump has ruined the economy. Time to unite in every way we can. Trump is not treading lightly
Yes indeed. I have noticed a couple things or words if you will, missing here: commitment and sacrifice. Am I truly ready for this? No matter the cost to me? Loss of friendship. loss of time. loss of money, going to jail, bodily injury. That and those things are the commitment and sacrifice. For me, the answer must be yes, I am ready.
I didn't say "lightly," I said tread "cautiously." But perhaps other words would have conveyed my intent better: deliberately, judiciously, purposefully. My point is don't do things that ultimately will inflict as much damage on yourself just for the sake of doing things.
On the other hand, I suppose, once most of have lost our jobs or incomes, it does leave plenty of free time for storming the Capitol.
I'll do it...the 28th of this month I'm starting.
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
As I said earlier, this may need to go on for a long time. A week? A month? A year. How much more stuff do I need. Shop locally, cook at home, don't go to the box stores. Write to folks that you admire. I think you are on the right track, Justin. Right now, I am boycotting all of those stores with the possible exception of Amazon as my husband recently self-published his book. I can hold out for a long, long time without any of those stores.
Use Amazon as a search engine ONLY! Find what you need, then go directly to the makers web page. Buy direct from the maker, and NOT Amazon. Works for me!
Related to this, in Canada there is a HUGE "Buy Canadian" and "buy local" movement underway in the wake of Trump's tariff assault which has nothing to do with practical economies. FB abounds with what is Canadian made, given so many businesses are branch plant American, but a number make use on actual Canadian sourced product. I've been a mildly patriotic Canadian, but what Trump is doing is tantamount to imperialist aggression. What a wake up call this has been. PS. At a Canadian hockey game the audience national anthem outburst overwhelmed both the singer and the tv announcer. AND if Canada were "somehow" the 51st state, that's like adding California to the mix, and that would be Dems would win forever.
Imperialist aggression! That is exactly what Republican Party of the United States is supporting!
I urge you all refer to the current USA administration as The Republican Party (or THE REPUBLICAN PARTY) and stop using the individual names of the various perpetrators of this fascist coup.
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
it's one way to honor our voice and do something that's IT! nothing more nothing less - since we have no power and our elected senators and congress people are doing nothing so we need to act in some way and will see if there's any impact or not but at least we did something.
Agreed Lynda, but let's do MORE.
It seems like one voice can't be heard. But when we all make these concerted efforts together, the impact is heard and felt. (Horton Hears a Who..from my kids' cartoon days...comes to mind).
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
I wish the good generals had declared a temporary military coup. I joined The People’s Union.
That is really the only conceivable possibility. My suggestion is truly nonpolitical and patriotic Joint Chiefs instituting a temporary caretaker government, asking George W Bush and Barak Obama to serve as co-Presidents, possibly John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Katanji Brown Jackson as temporary Court, maybe Congressional Stand ins of John Thune and Hakeem Jeffries. After stabilization, then an election could be run in which no one who has been any part of Trump's cadre or who voiced support of the insurrection may run. A complete pipe dream, of course, but our whole system is being destroyed.
Oh…I love this pipe dream. I keep wondering if it’s possible that something like this is covertly happening…
Maybe not so far fetched. Let's see how those judicial rulings go for one thing. If they fail....
They will fail Frank, mostly because they will be ignored and chaos fill follow for weeks and months. It's going to keep us distracted while they concentrate on the international arena rearranging the world with Putin. Whatever maga accomplishes internally, could be reversed, no so what happens internationally. That's what should keep our military in high alert.
Bill Katz, you do not want this to happen. Based on my, admittedly unscientific, calculations a military coup would NOT come down on the side of the Constitution. Do you really want to release a heavily armed fighting force on US citizens without knowing what or who they'd be fighting for? There are too many MAGATs in our armed forces to chance this right now. If things go as we all fear they will, our best chance is to wait till more have seen the havoc this administration will wrought and come to their senses.
I just couldn't press the 'like' button, but there is wisdom here.
Military coups are pretty much never temporary, Bill. Maybe work on a new idea?
Nope, and yes, Bill.
DG. You question how effective this boycott will be and say something more is needed. Your comments are often skeptical in a way that seems, intentional or not, to aim at discouraging protest. Please do not let 'the better be the enemy of the best.' Each protest is effective resistance in that people show up. And encourage more people to stand up. It gives us something to build on. Perhaps to 'a something more.'
lin*, I'm more of a cynic than a skeptic when it comes to the American consumer and business person. Example: if the 28th is a day to boycot any purchases but you need to fuel up the car, you'll do it on the 27th or the 1st. Same with groceries, and the business owners know that. We will participate in the boycotting and I look forward to hearing about the impact it had (if it ever gets reported.)
All I'm saying (and here's the skeptic in me) is that I think any effect, if indeed there is one, will be miniscule and momentary. Do this for a few days, or a week, and things change. But we've already diminished our purchasing — not for reasons of cost, as we live comfortably, but of not wanting to line the pockets of those who have fallen into line. Substack and Instagram are my only social media feeds, and I'm considering removing my Insta account. How about if we all declare a day or a week per month of boycotting FB, Threads, Insta, X, etc.? That would affect ad rates and be more effective than this idea of a single day.
It's true that I'm increasingly a skeptic of street protests, and I've participated in a few — mainly because I haven't seen anything in the way of calls for massive national protests — I couldn't find anything local for the Women's (or Peoples( March, for instance. But protests in general should be happening — unions across the US could declare a day of work stoppage: show up to work and then everybody leaves at a certain time (I’m retired though, and never belonged to a union.) Somebody else mentioned Blue states boycotting products from Red states, such as KY/TN whiskeys — I think that shows promise (I don't drink, so my contribution is null as it pertains to alcohol, but there may be others.) I'm strongly in favor of each of these actions, and leave it to others to come up with more that I could participate in.
I so want to do something (beyond writing postcards and donating, 2 things I've done and continue to do.) I do what I can, and am primed to do much more.
There are useful things suggested here. National strikes/boycots will work but only if they secure the energetic support (and dollars) of national organizations (including corporations with cajones) and their offshoots. I'm struck, too, since giving up my drivers license and shopping for my pharmacy needs and groceries how quickly I became sidelined from the interactive social flow of adult life before I mothballed my truck and moved to a college dorm for people over 80. It happens before you know it and has been quite shocking to me. The subtle cues that such as us should NOT talk about political matters is almost palpable (perhaps because we've lost the ability/inclination to do so) but also the extent to which these environments can reek of in loco parentis inclinations.
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
It is a start. We have spent all these years complaining. Unless you offer a better solution I am with Peoples Union.
Many boycotts have been effective. When Nestles gave away free formula to mothers in Africa in 1977. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Nestlé_boycott
Many babies starved because their mother's milk had dried up. This boycott even extended to Europe.
We need to go global with this if they aren't already.
Boycotts against manufacturing corporations are often somewhat successful. Those corporations survive on their specific sales and profits.
Those same tactics against distributive corporations like Amazon and Walmart are less likely to be successful, especially when far more than a majority of the public are likely to either oppose you or turn a deaf ear because they need the food and products those companies provide.
My roommate and I survive on deliveries by Amazon. We mostly can't go shopping even locally because of cost and because we have medical conditions that make that difficult. We both live on social security in San Francisco and the cost of using local stores would be prohibitive.
We get a delivery every two weeks. I don't believe a short term "boycott" by us would be noticed and a long term boycott could be physically disastrous, leaving us without food or supplies.
Using the same tactics against a government are, IMHO, a compete waste of energy and potentially dangerous. Governments don't need profits. They can pick their enemies and ultimately they would pick us.
During the occupation of France during WW2, the most effective response to the Nazis was not open rebellion which was swiftly put down by the German occupation, but rather subterranean resistance.
I believe this is going to be a long haul situation. Trump and his authoritarian government is not going away because of a protest or boycott m they are in power because like Hitler, WE (all of us collectively) elected them.
They have quickly made it clear that they will use whatever means necessary to dominate us if possible with the appointment of totally incompetent leadership like RFK, Hegseth and Bondi (to name just a few).
Our ability to resist will require patience and endurance, things that are not easy to come by if you openly identify yourself as an enemy. That just puts the target on your back.
This will not be easy and it will not be short. They aren't going to roll over at the first sign of a boycott. Expect significant responses, including round ups of leadership and incarceration.
We are going to attempt to survive but also provide underground resistance wherever possible.
I don't see any other easy way out of this.
If I were in the Frisco area, Jon, I'd volunteer to either take you to the local establishments, or take a list and go for you. Anything to help you avoid Amazon or Walmart. Anybody out there in the Frisco area can offer up the help? Helping each other in the resistance is also going to be key in this effort. I'm in the Cleveland OH area if any help is needed here.
Helping each other is going to be key! United in commitment to our country and each other.
I'm firmly commited to non-violent opposition and resistance as promoted by MLK,,Jr and liken our current situation much like that in Norway as Vikund Quisling tried to govern with Nazi oversight. I most appreciated what the Norwegian Teacher's Union did as described at https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/norwegian-teachers-prevent-nazi-takeover-education-1942
I learned they used paperclips as a symbol of sticking together, so I always have one on me.
Sandra, I'll check out The People's Union. Meanwhile I've offered suggestions elsewhere in this thread, starting with declaring a day or a week of abstinence from social media per month (FB, Insta, X, and using Google as a search engine). Advertisers would quickly take notice, as would Meta and Alphabet who benefit from ads.
Doug...I know, I know, but it's a start that can escalate. I can do it. I'm going to be growing a garden this year and give away some as I go...a Victory garden. II think we need to try and through that we can help one another be strong as well as share resources.
Great point Dee. Growing a garden provides you with fresher organic produce. If you are unable to start your plants from seed, then purchase from a nursery or small local provider. On more than one occasion, when we bought plants from Home Depot they were infected with a fungus or parasites. They care about quantify not quality.
Gary, HD/Lowes also use neonicotinoids on their flowers which is helping destroy the honeybee populations.
Buy Local. Grow local.
I got my tomato hating wife to suggest we have at least 5 tomato plants this year. She does like the sauce base that I make (tomatoes, peppers, and onions roasted in the smoker, pureed, pulp removed, and smoky goodness remains) and use in all the recipes that call for tomato sauce. I'm also thinking potatoes, onions, squash, peppers (more varieties!).
Sounds delicious Ally. My sister-in-law and my wife use the Traeger to smoke tomatoes. Wow! what a difference. My sister-in-law also purees them. We still have 6 months worth of tomato sauce in our freezer. 5 plants can produce a lot of tomatoes as you are aware. We have a local food bank that gladly accepts locally grown produce from gardeners all over the county. We try not to be wasteful, but we are, so it helps to have somewhere to bring the excess.
Lord have mercy, Ally, your tomato sauce sounds so delicious and healthy! Can you market it?
Not without a commercial kitchen. I do gift stuff; I also process culinary herbs, smoke both pepper and salt, and made some fabulous Guinness jam that I gave for Christmas.
Dee, I fully agree. But we should be taking care of each other even if Harris had won. I do what I can. Cheers!
Doug, I would note, aside from the 2/28 24-Hour Nationwide Economic Blackout, The Peoples Union, whose organizing is still in its early stages, also has launched The Amazon Boycott March 7-14 and The Nestle Boycott March 21-28. And, as noted, they’re just getting started.
As for our most vulnerable communities, that David H, who’s part of this thread, rightly referenced, if we’re serious about rescuing consensual governance from those intent on pulverizing it, then we’ll need to do whatever we can to work to ensure we all remain whole.
Barbara Jo, we've been doing the Amazon boycotting since Bezos obeyed in advance (with a few unavoidable exceptions.) I’ve tried not to buy Nestlé products for years (not always easy to do.)
I'm going to check out the People’s Union. Knowing myself as I do, I'll probably sign up.
Doug, I appreciate you writing. I would note my husband and I have boycotted the same and, as co-leaders of a recently launched Indivisible chapter, plan to do all we can to exact as much pain as possible on the small handful of huge conglomerates that have a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence.
Barbara Jo, I salute you and your husband! Cheers!
Doug, And I, you and yours. Onward!
Check The People's Union HOME page and mouse around there and see if it looks like the place to start aligning people from all over.....If not, you know it is there and what its objectives are, if wanted down the road. It looked promising to me as a start in the direction the WE might take.
Sally, To clarify, as a co-leader of an Indivisible chapter, my aim is to educate myself and our group about actions we can take to contribute to the nationwide effort to resist authoritarian and divisive agendas and to build a democracy that works for us all. It’s this mission that led me to The Peoples Union, about which, per your suggestion, I will find out all I can about how to exact significant pain on the handful of conglomerates that have a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence.
Barbara Jo, I wasn't as fulsome in my comment as I've been previously, where I stated that those with the least suffer the most already. They must not be made to suffer more (but will anyway, with the proposed reductions in SNAP benefits 😟 ). Rather, it's more directed at the middle class — which is where my wife and I are) and above.
I agree with you Doug. The grape boycott in California was only effective because it went on for a long time. And it eventually changed the lives (for the better) for all farm workers. As Americans we are so spoiled. What if we said, we will never order from Amazon again. Never go to Home Depot. Never go to Hobby Lobby. Look at the companies that support the MAGAs. Boycott them - for a long time. If everyone did - it would make a difference. Are you willing to resign your job? I did once, and glad that I did.
I quit many times, Penny. But I was working for myself so it didn't count 😅 I've since retired.
Seriously, people should consider pausing, or giving up completely, social media from FB to Insta to X and even Google (use duck duck go or similar) etc. That's an action that would cause advertisers to take notice of.
I'm closing my FB account (I don't use Insta or X). My husband has already done so. I've had some friends and family try to convince me to stay on it, to push for the Zuck to make changes, but that ship has sailed.
That's great, Ellen!
Hey it’s a start…
Yup. But keep it going and expand it.
Canadians are boycotting many American products and targeting specific items like Kentucky Bourbon in response to Trump’s threatened tariffs of 25% on all products from Canada and Mexico plus an additional 25% on steel and aluminum imports from all countries. Even before these countries impose retaliatory tariffs the cost of virtually everything manufactured in the US is going to go up, a self inflicted economic disaster for all Americans. Trump doesn’t care because he’ll be collecting tariffs (actually another form of taxation) to pay for the massive tax cuts for billionaires. The time for Americans to use intense targeted boycotts on products from states that voted for Trump or products/services that support his oligarchs is now. The pain that is coming with the tariffs will far exceed the pain you’ll inflict on fellow Americans now.
Actually, the way for us to beat the tariff conundrum may to be to go to Canada, buy consumables and consume them before coming back to Maine.
Hmmm. Vancouver is about an 8 hour drive for me. Might need to take a trip up to buy Canadian whiskey... and Cuban rum.
Go for it. What a great trip Ally. We are 5 hours from Montreal and about 8 from Toronto. Both great cities.
Canada has the power to close the St. Lawrence Seaway to American ships. Things could get really ugly if Trump continues on his tariff kick.
Jim, it's 2 hours to Calais from our house, give or take. My daughter substituted as a pharmacy tech there a few weeks ago. I took the day off work and drove her up there. I explored St. Stephen thoroughly and went into about a dozen stores. The big box pharmacy store (PJC Jean Couto) was very interesting. Pretty similar to Walgreens, but some really interesting differences. Overall the shopping was better on the Canadian side than the US side and so were the restaurants.
It's not Montreal, but it had everything we would need.
I went through the border crossings 4 times each way. I saw the same agent 3 of the 4 times on the Canadian side. The last time he said, "see you in a couple of hours" as I drove away.
Covering for some who went to Montreal while we did their snow removal once and ours twice. I went to the Saturday protest again Portland had great conversations with a History teacher with an interesting history and a Maine House Rep. will try to be in Augusta Monday.
And increase their tourism revenue! Wish I could, Jim!
Christopher, I fully support Canadians’ boycotting of American products (and I’m 2nd generation French-Canadian, so I have a strong affinity for Canada anyway.) As for American whiskey, I no longer drink alcohol, so I'm already boycotting that. I think the notion of Americans boycotting products from red states is interesting. But it's one step closer to a civil war.
I appreciate your point about civil war so target the big corporations and oligarchs that are driving this insanity. But it’s also the senators and elected representatives that need to feel the pain they’re inflicting on their own supporters. Funding was withheld from Pennsylvania. The cuts to federal employees and programs affects all Americans.
Christopher, I wonder if the civil war has already started. The governor of New York is pushing back against her counterpart in Louisiana who sent an extradition warrant to her. Louisiana is trying to arrest a NY ob-gyn who prescribed mifepristone to a LA resident. Gloves have been dropped.
And as to federal funding cuts, that is the one thing which may arouse sufficient anger and pushback from enough Americans, even those who voted (or chose not to vote at all) for the evil one.
I saw TRMS piece on that last night. Brava to the NY Governor!
It reminds me of the Fugitive Slave Acts and the 1850 one that generated the most opposition in the North. Our family considered that act as the biggest increase in opposition to slavery, since the South tried to even more forcefully require Northerners to allow slave hunters to rampage through areas they had banned slavery in and even be forced to participate in capturing, them.
To us, the final insult was the Kansas-Nebraska Act when the founders' belief that slaver would gradually die out, in a quarter century or so, was so completely seen as going in the wrong direction.
I am intentionally trying to buy just what I need.
There ya go Patty. And it only takes a few extra minutes to buy from somewhere other than Amazon or a big box store.
I remember when I was in elementary school, my mom would drag us 3 kids to the grocery store. But, she never went to just one. She would check the ads every week and go to three or four different grocery stores to save a few bucks. And back then gas was .25 a gallon so it wasn't like she was spending a lot driving from store to store.
That's been our approach as well, Patty. (But I need — or do I? — a pair of binoculars for a bird ID class I've signed up for. I won't buy them off Amazon, at least. I'd buy them from a mom-and-pop shop, but I can't find one nearby.)
You can have mine, if you want. At 90, I am no longer a birder. I don't use Amazon. they swallowed up the two best on line book stores for finding old books. Use your local stores for books, for groceries (local Co-0p maybe) Support your locality as best you can.
Thanks, Sally. I've been buying books from a nearby independent, and buy groceries (90%+) from about large but family-owned supermarket with a great reputation and presence around New England (Market Basket.) We don't have a co-op nearby; wish we did.
Nikon makes affordable, good, useful binoculars. Go direct to manufactures that you find by googling. You can skip Amazon and all that packaging we throw away, or hopefully recycle. Or use Amazon to see what makers they sell and then go direct. Good luck and happy birding.
Thanks, Sally. I've been looking at Nikon and Pentax, in the manner you suggest.
Agreed, something longer lasting. Our addiction to consumerism is our vulnerability but it is also the vulnerability of greedy corporations.
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
Doug, if enough people join this effort, 1. It will be noticed, and 2. It will be the first of many. Also, I recommend the following:
- join Indivisible - Ezra Levin and Leh Greenberg are building a great movement!
- https://generalstrikeus.com/
While you are right about sales on that day we have to try things. We have to resist. We have to fight like hell
I completely agree, George.
Without a doubt, George.
A Slice of Reality: Trump is thoroughly enjoying every moment of his second Presidency and laughing at the discussion of every one of his “events”!
Liberals are saying things like SCANDAL and ILLEGAL and DAMAGING to the planet, the USA, to democracy. Liberals (in government and in Substacks) are growling and snarling and pontificating.
Trump is saying: Full Speed Ahead!! Try and Stop Me. Yipppeeee!!
Trump is saying/feeling/believing “I’m getting rid of the SCUM. Illegal? Watch - no one can or will stop me. We are BUILDING a Greater America. And his followers are totally in sync!
I’m saying - Trump is WINNING - Big Time!!
I am asking myself: Who CAN stop him?
Possibles?
The US Senate - NOPE
The US House of Representatives - NOPE
The US Supreme Court - NOPE
Governors? - maybe some of them
The Media? - NOPE
Late Night Comedians - NOPE
WE, the PEOPLE? MAYBE — Except for the 77.3 million people who are greasing Trump’s wheels.
SIGH…. HOW CAN WE…..? Someone please help me!!!
Oh seriously. Who can help you?
Try Jessica Craven, Chop Wood, Carry Water. She will spoon feed you things to do. Doing them will help you. By helping the resistance.
Trump wasn't built in a day. Republicans at every level have been working towards this for a long time. Step by Step. It starts with one step.
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/
Sorry, lin, but you didn’t understand me. Perhaps it’s my fault, but, we need to face REALITY! Trump is winning, we are losing AND we seem to have no defense - or offense, for that matter.
That’s about the most defeatist position possible. If you do to want to fight you don’t have to. But “little” things collectively add up. As for me, I feel better when I resist.
Sorry, ML, but that is today’s reality. It’s not “defeatist” to admit that your side is LOSING at the present moment. I have been endorsing a CIVILIZED War for many weeks now.
Paul- Join your local Indivisible group or other local action-oriented grassroots groups and pitch in for the fight. We make the road by walking not talking. We get to work instead of telling ourselves all is lost. We need you in the fight, and you will no longer feel hopeless once you know you’re not helpless.
Yup, I already have joined 3 PACs and no longer use META and Amazon, etc. I believe we need to “hit ‘em” where it hurts (pocketbook, mainly), BUT, what I was trying to communicate is not “hopelessness,” but REALITY. We are in a Deep Hole and there are very few RELIABLE power sources available to us. I’m 80 years old and have participated in many protests, etc. 1968 Democratic National Convention - Chicago, for example.
I agree that we need to do less TALKING and more WALKING, but right now, all I am seeing is TALKING and email requests for donations.
Our entire extended family has been boycotting Walmart and Amazon since mid-January. Additionally, cancel your Prime membership.
Most cities have mom and pop grocery stores that Walmart hasn't driven out of business. For your necessities, try to buy local.
Stay off social media as well, because the advertisers make money off of clicks. No Facebook, Instagram, X, etc.
That's exactly what my family is doing Gary. Keep spreading the word please, the more we are ,the better.
All excellent actions and they will attract others to do the same. Those accomplishments will lead to more opportunities to take action and more people participating and it will snowball into causing “good trouble!”
We only buy at Walmart if we have to. That's not often.
Great idea!
Sends a message loud and clear.
Simply that
WE ARE HERE
I so agree! It may be a “blip” on the charts, but it shows that as you said, We Are Here.
Kathy, if we spread the word, the more the better, the blip might be a BOOM!!!
Ok, but I have heard date of at least one other credible boycott. People must act in unison for any boycott to succeed.
We can do that in this era because of social media like the one we are using here. Keep thinking and talking every one!
While I think it is good to motivate people into some action, ANY action, boycotts like these hurt small independent businesses. Our daughter is one of those people since she owns and operates a one person letterpress card business (ladypilot letterpress). I would rather see a boycott of Amazon (both on watching their channel and ordering), a boycott of anything with the Tesla name on it, a boycott of Home Depot and Hobby Lobby since they contributed to the orange turds campaign or any company that donated money to ANY republican.
One of the things I've seen in several places is "if you must buy, buy local".
I need to know more about your daughter's business. I have two 'lady pilots" in my family; my sister-in-law is a FedEx Captain (flying 777's) and her oldest daughter (our niece who got her pilot's license and multi engine ratings living with us) who is a UAL First Officer. I've bookmarked her website. I wish she did business cards...I need some!
Betsy, the most important part of your comment is "please tell everyone", "the more people the more effective " and " we the people can make a difference" Thanks for sharing.
A one-day boycott is just a trial run. Later it will extend to 2 days, 3 days, a week. The oligarchs are trying to train us. We must train them right back.
Thank you for a pushback. David Brooks wrote in NYT that federal government wemployees are willing to spend 60 hours a week to support citizens. We need to show our concerted appreciation to them to show our support now.
Let’s face it: Until we are all willing to take to the streets, crowd college campuses, city halls, capitols and courthouse steps with peacefully protesting hordes; until House and Senate Dems are willing to sling their bully pulpits every single day against the coup; and until and unless PrezMusk’s military refuses orders to shoot or blanket the crowds with tides of tear gas, then the path to tyranny is pretty clear — and will continue to go on as planned.
While I will participate, the effectiveness of this action is certainly questionable! Since a massive, or multiple massive peaceful protests would be used as a pretext to institute martial law, what is needed is a nationwide strike, and not just for one day! At the rate this administration, and the GOP congress, is working to destroy the country it’ll be over in a month (much less than the 53 days it took Hitler)! We are in a Constitutional Crisis and again unfortunately, there's only limited leadership being offered by the Democrats! Without some decisive actions in the next 30 days you can expect to bring in a klepotocracy run by Musk, using Trump as a clunky! Better wake up, or kiss our democracy and in essence, our country, goodbye!
Happy Valentine's Day!
My understanding is that this is not a one off, but that other, increasing longer boycotts, are planned.
Thanks for the referral, POWER TO THE PEOPLE !
On my calendar. Have already started spreading the word.
Betsy, I have informed everyone that I can. Please let us know what is coming up.
Betsy, thank you. The entirety of the 28th it is. For the first time ever I am concerned/afraid to join the People’s Union, given what is going on, and that’s exactly why I plan to sign up.
Love it! Love you! Happy Valentine's Day.
… and keep calling your Representative’s and two Senator’s local and DC offices everyday with your concerns about [pick a subject]. A total of six phone calls. They need to keep hearing from us. Silence allows them cover to destroy.
I’m planning on it.
A friend wrote a guest opinion for his local paper and gave me permission to post it for others to adapt:
In a recent letter to constituents entitled “The Amodei Report: Roundup of Presidential Actions”, MAGA Mark Amodei stated that a “90-day pause in foreign assistance fulfills President Trump’s commitment to ensuring responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
Amodei goes on to list a “few initiatives” funded through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under President Biden’s watch with which he apparently disagrees, and I quote:
— $2.5 million for electric vehicles for Vietnam
— $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala
— Hundreds of thousands of dollars to a non-profit linked to designated terrorist organizations, even after an Inspector General initiated an investigation
— $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia
— $32,000 for a “transgender comic book” in Peru
Now, let’s put on our Critical Thinking Caps, shall we?
According to the most recent full-year fiscal report for USAID, USAID spent $39 billion dollars on its mission around the world. However, USAID also carries out programs funded by the US State Department. Adding in those expenditures, USAID executed missions totaling between $50 and $60 billion in 2023, according to public reporting. Let’s use $55 billion as an estimate.
Apparently, Mr. Amodei has a gripe with the five programs he mentioned. The approximate total expenditure for these five is about $5.1 million dollars. Dividing $5.1 million dollars by USAID’s total expenditures of $55 billion dollars, we find that Mr. Amodei is apparently complaining about expenditures totaling 0.00927% of USAID’s budget!!!
In other words, Mr. Amodei is literally ignoring the remaining 99.9907% of USAID’s expenditures. One would wonder if he knows or cares what activities are included in 99.9907% of USAID’s activities? Do you, Mark? How about holding one of your very rare constituent town halls so that we can discuss?
A rhetorical point is being made, not a point of substance. In truth, Mr. Amodei’s email to his constituents is not a product of his own independent thinking about USAID, but instead merely a subset of 12 talking points distributed by MAGA, intent upon attacking USAID in districts around the country with the usual “culture war” messages. Fact-checker Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post has declared that 11 of the 12 are wrong: "The White House’s wildly inaccurate claims about USAID spending: Eleven out of 12 claims about the agency’s work are misleading, wrong or lack context.” https://wapo.st/3X2I77c
In truth, USAID performs the vital mission of supporting the U.S. government’s foreign policy by helping countries with economic development, disaster relief, and promoting democracy.
What has USAID accomplished in recent years with the other 99.9907% of the budget that Mr. Amodei didn’t mention?
Well, only saved over 25 million lives in Africa under a program started by President George W. Bush called PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), called by many the most successful humanitarian aid program in history.
What else has USAID done? Daily, USAID saves starving people in sub-Saharan Africa using a substance manufactured from Georgia peanuts, suppresses the production of cocaine in South America, fights to save the Amazon rainforest, and acts through its nearly 100 missions worldwide as a pandemic early-warning system as it provides rudimentary anti-viral health care for the poorest people on earth.
The eradication of smallpox was achieved by a collaboration between USAID and the CDC and the World Health Organization (from which President Trump recently had us withdraw).
The bottom line is that every year, again using the 99.9907% of the budget that Mr. Amodei does not mention, USAID saves millions of lives worldwide, promotes democracy, and promotes American “soft power.”
But don’t just take my word for it, listen to conservative former USAID chief under President G.W. Bush, Andrew Natsios. He says “the notion that the agency are criminals and all that, that’s a lot of garbage. It’s a lie, it’s an insult.” Simply Google "Andrew Natsios USAID", and you will find numerous interviews where Mr. Natsios explains all the good that USAID does, and why America is worse off without it.
It is an abomination that the wealthiest man in the world, Elon Musk, bragged on “X” about how he and his young coders and hackers “spent the weekend feeding USAID into the woodchipper.” The wealthiest man on earth is bragging about an action that will cause thousands and probably millions of deaths of the poorest people on earth, without any review by the U.S. Congress.
This is a sad, disgusting chapter in our country’s history, and Mr. Amodei is complicit, spreading defaming tidbits about USAID while ignoring its magnificent accomplishments for the world and for all Americans. I am disgusted that he apparently condones Mr. Musk’s “feeding USAID through the woodchipper.”
As Mr. Natsios has pointed out, true conservatives don’t feed agencies through the woodchipper, they make course corrections, eliminating the bad and improving on the good works being done. Musk and Trump’s approach is not conservatism… it’s nihilism and anarchy.
I call on Mark Amodei to think for himself, and to stop supporting the ravings of Elon Musk and Donald Trump, before it is too late. American foreign policy and American democracy are at stake. If today’s MAGA will lie about USAID and “feed it through the woodchipper", soon they will come for FEMA, for Medicaid, for Social Security, for Medicare and other programs vital to American citizens to justify the $4.5 trillion dollar tax cut for billionaires that they just proposed in the upcoming budget talks.
Wake up, citizens, before it is too late. As I write this, Donald Trump has abandoned Ukraine, essentially promised disputed territory to Vladimir Putin, and invited this man, a war criminal, to the White House. These are disgraceful moments in American history, and we all need to wake up and think for ourselves.
Especially our elected representatives, like Mark Amodei.
Voter
Reno, NV
Musk’s real reason for going after USAID is because the agency’s inspector general was investigating whether Musk had deliberately turned off his Starlink satellites in Ukraine on several occasions before Russian attacks. He also has it in for the SEC because they are investigating possible securities manipulation. It galls me this guy gets our tax money and uses it to undermine our government. Trump illegally gives Musk and his incel hackers access to our government computers in violation of the Privacy Act and a whole host of cybersecurity laws and then permits them to alter coding to undercut Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.
Musk can’t even get a security clearance from the FBI because of his suspect business relationships with Russia and China, and his chronic drug abuse. Right now, Musk’s drug of choice is Special K, and it’s adversely affecting his concept of reality.
Ketamine. I had no idea what Special K was. Now we all know.
I just looked it up, from his actions I'm thinking he's on acid, in fact, they all are.
Musk bought the US government for $300 million -- $290 million in campain-related donations and his $10 million settlement with Trump for Twitter suspending him. He now owns the government and can do whatever he wants. What an investment!
Kathy, how prodigiously more craven and galling is it that tRump "gets our tax money and uses it to undermine our government”?!! He gets not just our tax money but he gets or got, or appeared to get the votes of nearly half the voting public!
Unlimited money in his pocket also affects his concept of reality and then you have the cumulative effect of drugs and money. What do we have to loose?
He also is after the Consumer Protection Bureau because he wants to set X up as a bank, per WaPo story this morning. (Sorry, can't link to it.)
Thanks for writing this. When it all blows up and it will, Trump has someone to say it was "Musk fault, I trusted him and look what he did"
It has been written before that the cruelty is the point. For no good reason, it's pretty obvious to me, that racism is also the point. Vast numbers of people in Africa will die of starvation and it's a hell of a painful way to die.
When he said, "I am your retribution", he meant it and now he is inflicting it on everyone. His whole life has been about, if you hit me, I will hit back harder. So, we need to figure out a way to crush him.
Crush is absolutely the right verb.
💯 agreement in this forum. This forum is the choir. Have you shared this outside this echo chamber?
Every. Stinkin'. Day. Both online, and in person. I have lost "friendships"* over it. I have also gotten good feedback, but that is from like-minded people.
One thing that I have slowly come to realize over the last 15 years (which is how long I have been doing work outside this forum) is that you cannot reason with unreasonable people. These are the people that LBJ mentioned when he made his famous statement: “If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you.” Every single time.
One thing that troubles me personally is the strong anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments that they post, and when I call them on it, they say "Oh, not you and your wife. You're "normal" lesbians. Not weirdos."
I'm reminded of the adage: You can lead a horse to water but cannot make him drink.
But what is the solution
Jason, thank you. That is a powerful letter, and I'll use it. Especially disgusting to me was the gaslighting Musk did to all of us from the Oval Office, hoisting his son while denying that life-saving food for starving African children. That has to be called out in every medium we can use. And I need to increase the dosage of my blood pressure meds.
Well, God Bless you! Whatever you lost weren’t true friendships, but emotional extorting linkages. The sophistry with which our rhetoric is dismissed, is revolting. Being gay/lesbian obviously makes our brains mush. Being directly involved makes us biased. Being from a certain state renders our arguments invalid. We are subjected to straw men, illogical syllogisms, racist smears, all the cognitive biases and outright lies and misinformation. It’s maddening. Where is the referee?
Just think about when all this blows up, and it will, Trump has someone to blame.
This list of transgender comic books etc are not true. You know that right?
as Jason Orcamoon's long (but well worth reading) post above notes, 11 of the 12 MAGA talking points about USAID, no doubt including the one about comics, are lies.
I added a gift link to the WAPO fact check:
Fact-checker Glenn Kessler at the Washington Post has declared that 11 of the 12 are wrong: "The White House’s wildly inaccurate claims about USAID spending: Eleven out of 12 claims about the agency’s work are misleading, wrong or lack context.” https://wapo.st/3X2I77c
All their grievances are based on "other" differences and with MAGA's who doesn't like to hate, it's their shtick.
Appreciate you posting your friend's pertinent LTE. I appreciate the clearly articulated comparative size of USAID budget spent in relation to the infinitesimal dog whistle budget lines picked out by Mr. Amodei as justification for tanking the whole. The immorality and injustice of what is happening continues to be shocking. The Republican Party and a couple of Democratic (?) congressmen/women continue to serve their own interests by betraying the health and safety and interests of the American people. I can't help but wonder how foreign boycotts for Musk related products will impact president F Elon's ambitions? Go Canada!! Will we be able to count on our representatives when this all blows back on US economic security? I am cheering the noisemakers in our party. May they get louder and stronger and stay energized for the difficult fight ahead.
K Barnes - I'm getting used to the idea that there is no longer a conservative, Republican Party; just MAGA. And the MAGA reckoning is coming: Out of Chaos and Corruption, a Revelation and a Reckoning
https://lucid.substack.com/p/out-of-chaos-and-corruption-a-revelation
I expect the reckoning to occur in about one month, 14 March, when the government shuts down.
Thank you, Jason! There's lots about USAID online, here's a recent BBC article. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyezjwnx5ko
Thanks, Frank.
Thank you for highlighting the accomplishments and importance of USAID. Mr. Amodei’s heinous and disgraceful comments and actions are reprehensible. It is astonishing to learn about how evil and destructive the elected Republicans in Congress truly are!
Jason…they don’t care…wake up yourself! No logic. No reasonings. No Law deters their goal. No proof of claims. No plan but to destroy, take the money, and Run -the World . No One Knows the Troubles ..MAGA expects the Great Bow Down…The dead are mere casualties of the grande transition.
That dear is simply obvious.
A massive coup ?
Yup
Patricia - I am giving all this 100 days from the inauguration to settle out. I have yet to give up hope. Each day that goes by there are MAGA voters who are realizing that they were duped.
I fully expect MAGA to shut down the government on 14 March. I believe that this will happen because MAGA already has a talking point blaming the Ds.
What we need is a handful of House and Senate members to switch parties or go Independent and caucus with the Ds. If this hasn't happened by 1 May we will be in deep trouble.
I do not know one MAGA party member that disagrees with Trump. I am glad you do. MAGA believes Trump must totally destroy and he is going to build it back. Right now, I am looking for strong democratic leadership. No time like the present to point out the difference in Biden Cabinet and Trump cabinet. Top Ten accomplishments of Biden, no matter he is gone, the country can benefit from knowing his greatness. One of my most hurt moments is when the media asked Biden if Trump was responsible for the peace treaty in Gaza, he said "are you kidding me?'. That was the time for a rant, a time to set the world straight. I would be glad to Harris back out there but with a new message, one that tells the story of what the dems have done for this country and all out Tump.
This is awesome! Thank you!
This is awesome Jason
Thank you for these words of wisdom!🌻
Thank you for your post!
This is the greatest 5th collumn operation in the history of the world.
Russia is dismantling the US from inside.
The US is voluntarily relinquishing all influence and soft power globally.
The Russians can't belive they actually pulled this off.
Who didn’t see this coming. Vlad just stayed in the shadows and knew when to emerge. We have been played. Give chump credit, the flim flam man has made fools of those who subscribe to decency, honor, and dare I say DEI. I do indeed.
Indeed. The 'strongman's' policies are destroying us from within. The strengths of America past are being systematically cratered. If you've not, Dr. Snyders most recent post breaks it down in understandable terms. We've passed the point of crisis to deal with academically. I don't post there as he has a paywall, but I do read him and in many ways concur.
If you will, please see >https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-weak-strongman/comments?publication_id=310897&post_id=157101378&isFreemail=true&comments=true&action=post-comment
I haven't read that one yet but read Timothy Snyder's post a couple mornings ago detailing his train ride to Zaporizhzhia, the eastern frontline in Ukraine's defense against Russian incursions and attacks. He was going to an elementary school that has been built underground to avoid being blown up by Russian missiles that only take about 35 seconds to hit Zaporizhzhia from the Russian front.
https://substack.com/@snyder/p-156872999
I can't afford another paid subscription right now either but really love his writing and posts. I got his book 'On Tyranny' at the beginning of Trump's first horror show of a presidency. It felt scary and daunting to read it at first but was actually very helpful and even reassuring and empowering, so much so that I reread chapters of it quite often now.
Professor Snider was interviewed by Joyce Vance a few weeks back. It was really a great interview and at the end of the interview something he said stood out to me: "Admire the admirable..." I admire Timothy Snider and Joyce Vance, and, of course I admire Heather Cox Richardson too for all that they do.
https://substack.com/@joycevance/p-155132179
Joyce: When I heard you speak recently, you offered some ideas for what people can do to prepare for and care for themselves during Trump 2.0. So many of us have taken your advice from On Tyranny, “do not obey in advance,”to heart. What other advice do you have?
Tim: That little book gathered the best that I have. Read books, longer ones than that. The flow of information is going to itself be erosive. Keep your mind going with concepts and words that don’t come from the screen. Meet people in real life. Hug your friends. Admire the admirable. Remember that it’s not on you to repair everything. It is on you to repair something. Usually some little thing. But it’s not on you to do it alone. Work with people you know, and get to know people who work. If you are not sure how to start, just find someone doing any good thing and join them. Be true to yourself. Remember who you are. And laugh when you can.
The piece you mention, from the train to Zaporizhzhia, was the most powerful writing I have seen in many years. I went out yesterday and bought a copy of "On Freedom" - from my local bookstore. No delivery from Amazon this time.
I had our book club read it after it came out.
horhai, I have written everyone I know or am related to to exhort them to this call on VALENTINE'S DAY:
As I have grown ever more disturbed and distressed at the lawlessness in our nation's Capitol I find myself searching for ways to get involved, to DO something useful. With such feelings pressing me I find professor Timothy Snyder's recommendations in his book On Tyranny well-conceived, especially for those of us with a tendency to withdraw and lie low hoping it will all pass as the American people try to regain their sanity. To wit: That little book gathered the best that I have. Read books, longer ones than that. The flow of information is going to itself be erosive. Keep your mind going with concepts and words that don’t come from the screen. Meet people in real life. Hug your friends. Admire the admirable. Remember that it’s not on you to repair everything. It is on you to repair something. Usually some little thing. But it’s not on you to do it alone. Work with people you know, and get to know people who work. If you are not sure how to start, just find someone doing any good thing and join them. Be true to yourself. Remember who you are. And laugh when you can.
May you deploy Dr. Snyder's tactics with heartfelt goodwill today and in the coming days and weeks and months for however long it takes us to reclaim what we valued most about our form of government and our way of life. J
Horhai, Thank you so much for sharing that Q and A!!
Christopher, if Putin has worked toward the dismantling of our government it’s only WITH the money and manipulation of SCOTUS and our electoral system by behind-the-scenes billionaires like the Koch Bros and Peter Thiele over the past decades! It is our own homegrown fascists who stand to benefit and literally profit from the oligarchy and/or kakistocracy they are installing!
This is very true
Don’t forget the international fiasco caused by Hegseth and the alliance with Putin. Poor Ukraine!
https://snyder.substack.com/p/crossing-a-line
From the piece:
"Two cars down sleeps a Ukrainian soldier. Spare a thought for him and for the other Ukrainian soldiers on my train, on their way to the front. They are, in every sense of the word, holding a line, not only for themselves and their country, but for all of us. But for their resistance, it would be a worse and more tyrannical world. They have been giving us a chance to stay on our side of the line for three years now, and at horrible cost. By comparison to what they have done for us, we have done very little for them."
That made me cry for all of those in Ukraine who have suffered and died.
I knew Trump could/would never support Zelenskyy because of the phone call that spurred the first impeachment. Vengeance is all he knows. Pathetic little man.
Trump is stabbing the Ukrainians in the back the same way he did to the Kurds.
Let's just say he has taken a swipe at them for now. Zelensky just said "You missed".
my heart breaks for them and their future. Putin has been given the pathway to walk all over them and assassinate Zelensky while he's at it. Trump has to pull out of NATO if he wants to break international law and invade Panama and Greenland, as well as try to take over Canada-!!!
I don’t think he is welcome in NATO regardless. He can’t be trusted. Which puts us all in grave danger.
Capitulation to Putin is a damned disgrace. Hard to believe what we are seeing.
Mitch McConnell in 2021, "Don't worry. We'll lose our democracy only when hell freezes over."
Mitch McConnell in 2024, "Oh dear, my buddy Satan is catching a cold."
Mitch McConnell. John Roberts & Co. The American electorate. These, not Trump, are the real destroyers, aren't they? Trump is merely the putrefaction and stench that comes from the rotting corpse of the republic.
183 million of U.S. didn’t vote for this …
I'd bet the house, that more than that voted or would have voted with the 183 million.
Most Trump voters didn't vote for anything specific. They voted to unleash a menace and allow it to run amok. This is the result, and they are not able to understand the objections.
I suggest that they voted by not voting.
OR Jacko, more likely they were prevented or intimidated from voting or had their ballots challenged and/or thrown out or caught fire in ballot boxes!
Both.
Plausible, but likely more complex …
Trump is a symptom, not a cause of our internal rot. We neglected our system and took things for granted for far too long, and now we’re facing the horrific consequences of our neglect.
Plus the legacy media. They have coddled trump and mansplained his treachery.
Yes! This! (Normalizing affronts to our Constitution, and abrogations of our rule of law, separation of powers, etc.)
"Tool"
The Devil Incarnate = Mitch
His apologies are far too late, and he will be remembered as someone who enabled the destruction.
There are lots of theories on why Mitch is standing firm and alone on these cabinet votes. Personally, I think he's trying to buy back his soul.
Is it too late? Fingers crossed.
Mitch McConnell is a world class, world historical dick. If he thinks his puny too little too late votes not to confirm manifestly unqualified candidates for cabinet offices can redeem him, he is sadly mistaken. No one person, not even Trump, can be blamed for the situation we find ourselves in. But if one were to identify the single person most responsible for this mess, McConnell would be my nominee.
He must share with Rupert Murdoch
G'day JD I could not agree more. The poison in that one being has caused more damage to the west than anything else.
His contrary votes in a known lost cause are thin and laughable.
Even more, Jeff: Mitch McConnell used to be able to garner votes, used to have influence over his fellow Republicans, used to wield POWER. And, Mitch knows this. He sees his rapid decline - not just physically, but also strategically.
I wonder if he wants to switch parties - become a Democrat?? Let’s ask him if that is something he would like.
(I think I’m gonna barf….excuse me….)
Jeff, I sadly fear you may be mistaken in that Mitch would have very little effect without the millions upon millions of dollars and organizing behind the scenes over the past 20 years by the would-be billionaire oligarchs like the Koch Bros and Peter Thiele, etc and most recently Elon Musk!
Leaving aside a long record of "sins," the bottom line is that he could have gotten the votes to convict Trump at the second impeachment trial (insurrection). That alone puts him in the hall of shame forevermore.
Yeah, but he'll still likely get a statue next to that bloviator Rush Limbaugh.
Nice assessment, Jeff.
Thanks, Ally,
Have to admit - seeing Robert Kennedy Jr confirmed was deflating. As a physician, all I can think about are the numbers of people who are going to die in this regime.
And I remember the refrigerated trucks and mass graves during the pandemic in 2020.
Unbelievable.
Kennedy’s confirmation is icing on the cake for those wanting to destroy America.
Just wait until Ka$h Patel gets confirmed. I'd laugh but I need to cry.
Especially, when it was confirmed today that bird flu is infecting humans, evidenced by the Vets working with infected cows.
Doc, I can only imagine. I think it must be akin to what I, as a use of force instructor, felt when I watched when George Floyd was murdered.
The emperor Tiberius (emperor 14-37 CE) tried to give the Roman senate freer rein than had his predecessor Augustus. But the Senate fell into a habit of servitude under Augustus and was always eager to flatter Tiberius, who did not appreciate it. He was heard one day in disgust to utter a caustic aside while leaving the Senate, recorded by Tacitus: O homines ad servitutem paratos! O men fit to be slaves.
Of course, unlike the current creature the Republican senators are trying to flatter, Tiberius was a capable and diligent administrator, and a very competent general of some personal fortitude and courage.
O homines ad servitutem paratos indeed. It bears noting that Tacitus was one of Jefferson's favorite authors. Tacitus also wrote, cupido dominandi cunctis adfectatibus flagrantior est: Lust for power is the most flagrant of all passions. We see the lived truth of this. Gruesome, no?
I could add Tacitus' remarks about how the major orders at Rome, the senators and equestrians, rushed into servitude, and about how the emperor gradually assumed into his person all the powers of the republic, but I'm in the Roman capital of Gaul, and breakfast awaits.
"Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them." - Lincoln
I wish Lincoln could come back, even for a little while.
Wonder what would have happened if they had republican controlled social media.
Lugdunum! Half your luck. Don't keep the breakfast waiting.
The lack of effective opposition I presume.
And now Dumpf owns Adams. "Do whatever we want, or we revive the case against you." And no Republican bats an eye.
In 69 years I've only seen corruption on this scale twice before. And both times involved Republican presidents. Getting mighty sick of this "party before country" crowd.
Maybe it's time for another revolution.
Are you kidding. This makes Nixon look like a choir boy
And as my dad has said, Trump makes Shrub look like a statesman.
While that's true to a degree, Dumpf didn't drag out an unpopular war he ran on ending for 3 years so he could be elected again. Nor did he turn Southern racists from the Democratic party to he Republican one. And all for his efforts at reelection in '72. It wasn't just Watergate I was talking about.
But, he at least wasn't so in-your-face blatant about it. He also didn't have a compliant press, or media echo chamber to help him along as well. It's hard to believe that the same paper that brought him down is the same one that helped elect the buffoon and his toadies.
We are there Don. Details can't be exchanged on a publicly viewable site unfortunately.
The resignations are not going to resolve the lawlessness of the Trump administration. Stay and fight is the right action.
Their refusals would have resulted in their terminations Steve. I prefer that they join the resistance. As insiders it would've been nice, but you must concede my point, that they would have been terminated for refusals to submit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seOWzs6a8no
The resign and be visible viewpoint.
Another good link, Anne-Louise!
O'Donnell covered "Principled Resignations" last night as well"
https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-on-trump-s-doj-crisis-the-principled-resignation-era-is-now-upon-us-how-many-more-231952453752
Got him. Audio only. I went in through YouTube, but he says he's using Bluesky. Tomorrow, if I can sleep after all this.
I can't open this. There's a little "protected content, error 232403" sticker on it. But I can open Rachel Maddow and Jen Psaki.
Weird. I just got it of YouTube.
Yeh, so did I. Very weird.
The Contrarian's Morning Roundup leads with this. ("Individual acts of courage and integrity"). I think I'd better go back to bed (it's 2 am) - I've got some reading/watching to do when my morning gets here! Cup of coffee.
Aha! Thanks, Ally. I always like his Last Word.
I think Trump will spin the resignations to his advantage. Few people will recognize that she was a trump appointment. And his cronies move up the ladder. BUT IF SHE RUNS FOR PRESIDENT she gets my vote.
Really? She's a solid right wing Republican member of the Federalist society. I applaud her for her actions in favor of the rule of law but I would NEVER consider voting for a candidate like Sasoon.
We need to be careful when we position ourselves. Randomly directed adulation of people based on single acts can be just as dangerous as wide spread attacks by a nazi-like group of storm troopers.
Surely the Federalist Society is going to be talking about this. At least some. Surely, some have integrity. And, maybe, the more things that Trump has to aggravate him, the sooner he melts down.
Disagree. She was asked to do something that was in violation of her code of ethics!! How someone spins it is not the point.
Thank you for providing that link! I hadn’t quite thought about the resignations in that way.
Thank you Anne
Thank you. This was good and also encouraging. This corrupt behavior in the light of day is "not sustainable." In other words, the resistance will spread.
I saw this last night and confess that I was not persuaded that these resignations are "cataclysmic." Rather, I think Cohen and Elias are trying to hold a magnifying glass in front of any tiny glimmer of light they find in this environment of deepening darkness.
The only benefit I can see is the remote possibility that The Federalist Society might be offended enough to exert a little influence on their members of the Extreme Court to actually follow the Constitution when Musk's lawlessness comes before them.
Apparently, when The Federalist Society pushed Donald and the Senate to install their picks on SCOTUS, they didn't anticipate that Donald would later subsume the judiciary into his executive powers, making SCOTUS redundant.
When is submitting more noble than standing ground?
Let them be fired. It sends a stronger message to the American people. So far I don’t see a resistance to join.
I don't know.
I personally don't want ANYONE in our military to comply when 47 orders them to GAZA for his Middle Eastern Resort, nor into the various states to attack civilians. If I were in the military, I would resign.
The officers can resign their commissions. But all military personnel are bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and are only bound to obey LEGAL orders from their superiors. An order for troops to go to Gaza would be patently illegal: the US has no legitimate reason for any military intervention there. But don't think for a minute that T**** and Bibi won't try to come up with a reason for Marines in Gaza. It's so tawdry: it's all about the money. In the end, power-hungry though he is, T**** is just a common thief.
This is a nonsensical idealistic viewpoint. No enlisted person is going to voluntarily decide on their own that an order to go to Gaza is "illegal". We send people in the military every day to places that some might consider illegal. But the vast majority follow orders. And the penalty for disobeying such orders is at minimum jail (brig) and could be considered a capital offense (ie penalty of death).
You are living in LA LA land of you think enough soldiers in our more than a million person military are going to unilaterally decide that such an order justifies risking their freedom or worse their life by disobeying.
Officers in the military can resign their commission but enlisted service members can't resign at will. When one enlists in one of the branches of the military they sign a contract that releases them from service at the end of their End of Active Obligated Service (EAOS).
Yes. Leaving otherwise can be deemed as desertion and you can get executed for that crime.
The military have the Constitutional oath protection.
The resignations may mean that they'll be replaced with more pliable attorneys, but they have had the effect of raising the issue. The attorneys' steadfast refusal to kneel in obedience is something the press cannot ignore. It will be one of the matches that might finally light the fire under the dumbed-down masses of the all too tolerant populace. We need something, anything, that will bring people out of their stupor, to get this orange menace out of the Oval Office. By whatever means we can find.
I am an attorney and our oath to uphold the constitution is superior to any oath given to the Orange Menace or any other wannabe dictator.
Thank you, Kathy. These people, from ffpotus on down the line, have dishonored themselves and their oath.
The oath I swore carries with me in my status as "honorably retired" and expires on 12-31-2099. I'll expire long before then. I devoutly hope our Constitution does not.
It's tricky, but we sure need all the unbent officials we can get.
Stay and fight from within is the winning strategy.
But I cannot rejoin the Republicans.
Please see my comment about the economic boycott on February 28.
Steve, I respect and honor these choices to resign, but their positions will just be filled with more flexible adherents to the cultist coup. Although they may have been fired for insubordination if they stayed and fought, they took the noble path.
Or...stay and become the internal resistance?
Steve, don't you think they'd have been fired for cause? I do.
I'm sure they would have. And if not, the short lease given would strangle them.
Not if they made it clear they were following orders.
I completely disagree. Their bravely has brought the details of the episode to the attention of the legacy media in a manner that would not have happened otherwise. Many more of us need to have their bravery. Apart from which, what they were being asked to do was ILLEGAL and a violation of their code of ethics!!
The resignations and lay-offs are going to raise the unemployment and I wonder if there will be unemployment to apply to?
Lawrence O'Donnell did a great piece on that last night, discussing "Principled Resignations". It is worth the time.
https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-on-trump-s-doj-crisis-the-principled-resignation-era-is-now-upon-us-how-many-more-231952453752
Thank you. Stirring.
My heavens, Ally, thanks for this link. What an incredible story. It happened yesterday, but it will unfold further for a long time to come. Prime facie evidence of the corruption to come from the Trump DOJ and FBI. WOW!!
Agree. The resignations make it worse.
Remember in Trumps first term, it was the prosecutors who threatened to resign that kept him from hiring hacks that would do his will. Well, he’s now firing them faster than they can threaten to resign! It’s up to the people, now, with boycotts and general strikes, to bring this fiasco to heel. There aren’t enough scabs to fill vacancies if the workforce walks out. And imagine an empty Target, not for one day, but a week. Walmart especially. Empty parking lots. They will be anyway if entitlement programs are on the chopping block. Maybe GOP Senators might remember then who their constituents are! The Dems can’t do it alone.
Do you REALLY think the parking lots at Walmart are going to empty? I want what you are smoking. First half the people at least support this monster. And many more don't
care much if at all.. finally a large group of opponents live lives so close to the line economically that places like Walmart and Amazon are a real life line. I am in that latter group. Giving up Amazon for us would be tantamount to suicide. If you still have a nice income you can afford to shop at more expensive local stores. You can still drive to them by car. my partner and I live on Social security, and we can't drive anywhere (no car, significant disabilities). We DEPEND on Amazon.
My point is that it might be easy to talk about civil disobedience and boycotts for those with means but for many of us it is out of the question. I ask that you be at least tolerant that there are those of us who have more difficult lives that might not be able to survive without some of these means.
Hi Jon,
We live primarily on Social Security as well. I’m not talking about a permanent boycott , of course. My point is that those of us who do have limited funds have much more to lose in this Trump “economy”. He just said we will feel the pain
“ for awhile”. Not all of us, just the poorest. Certainly we can go a day or even a week without shopping at stores that will get a huge tax break on our shoulders? That’s the perspective that could lead to more reasonable governance. Yes, our single issue voters got us into this mess, some over the price of eggs, right? How’s that working for them now? While Bernie is calling for increases in healthcare, and Social Security, Musk is eyeing those sources for increased tax breaks for the 1%.
I live part time in an area that makes a complete boycott not feasible, but I don’t discourage, nor disparage those with a choice. When I return north where I have options I’ll join. Perhaps you should consider a move from one of the most expensive cities in the country.
I live on Social security only. Fortunately it isn't minimal but it's not a lot either.
I fortunately live in a rent controlled apartment based on an original occupancy in 1983. Our rent is about 1/3 of the normal 2 bedroom apartment rent in SF. It actually costs LESS than almost anything I could rent elsewhere unless I moved to a red state which I could never do.
Most people say they can't afford to live in San Francisco. I can't really afford to move away.
Everyone is different. I wish I had the luxury to live part time in one place and part time in another but I don't.
Maybe instead of lecturing people you might have the humanity to understand that someone else's circumstances might be different than yours.
I would rather imagine mass resignations in the Justice Department, leaving Trump with no one to defend him in court....other than Emil Bove. Would help me to sleep
At the same time as RFK Jr. being confirmed we have the worst Flu Epidemic in 15 years.
Democracy Labs created this map of the areas with the most infections - overlaid with the Congressperson and Senator for that area. The goal is to make it easier for people to know who to hold accountable for their votes.
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/02/12/deadliest-flu-epidemic-in-15-years-check-your-risk-level-with-this-map/
Bird flu case confirmed in Ohio.
TB outbreak/epidemic in Kansas.
Disruption in TB treatment protocols, which will result in further spread and more resistant cases, worldwide.
Dozens of cases of measles in Texas, with many children hospitalized (!)
Infant mortality rates rising due to Dobbs and other laws restricting access to necessary reproductive health care.
One in three women living in a "maternity desert" without access to obstetric/childbirth providers or facilities.
Women miscarrying, then being arrested and criminally charged with "abuse of a corpse" or even homicide; rather than given compassionate care for their health complications, and fetuses with no chance for survival.
States (Louisiana, Texas) sending extradition orders for doctors who provide medication prescriptions to women who need them (such as in states where care is legal, like New York.)
States ready to return to the Comstock Act and outlaw access to medications through the mail.
Ebola cases arising again.
...
and a regime where, apparently, cruelty is the point.
I can confirm your accuracy on the medical points. I've two adult children on the front lines.
Thank them for me, D4N.
Today, we saw a principled prosecutor, who is a card carrying Federalist Society member, walk off her job because she refused to play “quid pro quo” with Assistant AG Bove and AG BonDEI. See, the powers that be thought that placing one of their own in a high position would get them what they wanted. Turns out that this young prosecutor has integrity that the powers that be weren’t counting on. Then when Bove directed another agency within the SDNY to follow through with their diabolical plan, 5 or 6 attorneys said “See Ya” also! Perhaps BonDEI will replace them all with toadies but maybe not as the lawsuits will mount against her. In the meantime, RFK, Jr. got confirmed because there isn’t a backbone to be had by the Repubs. Deaths are occurring, as we speak but it is the innocent who are dying, not the ones we wish to suffer. The best news I saw yesterday was Robert Garcia’s presentation of what a real dick looks like. <iframe loading='lazy' width='560' height='315' src='https://www.nbcnews.com/news/embedded-video/mmvo231769157585' scrolling='no' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen></iframe>
The ONLY way we succeed to cut through the muck is constantly challenging our reps in Congress with relentless phone calls and emails and to participate in demonstrations.
Thanks for this!
The bus boycotts in the south started small and grew, but the important point is that they started. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Start somewhere, keep it up, and let people know. 69.7 million people did NOT vote for the grifter so if 1% of people concertedly shut their wallets that’s 700000 people. The next time maybe it’s 3% and on and on. But we need to start.
It is disturbing how Republican senators who have had reservations about the unqualified Cabinet nominees change their minds after the nominee swears they will not do “ the bad thing” . Every single nominee has acted in the way they swore they would not. Is there no penalty for lying during Senate confirmation hearings?
Only if the Senate chooses to take action. Last I checked the Senate is controlled by the bad guys. They aren't going to charge anyone with perjury. They INVITE it.
Oh please, may there be more people like Sassoon and the others who resigned - we need them more than anything. Andrew Weismann described Bove's response letter as unhinged, laughable and without merit -- kind of describes the whole administration. I live in Brooklyn - and there is no way on earth I would vote for the corrupt Adams - throwing immigrants under the buss to save his corrupt skin. Thinking of Sassoon will brighten my day -- going to find her email and write to thank her. Also I love the fact that it was a young woman who had the courage and integrity to stand up to this toxic male administration.
Yes. Mr. Bove will always be remembered for his HOW DARE YOU YHINK ! letter. Let's see what the Court does now. And the NY Attorney General. And the voters, for as the saying goes, it's worse than criminal.....