Speaking at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, today, President Biden continued to define this global moment as one in which democracies are defending their way of life against rising authoritarianism. Biden’s speech followed his surprise visit to Kyiv yesterday, a visit that demonstrated for the world that Putin has failed to take the city in a year of brutal assaults. It built on Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech to the Munich Security Conference saying that Russian atrocities in Ukraine are crimes against humanity. And it built on the fact that the U.S. sent the largest delegation ever to the conference and that the delegation was bipartisan.
Scrolling through the top couple threads of the comments yesterday, and hoo boy, y'all, I could I feel the anxiety emanating off the screen! Some of y'all are back in election anticipation terror mode almost two years ahead, with a side order of despairing over the national discourse. I get it. Me too. But gather in, because it is time for a pep talk.
The primary election took place today in Wisconsin to fill an upcoming vacancy of the state Supreme Court. If a liberal judge wins in April, ideological control of the court will switch. The ramifications would be enormous. Cases would be brought - and almost certainly succeed - to throw out the state and federal gerrymanders, overturn voting restrictions, nullify the state's abortion ban, give boosts to unions, and much more. Four judges were on the ballot in what is usually a low turnout affair. Democratic endorsee Janet Protaseiwicz, who has been explicit she is running to save democracy and personal freedoms, came out first. Yay. But here's the kicker: she received slightly more votes than the two conservative challengers *put together*, and a second liberal candidate took an *additional* 7.5% of the vote.
This is Wisconsin. Do I gotta tell y'all whether an 8-point democratic preference in Wisconsin is impressive? It's impressive.
Over in Virginia, Jennifer McClellan won her special Congressional election too. Her district was D+35 for Biden, and D+13 in the '21 gubernatorial. She won today by 48 points. A nearby special state Senate election was held in recent days. Dems flipped it, solidifying their control of that chamber.
In Pennsylvania, Dems also recently put a bow on their newfound control of the state legislature there, not just winning all three special elections held, but outdoing Biden's wide margins by double digits.
This is what being on the winning team looks like.
Political control is numbers and gamesmanship. Feelings don't really enter the picture. I know, I know. Most of us here are big liberals with bigger feelings, and right now we have the biggest sense of concern! It doesn't *feel* like we're winning, because we see crazy people in positions of power, and that doesn't *feel* safe. We just want to *feel* like we know it's going to be ok and that no bad people will ever be in charge anywhere, and we don't *feel* that yet.
But, my friends, that is where we get into trouble.
We have all been traumatized these last few years by the madness in our country. Yes, that is what we are feeling: patriotic trauma. Trauma builds anxiety. Anxiety convinces you to doubt and second-guess and triple-check and think and think and think, sending you on a mental wild goose chase to find the feeling of cosmic safety and certainty that life just can't seem to give you, to crack the code, to find THE ANSWER as to what to think and say and do to make sure the things you want to happen happen, and the things you do not want to happen do not.
How do I know this? Hard experience, my friends. I have three overlapping mental health disorders: the poorly-named Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the poorly-portrayed-on-TV Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Major Depressive Recurrent. I'll spare the gory clinical details of what these each entail. I will simply say that there is a common denomination among all three of these dark clouds that make up this perfect storm, and that is that they are all very good at convincing my entire brain and body that something feels very wrong with everything, even when nothing is actually wrong with anything. The silver lining if years of therapy is that I have been forced - out of the necessity of survival - to realize that feelings are not facts. When your brain is a misgivings machine, you must learn to ignore misgivings and creeping suspicions and sneaking hunches. When OCD tells your body that the appropriate response to something as anodyne as touching a doorknob wrong is a sudden shock of fear, learning to ignore your fears becomes less a noble ideal and more a practical imperative. And I am not a guru: it is way, way easier said than done. Feelings are an essential part of how we experience life, yes. But they cannot be allowed to totally dictate it.
We are winning. Winning does not mean winning every battle. It means holding your ground and not giving up. We have the people, and we have the momentum. It feels scary still. But there is nothing different we need to do to get democracy to prevail. We simply need to keep doing what we are doing.And add https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/ to your morning tea session while you're at it!
Thanks, Will. As a former psych RN, fellow trauma survivor (really a mental injury rather than a mental illness), with my own issues with depression/anxiety, I can relate. I tell anyone who will listen that, at any given moment, there is more going on that is right than wrong. To focus only on bad news is not only needlessly anxiety producing, it is also wildly inaccurate. A business or household would not last very long if it focused only on its debts and ignored its assets. I think focusing on what is wrong, or may go wrong, is more fun, but way less interesting than also seeing what is right with the world.
Right wing extremists are being dealt with - would you want to get into a debate with Pete Buttigieg? MTG will self-destruct again, Putin, et. al,. are being contained by Democracies and their own corruption. Thanks again for the pep-talk!
If something is beyond our power to change, don't get anxious. I don't worry about politics because I can only vote and occasionally contact my representatives. I've been alive 65 years and saw many crises come and go.
I also read less about politics than I used to. It took up too much of what's left of my life, and my thoughts. I hate reading comments from people who literally worry constantly and lose sleep over current events. Being interested is not a bad thing, but having a mindset that's merely waiting for some disaster to occur is not healthy.
True, Marycat, but some folks are here to get a powerful lift from PTSD, traumatic physical injury (like me) and even clinical depression, and yes, a good dose of well written carefully documented history in real timei. I read 3 commenters with different skills for two months before I ever made 1 comment. I love the English Major & Literary comments. Clever puns welcome. It is a good place to get healthier. :)
Not just waiting for a disaster but “conjuring monsters” where they don’t exist. I, myself, am very good at conjuring monsters and have to constantly beat them back into the corner I created for them. It’s a balancing act for me. Ignoring actual threats by sticking my head in the sand doesn’t work, but getting worked up over things that have not happened or are unlikely to happen is just as unproductive.
I posted a lot of stuff about Trump and the GOP on Facebook back in 2017 which were mostly news articles about the outrageousness and resulting fear people felt about whether America would survive four years of his reign. Well, we survived. Being aware of what the GOP is up to is important, but my god, people actually live in fear, despite the fact that we are a bigger, stronger party with the good fortune of having a president who has never let us down and is an honest and wise human being with a great administration. I got so tired of the fearmongering by the media (and reader comment threads on the WashPost and elsewhere), that I cut down on how much I was reading about politics every day. And I'm not reading about everything anymore. How much crap must I read about MTG? She is a waste of time and poses no imminent threat to the country. Trump bores me - 6 years of the same shit would bore anyone.
Yes. To protect myself, I deleted my FB account entirely. I very rarely read reader comments and I’m very careful about which newspapers and which reporters I read. If there is even one exclamation mark in a headline I usually avoid it like the plague.
I'm very aware of how the media influences us, and how we influence each other. I avoid personality cults like the plague, and I regretfully find myself upsetting people by occasionally making comments that are more strongly worded than people expect from a woman. I've noticed that men can be controversial but women are expected to be polite.
Agree Steve. No, I would not want to debate Pete. During the Southwest fiasco, I heard from my ex-classmate in Elkhart who was affected that it was all his fault. And what had he done with South Bend. I expressed sympathy with her problem getting home, but said all cities of any size have the same problems as South Bend and here in Salem, it doesn't matter what the politics of city leaders are. And I also reminded her that growing up I never heard a good word about South Bend because they voted D there. I wonder if she would have been in a tizzy if Chao was transportation secretary.
Thank you, Will. I think everyone is battle-weary and the strident voices of the right-wing nutters have made us afraid to hope. We need to revel in the victories and press forward. As a Wisconsinite, I was thrilled to see the numbers Janet Protaseiwicz brought in! Hope springs eternal! Time to sign up to help Janet Protaseiwicz win the seat!
I'm waiting for my "Your Vote Matters" postcards to arrive and the postcard campaign info for Janet P. so I can do my long distance postcard project for her (I live in NH.)
Me too (from AZ)...we have good friends here from WI so there’s some personal interest. Thanks to Substack writers and other independent sources for a source of optimism and hope and belief.
Brava! Having written well over 1000 GOTV postcards for Senator Warnock’s second election and run-off, have forgotten how many I wrote two years ago, have seen him twice elected! Tho Turnabout Project will likely have postcards and voters’ names and addresses. To help democracy live is the best cure for malaise.
Avoid that 'Hope springs eternal' line because it is followed by a disclaimer pointing out that hopes are never fulfilled. ("Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man NEVER IS but always TO BE blessed.") It is time, right now, for all who recognize the reality in which we live to stand up to those who live in one based on lies, bigotry, and greed. And that means more than just 'hoping.'
Results in. Janet is way ahead 44 vs 22%. Hope we get the energy out in April. School boards are on ticker, so expect high turnout from rural conservatives.
This is great, Will. I'm married to a man who thinks like you do. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to get him to wallow in my bad feelings with me. Fortunately, he not only sidesteps the "wallow," but also "unwallows" me before I get in too deep.
Thanks for the greatnnews about Virginia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania!
God bless you. I pray your insightful comments gained from years of therapy will help steel the rest of us to as you say keep on keeping on. We need this attitude going into 2024 telling everyone what the Dems are doing and the Repubs not doing. And calling out their hypocrisy and unwillingness to work together every chance we get. An invitation, as Pete said to come and work with me to solve this problem. If all you're going to do is point fingers and complain, then the VOTERS need to get someone in your job who is willing to find a solution. This is the message we need to get to the voters.
Thank you, Will, for your Will-ingness (couldn't resist!) to share your hard-learned lessons and bring us this breath of fresh air and hope. I'm feeling stronger and the world looks brighter this morning because of you. In fact, that not-so-little puff of air now feels like a tsunami. Yes. We. Can!
Will! Excellent guidance for us all. And it says a lot about your character that you are willing to share your journey. Please keep the good info coming and please keep offering the can do pep talks. Both are very appreciated. You light up this forum.
Thank you Will, from Cal ! I needed to read this today because I was ‘feeling’ like my peaceful kind soul is constantly being dragged into a school yard brawl with a bunch of bullies. It’s not where I want to be and even having them around breaks my spirit. I hate that I know their names and how much airtime they receive. But you are right, we are winning !!
Thanks for your comments Will. I think you described very accurately how many of us have felt for a long time. A general feeling of unease as we are constantly feeling on edge that we will have more people doing awful things for their own self interest. Your insight is valuable, and helps us to feel good about the continued successes of people trying to work with sense of sanity and ethics in our country's leadership.
I most appreciate your mindfulness approach to this moment, where there is only observation. Period. THIS observation, right now - right now - etc and etc. NO worries, emotional conjectures, habitual tirades, just ... right now. I CHOOSE "right now, breath, right now, breath .."
Also, kudos! to your understanding of the political terrain! Your knowledge (WI, PA, and I'll add AZ and GA) points to the progressive tilt of America. WE ARE WINNING - and the right can only flail about. Let US not flail about - but continue to move forward a compassionate and loving life
In this moment. right now and ... right now, and ...
I like your reference /labeling of "Patriotic Trauma". My wife is a clinical psychologist in a sole practitioner private practice. Beginning in November of 2016, her caseload increased exponentially, with a great percentage of that being women who had been sexually assaulted or physically abused by men, both intimate partners and by strangers. As that administration wore on, other people began experiencing either reawakening trauma reactions or even primary trauma reactions to the things that were happening in both the federal government and with our society in general. Then....Covid, and the politicization of the responses of the government to the pandemic. I believe there is ample evidence of this "Patriotic Trauma" that you discuss.
Thanks also for sharing your diagnoses and experience with mental issues. I have several friends with the GAD/Depression diagnosis and know their battles within their brains. You describe it well.
Thanks Will--I needed that. And also thank you for your wise and pragmatic presentation of the challenges you face daily. I'm an old person with advanced cancer, so I am just hoping I make it to the 2024 election (it was't looking good in 2020 but medication is making me feel a bit more optimistic). I've seen a lot of political water flow under the bridge since I first voted (I was in the first group to be able to vote at the age of 18) and this period is, to me, more anxiety inducing than previous eras--and I'll explain why. It's the desperation I hear in the strident voices of the autocrats and would-be autocrats. They are witnessing a sea change, one that is coming up from below: a true grassroots movement from the Left that you are part of. And it scares the daylights outta them because all of the careful planting of conspiracies, hatred, misogyny, and white supremacy in which they've engaged for the last 40 or so years (quite successfully, I might add, because the Left had largely abandoned the playing field on the local level) is crumbling around them. Example: in Kansas, 65% of the votes in August were resoundingly in favor of women's bodily autonomy being embedded in the KS Constitution. But at the same time, KS voters re-elected their right wingnut representatives to the KS legislature. The result? These same legislators are doing their damndest to make abortion impossible in the state of Kansas, despite the obvious will of the People. But western KS is changing--both in ethnicity (although the voting population is still whiter than white) and age (it is aging rapidly and they're freaking out because their children are heading east or further west). It could be that, if the brown people who are the majority in some parts of western KS gain citizenship and decide to make a change to the calculus in KS, the state will return a very different result. But that'll take some time. And in the meanwhile, Kansas continues to be a very scary place (despite the Dem governor, who is terrific, and the new Dem dominance in Johnson County, the most heavily populated and wealthiest county in KS and KC-adjacent) for people like me and my (non-hetero) family.
This is why local elections are so important--and why the Dems failing to contest in ALL OF THEM, which traditionally has been the case, is such a stupid political move. Yes: things are changing. But remember that people who are existentially frightened are pretty much the most dangerous people on earth. And we all have to take care, be determined but also wary, and work for positive change.
Thank you Will. President Biden seems to take your stand too. At first this annoyed me, feeling like he was wearing blinders. Now I get it. You and President Biden see the shiny ball and keep taking constructive steps toward positive change. You both have my vote!
Thanks, Will! We do need to break free from the "the fascists are taking over and I'm terrified!" cycle of thinking. While what we see is indeed frightening, we do lose sight of the successes we are having.
The balance is what we need. Not paralyzing terror, and not complacent inaction.
We need to (dare I say? Yes I do!) stay woke and never stop supporting our democracy and our fellow citizens who also care and act.
Wow. Have a couple of great resources for you. PACEsConnection.com —PACEs stands for positive and adverse childhood experiences. Join us. It’s free. And I don’t know if you had childhood trauma or not, but scores of studies tie mental illness, depression, addiction, and more to childhood trauma. See our resources center for PACEs science 101 and scores of research studies to back this up. PACEs Connection is free to join and we have a free series on “Historical
Trauma in America” that I believe everyone here would love. Peace!
The train wreck story is a sign that Republicans are again going to fight the next election exclusively on culture war issues. Buttigieg is hitting a perfect rapid response combative tone, playing up the Republican hypocrisy and pushing the legislation that will protect railroad workers and the public, and programs that will ensure better fair and job opportunities for all workers.
Biden and Buttigieg have to keep giving lessons on how to talk back to the Republicans.
"Big lies" is all they have left. That and treachery. And for waaay too long they've been getting away with it. J6th and continuing investigations have been shining more light on what they are up to. Searchlights , klieglights, candles, we need them all to send these roaches scattering for cover.
Got that right JL and I note KYLE CHENEY has done just that & shed some harsh light via Twitter reporting that McCarthy-Carlson operatives do NOT actually "possess" any footage. FNC has been viewing footage in US government controlled booths. Need more light asap on viewing, editing (if any) & the unauthorized transmission (if any) of footage. 3:50 am Pacific. Need verfication from US Capitol Police executives. I will update.
Thank you. I couldn't figure out how McC got the tapes out of the capitol police's hands and where they could actually watch the footage. Of course, McC-C et al are so full of hot air and spewing randomly... Awaiting your update.
News cycle pumping on other matters: Jack Smith's subpoenas, 1 mile & half long derailed train in Ohio & GA wheels-of-Justice. I will report when I have some thing important.
Yes, mercilessly strong light. They lose their orientation and run around frantically. So, have the Speaker and the Talker cooked this (illegal?) tapes release trick up together in the hope of providing excuses for appeals, as someone else suggested a few comments ago? What a bunch of crooks.
“In fact, Buttigieg’s comments addressed the problem of creating opportunities for minority construction workers when white workers are brought in to work on construction projects in minority communities, and the Biden administration has passed expansive legislation that is bringing jobs to poor white communities, legislation most Republicans opposed. But the race baiting has gone so far that, Sargent notes, right-wing personalities are accusing the Biden administration of ‘spilling toxic chemicals on poor white people.’”
I've been fascinated to see the sudden environmental awakening of the Republican propaganda machine. Between their sudden, vocal interests in sonic survey techniques and now train and chemical safety, it's possible they may start voting differently when they realize who's weakening regs. They will sure be more open to the notion that government *should* regulate. I'm astounded at the interest in the dead and dying whales; a cause mobilized to agitate against offshore wind. It will likely backfire when alternative survey methods are demanded. This type of survey is not used exclusively for wind development. Meanwhile, on the whale front, my money is on the H5N1 flu outbreak.
What this shows me, is that our neighbors that vote red are not the troglodytes they've been portrayed as. They are patsys who have been fed a line and they do care about the environment and about animals and the same things I care about. AND this is an opportunity to speak to them on common interests, including the role of government, protection of the environment and animals, and protection from chemicals dumped in our yards, or air, and our food. Plus the role of money in politics. Honestly, I've been interested to see that my mom and I are on the same page with regard to the role of corporate money in politics. There is room for the Dems on this front, but they are hesitant because they are also on the payroll.
Go for it. Just having those conversations undermines the idea that we are so divided as a nation, we may as well hand over the country to the right wing extremists.
Remember when "personality" was a good attribute, indicating admirable qualities? Now it means a talking head on TV, that may or may not attract thousands of Twittering responses, regardless of quality. The even newer word to describe a secondary person of well-hidden usefulness whose photograph appears constantly, usually to display skimpy clothes and/or long wavy hair, is "influencer". I even read it in Le Monde today - "une influenceuse". The influencers "follow" the personalities. Sigh. It's all so challenging. (And so fake.)
“Influencer” is one of my most disliked appellations. Vacuous, vapid, overpaid, artificially attractive and morally empty people pulling the wool over the eyes of the great unwashed, untutored and gullible populace.
Ugh, well expressed. I shudder in sympathy. There are more influencers now than celebrities: I wonder why? No, I don't wonder why at all, I'm not even mildly curious. Grr. I'm going to bed (Eastern Australian time).
The same as the old definition I read of “trumpery.” “Anything calculated to deceive by false show; anything externally splendid but intrinsically of little value; worthless finery; showy but worthless…nonsense…”
They lie, they know they lie, we know they lie, even the MAGAts know they lie, but the lies are spun as gold and wrapped around every traitorous Repub in the land. All the while repubs ditched regs which Obama people put in place, lobbyists pressured and CEO’s walked away with the pots of gold. Wish it were fiction…
Zella, if you are correct, and I do not dispute your thinking, then I wonder who will populate the working class. I seem to remember reading in the histories of the working classes that a great percentage of laborers were not born here in the US.
Zella, and thank you for your thoughtful response. Speaking of education, when I read that 35% of students graduating schools in my county could pass an college entry-level English or math screening test, I looked at the other counties in my state and that number is fairly consistent. This stat from Worldpopulationreview.com was an eye-opener for me:
" {This means that} about one in five U.S. adults (21%) have low literacy skills, translating to about 43.0 million adults.
Of those who have low English literacy skills, 35% are White, 2% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 23% are Black, 3% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 34% are Hispanic, 24% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 8% are of other races/ethnicities."
Correct, and in the process oppresses most of the people in that favored group economically, medically, and educationally in return for the privilege of being "better" than the rest of us.
Buttigieg is being blasted because he may run in 2024. I never believed Biden would serve beyond one term. My guess is that he and Jill have long had an agreement on this. He simply doesn't want to be a lame duck. It will be fun seeing how this will play out.
All true. Also, we need a more accurate term than "culture war", which amounts to white-washing (pun intended) politics of resentment and hatred that can be deadly to people and to democracy.
Heather, thank you again for your letter focusing on the most critical issues of the day. I listened to Biden's speech and it was outstanding in its content and its delivery. Biden absolutely understands that he must define true patriotism for both our country and the world.
In the meantime the release of the House security tapes story gets stranger and stranger given that Tucker Carlson, the man who was proven to have lied bout Jan 6 to his viewers just the day before, is the one McCarthy gave EXCLUSIVE access of the tapes to. What it could also do, beyond the security implications, is provide endless fodder for the convicted insurrectionists to raise appeals.
This is a story where Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats have to blare out their message louder than the Republicans.
That footage is the property of the American people and is therefore NOT for McCarthy, or ANY speaker for that matter, to give to whomever he/she pleases. It is wrong--maybe even illegal?--to give it one news entity and not give to all the others equally. This is especially odious in that the person he has given this footage to is that network's leading propagandist, someone who is not at all above using select footage as an aid to twist and distort his lies and misinformation. I keep hoping that somewhere there is a restraining order in the works. Democrats need to get on this ASAP!!
This thought never even occurred to me before you mentioned it. You might have just made my night. I was so consumed by the prospect of Carlson cutting, splicing and pasting right-wing riot footage into a misleading montage for his propaganda, that I completely missed this prospect. If you're right, one of us, or all of us, should make our FOIA requests for the same, unedited footage right now. After all, its compilation was paid for by us and is a record created for our use. Hard to lie to us if we all have seen the unadulterated record.
As I read President Biden's beautiful speech on freedom, I couldn't help thinking that in the United States half the population has less freedom than they did a year ago when the Dobbs decision was handed down by the heartless Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, leaving it up to majority white male state legislatures to force pregnancy on all women and making the right to life of any woman lower priority without exception than any fetus, half of whom are male, based on a minority portion of one religion's extreme position on abortion and criminalizing the healthcare of all women by ignoring the 9th (un-enumerated rights), 13th (no forced labor) and 14th (right to privacy and freedom for all) amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the precedent of almost fifty years which sought a balance between the right to life of both the woman and the fetus. The battle for democracy and freedom for all over the tyranny of a theocratic kleptocracy is not over even in America, the land of the "free" and the home of the brave and determined! We, the People of all genders and religions, all of us THIS time!
Thank you, Bev. Absolutely! The media and the politicians still don't seem to realize how determined women (and their many male supporters) are to turn this around and finally defeat patriarchy and its insatiable need to control others in order to feel manly about themselves.
I have no doubt those politicians will learn their lesson come election time; those male supporters will be 'advising' them (and the media) of their error.
Some good news on this front: yesterday, a group submitted ballot language for an abortion rights amendment to the Ohio Constitution. After the language is approved, all we need are approximately 413,000 signatures!
Buckle your seatbelt for the next deluge of decisions from the Supreme Court... they will dismantle key parts of our government based on the specious "nondelegation doctrine."
Having been a passenger on Amtrak 2 years ago I can vouch for the poor condition of track between Minnesota and Seattle. Both Amtrak and freight trains use the same track, which is owned by the freight railroad company, not Amtrak. In certain sections the train would rock and roll vigorously, sometimes violently , and within a month after my journey, there was a derailment of an Amtrak train. The railroads are reluctant to spend on track maintenance , at the level that is necessary for safety. They need more regulation, not less. As for Joe Biden , he is an Amtrak fan and I am sure he cares about the toxic train wreck in Ohio. He is a little busy right now trying to deal with the military aggression by Putin, who is a friend to the GOP.
I was on a train to Seattle (only part way, thank goodness) that was on it's way to Seattle, from somewhere back East. The passengers were about 24 hours late and the toilets were full and literally sloshing over. I have more Amtrak horror stories. Amtrak gets the crumbs while rail companies rake in profits. I think the Japanese high speed Shinkansen "bullet train" (last I heard) has never has a fatal accident, partly because they maintain the tracks meticulously. I saw a Japanese train operator from time to time doing an odd, graceful, pointing motion with his finger on a humble commuter train. I later learned that they are trained to do that as an aid to maintaining concentration. All possible and running smoothy as we speak, in a nation that cares about public transportation.
Yes... I fully agree. Public transportation in Japan is a shining example for the United States that demonstrates the real possibilities of what a national policy like theirs can do for both individuals and industry. A policy conceived, broadly supported and successfully implemented is one that every government and country can easily understand and appreciate. We have a lot of good work to do in the days ahead: vote Democratic and watch it all steadily get done!
Why is it that so many Americans do not like to see shining examples from other countries? Perhaps American Exceptionalism is a coping mechanism against an inferiority complex or a guilt complex. Or just a selfish feeling that the best things do not belong in the hands of other people.
In Japan, the tracks that carry the bullet trains are checked and aligned every night. But when you have speeds of up to 320kph (198mph), that's just normal maintenance. I rode the Shinkansen in 1970, from Tokyo to Osaka, while on R&R. Back then, I believe it only got up to 160mph on that line. Fifty plus years on and we have nothing that even comes close to that elegant mode of travel. Shame on us.
My Republican fatigue is by far greater than any Ukraine fatigue I may be experiencing. Question for those who would have the US walk away from Ukraine and let Putin walk in; did the US and Allied soldiers who fell in WW I and WW II die for nothing?
On his worst days, Pete Buttigieg is still about a hundred times smarter than the MAGA Republican dopes (triple redundant?) trying to take him down.
Heather, this is a blockbuster letter. I am concerned there was no mention of Putin’s stated intent to eliminate the last nuclear disarmament agreement between the US and Russia. He will not renew his country’s commitment to stopping the proliferation of nuclear arsenals in 2025. The threat of nuclear conflict is very real and I believe every effort must be made to reverse it. MQarthy is predictably idiotic in his grandstanding decision to “turn over” hours of the Jan 6 tapes to Tucker Carlson, a truly groveling servant of all things fascist. Margerine Traitor Greene displays her shameful ignorance of government with discussion of her “national divorce” idea. If she had no power it would be laughable. She has her own form of a “bully pulpit” and smiles through her lies and distortions with great ease. I hope Dominion crushes FNC, as they fully deserve to be annihilated. I think we would all have a great deal of satisfaction at Rupert Murdoch’s demise.
Nature abhors, a vacuum, as the saying goes, get rid of FOX and another will show up. It’s like trying to get rid of cockroaches impossible. All you can do is try to keep them under control!
I remember when the SCOTUS proclaimed "Corporations are people" during the "Citizens United decision.
People who are going to put their car or truck on a road need to have adequate insurance, vehicle inspection, adequate driving lights, brakes, emissions tests, and minimum amounts of tread on tires. There are serious consequences for not complying with these common sense standards required for public safety.
Now it appears when a large railway corporation chooses not to maintain similar standards to address public safety, suddenly "Corporations aren't people." They lobby politicians not to regulate them, and politicians comply. When their combined negligence creates a disaster, they now lobby politicians for special immunity from responsibility.
It does appear that when SCOTUS claimed "Corporations are people," they seemed to mean that corporations will have the privileges and the people will have the responsibility to clean up the corporations' disasters.
Well said. But in this case, the Feds are rushing in to do the cleanup and the railroad is legally on the hook for the cost.
Of course, the CEO I saw mumbling bullshit on TV last night should have to cough up some bucks as they fire him. The "buck should stop with him". He should resign in shame.
Seems like Biden needs to step up and get these regs back in place.
But money rules and as long as the rail companies pour money in to campaigns and lobby, it's an uphill battle.
I can never understand why companies don't see that taking care of their employees and fostering safety is the responsible thing to do. But they cater o their share holders and the never-enoughers! I guess there is a lot of things I don't understand.
Fairly good recap at Rising today. Neither party can run away from what they did and finger-point at the other. What's clear is that corporate lobbyists have too much clout over our elected representatives, but operatives of neither party seem to be willing to admit it, much less openly combat it.
Doubling down happens when one is invested in an unsustainable cause. Bullying doesn't build any vision of substance. Its aim is to destroy visions of substance.
I would add that a similarly if not identically constructed Supreme Court also found that corporations have religious rights in the infamous Hobby Lobby decision. Corporate power is more than just out of hand all across the fruited plain these days. But since the modern, state licensed corporation did not come into existence until the post Civil War era, I guess the question would be, is the corporate free (if not invisible) hand within the "historical traditions" of our Country as the Founders saw it? Messrs. Thomas and Alito would have it no other way, right??
The other point your post implicitly raises is the insidious role of money in politics. Before the dumbest U.S. Senator not named Marsha Blackburn, i.e., Ron Johnson somehow conned the good people of the Badger State to elect him, Wisconsin had one of the best Senators in the Country in Russ Feingold. The Citizens United decision eviscerated the pioneering McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Act, thus paving the way for a near oligarchical grip on the levers of political power. This has gradually enabled an anti-regulatory army of lobbyists full, well funded sway over the People's elected representatives. Regulations, what regulations?!?
I agree with you about Russ Feingold. I resided in Wisconsin for 13 years and could not believe what the influence of Koch Bros did to that state after they were able to install Scott Walker as Governor. They managed to destroy both the state's support of the environmental land ethic and what was one of the finest higher education systems in the U. S. WI was the Koch's beta-test, which they now are reaching to recreate in the takeover of other states.
Thanks, Ed. I always had great respect for Russ Feingold. Not simply because I generally agreed with his policies, but because he consistently came across as a bright, hard working, Senatorial Senator, if you will. His alliance with McCain on the campaign finance issue was one of the highlights of modern bipartisan maturity, and already it seems like a quaint historical footnote. Truly sad.
The Kochs are horrific. Their ALEC is the political equivalent of an all encompassing Bond villain that, seemingly omnipotent and omnipresent.
As a Californian, and a graduate of UCLA, I am proud of our wonderful University system. I always thought, without claiming great knowledge about other states' systems, that the UW system was quite good as well. Wisconsin has a true populist history, (not the know nothing, MAGA-esque faux populism), led by "Fighting" Bob LaFollette.
I was unaware of the damage the insipid Scott Walker did to the educational system beyond weakening the public sector unions, but am not surprised.
On the brighter side, I hope the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point is still running strong. I have been to the State which I greatly enjoyed, but not to that town. As a basketball fan, I always remembered it due to the fact that the former great Blazer guard Terry Porter went there.
That's good info to have. Lauren Boebert is the only one of these folks who was in a closely contested election. So they feel pretty comfortable being who and what they are....and saying what they say. Dems need to target districts we can retake in 2024 and push these folks back out of any positions of power to the fringe.
I agree. Dems need to target districts they can retake. In addition to Boebert, Republicans above who have taken a ProRussian position and get 50%+ of the vote could be vulnerable. Anna Paulina Luna is one -- especially if the George Santos similarity sticks. If Rosendale goes all out for the Senate, but even if he runs for reelection to the House, MT 02 could be vulnerable to an independent like Buchanan (who stressed keeping the right of privacy in the state constitution) if Democrats do not run a candidate.
It was a little time, but not a lot. I write a newsletter -- Len's Political Notes https://lenspoliticalnotes.com and either have the information available or a reasonably quick way to get to it.
Or just absurdly self-serving, conscienceless, and greedy. At a certain point, that becomes evil, and I think that much that they have done would qualify.
Biden’s speeches reminded me of the America I have loved. I felt proud that he committed us to assisting the brave Ukrainian people. It is so simple. If Russia looses they can just walk away, if Ukraine looses they cease to exist. They must fight and win. They are fighting for all democracies, because if Putin wins there he will attack Poland, the Baltic States…
The contrast of the quality level between Trump's and Biden's cabinets leaves one bleary-eyed. Buttigieg is the man of the moment as he hurls deserved blame on the trump administration's undoing of rail regulations. As a smart and successful ex-mayor of a major city, he could not have been a better pick as Secretary of Transportation.
In response to a totally different topic of Heather's newsletter, both Kevin McCarthy and *ucker Carlson should be tarred and feathered....
You are correct - strictly speaking. However, 'personality' to me has a pretty positive connotation, and there is nothing positive in that carlson 'person'.
The good news is “The democracies of the world have grown stronger, not weaker. But the autocrats of the world have grown weaker, not stronger.” Yes, President Biden recognizes the reality of countries working together as opposed to autocracies like Russia, that not only threaten world peace but peace and justice in their own countries. And being there, Poland and Kyiv, meeting in person with leaders struggling to build Democracies, is powerful. And courageous. Our president is showing the world our commitment is backed up with action. As we grow stronger we see the necessity of our own political parties to work together, here at home, as we must repair and strengthen domestic and environmental systems, our railroads, water quality, clean energy. And Justice. Especially Justice. We must hold accountable those elected and appointed leaders who choose to jeopardize our safety and security. Speaker McCarthy giving away or perhaps selling or trading January 6 video clips to Fox News Tucker Carlson is of great concern. First question: Why? We can begin to understand that justice and equality are not just words, but backed up with commitment. Safety regulations for communities and railway workers. Answering the right wing criticism with real action and change. Action speaks louder than words and lies. And accountability to those who threaten and sabotage domestic security and policies with lies and violence must be and are being held accountable. After several years of drama and danger by self-serving followers of a weakening repub party and TFG, we are hoping that courts and Justice do their jobs.
The current RW supreme court "Justices" are NOT doing their jobs (unless one were to include their "jobs" of doing what The Federalist Society tells them to do.)
I am so proud today to be an American, with a real American President who supports Democracy for everyone and Freedom for everyone. It is such a great feeling to be represented by a bipartisan team of people willing to stand up to a brutal despot who, like the trumpster' cares nothing for the people he represents, willing to throw them by the hundred of thousands into an ignominious death just to assuage his ego. I sincerely hope the American people realize how lucky we are. Bravo President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Buttigieg.
I would simply note the disingenuous "calls to resign" that the GOP and their media echo chambers keep yapping about
target highly intelligent, qualified, working, problem-solving, crisis-addressing and thoughtfully appointed Cabinet members like Rhodes-scholar Pete Buttigieg.
They target and attack the qualified "rising stars" to "poison the well" of public opinion, with their constant sniping and made-up "push" polling.
To borrow another campaign phrase,
the Biden Administration "has a plan for that."
They demonstrate the ability to respond to MULTIPLE ISSUES
without the false charge from the GOP that claims they are only capable of addressing one at a time.
Let the adults keep doing the work.
Meanwhile, the GOP is standing on the sideline,
complaining with no constructive input.
They do not care about the people affected, except to manipulate their plights to create more chaos, division, anger and fear.
They are like arsonists - burning books is just the start of burning everything else down if they cannot be in power.
The blatant hypocrisy is simply astounding
of the conspiracy-driven extremists currently driving the QAnon clown-car off the rails
with cries that they want to go back to the short-lived Confederacy.
Busy news day Professor handled with your usual clarity and panache. Some observations on intent and purpose of certain Republicans and faux journalist Tucker Carlson ... it is always about show and shallowness, they are not interested in solving problems, only in sheer demagoguery, and one thing you do not want to do is mess with Secretary Pete Butigieg. That person knows his stuff and he is a gifted speaker and sharp as a tack. However, what is most unsettling is the sharing of the January 6th video trove. It will be manipulated and edited to demonstrate a MAGA point of vie.w on the insurrection. I hope Hakeem Jeffries and the Capitol Police do not let this sneaky deal go without proper investigation. My feeling is that collusion is present.
Scrolling through the top couple threads of the comments yesterday, and hoo boy, y'all, I could I feel the anxiety emanating off the screen! Some of y'all are back in election anticipation terror mode almost two years ahead, with a side order of despairing over the national discourse. I get it. Me too. But gather in, because it is time for a pep talk.
The primary election took place today in Wisconsin to fill an upcoming vacancy of the state Supreme Court. If a liberal judge wins in April, ideological control of the court will switch. The ramifications would be enormous. Cases would be brought - and almost certainly succeed - to throw out the state and federal gerrymanders, overturn voting restrictions, nullify the state's abortion ban, give boosts to unions, and much more. Four judges were on the ballot in what is usually a low turnout affair. Democratic endorsee Janet Protaseiwicz, who has been explicit she is running to save democracy and personal freedoms, came out first. Yay. But here's the kicker: she received slightly more votes than the two conservative challengers *put together*, and a second liberal candidate took an *additional* 7.5% of the vote.
This is Wisconsin. Do I gotta tell y'all whether an 8-point democratic preference in Wisconsin is impressive? It's impressive.
Over in Virginia, Jennifer McClellan won her special Congressional election too. Her district was D+35 for Biden, and D+13 in the '21 gubernatorial. She won today by 48 points. A nearby special state Senate election was held in recent days. Dems flipped it, solidifying their control of that chamber.
In Pennsylvania, Dems also recently put a bow on their newfound control of the state legislature there, not just winning all three special elections held, but outdoing Biden's wide margins by double digits.
This is what being on the winning team looks like.
Political control is numbers and gamesmanship. Feelings don't really enter the picture. I know, I know. Most of us here are big liberals with bigger feelings, and right now we have the biggest sense of concern! It doesn't *feel* like we're winning, because we see crazy people in positions of power, and that doesn't *feel* safe. We just want to *feel* like we know it's going to be ok and that no bad people will ever be in charge anywhere, and we don't *feel* that yet.
But, my friends, that is where we get into trouble.
We have all been traumatized these last few years by the madness in our country. Yes, that is what we are feeling: patriotic trauma. Trauma builds anxiety. Anxiety convinces you to doubt and second-guess and triple-check and think and think and think, sending you on a mental wild goose chase to find the feeling of cosmic safety and certainty that life just can't seem to give you, to crack the code, to find THE ANSWER as to what to think and say and do to make sure the things you want to happen happen, and the things you do not want to happen do not.
How do I know this? Hard experience, my friends. I have three overlapping mental health disorders: the poorly-named Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the poorly-portrayed-on-TV Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Major Depressive Recurrent. I'll spare the gory clinical details of what these each entail. I will simply say that there is a common denomination among all three of these dark clouds that make up this perfect storm, and that is that they are all very good at convincing my entire brain and body that something feels very wrong with everything, even when nothing is actually wrong with anything. The silver lining if years of therapy is that I have been forced - out of the necessity of survival - to realize that feelings are not facts. When your brain is a misgivings machine, you must learn to ignore misgivings and creeping suspicions and sneaking hunches. When OCD tells your body that the appropriate response to something as anodyne as touching a doorknob wrong is a sudden shock of fear, learning to ignore your fears becomes less a noble ideal and more a practical imperative. And I am not a guru: it is way, way easier said than done. Feelings are an essential part of how we experience life, yes. But they cannot be allowed to totally dictate it.
We are winning. Winning does not mean winning every battle. It means holding your ground and not giving up. We have the people, and we have the momentum. It feels scary still. But there is nothing different we need to do to get democracy to prevail. We simply need to keep doing what we are doing.And add https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/ to your morning tea session while you're at it!
Yes. We. Can! We already are.
Thanks, Will. As a former psych RN, fellow trauma survivor (really a mental injury rather than a mental illness), with my own issues with depression/anxiety, I can relate. I tell anyone who will listen that, at any given moment, there is more going on that is right than wrong. To focus only on bad news is not only needlessly anxiety producing, it is also wildly inaccurate. A business or household would not last very long if it focused only on its debts and ignored its assets. I think focusing on what is wrong, or may go wrong, is more fun, but way less interesting than also seeing what is right with the world.
Right wing extremists are being dealt with - would you want to get into a debate with Pete Buttigieg? MTG will self-destruct again, Putin, et. al,. are being contained by Democracies and their own corruption. Thanks again for the pep-talk!
I would buy a ticket to any debate involving Pete Buttigieg!
Me too, Carol! I love how he calmly and clearly states the facts and completely destroys the opposition argument.
Repubs and Fox should know better than to mess with Pete. He is so much more quick-witted and intelligent than they are.
If something is beyond our power to change, don't get anxious. I don't worry about politics because I can only vote and occasionally contact my representatives. I've been alive 65 years and saw many crises come and go.
I also read less about politics than I used to. It took up too much of what's left of my life, and my thoughts. I hate reading comments from people who literally worry constantly and lose sleep over current events. Being interested is not a bad thing, but having a mindset that's merely waiting for some disaster to occur is not healthy.
True, Marycat, but some folks are here to get a powerful lift from PTSD, traumatic physical injury (like me) and even clinical depression, and yes, a good dose of well written carefully documented history in real timei. I read 3 commenters with different skills for two months before I ever made 1 comment. I love the English Major & Literary comments. Clever puns welcome. It is a good place to get healthier. :)
Not just waiting for a disaster but “conjuring monsters” where they don’t exist. I, myself, am very good at conjuring monsters and have to constantly beat them back into the corner I created for them. It’s a balancing act for me. Ignoring actual threats by sticking my head in the sand doesn’t work, but getting worked up over things that have not happened or are unlikely to happen is just as unproductive.
I posted a lot of stuff about Trump and the GOP on Facebook back in 2017 which were mostly news articles about the outrageousness and resulting fear people felt about whether America would survive four years of his reign. Well, we survived. Being aware of what the GOP is up to is important, but my god, people actually live in fear, despite the fact that we are a bigger, stronger party with the good fortune of having a president who has never let us down and is an honest and wise human being with a great administration. I got so tired of the fearmongering by the media (and reader comment threads on the WashPost and elsewhere), that I cut down on how much I was reading about politics every day. And I'm not reading about everything anymore. How much crap must I read about MTG? She is a waste of time and poses no imminent threat to the country. Trump bores me - 6 years of the same shit would bore anyone.
Yes. To protect myself, I deleted my FB account entirely. I very rarely read reader comments and I’m very careful about which newspapers and which reporters I read. If there is even one exclamation mark in a headline I usually avoid it like the plague.
I'm very aware of how the media influences us, and how we influence each other. I avoid personality cults like the plague, and I regretfully find myself upsetting people by occasionally making comments that are more strongly worded than people expect from a woman. I've noticed that men can be controversial but women are expected to be polite.
Agree Steve. No, I would not want to debate Pete. During the Southwest fiasco, I heard from my ex-classmate in Elkhart who was affected that it was all his fault. And what had he done with South Bend. I expressed sympathy with her problem getting home, but said all cities of any size have the same problems as South Bend and here in Salem, it doesn't matter what the politics of city leaders are. And I also reminded her that growing up I never heard a good word about South Bend because they voted D there. I wonder if she would have been in a tizzy if Chao was transportation secretary.
Steve you and Will are brilliant and inspiring. Jay
Thank you, Will. I think everyone is battle-weary and the strident voices of the right-wing nutters have made us afraid to hope. We need to revel in the victories and press forward. As a Wisconsinite, I was thrilled to see the numbers Janet Protaseiwicz brought in! Hope springs eternal! Time to sign up to help Janet Protaseiwicz win the seat!
I'm waiting for my "Your Vote Matters" postcards to arrive and the postcard campaign info for Janet P. so I can do my long distance postcard project for her (I live in NH.)
Me too (from AZ)...we have good friends here from WI so there’s some personal interest. Thanks to Substack writers and other independent sources for a source of optimism and hope and belief.
Brava! Having written well over 1000 GOTV postcards for Senator Warnock’s second election and run-off, have forgotten how many I wrote two years ago, have seen him twice elected! Tho Turnabout Project will likely have postcards and voters’ names and addresses. To help democracy live is the best cure for malaise.
Me too from Virginia!
Here's another postcard campaign:
https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards
Avoid that 'Hope springs eternal' line because it is followed by a disclaimer pointing out that hopes are never fulfilled. ("Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man NEVER IS but always TO BE blessed.") It is time, right now, for all who recognize the reality in which we live to stand up to those who live in one based on lies, bigotry, and greed. And that means more than just 'hoping.'
Results in. Janet is way ahead 44 vs 22%. Hope we get the energy out in April. School boards are on ticker, so expect high turnout from rural conservatives.
And also turn over Darling's seat to reduce repuglicans power in our legislature, too!
This is great, Will. I'm married to a man who thinks like you do. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to get him to wallow in my bad feelings with me. Fortunately, he not only sidesteps the "wallow," but also "unwallows" me before I get in too deep.
Thanks for the greatnnews about Virginia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania!
Lynell, You are a lucky dude, dude! We all need someone to talk us down every so often, but the lucky ones have someone close at hand!
Lynell ! In this "Season" of Time! It Appears Very Hard! " The STRUGGLE! ..... is REAL! BUT GOD! IS!, STILL! in CONTROL!!
God bless you. I pray your insightful comments gained from years of therapy will help steel the rest of us to as you say keep on keeping on. We need this attitude going into 2024 telling everyone what the Dems are doing and the Repubs not doing. And calling out their hypocrisy and unwillingness to work together every chance we get. An invitation, as Pete said to come and work with me to solve this problem. If all you're going to do is point fingers and complain, then the VOTERS need to get someone in your job who is willing to find a solution. This is the message we need to get to the voters.
Thank you, Will, for your Will-ingness (couldn't resist!) to share your hard-learned lessons and bring us this breath of fresh air and hope. I'm feeling stronger and the world looks brighter this morning because of you. In fact, that not-so-little puff of air now feels like a tsunami. Yes. We. Can!
Will! Excellent guidance for us all. And it says a lot about your character that you are willing to share your journey. Please keep the good info coming and please keep offering the can do pep talks. Both are very appreciated. You light up this forum.
Thank you Will, from Cal ! I needed to read this today because I was ‘feeling’ like my peaceful kind soul is constantly being dragged into a school yard brawl with a bunch of bullies. It’s not where I want to be and even having them around breaks my spirit. I hate that I know their names and how much airtime they receive. But you are right, we are winning !!
More than disturbing, Daryl, is the thought that we know the bullies' names but barely know what our good guys' names are.
Thanks for your comments Will. I think you described very accurately how many of us have felt for a long time. A general feeling of unease as we are constantly feeling on edge that we will have more people doing awful things for their own self interest. Your insight is valuable, and helps us to feel good about the continued successes of people trying to work with sense of sanity and ethics in our country's leadership.
I love your view toward life Will!
I most appreciate your mindfulness approach to this moment, where there is only observation. Period. THIS observation, right now - right now - etc and etc. NO worries, emotional conjectures, habitual tirades, just ... right now. I CHOOSE "right now, breath, right now, breath .."
Also, kudos! to your understanding of the political terrain! Your knowledge (WI, PA, and I'll add AZ and GA) points to the progressive tilt of America. WE ARE WINNING - and the right can only flail about. Let US not flail about - but continue to move forward a compassionate and loving life
In this moment. right now and ... right now, and ...
Maybe there's a silent turn happening as people become tired of the "nutters." Will American common sense reemerge?
Common Sense & time 🎵"to breath the air around Tom Paine"🎵.
“The Silent Rationals”?
It is. From the caterpillar comes the butterfly.
I like your reference /labeling of "Patriotic Trauma". My wife is a clinical psychologist in a sole practitioner private practice. Beginning in November of 2016, her caseload increased exponentially, with a great percentage of that being women who had been sexually assaulted or physically abused by men, both intimate partners and by strangers. As that administration wore on, other people began experiencing either reawakening trauma reactions or even primary trauma reactions to the things that were happening in both the federal government and with our society in general. Then....Covid, and the politicization of the responses of the government to the pandemic. I believe there is ample evidence of this "Patriotic Trauma" that you discuss.
Thanks also for sharing your diagnoses and experience with mental issues. I have several friends with the GAD/Depression diagnosis and know their battles within their brains. You describe it well.
Thanks, Will. Great comment! I relate to much of what you said.
Wow!!! Very real…Thank you for sharing.
Good news. Thank you for your precise, complete reporting of these critical elections at the grassroots level in key states.
Thanks Will--I needed that. And also thank you for your wise and pragmatic presentation of the challenges you face daily. I'm an old person with advanced cancer, so I am just hoping I make it to the 2024 election (it was't looking good in 2020 but medication is making me feel a bit more optimistic). I've seen a lot of political water flow under the bridge since I first voted (I was in the first group to be able to vote at the age of 18) and this period is, to me, more anxiety inducing than previous eras--and I'll explain why. It's the desperation I hear in the strident voices of the autocrats and would-be autocrats. They are witnessing a sea change, one that is coming up from below: a true grassroots movement from the Left that you are part of. And it scares the daylights outta them because all of the careful planting of conspiracies, hatred, misogyny, and white supremacy in which they've engaged for the last 40 or so years (quite successfully, I might add, because the Left had largely abandoned the playing field on the local level) is crumbling around them. Example: in Kansas, 65% of the votes in August were resoundingly in favor of women's bodily autonomy being embedded in the KS Constitution. But at the same time, KS voters re-elected their right wingnut representatives to the KS legislature. The result? These same legislators are doing their damndest to make abortion impossible in the state of Kansas, despite the obvious will of the People. But western KS is changing--both in ethnicity (although the voting population is still whiter than white) and age (it is aging rapidly and they're freaking out because their children are heading east or further west). It could be that, if the brown people who are the majority in some parts of western KS gain citizenship and decide to make a change to the calculus in KS, the state will return a very different result. But that'll take some time. And in the meanwhile, Kansas continues to be a very scary place (despite the Dem governor, who is terrific, and the new Dem dominance in Johnson County, the most heavily populated and wealthiest county in KS and KC-adjacent) for people like me and my (non-hetero) family.
This is why local elections are so important--and why the Dems failing to contest in ALL OF THEM, which traditionally has been the case, is such a stupid political move. Yes: things are changing. But remember that people who are existentially frightened are pretty much the most dangerous people on earth. And we all have to take care, be determined but also wary, and work for positive change.
Thank you Will. President Biden seems to take your stand too. At first this annoyed me, feeling like he was wearing blinders. Now I get it. You and President Biden see the shiny ball and keep taking constructive steps toward positive change. You both have my vote!
Thanks, Will! We do need to break free from the "the fascists are taking over and I'm terrified!" cycle of thinking. While what we see is indeed frightening, we do lose sight of the successes we are having.
The balance is what we need. Not paralyzing terror, and not complacent inaction.
We need to (dare I say? Yes I do!) stay woke and never stop supporting our democracy and our fellow citizens who also care and act.
Don't forget the past particple, awoken.
Wow. Have a couple of great resources for you. PACEsConnection.com —PACEs stands for positive and adverse childhood experiences. Join us. It’s free. And I don’t know if you had childhood trauma or not, but scores of studies tie mental illness, depression, addiction, and more to childhood trauma. See our resources center for PACEs science 101 and scores of research studies to back this up. PACEs Connection is free to join and we have a free series on “Historical
Trauma in America” that I believe everyone here would love. Peace!
Thanks for the link, carey.
Thanks for the link Carey. I will check it out.
The train wreck story is a sign that Republicans are again going to fight the next election exclusively on culture war issues. Buttigieg is hitting a perfect rapid response combative tone, playing up the Republican hypocrisy and pushing the legislation that will protect railroad workers and the public, and programs that will ensure better fair and job opportunities for all workers.
Biden and Buttigieg have to keep giving lessons on how to talk back to the Republicans.
Buttigieg is a star.
Pete is the smartest guy in Washington, DC. And his messages are incredible.
Absolutely! Can we clone him?
I would absolutely vote for him should he run for Senate
Governor.
Hmmm. If Gretchen were to head for the White House, it would clear the way!
She’s term limited now and Pete moved in 50 miles north of me
We knew he was!
"Big lies" is all they have left. That and treachery. And for waaay too long they've been getting away with it. J6th and continuing investigations have been shining more light on what they are up to. Searchlights , klieglights, candles, we need them all to send these roaches scattering for cover.
Got that right JL and I note KYLE CHENEY has done just that & shed some harsh light via Twitter reporting that McCarthy-Carlson operatives do NOT actually "possess" any footage. FNC has been viewing footage in US government controlled booths. Need more light asap on viewing, editing (if any) & the unauthorized transmission (if any) of footage. 3:50 am Pacific. Need verfication from US Capitol Police executives. I will update.
Thank you. I couldn't figure out how McC got the tapes out of the capitol police's hands and where they could actually watch the footage. Of course, McC-C et al are so full of hot air and spewing randomly... Awaiting your update.
News cycle pumping on other matters: Jack Smith's subpoenas, 1 mile & half long derailed train in Ohio & GA wheels-of-Justice. I will report when I have some thing important.
Yes, mercilessly strong light. They lose their orientation and run around frantically. So, have the Speaker and the Talker cooked this (illegal?) tapes release trick up together in the hope of providing excuses for appeals, as someone else suggested a few comments ago? What a bunch of crooks.
Republicans push fear. Their ads characterize Dems as “too radical for Wisconsin.” Negative lies.
“In fact, Buttigieg’s comments addressed the problem of creating opportunities for minority construction workers when white workers are brought in to work on construction projects in minority communities, and the Biden administration has passed expansive legislation that is bringing jobs to poor white communities, legislation most Republicans opposed. But the race baiting has gone so far that, Sargent notes, right-wing personalities are accusing the Biden administration of ‘spilling toxic chemicals on poor white people.’”
Their lies are beyond sickening and ridiculous!!!
I've been fascinated to see the sudden environmental awakening of the Republican propaganda machine. Between their sudden, vocal interests in sonic survey techniques and now train and chemical safety, it's possible they may start voting differently when they realize who's weakening regs. They will sure be more open to the notion that government *should* regulate. I'm astounded at the interest in the dead and dying whales; a cause mobilized to agitate against offshore wind. It will likely backfire when alternative survey methods are demanded. This type of survey is not used exclusively for wind development. Meanwhile, on the whale front, my money is on the H5N1 flu outbreak.
What this shows me, is that our neighbors that vote red are not the troglodytes they've been portrayed as. They are patsys who have been fed a line and they do care about the environment and about animals and the same things I care about. AND this is an opportunity to speak to them on common interests, including the role of government, protection of the environment and animals, and protection from chemicals dumped in our yards, or air, and our food. Plus the role of money in politics. Honestly, I've been interested to see that my mom and I are on the same page with regard to the role of corporate money in politics. There is room for the Dems on this front, but they are hesitant because they are also on the payroll.
Go for it. Just having those conversations undermines the idea that we are so divided as a nation, we may as well hand over the country to the right wing extremists.
Opportunities to relate. Be attuned to these and go for it.
Remember when "personality" was a good attribute, indicating admirable qualities? Now it means a talking head on TV, that may or may not attract thousands of Twittering responses, regardless of quality. The even newer word to describe a secondary person of well-hidden usefulness whose photograph appears constantly, usually to display skimpy clothes and/or long wavy hair, is "influencer". I even read it in Le Monde today - "une influenceuse". The influencers "follow" the personalities. Sigh. It's all so challenging. (And so fake.)
“Influencer” is one of my most disliked appellations. Vacuous, vapid, overpaid, artificially attractive and morally empty people pulling the wool over the eyes of the great unwashed, untutored and gullible populace.
Ugh, well expressed. I shudder in sympathy. There are more influencers now than celebrities: I wonder why? No, I don't wonder why at all, I'm not even mildly curious. Grr. I'm going to bed (Eastern Australian time).
Derek, thank you for that definition. I have wondered just what the heck an "influencer" is
The same as the old definition I read of “trumpery.” “Anything calculated to deceive by false show; anything externally splendid but intrinsically of little value; worthless finery; showy but worthless…nonsense…”
By some hand of fate, someone we know was aptly named.
Puke on all such.
They lie, they know they lie, we know they lie, even the MAGAts know they lie, but the lies are spun as gold and wrapped around every traitorous Repub in the land. All the while repubs ditched regs which Obama people put in place, lobbyists pressured and CEO’s walked away with the pots of gold. Wish it were fiction…
Exactly!
Zella, if you are correct, and I do not dispute your thinking, then I wonder who will populate the working class. I seem to remember reading in the histories of the working classes that a great percentage of laborers were not born here in the US.
Zella, and thank you for your thoughtful response. Speaking of education, when I read that 35% of students graduating schools in my county could pass an college entry-level English or math screening test, I looked at the other counties in my state and that number is fairly consistent. This stat from Worldpopulationreview.com was an eye-opener for me:
" {This means that} about one in five U.S. adults (21%) have low literacy skills, translating to about 43.0 million adults.
Of those who have low English literacy skills, 35% are White, 2% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 23% are Black, 3% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 34% are Hispanic, 24% of whom are born outside of the U.S.; 8% are of other races/ethnicities."
I like your thoughts there, Zella, on this sunny, breezy morning here in SoCal. Stay warm and keep your synapses firing!
Correct, and in the process oppresses most of the people in that favored group economically, medically, and educationally in return for the privilege of being "better" than the rest of us.
Calling out Republican hypocrisy is a full time job. And it is not done enough.
Overtime is available ✌️
Buttigieg is being blasted because he may run in 2024. I never believed Biden would serve beyond one term. My guess is that he and Jill have long had an agreement on this. He simply doesn't want to be a lame duck. It will be fun seeing how this will play out.
Maybe. But Joe Biden is doing an outstanding job, and having the time of his life doing it.
Yes, Joe's pulling off coup after coup. And enjoying it immensely!
We are essentially in another Cold War, but this time it's with some of the most radical people in our own country instead of the USSR.
All true. Also, we need a more accurate term than "culture war", which amounts to white-washing (pun intended) politics of resentment and hatred that can be deadly to people and to democracy.
I agree we need another term for it. What do you suggest?
Thanks Will! I appreciate your perspective. It's SPOT on! I'm now taking a big, cleansing breath and thinking in a more positive way!
Heather, thank you again for your letter focusing on the most critical issues of the day. I listened to Biden's speech and it was outstanding in its content and its delivery. Biden absolutely understands that he must define true patriotism for both our country and the world.
In the meantime the release of the House security tapes story gets stranger and stranger given that Tucker Carlson, the man who was proven to have lied bout Jan 6 to his viewers just the day before, is the one McCarthy gave EXCLUSIVE access of the tapes to. What it could also do, beyond the security implications, is provide endless fodder for the convicted insurrectionists to raise appeals.
This is a story where Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats have to blare out their message louder than the Republicans.
That footage is the property of the American people and is therefore NOT for McCarthy, or ANY speaker for that matter, to give to whomever he/she pleases. It is wrong--maybe even illegal?--to give it one news entity and not give to all the others equally. This is especially odious in that the person he has given this footage to is that network's leading propagandist, someone who is not at all above using select footage as an aid to twist and distort his lies and misinformation. I keep hoping that somewhere there is a restraining order in the works. Democrats need to get on this ASAP!!
I was wondering if a single citizen could apply to get the tapes. Maybe not even a FOIA form. McCarthy has now put them in the public domain
This thought never even occurred to me before you mentioned it. You might have just made my night. I was so consumed by the prospect of Carlson cutting, splicing and pasting right-wing riot footage into a misleading montage for his propaganda, that I completely missed this prospect. If you're right, one of us, or all of us, should make our FOIA requests for the same, unedited footage right now. After all, its compilation was paid for by us and is a record created for our use. Hard to lie to us if we all have seen the unadulterated record.
I do not understand how McCarthy could give tapes to FOX. Aren’t they owned by us? This guy is out of control.
How, Rupert has the biggest, loudest, and most popular bull horn.
As I read President Biden's beautiful speech on freedom, I couldn't help thinking that in the United States half the population has less freedom than they did a year ago when the Dobbs decision was handed down by the heartless Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, leaving it up to majority white male state legislatures to force pregnancy on all women and making the right to life of any woman lower priority without exception than any fetus, half of whom are male, based on a minority portion of one religion's extreme position on abortion and criminalizing the healthcare of all women by ignoring the 9th (un-enumerated rights), 13th (no forced labor) and 14th (right to privacy and freedom for all) amendments of the U.S. Constitution and the precedent of almost fifty years which sought a balance between the right to life of both the woman and the fetus. The battle for democracy and freedom for all over the tyranny of a theocratic kleptocracy is not over even in America, the land of the "free" and the home of the brave and determined! We, the People of all genders and religions, all of us THIS time!
Tell it Cathy!
Thank you, Bev. Absolutely! The media and the politicians still don't seem to realize how determined women (and their many male supporters) are to turn this around and finally defeat patriarchy and its insatiable need to control others in order to feel manly about themselves.
"... defeat patriarchy and its insatiable need to control others in order to feel manly about themselves" - that is EXACTLY what it is all about!
May women in all states vote like they did in Kansas
That made me very proud to be born and raised in Kansas!
I have no doubt those politicians will learn their lesson come election time; those male supporters will be 'advising' them (and the media) of their error.
Some good news on this front: yesterday, a group submitted ballot language for an abortion rights amendment to the Ohio Constitution. After the language is approved, all we need are approximately 413,000 signatures!
Buckle your seatbelt for the next deluge of decisions from the Supreme Court... they will dismantle key parts of our government based on the specious "nondelegation doctrine."
Having been a passenger on Amtrak 2 years ago I can vouch for the poor condition of track between Minnesota and Seattle. Both Amtrak and freight trains use the same track, which is owned by the freight railroad company, not Amtrak. In certain sections the train would rock and roll vigorously, sometimes violently , and within a month after my journey, there was a derailment of an Amtrak train. The railroads are reluctant to spend on track maintenance , at the level that is necessary for safety. They need more regulation, not less. As for Joe Biden , he is an Amtrak fan and I am sure he cares about the toxic train wreck in Ohio. He is a little busy right now trying to deal with the military aggression by Putin, who is a friend to the GOP.
I was on a train to Seattle (only part way, thank goodness) that was on it's way to Seattle, from somewhere back East. The passengers were about 24 hours late and the toilets were full and literally sloshing over. I have more Amtrak horror stories. Amtrak gets the crumbs while rail companies rake in profits. I think the Japanese high speed Shinkansen "bullet train" (last I heard) has never has a fatal accident, partly because they maintain the tracks meticulously. I saw a Japanese train operator from time to time doing an odd, graceful, pointing motion with his finger on a humble commuter train. I later learned that they are trained to do that as an aid to maintaining concentration. All possible and running smoothy as we speak, in a nation that cares about public transportation.
Yes... I fully agree. Public transportation in Japan is a shining example for the United States that demonstrates the real possibilities of what a national policy like theirs can do for both individuals and industry. A policy conceived, broadly supported and successfully implemented is one that every government and country can easily understand and appreciate. We have a lot of good work to do in the days ahead: vote Democratic and watch it all steadily get done!
Why is it that so many Americans do not like to see shining examples from other countries? Perhaps American Exceptionalism is a coping mechanism against an inferiority complex or a guilt complex. Or just a selfish feeling that the best things do not belong in the hands of other people.
While one hand tried behind their backs. May 2024, untie some of the lobbyists best restraints
It would take billions to upgrade Amtrak to the modern era, probably starting at $20 billion, but we pour money into planes and highways, instead.
Yes. And that is why Pete was a brilliant selection for Transportation Secretary.
In Japan, the tracks that carry the bullet trains are checked and aligned every night. But when you have speeds of up to 320kph (198mph), that's just normal maintenance. I rode the Shinkansen in 1970, from Tokyo to Osaka, while on R&R. Back then, I believe it only got up to 160mph on that line. Fifty plus years on and we have nothing that even comes close to that elegant mode of travel. Shame on us.
Would not ride a train these days…
My Republican fatigue is by far greater than any Ukraine fatigue I may be experiencing. Question for those who would have the US walk away from Ukraine and let Putin walk in; did the US and Allied soldiers who fell in WW I and WW II die for nothing?
On his worst days, Pete Buttigieg is still about a hundred times smarter than the MAGA Republican dopes (triple redundant?) trying to take him down.
Well said!
Indeed!
Heather, this is a blockbuster letter. I am concerned there was no mention of Putin’s stated intent to eliminate the last nuclear disarmament agreement between the US and Russia. He will not renew his country’s commitment to stopping the proliferation of nuclear arsenals in 2025. The threat of nuclear conflict is very real and I believe every effort must be made to reverse it. MQarthy is predictably idiotic in his grandstanding decision to “turn over” hours of the Jan 6 tapes to Tucker Carlson, a truly groveling servant of all things fascist. Margerine Traitor Greene displays her shameful ignorance of government with discussion of her “national divorce” idea. If she had no power it would be laughable. She has her own form of a “bully pulpit” and smiles through her lies and distortions with great ease. I hope Dominion crushes FNC, as they fully deserve to be annihilated. I think we would all have a great deal of satisfaction at Rupert Murdoch’s demise.
The nation could breathe a sigh of relief...until Newsmax and Breitbart gathered up the attention of all those brainwashed armchair warriors.
Glory, my dream for half my life…
She comes close rather often, but there's no way the good doctor can fit a better than newspaper news in a single letter.
Biden should take this issue of nuclear disarmament to the pulpit for more of his emphatic speeches.
Nature abhors, a vacuum, as the saying goes, get rid of FOX and another will show up. It’s like trying to get rid of cockroaches impossible. All you can do is try to keep them under control!
I remember when the SCOTUS proclaimed "Corporations are people" during the "Citizens United decision.
People who are going to put their car or truck on a road need to have adequate insurance, vehicle inspection, adequate driving lights, brakes, emissions tests, and minimum amounts of tread on tires. There are serious consequences for not complying with these common sense standards required for public safety.
Now it appears when a large railway corporation chooses not to maintain similar standards to address public safety, suddenly "Corporations aren't people." They lobby politicians not to regulate them, and politicians comply. When their combined negligence creates a disaster, they now lobby politicians for special immunity from responsibility.
It does appear that when SCOTUS claimed "Corporations are people," they seemed to mean that corporations will have the privileges and the people will have the responsibility to clean up the corporations' disasters.
Well said. But in this case, the Feds are rushing in to do the cleanup and the railroad is legally on the hook for the cost.
Of course, the CEO I saw mumbling bullshit on TV last night should have to cough up some bucks as they fire him. The "buck should stop with him". He should resign in shame.
There is quite a history unfolding behind this. It seems independent news media are the main sources of investigative reporting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRbkGEHkm3U First twenty-five or so minutes
https://www.levernews.com/bidens-doj-backing-norfolk-southern-case-to-block-lawsuits/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/opinion/ohio-train-derailment-safety-regulation.html
https://www.levernews.com/enviros-threaten-legal-action-if-buttigieg-doesnt-act/
We will just need to see how it plays out.
Thanks
Seems like Biden needs to step up and get these regs back in place.
But money rules and as long as the rail companies pour money in to campaigns and lobby, it's an uphill battle.
I can never understand why companies don't see that taking care of their employees and fostering safety is the responsible thing to do. But they cater o their share holders and the never-enoughers! I guess there is a lot of things I don't understand.
Fairly good recap at Rising today. Neither party can run away from what they did and finger-point at the other. What's clear is that corporate lobbyists have too much clout over our elected representatives, but operatives of neither party seem to be willing to admit it, much less openly combat it.
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/3869265-rising-february-22-2023/
Shame isn’t much of a thing anymore, so it seems. Now in fashion is “doubling down.”
Doubling down happens when one is invested in an unsustainable cause. Bullying doesn't build any vision of substance. Its aim is to destroy visions of substance.
Have the CEO go down to the crash site and breathe in the toxic fumes and have him bring his own bottled water.
Then these corporate "people" should be held accountable, including the corporate executives and their boards.
We the People, used to be the people before 2010,
When SCOTUS made us take a back seat to
Corporations who are now People, and
Dark Money makes it so
most of the People
don't matter anymore.
Make us be the People
with no extras, no imposters,
Just Us Real People once again.
Good call, Ed.
I would add that a similarly if not identically constructed Supreme Court also found that corporations have religious rights in the infamous Hobby Lobby decision. Corporate power is more than just out of hand all across the fruited plain these days. But since the modern, state licensed corporation did not come into existence until the post Civil War era, I guess the question would be, is the corporate free (if not invisible) hand within the "historical traditions" of our Country as the Founders saw it? Messrs. Thomas and Alito would have it no other way, right??
The other point your post implicitly raises is the insidious role of money in politics. Before the dumbest U.S. Senator not named Marsha Blackburn, i.e., Ron Johnson somehow conned the good people of the Badger State to elect him, Wisconsin had one of the best Senators in the Country in Russ Feingold. The Citizens United decision eviscerated the pioneering McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Act, thus paving the way for a near oligarchical grip on the levers of political power. This has gradually enabled an anti-regulatory army of lobbyists full, well funded sway over the People's elected representatives. Regulations, what regulations?!?
Free Market uber alles, baby!!!
I agree with you about Russ Feingold. I resided in Wisconsin for 13 years and could not believe what the influence of Koch Bros did to that state after they were able to install Scott Walker as Governor. They managed to destroy both the state's support of the environmental land ethic and what was one of the finest higher education systems in the U. S. WI was the Koch's beta-test, which they now are reaching to recreate in the takeover of other states.
Thanks, Ed. I always had great respect for Russ Feingold. Not simply because I generally agreed with his policies, but because he consistently came across as a bright, hard working, Senatorial Senator, if you will. His alliance with McCain on the campaign finance issue was one of the highlights of modern bipartisan maturity, and already it seems like a quaint historical footnote. Truly sad.
The Kochs are horrific. Their ALEC is the political equivalent of an all encompassing Bond villain that, seemingly omnipotent and omnipresent.
As a Californian, and a graduate of UCLA, I am proud of our wonderful University system. I always thought, without claiming great knowledge about other states' systems, that the UW system was quite good as well. Wisconsin has a true populist history, (not the know nothing, MAGA-esque faux populism), led by "Fighting" Bob LaFollette.
I was unaware of the damage the insipid Scott Walker did to the educational system beyond weakening the public sector unions, but am not surprised.
On the brighter side, I hope the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point is still running strong. I have been to the State which I greatly enjoyed, but not to that town. As a basketball fan, I always remembered it due to the fact that the former great Blazer guard Terry Porter went there.
The proRussia/proPutin wing of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives
Matthew Gaetz (FL 01) (2022 -- Defeated Dem Rebekah Jones 68-32)
Andy Biggs (AZ 05) (2022 -- Defeated Dem Javier Garcia Ramos 57-37)
Lauren Boebert (CO 03) (2022 -- Defeated Dem Adam Frisch, running again in 2024, 50.08-49.92)
Paul Gosar (AZ 09) (2022 -- Unopposed)
Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA 14) (2022 -- Defeated Dem Marcus Flowers 66-34)
Anna Paulina Luna* (FL 13) ( 2022 -- Defeated Dem Eric Lynn 53-45)
Thomas Massie (KY 04) (2022 -- Defeated Dem Matt Lehman 65-31)
Mary Miller (IL 15) (2022 -- Defeated Dem Paul Lange 71-29)
Barry Moore (AL 02) (2022 -- Defeated Dem Phyllis Harvey-Hall 69-29)
Ralph Norman (SC 05) (2022 -- Defeated Dem Evangeline Huntley 64-34.5)
Matt Rosendale (MT 02) (2022 -- Defeated Independent Gary Buchanan 57-22; Democrat Penny Running was third with 20 points)
*Anna Paulina Luna has recently been accused of being I a league with George Santos for making up her personal history.
That's good info to have. Lauren Boebert is the only one of these folks who was in a closely contested election. So they feel pretty comfortable being who and what they are....and saying what they say. Dems need to target districts we can retake in 2024 and push these folks back out of any positions of power to the fringe.
Adam Frisch (who almost beat Bobo in the last election) brought in $500k in the first few days since his bid to unseat her in the coming election! https://www.coloradopolitics.com/elections/boebert-challenger-adam-frisch-hauls-in-more-than-500k-within-days-of-launching-2024-bid/article_150b5112-b23a-11ed-9641-973e72d26c6b.html
I agree. Dems need to target districts they can retake. In addition to Boebert, Republicans above who have taken a ProRussian position and get 50%+ of the vote could be vulnerable. Anna Paulina Luna is one -- especially if the George Santos similarity sticks. If Rosendale goes all out for the Senate, but even if he runs for reelection to the House, MT 02 could be vulnerable to an independent like Buchanan (who stressed keeping the right of privacy in the state constitution) if Democrats do not run a candidate.
Thanks for this reckoning, Leonard.
Several of them need to be arrested for sedition. Sooner rather than later.
PAUL GOSAR UNOPPOSED!!! How could this be? This doesn’t convince me to donate to the DNC. Not that I did before. I donate to individual candidates.
It was a little time, but not a lot. I write a newsletter -- Len's Political Notes https://lenspoliticalnotes.com and either have the information available or a reasonably quick way to get to it.
Every day in America, one pressing need:
Stretchers. Straitjackets. Secure padded cells.
Heaven help us!
From poisonous psychotic politicians, deliver us!
Amen!
(Astutely applied alliterations, as well, Peter. Nice!)
Or just absurdly self-serving, conscienceless, and greedy. At a certain point, that becomes evil, and I think that much that they have done would qualify.
they have come to believe their own schtick!
Biden’s speeches reminded me of the America I have loved. I felt proud that he committed us to assisting the brave Ukrainian people. It is so simple. If Russia looses they can just walk away, if Ukraine looses they cease to exist. They must fight and win. They are fighting for all democracies, because if Putin wins there he will attack Poland, the Baltic States…
Ukraine must win 🇺🇦
The contrast of the quality level between Trump's and Biden's cabinets leaves one bleary-eyed. Buttigieg is the man of the moment as he hurls deserved blame on the trump administration's undoing of rail regulations. As a smart and successful ex-mayor of a major city, he could not have been a better pick as Secretary of Transportation.
In response to a totally different topic of Heather's newsletter, both Kevin McCarthy and *ucker Carlson should be tarred and feathered....
I admire Prof Richardson, still calling *ucker carlson a "TV personality". No sign of personality imho.
Well, there are good personalities and bad personalities....
You are correct - strictly speaking. However, 'personality' to me has a pretty positive connotation, and there is nothing positive in that carlson 'person'.
The good news is “The democracies of the world have grown stronger, not weaker. But the autocrats of the world have grown weaker, not stronger.” Yes, President Biden recognizes the reality of countries working together as opposed to autocracies like Russia, that not only threaten world peace but peace and justice in their own countries. And being there, Poland and Kyiv, meeting in person with leaders struggling to build Democracies, is powerful. And courageous. Our president is showing the world our commitment is backed up with action. As we grow stronger we see the necessity of our own political parties to work together, here at home, as we must repair and strengthen domestic and environmental systems, our railroads, water quality, clean energy. And Justice. Especially Justice. We must hold accountable those elected and appointed leaders who choose to jeopardize our safety and security. Speaker McCarthy giving away or perhaps selling or trading January 6 video clips to Fox News Tucker Carlson is of great concern. First question: Why? We can begin to understand that justice and equality are not just words, but backed up with commitment. Safety regulations for communities and railway workers. Answering the right wing criticism with real action and change. Action speaks louder than words and lies. And accountability to those who threaten and sabotage domestic security and policies with lies and violence must be and are being held accountable. After several years of drama and danger by self-serving followers of a weakening repub party and TFG, we are hoping that courts and Justice do their jobs.
The current RW supreme court "Justices" are NOT doing their jobs (unless one were to include their "jobs" of doing what The Federalist Society tells them to do.)
I am so proud today to be an American, with a real American President who supports Democracy for everyone and Freedom for everyone. It is such a great feeling to be represented by a bipartisan team of people willing to stand up to a brutal despot who, like the trumpster' cares nothing for the people he represents, willing to throw them by the hundred of thousands into an ignominious death just to assuage his ego. I sincerely hope the American people realize how lucky we are. Bravo President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Buttigieg.
Thank you Professor!
(Sorry for the following run-on sentences.)
I would simply note the disingenuous "calls to resign" that the GOP and their media echo chambers keep yapping about
target highly intelligent, qualified, working, problem-solving, crisis-addressing and thoughtfully appointed Cabinet members like Rhodes-scholar Pete Buttigieg.
They target and attack the qualified "rising stars" to "poison the well" of public opinion, with their constant sniping and made-up "push" polling.
To borrow another campaign phrase,
the Biden Administration "has a plan for that."
They demonstrate the ability to respond to MULTIPLE ISSUES
without the false charge from the GOP that claims they are only capable of addressing one at a time.
Let the adults keep doing the work.
Meanwhile, the GOP is standing on the sideline,
complaining with no constructive input.
They do not care about the people affected, except to manipulate their plights to create more chaos, division, anger and fear.
They are like arsonists - burning books is just the start of burning everything else down if they cannot be in power.
The blatant hypocrisy is simply astounding
of the conspiracy-driven extremists currently driving the QAnon clown-car off the rails
with cries that they want to go back to the short-lived Confederacy.
Excellent comment Beverly.
Busy news day Professor handled with your usual clarity and panache. Some observations on intent and purpose of certain Republicans and faux journalist Tucker Carlson ... it is always about show and shallowness, they are not interested in solving problems, only in sheer demagoguery, and one thing you do not want to do is mess with Secretary Pete Butigieg. That person knows his stuff and he is a gifted speaker and sharp as a tack. However, what is most unsettling is the sharing of the January 6th video trove. It will be manipulated and edited to demonstrate a MAGA point of vie.w on the insurrection. I hope Hakeem Jeffries and the Capitol Police do not let this sneaky deal go without proper investigation. My feeling is that collusion is present.
My question: How did security tapes from J6 get released at all?
- and especially (and exclusively) into the hands of propaganda-makers?
See Brian's earlier comment: Apparently they are only "viewing" it in a closed room -- not copying, etc. Bad enough, though.