Yesterday, the chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, James Comer (R-KY), the chair of the Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce, Pete Sessions (R-TX), the chair of the Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs, Glenn Grothman (R-WI), and the chair of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation, Nancy Mace (R-SC), along with seventeen other extremist Republican members of Congress, sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
Good response. A piece that keeps getting left out is that the Gov. of Ohio at least initially (and may still, haven't seen an update) refused to call for FEMA. That requires a state declaration of emergency, but he didn't want to give Biden a "win".
Heather analyzed DeWine's "lack of response" in her Tuesday political chat (which I transcribed quite a bit. "The Trump administration changed the safety rules the Obama administration had put in place to get rid of brakes that would have at least slowed down that disaster and at the same time changed the definition of a hazardous carriage. At the same time Biden called Gov. DeWine instantly and said, “Anything you want, I’ll get it for you.” DeWine said to the cameras, “I don’t see a problem, we don’t need federal help,” because he’s a Republican and they do not want to accept the idea that the federal government has a role to play in industry. This was an ideological decision on the part of a Republican governor. Things have gotten worse and worse and that has changed. The federal government cannot unilaterally go into a state, although it’s not supposed to. It did occasionally under the Trump administration. What can you do, you offered help, but are shut out and now Tucker Carlson is saying “you care more about the world than you care about us.” That is pure propaganda. "
"The Trump administration" also jettisoned the pandemic preparation that the previous administration had put in place. It not "government" the Republicans attack, it is democracy and the commonwealth.
Republicans attacking democracy and the commonwealth? Words outside their vocabulary. Just attack anything that's not part of the great MAGA philosophy. Sorry, can't think of a simpler word for "philosophy" right now - my dinner is on the stove.
The Epidemic Playbook was actually a multi-Administration Response developed by Bill, W, and Barack, who each had their challenges. But, the "dumbest student I ever had" was too smart(?) to need to read it. And so, cast it aside. I do hope there are other copies laying around so that Joe's team can update it with all of the actions of the tRUmp Admin to avoid...
I think you meant 'the federal govenment can go into a state...'. George Wallace didn't think so, either, but he gave ground to the federalized Guard troops at the University of Alabama.
The NTSB is a separate agency, charged with both investigating civil transportation accidents and investigating the release of hazardous materials during transportation. They can and must go into a state where something like this happens, in spite of the governor of Ohio's selfish opinion about it
I’ve read that the rules that Trump cancelled would not have applied to the vinyl chloride car, because the Obama administration gave in to lobbyists and took vinyl chloride off if the list of hazardous chemicals covered by the electronic brake regulation.
In a world before tfg and rancid partisanship we might have patiently waited for the investigation to be complete before looking to place blame.Somehow tfg brought out the worst in us. Here’s some information on how the Precision Scheduled Railroading that was recently a big issue might have effected the accident. Ultimately the RR company is at fault. I don’t understand the mindset of thinking corporations will regulate themselves.
That's the basis of the free market philosophy and libertarianism. It's interesting that there has never been an equitable society based on libertarian principles and yet all these sanctimonious people who claim to be above politics insist that it's the only real way to run a society and have liberty. And it's a tool used by conservative politicians to get rid of the New Deal and have ignorant people sign on to it.
“claim to be above politics” just like everything else they say, this is just another attempt to throw the 💩they are covered in onto those they politically and passionately disagree with!! It’s nonsensical
Source please. I find nothing to suggest Obama caved to industry. The purpose of the Obama legislation was in direct response to the derailment in NJ, perhaps 2012 where vinyl chloride was involved.
"Although the train contained hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, it did not meet the Department of Transportation’s narrow definition of a high-hazard flammable unit train because it didn’t have at least 70 cars containing flammable materials, such as crude oil or ethanol. The chemicals it was carrying fall into a different classification not included in this definition.
Cheung also pointed to a statement by National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, who said it is "false" to state that if the brake rule was implemented it would have prevented the derailment."
"But the sudden growth of the American fracking industry, which fueled the demand for freight cars carrying crude oil from fields in North Dakota and other states to ports and refineries around the country, changed the economic equation for the rail industry. The surge in demand meant it would be much more costly for the forced adoption of new safety regulations requiring ECP brakes on rail cars carrying explosive liquids.
By May 2015, when the Obama administration issued its rule following a number of oil train accidents, the industry coalesced in opposition."
So DeSwine would rather let a town in his state--some of the very people who elected him--suffer from potentially toxic fumes from the burning of the toxic chemicals that had been contained in those rail cars, merely so he can, essentially, "own the libs"...? What a p*ss poor piece of garbage. DeSwine really is a pig--and that is greatly maligning pigs.
Don't demean cockroaches. They have been around for millions of years, adapting to changes in the environment as necessary. They are far smarter than Republicans, or any political party for that matter. They will be around even after mankind is extinct, possibly inheriting the earth.
I don't remember in which one, but there was a scene in a sci-fi film about twenty years ago where an earthling, setting foot on another planet, is almost instantly devoured by cockroach-like creatures.
As someone who lived in Egypt for almost 6 years, I can assure you that there is absolutely no justification for the existence of cockroaches, especially when they crawl over your face while you're sleeping or drown themselves in your coffee.
You are correct! And there is absolutely no justification for a country to wage agressive war on civilians rather than attacking military targets. We have been trying to put an end to both cockroaches and war on civilians for centuries without much luck.
They are prolific because human beings are prolific. But they are also part of the food chain that feeds many other species. If we weren't so messy there would probably not be as many.
And yeah, the last two sentences were gratuitous insults...but in Maine, we suffered for eight years with exactly the same sort of Repub guv (LePage, Maine's national embarrassment--not the current guv, who is a peach) and their attitudes were and are infuriating and callous. I couldn't help myself.
You are 100% correct, sir!!!! Thankfully, there was no third party running to split the vote and let LePage win with a measly plurality as he did for his first and second terms and LePage got well and truly thumped by Janet Mills (no relation) as he should have been the very first time he ran. He really was a lying, deceitful, vulgarian bloviator who used to BRAG that he..."was Trump before Trump was Trump." LePage moved to Florida and all things considered--he really belongs there.
T L Miller. Perhaps the governor was waiting for the responsible party to contact him. The party that is responsible, is Norfolk Southern Railroad (ph), they have promised cleanup funding and other aid. I understand that FEMA and the EPA are presently there.
Hard to imagine that the governor was “waiting” for the railroad to contact him. If he was, he’s even stupider and more craven than I thought. Corporate America doesn’t “contact” its victims. It expects to get off scot free as it does in most situations.
In spite of the random nature of reporting on this and the many assumptions made by both news and news comsumers, I picked up something about why DeWine took the stance he did. His perspective is (or was) that FEMA is meant for natural disasters, and this clearly was not a natural disaster: it was human caused, period. Personally, at this point, I don't know if FEMA could be involved or not, but the reasoning is sound.
The point here isn't FEMA anyway: it is the irrational claim by certain Republicans (DeWine not included) that because Biden himself was not onsite, he cared more about overseas events than Ohio. This kind of argument comes up from time to time around various disasters. It is baloney. We do not elect our president to be the front man for every agency doing their job.
What difference would Biden's physical presence in the direct aftermath of the train wreck have contributed? He was busy doing his job, representing our country both internationally and here at home, by assuring the governor and the people of Ohio that essential federal government resources were at work for them, and by taking a remarkable initiative to solidify support for Ukrainians, who are bearing the brunt of an aggressive war that is not going to just burn out by itself.
Re: Biden's not making an appearance in Ohio. Isn't it sad that we think an appearance for a photo op actually helps in an emergency like this? What it really does is remove from service,some of the people on the ground who are needed to help, and stick them onto an unnecessary security team!
Thank you, Cheryl, so true. And, yes, sad that so many people have a misguided sense of how our government works. One of the reasons, I think, they sometimes cannot see it at work.
I saw somewhere that Biden DID offer to come but the East Palestine mayor knew he didn't have the resources to provide adequate security, so declined. Fast forward a week of so and the same mayor was complaining that Biden cared more about Ukraine than the people in his town. Thank Heavens Biden's thick skin and extensive experience keeps him on the high road w/ stuff like this.
Jen, my excepting DeWine in this instance was because he did speak up for Biden to emphasize that Biden HAD called to offer help, counter to what the right wingers were claiming. I think also that his initial reluctance to accept FEMA was based on his understanding of FEMA's purpose. Clearly he recognized that he was wrong on that, and later accepted FEMA assistance.
I don't claim to read people's minds. I look at what they do and say. I don't know what DeWine's feelings and motivations are. But I'll allow that he is trying to do what he thinks is right for Ohio, within the philosophical framework he has. That is not charity. It is simply acknowledging that he is due some credit for integrity, even though I disagree with his perspective.
Your ending your argument with "Period" suggests that your mind is closed to seeing DeWine in any framework but the one in which you seem to have lumped all Republicans. I have to wonder where the hatred lies here- who is aiming and who is the target. DeWine is deeply conservative, and has taken stands that I think are extremely short-sighted and sometimes downright peculiar. But I don't think he is in the class of some extreme right wingers (note that most of the negative comments are coming from WaDC politicos with aspirations for control and power.)
Annie, I write because your comment speaks to the fact, that because we’re so deeply divided, when one side opens its mouth the other half hears only lies and deceit. Regrettably, this impasse not only is unacceptable, but also unlikely to change any time soon.
Still, something must change, maybe a promise that instead of scorching the earth between us we will try every day to bring the country together.
Barbara, I agree. That's why I feel so strongly that we all have a responsibility NOT to use that chasm to call names and enlarge the impasse. We also have a responsibility to call it out when it happens, especially when the purpose seems largely to feel superior to people we don't agree with. Give people credit for what they do, even when their political philosophy is very different from one's own. I do not agree with Gov DeWine, but I'll hand him credit for making it clear that Biden HAD been in touch within two hours of the train wreck. Not sure I would be able to do the same with people like MTG, who leaves no room to reach across. But I still will not, as so many do, make fun of Greene by calling her grade school names. Ok, fine, in private I snark, but rarely here. I'm tired of cheap shots, no matter what direction they come from. "Scorched earth" starts with name-calling and gets worse from there.
How in the world did you come up with this? You are as much a danger as the 21 people Heather mentioned in her post. Read more, and learn to read carefully so that you understand what is going on. There is plenty of middle ground to work on and in with other people.
Maybe DeWine is not in the same class (although to me his voter suppression efforts put him there) but he surely needs the support of those “extreme right wingers” and he seems willing to play along
George, my apologies. Using jargon to save my fingers. WaDC is abbreviation for Washington, DC. When I use the term WaDC politico", it is to differentiate between the people in WaDC political circles and those in our own communities. I know from my experience that the air in WaDC is a bit rarified and sometimes we need to carefully examine what people there say and do. In our own communities, we usually have a better sense of the context of issues and often know the back stories.
My last typing of the day... my hands gave me the signal to stop. So am going to give today's project a quick list of key words as prompts tomorrow. Goody, now I get to read for a while. Fascinating history of the Dutch settlement that turned into modern New York: a fascinating (and sometimes amusing) ride through complex world wide factors that shaped American culture. Ouch. I may not type tomorrow.
Everyone in Ohio did not vote for these monstrous reprobates. There are many Democrats and Independents and non-voters (this incident may convert a few) and children in Ohio.
It is so apparent every time I hear him speak that he tries to do everything he can for all of Ohio. I wish he’d run for President but he seems to have no ambition for that. Another reason to love the man.
When I watched the interview with DeWine, I was of the impression that DeWine didn't see this as an emergency situation as they burned off the toxic chemicals to reduce risk of further explosions and his agencies and the railroad folks were telling him this wasn't going to get out of hand. Clearly, he didn't have all the facts and underestimated the fears of folks in East Palestine. A lot of ugly is coming out and too much mincing of wording in letters to and between federal regulators, lobbying groups, and Senators with animus as their calling. There is a lot of failure going around and will come down to deregulation and weakening the oversight by railroads and, of course, making decisions that improve the profit margin at the expense of safety and reduction of real people watching over every coupler and foot of track, especially where hazardous materials are being transported through our fragile environments and communities. I hope the battle stays focused on the safety and employee issues that led to this preventable disaster(accident) and MSM plays down the vitrol of blame emanating from the mouths of politicians who see a political gain by fomenting and spreading fear and blame.
I am a very capable analytical chemist, but hardly an advisor to the governor. Either he was too stupid to get good advice, or too beholden to the financial interests behind this ( and apparently two a day) chemical spill. A BA chemist could have told this man this was an extremely dangerous and toxic situation.
Thanks for going the extra mile to spread blame. DeWine’s an idiot. Idiots don’t like smart people around them. I may not be good for financial advice but any chemist should have been able to read an MSDS and see how awful this was. Hell, Devine probably doesn’t even know what an MSDS is. As a host to many chemical manufacturers and a transit point for hazardous material, he should have been quite familiar.
I doubt that they're all imbeciles, but the willful obfuscation of some, combined with the stupidity (some of it also willful) of others is a toxic brew.
No, quite the opposite, this is clever (and cynical). These Republican politicians don’t believe any of this, but they know their voters will fall for these lies, because their voters are not very smart (as evidenced by how they listen to Fox News and support the party that constantly screws them). The goal here is to smear Buttigieg, who likely will be running for president in 2028. The smear doesn’t have to be true.
We all need to remember, too, that they saw Hillary as a threat while Bill was still in office, and began trashing her then, using the same lies and innuendo that they did against him. "Crooked Hilary" was coined well before she ran for president, and it worked, thanks to Jim Comey. Before much longer, "pedophile" will be coupled with Buttigieg, and for the same purpose.
No. They’re lacking hearts. While intelligence would be nice, it takes empathy to care enough to use whatever intelligence one may be blessed with in order to muster help.
In the authoritarian model, which I suspect most Republicans were raised with, are taught that the status of of the speaker "trumps" ( if you'll pardon the expression) the empirical grounding of what is said. You can be "highly" educated ( or at least have degrees) and accept that as an axiom, and I know some who do. The trick is to cultivate PTSD in your progeny to render them phobic of questioning the target authority. You also don't have to have an authoritarian mindset in order to promote it. You just need to harbor the urge to use it in order to control others.
Research indicates that more conservative people tend to be more afraid of change and difference, and are drawn to the "strong" father type leader who can make them feel safe. Facts aren't a consideration.
No it isn't lack of intelligence it is use of that intelligence to drive their crazy agenda in the news system. They decided to make East Palestine Biden's Katrina. Add that they want points against Pete for the future.
What is really lacking is knowledge of how the government works and of the world in general. Trump was a leader in the lacking knowledge camp. Didn't even know that Finland was a country.
Right on, it wasn't even understood that the native people of Greenland have a different concept of ownership than we do. The whole country is owned in common. You don't even own the land you house sits on, it kind of a lease. Greenland is not something you could by from Denmark.
Of course, when you think about it, this is actually more accurate for all of us who "own" our property. We are really just leasing it, since it will go on after we're dead, with others "owning" it temporarily as well. But the ignorance and audacity of tfg thinking this was even possible with Greenland.
Willful ignorance and arrogance... characteristics I see aplenty in Republicans... so much arrogance they refuse facts if those facts negate their views.
And, the audience who each believe that could be successful, just like that great businessman or that they will win the lottery. Aspiring to be the corporate or richly successful guy who exudes wealth and gild. Finding the right chance, the inside deal, the right connections is what brings success, whether in politics or in business. Teaching, being the beat cop, serving in the ranks, a craftsman, a clerk, all chump jobs. Nothing worth aspiring to. Making the break that let's you get ahead or in control of others, that's what's important. We dress it up afterwards to look valuable to those others, the chumps who still think that doing a good job or helping others on their own dime.
There is no higher "calling" than to be a teacher or craftsman or should I say craftperson. One creates beautiful minds the other beautiful things. Worth more than gold or silver.
Dave, I so agree. But I suspect you and I both believe that we should leave the world we came into a little better by the time we leave it and that the people in it are the most important, both as instruments to achieve such and who should benefit by the labors of our hearts or minds or hands. Just call me Chump. Proud to be such and satisfied with what I have acquired in my life; enough plus a little nut to pass on.
These are all the people who will tell you that they voted for tFg because he's such a brilliant businessman. Then they have the chutzpah to sneer at the "chumps" that know otherwise. Most of this is a manifestation of poor self image.
- and astoundingly selfish, like a combination of Guinea worms and flesh-eating bacteria, with a bit of zombie fungus thrown in for good measure. They acknowledge the existence of no interests other than their own, and single-mindedly act to achieve their own interests, without awareness of any others, or of the damage their actions do.
Certainly the Republican "leaders" are lacking in intelligence, and like Faux News personalities, spew out untruths knowing their audience will fall for them. Critical thinking is not part of the makeup of the audience members, or of most of the MAGA adherents.
No, but we aren’t hearing anything from them. Their silence is deafening while their idiot colleagues who have hijacked the party can’t shut their mouths.
Kathy, I heard the report right after the derailment, and also heard that Biden had immediately called Gov. DeWine to offer FEMA assistance, as Carla relates below, and as you both said, Gov. DeWine said they didn't need FEMA's assistance at the time. I have not heard a word on any news outlet regarding DeWine's decision since.
Truth Nancy. I am from Ohio and heard the immediate news reports and was glued to them and updates regarding the derailment from local sources. I also reported the same that Carla did; Biden called and offered any and all, DeWine declined. When I said this here, I also added, "End of Story" - until it wasn't the end of the story.
I'd only agree that he 'appears' fairly moderate Nancy. Consider his full embrace of the right to life extremists for one - denying a female human's right to choose and privacy. I think he's more likely a wolf in lamb's clothing.
D4N, I'm sure you're correct. There are almost no Republicans currently in office who are moderate. The fact that he doesn't spew venom, like DeSantis and Abbott, is no guarantee of moderation. I'm also aware of his right to life stance. The possibility of agreeing with Biden, even to save his constituents' health, would be an impossible task for him, and the water he was drinking to prove that it was safe probably had just been poured out of a plastic bottle.
If they ask for help from the federal government then they admit to 2 facts:1. They are not up to the task themselves and 2. The federal government has a legitimate purpose and existence. These “alternative facts” gall their ass.
Agree. The Biden administration offered the state of Ohio immediate help but the Governor (DeWine)refused it and then lied about it and said that FEMA does not cover this type of disaster. This is just another example of politicizing something that should never have been politicized in the first place and people suffered and are suffering as a result.
Did I read that the "leaders" of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Gov DeWine and President Biden, copied to Sec Buttigieg asking how they could help? No? Musta been a dream. Now back to the the day mare.
As we get rightfully steamed over the total disregard for truth, not to mention the best interests of the people in and around East Palestine, let’s take a breath and recall that truth wins in the end, because it is, you know, true.
I really want to believe this but honestly, Republicans are the most fact denying, fantasy driven people I know. Twenty years ago, or so I told my Republican sister that the federal budget had only been balanced twice in our lifetime, once under Eisenhower and once under Clinton. She said, Clinton never balanced the budget. He cooked the books. So, there’s that.
There are always people who refuse to believe the truth. Look at those who don't believe we landed on the moon, or that COVID vaccines work. But most people--eventually virtually all who are not qualified to be in a padded cell--do come to accept truth.
The blame sits squarely on DeWine’s shoulders...a little known fact, and barely reported by the fifth estate. In MTG’s world of divorce, occurrences like this will happen regularly...then, who’s to blame. Hmm
Isn't it both astonishing and infuriating that even Governors, who are elected to serve their people, prefer to give MAGAs a publicity "win" rather than take care of the safety of their own people!
I am with you. How infuriating is it that public servants that are elected to SERVE their constituents actually withhold available aid to people who are living through some terrific hard times. Just like these governors of mainly red states who choose to opt out of Medicaid $$ that are lifesaving funds, is beyond cruel to me.
It is long past time to disband FENA as a welfare agency for states. And in this situation, 100% of the cost should be on the railroad. Not one cent of tax payer dollars should supplement NS.
When Buttgieg was asked by a reporter about visiting East Palenstine, two weeks after the diasaster, he said "I'm on personal time" and I share that information "when I'm ready"
Then he asked the reporter to take a selfie with him.
Buttgieg's political career is roadkill. Done.
Biden administration employees some of the least impressive people imaginable.
Besides Biden who is a barely coherent. Look at the laundry list:
-Kamala Harris - she is universal loathed as idiot.
- Pete Buttgieg - what does he do? No one knows?
- Janet Yellen - wrong every step of the way on inflation.
- Lloyd Austin - completely whiffed on Afghanistan
- Merrick Garland - opening day memo sent the FBI to go after parents
- Anthony Fauci - proven wrong on the vaccine (never tested/never worked) and the booster
impairs the immune system and is more likely to cause COVID, and now a
massive study showing masks NEVER worked
It takes a lot of chutzpah to try and blame the Republicans for the PR problems in East Palestine.
After Donald Trump completely embarrassed Buttgieg by showing up in East Palenstine first, he said it best, "after Biden finishes touring Ukraine, I hope there is some money left".
I guess lipstick is the best you can do. But sadly the pig is still ugly.
I guess the truth is just to hard to take. Especially when I provide quotes. How are you going to lie it away. Just remember that true is not a left wing value. It never has been. Even worse the left destroys everything it touches.
That maybe the dumbest comeback I've ever seen. The best you could come back with is a cliché? You didn't refute a single word. For example do you believe that Kamala Harris is a towering intellectual? Or a power grubbing lightweight?
That's the best you do? You didn't refute a single point. Of course you can't
so you make some idiotic comment about climate. You might want to remember
the old maxim, Its better to say nothing and leave in question your stupidity, then to open your mouth and leave nothing to doubt. Well done my friend!
Climate Change has already been killing the brilliant and the idiots. Much more to come. It's really the only subject that matters if you love your planet.
Hm. I wonder how you found your way to this island of truth? You have clearly been immersed in the right wing truthless world of FOX, OANN, NEWSMAX and others.
Have you by any chance seen any of the emails by FOX hosts in which they acknowledge that everything they said about the 2020 elections being stolen was utter crap, yet pushed it to folks like you anyway. Because . . . that's what you want!
For narcissistic virtue signaling leftists I'm sure your little joke is mild amusing.
But for the 1000 families in and around East Palestine whose air is unsafe to breathe, whose drinking water is unsafe to drink it might not be so funny. Their livestock have died. Their Residents are having respiratory problems. So your "brain damage" comment, the folks of East Palestine might think, is disgraceful and totally disrespectful.
Our Transportation secretary was too busy to go, until Donald Trump makes a fool out of him.
When asked about visiting the site he told a reporter - I share that soon. Then proceed to take a selfie with the reporter.
Its either true or not - Did Pete Buttgieg waited 20 days to go East Palestine?
TRUE OR FALSE?
Did Pete Buttgieg tell a reporter that he was on personal time and he would let them know when he planned to go to East Palestine? Then he asked the reporter to take a selfie? TRUE OR FALSE?
The local residents are experiencing respiratory problems, dead livestock, and polluted drinking water? TRUE OR FALSE?
You disparage others for our failure to prove you wrong, but I see not a scintilla of evidence that your assertions are correct. You cite not a single source. That was YOUR job, not ours.
Buttigieg's presence wasn't needed. Trump's certainly wasn't. He just wanted a photo op. And the Trump water? It went out of business 10 years ago. Just what they need in East Palestine -- 10 year old water!
I think it's good that you are here despite your tendency to try to insult people. If you stick around long enough, you may find that YOU are the snowflake, and maybe some of the lies you are frozen into will melt away.
The terrorists are "inside the building" quite literally. Thank you Heather for this summary of more deliberate destruction of government----and for showing the stupidity of the right-wing leadership in the House. But of course, even stupid people can do some very dangerous things---and indeed evil things. On the other hand, Buttigieg put it to them in his reply. BUT, the Democrats need to be a bit of direct shouting to make sure the voters understand what is going on. Too much control of the narrative goes to the GOP. Yes, the enemy is within---as well as outside.
Grover, Expanding on your point that Democrats need to take greater control of the narrative, I would suggest Democrats not only need to show that the GOP Norfolk Southern complaint filed against the federal government is misleading, but also that it is a deliberate cover-up. To clarify, in the past 6 years, the rail industry has downsized its workforce by 30%. Accordingly, workers have had to do more work with fewer people, a factor that, undoubtedly, causes safety concerns. Additionally, throughout its recent negotiations with workers, the rail industry could not provide even 1 day of paid sick leave, notwithstanding it beginning to reverse the policy due to public pressure.
Broadly speaking, Norfolk Southern represents a nexus of 3 widespread problems: 1) the strength of corporate lobbying in shaping federal policy, 2) workers’ rights consistently subsumed in the name of corporate profit, and 3) healthcare denied to our most vulnerable communities while insurance companies make billions of dollars a year in profit.
This amounts to deliberately engineering accidents, then using and augmenting the shock and confusion caused...as Hitler used the Reichstag fire. To put an end to democratic government and install dictatorship.
In extreme circumstances, people panic, rumor and conspiracy theories suddenly burgeon and explode... they seek scapegoats and anyone "different" is then in danger. In the immediate aftermath of the huge Kanto earthquake that leveled Tokyo in 1923, people turned on defenseless Korean immigrants and massacred them. Some similar massacres of Jews by the population in both Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states during WW2, even after the Nazi defeat.
But here, it is those holding political power that are deliberately spreading lies, rumor and disorder.
Peter, Thank you for writing. As I’ve posted in the past, here at home, I see our nation as deeply divided as I can remember. Our country is at a crisis point, locked in an existential conflict over race, over identity, and over culture. Our democracy is in trouble, and it’s not the Russian’s fault; it’s ours. we are the ones killing it.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do know, while no single leader can save a democracy, without a leader the people, overall, can trust, no democracy can be saved. Seeing that when one side opens its mouth the other half hears only lies, maybe we’ve all been part of the problem. Either way, this impasse not only is unacceptable, but also unlikely to change any time soon.
Still, something must change.
Maybe as more of us become acutely aware that democracies now die when we’re not paying attention and that the end rarely comes in an instant but arrives slowly like twilight, perhaps then enough of us, under the auspices of trusted leadership, will be moved to make a promise, an American promise to each other, that instead of scorching the earth between us we will try every day to bring the country together.
Thank you, Barbara Jo Krieger, for these wise words.
We all, without exception, need to strip away false identities, while stopping on the way to honor them, just as we honor ourselves and our family — but do not stop there. We all, without exception need to question all the baggage, all the masks, labels, clothing inner and outer, that we like to take ourselves for — but which we are not.
I myself am not American, my nationality is British. However, like so many Europeans and perhaps even more so, like many Americans, my ancestry weaves together many strands, covering a vast territory.
If I were a citizen of the United States, I would then say "I am American and, like me, every single fellow-citizen is an American, we are all Americans together. This is our greater family. We must behave accordingly."
Only, it doesn't end there. Just as what I really am is not limited to or by my family, either nuclear or extended, or my clan, so every single one of the identity labels that I, my parentage, my social conditioning, my choices and life's vagaries have added on to me are not what I ultimately am.
What I ultimately am NOT includes many things of which I may be proud, many beings and groups to whom I may feel attached: family and ancestry, age, gender, education, culture, language, profession, appearance, political affiliation, wealth both material and immaterial (e.g. wealth of knowledge). Nationality is very much a part of this list. I may be willing to die for my people, for my country, fighting an enemy whose actions may be vile but who is intrinsically my equal, like me, another human being.
Religious identity is curious, in that it can be ‘getting warmer’ or can be just another sociological label. Membership of such and such a church, temple or sect, even when backed by fanatical beliefs, tells how I want to think of myself and how I want others to see me, but in itself says nothing about what I really am. Only I can dig down to find that…. Yet any authentic religion, any authentic philosophy, will at least be looking beyond liturgical or ideological fancy-dress and pointing towards some aspect of our true nature.
Even the body I cannot do without is far from the be-all and end-all of what I am...
Set aside all the hand-me downs that even billionaires are wont to wear and try asking the questions ‘Who am I? What am I?’ Inevitably, so many of the distinctions about which we care so much will prove not even secondary. If, on the other hand, we haven’t the guts to strike out for truth, the question arises whether we and the world we have created can possibly survive. And even if we can and do hang on, what will remain of humanity’s rich inheritance?
Truth too; I know folks who've worked their entire careers for the 'railroad industry'. Some cut more, some cut less. The statistic applied that way - 30 percent is accurate. That workers are doing far, far more with less and for less is accurate, if understated. The 3 points within your nexus statement is highly accurate and equally applicable across the entire spectrum of industries in this country, excluding none. Broadcast media and retail for instance are industries - for profit creatures, that coincidentally or not are all members of the U.S. and local chambers of commerce. It doesn't take much mental power to connect all the 'dots' we've learned about and make some pretty near accurate conclusions regarding the memberships of the different coalitions that have joined money, hands, and hearts in the name of 'winning' at any and all costs. Crony capitalism is as alive and well - if not more so, than at any time in our history.
@D4N, Because I wholly agree with your statement, as I have posted in the past, I have come to believe that the security of our nation and the preservation of our democracy depend upon a far more cooperative environment in which there is a modicum of social and economic justice for large numbers of people today who feel oppressed and marginalized by a runaway wild capitalism.
The terrorists are, indeed, inside the building, but the people who put the terrorists in the building did so on purpose, with malicious intent, and are getting the results they hoped for when they cast their votes. The likes of James Comer, Pete Sessions, and the rest are not the primary problem. The 60% of white voters who vote R are the problem. They have been the problem for over 50 years and will continue to do everything they can at the ballot box, in the courts, and on the streets, to drain the humanity out of American government for the foreseeable future, even if by some miracle decent human beings manage to outvote them.
Rex-I share your concern for our future. I think it’s worth noting that the terrorists have always been inside the building-for more than 50 years.
Most Americans don’t realize how much slavery has shaped our country from the beginning-including the way capitalism has evolved and why democracy is under attack. The aftermath of decisions made in the 1600s are still with us.
In his book, The Half has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, (published in 2014) Edward E. Baptist says, “slavery’s expansion shaped every crucial aspect of the economy and politics of the new nation-not only increasing its power and size, but also, eventually, dividing US politics, differentiating regional identities and interests, and helping to make civil war possible”.
We are living with our past everyday. We’re still in many respects fighting a civil war. The Rs -backed by malicious corporate wealth-have lined up to mimic confederates-including denying certain people the right to vote, giving more power to corporations (Citizens United) and even supporting insurrection.
Unless and until we face the impact that racism has on all aspects of American life, we won’t be able to “perfect our union”. Consider the difference between “red and blue” states-they track closely with the development of slavery.
If more people really understood our history then maybe we could indeed experience a miracle where more decent human beings could support a government that’s striving for liberty and justice for all.
White supremacy is the propaganda that keeps the fire burning for the Rs. It’s proven to be a winning strategy for centuries. They will not only attack people of color but white people who support American ideals too.
Too many people really think that skin color matters among human beings. The facts don’t support racism. Only misinformed and malicious people believe it’s real.
Imagine what the U.S. might be if there was no racism, sexism etc. The words in the Declaration of Independence might really mean something and we could indeed be an “exceptional” nation.
Yes, advocates of white supremacism have been in charge from the beginning, but they didn’t need terrorism because until the 1960s 90% of white Americans thought systemic, brutal oppression of the rest of the population was just fine. Brown v Board put a crack in their hegemony, which brought them out in force. Legislation in the 1960s further eroded their control, at which point they concluded that more force was needed. Over the span of the next fifty years, about 30% of white Americans changed their minds and turned against systemic oppression. Now, white Americans who still cling to white supremacism as a fundamental principle find their numbers reduced to roughly 60% of the white population, which requires them to use even more unsavory (to put it as mildly as possible) tactics. Replacing democracy with kleptocratic autocracy is one of those tactics.
The American political and legal systems, by design, give the 60% enormous advantages in carrying out their program, but even using those advantages to their fullest extent, they find themselves clinging to control by their fingernails, so they have endorsed open terrorism as a mainstream political activity. They no longer go along with the genteel terrorism that Republicans have used for a century and a half to preserve white dominance. Instead, they put crude low-lifes like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and the gangrene monster in Georgia in the government, with even worse terrorists on the horizon, such as the creep that white Floridians put in the governor’s office.
I think the percentage of white Americans who advocate white supremacism will continue to drop, but slowly. It’s been dropping by an average of a half-percent per year over the last six decades. At that rate, decent human beings will out-number white supremacists in the white population in a couple more decades. At the same time, the white fraction of the population will continue to drop, and that’s the greatest fear of the white supremacists. They know that if they don’t preserve white hegemony within a decade, they are doomed to live in a country with legal, political, economic, and social systems that make an honest attempt to treat all people fairly. I expect white Americans, 60% of them, will continue to use any means they find available to them, including violent terrorism, to avoid that outcome. It will take a great deal of effort by the 40% of white Americans who are decent human beings, working alongside 80% of the rest of the population, to avoid the outcome that the 60% so desperately want.
Your point about people not really understanding history is well taken. That’s a result of people who don’t read, who don’t read history. A point Timothy Snyder recently made about Ukraine.
In 2020, there were 168.31 million people registered to vote in the United States. In the presidential election, there were 81,282,903 votes cast for Biden and 74,223,030 votes cast for President Donald Trump.
Please show how your 70% works with the results of the 2020 election. There were all white voters for trump and the non-white for Biden?
Exit polls from 2016 and 2020 show roughly 60% of white voters went for Trump. I don't remember using the 70% number, but I did make a guess of 90% for the fraction of white people thinking oppression of everyone else was just fine up to the 1960s, and another guess that about 80% of the non-white population would be onboard with fairness. I don't have a source for either of those numbers. I made up the 90% out of whole cloth, based on my recollections of the 1950s and 60s. The 80% is a guess based on exit polling in recent elections, which puts the black vote at about 90% D and the Latino vote at about 70% D.
Kathryn, David Muir interviewed Biden yesterday regarding Ukraine, as well as the Ohio derailment, and responded to David's reference to some people who claim that Biden had done very little to assist in the aftermath, and Biden simply said he'd called within two hours of the accident and EPA was at the site within hours. I'm assuming that Biden is refusing to engage in the right wing's gotcha tactics, but I agree with you that he and others should be more emphatic in their responses, and I think he should have fleshed out the initial conversation with DeWine and DeWine's rejection of his offer of FEMA assistance. I was a bit annoyed with Muir's questioning, but felt that since that buzz was circulating, he was just taking a neutral stance and giving Biden a chance to state the facts.
Ann Louise, I thought the same thing. He refuses to be drawn into a squabble. Still, it's frustrating. Taking the high road translates to "he's senile" in their lexicon. In my heart, I know he's employing the correct tactic, but darn, I guess we'll have to wait for the next SOTU address to see him smiling broadly while he lands his punches.
It appears commenters are responding to an ill-defined concept here. Before people go running into embracing any ideology it is important to define what that concept is and how would it be implemented. Or. We could just run around in circles like the Republicans.
The Democrats are winning elections and governing with historic results. Election results in 2018, 2020 and 2022 show voters prefer results over shouting.
I agree Barbara. The lying, criming, and manipulating from the GOP is the same old, same old. Democrats are winning and doing lots of good stuff. Democrats keep pedaling away at doing the good stuff while they can. Buttigieg doesn’t have to shout. Democrats are looking like shiny gold in a sea of rusted out GOPers. The shine and success can’t help but be seen. Who wants to be on the side of the pathetic lying criminals? Just losers.
Just keep talking about the successes and calmly setting the record straight. More $$ to run informational ads about the good stuff happening out in those areas that get bombarded by GOP lies wouldn’t hurt. Focusing on turning out the vote and helping folks to make sure their votes count seems to make a difference 🤩
Thanks for your commonsense approach, Christine. This is exactly who they are. Engaging in shouting matches is a huge waste of our time and resources. Whining about them getting more attention is demeaning and tiresome. We will continue to fight gerrymandering, continue to register voters, continue to pile up legislative wins, and continue to prevail internationally.
As to spending money on ads. That may be an option. I don't know. But I do know that the media will continue to feature the crazies and ignore/minimize the Democrats. Finding people like Buttigieg to speak out is a valuable option. We can support organizations such as The Lincoln Project. They are bulldogs in this fight. And the Republicans whine about them so you know they do good work.
Grover, not only are the terrorists in the building, but the nihilists are in charge of the planning committee, the inmates are in charge of the asylum and the criminals are running the police department.
What "planning committee " what "asylum " what "police department" are you referring to exactly?
What power do the Republicans in the House have to pass legislation? Any Bill sent to the Democrat controlled Senate would be defeated. There is also a Democrat President who has already warned the Republicans of his veto powers.
We need to be careful in asserting something that in reality has no teeth.
Once again, the rethugs are winning the narrative. Democrats are playing on their field. Listing a laundry list of facts or answering as Buttigieg did in one sentence will not attract uninformed voters. Last I heard, they comprise 70% of the electorate. Swalwell and Goldman used strategic mockery, a method advocated by Chris Schecter and Rachel Bitecofer used to great success in Michigan as one example. Here's what they suggest. https://post.news/@/cliffschecter/2MDHnIxYhbLLSMX4twMKywGYNWW?fbclid=IwAR0DCEJNj1LXUabs88r4El3uU2oVxlxKPkAvCBGwc8dA5728Qv6GGzP3_WE
I totally agree. The Dems need to do more to control the narrative. Liberals often think that the truth will stand on its own. But, time and again, our experience shows that enough people just believe what they are told to sway our democracy. The truth needs its own PR campaign, we cannot be complacent about that and that is why Heather is doing such an important job. Thank you, Heather.
"Around a third of registered voters in the U.S. (34%) identify as independents, while 33% identify as Democrats and 29% identify as Republicans..
Pew Center
The Democrats need a PR campaign?
Looks like the Democrats' campaigns worked just fine in 2022.
"Democrats defied expectations up and down the ballot in 2022 despite facing historic headwinds and other challenges going into the midterms. However, Democrats were able to grow their majority in the Senate, retain and win a number of gubernatorial and state-level races, and temper their losses in the House. The Republicans had no ability to be able to define us from a policy perspective because every single legislative item that has passed the House and the Senate, signed into law by the president, has had bipartisan applause and approval all across the country. The American people rejected the right-wing, MAGA, election-denying extremists who now have a large say so and chemically make up the Republican Party,””
Barbara M, the implication of your comment does not address what I believe to be true.
A careful review of my comment would allow you to understand I never said 70% of the electorate. I think I said the uninformed electorate comprise 70% of the electorate. I do believe Democrats are losing the messaging war for these people. If we want to drown out the lies and disinformation, we need to use a new strategy. That was my argument. The statistics you quote bears little resemblance to the fact that rethugs continue to lie and cheat and are responsible in large part for deregulation and deaths in this country.Thank goodness a majority of Americans are informed and made the right choices in the last election, but that has nothing to do with the war on words we are engaged in!
You said: "70% comprise the uninformed electorate."
Now you say: "uninformed electorate comprise 70% of the electorate." Who are those uninformed? Republicans? Whites? Women? MAGA? Who?
Call this war of words if you want. I am making a point. People throw out vague terms, made up names and unfounded assertions and expect that to contribute to informed political discourse?
If you are looking for an argument from me, you won't get one. Most people agree that the disinformation campaign has caused untold damage. My point, once again, is that the sycophants that follow tRump and company are causing the chaos we see in the country. I believe it is in our interests to get the uninformed electorate on our side. I was suggesting a new strategy. If you want to harp on the statistics that's your privilege, but I don't have to agree.
I don't know if the Dems need a PR campaign, but the truth sure does. There is no rational reason the Regressives should have such control of the House or even that much control in the Senate. That level of representation does not seem to fit the distribution of American's policy preferences. The Regressives get a lot of coverage in the Press by blaring their outlandish lies. Since we cannot force the press to ignore these liars, Dems ought to give it a try to get more press by blaring outlandish truths.
Didn't you read my comment? The Democrats continue to win. The Democrats have prevailed in 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections. The Democrats demolished the predicted red tsunami in 2022.
I did read your comment. And I hope that the electorate is paying attention and that the Regressives do even more poorly in future elections. My point is that there is no reason they should be doing as well as they are. They should not be in control of the House. There should not be so many liars and crazies-who clearly never even took a civics class-in the House. That's all I'm saying. Too many lies have already been believed because the truth is getting drowned out. Thanks for your truthful presentation of the data.
And we need to embarrass the NYT and the Wash.Post until they start telling the truth in big BlACK HEADlINES. Otherwise, quit buying them, quit honoring them as Factual news outlets. They are both failing the American democracy( or the pretend one )
I do. I constantly post comments that are fact based counter arguments to the junk some of the columnists write. For example. If Thiessen, Olsen, McArdle, Will and Hewitt are spinning lies I will post all of Biden's accomplishments. Or if some National Review hack is writing about the failure of the Administration in the train wreck I will post a bullet list of the timeline of the Administration's response.
It's a tedious process. I've been doing this for years.
Janet, whether these politicians are too stupid to understand what Buttigieg tells them or, as I suspect, it's a combination of their stupidity and malice, the issue really is that their followers are too stupid to see through and analyze what is really going on.
I started a reply but somehow lost it! People believe what they want as long as it fits their narrative. Facts and truth don’t change their minds which is a real sign of stupidity. The vast majority of the sitting GOP’s stupidity and action is beyond contempt and comprehension. The Democrats need to challenge their lies loud and clear all the time. Just like Buttigieg does!
Good response. A piece that keeps getting left out is that the Gov. of Ohio at least initially (and may still, haven't seen an update) refused to call for FEMA. That requires a state declaration of emergency, but he didn't want to give Biden a "win".
Heather analyzed DeWine's "lack of response" in her Tuesday political chat (which I transcribed quite a bit. "The Trump administration changed the safety rules the Obama administration had put in place to get rid of brakes that would have at least slowed down that disaster and at the same time changed the definition of a hazardous carriage. At the same time Biden called Gov. DeWine instantly and said, “Anything you want, I’ll get it for you.” DeWine said to the cameras, “I don’t see a problem, we don’t need federal help,” because he’s a Republican and they do not want to accept the idea that the federal government has a role to play in industry. This was an ideological decision on the part of a Republican governor. Things have gotten worse and worse and that has changed. The federal government cannot unilaterally go into a state, although it’s not supposed to. It did occasionally under the Trump administration. What can you do, you offered help, but are shut out and now Tucker Carlson is saying “you care more about the world than you care about us.” That is pure propaganda. "
"The Trump administration" also jettisoned the pandemic preparation that the previous administration had put in place. It not "government" the Republicans attack, it is democracy and the commonwealth.
Republicans attacking democracy and the commonwealth? Words outside their vocabulary. Just attack anything that's not part of the great MAGA philosophy. Sorry, can't think of a simpler word for "philosophy" right now - my dinner is on the stove.
Propaganda machine
“great MAGA B.S.” is concise in this case.
Indeed. And it didn't do any harm to my omelette.
I'm not sure they have anything other than creating chaos in mind. It's hard to see what they want, except to undermine our democracy.
Glad to learn that! Enjoy! 😉
The Epidemic Playbook was actually a multi-Administration Response developed by Bill, W, and Barack, who each had their challenges. But, the "dumbest student I ever had" was too smart(?) to need to read it. And so, cast it aside. I do hope there are other copies laying around so that Joe's team can update it with all of the actions of the tRUmp Admin to avoid...
I hardly know whether to weep or scream with rage. The Seven Plagues of Egypt, visited upon the USA, starting November 2016.
I think you meant 'the federal govenment can go into a state...'. George Wallace didn't think so, either, but he gave ground to the federalized Guard troops at the University of Alabama.
E:
Yes very true. The Feds can not go into a state unless the courts take action. In which case, SCOTUS did with Old Miss.
But that was a Good SCOTUS
The NTSB is a separate agency, charged with both investigating civil transportation accidents and investigating the release of hazardous materials during transportation. They can and must go into a state where something like this happens, in spite of the governor of Ohio's selfish opinion about it
I’ve read that the rules that Trump cancelled would not have applied to the vinyl chloride car, because the Obama administration gave in to lobbyists and took vinyl chloride off if the list of hazardous chemicals covered by the electronic brake regulation.
In a world before tfg and rancid partisanship we might have patiently waited for the investigation to be complete before looking to place blame.Somehow tfg brought out the worst in us. Here’s some information on how the Precision Scheduled Railroading that was recently a big issue might have effected the accident. Ultimately the RR company is at fault. I don’t understand the mindset of thinking corporations will regulate themselves.
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/is-vinyl-chloride-shipped-through-austin/amp/
That's the basis of the free market philosophy and libertarianism. It's interesting that there has never been an equitable society based on libertarian principles and yet all these sanctimonious people who claim to be above politics insist that it's the only real way to run a society and have liberty. And it's a tool used by conservative politicians to get rid of the New Deal and have ignorant people sign on to it.
“claim to be above politics” just like everything else they say, this is just another attempt to throw the 💩they are covered in onto those they politically and passionately disagree with!! It’s nonsensical
Source please. I find nothing to suggest Obama caved to industry. The purpose of the Obama legislation was in direct response to the derailment in NJ, perhaps 2012 where vinyl chloride was involved.
"I've read" lolololololol
"Although the train contained hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, it did not meet the Department of Transportation’s narrow definition of a high-hazard flammable unit train because it didn’t have at least 70 cars containing flammable materials, such as crude oil or ethanol. The chemicals it was carrying fall into a different classification not included in this definition.
Cheung also pointed to a statement by National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, who said it is "false" to state that if the brake rule was implemented it would have prevented the derailment."
https://www.politifact.com/article/2023/feb/24/fact-checking-trumps-i-had-nothing-to-do-with-it-r/
"But the sudden growth of the American fracking industry, which fueled the demand for freight cars carrying crude oil from fields in North Dakota and other states to ports and refineries around the country, changed the economic equation for the rail industry. The surge in demand meant it would be much more costly for the forced adoption of new safety regulations requiring ECP brakes on rail cars carrying explosive liquids.
By May 2015, when the Obama administration issued its rule following a number of oil train accidents, the industry coalesced in opposition."
https://theintercept.com/2023/02/21/east-palestine-rail-safety-congress/
Citation, please.
Well, there's this gem: . https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/east-palestine-update-2-16-23-11-00-am-02162023 . . . . and then there's this: . https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20230218/joint-statement-ohio-governor-dewine-and-fema-regional-administrator-sivak
Biden said I will send any help you need and DeWine said he didn’t need any help.
So DeSwine would rather let a town in his state--some of the very people who elected him--suffer from potentially toxic fumes from the burning of the toxic chemicals that had been contained in those rail cars, merely so he can, essentially, "own the libs"...? What a p*ss poor piece of garbage. DeSwine really is a pig--and that is greatly maligning pigs.
Pigs are, indeed, very intelligent creatures. Perhaps ‘cockroach’ would suffice?
Don't demean cockroaches. They have been around for millions of years, adapting to changes in the environment as necessary. They are far smarter than Republicans, or any political party for that matter. They will be around even after mankind is extinct, possibly inheriting the earth.
I was actually going to say this. After homo sapiens die out, cockroaches, along with other scavengers, will continue to exist and thrive.
I don't remember in which one, but there was a scene in a sci-fi film about twenty years ago where an earthling, setting foot on another planet, is almost instantly devoured by cockroach-like creatures.
As someone who lived in Egypt for almost 6 years, I can assure you that there is absolutely no justification for the existence of cockroaches, especially when they crawl over your face while you're sleeping or drown themselves in your coffee.
I live in Georgia. I’m with you.
You are correct! And there is absolutely no justification for a country to wage agressive war on civilians rather than attacking military targets. We have been trying to put an end to both cockroaches and war on civilians for centuries without much luck.
They are prolific because human beings are prolific. But they are also part of the food chain that feeds many other species. If we weren't so messy there would probably not be as many.
This statement needs to go on billboards all over Ohio! Except, well, the last two sentenses.
Thank you.
And yeah, the last two sentences were gratuitous insults...but in Maine, we suffered for eight years with exactly the same sort of Repub guv (LePage, Maine's national embarrassment--not the current guv, who is a peach) and their attitudes were and are infuriating and callous. I couldn't help myself.
LePage! What a total Whack Job!
You are 100% correct, sir!!!! Thankfully, there was no third party running to split the vote and let LePage win with a measly plurality as he did for his first and second terms and LePage got well and truly thumped by Janet Mills (no relation) as he should have been the very first time he ran. He really was a lying, deceitful, vulgarian bloviator who used to BRAG that he..."was Trump before Trump was Trump." LePage moved to Florida and all things considered--he really belongs there.
As with Covid denial, the MAGA=FREEDOM FROM GOVERNMENT types seem to be rushing to their demise, while on the way to bank their tax savings.
We can only hope.
Apparently the good citizens of East Palestine mostly feel the same...
T L Miller. Perhaps the governor was waiting for the responsible party to contact him. The party that is responsible, is Norfolk Southern Railroad (ph), they have promised cleanup funding and other aid. I understand that FEMA and the EPA are presently there.
Hard to imagine that the governor was “waiting” for the railroad to contact him. If he was, he’s even stupider and more craven than I thought. Corporate America doesn’t “contact” its victims. It expects to get off scot free as it does in most situations.
"he’s even stupider and more craven" BINGO!
If Norfolk Southern were left to decide for themselves when (or if) to contact the Governor...DeSwine would be having himself a good long wait.
In spite of the random nature of reporting on this and the many assumptions made by both news and news comsumers, I picked up something about why DeWine took the stance he did. His perspective is (or was) that FEMA is meant for natural disasters, and this clearly was not a natural disaster: it was human caused, period. Personally, at this point, I don't know if FEMA could be involved or not, but the reasoning is sound.
The point here isn't FEMA anyway: it is the irrational claim by certain Republicans (DeWine not included) that because Biden himself was not onsite, he cared more about overseas events than Ohio. This kind of argument comes up from time to time around various disasters. It is baloney. We do not elect our president to be the front man for every agency doing their job.
What difference would Biden's physical presence in the direct aftermath of the train wreck have contributed? He was busy doing his job, representing our country both internationally and here at home, by assuring the governor and the people of Ohio that essential federal government resources were at work for them, and by taking a remarkable initiative to solidify support for Ukrainians, who are bearing the brunt of an aggressive war that is not going to just burn out by itself.
Re: Biden's not making an appearance in Ohio. Isn't it sad that we think an appearance for a photo op actually helps in an emergency like this? What it really does is remove from service,some of the people on the ground who are needed to help, and stick them onto an unnecessary security team!
Thank you, Cheryl, so true. And, yes, sad that so many people have a misguided sense of how our government works. One of the reasons, I think, they sometimes cannot see it at work.
I saw somewhere that Biden DID offer to come but the East Palestine mayor knew he didn't have the resources to provide adequate security, so declined. Fast forward a week of so and the same mayor was complaining that Biden cared more about Ukraine than the people in his town. Thank Heavens Biden's thick skin and extensive experience keeps him on the high road w/ stuff like this.
I don’t believe that Biden was offering FEMA assistance, he was offering assistance, whatever was needed.
I appreciate your attempt to be charitable to this execrable excuse of a man, but his refusal was political. MAGA appeasing hatred. Period.
Glory to Ukraine.
Jen, my excepting DeWine in this instance was because he did speak up for Biden to emphasize that Biden HAD called to offer help, counter to what the right wingers were claiming. I think also that his initial reluctance to accept FEMA was based on his understanding of FEMA's purpose. Clearly he recognized that he was wrong on that, and later accepted FEMA assistance.
I don't claim to read people's minds. I look at what they do and say. I don't know what DeWine's feelings and motivations are. But I'll allow that he is trying to do what he thinks is right for Ohio, within the philosophical framework he has. That is not charity. It is simply acknowledging that he is due some credit for integrity, even though I disagree with his perspective.
Your ending your argument with "Period" suggests that your mind is closed to seeing DeWine in any framework but the one in which you seem to have lumped all Republicans. I have to wonder where the hatred lies here- who is aiming and who is the target. DeWine is deeply conservative, and has taken stands that I think are extremely short-sighted and sometimes downright peculiar. But I don't think he is in the class of some extreme right wingers (note that most of the negative comments are coming from WaDC politicos with aspirations for control and power.)
Annie, I write because your comment speaks to the fact, that because we’re so deeply divided, when one side opens its mouth the other half hears only lies and deceit. Regrettably, this impasse not only is unacceptable, but also unlikely to change any time soon.
Still, something must change, maybe a promise that instead of scorching the earth between us we will try every day to bring the country together.
Barbara, I agree. That's why I feel so strongly that we all have a responsibility NOT to use that chasm to call names and enlarge the impasse. We also have a responsibility to call it out when it happens, especially when the purpose seems largely to feel superior to people we don't agree with. Give people credit for what they do, even when their political philosophy is very different from one's own. I do not agree with Gov DeWine, but I'll hand him credit for making it clear that Biden HAD been in touch within two hours of the train wreck. Not sure I would be able to do the same with people like MTG, who leaves no room to reach across. But I still will not, as so many do, make fun of Greene by calling her grade school names. Ok, fine, in private I snark, but rarely here. I'm tired of cheap shots, no matter what direction they come from. "Scorched earth" starts with name-calling and gets worse from there.
You make a solid point. The propaganda affects all of us.
If the shoe fits...seriously if you are still a Republican after orangehead's reign of error then you are complicit. There is no middle ground.
How in the world did you come up with this? You are as much a danger as the 21 people Heather mentioned in her post. Read more, and learn to read carefully so that you understand what is going on. There is plenty of middle ground to work on and in with other people.
Maybe DeWine is not in the same class (although to me his voter suppression efforts put him there) but he surely needs the support of those “extreme right wingers” and he seems willing to play along
What is a “WaDC politico”? What does “WaDC” stand for/ mean?
George, my apologies. Using jargon to save my fingers. WaDC is abbreviation for Washington, DC. When I use the term WaDC politico", it is to differentiate between the people in WaDC political circles and those in our own communities. I know from my experience that the air in WaDC is a bit rarified and sometimes we need to carefully examine what people there say and do. In our own communities, we usually have a better sense of the context of issues and often know the back stories.
My last typing of the day... my hands gave me the signal to stop. So am going to give today's project a quick list of key words as prompts tomorrow. Goody, now I get to read for a while. Fascinating history of the Dutch settlement that turned into modern New York: a fascinating (and sometimes amusing) ride through complex world wide factors that shaped American culture. Ouch. I may not type tomorrow.
We saw that coming.
Truth. Thanks Carla.
With “if I Only Had a Brain”” playing in the background.
I wish Ohio residents wouldn’t deserve who they vote for.
Everyone in Ohio did not vote for these monstrous reprobates. There are many Democrats and Independents and non-voters (this incident may convert a few) and children in Ohio.
You are right. I think Sherrifs Brown is one of the best. There’s hope.
Sherrod is a very good man. I intend to support him in his bid for re-ekection. He really cares and fights for us working people. Love him!
It is so apparent every time I hear him speak that he tries to do everything he can for all of Ohio. I wish he’d run for President but he seems to have no ambition for that. Another reason to love the man.
Sherrod. Dumb spellchecker never heard of him
You’ve said what I’ve been thinking for years now. When will they get a clue?
When I watched the interview with DeWine, I was of the impression that DeWine didn't see this as an emergency situation as they burned off the toxic chemicals to reduce risk of further explosions and his agencies and the railroad folks were telling him this wasn't going to get out of hand. Clearly, he didn't have all the facts and underestimated the fears of folks in East Palestine. A lot of ugly is coming out and too much mincing of wording in letters to and between federal regulators, lobbying groups, and Senators with animus as their calling. There is a lot of failure going around and will come down to deregulation and weakening the oversight by railroads and, of course, making decisions that improve the profit margin at the expense of safety and reduction of real people watching over every coupler and foot of track, especially where hazardous materials are being transported through our fragile environments and communities. I hope the battle stays focused on the safety and employee issues that led to this preventable disaster(accident) and MSM plays down the vitrol of blame emanating from the mouths of politicians who see a political gain by fomenting and spreading fear and blame.
I am a very capable analytical chemist, but hardly an advisor to the governor. Either he was too stupid to get good advice, or too beholden to the financial interests behind this ( and apparently two a day) chemical spill. A BA chemist could have told this man this was an extremely dangerous and toxic situation.
Thanks for going the extra mile to spread blame. DeWine’s an idiot. Idiots don’t like smart people around them. I may not be good for financial advice but any chemist should have been able to read an MSDS and see how awful this was. Hell, Devine probably doesn’t even know what an MSDS is. As a host to many chemical manufacturers and a transit point for hazardous material, he should have been quite familiar.
But he is stupid.
Um do you actually live in USA?
Are all Republicans lacking in intelligence?
I doubt that they're all imbeciles, but the willful obfuscation of some, combined with the stupidity (some of it also willful) of others is a toxic brew.
Talks like an imbecile,
Acts like an imbecile must be an Imbecile
No, quite the opposite, this is clever (and cynical). These Republican politicians don’t believe any of this, but they know their voters will fall for these lies, because their voters are not very smart (as evidenced by how they listen to Fox News and support the party that constantly screws them). The goal here is to smear Buttigieg, who likely will be running for president in 2028. The smear doesn’t have to be true.
Nailed John R…
We all need to remember, too, that they saw Hillary as a threat while Bill was still in office, and began trashing her then, using the same lies and innuendo that they did against him. "Crooked Hilary" was coined well before she ran for president, and it worked, thanks to Jim Comey. Before much longer, "pedophile" will be coupled with Buttigieg, and for the same purpose.
No. They’re lacking hearts. While intelligence would be nice, it takes empathy to care enough to use whatever intelligence one may be blessed with in order to muster help.
Yes, and devoid of integrity.
In the authoritarian model, which I suspect most Republicans were raised with, are taught that the status of of the speaker "trumps" ( if you'll pardon the expression) the empirical grounding of what is said. You can be "highly" educated ( or at least have degrees) and accept that as an axiom, and I know some who do. The trick is to cultivate PTSD in your progeny to render them phobic of questioning the target authority. You also don't have to have an authoritarian mindset in order to promote it. You just need to harbor the urge to use it in order to control others.
Research indicates that more conservative people tend to be more afraid of change and difference, and are drawn to the "strong" father type leader who can make them feel safe. Facts aren't a consideration.
Short answer—yes.
No it isn't lack of intelligence it is use of that intelligence to drive their crazy agenda in the news system. They decided to make East Palestine Biden's Katrina. Add that they want points against Pete for the future.
What is really lacking is knowledge of how the government works and of the world in general. Trump was a leader in the lacking knowledge camp. Didn't even know that Finland was a country.
Don't forget wanting to buy Greenland.
Right on, it wasn't even understood that the native people of Greenland have a different concept of ownership than we do. The whole country is owned in common. You don't even own the land you house sits on, it kind of a lease. Greenland is not something you could by from Denmark.
Of course, when you think about it, this is actually more accurate for all of us who "own" our property. We are really just leasing it, since it will go on after we're dead, with others "owning" it temporarily as well. But the ignorance and audacity of tfg thinking this was even possible with Greenland.
Willful ignorance and arrogance... characteristics I see aplenty in Republicans... so much arrogance they refuse facts if those facts negate their views.
I was just going to say that.
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." ~ Albert Einstein
Or comatose.
Reactive teens, acting out.
Toddlers acting out
Acting out teenagers are more dangerous than acting out toddlers, but I get your gist!
It’s an epidemic!
Apparently so.
No because they are cunningly manipulative. However it appears that anyone that still calls themselves a Republican are absolutely lacking a ❤️
Their clarion call seems always to be "What advange or opportunity is offered by this event, for me and my party?"
This explains tFg's appeal - the art of the "deal."
And, the audience who each believe that could be successful, just like that great businessman or that they will win the lottery. Aspiring to be the corporate or richly successful guy who exudes wealth and gild. Finding the right chance, the inside deal, the right connections is what brings success, whether in politics or in business. Teaching, being the beat cop, serving in the ranks, a craftsman, a clerk, all chump jobs. Nothing worth aspiring to. Making the break that let's you get ahead or in control of others, that's what's important. We dress it up afterwards to look valuable to those others, the chumps who still think that doing a good job or helping others on their own dime.
There is no higher "calling" than to be a teacher or craftsman or should I say craftperson. One creates beautiful minds the other beautiful things. Worth more than gold or silver.
Dave, I so agree. But I suspect you and I both believe that we should leave the world we came into a little better by the time we leave it and that the people in it are the most important, both as instruments to achieve such and who should benefit by the labors of our hearts or minds or hands. Just call me Chump. Proud to be such and satisfied with what I have acquired in my life; enough plus a little nut to pass on.
These are all the people who will tell you that they voted for tFg because he's such a brilliant businessman. Then they have the chutzpah to sneer at the "chumps" that know otherwise. Most of this is a manifestation of poor self image.
Smart like fox. Lacking in maturity.
- and astoundingly selfish, like a combination of Guinea worms and flesh-eating bacteria, with a bit of zombie fungus thrown in for good measure. They acknowledge the existence of no interests other than their own, and single-mindedly act to achieve their own interests, without awareness of any others, or of the damage their actions do.
Certainly the Republican "leaders" are lacking in intelligence, and like Faux News personalities, spew out untruths knowing their audience will fall for them. Critical thinking is not part of the makeup of the audience members, or of most of the MAGA adherents.
No, but we aren’t hearing anything from them. Their silence is deafening while their idiot colleagues who have hijacked the party can’t shut their mouths.
Kathy, I heard the report right after the derailment, and also heard that Biden had immediately called Gov. DeWine to offer FEMA assistance, as Carla relates below, and as you both said, Gov. DeWine said they didn't need FEMA's assistance at the time. I have not heard a word on any news outlet regarding DeWine's decision since.
Truth Nancy. I am from Ohio and heard the immediate news reports and was glued to them and updates regarding the derailment from local sources. I also reported the same that Carla did; Biden called and offered any and all, DeWine declined. When I said this here, I also added, "End of Story" - until it wasn't the end of the story.
DeWine has since accepted FEMA's assistance.
The frightening thing is that DeWine is fairly moderate, for a Republican, that is. Even his type drink the Kool Aid, and their constituents suffer!
I'd only agree that he 'appears' fairly moderate Nancy. Consider his full embrace of the right to life extremists for one - denying a female human's right to choose and privacy. I think he's more likely a wolf in lamb's clothing.
D4N, I'm sure you're correct. There are almost no Republicans currently in office who are moderate. The fact that he doesn't spew venom, like DeSantis and Abbott, is no guarantee of moderation. I'm also aware of his right to life stance. The possibility of agreeing with Biden, even to save his constituents' health, would be an impossible task for him, and the water he was drinking to prove that it was safe probably had just been poured out of a plastic bottle.
If they ask for help from the federal government then they admit to 2 facts:1. They are not up to the task themselves and 2. The federal government has a legitimate purpose and existence. These “alternative facts” gall their ass.
Agree. The Biden administration offered the state of Ohio immediate help but the Governor (DeWine)refused it and then lied about it and said that FEMA does not cover this type of disaster. This is just another example of politicizing something that should never have been politicized in the first place and people suffered and are suffering as a result.
Unbelievable. Really.
Did I read that the "leaders" of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Gov DeWine and President Biden, copied to Sec Buttigieg asking how they could help? No? Musta been a dream. Now back to the the day mare.
Surely not. There are no leaders there.
Didn't want to give Biden a win? So, who cares how many are affected as long as you don't give Biden a win.
As we get rightfully steamed over the total disregard for truth, not to mention the best interests of the people in and around East Palestine, let’s take a breath and recall that truth wins in the end, because it is, you know, true.
I really want to believe this but honestly, Republicans are the most fact denying, fantasy driven people I know. Twenty years ago, or so I told my Republican sister that the federal budget had only been balanced twice in our lifetime, once under Eisenhower and once under Clinton. She said, Clinton never balanced the budget. He cooked the books. So, there’s that.
There are always people who refuse to believe the truth. Look at those who don't believe we landed on the moon, or that COVID vaccines work. But most people--eventually virtually all who are not qualified to be in a padded cell--do come to accept truth.
Add to that people who believe the earth is flat and I would think you’ve met my sister.
The blame sits squarely on DeWine’s shoulders...a little known fact, and barely reported by the fifth estate. In MTG’s world of divorce, occurrences like this will happen regularly...then, who’s to blame. Hmm
Isn't it both astonishing and infuriating that even Governors, who are elected to serve their people, prefer to give MAGAs a publicity "win" rather than take care of the safety of their own people!
I am with you. How infuriating is it that public servants that are elected to SERVE their constituents actually withhold available aid to people who are living through some terrific hard times. Just like these governors of mainly red states who choose to opt out of Medicaid $$ that are lifesaving funds, is beyond cruel to me.
I heard the scorn in the mayor’s voice directed at having “Democrat” help. It was the sound of a 400-pound MT Greene.
It is long past time to disband FENA as a welfare agency for states. And in this situation, 100% of the cost should be on the railroad. Not one cent of tax payer dollars should supplement NS.
My understanding is that FEMA began executing the cleanup at the accident site ASAP and they are to bill the railroad company for the cost.
I thought I read it was EPA that started the clean-up. If they do the work, Vance will find a way to get the debt forgiven. FEMA needs to be gone.
EPA needs to be heavily supported.
This is how you put lipstick on a pig?
The optics are terrible.
When Buttgieg was asked by a reporter about visiting East Palenstine, two weeks after the diasaster, he said "I'm on personal time" and I share that information "when I'm ready"
Then he asked the reporter to take a selfie with him.
Buttgieg's political career is roadkill. Done.
Biden administration employees some of the least impressive people imaginable.
Besides Biden who is a barely coherent. Look at the laundry list:
-Kamala Harris - she is universal loathed as idiot.
- Pete Buttgieg - what does he do? No one knows?
- Janet Yellen - wrong every step of the way on inflation.
- Lloyd Austin - completely whiffed on Afghanistan
- Merrick Garland - opening day memo sent the FBI to go after parents
- Anthony Fauci - proven wrong on the vaccine (never tested/never worked) and the booster
impairs the immune system and is more likely to cause COVID, and now a
massive study showing masks NEVER worked
It takes a lot of chutzpah to try and blame the Republicans for the PR problems in East Palestine.
After Donald Trump completely embarrassed Buttgieg by showing up in East Palenstine first, he said it best, "after Biden finishes touring Ukraine, I hope there is some money left".
I guess lipstick is the best you can do. But sadly the pig is still ugly.
-
How's the weather on alternate Earth #2? Is there Climate Change on #2?
Probably not.
Does anyone here smell a troll?
:)
What a dumb comment. How about firing on your brain and refuting a single thing I said. Of course you can't.
Sorry I didn't entertain you. I put my energy elsewhere. But I wish you happiness and a good life.
About halfway through that comment, I stopped reading it.
I guess the truth is just to hard to take. Especially when I provide quotes. How are you going to lie it away. Just remember that true is not a left wing value. It never has been. Even worse the left destroys everything it touches.
That maybe the dumbest comeback I've ever seen. The best you could come back with is a cliché? You didn't refute a single word. For example do you believe that Kamala Harris is a towering intellectual? Or a power grubbing lightweight?
That's the best you do? You didn't refute a single point. Of course you can't
so you make some idiotic comment about climate. You might want to remember
the old maxim, Its better to say nothing and leave in question your stupidity, then to open your mouth and leave nothing to doubt. Well done my friend!
Climate Change has already been killing the brilliant and the idiots. Much more to come. It's really the only subject that matters if you love your planet.
Do you disagree?
I like your mind Bill Alstrom, ;)
Hm. I wonder how you found your way to this island of truth? You have clearly been immersed in the right wing truthless world of FOX, OANN, NEWSMAX and others.
Have you by any chance seen any of the emails by FOX hosts in which they acknowledge that everything they said about the 2020 elections being stolen was utter crap, yet pushed it to folks like you anyway. Because . . . that's what you want!
Troll alert.
I can't imagine the brainpower it took to trot out that dumb a cliché.
Your post would embarrass even a drunken hog caller
Lol. You just proved her point! 🤣🤣🤣
Hmmm, perhaps the fumes have caused brain damage.
For narcissistic virtue signaling leftists I'm sure your little joke is mild amusing.
But for the 1000 families in and around East Palestine whose air is unsafe to breathe, whose drinking water is unsafe to drink it might not be so funny. Their livestock have died. Their Residents are having respiratory problems. So your "brain damage" comment, the folks of East Palestine might think, is disgraceful and totally disrespectful.
Our Transportation secretary was too busy to go, until Donald Trump makes a fool out of him.
When asked about visiting the site he told a reporter - I share that soon. Then proceed to take a selfie with the reporter.
He is a joke. Period.
This maybe the stupidest post I've ever seen.
You lecture me about truthfulness and then DON"T REFUTE a single thing I wrote.
Because you can't. EVERY WORD I wrote is true. THAT IS THE TRUTH.
You are proof that 'truth" is not a left wing value, power is.
Every WORD i wrote was true. Why don't you deal with that.
No one thinks that Buttgieg did a good job in handling East Palestine. NO ONE.
Furthermore his handling of the airline industry has been just as bad.
Other ribbon cutting at drag queen events, Buttgieg seems completely disinterest in doing his job. He is a lightweight.
Dear James: it is not my job to refute any of your statements. If you expect anyone to believe them, it is up to you to support them.
It is very easy to just list things you like to believe and attack those who disagree.
Just because you say every word you wrote is true does not make it so.
So I guess you have personally spoken to "everyone" on the planet in order to make that blanket statement
Barbara he is a "musician ", so that moniker certainly paves his way for his .......
unsubstantiated remarks.
He just wants to hear himself talk.
This troll needs to go . He is boring me.
Lets do a little moron test.
Its either true or not - Did Pete Buttgieg waited 20 days to go East Palestine?
TRUE OR FALSE?
Did Pete Buttgieg tell a reporter that he was on personal time and he would let them know when he planned to go to East Palestine? Then he asked the reporter to take a selfie? TRUE OR FALSE?
The local residents are experiencing respiratory problems, dead livestock, and polluted drinking water? TRUE OR FALSE?
Thanks, Linda. Have already determined any further discourse is a waste of my time and energy
This is the remedial political thinking course? What blanket statement?
My post is very clear.
You disparage others for our failure to prove you wrong, but I see not a scintilla of evidence that your assertions are correct. You cite not a single source. That was YOUR job, not ours.
Are you serious? For the 5th time:
Buttgieg waited 20 days to go East Palestine. Only after Donald Trump embarassed him, did he go.
When asked by a reporter, when do you plan to go? He said he was on "personal time" and he let her know "when it was available".
Then he asked the reporter for a selfie.
I provided quotes. Are you denying its true.
Buttigieg's presence wasn't needed. Trump's certainly wasn't. He just wanted a photo op. And the Trump water? It went out of business 10 years ago. Just what they need in East Palestine -- 10 year old water!
What tripe! I do hope we never again hear from you, Mr. Abbuhl.
Sorry to disrupt your bubble with truthfulness. Snowflakes always melt
I think it's good that you are here despite your tendency to try to insult people. If you stick around long enough, you may find that YOU are the snowflake, and maybe some of the lies you are frozen into will melt away.
I'm still waiting for you show me where I lied. I think the only lie is you claiming I lied.
The terrorists are "inside the building" quite literally. Thank you Heather for this summary of more deliberate destruction of government----and for showing the stupidity of the right-wing leadership in the House. But of course, even stupid people can do some very dangerous things---and indeed evil things. On the other hand, Buttigieg put it to them in his reply. BUT, the Democrats need to be a bit of direct shouting to make sure the voters understand what is going on. Too much control of the narrative goes to the GOP. Yes, the enemy is within---as well as outside.
Grover, Expanding on your point that Democrats need to take greater control of the narrative, I would suggest Democrats not only need to show that the GOP Norfolk Southern complaint filed against the federal government is misleading, but also that it is a deliberate cover-up. To clarify, in the past 6 years, the rail industry has downsized its workforce by 30%. Accordingly, workers have had to do more work with fewer people, a factor that, undoubtedly, causes safety concerns. Additionally, throughout its recent negotiations with workers, the rail industry could not provide even 1 day of paid sick leave, notwithstanding it beginning to reverse the policy due to public pressure.
Broadly speaking, Norfolk Southern represents a nexus of 3 widespread problems: 1) the strength of corporate lobbying in shaping federal policy, 2) workers’ rights consistently subsumed in the name of corporate profit, and 3) healthcare denied to our most vulnerable communities while insurance companies make billions of dollars a year in profit.
This amounts to deliberately engineering accidents, then using and augmenting the shock and confusion caused...as Hitler used the Reichstag fire. To put an end to democratic government and install dictatorship.
In extreme circumstances, people panic, rumor and conspiracy theories suddenly burgeon and explode... they seek scapegoats and anyone "different" is then in danger. In the immediate aftermath of the huge Kanto earthquake that leveled Tokyo in 1923, people turned on defenseless Korean immigrants and massacred them. Some similar massacres of Jews by the population in both Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states during WW2, even after the Nazi defeat.
But here, it is those holding political power that are deliberately spreading lies, rumor and disorder.
Extreme criminality.
In wartime, suchlike risk summary execution.
Peter, Thank you for writing. As I’ve posted in the past, here at home, I see our nation as deeply divided as I can remember. Our country is at a crisis point, locked in an existential conflict over race, over identity, and over culture. Our democracy is in trouble, and it’s not the Russian’s fault; it’s ours. we are the ones killing it.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do know, while no single leader can save a democracy, without a leader the people, overall, can trust, no democracy can be saved. Seeing that when one side opens its mouth the other half hears only lies, maybe we’ve all been part of the problem. Either way, this impasse not only is unacceptable, but also unlikely to change any time soon.
Still, something must change.
Maybe as more of us become acutely aware that democracies now die when we’re not paying attention and that the end rarely comes in an instant but arrives slowly like twilight, perhaps then enough of us, under the auspices of trusted leadership, will be moved to make a promise, an American promise to each other, that instead of scorching the earth between us we will try every day to bring the country together.
Thank you, Barbara Jo Krieger, for these wise words.
We all, without exception, need to strip away false identities, while stopping on the way to honor them, just as we honor ourselves and our family — but do not stop there. We all, without exception need to question all the baggage, all the masks, labels, clothing inner and outer, that we like to take ourselves for — but which we are not.
I myself am not American, my nationality is British. However, like so many Europeans and perhaps even more so, like many Americans, my ancestry weaves together many strands, covering a vast territory.
If I were a citizen of the United States, I would then say "I am American and, like me, every single fellow-citizen is an American, we are all Americans together. This is our greater family. We must behave accordingly."
Only, it doesn't end there. Just as what I really am is not limited to or by my family, either nuclear or extended, or my clan, so every single one of the identity labels that I, my parentage, my social conditioning, my choices and life's vagaries have added on to me are not what I ultimately am.
What I ultimately am NOT includes many things of which I may be proud, many beings and groups to whom I may feel attached: family and ancestry, age, gender, education, culture, language, profession, appearance, political affiliation, wealth both material and immaterial (e.g. wealth of knowledge). Nationality is very much a part of this list. I may be willing to die for my people, for my country, fighting an enemy whose actions may be vile but who is intrinsically my equal, like me, another human being.
Religious identity is curious, in that it can be ‘getting warmer’ or can be just another sociological label. Membership of such and such a church, temple or sect, even when backed by fanatical beliefs, tells how I want to think of myself and how I want others to see me, but in itself says nothing about what I really am. Only I can dig down to find that…. Yet any authentic religion, any authentic philosophy, will at least be looking beyond liturgical or ideological fancy-dress and pointing towards some aspect of our true nature.
Even the body I cannot do without is far from the be-all and end-all of what I am...
Set aside all the hand-me downs that even billionaires are wont to wear and try asking the questions ‘Who am I? What am I?’ Inevitably, so many of the distinctions about which we care so much will prove not even secondary. If, on the other hand, we haven’t the guts to strike out for truth, the question arises whether we and the world we have created can possibly survive. And even if we can and do hang on, what will remain of humanity’s rich inheritance?
Shadows flitting through a shopping mall.
Truth too; I know folks who've worked their entire careers for the 'railroad industry'. Some cut more, some cut less. The statistic applied that way - 30 percent is accurate. That workers are doing far, far more with less and for less is accurate, if understated. The 3 points within your nexus statement is highly accurate and equally applicable across the entire spectrum of industries in this country, excluding none. Broadcast media and retail for instance are industries - for profit creatures, that coincidentally or not are all members of the U.S. and local chambers of commerce. It doesn't take much mental power to connect all the 'dots' we've learned about and make some pretty near accurate conclusions regarding the memberships of the different coalitions that have joined money, hands, and hearts in the name of 'winning' at any and all costs. Crony capitalism is as alive and well - if not more so, than at any time in our history.
@D4N, Because I wholly agree with your statement, as I have posted in the past, I have come to believe that the security of our nation and the preservation of our democracy depend upon a far more cooperative environment in which there is a modicum of social and economic justice for large numbers of people today who feel oppressed and marginalized by a runaway wild capitalism.
The terrorists are, indeed, inside the building, but the people who put the terrorists in the building did so on purpose, with malicious intent, and are getting the results they hoped for when they cast their votes. The likes of James Comer, Pete Sessions, and the rest are not the primary problem. The 60% of white voters who vote R are the problem. They have been the problem for over 50 years and will continue to do everything they can at the ballot box, in the courts, and on the streets, to drain the humanity out of American government for the foreseeable future, even if by some miracle decent human beings manage to outvote them.
Rex-I share your concern for our future. I think it’s worth noting that the terrorists have always been inside the building-for more than 50 years.
Most Americans don’t realize how much slavery has shaped our country from the beginning-including the way capitalism has evolved and why democracy is under attack. The aftermath of decisions made in the 1600s are still with us.
In his book, The Half has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism, (published in 2014) Edward E. Baptist says, “slavery’s expansion shaped every crucial aspect of the economy and politics of the new nation-not only increasing its power and size, but also, eventually, dividing US politics, differentiating regional identities and interests, and helping to make civil war possible”.
We are living with our past everyday. We’re still in many respects fighting a civil war. The Rs -backed by malicious corporate wealth-have lined up to mimic confederates-including denying certain people the right to vote, giving more power to corporations (Citizens United) and even supporting insurrection.
Unless and until we face the impact that racism has on all aspects of American life, we won’t be able to “perfect our union”. Consider the difference between “red and blue” states-they track closely with the development of slavery.
If more people really understood our history then maybe we could indeed experience a miracle where more decent human beings could support a government that’s striving for liberty and justice for all.
White supremacy is the propaganda that keeps the fire burning for the Rs. It’s proven to be a winning strategy for centuries. They will not only attack people of color but white people who support American ideals too.
Too many people really think that skin color matters among human beings. The facts don’t support racism. Only misinformed and malicious people believe it’s real.
Imagine what the U.S. might be if there was no racism, sexism etc. The words in the Declaration of Independence might really mean something and we could indeed be an “exceptional” nation.
Yes, advocates of white supremacism have been in charge from the beginning, but they didn’t need terrorism because until the 1960s 90% of white Americans thought systemic, brutal oppression of the rest of the population was just fine. Brown v Board put a crack in their hegemony, which brought them out in force. Legislation in the 1960s further eroded their control, at which point they concluded that more force was needed. Over the span of the next fifty years, about 30% of white Americans changed their minds and turned against systemic oppression. Now, white Americans who still cling to white supremacism as a fundamental principle find their numbers reduced to roughly 60% of the white population, which requires them to use even more unsavory (to put it as mildly as possible) tactics. Replacing democracy with kleptocratic autocracy is one of those tactics.
The American political and legal systems, by design, give the 60% enormous advantages in carrying out their program, but even using those advantages to their fullest extent, they find themselves clinging to control by their fingernails, so they have endorsed open terrorism as a mainstream political activity. They no longer go along with the genteel terrorism that Republicans have used for a century and a half to preserve white dominance. Instead, they put crude low-lifes like Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and the gangrene monster in Georgia in the government, with even worse terrorists on the horizon, such as the creep that white Floridians put in the governor’s office.
I think the percentage of white Americans who advocate white supremacism will continue to drop, but slowly. It’s been dropping by an average of a half-percent per year over the last six decades. At that rate, decent human beings will out-number white supremacists in the white population in a couple more decades. At the same time, the white fraction of the population will continue to drop, and that’s the greatest fear of the white supremacists. They know that if they don’t preserve white hegemony within a decade, they are doomed to live in a country with legal, political, economic, and social systems that make an honest attempt to treat all people fairly. I expect white Americans, 60% of them, will continue to use any means they find available to them, including violent terrorism, to avoid that outcome. It will take a great deal of effort by the 40% of white Americans who are decent human beings, working alongside 80% of the rest of the population, to avoid the outcome that the 60% so desperately want.
Your point about people not really understanding history is well taken. That’s a result of people who don’t read, who don’t read history. A point Timothy Snyder recently made about Ukraine.
"Around a third of registered voters in the U.S. (34%) identify as independents, while 33% identify as Democrats and 29% identify as Republicans,...
Pew Research
The 34% who identify as independents are predominantly Republican or worse. Trump voters comprised roughly 60% of the white population.
In 2020, there were 168.31 million people registered to vote in the United States. In the presidential election, there were 81,282,903 votes cast for Biden and 74,223,030 votes cast for President Donald Trump.
Please show how your 70% works with the results of the 2020 election. There were all white voters for trump and the non-white for Biden?
Exit polls from 2016 and 2020 show roughly 60% of white voters went for Trump. I don't remember using the 70% number, but I did make a guess of 90% for the fraction of white people thinking oppression of everyone else was just fine up to the 1960s, and another guess that about 80% of the non-white population would be onboard with fairness. I don't have a source for either of those numbers. I made up the 90% out of whole cloth, based on my recollections of the 1950s and 60s. The 80% is a guess based on exit polling in recent elections, which puts the black vote at about 90% D and the Latino vote at about 70% D.
Yes to the direct shouting!!!! We are way too genteel.
Kathryn, David Muir interviewed Biden yesterday regarding Ukraine, as well as the Ohio derailment, and responded to David's reference to some people who claim that Biden had done very little to assist in the aftermath, and Biden simply said he'd called within two hours of the accident and EPA was at the site within hours. I'm assuming that Biden is refusing to engage in the right wing's gotcha tactics, but I agree with you that he and others should be more emphatic in their responses, and I think he should have fleshed out the initial conversation with DeWine and DeWine's rejection of his offer of FEMA assistance. I was a bit annoyed with Muir's questioning, but felt that since that buzz was circulating, he was just taking a neutral stance and giving Biden a chance to state the facts.
I can't fault Biden's response, or his timing. Qui s'excuse, s'accuse.
Ann Louise, I thought the same thing. He refuses to be drawn into a squabble. Still, it's frustrating. Taking the high road translates to "he's senile" in their lexicon. In my heart, I know he's employing the correct tactic, but darn, I guess we'll have to wait for the next SOTU address to see him smiling broadly while he lands his punches.
What is "direct shouting"?
It appears commenters are responding to an ill-defined concept here. Before people go running into embracing any ideology it is important to define what that concept is and how would it be implemented. Or. We could just run around in circles like the Republicans.
The Democrats are winning elections and governing with historic results. Election results in 2018, 2020 and 2022 show voters prefer results over shouting.
Don't let them get in your head.
I agree Barbara. The lying, criming, and manipulating from the GOP is the same old, same old. Democrats are winning and doing lots of good stuff. Democrats keep pedaling away at doing the good stuff while they can. Buttigieg doesn’t have to shout. Democrats are looking like shiny gold in a sea of rusted out GOPers. The shine and success can’t help but be seen. Who wants to be on the side of the pathetic lying criminals? Just losers.
Just keep talking about the successes and calmly setting the record straight. More $$ to run informational ads about the good stuff happening out in those areas that get bombarded by GOP lies wouldn’t hurt. Focusing on turning out the vote and helping folks to make sure their votes count seems to make a difference 🤩
Thanks for your commonsense approach, Christine. This is exactly who they are. Engaging in shouting matches is a huge waste of our time and resources. Whining about them getting more attention is demeaning and tiresome. We will continue to fight gerrymandering, continue to register voters, continue to pile up legislative wins, and continue to prevail internationally.
As to spending money on ads. That may be an option. I don't know. But I do know that the media will continue to feature the crazies and ignore/minimize the Democrats. Finding people like Buttigieg to speak out is a valuable option. We can support organizations such as The Lincoln Project. They are bulldogs in this fight. And the Republicans whine about them so you know they do good work.
Anyway. Have a good week.
Grover,
I am still in communication with some southern Republicans in Texas and one of them sent me an irate email about the EPA a week ago.
As if the EPA had derailed the train. No joke.
If you listen to Fox News you would think Pete Buttigieg actually pushed the train off the tracks. And then, did nothing to clean it up.
Now, it would be nutty to "believe" something like that, BUT, people do.
Grover, not only are the terrorists in the building, but the nihilists are in charge of the planning committee, the inmates are in charge of the asylum and the criminals are running the police department.
What "planning committee " what "asylum " what "police department" are you referring to exactly?
What power do the Republicans in the House have to pass legislation? Any Bill sent to the Democrat controlled Senate would be defeated. There is also a Democrat President who has already warned the Republicans of his veto powers.
We need to be careful in asserting something that in reality has no teeth.
It was metaphorically intended. You can supply your own details.
There are many of us who believe we are in a fight for Democracy. Making hyperbolic statements that only serve to promote fear make our job harder.
Facts win every time. Not scary metaphors. Fact based dialog is what won elections for the Democrats in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
I invite you to visit The Lincoln Project website. They excel at fighting with words.
Once again, the rethugs are winning the narrative. Democrats are playing on their field. Listing a laundry list of facts or answering as Buttigieg did in one sentence will not attract uninformed voters. Last I heard, they comprise 70% of the electorate. Swalwell and Goldman used strategic mockery, a method advocated by Chris Schecter and Rachel Bitecofer used to great success in Michigan as one example. Here's what they suggest. https://post.news/@/cliffschecter/2MDHnIxYhbLLSMX4twMKywGYNWW?fbclid=IwAR0DCEJNj1LXUabs88r4El3uU2oVxlxKPkAvCBGwc8dA5728Qv6GGzP3_WE
Thanks, Eadie Sharron, for the link!
I totally agree. The Dems need to do more to control the narrative. Liberals often think that the truth will stand on its own. But, time and again, our experience shows that enough people just believe what they are told to sway our democracy. The truth needs its own PR campaign, we cannot be complacent about that and that is why Heather is doing such an important job. Thank you, Heather.
Unfortunately 70% comprise the uninformed electorate. Heather is preaching to the choir. The 70% don't read this newsletter.
"70%"?
"Around a third of registered voters in the U.S. (34%) identify as independents, while 33% identify as Democrats and 29% identify as Republicans..
Pew Center
The Democrats need a PR campaign?
Looks like the Democrats' campaigns worked just fine in 2022.
"Democrats defied expectations up and down the ballot in 2022 despite facing historic headwinds and other challenges going into the midterms. However, Democrats were able to grow their majority in the Senate, retain and win a number of gubernatorial and state-level races, and temper their losses in the House. The Republicans had no ability to be able to define us from a policy perspective because every single legislative item that has passed the House and the Senate, signed into law by the president, has had bipartisan applause and approval all across the country. The American people rejected the right-wing, MAGA, election-denying extremists who now have a large say so and chemically make up the Republican Party,””
The Hill
Barbara M, the implication of your comment does not address what I believe to be true.
A careful review of my comment would allow you to understand I never said 70% of the electorate. I think I said the uninformed electorate comprise 70% of the electorate. I do believe Democrats are losing the messaging war for these people. If we want to drown out the lies and disinformation, we need to use a new strategy. That was my argument. The statistics you quote bears little resemblance to the fact that rethugs continue to lie and cheat and are responsible in large part for deregulation and deaths in this country.Thank goodness a majority of Americans are informed and made the right choices in the last election, but that has nothing to do with the war on words we are engaged in!
You said: "70% comprise the uninformed electorate."
Now you say: "uninformed electorate comprise 70% of the electorate." Who are those uninformed? Republicans? Whites? Women? MAGA? Who?
Call this war of words if you want. I am making a point. People throw out vague terms, made up names and unfounded assertions and expect that to contribute to informed political discourse?
If you are looking for an argument from me, you won't get one. Most people agree that the disinformation campaign has caused untold damage. My point, once again, is that the sycophants that follow tRump and company are causing the chaos we see in the country. I believe it is in our interests to get the uninformed electorate on our side. I was suggesting a new strategy. If you want to harp on the statistics that's your privilege, but I don't have to agree.
I don't know if the Dems need a PR campaign, but the truth sure does. There is no rational reason the Regressives should have such control of the House or even that much control in the Senate. That level of representation does not seem to fit the distribution of American's policy preferences. The Regressives get a lot of coverage in the Press by blaring their outlandish lies. Since we cannot force the press to ignore these liars, Dems ought to give it a try to get more press by blaring outlandish truths.
Didn't you read my comment? The Democrats continue to win. The Democrats have prevailed in 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections. The Democrats demolished the predicted red tsunami in 2022.
I did read your comment. And I hope that the electorate is paying attention and that the Regressives do even more poorly in future elections. My point is that there is no reason they should be doing as well as they are. They should not be in control of the House. There should not be so many liars and crazies-who clearly never even took a civics class-in the House. That's all I'm saying. Too many lies have already been believed because the truth is getting drowned out. Thanks for your truthful presentation of the data.
And we need to embarrass the NYT and the Wash.Post until they start telling the truth in big BlACK HEADlINES. Otherwise, quit buying them, quit honoring them as Factual news outlets. They are both failing the American democracy( or the pretend one )
I do. I constantly post comments that are fact based counter arguments to the junk some of the columnists write. For example. If Thiessen, Olsen, McArdle, Will and Hewitt are spinning lies I will post all of Biden's accomplishments. Or if some National Review hack is writing about the failure of the Administration in the train wreck I will post a bullet list of the timeline of the Administration's response.
It's a tedious process. I've been doing this for years.
Janet, whether these politicians are too stupid to understand what Buttigieg tells them or, as I suspect, it's a combination of their stupidity and malice, the issue really is that their followers are too stupid to see through and analyze what is really going on.
I started a reply but somehow lost it! People believe what they want as long as it fits their narrative. Facts and truth don’t change their minds which is a real sign of stupidity. The vast majority of the sitting GOP’s stupidity and action is beyond contempt and comprehension. The Democrats need to challenge their lies loud and clear all the time. Just like Buttigieg does!
Christine, I agree. However, if they did that they'd have no time to govern. Somebody has to. 😼