I have a dollar that says A) RFK Jr lied to Senator Cassidy or possibly the committee as a whole and B) the current Senate will do nothing about it. I know where the National Institutes of Health can find 53 candidates for spinal implants; sadly, there's not a backbone in the crowd.
All in for the Economic Blackout today, but have to say that, at 71, I've become more disillusioned than I ever thought I could. Just reading the news in the morning makes me wonder about the point of it all...a terrible cruelty seems to have taken hold in our country and the comments of glee at the fear and pain of those people having their lives turned upside-down is no longer infuriating; I can only feel intense grief. This is not who we were, but is it becoming who we are?
Joyce, I appreciate your response. I am 76 years old and never in my life have I been so disillusioned. The meanness and cruelty that has taken hold in our country is beyond my comprehension. I go between deep anxiety and anger to grief.
I try to keep a small glimmer of hope every day. I send my grandson and granddaughter who are both in college my love each day. I do this with a brief text, sometimes just with a ❤️ they reply with a ❤️ And this is the glimmer for me.
I am 81, seething with anger, and demonstrating for the first time in a very long time. I "remember when" so many of the things we now take for granted were non-existent, and how hard we fought. I am mouthy, direct and while empathetic to stupidity and gullibility, I won't let politeness interfere with the truth. They can come for me; I've lived a good life!
Barbara, I'll be 81 next month and you took the words right out of my mouth! I keep asking myself, "Is this really happening?" Will I awake and it's just a nightmare? Shit! Then it hits me like a cold slap in the face that it is in fact reality. Saddest of all, I see no way to save ourselves as there are no "checks and balances" and the SCOTUS is in Trump's pocket even the military has been castrated!
Of two minds. Having worried about this as an eventual outcome of the Nixon/ Reagan years this in part relief. Well there were forces trying to influence systems and many and some in isolation some not. And not unprecedented in American history. After the Civil War, after The Depression, after WWII. So maybe now something better since the tapestry is showing from the backside. Though I also quiet because I worry nonstop just pretend that I am just fine but ready to see yuck and who are we not to have to experience all the great yucks have past history . Many of our citizens have in their lives or family past here or elsewhere have lived through this.
So ready for my worst fears to come true and eventually Ibwill say or do something central’s be put away. I hope mother my grandchildren’s sake and really hope we can pull abd forge through onward to better for all. Fir my grandchildren call the children in the world because these names just seem to miss completely line they are blinded by the need for power and control.
We warned them (MAGAts) over and over and over about Trump, but their racism and Christian nationalism blinded them to the facts before our eyes. Trump even announced at the Believers' Conference last July that if elected this would be the last election. It isn't a matter of being stupid. It's a matter of believing what one wants to believe. It is not easy to adopt and use critical thinking skills.
Richard, we also noted that as have many others. Too many so-called Christians are eager for the Second Coming and even the first time he was elected, I saw memes portraying him with a halo and surrounded by cherubs. Many times I have wished for the Rapture to take these people off our hands. I like to think of them actually ending up in hell or at the very least a black hole....in any case, burning up.
The reality of what is happening around us--the suffering of thousands of people fired--worrying about how they will pay their mortgage and the dismissal of the prevention of illnesses, safe drinking water, safe food, analysis of weather conditions, etc. is way beyond what we were warning MAGAs as we really didn't know the musk factor. It's much worse.
As I write I am listening to trump and vance scream at Zelensky about not expressing sufficient gratitude and I just want to crawl into a hole....
A malignant cancer was elected. The evil twist is that it is, also, highly contagious. Could we ever have had more dangerous and duplicitous set of people at the helm of our government??
I photograph my flowers, they are beautiful and an inspiration that no matter how dark the world we live in has become, nature is in balance. I’m not trying to sell you anything, I haven’t added to my website in over 2 years but if you want to see some nice flowers check out montagnephotos.com We have to stay balanced and on our feet as we face this onslaught of negative energy, much like when standing in the surf. When it gets demoralizing I reach for my camera, I’m well over 4000 images this year alone, which says something.
I understand, I think, what you're saying. Each OF US HAS T0O DO WHAT WORKS FOR US . . . PLUS A LITTLE MORE. ,maybe/( cAPS WAS A FINGER SLIP, SORRY.) But, and it's a big one, we have to be careful about how we think and talk about what's going on, For example, nature ISN"T at all in balance! . . . as Los Angelinos, Kentuckians, FLoridians, and North Carolineans can attest. And, it is not just we're facing negative ENERGY; we're at the font of edge of a host of negative ACTIONS that. if unchecked, will affect our role in the world, our own sense of self, our capacity to support our families, and be served by our government, I was a fed for seven years in the sixties; cuts on the scale being contemplated will hugely undercut the most basic of government functions for and services to us.
I beg to differ that nature is in balance. Massive destruction by water from storms in the last few years, extended drought conditions leading to massive wild fires in Canada and the United States, rising sea levels, and other indicators all validate the fears of climate scientists around the world. Nature is trying to rebalance, but humans keep enhancing the imbalance. I would love to agree with you, but at this point in time, I simply can't.
While nature may, indeed, not be in balance as many have noted, it is without guile or hate; it simply does what it does. We can love it's beauty while also working to limit the damage we continue to do to mother earth.
Well, I'm trying. I can't say it's easy. I just read about T***p and Vance's meeting with Zelensky. I am disgusted, and embarrassed to be a U.S. citizen. 😞
My adulthood mantra was "learn something new and do a good deed every day." This was much easier prior to retirement. Working in the lab of an urban major medical center--you easily learned something new daily, and there were plenty of opportunities to do a good deed. This Substack often fills the "learn" part, and I go out of my way to try and do a good deed, not always knowing if the person deserves it, or even their political party. I will admit that last fall, I encountered a confused senior man in the grocery store who needed help finding something his wife sent him out for. He was wearing a bright red MAGA hat and boy! did I have mutterings from my internal evil twin, but as the nuns used to say, I "offered it up."
My wife and I are retired. We find the ability to do good by volunteering at a local hospital and dog rescue. It may not be every day but it fills that void.
Vicki, when I retired, I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of writing. I started two years ago, and anyone who thinks writing an entire book has no clue. I have learned so much both about traditional publishing and self publishing. I'm learning so much about the business, both from in person and online workshops, books, and some huge help from a few published authors. I have started queries to literary agencies (who knew you needed to hire an editor prior to submitting queries! Much less that you needed an agent!) This hope of being published does keep me going. I've written a second manuscript, plus 80% of a third one, and 25% of a fourth. You are so correct, we do need some diversion from this madness to keep us sane. That being said, I have my stack of 100 postcards for Wisconsin--halfway through!--and will tackle some letters when I get done with these.
I have a good friend who I love, who is as LEFT as any MAGA is right. She has her reasons, but I feel that there are some Trump voters that can be swayed, if they are approached with compassion and gentle pushes of logic. Maybe it's wishful thinking.
I am not a Christian (I am a devout atheist!) but we all should remember those biblical words Jesus supposedly spoke from the cross: "Forgive them, father, for they know not what they do. "
Miselle, I also like being here to learn new things and have not been disappointed at the broad range of knowledge, experience, and suggestions for reading, books or other sites here. I am an avid reader and while I have favorite periods of history, I also read a lot of science, religion, etc. I confess to being in the Dordogne at the moment with a Bruno mystery. Not only does Bruno catch criminals, but he also cooks and there are mouth watering descriptions. I am having a cup of coffee, but I have no croissant!
I am actually in awe at some of the knowledge and resumes of people here! If we were all to meet someday (I imagine a Woodstock of HCR readers! ) I'd be quiet as a mouse as I'd be struck speechless.
Vicki and Joyce, I am nearly 82, and I have never seen anything like this. I did not plan to watch the country being destroyed in my last years. When death star was elected, I mentioned to my LMT that the only happy decent people are dead. I am also furious, but we are at an age when we can only donate or help spread real info. It is foggy this am, but it will burn off for a nice warm day. I may do some greenhouse work and then continue pruning roses. My garden helper is also coming today, so she will get some things done also. I note Ellen below finding joy in small things and that is where I am also. Today I also plan to check in with a friend i usually see on Facebook on email or text as we decided we were not doing Facebook either.
Michele, I will be 82 in July! We missed the first horror movie! Our parents lived through that time and I remember seeing the food stamps. However, they were the ones that were leftover. I was fortunate enough to have my parents until I was in my 70s. They never talked about the war. My father was drafted but was rejected. So he always worked in the area. I remember them having a friend that they said was shell shocked but I really didn't understand that when I was a child. I always felt like I lived in the best country in the world and the great state of Indiana. My opinion now is they are both going to hell in a hand bag....if a miracle doesn't happen. I truly lived the good life and didn't realize it. (It wasn't perfect) but I guess I was sheltered (only child) and only had the real desire to be a housewife and mother. That was good until at 30 I was left a widow. In 1975 I traveled to Europe for three weeks with a group from ISU. One of our stops was in Munich. That was when I first learned about the mass murders of Jewish people. I was shocked. I have learned a whole lot since I retired in 2014....then I started questioning....actually it started a few years before....I attended my first Democrat meeting in November 2015. I remember it well! I have rarely missed a meeting since and ran for office and got beat in 2022. Yesterday I accepted the office of treasurer of our Clay County Democrat Party. That will keep me busy! Sometimes I think it would be better not to have a clue what is happening like some folks that I know.
Sharon, I think I have shared with you that I was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. My mother died just before my 18th birthday and I endured one sociopath stepmother and another, good for my father, but anal. I remember that my parents had bicycles and with a seat behind for me and saw some of the ration stamps. My dad was considered necessary for the war effort as where he worked made shell casings, so he did not go to war. I loved growing up in Elkhart, but I have to say it was a very naive childhood for the most part. Yes, Indiana has been on a road to hell for a very long time and now with death star, muskrat, and greedy minions, the country is going the same direction. My dad stood over me when I registered to vote for the first time, so it was R with me thinking no way. Soon every time I visited my parents, there was a political argument. I saw my first racial incident in Chicago when I was six or seven. I still remember it clearly and how wrong I felt it was. I spent three and half years in Sierra Leone, most of it in the Peace Corps. I have never viewed this country the same since then. I knew about the Holocaust, but it was brought home to me by a stop at Auschwitz. The bad, sad energy there is absolutely overwhelming. I will have to look up where Clay County is and kudos to you. We often say to our dog how lucky he is that he does not know what is going on. I will be 82 in April. Now back out to pruning my roses.
So I see Clay County is close to Terre Haute. Several of my sister's family live there and some in Paris, IL, and other places in Illinois and Indiana. I do not know if they vote. I am sure that they receive government benefits in some cases.
Thank you Michele! I love that you are joining with a friend to discontinue Facebook. Already cancelled WaPo and NYT. I am working to divest myself completely of Amazon and Meta...almost there, and feeling a kind of relief.
I paint, and had used Instagram to share my art, but created a website so I can eventually leave Instagram too. Bluesky and Substack are my go-to choices now, and I am quite satisfied with them.
Some of us will never become cruel or gleeful at the fear and pain of others, but, sadly, some will.
I am 75 and I am very much with you. It is so painful to see how quickly the cult of one man, supported by the greed of billionaires, is dismantling our best and most needed institutions, and dishonoring us in foreign affairs.
It is Stalinesque: Kill one person and it's a crime; kill 6 million and it's a statistic.
COVID stopped my lifelong weekly mass attendance. When the church was reopened, still well into pandemic, it was the attitude of the priest and most of the parishioners towards safety standards that drove this medical technologist right back out the door. I never experienced a priest telling me how to vote or for whom, like many Evangelical church leaders do, but the fact that they don't "walk the talk" much of the love of humanity has kept me away.
Miselle, I am sorry this happened to you, but I understand. I find the Mass so beautiful and it's too bad that the priest and parishioners had the attitude you describe. I haven't attended in years. While coming home from the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone with a friend whose brother was a priest, we met him in Rome and he took us into the catacombs and said Mass at one of the oldest Christian chapels in the world. It was quite the experience. If you care to tell us, what is your book about?
The one I am currently sending queries is a literary fiction novel, the story of a man who has social anxiety, slight OCD and a bit on the spectrum. He finds joy in marriage, but a series of tragedies takes away his wife and family. He plods through life in loneliness, immersing himself in his accounting career, having lost faith in God. Near the end of his career, his company is sold to a larger company, and he worries about what lies ahead for him. This occurs at Christmas, and a holiday miracle occurs.
My other manuscripts are totally different in both style and nature from this one. (They aren't holiday tales, for one thing!) I do wonder, when I secure an agent (I don't want to even contemplate IF!) I wonder if that would be an issue in representing the other manuscripts. But that is getting way ahead of myself.
I agree about the mass. We had a great pastor, and his replacement is a snarky (yes!) man!
I used part of what I miss in this novel, as the main character is a lapsed Catholic, and he ponders the meaning behind the higher powers.
There is a great little book that everyone should read by Andy Andrews titled "How Do You Kill 11 Million People?". In case you don't get a chance to read it (takes about 40 minutes) the answer is "You Lie." Trump exhibited this very well when his incompetence during Covid resulted in thousands of Americans dying needlessly. When will our leaders accept this elemental fact?
But that is an interesting question. Could Trump kill 11 million Americans in 40 minutes? And that we would even consider thinking about that question says even more about how deep a hole we're already in.
Keep staying aware, influencing those you can and stay the course. There are more people against what is happening (even some Republicans) than you think. The cost of trump’s policies will come due. It is heartening to know that Blue state AGs planned early to fight what is happening. And even though they have been slow to act, Democrats in Congress are fighting back. And the attendance and pushback at legislator’s town halls is encouraging!
In many ways, being a country of separate states, united but separate in many ways, may be what actually saves us. Federal overreach (ironically, imposed by the so-called “states rights” party) under the Trump administration may be its own undoing.
Love what you said but do not like what is happening at all. I came to France for a few weeks and the French are all worried about Mr Trump. They cannot believe we voted him in again and of course, neither can I. Make America Great Again? It was the greatest country and people loved coming to our beautiful USA. Now, not so much…
"not so much".... Canadian esp have cancelled their travel plans to USA, myself included, though i would not be beyond joining a public protest in the state nearest my small eastern province.
Make sure you support Canada at every opportunity. I hope the Canadians put big notices onto everything they export to the states so I can easily "Buy Canadian".
I saw an article recently talking about Canadians cancelling their travel plans here. The states mentioned as destinations are all R. Also border towns are suffering. Not only will Canadians not come, but I suspect a whole lot of other people as well. But gee, for $5 million, you can get a golden green card. And as an added bonus, mingle with some of the worst criminals on the planet.
We're all "kissing cousins" including zillions of immigrants over the past few centuries. USA is economically dominant for very down to earth reasons, and Canada has benefited greatly from that. In many ways, US-Canada is a truly integrated economy; partly thank goodness, not so politically. USA remains an anachronism when it comes to broad social support of its citizens. Look to the rest of the OECD to get some idea about that.
I appreciate and I guess I understand your no longer being infuriated. But I am 82 years old and I am still furious. I just want to live long enough for things to turn around. I surely hope I can hold on until the people who can experience empathy are back in charge of our government.
To Mary & Gail. Hang in there Please. I wish to repeat a short note, that I was given regarding a dangerous mindset ,while serving in the military. When a person or event bothers you, don't let it in your brain long.
Oh Gail, I’m still infuriated! I am just finding that the depth of my grief is so deep at times, that I fear I can’t keep up the fight. My husband died in March 2020, and this is just as bad in many ways because our kids will face a terrible future if we continue on this path and I know he must be scared for them too. That said, I appreciate your comment, and that of many others here.
Joyce, as you can see by the responses, many of us share your grief. I prop myself up by remembering that my father, who was an artillery captain in Patton's 3rd Army, risked his life to defeat Fascism. Speaking out, attending rallies, post-card writing, calling voters, registering young voter and boycotting businesses that cower to a fascist are the least I can do. So stay strong and take action with others - every action you take inspires someone else - together we can defeat Trump/Musk and this fascist coup.
We have been a bifurcated society from the days of the Planters and exploiters to the present. It’s just that the evil side figured how to exploit the fragile system of Ben Franklin’s admonishment to hold on to the republic if we can. Today it’s been suspended. I think we will get it back but how much damage will be made is anyone’s guess. And as a person who thinks from the center not far right and not left, we must accept some of this blame because after all, everyone indulges in the blame game and we have blamed the white working class over and over until they went screaming into the arms of their executioners. It’s complicated that’s for sure. I say let’s fundamentally stop pushing leftist ideology. I wrote a 4 page letter to hum.. Mr Hogg, the young vice chair of the democratic central committee pleading with him to re-examine our position and to consider ways of bringing the Democratic Party closer to the center. This is the way forward. But when we get into slice and dice on issues, no one wants to give in to reconsider and this is the fault of humankind. We think we are always right and that nothing needs to be reset or changed.
You wrote 4 pages to ask Mr. Hogg to give up his principles because they weren’t in the center? Aren’t you the one who thinks you are always right?
I feel like I’m a fairly conservative person but that doesn’t mean throwing away people who are different than me. What is too far left for you? The compassion, acceptance and understanding? Standing up for other people’s rights? If that’s true I must be too far left for you.
Go ahead and get emotional. This is just what we need. Emotional Responses. Ask yourselves one pivotal question Why did we lose then discuss it in your civics class. Yikes.
Frank, I agree. Treating these groups as full citizens with all the rights is keeping faith with the ideals of the Constitution, not leftist. That is falling in with R talk. I have several friends who are married to their same sex partners and they are beside themselves with what is happening. The best I can do is offer my love and support and keep trying to do something about the mess. As a woman, I also remind people of how recently woman had no rights and were the property of their husbands or fathers.
Michele, the new normal seems to be that any expression of equity, inclusivity, humanity, grace, generosity, or altruism is condemned by the christofascists as "commie" or "woke" or somehow horrible., They have clearly abandoned any pretense of abiding by the teachings of Jesus, if they ever did (I have my doubts). The self-righteous nonsense of the ultrarich, the delusional, and the willfully ignorant is exactly what the Felon and his ilk want to promote. We here know (well the idiot trolls don't but I have blocked them) that all of this blather is simply a convenient excuse for ethnic cleansing and slaughter. Because ultimately that is what they want to do. Bloodthirsty shitheads that they are.
Nah but most just don’t understand matters. We are hypersensitive towards all those who were at first discriminated against. I visualize world in which we don’t need to be sliced and diced according to who we are, what religion we believe if we have such ancient rediculas beliefs, who we F in bed, which new gender de jour. Stop separating everyone. I don’t give a good crap unless at sat the grave site of President Slime Bucket.
From here in the UK, and as a confirmed leftist myself, I have to say that the suggestion that there's anything approaching leftist politics in the United States is risible. Even Bernie Sanders was once described as a "democratic socialist capitalist".
Bill, I don't agree with a return to center at this point for too many reasons to list, but I do appreciate your continued presence in the conversations here. It's helpful sometimes to have a reasonable point of difference to make one think about what they truly believe, and you often offer that for me in a way that is oddly helpful. I have looked into getting your book (won't be from Amazon!) and am actually considering reading Ron Paul's book. Just saying, that at least for now - ain't American Great!!
"I think we will get it back" Can you elaborate on how that might happen, and what the path might look like? Without illustrative indicators how does writing Mr. Hogg a four page letter pleading him to "move Democrats to the center" will help or, in the upside down Trump and comp world we're now in, what that even means.
I think the narrative needs to be changed. Instead of democrats are evil. The narrative needs to be that we are normal! That abortion, science, vaccinating your children, feeding your poor is not corrupt or fraudulent. But just plain old normal. It is what made as a super nation. I think the Republicans attack on science and medicine should be brought to the surface. There needs to be more talk about what innovations, medical advances are accomplished when we act in a (barbarian) by partisan (damn spellchecker) way, making compromises and working together.
Calling Democrats leftist for wanting abortions, vaccinating our children, wanting clean air and water is what made the USA a strong country. When women’s voices are equally listen to, and the white men are not constantly trying to put us in our place there will be an enlightened for our country. I would like to hear more from Mr. Hogg and company! I’m encouraged that when I see young people participating in the protests that I’ve been involved with.
What’s normal about a person running the health department who has had a worm in his brain? How did he get it? I had a neighbor who had a worm in his brain from eating street food in Mexico. The worm was taken out. They went back to Mexico and continued to eating street food! What’s normal about what Trump/Republicans are doing. I’m 73. I’d like to see our young people start leading the way. Democrats need better press!
Well said. But do not give up. Americans love to fight. Those in power are minorities. They cannot stand against citizens as a whole, who are organizing for fights now.
Keep fighting! I am doing the blackout today as well as participating in a local sidewalk protest!
I am 70 and refuse to give up!!!!
“Be a nuisance where it counts, but don’t be a bore at any time. Be depressed, discouraged, and disappointed at failures and the disheartening effects of ignorance, greed, corruption, and bad politics - but never give up.” Marjorie Stoneman Douglas (She continued to be an activist until her death at 108 years young!)
At 76, I know how you feel. It takes daily work for me not to panic. At the same time, I refuse to let this go on without doing what I can against the evil and for the sake of good. Every little bit matters.
It is closer than many realize. Recently read a great but scary book: "Life in a Jar" about Irena Sendler, a polish social worker who saved over 2000 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto. Upon request of the parents, she covertly placed each of them with Polish Christian families. Can you imagine how hard that was for the parents? How brave?
As with undocumented injuries and deaths from gun violence, Republicans will prevent the NIH from collecting statistics on preventable injuries and deaths traceable to their anti vax policies - so that anti-vax injuries and deaths will not exist. In fact, Republicans will brag on the numbers going down.
Here in Maine GOP Gov. LePage closed Dept. of Health and Human Services offices near public transportation. Then bragged on the number of people seeking services going down.
The Texas Measles death was "school age" child hospitalized in LUBBOCK, County, Texas. Those hospitalized are NOT in quarantine - they are gravely ill.
Best Med data both influenza, bird flu, measles & others maladies on the Substack "YLE". That's Katelyn Jetelina, "Your Local Epidemiologist"🎯
YLE explains the "Bird Flu" route from birds to cattle to humans exposed to cattle.
I read and save every single one of Dr. Katelyn Jetelina's YLE letters. I also read and highly recommend Substack "Examined" by Dr. Ryan McCormick. They are both disseminating science-based health news and information.
Doc McCormick is here on LFAA from time to time; that's how I found him. Both of these doctors are great resources. Dr. Jetelina's original epidemiological field of study was gun violence, which makes her doubly pertinent for me.
Thank you Carol JLH. Ally's comment below is correct. I have read & 'acknowledged' Dr. McCormick's posts on LFAA. But, I will go directly to the Doctor's platform. 🙏 I will take 1/day as needed?
LOL yes, Bryan Sean McKown, take as needed or as offered. You can't go wrong. Often, Dr. Jetelina and Dr. McCormick cover the same or similar information but their presentation is different. After reading them both, I feel confident I understand the material. Here's a link to the latest Examined. It's a keeper! https://mccormickmd.substack.com/p/measles-vaccine-considerations-during
Now the important stuff. Elon’s son, X, while visiting with his dad the Sewer Clown in the oval office, picked buggers out of his nose and smeared them on the resolute desk as President Sewer Clown looked on with cameras rolling.
President Sewer Clown subsequently had the desk removed for refinishing. I once posted on WAPO how I would take a dump on the Capital steps the day President Sewer Clown is laid in state at his funeral. I haven’t the foggiest why I was permanently banned from posting at the Washington Post. And I mentioned too that I would attempt to climb on top of the opened casket and lay a big one down after insuring I ate gooie foods that would produce a diarrhea reaction. The audacity of the Washington Post to ban me was extraordinary and uncalled for.
PS: I do intend to do my duty at the grave site of President Sewer Clown one day soon. I want to be the first to be arrested so I can go down in history as the first of many to poop on the royal grave.
When Nixon died and was laid out near his home in California, my brother and I agreed that if we could have, we would have stood in line among the mourners, with a mallet and a stake.
“An elderly man was arrested today at the now historic presidential compound of the former president, President Sewer Clown, attempting to pull down his pantaloons to defecate at the gravesite. More news at 11.”
(Sorry if my juvenile humor is found disturbing. No less disturbing than antics being pulled at the center of government.)
Bill, more of us need to share your anger. America is being destroyed, raided, raped. Even the Woke are asleep. Bernie Saunders is trying to ignite a fire but he is being ignored by MSN.
Yes but still needed to make my apologies for the gentle eyes here. I’m likin’ it a d will use an extended version on my blog. I often get inspired here in Heather’s and others blogs.
I remember Paul LePage saying "I was Trump before he was Trump". I remember LePage telling the NAACP to "kiss my ass". I remember LePage dismantling Dirigo Health which was a health insurance for small businesses. That was one of the reasons we sold our enterprise and moved to MA - where health insurance was universal.
LePage is just another version of the devil. BTW, is Eliot Cutler still in prison? He deserves to rot there until death.
Had to google it, Bill, but looks like he has several more years probation AND must regiser as a sex offender! Too bad he got out early - for his "good behavior"!!
I can't imagine a more perfect place in Maine than where we are, close to family, close enough to Portland Airport with our train station a quarter mile from our house and able to take the train to Portland for as little as $3.
We do have a niece a bit south of Loring, and my brother is probably going to drive up from Georgia to visit her and us sometime this year. He might want to visit during Loring Timing Association events at the old Loring AFB (where the record is 311.945 mph/502.27 km/h). So I am looking to visit up that way again.
I was temporarily up there in Dec 1968 (right after getting back from Vietnam), to help the Weather detachment get ready for an annual inspection when an Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI), took place during a blizzard that threatened to prevent the launching of aircraft unless we could get out to our weather equipment around the runway to see if it was detecting the visibility correctly. I'm not a fan of snowshoes in a blizzard but, being very mission oriented, they were able to launch. I never wanted to have to go into those conditions again, though. Hats off to all those up there that still do what's needed, whenever needed, no matter what, though.
At one time I would have gone there in weather good enough to see if I could get a car up to 200 mph but the Loring Timing Association came along long after gave up trying to go over 200 mph anywhere.
Yes, that confused me too. Had to look it up. Found out that apparently LePage, having become a kinder, gentler version of himself in Florida, is back in Maine for a comeback against Mills. Can a zebra ditch its stripes?
After watching Governor Mills stand up to Traitor Trump I commented that she had more balls than the entire Congress and wrote her that I wished I could vote for her. I'd trade her for our pathetic Youngkin in a heartbeat. I'm not writing many politicians these days to compliment them so sending her my thoughts was a real pleasure.
I called Mills office and left a message of support and thanks. I had written to Collins three times about her votes (prior to her voting). She wrote back the first time, about my theme of meritocracy not mediocrity and she voted against Hegseth. She then announced federal funds for Maine and then did not write me back...she proceeded to vote for the least competent selections in history, only Patel did not get her vote. She leaves a very icky and dirty feeling in me for her vote. Senator Angus King (Ind) on the other hand, has been excellent.
You go off the coast of Maine and away from York County Maine and you enter deep Trump country. LePage is a real threat given Mills war with Trump. She is of course right, but that means nothing to rural Maine.
Yes, Mills beat him. Mills' term ends in 2026 and she can't run again due to term limits. Hopefully she'll challenge Susan Collins for the Senate. Hopefully LePage doesn't make another run at the governor's seat.
I go into asthma attacks around cigarette smoke. that completely restricts my movement. I shop in a store every four weeks. The average number of cigarette smoke I run into as I try to get in and out of the grocery store is three batches of smoke. I depend on USPS, USP and Fed Ex for my shopping. I have no other choise
I hate it when i walk into clouds of smoke. As a suggestion, you could buy local and use a local delivery service. Or a local college student. Keep your inhaler close by, just dont buy anything today! Best wishes
That's something we haven't known for years in Australia. Huge government anti-smoking campaigns, then legislation against smoking in the workplace. It soon became a socio-cultural thing - you don't smoke inside someone's house - if you must have a cigarette, you apologise and go out into the garden. I remember when arriving in England in 1962 how astonished we were to go to the cinema and watch the screen through clouds of cigarette smoke - not done in Australia, even then, in spite of massive advertising campaigns showing elegant sophisticated women or rugged outdoor type men. And yet the kids started in their teens, thinking they were hiding it from their parents. Ironic that Kennedy should have that raucous struggle of a voice - I gather it's not his fault, but he reminds me of those TV ads of Yul Brynner - "Whatever you do, don't smoke!"
I am curious because I rarely see a lit cigarette around other people. There is a smoking area outside our Hannafords that is placed far from the parking lot and entrance/exit doors.
In NYC and San Fran one is more likely to smell marijuana smoke, but from a distance. Thank you.
The smoking is outside, not in. I live nine miles from town in Western NY (I have to go every four weeks as my tiny cat is on a controlled substance. So I grocery shop then. I.E. no one else can pick up her meds except me. . The person was coming back from break and motioned me into her lane. I got within 20 feet of her. She was covered with smoke so I waited in another line (second interruption to let a cat in, I get lots of exercise at 80) Even in the next lane her smoke on her clothes was drifting over. I complained a number of years ago.
They have to smoke outside now. But that doesn't stop the custermers. The town has a 25% smoking rate. I moved here ten years ago. I have not been in the neighbors house, she is heavy smoker. I live on 32 acres of swamp surrounded by 1000s trees. The driveway in is very long. Her husband keeps it very well plowed. I am twenty feet from a large pond. there was a house , barn, and dilapidated cabin. I spent nine years renovating the cabin, getting contractors when there were things I couldn't do. Heaven on earth. During the pandemic, I ordered in groceries. Had some funny stories. The carport is way away from the house so the delivery people don't get stuck in the down hill area where house cabin and barn are. I was up there on a "grocery" day and saw a coyote near the carport. Later when the groceries were due, I drove up, she was out again so I though she might have a den. So I went to the next house to meet the delivery. (The smoke house) When the delivery people arrived. When they heard there was a coyote around , they made a very fast transfer to my car.
I live in Southeastern NY - not far from PA. I dont see or smell as many smokey "folks" as I used to. And its so very obvious someone is a smoker because of that. Grew up with smokers - my son smoked for years - until he was diagnosed with throat cancer & went thru chemo & radiation. Its not something merely "irritating" to some people.
Puzzled? - after we have been or should have been educated in the damage done by secondhand smoke? Someone with asthma or COPD or any damage to their immune system is likely worried as much about their own physical vulnerability as the current bunch.
When its a danger to your own life - its pretty darn important.
I grew up with a mother who smoked three packs a day and then quit because we kids had been influenced by all the PSA s abd especially Yul Brynner’s deathbed speech answer made her quit! Various campaigns! She was really hard to live with the first and second year abd little did we all know she was in withdrawal. She did fine that’s one year after my father died she developed index lung cancer and then it became terminal.
I have always been gobsmacked that our generation if not a smoker is never asked did you grow up in a home if a smoker? And somehow get checked every ten years or so with some sort of scan. If they do mammograms they should do lunggrams!
It's one of those "little things" that government changed that we will no longer have. First in educating us, then by mandatory warning labels, then banning advertising, and lastly by enacting laws prohibiting smoking in public places. It's not the one thing, it's the dismal tide. Pay attention to the little things.
In San Diego what I see is the vaping smoke pouring out of car windows. Though we did watch someone throw their cigarette out their window recently, even after all the wildfires. If only my car camera would have caught it and we could have reported it.
I remember when you’d stop at a red light at freeway exits and butts were piled high on the ground. I don’t notice them as much anymore.
Back in my patrol days, another deputy and I had a running contest for "throwing away of lighted material" citations. In Oregon, those are unclassified misdemeanors because of the extreme risk of fires along the highways. I have written that citation in a driving rainstorm in December.
Have you tried wearing a mask? Very helpful for many things ;).
I must confess that I recently quit smoking after many many years - and multiple failed attempts. One reason I was successful this time is that I never smell cigarette smoke anywhere. And now, of course, it smells absolutely foul to me. I’m shocked that a community still exists with a smoking rate that high! That’s sad.
Funny you mention that, I almost NEVER encounter cigarette smoke anymore. What I do is the stink of pot, which I find nauseating. While I personally don't imbibe, it is legal here and I don't care if people want to smoke, but I do worry about people driving under the influence. (As a lab tech, I know how carefully BAC samples are collected.) I don't know what the legal limit would be, or how they'd test. I also wonder about how well people can do their jobs.
I don't know about other parts of the country, but there is a law enforcement training specialty called a "Drug Recognition Expert" (DRE for short). Sometime in the early 2000's, the Oregon State Police got a grant for a study where every other alcohol related driving arrest asked the drivers for a voluntary urine sample, completely anonymous. The study went for a calendar year, with the express intent of identifying polysubstance abuse (using other drugs; marijuana, amphetamines, pain medications, depressants, other controlled substances along with the alcohol.) The study identified a statistically significant percentage (I think it was between 25-35%) of arrestees who submitted to both the blood and urine tests) were polysubstance arrests.
There is a medically recognized field of study for cops who want to become DRE's to go through. Using a variety of tools (heart rate, blood pressure, pupil assessment, and other measurement tools) officers assess arrestees for other CS use; the testing process is rigorous and extremely tight, but a cop who is DRE certified can determine which substance is being abused.
Eva, in New Brunswick, Canada, as well as likely across "our great 51st state", smoking in public places such as offices, restaurants, supermarkets etc has been banned for years, to my own personal relief. I would have thought USA was in a similar state, apparently not? I did just google this. Apparently most places such as supermarkets are indeed smoke free.
Oregon has some fabulous anti-smoking rules. No smoking in public places, including bars (they all have outdoor "smoking decks"). It was a long haul, but we got there.
Yes, Frank, smoke-free except for casinos. I believe Eva is talking about the smokers outside of grocery stores. The one that I regularly visit has a few small tables in front of the store where staff go to smoke; I park around the corner so must sometimes pass by them. I've never so much as puffed on a single cig, so I hold my breath if I see anybody there.
Casinos, odds for winning are stacked to the house, exposure to smoking increases the odds of COPD, lung cancer, heart disease... so much for "lady luck"
Last week I received an email from the American Lung Association. They were worried about federal grant cuts for lung research. The writing is on the wall - institutionalized eugenics. No vaccines, no medical research, no healthcare facilities for veterans & seniors & disabled adults, no healthcare insurance for children or those who are under or unemployed, an impending bird flu pandemic…and those in power are not listening because they have no conscience.
"Institutionalized eugenics" caught my eye. It then occurred to me that President Musk regards all beings who are not producing revenue (preferably for him) as a waste of skin. He can rid himself of these "parasites" by killing them off with exposure, disease and starvation. The wealthy will save themselves by jetting off to other nations where vaccines and other life-saving care are available.
In his ketamine-fueled oblivion, President Musk doesn't realize that HE is the parasite. His very existence depends on the labor of those he intends to kill.
Eugenics implies some active element of "better breeding". Instead, this is government by Malthus and Scrooge - "If they would rather die, they had better do it and decrease the surplus population".
I am sorry you go through this. Maybe speak with your store manager. Some stores have dedicated timeframes for their customers with limitations. My own stores here in FL do not allow smoking and smokers seem to comply.
I tried out curbside service at my grocery and they bring my purchase right to the car. It is free. They even pick out produce, dairy, eggs, etc. I never yet got bruised or bad items & the charges are accurate every time. They even accept instructions about size, ripeness, etc.
Thanks for adding that about the Boycott! I am ready. But will be going for 381 days to honor the highly successful 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. I think if we had announced 381- company’s would be shaking in their boots right now. To know that your sales would be down considerably for a year would indeed cripple them.
Valerie, I agree. When I first heard of today's boycotting I said although good in theory, it must be either for a couple consecutive days and repeated regularly, as CEOs wouldn't be too concerned about a day's blip on their financials. A lot of commenters chewed me out about that, saying I was discouraging protest. Hardly! I'm calling for more! Why not have a day's abstinence from FB (which I'm not on anyway), Meta (Insta and Google,); X, etc., and repeat it? Those companies make money off eyeballs and ads, and we're all on the podium behind 47 last month.
My wife and I have boycotted several companies for years -- Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Chick fil-A, Goya, etc. etc. We used to buy a great deal from Amazon and Whole Foods, but do no longer. I canceled subscriptions to the NYT and WaPo last year. We have cut back our spending dramatically and buy local and small unless we can't.
I will be boycotting every corporation, every Friday. It is a consciousness-raising exercise. Once I establish the habit I'll boycott for longer periods of time. I know someone who gave up shopping for Ramadan! She is brave, and very strong.
That sounds like a great idea. At least shop for necessities where your values are respected (e.g. Costco) and not where they are being shredded (e.g. Target, Walmart, Whole Foods). Someone should create a list of green (ok), yellow (iffy) and red chain stores and/or brands so we can extend the boycott long enough to actually make a difference.
There is a blog that's not very active which sends occasional emails listing "good" companies. I got one not long ago, but deleted and can't retrieve it (I know, unhelpful).
Choosing a company to patronize is tricky, because many do engage in social responsibility, but then "hedge their bets" by supporting evil. For example, Apple is essentially a "good" company, but Tim Cook gave a million of Apple's dollars to Donald's so-called inauguration fund.
Alphabet (Google) follows many admirable policies, which lands them on many "responsible" lists, but I wouldn't classify the company as "good."
We are left with difficult choices. Sometimes there isn't a good one; only a "least bad" one.
I'm repeating myself, but it bears repeating that being small and local doesn't make a business virtuous. A majority of small business owners are MAGA or MAGA-friendly. In my opinion, these businesses should suffer just as much as the large, sycophantic corporations. If the boycott is to draw attention, it must be universal.
Understatement indeed . I suspect that HRC is doing what most of us are tending towards in fear of getting sued. Remember the threat of getting sued is how Trump frightens us into silence. Dr. Cox Richardson has been courageous and we must support her.
The only priority they have is more money in their pockets, completely wrecking the country, and allowing every criminal on the planet to either get off or come here. I am not buying anything today. I will also wait until tomorrow to post this letter to Facebook as I do it every day.
With consumer confidence at a seven-month low and Trump's tariffs yet to kick in, that economic blackout may be more extensive than originally planned.
The 24 Hour Economic Blackout - FRIDAY February 28th
For one day we show them who really holds the power. Do not make any purchases. Do not shop online, or in-store. Nowhere! Do not use Credit or Debit Cards.
It should be a demonstration of solidarity and 'rebuke'!
If you take a look and their pictures most of them are already showing a great deal of guts, more and they will not be able to find belts without killing a steer.
This administration lies and people die. Senators like Cassidy were elected to protect the American people. Either he is totally incompetent, and idiot or lied to us or all of above . As usual, we ,the people, are paying the consequences while they enjoy their perks.
He's not an idiot. He's a doctor. But he's let his backbone turn to jelly for fear of losing his cushy job and probably for some not unjustified fear for the physical safety of himself and his family. Doesn't this feel like Germany in the 1930s?
He's a doctor I think it would be entirely unsafe to seek out for health care. Remember: the guy (and it's always a guy) who graduated LAST in his class in medical school is still called "doctor."
Doctor ( medical I surmise) means he has sworn an oath to heal sickness.
He is one more bought business man who lies for a living. The medical establishment should void his license.
Just like the American Bar should be disbarring so called lawyers who aren’t!
We are starting to pay attention. Our anger is a one way ticket to holding this mob accountable for lies, con-work(crooks), treason against the Constitution and terror against humanity!
Stop dithering around!! These crooks have had enough of my money and way too much of our attention. Arrest Murdock too! Lying bastard!!!!!!!!
The republicans are all afraid of the Orange Lunatic, and for the life of me I can't figure that one out. What job is worth sacrificing your integrity, apparently a house or senate seat to appease a Toddler and VP Muskrat. My money stays with me all day, today is our day.
Largely unreported is the fact that the dictator’s goons are physically threatening Congressional republicans and their families with violence and muskrat is threatening them with primary competition if they stray from the pack. It is a reign supported by terror, a thugocracy. I’m not excusing the spineless for their spinelessness, because if they all banded together to resist, it would definitely have a positive effect. The stupid republicans who made a calculation 10 years ago to get in bed with the devil are now reaping the costs of that. Go one way and piss off the dictator, go the opposite and piss off your constituents. And there’s no way out of this for them.
Yes there is. They can truthfully explain to their constituents that the present administration and the thugs that work for it make it impossible to safely support and defend the Constitution and the rule of law then, RESIGN their position. That's the admirable exit if they are unable to stay and fight. SURRENDER is never admirable.
Theoretically that’s an option, but for 99.9% of them it’s not. Their districts are so gerrymandered that most of them barely have to campaign to keep their seats. It’s a great gig, being a congressman or woman, and none of them want to give it up. And doing the honorable thing while being a republican these days is mutually exclusive.
Yes, resign! "If you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen." Anyone with a shred of ethics would get the hell out. Quit! Be free of them! No job is worth this.
I agree with you that resignation is the honorable course for any GOP member who cannot find it in themselves to defy t***p and face MAGA cult vengeance.
But this will never happen unless we can incentivize the act of resigning.
Pleas to “defend the Constitution”, calling out their lack of patriotism, deriding their spinelessness, and other “sticks” that we have been attempting to wield against them have proven useless.
What “carrots” can we offer to make a Senator resign?
Power and attention seem to be strong motivations— what could be offered back in the home state to sweeten the appeal of resignation from a senate seat? Statues honoring them? Third graders making dioramas and memorizing their speeches? Renaming every town’s Main Street after them? Think, people!
Yes Bill, what's going on is incomprehensible for decent people but I rather stay were I am, we're we are, than on the other side celebrating cruelty and incompetence.
Hi Gerald. As a fellow MD I called Cassidy about 5 times, imploring him to honor his oath to medicine and give a thumbs down to RFK jr. … so much for integrity. Anyone who wants a DEEP dive on measles and whether they should get an MMR booster might appreciate this post I wrote yesterday:
Thank you for this post. According to my records, I had one shot for measles (1963) and one for mumps (1969). Does this mean I didn't get the MMR booster, and I should get one now??
I was required to get the vaccine when I attended ASU in 1993 at age 33. I was told my previous ones were not effective. When I gave birth in 1979 they gave me the German measles vaccine and I got so sick I had a fever for days and lost my milk. I feel like I’ve had an MMR since 1993.
Great post, thank you for the information. I'll pass it on to my spouse, children, and grandchildren. As I'm well into the 'born before 1957' group, I'll not worry too much - yet. For everyone, it's a good idea to dig out their immunization records - mine haven't been checked since my last trip to South America. Today's to-do list.
I still have that little yellow book issued to me in the military and use MyChart for medical records. I see all my vaccinations are listed there, including the Covid and others I get at the pharmacy. I try to keep them up to date.
I clearly remember 2 weeks living in a dark bedroom, sunglasses on if I went out to the bathroom, and 65 years later, a continued sensitivity to light.
BlueRootsRadio THIS is what corruption in government, corruption of the GOP taken to a whole new scale looks like, at least new to the USA. It becomes so ubiquitous that anyone seeking favor or dispensation from previous “difficulties” simply deposits money in any one of dozens of donation baskets (campaign funds, inauguration donations, meme coins, crypto currency funds, hotel spending, golf course spending, etc) to get that favored treatment, even get-out-of-jail-free cards. Muskrat’s donation to tRump’s campaign coffers provided the very visible prototype.
The Firehose of Corruption is an attempt to simply blow past all the guardrails. Republicans *know* it's wrong but their reality includes death threats against themselves and their families. What Trump is doing is not Shock and Awe, it's Shock and Rob. Hell, Patel announced he's patterning with UFC for agent training which is like double corruption.
Couldn't this all have been avoided if the Republicans had impeached him? But loyalty lulled them into complacency, retreat into allegiance to the orange leader, and surrendered their moral obligation to laws and the Constitution. The road ahead is grim, thanks to them, and we have few tools to dig our way out.
I wrote to Cassidy & in my letter I asked him as a doctor if he could not suggest some OTC supplements for himself & his colleagues that would improve bone growth so that perhaps they might get some type of spine?!
Nothing shames them, nothing guilts them, they are worthless, actually they are more than worthless, my tax money goes to pay their salaries. WANT MY MONEY BACK, oh that's right there won't be enough IRS employees to process any refunds! That's handy isn't it.
The federal workers get shafted and fired, accused of being lazy and not doing their jobs. They keep the country afloat. Members of Congress bow to the oligarchs and are paid to do their bidding. Now here's a place Musk could do some meaningful culling.
I have a dollar that says Cassidy didn’t care what RFK jr. said to him. He was going to vote yes. The man is a physician and on its face he was grossly unqualified from the get go. The nomination never should have made it out of committee and he knows it. He should be deeply ashamed but he isn’t.
What about bobby jr. blatantly lying about hospitalized children with measles, saying that they're in the hospital as a preventative measure taken to quarantine them????
Trump has used the tactic of PROJECTION, his entire political career. By falsely accusing others first, of things he is doing, or plans to do, it takes the power out of those accusations when they, rightfully, come back at him. You can predict Trump’s corruption by what he accuses other of doing.
That is true. Trump is a master of projection, and his sociopathy and narcissism (he and Musk share these personality disorders) prevents him from seeing that he is his own worst enemy.
He and Musk are both completely devoid of empathy -- thus the glee on Musk's face when he waves that stupid chainsaw around to celebrate the ruin of thousands of people's careers and removes essential government services from others. It's truly sociopathic.
That seems to be a MAGA rallying cry. I recall back in the days of JFK and the race to the moon, educated people were respected, and higher education was a goal.
From what I have read and observed, the net results are the same, but Donald's and Elon's psychopathies are similar, and different.
Donald was born with a learning disability. It was known to the family, but covered up with lots of money. Fred Trump's family, going back generations, has had nothing resembling a moral compass. Neither Fred nor Mary Anne Trump were capable of expressing love. Consequently Donald's upbringing was the equivalent to that of a dog chained to a tree. Fred registered approval only when Donald demonstrated a "killer instinct" and turned over the reigns to the family business only because Fred, Jr. wasn't interested. Donald has always been driven by a need for love, but has no idea what it is. Without empathy, he substitutes self-gratification, whether sex, money or adulation for the love he's never experienced. Age-related mental decline is exacerbating his psycho-emotional issues.
Elon isn't learning-disabled, which probably makes him more dangerous. His early life was similar to Donald's, in that he was born into a wealthy household that was devoid of love. Not much has been written, but I suspect that he suffered from an undiagnosed psychological disorder involving sociopathy. I imagine him to be one of those boys who tortured animals for sport. He clearly is a megalomaniac with narcissistic personality disorder. His psychosis is amplified by misuse of drugs. This may be his undoing, but not until after he's wrought damage on a global scale, funded by his extreme wealth.
Talia, To maintain control, the Oligarchs must lie to the voters. Putin models this tactic.
"We must do what they fear - tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves and hypocrites. Everyone has this weapon, so make use of it." - Alexei Navalny
The people voted for him because they thought a businessman would run the country better. They forgot the part about how many failed businesses he’s had. Then there’s the 34 felonies he was convicted of for business violations and his phony valuations and net worth.
He’s not the only businessman to be elected to office, just the only one who has failed up his entire life. Backed by the mob and Russia but his voters think that’s a plus. No morals, no ethics, no intelligence.
The same people who are causing the problems, and taking things away from us, will soon come forward with solutions, promising to give us our stuff back. Whatever they do decide to give back will be broken. This is how abusers work.
Phil, as we observed in the first go-‘round, tRump and the rest of the Repubs telegraph their nefarious plans by accusing “the other side”, “the radical left”, “the Libs” of what they are already doing or are going to do, e.g.- weaponizing theJustice Department. Were it done unconsciously it would be called projection.
Dr Bandy Lee has been discussing all of these topics. Trump is a reaxionary nationalist; his MUSKrat lover is an overt racist. Dr Lee is addressing this atavism and nativism in her weekly series (Fridays at noon, Eastern U.S. time) by seeking an mental health intervention now leavened by a humanitarian, global future.
I think people should be entitled to accept or reject vaccinations. If they choose to reject, they should not be able to use insurance or medical assistance. If they reject protection from preventable diseases, they should suffer the consequences. The same applies to smokers. Any disease they contract that is related to smoking should be treated at their or the cigarette companies cost. Everyone knows smoking has numerous unpleasant side effects.
We could save hundreds of billions by stopping efforts to fix drug addicts and alcoholics. It is their choice to use these chemicals. If you are allergic to some sort of food, you avoid it. If you are inclined to be an abuser of drugs, don’t use them.
Of course they're lying. Heather daily (nightly) details U.S. devolution into the total lies now ruling.
While this unspools, my reading in Rebecca-Solnit-recommended Jonathan Schell continues. In the second half of his “The Unconquerable World,” he follows how free-spirited 1970s Eastern European intellectuals contrasted the growth of their communities based on personal truths with the official centers of power, there and then all based on lies.
Just as we see Washington D.C. now sunk deeply into regnant total lies.
So I recommend Arlie Russell Hochschild’s “Stolen Pride,” reporting from southern Appalachia; Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” a novel also set there; George Packer’s “The Unwinding,” essays based on interviews all over the U.S.; and Sarah Smarsh’s “Bone of the Bone,” with more essays and memoir mostly from her native Kansas,
It’s personal, the lives there. And they contrast with the near total lies of U.S. elites who offshored the jobs and standardize-tested the kids to death.
Hochschild, Kingsolver, Packer, and Smarsh re-centering the personal lets us see all the more clearly how total lies -- and the rank corruption Heather recites today -- now rule Washington, D.C.
Phil, as you know, to maintain control, the Oligarchs must lie to the voters. Putin models this tactic.
Professor Richardson, thank-you for "spreading the truth."
"We must do what they fear - tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves and hypocrites. Everyone has this weapon, so make use of it." - Alexei Navalny
Excellent, Justin! My county, which is Trump territory, is very fortunate to have a good newspaper. I've just figured out that one of my resistance tactics (or "weapons," thank you Navalny) will be to write short and informative letters to the editor. My first was just published. The newspaper gave it the title "Trusting the wrong leader." Here it is:
"We are bypassing Europe to negotiate with Russia?
Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia conducts its war with cruelty, without attempting to be honorable. Russia bombed a shelter where civilians went to escape bombing. It bombed a maternity hospital. It bombed power plants in the middle of winter to cause suffering for civilians.
Russia's enemy is democracy. Russian President Vladimir Putin stays in power by murdering those who oppose him. The Russian people don't often know this because he controls the press. If anyone worries Putin, he has his police put them in prison, or shoot them, or poison them, or shove them out of a high-story window.
Our former European allies know now not to trust America. This is sad, and smart. They will no longer be sharing intelligence with us because we might share it with Russia, who loves to see our democracy, and all democracy, weakened. We will not be as safe as we were."
Since Dems cannot represent the vast numbers of abandoned, working class voters, and so remain out of office at all key levels, words are just about all that's left to us.
I used to tell my kids that the worst thing they could do was lie to me. If they did something bad, CONFESS and I promised we'd work it out. Sadly for me, my one kid who converted to become a legalistic Baptist and who is extremely devote, is also a compulsive liar. It breaks my heart.
I agree completely. But lies are portrayed as truth. Trump lies every time he opens his mouth. Disinformation rules social media. There is no line anymore.
I've been reading "Mansfield Park" (Jane Austen) before bed to clear my mind of politics. A very strong heroine story! I wasn't wild about it at first, but by page 100, I loved it. The theme seems to be, "It's all about principles."
In a recent podcast, HCR mentioned that those who study disinformation have found that while outrage attracts attention, inspiration is equally attractive. I was thrilled to hear that, and try to keep it in mind.
No, JDinTX -- as Jonathan Schell (along with Rebecca Solnit) knows, it's more than that.
The four I've named here all explore what happened to American working classes. This is something about which the entire Dem party proved totally stupid in the last set of elections. And voters punished mightily these out of touch elites.
The personal in people's lives isn't just an entertainment. It's key to seeing and keeping at bay the dangers in people getting neutered.
Lies is one form of the dangers resulting. But blindness accompanies the lies, so Dems could not see or imagine how stupid and out of touch they were. Not so long as donations kept pouring in, and numbers of doors knocked on got counted, numbers of phone calls made got counted, and numbers of celebrities onstage got more money.
Didn't matter. The human element wasn't there. No Dems could cite the four books I've named here -- or any books or films or other arts in touch with the human pain neutered elites have caused.
The neutered, the blind have other games to play -- even as Heather goes out of her way to record the staggering lies and corruptions dark money has stupendously organized for quantum-far-worse MAGA Republicans.
"This is something about which the entire Dem party proved totally stupid in the last set of elections."
True enough, but the Republicans have dominated these areas for a long time now, and their pastors tell them to vote Republican for the sake of their souls. It's pretty difficult to cut through that, even though Joe Biden invested record amounts in poor, left-behind areas.
So true. Many folks in these areas also don't really think of themselves as poor. They're just having a bad time or a run of bad luck. They truly believe they're just one good day/year away from getting rich. Meanwhile, the wealthy folks are gallivanting around telling the poor its their fault they're poor and that if they would only work harder, they could be just like them. Their pastors tell them that if they just keep praying and giving to the church, that the Lord will provide. The government tells them that using the services that should be availalble to them, without stigma, (Medicaid, SNAP, AfDC) makes them at best, lazy liars, at worst, dirty criminals or system abusers. How do you teach them to overcome those lies and abuse. How do you cut through their cognitive dissonance? How do you reach them to make them understand that its not the government that is the problem, it's the corporations (especially in Appalachia when it really IS the government that's trying to wean America off of coal)?
That is one reason I really like the Medias Network's "Tennessee Brando"! He posts his youtube comments from his backyard in a small town (I think he said around population of 10,000?) in Tennessee. He's so genuine!
I think your insightful commentary is spot on. It incenses me when people say work harder to achieve the American dream. The hardest working people I know are those who perform the most important tasks such as caring for seniors, cleaning up after us, and picking our food. I can’t stand when others say just work harder. Why don’t you just pay them better?
I agree with what you're saying, but will add: If the wealthy aren't telling them that it's their own fault and they just need to work hard(er), then they are telling them that it's the fault of minorities, or immigrants, or other groups who are using DEI to steal what rightfully belongs to the "real" Americans, the white working class.
I'm not convinced of your argument that no dems could cite any books or films or other arts in touch with human pain. Indeed, this is the core of the Dems argument against Trump/Musk, that these massive cuts will cause pain to these very people. If anything the argument that dems went too far in the direction of feeling the pain of every person and losing sight of the those consequences that caused them to lose so many in the center.
Thanks for these recommendations. This is why I love reading the comments. Here truly is community.
The only place truth remains is in our stories. The stories of courage, of standing up to injustice, of speaking up, of taking risks. Of being human, flawed, but on the right side of history. I think this is the only way to change people's minds--through their hearts. We cannot afford to lose heart.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins trusted Kavanaugh that he wouldn't overturn Roe.
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy trusted RFKJR that he wouldn't bring anti vax to NIH
GOP Pres. Donald Trump trusts Putin that he'll honor security assurances to Ukraine. Of course, to get Ukraine to give up the 3rd largest nuclean stockpile in the world, Russia gave Ukraine security assurances against military threats and invasion. So did the US.
Either those Republicans are damned fools or damned liars. Or both
Yep. Actually they are both. Irreversably stupid, utterly without morals, and ethically impoverished. In other words: supremely mediocre men who think that their penises confer some kind of magical power for them.
Liars, just liars. They want money and the power money brings. However, the House and the Senate are trying to make themselves irrelevant by rubber stamping 45/47’s garbage. Wait til the leopards start eating their faces.
As for waste, fraud, and abuse wasn’t Rick Scott’s company investigated for Medicare fraud, and isn’t Muskrat trying to kill the agencies investigation his waste, fraud, and abuse? His wealth is based on his companies getting Lucy government contracts. How about we start there.
The Tate scumwads seem to have all the qualifications for a cabinet role - a history of crime, misogyny, and general scumbaggery, and zero experience. Maybe that’s Cheetolini’s plan??
Not surprised that the GQP answer to constituents speaking out is to run, hide, and lie. Losers.
Oh, the GQP doesn't just avoid town hall meetings.
Look at what happened to Teresa Borrenpohl at a town hall in Idaho.
Three unidentified "security guards" threatened to arrest her, then physically and forcibly removed her - with NO ONE in the audience coming to her aid!
(Listen to the video, and notice the speaker also denigrating her, referring to her as "a little girl.")
We must galvanize mobilization and break the "bystander effect."
*The term "bystander effect" or apathy was characterized after the attack, rape and stabbing murder of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese in 1964. Thirty-eight witnesses, and no one came to her aid.
Beverly, i was also upset about the feckless apathetic crowd sitting on their butts as this women got hauled out of her seat with zip ties at the ready by those "security" goons (more like nazi brown shirts). But, then it was pointed out to me the sitting audience was actually cheering on the goons and the speaker, with just a few other folks (all women!) filming and chastising the goons.
WHO are our neighbors these days? Answer? (around my neighborhood, and it seems in that neighborhood, and if the election was not rigged: NAZIS.)
Andrew Tate, the new Secretary of State for Masculine Equality (since they like bullshit euphemisms and organisations with names that mean the opposite of what they do, like the Department of Government Efficiency).
The Decline and Fall of America is being documented in real time and will hopefully be of use to scholars and historians that might survive into the next century. One hopes that the use of facts may help those of us in a position to act in ways that can impact the lives of those who might survive into the next century. Otherwise, what is the point in the dogged attempt to report with accuracy the things that our eyes see and our ears hear. We are the ones who can respond, call out the evil, and make a difference. Ike is gone, Who will take his advice to not forget, and not repeat. It starts with knowing the truth…it’s where we took a wrong turn
If there are any left to write it. With what we're seeing, I expect a major war. Possibly WW III. If the oligarchs subdue everyone, they'll turn on each other. Greed is never satisfied.
The criminal-elect and his corrupt regime aren’t concerned with dangerous contagious diseases, breathable air, drinkable water, or the plight of federal workers and their families. They certainly don’t care about bribery, even the AG was bought for $25K.
Business executives and investors (who are not in the process of short selling) may prove to be the proverbial straw who rein in this Trumpian crime wave.
At least Bondi is not walking around with a "for sale" sign around her neck. She got her 25k already for dropping a case against "trump university" while AG in Florida and now it's looking for better deals at a higher position. Thanks scumbag president for keeping the rule of law as a priority 👌
True Ricardo, but it is early in this Administration/crime wave. While not yet on the “official” menu, pardons are available for the right price. Maybe we can get one for a three night stay at a Trump Hotel and Resort?
Thinking they could survive a nuclear winter in a post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” dystopian nightmare is cute. All that money for a fully stocked bunker when they would be far better off with a tiny cyanide tablet.
Why couldn't they put their money on the right side of history? Help to make the world a better, safer place? Why would anyone want to live on Mars--or in a bunker? We have (had) a beautiful planet. Why isn't it sexy and exciting to work right here at home?
True Ellen. And some do -and in those cases it is notable because they know if fair progressive taxation is implemented they will pay more.
I’ve also written about a major distinction between wealth that is earned through vision, innovation, and risk versus wealth that is simply transferred (as in the case of the criminal-elect’s inheritance and the imbecile nazi-sympathizing billionaire who started with wealth amassed from mommy & daddy’s South African mining operations.
JL, a thought-experiment novel riff on the wealthy and how all their wealth somehow will protect them is The Future by Naomi Alderman. Also recommend the first novel of hers I read The Power, speculative fiction about gender and power.
In fact, Musk’s most cherished dream is to colonize Mars, where there is, of course, no breathable air or drinkable water. Just a totally controlled space bubble built for him and his chosen crew.
Consider the level of death from Covid that occurred during the first trump regime, despite there being many competent government officials in place to help combat it.
Now think what will happen id another pandemic hits the world.
America, with all these trump-chosen clowns at the helm, will become a charnel house.
Perhaps then MAGA will start accepting vaccines, wear masks - and call for Dr. Fauci to come back.
Little mentioned are the uncounted persons who grieved the loss of the hundreds of thousands dead. A pandemic is an invasion by a heartless, predatory enemy, and public discipline and solidarity is needed to limit the casualties. Power-game-playing Republicans arguably gave that enemy aid and comfort; helped the predatory virus advance.
J L, I thought this administration had blood in their hands already but what's coming is going to be like a blood bath and we are going to be in the middle of it. Good comment J L 👍
People were already dying from the Dobbs decision, preventing women from receiving necessary health care.
Immediately upon inauguration, 47 fired the FAA director, and fatal plane crashes have resulted - with him infernally making up a lie about DEI as the causation.
The mismanagement of the Covid pandemic has not been a learning lesson for 45, as 47 he and RFK Jr are going to make that look like amateur hour. (Pence was no better. Under his and the Surgeon General Adams watch as governor and state Surgeon general in Indiana, a preventable hepatitis and HIV epidemic occurred.)
Musk's chainsaw clear-cutting approach to destroying federal agencies that could challenge his own business interests is likely to cause irreparable harm - to the entire world and humanity. Example: American developed peanut paste formulas have successfully saved starving children, yet these programs are among those abruptly and inhumanely cut and eliminated by DOGE.
Neither the House, Senate nor SCOTUS appear to be willing to rein in these blatantly un-Constitutional power grabs.
Now 47 is aligning himself - and the nation - with Russia and North Korea; preparing to invade and plunder other sovereign nations for his own interests. and those of his "donors."
If the other branches of government will not stop this, the people must.
The scumbag president and his administration has blood in their hands already and it's been only a month since inauguration. And the worst is yet to come.
Add to the list of fired government employees, our daughter-in-law, married to our son, an active duty Navy pilot. It’s difficult enough to raise a family in the military, moving every few years and almost impossible to build a career.
People are not only losing their jobs, they are losing their health. I depend on the flu shot every year. And in a year where almost half a million of us contracted flu and thousands died, we might not have a future vaccine? Clinical trials and research into cancer have been canceled. Now, children are dying from disease I haven’t thought about in decades.
Do you feel safe with this president and his clown cabinet? I do not.
I am surprised that the media has not yet focused on how dangerous it is for pregnant women to be exposed to the measles virus. It can have catastrophic impact on a developing fetus. The recent trend away from vaccination in certain quarters is definitely not in sync with the pro-family or Right to Life contingents of MAGA.
Don't be surprised at what the media does Marion, they switched from information to appeasement. And of course there's no sync between what maga says and what they do. It's a contradiction to be pro family and life and and at the same time to be against science. What results do you expect ?
It would be interesting if any of these MAGAs especially trump, musk, Johnson or Kennedy themselves would contract bird flu or measles. Maybe that’s what needs to happen
While refrigerated trucks were used as temporary morgues, and mass graves were required for the thousands dying daily - more than the attacks on September 11, 2001.
And don't forget, Mitch McConnell himself is a survivor of polio, and he still voted for these "expletives!"
(Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter spent his life working for peace, building houses, and curing diseases.)
Trump had Covid and survived, thanks to the excellent care available at the time. Maybe DOGE can fire those excellent docs so the same mistake is not repeated.
Or Ebola! Remember the terrible pandemic and how many people died around the globe when Obama allowed infected people to travel into the United States. /S
I have a dollar that says A) RFK Jr lied to Senator Cassidy or possibly the committee as a whole and B) the current Senate will do nothing about it. I know where the National Institutes of Health can find 53 candidates for spinal implants; sadly, there's not a backbone in the crowd.
"Indeed, health does not seem to be a top priority of the administration. "
This is perhaps the greatest understatement of Dr. Richardson's she's ever posted.
Remember to hide your credit card(s) today and only buy local!
All in for the Economic Blackout today, but have to say that, at 71, I've become more disillusioned than I ever thought I could. Just reading the news in the morning makes me wonder about the point of it all...a terrible cruelty seems to have taken hold in our country and the comments of glee at the fear and pain of those people having their lives turned upside-down is no longer infuriating; I can only feel intense grief. This is not who we were, but is it becoming who we are?
Joyce, I appreciate your response. I am 76 years old and never in my life have I been so disillusioned. The meanness and cruelty that has taken hold in our country is beyond my comprehension. I go between deep anxiety and anger to grief.
I try to keep a small glimmer of hope every day. I send my grandson and granddaughter who are both in college my love each day. I do this with a brief text, sometimes just with a ❤️ they reply with a ❤️ And this is the glimmer for me.
My anxiety has, for the most part, turned to anger. I try to find joy in small things every day. I refuse to let these horrible people ruin my life.
I am 81, seething with anger, and demonstrating for the first time in a very long time. I "remember when" so many of the things we now take for granted were non-existent, and how hard we fought. I am mouthy, direct and while empathetic to stupidity and gullibility, I won't let politeness interfere with the truth. They can come for me; I've lived a good life!
Barbara, I'll be 81 next month and you took the words right out of my mouth! I keep asking myself, "Is this really happening?" Will I awake and it's just a nightmare? Shit! Then it hits me like a cold slap in the face that it is in fact reality. Saddest of all, I see no way to save ourselves as there are no "checks and balances" and the SCOTUS is in Trump's pocket even the military has been castrated!
Barbara yes I share your thoughts and am
Of two minds. Having worried about this as an eventual outcome of the Nixon/ Reagan years this in part relief. Well there were forces trying to influence systems and many and some in isolation some not. And not unprecedented in American history. After the Civil War, after The Depression, after WWII. So maybe now something better since the tapestry is showing from the backside. Though I also quiet because I worry nonstop just pretend that I am just fine but ready to see yuck and who are we not to have to experience all the great yucks have past history . Many of our citizens have in their lives or family past here or elsewhere have lived through this.
So ready for my worst fears to come true and eventually Ibwill say or do something central’s be put away. I hope mother my grandchildren’s sake and really hope we can pull abd forge through onward to better for all. Fir my grandchildren call the children in the world because these names just seem to miss completely line they are blinded by the need for power and control.
Barbara: Brava! You go girl!!! I wish we all knew more just like you! The polite “wait it out strategy” is clearly blowing up in our faces.
Barbara, I wish we were neighbors!
We warned them (MAGAts) over and over and over about Trump, but their racism and Christian nationalism blinded them to the facts before our eyes. Trump even announced at the Believers' Conference last July that if elected this would be the last election. It isn't a matter of being stupid. It's a matter of believing what one wants to believe. It is not easy to adopt and use critical thinking skills.
Richard, we also noted that as have many others. Too many so-called Christians are eager for the Second Coming and even the first time he was elected, I saw memes portraying him with a halo and surrounded by cherubs. Many times I have wished for the Rapture to take these people off our hands. I like to think of them actually ending up in hell or at the very least a black hole....in any case, burning up.
The reality of what is happening around us--the suffering of thousands of people fired--worrying about how they will pay their mortgage and the dismissal of the prevention of illnesses, safe drinking water, safe food, analysis of weather conditions, etc. is way beyond what we were warning MAGAs as we really didn't know the musk factor. It's much worse.
As I write I am listening to trump and vance scream at Zelensky about not expressing sufficient gratitude and I just want to crawl into a hole....
A malignant cancer was elected. The evil twist is that it is, also, highly contagious. Could we ever have had more dangerous and duplicitous set of people at the helm of our government??
I photograph my flowers, they are beautiful and an inspiration that no matter how dark the world we live in has become, nature is in balance. I’m not trying to sell you anything, I haven’t added to my website in over 2 years but if you want to see some nice flowers check out montagnephotos.com We have to stay balanced and on our feet as we face this onslaught of negative energy, much like when standing in the surf. When it gets demoralizing I reach for my camera, I’m well over 4000 images this year alone, which says something.
Beautiful! here in Oregon waiting for spring and hoping we will take America back by law and order. So much lawlessness in Trumps world.
I understand, I think, what you're saying. Each OF US HAS T0O DO WHAT WORKS FOR US . . . PLUS A LITTLE MORE. ,maybe/( cAPS WAS A FINGER SLIP, SORRY.) But, and it's a big one, we have to be careful about how we think and talk about what's going on, For example, nature ISN"T at all in balance! . . . as Los Angelinos, Kentuckians, FLoridians, and North Carolineans can attest. And, it is not just we're facing negative ENERGY; we're at the font of edge of a host of negative ACTIONS that. if unchecked, will affect our role in the world, our own sense of self, our capacity to support our families, and be served by our government, I was a fed for seven years in the sixties; cuts on the scale being contemplated will hugely undercut the most basic of government functions for and services to us.
I beg to differ that nature is in balance. Massive destruction by water from storms in the last few years, extended drought conditions leading to massive wild fires in Canada and the United States, rising sea levels, and other indicators all validate the fears of climate scientists around the world. Nature is trying to rebalance, but humans keep enhancing the imbalance. I would love to agree with you, but at this point in time, I simply can't.
Dick, thank you. What a lovely idea!
While nature may, indeed, not be in balance as many have noted, it is without guile or hate; it simply does what it does. We can love it's beauty while also working to limit the damage we continue to do to mother earth.
Thank you, Dick. Truly lovely photographs which are good for the soul.
Dick, I love my flowers and spend a lot of time in the garden, this week pruning roses and watching my greenhouse starts come up, one my yearly joys.
With you, Ellen. Thank you.
Well, I'm trying. I can't say it's easy. I just read about T***p and Vance's meeting with Zelensky. I am disgusted, and embarrassed to be a U.S. citizen. 😞
❤️
My adulthood mantra was "learn something new and do a good deed every day." This was much easier prior to retirement. Working in the lab of an urban major medical center--you easily learned something new daily, and there were plenty of opportunities to do a good deed. This Substack often fills the "learn" part, and I go out of my way to try and do a good deed, not always knowing if the person deserves it, or even their political party. I will admit that last fall, I encountered a confused senior man in the grocery store who needed help finding something his wife sent him out for. He was wearing a bright red MAGA hat and boy! did I have mutterings from my internal evil twin, but as the nuns used to say, I "offered it up."
;-D
My wife and I are retired. We find the ability to do good by volunteering at a local hospital and dog rescue. It may not be every day but it fills that void.
Thank You for your service, Gary!
😳👀❤️ Kudos for doing it anyway.
Lifelong learning is so important to me. I take online classes every week. The classes are interesting and keep me going.
Vicki, when I retired, I decided to fulfill a lifelong dream of writing. I started two years ago, and anyone who thinks writing an entire book has no clue. I have learned so much both about traditional publishing and self publishing. I'm learning so much about the business, both from in person and online workshops, books, and some huge help from a few published authors. I have started queries to literary agencies (who knew you needed to hire an editor prior to submitting queries! Much less that you needed an agent!) This hope of being published does keep me going. I've written a second manuscript, plus 80% of a third one, and 25% of a fourth. You are so correct, we do need some diversion from this madness to keep us sane. That being said, I have my stack of 100 postcards for Wisconsin--halfway through!--and will tackle some letters when I get done with these.
I have a good friend who I love, who is as LEFT as any MAGA is right. She has her reasons, but I feel that there are some Trump voters that can be swayed, if they are approached with compassion and gentle pushes of logic. Maybe it's wishful thinking.
As well you should.
I am not a Christian (I am a devout atheist!) but we all should remember those biblical words Jesus supposedly spoke from the cross: "Forgive them, father, for they know not what they do. "
True words, Jon!
As a follow profoundly atheist Jon, I'm not in the mood to forgive anybody.
Miselle, I also like being here to learn new things and have not been disappointed at the broad range of knowledge, experience, and suggestions for reading, books or other sites here. I am an avid reader and while I have favorite periods of history, I also read a lot of science, religion, etc. I confess to being in the Dordogne at the moment with a Bruno mystery. Not only does Bruno catch criminals, but he also cooks and there are mouth watering descriptions. I am having a cup of coffee, but I have no croissant!
I am actually in awe at some of the knowledge and resumes of people here! If we were all to meet someday (I imagine a Woodstock of HCR readers! ) I'd be quiet as a mouse as I'd be struck speechless.
Miselle, the nuns would be proud!
Vicki and Joyce, I am nearly 82, and I have never seen anything like this. I did not plan to watch the country being destroyed in my last years. When death star was elected, I mentioned to my LMT that the only happy decent people are dead. I am also furious, but we are at an age when we can only donate or help spread real info. It is foggy this am, but it will burn off for a nice warm day. I may do some greenhouse work and then continue pruning roses. My garden helper is also coming today, so she will get some things done also. I note Ellen below finding joy in small things and that is where I am also. Today I also plan to check in with a friend i usually see on Facebook on email or text as we decided we were not doing Facebook either.
Michele, I will be 82 in July! We missed the first horror movie! Our parents lived through that time and I remember seeing the food stamps. However, they were the ones that were leftover. I was fortunate enough to have my parents until I was in my 70s. They never talked about the war. My father was drafted but was rejected. So he always worked in the area. I remember them having a friend that they said was shell shocked but I really didn't understand that when I was a child. I always felt like I lived in the best country in the world and the great state of Indiana. My opinion now is they are both going to hell in a hand bag....if a miracle doesn't happen. I truly lived the good life and didn't realize it. (It wasn't perfect) but I guess I was sheltered (only child) and only had the real desire to be a housewife and mother. That was good until at 30 I was left a widow. In 1975 I traveled to Europe for three weeks with a group from ISU. One of our stops was in Munich. That was when I first learned about the mass murders of Jewish people. I was shocked. I have learned a whole lot since I retired in 2014....then I started questioning....actually it started a few years before....I attended my first Democrat meeting in November 2015. I remember it well! I have rarely missed a meeting since and ran for office and got beat in 2022. Yesterday I accepted the office of treasurer of our Clay County Democrat Party. That will keep me busy! Sometimes I think it would be better not to have a clue what is happening like some folks that I know.
Sharon, I think I have shared with you that I was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. My mother died just before my 18th birthday and I endured one sociopath stepmother and another, good for my father, but anal. I remember that my parents had bicycles and with a seat behind for me and saw some of the ration stamps. My dad was considered necessary for the war effort as where he worked made shell casings, so he did not go to war. I loved growing up in Elkhart, but I have to say it was a very naive childhood for the most part. Yes, Indiana has been on a road to hell for a very long time and now with death star, muskrat, and greedy minions, the country is going the same direction. My dad stood over me when I registered to vote for the first time, so it was R with me thinking no way. Soon every time I visited my parents, there was a political argument. I saw my first racial incident in Chicago when I was six or seven. I still remember it clearly and how wrong I felt it was. I spent three and half years in Sierra Leone, most of it in the Peace Corps. I have never viewed this country the same since then. I knew about the Holocaust, but it was brought home to me by a stop at Auschwitz. The bad, sad energy there is absolutely overwhelming. I will have to look up where Clay County is and kudos to you. We often say to our dog how lucky he is that he does not know what is going on. I will be 82 in April. Now back out to pruning my roses.
So I see Clay County is close to Terre Haute. Several of my sister's family live there and some in Paris, IL, and other places in Illinois and Indiana. I do not know if they vote. I am sure that they receive government benefits in some cases.
Thank you Michele! I love that you are joining with a friend to discontinue Facebook. Already cancelled WaPo and NYT. I am working to divest myself completely of Amazon and Meta...almost there, and feeling a kind of relief.
I paint, and had used Instagram to share my art, but created a website so I can eventually leave Instagram too. Bluesky and Substack are my go-to choices now, and I am quite satisfied with them.
Oops, Vicki, sent my reply to you to Joyce, instead. Guess I haven’t had enough coffee yet:)
Great idea, Joyce, just a heart.
Some of us will never become cruel or gleeful at the fear and pain of others, but, sadly, some will.
I am 75 and I am very much with you. It is so painful to see how quickly the cult of one man, supported by the greed of billionaires, is dismantling our best and most needed institutions, and dishonoring us in foreign affairs.
It is Stalinesque: Kill one person and it's a crime; kill 6 million and it's a statistic.
COVID stopped my lifelong weekly mass attendance. When the church was reopened, still well into pandemic, it was the attitude of the priest and most of the parishioners towards safety standards that drove this medical technologist right back out the door. I never experienced a priest telling me how to vote or for whom, like many Evangelical church leaders do, but the fact that they don't "walk the talk" much of the love of humanity has kept me away.
Miselle, I am sorry this happened to you, but I understand. I find the Mass so beautiful and it's too bad that the priest and parishioners had the attitude you describe. I haven't attended in years. While coming home from the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone with a friend whose brother was a priest, we met him in Rome and he took us into the catacombs and said Mass at one of the oldest Christian chapels in the world. It was quite the experience. If you care to tell us, what is your book about?
The one I am currently sending queries is a literary fiction novel, the story of a man who has social anxiety, slight OCD and a bit on the spectrum. He finds joy in marriage, but a series of tragedies takes away his wife and family. He plods through life in loneliness, immersing himself in his accounting career, having lost faith in God. Near the end of his career, his company is sold to a larger company, and he worries about what lies ahead for him. This occurs at Christmas, and a holiday miracle occurs.
My other manuscripts are totally different in both style and nature from this one. (They aren't holiday tales, for one thing!) I do wonder, when I secure an agent (I don't want to even contemplate IF!) I wonder if that would be an issue in representing the other manuscripts. But that is getting way ahead of myself.
I agree about the mass. We had a great pastor, and his replacement is a snarky (yes!) man!
I used part of what I miss in this novel, as the main character is a lapsed Catholic, and he ponders the meaning behind the higher powers.
There is a great little book that everyone should read by Andy Andrews titled "How Do You Kill 11 Million People?". In case you don't get a chance to read it (takes about 40 minutes) the answer is "You Lie." Trump exhibited this very well when his incompetence during Covid resulted in thousands of Americans dying needlessly. When will our leaders accept this elemental fact?
I doubt that even Trump could kill 11 million Americans in 40 minutes.
Unfortunately, he does have access to the nuclear missiles... and military bombers. One large major city would be all it takes.
The book takes about 40 minutes to power through.
But that is an interesting question. Could Trump kill 11 million Americans in 40 minutes? And that we would even consider thinking about that question says even more about how deep a hole we're already in.
So precisely written, Cheryl! We must keep the faith that good will prevail.
I need to go to the bank tomorrow to get some cash for the next Resist Day. Little actions like these lift the spirit.
Keep staying aware, influencing those you can and stay the course. There are more people against what is happening (even some Republicans) than you think. The cost of trump’s policies will come due. It is heartening to know that Blue state AGs planned early to fight what is happening. And even though they have been slow to act, Democrats in Congress are fighting back. And the attendance and pushback at legislator’s town halls is encouraging!
In many ways, being a country of separate states, united but separate in many ways, may be what actually saves us. Federal overreach (ironically, imposed by the so-called “states rights” party) under the Trump administration may be its own undoing.
Great point on being a union of states; it may well be our salvation.
Its a shrill super minority, Joyce. Keep up the fight however you can.
Love what you said but do not like what is happening at all. I came to France for a few weeks and the French are all worried about Mr Trump. They cannot believe we voted him in again and of course, neither can I. Make America Great Again? It was the greatest country and people loved coming to our beautiful USA. Now, not so much…
"not so much".... Canadian esp have cancelled their travel plans to USA, myself included, though i would not be beyond joining a public protest in the state nearest my small eastern province.
We live in Western New York not far from the border. We are heartbroken at what Trump/Musk is doing to our relationship with our cousin Canada.
Make sure you support Canada at every opportunity. I hope the Canadians put big notices onto everything they export to the states so I can easily "Buy Canadian".
I saw an article recently talking about Canadians cancelling their travel plans here. The states mentioned as destinations are all R. Also border towns are suffering. Not only will Canadians not come, but I suspect a whole lot of other people as well. But gee, for $5 million, you can get a golden green card. And as an added bonus, mingle with some of the worst criminals on the planet.
Does the $5 mil get you a "ticket" to Mar-lago too or is that "extra"?
Frank, I have been amazed at the strength, wit, and support of Canadians. I hope you know how much most Americans love you guys!!
We're all "kissing cousins" including zillions of immigrants over the past few centuries. USA is economically dominant for very down to earth reasons, and Canada has benefited greatly from that. In many ways, US-Canada is a truly integrated economy; partly thank goodness, not so politically. USA remains an anachronism when it comes to broad social support of its citizens. Look to the rest of the OECD to get some idea about that.
I live in New England - whenever a massive protest happens, welcome neighbor Frank.
I appreciate and I guess I understand your no longer being infuriated. But I am 82 years old and I am still furious. I just want to live long enough for things to turn around. I surely hope I can hold on until the people who can experience empathy are back in charge of our government.
To Mary & Gail. Hang in there Please. I wish to repeat a short note, that I was given regarding a dangerous mindset ,while serving in the military. When a person or event bothers you, don't let it in your brain long.
For if you do, it or they win."
Don't let trump win!
Oh Gail, I’m still infuriated! I am just finding that the depth of my grief is so deep at times, that I fear I can’t keep up the fight. My husband died in March 2020, and this is just as bad in many ways because our kids will face a terrible future if we continue on this path and I know he must be scared for them too. That said, I appreciate your comment, and that of many others here.
I'm 79, and I couldn't agree more. Every day it just hits harder, the grief is unbearable.
You never know what people will do, especially if they think no one is looking and/or there will be no consequences.
Joyce, as you can see by the responses, many of us share your grief. I prop myself up by remembering that my father, who was an artillery captain in Patton's 3rd Army, risked his life to defeat Fascism. Speaking out, attending rallies, post-card writing, calling voters, registering young voter and boycotting businesses that cower to a fascist are the least I can do. So stay strong and take action with others - every action you take inspires someone else - together we can defeat Trump/Musk and this fascist coup.
Thank You for your service, ASBermant.
We have been a bifurcated society from the days of the Planters and exploiters to the present. It’s just that the evil side figured how to exploit the fragile system of Ben Franklin’s admonishment to hold on to the republic if we can. Today it’s been suspended. I think we will get it back but how much damage will be made is anyone’s guess. And as a person who thinks from the center not far right and not left, we must accept some of this blame because after all, everyone indulges in the blame game and we have blamed the white working class over and over until they went screaming into the arms of their executioners. It’s complicated that’s for sure. I say let’s fundamentally stop pushing leftist ideology. I wrote a 4 page letter to hum.. Mr Hogg, the young vice chair of the democratic central committee pleading with him to re-examine our position and to consider ways of bringing the Democratic Party closer to the center. This is the way forward. But when we get into slice and dice on issues, no one wants to give in to reconsider and this is the fault of humankind. We think we are always right and that nothing needs to be reset or changed.
You wrote 4 pages to ask Mr. Hogg to give up his principles because they weren’t in the center? Aren’t you the one who thinks you are always right?
I feel like I’m a fairly conservative person but that doesn’t mean throwing away people who are different than me. What is too far left for you? The compassion, acceptance and understanding? Standing up for other people’s rights? If that’s true I must be too far left for you.
Go ahead and get emotional. This is just what we need. Emotional Responses. Ask yourselves one pivotal question Why did we lose then discuss it in your civics class. Yikes.
That a capitulation on LGBTQ++ or women's right to choose, Bill? You might as well half-gut the Dems.
Frank, I agree. Treating these groups as full citizens with all the rights is keeping faith with the ideals of the Constitution, not leftist. That is falling in with R talk. I have several friends who are married to their same sex partners and they are beside themselves with what is happening. The best I can do is offer my love and support and keep trying to do something about the mess. As a woman, I also remind people of how recently woman had no rights and were the property of their husbands or fathers.
<raises hand as one of those friends who is besides herself>
Thank you, Michele.
Michele, the new normal seems to be that any expression of equity, inclusivity, humanity, grace, generosity, or altruism is condemned by the christofascists as "commie" or "woke" or somehow horrible., They have clearly abandoned any pretense of abiding by the teachings of Jesus, if they ever did (I have my doubts). The self-righteous nonsense of the ultrarich, the delusional, and the willfully ignorant is exactly what the Felon and his ilk want to promote. We here know (well the idiot trolls don't but I have blocked them) that all of this blather is simply a convenient excuse for ethnic cleansing and slaughter. Because ultimately that is what they want to do. Bloodthirsty shitheads that they are.
Nah but most just don’t understand matters. We are hypersensitive towards all those who were at first discriminated against. I visualize world in which we don’t need to be sliced and diced according to who we are, what religion we believe if we have such ancient rediculas beliefs, who we F in bed, which new gender de jour. Stop separating everyone. I don’t give a good crap unless at sat the grave site of President Slime Bucket.
Like John Lennon suggested...?
Nope. You read it wrong but not surprised.
From here in the UK, and as a confirmed leftist myself, I have to say that the suggestion that there's anything approaching leftist politics in the United States is risible. Even Bernie Sanders was once described as a "democratic socialist capitalist".
Why is it always the Democrats who have to "move to the center"?
The center has been moving to the right my whole 79 years.
Every time the Democrats "move to the center" the damn Republicans move the center further right. Lucy always moves the football.
Nope, not going to.
There it is then! You got the gumption right there. I took note of that foot coming down. Thanks!
Bill, I don't agree with a return to center at this point for too many reasons to list, but I do appreciate your continued presence in the conversations here. It's helpful sometimes to have a reasonable point of difference to make one think about what they truly believe, and you often offer that for me in a way that is oddly helpful. I have looked into getting your book (won't be from Amazon!) and am actually considering reading Ron Paul's book. Just saying, that at least for now - ain't American Great!!
"I think we will get it back" Can you elaborate on how that might happen, and what the path might look like? Without illustrative indicators how does writing Mr. Hogg a four page letter pleading him to "move Democrats to the center" will help or, in the upside down Trump and comp world we're now in, what that even means.
I think the narrative needs to be changed. Instead of democrats are evil. The narrative needs to be that we are normal! That abortion, science, vaccinating your children, feeding your poor is not corrupt or fraudulent. But just plain old normal. It is what made as a super nation. I think the Republicans attack on science and medicine should be brought to the surface. There needs to be more talk about what innovations, medical advances are accomplished when we act in a (barbarian) by partisan (damn spellchecker) way, making compromises and working together.
Calling Democrats leftist for wanting abortions, vaccinating our children, wanting clean air and water is what made the USA a strong country. When women’s voices are equally listen to, and the white men are not constantly trying to put us in our place there will be an enlightened for our country. I would like to hear more from Mr. Hogg and company! I’m encouraged that when I see young people participating in the protests that I’ve been involved with.
What’s normal about a person running the health department who has had a worm in his brain? How did he get it? I had a neighbor who had a worm in his brain from eating street food in Mexico. The worm was taken out. They went back to Mexico and continued to eating street food! What’s normal about what Trump/Republicans are doing. I’m 73. I’d like to see our young people start leading the way. Democrats need better press!
OH MY GOD.
Well said. But do not give up. Americans love to fight. Those in power are minorities. They cannot stand against citizens as a whole, who are organizing for fights now.
Keep fighting! I am doing the blackout today as well as participating in a local sidewalk protest!
I am 70 and refuse to give up!!!!
“Be a nuisance where it counts, but don’t be a bore at any time. Be depressed, discouraged, and disappointed at failures and the disheartening effects of ignorance, greed, corruption, and bad politics - but never give up.” Marjorie Stoneman Douglas (She continued to be an activist until her death at 108 years young!)
Yes, a terrible cruelty indeed. People have been given permission to be as mean as they want.
At 76, I know how you feel. It takes daily work for me not to panic. At the same time, I refuse to let this go on without doing what I can against the evil and for the sake of good. Every little bit matters.
Joyce, it must have been like this in Germany! If you are not a White Christian Nationalist then we are like the Jews!
It is closer than many realize. Recently read a great but scary book: "Life in a Jar" about Irena Sendler, a polish social worker who saved over 2000 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto. Upon request of the parents, she covertly placed each of them with Polish Christian families. Can you imagine how hard that was for the parents? How brave?
I’m also 71. We’ve been around long enough to see some terrible things, but I can’t think of one that has upset me more than this current mess.
As with undocumented injuries and deaths from gun violence, Republicans will prevent the NIH from collecting statistics on preventable injuries and deaths traceable to their anti vax policies - so that anti-vax injuries and deaths will not exist. In fact, Republicans will brag on the numbers going down.
Here in Maine GOP Gov. LePage closed Dept. of Health and Human Services offices near public transportation. Then bragged on the number of people seeking services going down.
The Texas Measles death was "school age" child hospitalized in LUBBOCK, County, Texas. Those hospitalized are NOT in quarantine - they are gravely ill.
Best Med data both influenza, bird flu, measles & others maladies on the Substack "YLE". That's Katelyn Jetelina, "Your Local Epidemiologist"🎯
YLE explains the "Bird Flu" route from birds to cattle to humans exposed to cattle.
To hell with the misinformation of RFK Jr.
I read and save every single one of Dr. Katelyn Jetelina's YLE letters. I also read and highly recommend Substack "Examined" by Dr. Ryan McCormick. They are both disseminating science-based health news and information.
Doc McCormick is here on LFAA from time to time; that's how I found him. Both of these doctors are great resources. Dr. Jetelina's original epidemiological field of study was gun violence, which makes her doubly pertinent for me.
Thank you Carol JLH. Ally's comment below is correct. I have read & 'acknowledged' Dr. McCormick's posts on LFAA. But, I will go directly to the Doctor's platform. 🙏 I will take 1/day as needed?
LOL yes, Bryan Sean McKown, take as needed or as offered. You can't go wrong. Often, Dr. Jetelina and Dr. McCormick cover the same or similar information but their presentation is different. After reading them both, I feel confident I understand the material. Here's a link to the latest Examined. It's a keeper! https://mccormickmd.substack.com/p/measles-vaccine-considerations-during
We visited from California (up to 6 times one year), for 11 years and delayed moving to Maine until LePage was out of Office.
Now the important stuff. Elon’s son, X, while visiting with his dad the Sewer Clown in the oval office, picked buggers out of his nose and smeared them on the resolute desk as President Sewer Clown looked on with cameras rolling.
President Sewer Clown subsequently had the desk removed for refinishing. I once posted on WAPO how I would take a dump on the Capital steps the day President Sewer Clown is laid in state at his funeral. I haven’t the foggiest why I was permanently banned from posting at the Washington Post. And I mentioned too that I would attempt to climb on top of the opened casket and lay a big one down after insuring I ate gooie foods that would produce a diarrhea reaction. The audacity of the Washington Post to ban me was extraordinary and uncalled for.
PS: I do intend to do my duty at the grave site of President Sewer Clown one day soon. I want to be the first to be arrested so I can go down in history as the first of many to poop on the royal grave.
When Nixon died and was laid out near his home in California, my brother and I agreed that if we could have, we would have stood in line among the mourners, with a mallet and a stake.
Oh… too violent. Better to poop. Or toss it.
Future Headlines:
“An elderly man was arrested today at the now historic presidential compound of the former president, President Sewer Clown, attempting to pull down his pantaloons to defecate at the gravesite. More news at 11.”
(Sorry if my juvenile humor is found disturbing. No less disturbing than antics being pulled at the center of government.)
Bill, more of us need to share your anger. America is being destroyed, raided, raped. Even the Woke are asleep. Bernie Saunders is trying to ignite a fire but he is being ignored by MSN.
Yes but still needed to make my apologies for the gentle eyes here. I’m likin’ it a d will use an extended version on my blog. I often get inspired here in Heather’s and others blogs.
I plan to take my pup to give him his golden shower followed by a huge dump.
Schmuppy! Puppy!
I'd piss on his grave after his death, but I hate standing in long lines.
I remember Paul LePage saying "I was Trump before he was Trump". I remember LePage telling the NAACP to "kiss my ass". I remember LePage dismantling Dirigo Health which was a health insurance for small businesses. That was one of the reasons we sold our enterprise and moved to MA - where health insurance was universal.
LePage is just another version of the devil. BTW, is Eliot Cutler still in prison? He deserves to rot there until death.
Had to google it, Bill, but looks like he has several more years probation AND must regiser as a sex offender! Too bad he got out early - for his "good behavior"!!
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/crime/eliot-cutler-hancock-county-jail-no-longer-in-custody-sex-offender/97-4d95115e-8d9c-4acb-9ff7-5481110448ad
🤬
Jim, welcome to Maine. When you get sick of Freeport, come up to The County -- The Way Maine Used To Be.
Ahya. Said the right way. they way down easterners say it.
I can't imagine a more perfect place in Maine than where we are, close to family, close enough to Portland Airport with our train station a quarter mile from our house and able to take the train to Portland for as little as $3.
We do have a niece a bit south of Loring, and my brother is probably going to drive up from Georgia to visit her and us sometime this year. He might want to visit during Loring Timing Association events at the old Loring AFB (where the record is 311.945 mph/502.27 km/h). So I am looking to visit up that way again.
I was temporarily up there in Dec 1968 (right after getting back from Vietnam), to help the Weather detachment get ready for an annual inspection when an Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI), took place during a blizzard that threatened to prevent the launching of aircraft unless we could get out to our weather equipment around the runway to see if it was detecting the visibility correctly. I'm not a fan of snowshoes in a blizzard but, being very mission oriented, they were able to launch. I never wanted to have to go into those conditions again, though. Hats off to all those up there that still do what's needed, whenever needed, no matter what, though.
At one time I would have gone there in weather good enough to see if I could get a car up to 200 mph but the Loring Timing Association came along long after gave up trying to go over 200 mph anywhere.
These are tactics used by Mao and Stalin to prove their failed policies for collectivizing farms and erradicating rats worked...
The real results, people starved and rats increased.
Governor of Maine is Janet Mills — not LePage. He hasn’t been Governor since 2019.
Yes. We were reflecting on the "sad times" in Maine.
Yes, that confused me too. Had to look it up. Found out that apparently LePage, having become a kinder, gentler version of himself in Florida, is back in Maine for a comeback against Mills. Can a zebra ditch its stripes?
After watching Governor Mills stand up to Traitor Trump I commented that she had more balls than the entire Congress and wrote her that I wished I could vote for her. I'd trade her for our pathetic Youngkin in a heartbeat. I'm not writing many politicians these days to compliment them so sending her my thoughts was a real pleasure.
I called Mills office and left a message of support and thanks. I had written to Collins three times about her votes (prior to her voting). She wrote back the first time, about my theme of meritocracy not mediocrity and she voted against Hegseth. She then announced federal funds for Maine and then did not write me back...she proceeded to vote for the least competent selections in history, only Patel did not get her vote. She leaves a very icky and dirty feeling in me for her vote. Senator Angus King (Ind) on the other hand, has been excellent.
And she beat him handily! Hopefully he takes that as sufficient notification that we're not impressed and to please stay gone.
You go off the coast of Maine and away from York County Maine and you enter deep Trump country. LePage is a real threat given Mills war with Trump. She is of course right, but that means nothing to rural Maine.
It's not whether a zebra can ditch its stripes, it's whether a face-eating leopard can change its spots, and lose the urge to eat faces.
Didn’t he lose that attempt once?
Yes, Mills beat him. Mills' term ends in 2026 and she can't run again due to term limits. Hopefully she'll challenge Susan Collins for the Senate. Hopefully LePage doesn't make another run at the governor's seat.
Yes. It was Gov Mills who told the orange cheeto she’d see his(ass)in court the other day. Good on your Gov Mills!
Thank goodness he is no longer the governor. My sister worked for the state under him and he was a nightmare.
That’s devious, even for a Republican.
Disgusting.
I go into asthma attacks around cigarette smoke. that completely restricts my movement. I shop in a store every four weeks. The average number of cigarette smoke I run into as I try to get in and out of the grocery store is three batches of smoke. I depend on USPS, USP and Fed Ex for my shopping. I have no other choise
None of my pets smoke so I'm safe at home.. :)
I hate it when i walk into clouds of smoke. As a suggestion, you could buy local and use a local delivery service. Or a local college student. Keep your inhaler close by, just dont buy anything today! Best wishes
That's something we haven't known for years in Australia. Huge government anti-smoking campaigns, then legislation against smoking in the workplace. It soon became a socio-cultural thing - you don't smoke inside someone's house - if you must have a cigarette, you apologise and go out into the garden. I remember when arriving in England in 1962 how astonished we were to go to the cinema and watch the screen through clouds of cigarette smoke - not done in Australia, even then, in spite of massive advertising campaigns showing elegant sophisticated women or rugged outdoor type men. And yet the kids started in their teens, thinking they were hiding it from their parents. Ironic that Kennedy should have that raucous struggle of a voice - I gather it's not his fault, but he reminds me of those TV ads of Yul Brynner - "Whatever you do, don't smoke!"
Where do you live?
I am curious because I rarely see a lit cigarette around other people. There is a smoking area outside our Hannafords that is placed far from the parking lot and entrance/exit doors.
In NYC and San Fran one is more likely to smell marijuana smoke, but from a distance. Thank you.
The smoking is outside, not in. I live nine miles from town in Western NY (I have to go every four weeks as my tiny cat is on a controlled substance. So I grocery shop then. I.E. no one else can pick up her meds except me. . The person was coming back from break and motioned me into her lane. I got within 20 feet of her. She was covered with smoke so I waited in another line (second interruption to let a cat in, I get lots of exercise at 80) Even in the next lane her smoke on her clothes was drifting over. I complained a number of years ago.
They have to smoke outside now. But that doesn't stop the custermers. The town has a 25% smoking rate. I moved here ten years ago. I have not been in the neighbors house, she is heavy smoker. I live on 32 acres of swamp surrounded by 1000s trees. The driveway in is very long. Her husband keeps it very well plowed. I am twenty feet from a large pond. there was a house , barn, and dilapidated cabin. I spent nine years renovating the cabin, getting contractors when there were things I couldn't do. Heaven on earth. During the pandemic, I ordered in groceries. Had some funny stories. The carport is way away from the house so the delivery people don't get stuck in the down hill area where house cabin and barn are. I was up there on a "grocery" day and saw a coyote near the carport. Later when the groceries were due, I drove up, she was out again so I though she might have a den. So I went to the next house to meet the delivery. (The smoke house) When the delivery people arrived. When they heard there was a coyote around , they made a very fast transfer to my car.
I live in Southeastern NY - not far from PA. I dont see or smell as many smokey "folks" as I used to. And its so very obvious someone is a smoker because of that. Grew up with smokers - my son smoked for years - until he was diagnosed with throat cancer & went thru chemo & radiation. Its not something merely "irritating" to some people.
I am puzzled by the anger over cigarette smoke which is indeed irritating while we have a government blowing smoke in everyone's eyes.
Puzzled? - after we have been or should have been educated in the damage done by secondhand smoke? Someone with asthma or COPD or any damage to their immune system is likely worried as much about their own physical vulnerability as the current bunch.
When its a danger to your own life - its pretty darn important.
I grew up with a mother who smoked three packs a day and then quit because we kids had been influenced by all the PSA s abd especially Yul Brynner’s deathbed speech answer made her quit! Various campaigns! She was really hard to live with the first and second year abd little did we all know she was in withdrawal. She did fine that’s one year after my father died she developed index lung cancer and then it became terminal.
I have always been gobsmacked that our generation if not a smoker is never asked did you grow up in a home if a smoker? And somehow get checked every ten years or so with some sort of scan. If they do mammograms they should do lunggrams!
It's one of those "little things" that government changed that we will no longer have. First in educating us, then by mandatory warning labels, then banning advertising, and lastly by enacting laws prohibiting smoking in public places. It's not the one thing, it's the dismal tide. Pay attention to the little things.
In San Diego what I see is the vaping smoke pouring out of car windows. Though we did watch someone throw their cigarette out their window recently, even after all the wildfires. If only my car camera would have caught it and we could have reported it.
I remember when you’d stop at a red light at freeway exits and butts were piled high on the ground. I don’t notice them as much anymore.
Back in my patrol days, another deputy and I had a running contest for "throwing away of lighted material" citations. In Oregon, those are unclassified misdemeanors because of the extreme risk of fires along the highways. I have written that citation in a driving rainstorm in December.
Thank you!
I am in the Chicago area and I thought the same as you, and posted above.
Have you tried wearing a mask? Very helpful for many things ;).
I must confess that I recently quit smoking after many many years - and multiple failed attempts. One reason I was successful this time is that I never smell cigarette smoke anywhere. And now, of course, it smells absolutely foul to me. I’m shocked that a community still exists with a smoking rate that high! That’s sad.
Funny you mention that, I almost NEVER encounter cigarette smoke anymore. What I do is the stink of pot, which I find nauseating. While I personally don't imbibe, it is legal here and I don't care if people want to smoke, but I do worry about people driving under the influence. (As a lab tech, I know how carefully BAC samples are collected.) I don't know what the legal limit would be, or how they'd test. I also wonder about how well people can do their jobs.
I don't know about other parts of the country, but there is a law enforcement training specialty called a "Drug Recognition Expert" (DRE for short). Sometime in the early 2000's, the Oregon State Police got a grant for a study where every other alcohol related driving arrest asked the drivers for a voluntary urine sample, completely anonymous. The study went for a calendar year, with the express intent of identifying polysubstance abuse (using other drugs; marijuana, amphetamines, pain medications, depressants, other controlled substances along with the alcohol.) The study identified a statistically significant percentage (I think it was between 25-35%) of arrestees who submitted to both the blood and urine tests) were polysubstance arrests.
There is a medically recognized field of study for cops who want to become DRE's to go through. Using a variety of tools (heart rate, blood pressure, pupil assessment, and other measurement tools) officers assess arrestees for other CS use; the testing process is rigorous and extremely tight, but a cop who is DRE certified can determine which substance is being abused.
wow! Once again, I learn something new and thanks to your expertise, Ally!
You often have excellent points to make. Thank you.
Ditto!
Wow!
There are so many better ways to imbibe it than smoking it. I use gummies for extreme pain. I know I couldn’t drive or function at a job.
Interesting. The only use I ever had for pot was as an afrodisac. (Misspelled)
Eva, in New Brunswick, Canada, as well as likely across "our great 51st state", smoking in public places such as offices, restaurants, supermarkets etc has been banned for years, to my own personal relief. I would have thought USA was in a similar state, apparently not? I did just google this. Apparently most places such as supermarkets are indeed smoke free.
Oregon has some fabulous anti-smoking rules. No smoking in public places, including bars (they all have outdoor "smoking decks"). It was a long haul, but we got there.
Yes, Frank, smoke-free except for casinos. I believe Eva is talking about the smokers outside of grocery stores. The one that I regularly visit has a few small tables in front of the store where staff go to smoke; I park around the corner so must sometimes pass by them. I've never so much as puffed on a single cig, so I hold my breath if I see anybody there.
Casinos, odds for winning are stacked to the house, exposure to smoking increases the odds of COPD, lung cancer, heart disease... so much for "lady luck"
In Tempe, Arizona you can’t even smoke in your car driving down the street. I think the privacy of your home is it.
I'd love that. It is amazing how much smoke escapes from a car. Riding a motorcycle, stopped behind a vehicle with smokers in it is awful.
That may not last under the Regime. Smoking will be allowed on planes. In schools, hospitals, etc.
Last week I received an email from the American Lung Association. They were worried about federal grant cuts for lung research. The writing is on the wall - institutionalized eugenics. No vaccines, no medical research, no healthcare facilities for veterans & seniors & disabled adults, no healthcare insurance for children or those who are under or unemployed, an impending bird flu pandemic…and those in power are not listening because they have no conscience.
"Institutionalized eugenics" caught my eye. It then occurred to me that President Musk regards all beings who are not producing revenue (preferably for him) as a waste of skin. He can rid himself of these "parasites" by killing them off with exposure, disease and starvation. The wealthy will save themselves by jetting off to other nations where vaccines and other life-saving care are available.
In his ketamine-fueled oblivion, President Musk doesn't realize that HE is the parasite. His very existence depends on the labor of those he intends to kill.
I guess the conscience is attached to the eyes and ears. Or not…I guess all are detached from reality.
Eugenics implies some active element of "better breeding". Instead, this is government by Malthus and Scrooge - "If they would rather die, they had better do it and decrease the surplus population".
The Regime.
You just might have a point... https://www.google.ca/search?q=Republicans+views+on+public+smoking&newwindow=1&sca_esv=3d212cfe0cf3ba87&sxsrf=AHTn8zq1EezVtfcEWL-CfPWY-tETOi8nYg%3A1740747804757&source=hp&ei=HLTBZ77yKpL8ptQPosbuiAk&iflsig=ACkRmUkAAAAAZ8HCLHfQ4HejkCAo-YEwi2cFUcxj79X-&oq=&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IgBIAFAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAEAoAEAqgEAuAESyAEA-AEGmAIAoAIAmAMAkgcAoAcA&sclient=gws-wiz&gs_ivs=1
I am sorry you go through this. Maybe speak with your store manager. Some stores have dedicated timeframes for their customers with limitations. My own stores here in FL do not allow smoking and smokers seem to comply.
I tried out curbside service at my grocery and they bring my purchase right to the car. It is free. They even pick out produce, dairy, eggs, etc. I never yet got bruised or bad items & the charges are accurate every time. They even accept instructions about size, ripeness, etc.
No one wants you to put your life in danger. At least, no one likely to be here!
Do what you need to do to take care of yourself!❤️
Thanks for adding that about the Boycott! I am ready. But will be going for 381 days to honor the highly successful 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott. I think if we had announced 381- company’s would be shaking in their boots right now. To know that your sales would be down considerably for a year would indeed cripple them.
1 day means nothing to companies. It needs to be at least a year. I heard some are giving up spending for Lent.
Valerie, I agree. When I first heard of today's boycotting I said although good in theory, it must be either for a couple consecutive days and repeated regularly, as CEOs wouldn't be too concerned about a day's blip on their financials. A lot of commenters chewed me out about that, saying I was discouraging protest. Hardly! I'm calling for more! Why not have a day's abstinence from FB (which I'm not on anyway), Meta (Insta and Google,); X, etc., and repeat it? Those companies make money off eyeballs and ads, and we're all on the podium behind 47 last month.
My wife and I have boycotted several companies for years -- Walmart, Hobby Lobby, Chick fil-A, Goya, etc. etc. We used to buy a great deal from Amazon and Whole Foods, but do no longer. I canceled subscriptions to the NYT and WaPo last year. We have cut back our spending dramatically and buy local and small unless we can't.
I will be boycotting every corporation, every Friday. It is a consciousness-raising exercise. Once I establish the habit I'll boycott for longer periods of time. I know someone who gave up shopping for Ramadan! She is brave, and very strong.
Some people are giving up shopping for lent
I run an ad blocker on my home internet. It is so much nicer not to be slammed with endless flashing ads that interfere with what you’re reading.
That sounds like a great idea. At least shop for necessities where your values are respected (e.g. Costco) and not where they are being shredded (e.g. Target, Walmart, Whole Foods). Someone should create a list of green (ok), yellow (iffy) and red chain stores and/or brands so we can extend the boycott long enough to actually make a difference.
There is a blog that's not very active which sends occasional emails listing "good" companies. I got one not long ago, but deleted and can't retrieve it (I know, unhelpful).
A start on companies to avoid can be found here. https://www.ranker.com/list/republican-companies/coy-jandreau
Newsweek publishes a list of responsible companies by rank.
https://www.newsweek.com/rankings/americas-most-responsible-companies-2025
Choosing a company to patronize is tricky, because many do engage in social responsibility, but then "hedge their bets" by supporting evil. For example, Apple is essentially a "good" company, but Tim Cook gave a million of Apple's dollars to Donald's so-called inauguration fund.
Alphabet (Google) follows many admirable policies, which lands them on many "responsible" lists, but I wouldn't classify the company as "good."
We are left with difficult choices. Sometimes there isn't a good one; only a "least bad" one.
I just came across this article that lists dates and places for boycotts.
https://apple.news/A8dI9TWGHRkqAEdo-8b6v5w
Try Goods Unite Us:
https://www.goodsuniteus.com/
There is such a list... maybe someone can share a link to it.
I know there are some coming up that are for weeks or a month. We should make a list and keep posting them.
Got to pressure Republicans. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/p/remove-impeach-impeach
Picket. Sit in. Call. Write.
Yeah, and the MAGAts are saying "Spend, baby, spend today. Buy those big ticket items."
I don’t need to hide my credit cards. They don’t act by themselves. 😉
I am supporting locally owned businesses today. If they don’t take cash anymore, I will use a card. They shouldn’t suffer today. We need them.
I'm repeating myself, but it bears repeating that being small and local doesn't make a business virtuous. A majority of small business owners are MAGA or MAGA-friendly. In my opinion, these businesses should suffer just as much as the large, sycophantic corporations. If the boycott is to draw attention, it must be universal.
I pay attention to how local businesses support causes in my community. I avoid the Maga places at all times.
While I agree with you that they shouldn't suffer, I plan to support them tomorrow, or I already did earlier this week.
Don't even buy local. Leave your wallet in your pocket. Besides some locals are big Traitor Trump supporters.
Understatement indeed . I suspect that HRC is doing what most of us are tending towards in fear of getting sued. Remember the threat of getting sued is how Trump frightens us into silence. Dr. Cox Richardson has been courageous and we must support her.
I have no doubt that you support Heather Cox Richardson. I do as well. I apologize for and misunderstanding. Jay
The only priority they have is more money in their pockets, completely wrecking the country, and allowing every criminal on the planet to either get off or come here. I am not buying anything today. I will also wait until tomorrow to post this letter to Facebook as I do it every day.
Trump proved that during his first term with Covid!
You beat me to saying the same thing. I almost choked on my coffee as I read it.
With consumer confidence at a seven-month low and Trump's tariffs yet to kick in, that economic blackout may be more extensive than originally planned.
Keep your dollar in your pocket today. Please, no shopping, not even for spinal implants for our members of Congress.
The 24 Hour Economic Blackout - FRIDAY February 28th
For one day we show them who really holds the power. Do not make any purchases. Do not shop online, or in-store. Nowhere! Do not use Credit or Debit Cards.
It should be a demonstration of solidarity and 'rebuke'!
JOIN US!!
Friday February 28th!!
I'm in as well, and I have reminded my extended family and my friends. They are all in agreement.
Blackout Friday!
I'm in!
We are in.
I like your style.
Wanna bet even if we performed the spinal implants, they'd be rejected by the recipient?
lol, most likely!
They need more than just spines….they need guts
and hearts.
If you take a look and their pictures most of them are already showing a great deal of guts, more and they will not be able to find belts without killing a steer.
Albert, THAT was funny! Thanks, I needed a laugh.
🤣🤣🤣
and brains.
Counsellor, you just sent me to the Wizard of Oz: Brains, a heart, a home, and the "noive" (nerve).
On strike since Thursday afternoon!
Me too, Bryan. Also Saturday.
🤣🤣🤣
This administration lies and people die. Senators like Cassidy were elected to protect the American people. Either he is totally incompetent, and idiot or lied to us or all of above . As usual, we ,the people, are paying the consequences while they enjoy their perks.
He's not an idiot. He's a doctor. But he's let his backbone turn to jelly for fear of losing his cushy job and probably for some not unjustified fear for the physical safety of himself and his family. Doesn't this feel like Germany in the 1930s?
He's a doctor I think it would be entirely unsafe to seek out for health care. Remember: the guy (and it's always a guy) who graduated LAST in his class in medical school is still called "doctor."
yes
Doctor ( medical I surmise) means he has sworn an oath to heal sickness.
He is one more bought business man who lies for a living. The medical establishment should void his license.
Just like the American Bar should be disbarring so called lawyers who aren’t!
We are starting to pay attention. Our anger is a one way ticket to holding this mob accountable for lies, con-work(crooks), treason against the Constitution and terror against humanity!
Stop dithering around!! These crooks have had enough of my money and way too much of our attention. Arrest Murdock too! Lying bastard!!!!!!!!
The republicans are all afraid of the Orange Lunatic, and for the life of me I can't figure that one out. What job is worth sacrificing your integrity, apparently a house or senate seat to appease a Toddler and VP Muskrat. My money stays with me all day, today is our day.
Largely unreported is the fact that the dictator’s goons are physically threatening Congressional republicans and their families with violence and muskrat is threatening them with primary competition if they stray from the pack. It is a reign supported by terror, a thugocracy. I’m not excusing the spineless for their spinelessness, because if they all banded together to resist, it would definitely have a positive effect. The stupid republicans who made a calculation 10 years ago to get in bed with the devil are now reaping the costs of that. Go one way and piss off the dictator, go the opposite and piss off your constituents. And there’s no way out of this for them.
Yes there is. They can truthfully explain to their constituents that the present administration and the thugs that work for it make it impossible to safely support and defend the Constitution and the rule of law then, RESIGN their position. That's the admirable exit if they are unable to stay and fight. SURRENDER is never admirable.
Theoretically that’s an option, but for 99.9% of them it’s not. Their districts are so gerrymandered that most of them barely have to campaign to keep their seats. It’s a great gig, being a congressman or woman, and none of them want to give it up. And doing the honorable thing while being a republican these days is mutually exclusive.
Yes, resign! "If you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen." Anyone with a shred of ethics would get the hell out. Quit! Be free of them! No job is worth this.
I agree with you that resignation is the honorable course for any GOP member who cannot find it in themselves to defy t***p and face MAGA cult vengeance.
But this will never happen unless we can incentivize the act of resigning.
Pleas to “defend the Constitution”, calling out their lack of patriotism, deriding their spinelessness, and other “sticks” that we have been attempting to wield against them have proven useless.
What “carrots” can we offer to make a Senator resign?
Power and attention seem to be strong motivations— what could be offered back in the home state to sweeten the appeal of resignation from a senate seat? Statues honoring them? Third graders making dioramas and memorizing their speeches? Renaming every town’s Main Street after them? Think, people!
Yes Bill, what's going on is incomprehensible for decent people but I rather stay were I am, we're we are, than on the other side celebrating cruelty and incompetence.
Today is our first day of many.
Thanks for your reply 👍
He knows better and should lose his license.
I have two dollars that says EVERY cabinet member lied during their confirmation hearings.
There is absolutely no line anymore between the truth and lies. Along with the line, shame and conscience dies, too. We slip and slide toward fascism.
And I have two dollars that says the major newspapers never reported on any of those lies.
Like Biden is mental competent?
Yes, Former President Joe Biden is a mental and moral giant in comparison to trump
DNS Agent reported.
Hi Gerald. As a fellow MD I called Cassidy about 5 times, imploring him to honor his oath to medicine and give a thumbs down to RFK jr. … so much for integrity. Anyone who wants a DEEP dive on measles and whether they should get an MMR booster might appreciate this post I wrote yesterday:
https://mccormickmd.substack.com/p/measles-vaccine-considerations-during
Doc Ryan, this is EXCELLENT. I read it and have forwarded it to about a dozen people.
Thank you so much for the time and research you put into this.
Thank you for this post. According to my records, I had one shot for measles (1963) and one for mumps (1969). Does this mean I didn't get the MMR booster, and I should get one now??
I was required to get the vaccine when I attended ASU in 1993 at age 33. I was told my previous ones were not effective. When I gave birth in 1979 they gave me the German measles vaccine and I got so sick I had a fever for days and lost my milk. I feel like I’ve had an MMR since 1993.
Great post, thank you for the information. I'll pass it on to my spouse, children, and grandchildren. As I'm well into the 'born before 1957' group, I'll not worry too much - yet. For everyone, it's a good idea to dig out their immunization records - mine haven't been checked since my last trip to South America. Today's to-do list.
I still have that little yellow book issued to me in the military and use MyChart for medical records. I see all my vaccinations are listed there, including the Covid and others I get at the pharmacy. I try to keep them up to date.
I clearly remember 2 weeks living in a dark bedroom, sunglasses on if I went out to the bathroom, and 65 years later, a continued sensitivity to light.
Hell hath no fury like a young mother scorned.
It's obvious all Republicans live in fear of being attacked by the Mango Mussilini's Goon Squad.
BlueRootsRadio THIS is what corruption in government, corruption of the GOP taken to a whole new scale looks like, at least new to the USA. It becomes so ubiquitous that anyone seeking favor or dispensation from previous “difficulties” simply deposits money in any one of dozens of donation baskets (campaign funds, inauguration donations, meme coins, crypto currency funds, hotel spending, golf course spending, etc) to get that favored treatment, even get-out-of-jail-free cards. Muskrat’s donation to tRump’s campaign coffers provided the very visible prototype.
The Firehose of Corruption is an attempt to simply blow past all the guardrails. Republicans *know* it's wrong but their reality includes death threats against themselves and their families. What Trump is doing is not Shock and Awe, it's Shock and Rob. Hell, Patel announced he's patterning with UFC for agent training which is like double corruption.
Couldn't this all have been avoided if the Republicans had impeached him? But loyalty lulled them into complacency, retreat into allegiance to the orange leader, and surrendered their moral obligation to laws and the Constitution. The road ahead is grim, thanks to them, and we have few tools to dig our way out.
I wrote to Cassidy & in my letter I asked him as a doctor if he could not suggest some OTC supplements for himself & his colleagues that would improve bone growth so that perhaps they might get some type of spine?!
Nothing shames them, nothing guilts them, they are worthless, actually they are more than worthless, my tax money goes to pay their salaries. WANT MY MONEY BACK, oh that's right there won't be enough IRS employees to process any refunds! That's handy isn't it.
The federal workers get shafted and fired, accused of being lazy and not doing their jobs. They keep the country afloat. Members of Congress bow to the oligarchs and are paid to do their bidding. Now here's a place Musk could do some meaningful culling.
I have a dollar that says Cassidy didn’t care what RFK jr. said to him. He was going to vote yes. The man is a physician and on its face he was grossly unqualified from the get go. The nomination never should have made it out of committee and he knows it. He should be deeply ashamed but he isn’t.
“ a dollar “. That better be in cryptocurrency or it is worthless.
Of course he lied after all he was nominated by trump who wouldn’t know the truth if it bit him in the butt.
All of Trump’s appointees, and the GOP USSC appointees, lied like cheap rugs.
Susan Collins is also
right up there with Cassidy. They don't understand and ignore how abusers work.
What about bobby jr. blatantly lying about hospitalized children with measles, saying that they're in the hospital as a preventative measure taken to quarantine them????
You have $1? Was there ever any the most remote doubt that he lied just like all the other no mo need?
Sorry - the bane of autocorrect- all the other nominees
Hmmm..... I wonder, when someone who is delusional lies, are they lying?
In his case, maybe he can blame the brain-worm?
Well, heck. You think? I (still) have a dollar to back your dollar. Any takers?
The same people who claim to be looking for corruption are themselves very corrupt.
The same people who claim to be for free speech try to squelch fact checking.
The same people who claim to be cutting costs are simply shifting costs in their own favor and increasing spending while decreasing revenue.
The same people who called for the end of weaponizing government are weaponizing government.
This has to stop or to quote the misleader, “We won’t have a country any more.”
Phil,
Trump has used the tactic of PROJECTION, his entire political career. By falsely accusing others first, of things he is doing, or plans to do, it takes the power out of those accusations when they, rightfully, come back at him. You can predict Trump’s corruption by what he accuses other of doing.
PROJECTION.
Totally.
Did anyone else notice his description of the USA in his first Cabinet meeting?
"This country has gotten bloated and fat and disgusting,"
I rest my case.
He's talking about himself.
PROJECTION.
That was my thought exactly.
That is true. Trump is a master of projection, and his sociopathy and narcissism (he and Musk share these personality disorders) prevents him from seeing that he is his own worst enemy.
He and Musk are both completely devoid of empathy -- thus the glee on Musk's face when he waves that stupid chainsaw around to celebrate the ruin of thousands of people's careers and removes essential government services from others. It's truly sociopathic.
..and he seems so proud to be so ignorant.
That seems to be a MAGA rallying cry. I recall back in the days of JFK and the race to the moon, educated people were respected, and higher education was a goal.
Trump is the upper left peak on the Dunning-Kruger curve. That's why...
https://bsky.app/profile/justinsg.bsky.social/post/3lgyra2gsl22b
From what I have read and observed, the net results are the same, but Donald's and Elon's psychopathies are similar, and different.
Donald was born with a learning disability. It was known to the family, but covered up with lots of money. Fred Trump's family, going back generations, has had nothing resembling a moral compass. Neither Fred nor Mary Anne Trump were capable of expressing love. Consequently Donald's upbringing was the equivalent to that of a dog chained to a tree. Fred registered approval only when Donald demonstrated a "killer instinct" and turned over the reigns to the family business only because Fred, Jr. wasn't interested. Donald has always been driven by a need for love, but has no idea what it is. Without empathy, he substitutes self-gratification, whether sex, money or adulation for the love he's never experienced. Age-related mental decline is exacerbating his psycho-emotional issues.
Elon isn't learning-disabled, which probably makes him more dangerous. His early life was similar to Donald's, in that he was born into a wealthy household that was devoid of love. Not much has been written, but I suspect that he suffered from an undiagnosed psychological disorder involving sociopathy. I imagine him to be one of those boys who tortured animals for sport. He clearly is a megalomaniac with narcissistic personality disorder. His psychosis is amplified by misuse of drugs. This may be his undoing, but not until after he's wrought damage on a global scale, funded by his extreme wealth.
Kind of like Putin -similar mentality
Talia, To maintain control, the Oligarchs must lie to the voters. Putin models this tactic.
"We must do what they fear - tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves and hypocrites. Everyone has this weapon, so make use of it." - Alexei Navalny
https://bsky.app/profile/justinsg.bsky.social/post/3lj7ytakrxc2n
The people voted for him because they thought a businessman would run the country better. They forgot the part about how many failed businesses he’s had. Then there’s the 34 felonies he was convicted of for business violations and his phony valuations and net worth.
He’s not the only businessman to be elected to office, just the only one who has failed up his entire life. Backed by the mob and Russia but his voters think that’s a plus. No morals, no ethics, no intelligence.
Kind of like Putin -similar mentality
Well said . . .
The same people who are causing the problems, and taking things away from us, will soon come forward with solutions, promising to give us our stuff back. Whatever they do decide to give back will be broken. This is how abusers work.
Exactly, we are being abused!!!
Many civil servants are undermining the muskrat. Here is what I wrote in response to his annoying request for all us to tell him what we got done last week: https://democracydefender2025.substack.com/p/elon-email-what-i-got-done-last-week
Phil, as we observed in the first go-‘round, tRump and the rest of the Repubs telegraph their nefarious plans by accusing “the other side”, “the radical left”, “the Libs” of what they are already doing or are going to do, e.g.- weaponizing theJustice Department. Were it done unconsciously it would be called projection.
Make lying wrong again....
“Every accusation is a confession”…concise enough for a bumper sticker!
so very true. That is why we are feeling hopeless. Corruption is everywhere, like a spreading cancer.
Yeah, and when, if ever, will Americans understand the ruse? If ever they do, it's gonna be too late.
Dr Bandy Lee has been discussing all of these topics. Trump is a reaxionary nationalist; his MUSKrat lover is an overt racist. Dr Lee is addressing this atavism and nativism in her weekly series (Fridays at noon, Eastern U.S. time) by seeking an mental health intervention now leavened by a humanitarian, global future.
https://bandyxlee.substack.com/p/zoom-link-one-world-or-none-c24
Elon Musk may not officially run DOGE but it seems clear that he is running the government. The de facto dictator.
Wrecking Twitter appears to have been a practice run.
They have been lying all along and now people are dying. The body count will grow.
Today by noon the Supreme Court will decide if Trump can disobey court orders. “This is the heart of our democracy.” ~ Senator Durbin
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rachel-maddow-show/id294055449?i=1000696722795
Want to bet what the answer will be?
100%
Trump is busy destroying the country and kissing up to Putin.. Putin will finish the job.
Donald Trump - PINO - President in Name Only.
I think people should be entitled to accept or reject vaccinations. If they choose to reject, they should not be able to use insurance or medical assistance. If they reject protection from preventable diseases, they should suffer the consequences. The same applies to smokers. Any disease they contract that is related to smoking should be treated at their or the cigarette companies cost. Everyone knows smoking has numerous unpleasant side effects.
We could save hundreds of billions by stopping efforts to fix drug addicts and alcoholics. It is their choice to use these chemicals. If you are allergic to some sort of food, you avoid it. If you are inclined to be an abuser of drugs, don’t use them.
Of course they're lying. Heather daily (nightly) details U.S. devolution into the total lies now ruling.
While this unspools, my reading in Rebecca-Solnit-recommended Jonathan Schell continues. In the second half of his “The Unconquerable World,” he follows how free-spirited 1970s Eastern European intellectuals contrasted the growth of their communities based on personal truths with the official centers of power, there and then all based on lies.
Just as we see Washington D.C. now sunk deeply into regnant total lies.
So I recommend Arlie Russell Hochschild’s “Stolen Pride,” reporting from southern Appalachia; Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” a novel also set there; George Packer’s “The Unwinding,” essays based on interviews all over the U.S.; and Sarah Smarsh’s “Bone of the Bone,” with more essays and memoir mostly from her native Kansas,
It’s personal, the lives there. And they contrast with the near total lies of U.S. elites who offshored the jobs and standardize-tested the kids to death.
Hochschild, Kingsolver, Packer, and Smarsh re-centering the personal lets us see all the more clearly how total lies -- and the rank corruption Heather recites today -- now rule Washington, D.C.
Phil, as you know, to maintain control, the Oligarchs must lie to the voters. Putin models this tactic.
Professor Richardson, thank-you for "spreading the truth."
"We must do what they fear - tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon against this regime of liars, thieves and hypocrites. Everyone has this weapon, so make use of it." - Alexei Navalny
Excellent, Justin! My county, which is Trump territory, is very fortunate to have a good newspaper. I've just figured out that one of my resistance tactics (or "weapons," thank you Navalny) will be to write short and informative letters to the editor. My first was just published. The newspaper gave it the title "Trusting the wrong leader." Here it is:
"We are bypassing Europe to negotiate with Russia?
Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia conducts its war with cruelty, without attempting to be honorable. Russia bombed a shelter where civilians went to escape bombing. It bombed a maternity hospital. It bombed power plants in the middle of winter to cause suffering for civilians.
Russia's enemy is democracy. Russian President Vladimir Putin stays in power by murdering those who oppose him. The Russian people don't often know this because he controls the press. If anyone worries Putin, he has his police put them in prison, or shoot them, or poison them, or shove them out of a high-story window.
Our former European allies know now not to trust America. This is sad, and smart. They will no longer be sharing intelligence with us because we might share it with Russia, who loves to see our democracy, and all democracy, weakened. We will not be as safe as we were."
The low-information voter is a big problem.
Good for you, Anne.
Since Dems cannot represent the vast numbers of abandoned, working class voters, and so remain out of office at all key levels, words are just about all that's left to us.
Good for yours.
To me lying is the worst sin. You can never trust that person again.
That's why I have ALWAYS opposed 45/47. He's a liar. Why people voted for him, knowing he's a liar, will never sit right with me.
No trust - No relationship.
And Cassidy is either dumb as a doorknob or a master of wishful thinking
or spineless and easily blackmailed. For sure, he has no character.
I used to tell my kids that the worst thing they could do was lie to me. If they did something bad, CONFESS and I promised we'd work it out. Sadly for me, my one kid who converted to become a legalistic Baptist and who is extremely devote, is also a compulsive liar. It breaks my heart.
I agree completely. But lies are portrayed as truth. Trump lies every time he opens his mouth. Disinformation rules social media. There is no line anymore.
I've been reading "Mansfield Park" (Jane Austen) before bed to clear my mind of politics. A very strong heroine story! I wasn't wild about it at first, but by page 100, I loved it. The theme seems to be, "It's all about principles."
In a recent podcast, HCR mentioned that those who study disinformation have found that while outrage attracts attention, inspiration is equally attractive. I was thrilled to hear that, and try to keep it in mind.
Thank you for this topical reminder. These are the kinds of things that keep me sane during this insanity.
The irony is that the Bertrams made their money in the Atlantic triangular trade - slavery and sugar.
Grab a good book, relax and enjoy the revelation that America has hit the skids. Who knew?.?
No, JDinTX -- as Jonathan Schell (along with Rebecca Solnit) knows, it's more than that.
The four I've named here all explore what happened to American working classes. This is something about which the entire Dem party proved totally stupid in the last set of elections. And voters punished mightily these out of touch elites.
The personal in people's lives isn't just an entertainment. It's key to seeing and keeping at bay the dangers in people getting neutered.
Lies is one form of the dangers resulting. But blindness accompanies the lies, so Dems could not see or imagine how stupid and out of touch they were. Not so long as donations kept pouring in, and numbers of doors knocked on got counted, numbers of phone calls made got counted, and numbers of celebrities onstage got more money.
Didn't matter. The human element wasn't there. No Dems could cite the four books I've named here -- or any books or films or other arts in touch with the human pain neutered elites have caused.
The neutered, the blind have other games to play -- even as Heather goes out of her way to record the staggering lies and corruptions dark money has stupendously organized for quantum-far-worse MAGA Republicans.
"This is something about which the entire Dem party proved totally stupid in the last set of elections."
True enough, but the Republicans have dominated these areas for a long time now, and their pastors tell them to vote Republican for the sake of their souls. It's pretty difficult to cut through that, even though Joe Biden invested record amounts in poor, left-behind areas.
So true. Many folks in these areas also don't really think of themselves as poor. They're just having a bad time or a run of bad luck. They truly believe they're just one good day/year away from getting rich. Meanwhile, the wealthy folks are gallivanting around telling the poor its their fault they're poor and that if they would only work harder, they could be just like them. Their pastors tell them that if they just keep praying and giving to the church, that the Lord will provide. The government tells them that using the services that should be availalble to them, without stigma, (Medicaid, SNAP, AfDC) makes them at best, lazy liars, at worst, dirty criminals or system abusers. How do you teach them to overcome those lies and abuse. How do you cut through their cognitive dissonance? How do you reach them to make them understand that its not the government that is the problem, it's the corporations (especially in Appalachia when it really IS the government that's trying to wean America off of coal)?
I live in Appalachia. Wait until the people learn what Medicaid does for them and what the Republicans want to do with Medicaid. :)
That is one reason I really like the Medias Network's "Tennessee Brando"! He posts his youtube comments from his backyard in a small town (I think he said around population of 10,000?) in Tennessee. He's so genuine!
I think your insightful commentary is spot on. It incenses me when people say work harder to achieve the American dream. The hardest working people I know are those who perform the most important tasks such as caring for seniors, cleaning up after us, and picking our food. I can’t stand when others say just work harder. Why don’t you just pay them better?
I agree with what you're saying, but will add: If the wealthy aren't telling them that it's their own fault and they just need to work hard(er), then they are telling them that it's the fault of minorities, or immigrants, or other groups who are using DEI to steal what rightfully belongs to the "real" Americans, the white working class.
How, Tracie?
Read the books. Quote the books. Put these fellow Americans of ours back into our vocabulary.
I am a Democrat and have read these authors, as well as many more. Why do you spread disinformation?
I'm not convinced of your argument that no dems could cite any books or films or other arts in touch with human pain. Indeed, this is the core of the Dems argument against Trump/Musk, that these massive cuts will cause pain to these very people. If anything the argument that dems went too far in the direction of feeling the pain of every person and losing sight of the those consequences that caused them to lose so many in the center.
Thanks for the reading recommendations. I'm familiar with Kingsolver, but not the others.
Very Short excellent book "How Do You Kill 11 Million People? by Andy Andrews. He cuts right to the chase. Spoiler - "You Lie."
Thanks for these recommendations. This is why I love reading the comments. Here truly is community.
The only place truth remains is in our stories. The stories of courage, of standing up to injustice, of speaking up, of taking risks. Of being human, flawed, but on the right side of history. I think this is the only way to change people's minds--through their hearts. We cannot afford to lose heart.
"Regnant." That's a word I haven't heard in a long time.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins trusted Kavanaugh that he wouldn't overturn Roe.
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy trusted RFKJR that he wouldn't bring anti vax to NIH
GOP Pres. Donald Trump trusts Putin that he'll honor security assurances to Ukraine. Of course, to get Ukraine to give up the 3rd largest nuclean stockpile in the world, Russia gave Ukraine security assurances against military threats and invasion. So did the US.
Either those Republicans are damned fools or damned liars. Or both
Yep. Actually they are both. Irreversably stupid, utterly without morals, and ethically impoverished. In other words: supremely mediocre men who think that their penises confer some kind of magical power for them.
Liars, just liars. They want money and the power money brings. However, the House and the Senate are trying to make themselves irrelevant by rubber stamping 45/47’s garbage. Wait til the leopards start eating their faces.
As for waste, fraud, and abuse wasn’t Rick Scott’s company investigated for Medicare fraud, and isn’t Muskrat trying to kill the agencies investigation his waste, fraud, and abuse? His wealth is based on his companies getting Lucy government contracts. How about we start there.
Both.
The Tate scumwads seem to have all the qualifications for a cabinet role - a history of crime, misogyny, and general scumbaggery, and zero experience. Maybe that’s Cheetolini’s plan??
Not surprised that the GQP answer to constituents speaking out is to run, hide, and lie. Losers.
Oh, the GQP doesn't just avoid town hall meetings.
Look at what happened to Teresa Borrenpohl at a town hall in Idaho.
Three unidentified "security guards" threatened to arrest her, then physically and forcibly removed her - with NO ONE in the audience coming to her aid!
(Listen to the video, and notice the speaker also denigrating her, referring to her as "a little girl.")
We must galvanize mobilization and break the "bystander effect."
*The term "bystander effect" or apathy was characterized after the attack, rape and stabbing murder of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese in 1964. Thirty-eight witnesses, and no one came to her aid.
Speak up. Stand up.
They have come for the vulnerable.
They will come for you next.
Congress are bystanders as Trump rapes America.
and Ukraine
agree!
Congress is assisting the rape of this country.
Beverly, i was also upset about the feckless apathetic crowd sitting on their butts as this women got hauled out of her seat with zip ties at the ready by those "security" goons (more like nazi brown shirts). But, then it was pointed out to me the sitting audience was actually cheering on the goons and the speaker, with just a few other folks (all women!) filming and chastising the goons.
WHO are our neighbors these days? Answer? (around my neighborhood, and it seems in that neighborhood, and if the election was not rigged: NAZIS.)
She has a GoFundMe for her legal expenses. I've donated. I want to see that "sheriff" and those "security" goons bankrupt and in prison.
"Not surprised that the GQP answer to constituents speaking out is to run, hide, and lie."
Courageous?
Representative?
Responsible?
Trustworthy?
Now that's where we need to do some firing!
Andrew Tate, the new Secretary of State for Masculine Equality (since they like bullshit euphemisms and organisations with names that mean the opposite of what they do, like the Department of Government Efficiency).
They can go to work for Hegseth, a fellow traveler.
Draconian Oligarch Guts Everything
DOGE - pronounced "DOUCHE"
Pronounced dodgy, since it's a Venetian word.
DOH-jay, or in IPA, ˈdɔdʒe
The Decline and Fall of America is being documented in real time and will hopefully be of use to scholars and historians that might survive into the next century. One hopes that the use of facts may help those of us in a position to act in ways that can impact the lives of those who might survive into the next century. Otherwise, what is the point in the dogged attempt to report with accuracy the things that our eyes see and our ears hear. We are the ones who can respond, call out the evil, and make a difference. Ike is gone, Who will take his advice to not forget, and not repeat. It starts with knowing the truth…it’s where we took a wrong turn
If there are any left to write it. With what we're seeing, I expect a major war. Possibly WW III. If the oligarchs subdue everyone, they'll turn on each other. Greed is never satisfied.
The criminal-elect and his corrupt regime aren’t concerned with dangerous contagious diseases, breathable air, drinkable water, or the plight of federal workers and their families. They certainly don’t care about bribery, even the AG was bought for $25K.
Business executives and investors (who are not in the process of short selling) may prove to be the proverbial straw who rein in this Trumpian crime wave.
At least Bondi is not walking around with a "for sale" sign around her neck. She got her 25k already for dropping a case against "trump university" while AG in Florida and now it's looking for better deals at a higher position. Thanks scumbag president for keeping the rule of law as a priority 👌
I still think she’s Trump’s John Mitchell.
True Ricardo, but it is early in this Administration/crime wave. While not yet on the “official” menu, pardons are available for the right price. Maybe we can get one for a three night stay at a Trump Hotel and Resort?
your accurate observations nevertheless hurt, by stepping on all the toes
So she goes cheap, eh? Maybe she should go find a busy street corner. 😉
Gregg, no better "busy corner" to get clients than were she is now.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/sep/04/super-rich-prepper-bunkers-apocalypse-survival-richest-rushkoff
Thinking they could survive a nuclear winter in a post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” dystopian nightmare is cute. All that money for a fully stocked bunker when they would be far better off with a tiny cyanide tablet.
Why couldn't they put their money on the right side of history? Help to make the world a better, safer place? Why would anyone want to live on Mars--or in a bunker? We have (had) a beautiful planet. Why isn't it sexy and exciting to work right here at home?
True Ellen. And some do -and in those cases it is notable because they know if fair progressive taxation is implemented they will pay more.
I’ve also written about a major distinction between wealth that is earned through vision, innovation, and risk versus wealth that is simply transferred (as in the case of the criminal-elect’s inheritance and the imbecile nazi-sympathizing billionaire who started with wealth amassed from mommy & daddy’s South African mining operations.
They apparently haven't read Edgar Allen Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death."
Astonishing article. I wonder whether the current editorial board of the Guardian would publish it today.
I remember reading this when it was published. The idea that their biggest concern was to ensure the help wouldn't turn on them is, and was, chilling.
JL, a thought-experiment novel riff on the wealthy and how all their wealth somehow will protect them is The Future by Naomi Alderman. Also recommend the first novel of hers I read The Power, speculative fiction about gender and power.
In fact, Musk’s most cherished dream is to colonize Mars, where there is, of course, no breathable air or drinkable water. Just a totally controlled space bubble built for him and his chosen crew.
Not going to happen in any of our lifetimes. But Musk is using it to get LOTS of our tax money (along with his many other taxpayer grifts).
Maureen, straight out of the movie " Don't Look Up",,,,if you have not seen it, do! The ending is true karma!!
We don't know how to do that and the technology isn't there. Mars is a very tough environment and he's not Mark Watley.
Consider the level of death from Covid that occurred during the first trump regime, despite there being many competent government officials in place to help combat it.
Now think what will happen id another pandemic hits the world.
America, with all these trump-chosen clowns at the helm, will become a charnel house.
Perhaps then MAGA will start accepting vaccines, wear masks - and call for Dr. Fauci to come back.
Little mentioned are the uncounted persons who grieved the loss of the hundreds of thousands dead. A pandemic is an invasion by a heartless, predatory enemy, and public discipline and solidarity is needed to limit the casualties. Power-game-playing Republicans arguably gave that enemy aid and comfort; helped the predatory virus advance.
J L, I thought this administration had blood in their hands already but what's coming is going to be like a blood bath and we are going to be in the middle of it. Good comment J L 👍
People were already dying from the Dobbs decision, preventing women from receiving necessary health care.
Immediately upon inauguration, 47 fired the FAA director, and fatal plane crashes have resulted - with him infernally making up a lie about DEI as the causation.
The mismanagement of the Covid pandemic has not been a learning lesson for 45, as 47 he and RFK Jr are going to make that look like amateur hour. (Pence was no better. Under his and the Surgeon General Adams watch as governor and state Surgeon general in Indiana, a preventable hepatitis and HIV epidemic occurred.)
Musk's chainsaw clear-cutting approach to destroying federal agencies that could challenge his own business interests is likely to cause irreparable harm - to the entire world and humanity. Example: American developed peanut paste formulas have successfully saved starving children, yet these programs are among those abruptly and inhumanely cut and eliminated by DOGE.
Neither the House, Senate nor SCOTUS appear to be willing to rein in these blatantly un-Constitutional power grabs.
Now 47 is aligning himself - and the nation - with Russia and North Korea; preparing to invade and plunder other sovereign nations for his own interests. and those of his "donors."
If the other branches of government will not stop this, the people must.
The scumbag president and his administration has blood in their hands already and it's been only a month since inauguration. And the worst is yet to come.
tragic, beyond what most of us imagined
Not for some of us. Project 2025 details it. If not, read up on the Nazis.
The Trump/Musk action to destroy our establishment might be called “Rapid Acid”. The scars will not be easy to rebuild on.
Thank you, Heather.
This chaos is splashing on all of us.
Add to the list of fired government employees, our daughter-in-law, married to our son, an active duty Navy pilot. It’s difficult enough to raise a family in the military, moving every few years and almost impossible to build a career.
People are not only losing their jobs, they are losing their health. I depend on the flu shot every year. And in a year where almost half a million of us contracted flu and thousands died, we might not have a future vaccine? Clinical trials and research into cancer have been canceled. Now, children are dying from disease I haven’t thought about in decades.
Do you feel safe with this president and his clown cabinet? I do not.
Which part of my post is untrue? I appreciate that Heather provides all her source material at the end of her letters.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I am surprised that the media has not yet focused on how dangerous it is for pregnant women to be exposed to the measles virus. It can have catastrophic impact on a developing fetus. The recent trend away from vaccination in certain quarters is definitely not in sync with the pro-family or Right to Life contingents of MAGA.
Don't be surprised at what the media does Marion, they switched from information to appeasement. And of course there's no sync between what maga says and what they do. It's a contradiction to be pro family and life and and at the same time to be against science. What results do you expect ?
Thanks for your interesting comment 👍
A pox upon all those complicit in the carnage being wrought by the truly God awful trump administration.
By the sound of things, it might be a literal pox.
Correct. Smallpox.
Peter, keep taking your beautiful photographs. Art sustains us, informs us, and inspires us. Needed now more than ever.
It would be interesting if any of these MAGAs especially trump, musk, Johnson or Kennedy themselves would contract bird flu or measles. Maybe that’s what needs to happen
45 already had covid.
And a team of over a dozen specialists.
While refrigerated trucks were used as temporary morgues, and mass graves were required for the thousands dying daily - more than the attacks on September 11, 2001.
And don't forget, Mitch McConnell himself is a survivor of polio, and he still voted for these "expletives!"
(Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter spent his life working for peace, building houses, and curing diseases.)
Trump had Covid and survived, thanks to the excellent care available at the time. Maybe DOGE can fire those excellent docs so the same mistake is not repeated.
Kennedy had his own children vaccinated, but makes money telling other people not to vaccinate their kids.
The rich don't like competition.
Or Ebola! Remember the terrible pandemic and how many people died around the globe when Obama allowed infected people to travel into the United States. /S
Trump did get COVID, remember? But he squirreled his way out of that, too. Teflon man, so far at least.
Because he had top notch care that he denied millions