You've definitely got your foot on the gas pedal these past couple weeks, HCR - to the benefit of all who read this site. Your talk with the president has energized you. Hopefully you also energized him.
You've definitely got your foot on the gas pedal these past couple weeks, HCR - to the benefit of all who read this site. Your talk with the president has energized you. Hopefully you also energized him.
Indeed! Biden is not perfect, as some here enjoy pointing out, but I truly believe that deep in his heart, he is a good man.
MAGA perceives good, honorable men as weak or flawed. I disagree. I find that self-control and self sacrifice are ideal characteristics of our leaders. I think the time has come for the majority of voters to say that they are done with childish, outrageous stunts.
And also for the naysayers to stop tossing the good while seeking the perfect.
Biden is a serious and well studied statesman in my opinion. Consider the tragedies in his family life from which he rebounded and held steady. He has the making of a solid leader and although his voice is soft, it is measured and steady. Compared to his competition, there is zero comparison. He is a President that wants our country to be united. How many times now has the Democratic Senate and the Executive office along with the Democratic minority in the House managed to move a fully non-functioning House of Representatives to make a deal and there was hope that we could move forward only to have the truly destructive caucus of radicals stop it all. Again. And again.
Miselle said it so well. No one is perfect but I seriously cannot find one redeeming trait in the leadership of the Republicans except those that lost their political careers because of their fellow MAGA component. We must support a President that has led us out of COVID and what could have been financial catastrophe. How short memories are indeed.
Biden has spent years interacting with thousands of people including politicians from both sides of the aisle. For many years, Biden took the train from Delaware to DC when he was a Senator and reports are that he often interacted with people on the train. HCR has interviewed Biden many times and I'm sure they both learned from each of those experiences.
One thing that Biden, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln all have in common is they all enjoyed interacting with all Americans. Roosevelt wrote over 150,000 letters and Lincoln personally answered many letters when he was President. I have no information on Biden's correspondence but we all know he is skilled at listening to others.
Trump doesn't interact with people -- he talks at them. Is there any other President who cared less about learning anything. He knows as little about Covid-19 today as the day he heard about the possibility of a pandemic in late 2019. He gives a terrible interview and his rallies are filled with sycophants that he pays to show up.
Gary, remember when he suggested using disinfectants to cleanse the body of covid?
"Talking at them" is the perfect description of his interaction with people.
Goading them, inciting them to violence, appealing to their racist and holier-than-thou attitudes, his garbled and disjointed messages encourage the mob mentality that caused the insurrection against the government. He talks AT them with words they love to hear:.
He is a spoiled adolescent brat who whines when he can't get his way, disparaging all who dare to disagree or threaten his hold on his followers.
His words would be the opposite of Lincoln's words quoted here by HCR.
What a shame that so many people are blinded by his unhinged fervor while "talking at them."
One of the things that Trump does offer the brainwashed cultists (and I do not get how they derive any meaning whatsoever from his word slaw messes of dangling sentences and random thoughts, but, whatever) is validation and justification for their own grievances and rage--not to mention drama and entertainment--all of which is sorely lacking in their own lives.
So true! I never knew there were so many angry, rage-filled people until he brought them to the forefront. They need someone to stoke their fears and anger; he needs someone to worship and bow down to him.
Pam, Many Republican politicians will only SAY they support trump but will not. Their fear is for their lives and their careers. Only MAGA support trump. TrumpтАЩs showing in Iowa and New Hampshire were laughable in my mind. He is out speaking more and more word salad. The rescumliCons are panicked.
My anger is geared at the fact that he has been established to be fully unqualified to take ANY office due to the deadly coup incitement. Yet we watch this 3 year old repulsive delay play out as danger continues.
I personally am supporting those who make advertisements about trumpтАЩs lunacy, using trump himself as the star of psycho world ramblings. Move On & Lincoln Project are doing a nice jobs with this.
President Biden and more importantly Joe Biden the human, truly and seriously cares about all Americans. He also embodies the trait seldom pointed out, he listens. dt is on transmit 100%. He probably does not even receive, period, except for the adoring rubbish from those who have no knowledge of our laws, our history, our very constitution and nor does that mob desire to try to learn real facts.
Your comment Pat reminds me of when Priebus was his babysitter and had to make sure that TFFG didn't see any negative press. I agree that facts are of no consequence to the MAGA mob or the white faux-Christian Nationalists.
I was at a Delaware football game a few years ago, when Biden was VP. Shortly before halftime, the various Deans and administrators sitting near began checking their phones and saying to each other "He'll be here after halftime."
He (Biden) arrived just before halftime. He seemed to know everyone the in the stadium by name. At one point he leaned over the railing (we were in the front row of the bleachers) and called out the the sound man by name from the cable station televising the game and chatted with him for a few moments.
At one point, a young man stopped by while Biden was in a conversation with one of the university administrators. Biden paused and asked what he could do for the man. The man asked if he could get a photo with his girlfriend and Biden. Biden told him he was in the middle of something and that it would be a little while before he do the photo and the man left. When the conversation was over, Biden called one of his Secret Service men over and asked them to get the young man and his girlfriend. (He referred to the young man by name.). The Secret Service man returned with the young man and his girlfriend; photos were taken; and Biden left a few moments later.
He could easily have "forgotten" about the photos and left after his conversation with the administrators, but he didn't. He's a genuinely good person who thinks of others. I will proudly vote for him in November.
Gary, we are in a different age of correspondence; when I write to him on Whitehouse.gov I always get a satisfactory response, from him/his people. We are given that opportunity for the free flow of ideas through technology.
Trump gives interviews? More likes he gets his exercise by walking out just as he did at one of his trials (and then complained that he didn't get to testify).
They "buy" the snake oil peddler's wares, in part, because they want to believe it, on the one hand, and they don't have the critical thinking skills necessary to test the hypothesis. Fast forward, MAGA/KKK folks buy TFFG'S spiel, IMO, because he is selling them something that they opine for - white Protestant supremacy. This is what brings together the evangelicals and the racists, IMO.
As someone said on MSNBC early this morning, we are living in a post-truth world. Heather has told US how and why. We have to claw our way out and back to truth FAST. Every time I hear it said that Ukraine might accept leaving some of her territory in Russian hands, I quiver because it means that leaving any part of Russian power in Ukrainian land is beyond preposterous in a NATO world, which is essential to Europe.
D4N, and the enthralled will part with their last pennies to buy a bottle (or more!) of тАЬelixir of dreams to beтАЭ woven by the words of the spell-caster.
Would the people who voted for TFFG who changed their mind please stand up. Stand up and explain what attracted them ,what changed their mind . There are influential ,very rich people behind the scenes ( some backers not so hidden) ..are they not aware of the frequent underside of the bus syndrome, not aware of his dismal track record, or is some shiny objective the real goal and we/Trump just pons in the plan?
The standout consistency is lying ...humungous amounts -still ongoing!
The facts though, statistical data easily accessed, printed , broadcast, seldom get above the din danger . The stinking snake oil still sells.
Cults are strange phenomena , that analogy keeps circling about this circus cacophony and major ingredient of Poison Pie #2025
He *IS* a solid leader! People keep damning him with faint praise as if they don't know what the Biden administration has achieved in the last three years, and against daunting odds. People seem to conflate leadership with charisma. Some individuals do have both, but plenty have one without the other.
So many people complain about his age and it feels like they are covering for something else that they canтАЩt even acknowledge ЁЯд╖ЁЯП╗тАНтЩАя╕ПЁЯд╖ЁЯП╗тАНтЩАя╕П seriously worried about his age of all things. I DONтАЩT GET IT!!
I love your comment about how "it feels like they are covering for something else that they can't even acknowledge" -- because you've pinpointed what's been bugging me and I couldn't even name it. Are they afraid he's going to die in office? Presidents much younger than he have died in office and the country survived. Are they afraid he's going to die in office *and then Kamala Harris, a woman of color, will be president*? I've got a hunch that's at least part of it -- and that they can't admit out loud how racist and sexist that makes them sound. Because it *is* racist and sexist.
Read an interesting article in WAPO on black men (not women) and disappointment with Biden, something like What has Biden done for Me? Left me very confused and with many questions. Definitely something to address. I need to reread it.
Ask yourself why WaPo is running that sort of article. Ask yourself why "What has Biden done for me?" is set up as the make me/break me question. It's a fine question to ask of one's congressional representatives and one's state legislators, but is it the most important question to ask of the U.S. president at this point in our history?
We have to have our antennas on for the propaganda. In 2016 (or I guess it was 2020?) the Russians really went after the black vote with their cyberwarfare.
тАЬ As RAND Senior Behavioral Scientist Todd Helmus explained on Ep28 of RadPod:
тАЬRussia, in 2016, 2018, 2020, theyтАЩre targeting both the left and the right. The interesting approach about what Russia does is they take peopleтАЩs views and make them more extreme. They want conservatives to not just be conservatives - they want them to hate immigrants. They donтАЩt want African Americans to just be suspicious in how the Western world engages with them, they want them to be isolationist and militaristic. They wanted to turn Hillary Clinton supporters into Bernie supporters. Whatever position theyтАЩre in, they want them further away. The whole goal of that - and they definitely supported Trump over Clinton, was clear - they want to make Americans hate each other.тАЭ
I canтАЩt make it any more clear - we are being psyoped daily toward extremism, toward extreme hatred for one another. As I noted in my report on the Ionov indictment, which showed Russia paying both left and right groups for more than a decade to cause chaos and destabilization, to destroy us from within, there are no rear areas in an information war. It is cheap and those causing the harms are easily purchasable.тАЭ
So very true! No one is perfect but Biden is a God-send if you want my opinion and I have no description what so ever of the Republic front runner or their policy or politics at this point in time.
I agree. He is slow and steady. His life experiences have made him strong in a way that he uses to lead this country. We have to respect his way of being as it has done VERY well for us. Many complain he is to slow, however we cannot overlook his many accomplishments and how great we are doing on so many levels.
тАЬHaving ever regarded Government as their deadliest bane,тАЭ Lincoln said, тАЬthey make a jubilee of the suspension of its operations; and pray for nothing so much as its total annihilation.тАЭ
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Reagan
I've always been repulsed by Reagan's line, though it did apply in my mind to the many who meant well but couldn't grasp the real long term needs (or opportunities to improve), of the people they thought needed help.
I have huge respect for people like the honest agent county agricultural agents, and the land grant colleges inspired by Lincoln. They listened and observed the current and longer term trends to learn and help figure out how to actually help people.
My grandfather was one such honest agent as a dairyman, milk inspector and eventual Chief Milk Inspector for Massachusetts, inspecting dairies and milk processing plants that sold milk to Massachusetts. He worked with many small farmers (instead of being a "gotcha" inspector just looking for fines to gather revenue), and helped them cost effectively modernize without being tricked into buying far more expensive equipment poorly suited to the size of their operations.
He was a moderate Republican who worked with everyone, and passed on a bit of his view of the weaknesses of both parties we had to watch out for (back through the last century), in a pretty simple example. He said roughly:
"If a man is being washed down a river towards a waterfall and is 50 feet from the shore, a Democrat will throw him a 100 foot rope but let go of his end, a Republican would throw him a 25 foot rope and tell him to swimming the other 25 feet to get to the rope will do him good."
That was the old Republican party, the new one puts barbed wire on the shore.
JL, what I find ironic is the notion that Trump, DeSantis, Abbott (and Paxton), ETC. (Including the likes of Reagan) think/thought of government тАЬas their deadliest bane,тАЭ yet strive to be The Government, in their тАЬhappiest vain.тАЭ
Reagamism was never about eliminating "government" per se, but rather radically changing who government is by, and who it it for; plutocracy over egalitarianism.
He is running in the 3rd district again, while Boebert is switching to the more conservative 4th. Fortunately, she has a lot of competition on the GOP side
Miselle, Lincoln wasn't "perfect" either. He wasn't progressive enough for some and was too progressive for others. Were there any perfect answers then? Are there now? How could Lincoln save the union while bringing freedom and full equality to African Americans, especially within the U.S. Constitution, which says states control their elections? IMO, Biden is a pretty darn good president!
Reality Tv entertainment has dumbed-down America better than plain old ignorance. Attracting people to bull Schitt, instead of things that would stimulate and not rot their brains. Still hate CBS for Survivor, and Andy Cohen for, well, more than a few idiotic endeavors.
And makes me heave many times a day. Don't think the younger generation has a clue how noxious the current reality is to those who remember 15 second commercials.
If we think thatтАЩs bad, there are generations coming up that now carry that entertainment with them 24/7 and the content is far more mind numbing then ever. ItтАЩs an addiction. Everyone is doing it. ЁЯШ│
I'm old, hope to not see the worst of it. I'm of the generation that loved Bill Moyers. He was politically savvy, loved literature, and oozed intelligence and common sense. Long gone, I fear.
Also under appreciated because so many Americans donтАЩt realize how pervasive and effective the propaganda is from Putin/Koch/GOP and rely on corporate funded media rather than seeking the truth tellers
And itтАЩs harder to find. Plenty of corporate media journalists that have good ethical standards, seems likes itтАЩs the higher ups, (editors and producers and owners?) that produce the ЁЯТй?
The author of Grant, Ron Chernow, who wrote of President Grant seeing the gradual destruction of Reconstruction, figures Lincoln would have been beset with the same intractable issues of the South's Non acceptance of racial equality, and the North's mixed attitudes pro and con.
You may find this less "inspiring" but very interesting from a human nature point of view and a reflection of the Civil War, Restoration and its failures, into the gilded age. Perhaps the most significant big ticket item was that the social rifts opened in the Civil War were never healed, well relatively never that is, cited but not explored in the biography! Much of the GOP political heartland is in fact, the Old South, with vast extensions into rural America, but hardly just that. Have i got that right?
Frank Loomer, along the same idea, take a look at two books by Colin Woodard: 1) Union:тАж and 2) American Nations. He makes the case that we have been, from first immigrations to now, a loose assembly of 11 different nations.
You havenтАЩt read any of hers? Not more academic if by that you mean dry! These are about parts of our history that are agonizingly racist, violent, and unfathomly tragicтАж I found them hard to get through because they were not dry/academic. They certainly explain why we are where weтАЩre at nowтАж
тАЬSpeaker of the House Seward.тАЭ My mistake. He was Secretary of State, not Speaker of the House, but he was a target in the assassination plot. Why? Was he in line to succeed VP Andrew Johnson?
Miselle, I posted this here recently, but not sure all here have seen it, so am posting once again. Have sent it to friends & familyтАж.actually to just about everyone on my email contact list & asked that they spread it too: https://brianhassett.com/2023/12/why-i-love-joe-biden/
Marianne, a reader over on Ask E. Jean's substack wanted to thank Ms. Carroll for fighting for herself and all of us. She posted this quote said by Gloria Steinem:
тАЬPeople now ask me if I'm passing the torch. I always explain that no, I'm keeping my torch, thank you very much. And I'm using it to light the torches of others.
Because the truth is that the old image of one person with a torch is part of the problem, not the solution. We each need a torch if we are to see where we're going. And together, we create so much more light.тАЭ
So, thank you, Barbara for lighting our torches so that we may spread this good news!
There's an article in The NY Times referring to her being able to donate to a good cause.
"The amount vastly eclipsed the $5 million awarded to her by a jury last spring in a different trial against Mr. Trump. It could take years before she sees the money, as Mr. Trump has said he will appeal, but she is already considering how she might use the money once she obtains it.
тАЬIтАЩm not going to waste a cent of this,тАЭ she said. тАЬWeтАЩre going to do something good with it.тАЭ
Figuring that out will take some time, she added. But she will splurge on one luxury, she said тАФ for her Great Pyrenees and her pit bull. тАЬIтАЩm going to be able to buy some premium dog food now,тАЭ she said."
Me?: I don't have any millions but I buy premium dog and cat food.
That's a fantastic essay on why to love Joe Biden. Love the cartoons and inserts, especially the final point that abstaining from voting or choosing to protest is a vote for Trump. So true!!! Will share share share!
It seems that Biden is showing his strength. He is joining Haley in attacking Trump, and from what I hear it is stressing Trump out. However unlike Haley he represents a clear difference. A constitutional leader, not a fascist lite! Does Haley join other Red States governors in supporting Abbott to ignore the Supreme Court? Dismissing an entire branch of government that has evolved to support Red State initiatives, how ever precedent overruling they are, however weakly they follow the constitution, or ignore it. According to this, she is one of those governors.
At the same time, I think it is fair and healthy not to see Biden as perfection, but as the excellent president he is. To be able to criticize that which did not work out, knowing that he went in with best of intentions, is to be able to be objective and not get sucked into a cult of Biden. I know that Biden is the best president in my lifetime, that does not mean I like all policy decisions. I also know that they are not made in a vacuum. I have seen Biden work against amazing resistance from the Republican members of government to get things done to keep our country running, and to try to support our allies. Ukraine is a striving democracy, and supporting them in their striving to remain sovereign as well as to keep their democracy are both served by supporting them. The more democracy we can bring about the better. I do not think at this point in time there is anyone better suited to do this in the USA than Biden. In Germany, the Constitutional Court just denied The Heimat Party (understood to be Nazis) funding from the tax base, because their platform defies the constitution. The big question now is can this be applied to the AfD, who actually has enough support to (20%?) to get tax funds to support their party. However, will they also be found to be too antidemocratic to receive funding as well? I hope so! I wish that people who donated to Trump would not be allowed to write it off on their taxes because they are funding a party and candidate that is working against the constitution. They are not even bothering to rewrite it, they are just making their own rules and laws and ignoring ours. Biden's greatest challenge remains here in the USA. I am 100% behind him taking it on.
As a long term executive holder, he has long since learned the best practice of surrounding himself "with good people" ie competent, suited for their assignments. Apart from being under appreciated for his efforts and successes, some of which he obtained with bipartisan means, the way a normal democracy should work, his administration has been saddled with the latest incarnation of a failed major political opposition, namely the GOP, albatrossed with MAGA under Trump.
Remember Obama had a helper on the side as his VP and Obama is now right there to consult. Making ads, etc. Biden does not operate in a void. He has trouble with speeches becuase the nuns changed him from left hand to right hand. That causes a stutter. Obama was also taught by the nuns ........in the Phillapines. He also was born left handed. The nuns did not change writing hand to right. (I was born without the spelling gene and will die not knowing how to spell. :-)
Me, too. And, I spent a year (1966) in Mensa. Spell check often helps out. But, sometimes it arrogantly decides it knows better than me what I should be typing.
Miselle, "tossing the good while seeking the perfect" is very apt with respect to Biden's situation. What puzzles me mightily, though, is how anyone could "seek the perfect" in Trump!
In a voter interview the gentleman stated that perhaps a change to Nikki Haley would be helpful. This after being asked about Biden vs Trump. Scary how many share the same lack of understanding.
Miselle, Your last sentence is something we all need to take to heart! It is time for all of us to тАЬ...stop tossing the good while seeking the perfect.тАЭ
FB kicked me out for good because I got hacked and didn't tell the age on my ID. Lost 15 years of photos: travel, the dog, dead friends, my adorable NYC apartment....Mean META!
Mean self-righteous Meta. They had a hack attack and my name and phone number have been on the dark web for years. I have LifeLock, and they tell me it's still found there, probably in perpetuity.
OMG! Remember when all we had was books? Somehow I was using my brain for things that interested me and had enough "social contacts". There was non of the time wasting constant fixes that keeps me, for one, glued to pointless complicated internet issues.
I never gave my phone number; they kept asking. I thought: For what!?
Did they actually tell you what "community standards." you violated??...They never told me...I had to guess.
I use Whatsapp which is really great. Everyone here in Mexico uses it and my friends who live all over the planet. I considered investing in it: BUT, it's owned by META. I'd have to buy FB stocks. .... ICK!
Thanks, Ellie, love the Liberal Rocks ! Perfect for my Trumper neighborhood.Although I will do some research and тАЬ plantтАЭ them in more fertile, Independent soil.
Romantic gestureЁЯШВ by hubby to buy me a Biden / Harris sign.That will probably be a Spring planting. тЭдя╕ПЁЯдНЁЯТЩ
For those not on the Facebook platform. There's an email contact at the very bottom.
For years, folks here have asked for short, simple information about what is really happening in American politics to share with friends and family who arenтАЩt paying close attention. ItтАЩs always been a great idea, but I just didnтАЩt have the time to take it on.
Now, though, going into the 2024 election, one of this projectтАЩs key readers, Michele Rudenko, has stepped up. Her Biden for the Win campaign is designed to break down what is at stake in 2024 in cards that can be printed at home or at a copy center and either used as talking points or simply distributed where you think they will do some good.
When Michele came to me with this idea, I thought of how you all, along with organizations like Liberal Rocks, have been able to reach places that no official campaign ever could.
And that made me think of a project from 1936.
In that year, opponents of the New Deal were determined to make sure Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a flash in the pan, a one-term president whose actions would be erased and whose principles would be forgotten as the country returned to the ideology of the 1920s and government protection of business alone.
But women liked the FDR governmentтАЩs regulation of business and provision of a basic social safety net, which had been advanced by people like Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet secretary.
So in summer 1936, women organized to produce what became known as тАЬRainbow FlyersтАЭ: one-page fact sheets printed on different colors of paper. Each would have тАЬfacts clearly stated [with] each flier carrying the important facts in a given field of government activityтАФas agriculture, business, labor, finance, etc.,тАЭ as the plans of the WomenтАЩs Division of the Democratic National Committee spelled out. тАЬJust the facts and no comments,тАЭ as one woman said, тАЬa sort of, if thatтАЩs what you want, vote for it.тАЭ
In her 1981 book Beyond Suffrage: Women in the New Deal, historian Susan Ware noted that these fliers made up 80% of all Democratic literature in 1936, as women and men distributed them across the country to make sure that folks who didnтАЩt really understand what was happening in the country had access to factual information.
When FDR won reelection, one of the projectтАЩs organizers wrote to another: тАЬIn my humble opinion there is no one who did more to provide an intelligent basis of fact on which voters could make their decision in the campaign than you and your associatesтАж.тАЭ
So here we are in 2024, and what is old is new again.
Thanks for sharing this. I checked it out and I have to say that these messages are not going to resonate with Trump supporters. I would do a version that includes BidenтАЩs action on the border. ThatтАЩs a thing they care about but arenтАЩt hearing or are misinformed on.
IтАЩm not the creator, but I donтАЩt believe the target is Trump supporters. They mentioned planting blue seeds. We have a huge percentage of voters in the middle and non-voters, all influence-able and with our persistent outreach, poised to tip the election to save democracy.
What is so effective about this is that one can relate not only to the symbolism ("as American as apple pie" versus the orange face paint), but to the taste and odor. I'm stealing!
'Youth and the 2024 Election: Likely to Vote and Ready to Drive Action on Key Political Issues'
November 29, 2023
CIRCLE's (Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University) '...early poll of youth (ages 18-34) ahead of the 2024 presidential election highlights major trends in young people's political views and participation.'
'In the past decade, young people have risen to the forefront of civic and political life in the United States. They have led major movements for action on issues like gun violence, climate, and racial justice. They have voted at historic rates compared to youth in previous decades, and their choices on the ballot have influenced key elections.'
'In 2024, Gen Z youth alone will make up over 40 million potential votersтАФincluding 8 million youth who will have newly reached voting age since 2022тАФmaking up nearly one fifth of the American electorate. Together with the youngest Millennials, young people ages 18-34 are poised to be a potential force in the next presidential election.'
'But young people are also living through trying times in their personal lives, for our country, and around the world that make their continued civic participation far from guaranteed. The nationтАЩs economy, while strong by some accounts, has nonetheless left many young people concerned about jobs, the cost of living, and their financial situation. A mental health crisis affects many young peopleтАЩs ability and desire to vote and engage in their communities. And many are looking ahead (though not necessarily looking forward) to a potential presidential rematch in 2024 between President Joe Biden and former President Donald TrumpтАФtwo candidates that have not often garnered young peopleтАЩs approval and enthusiasm.'
'This initial analysis from our nationally representative poll of youth ages 18-34 reveals major trends about youth, including:'
'A majority say theyтАЩre very likely to vote in 2024, though groups like Black youth and youth without college experience, who are getting less information about the election and support to participate, are less likely to say theyтАЩll cast a ballot.'
'Youth overall prefer a Democratic candidate by a double-digit margin, but nearly a third are undecided and some groups of youth favor a GOP nominee.'
'Issues like climate change and gun violence remain at the center of youth engagement with politics and elections, but the cost of living is, by a wide margin, young peopleтАЩs top concern.
Read below for detailed data and analysis on these and other questions, and see the bottom of this page for methodology and other information about the poll.'
'A Majority of Youth Say TheyтАЩll Vote in 2024тАФBut Less Sure Who to Vote For
Diverse Issue Priorities, Like Climate, Shape Youth Votes and Action'
'Information and Support, Key to Youth Engagement, Are Often Still Lacking'
'Young Nonvoters: Who They Are and How to Engage Them' (The Circle) See link for more information from this survey about the youth vote, US, in 2024.
'The CIRCLE Pre-2024 Election Youth Survey was developed by CIRCLE at Tufts University, and the polling firm Ipsos collected the data from their nationally representative panel of respondents between October 25 and November 2, 2023. The study surveyed a total of 2,017 self-reported U.S. citizens ages 18 to 34 in the United States; unless otherwise mentioned, data are for all 18- to 34-year-olds in our sample. When data is reported by educational experience (college/no college) the sample used is youth ages 21-34 in order to account for young people who may pursue higher education later in life.'
Not the only foot on the gas pedal. Nothing like being complicit in a genocide to drive the drunk driver into believing a speedy delivery of weapons of war to a racist oppressor is the proper play. Empire simps abound.
Interesting - I once wrote a "dramedy"screenplay about Air America, "The Magic Bus." (Think Butch and Sundance in SEA riding a C-47 instead of horses) Was also privileged to be a friend of Erik Shilling, former Flying Tiger, former Air America pilot, who taught me how to barrel roll my Beech Bonanza.
You've definitely got your foot on the gas pedal these past couple weeks, HCR - to the benefit of all who read this site. Your talk with the president has energized you. Hopefully you also energized him.
Indeed! Biden is not perfect, as some here enjoy pointing out, but I truly believe that deep in his heart, he is a good man.
MAGA perceives good, honorable men as weak or flawed. I disagree. I find that self-control and self sacrifice are ideal characteristics of our leaders. I think the time has come for the majority of voters to say that they are done with childish, outrageous stunts.
And also for the naysayers to stop tossing the good while seeking the perfect.
Biden is a serious and well studied statesman in my opinion. Consider the tragedies in his family life from which he rebounded and held steady. He has the making of a solid leader and although his voice is soft, it is measured and steady. Compared to his competition, there is zero comparison. He is a President that wants our country to be united. How many times now has the Democratic Senate and the Executive office along with the Democratic minority in the House managed to move a fully non-functioning House of Representatives to make a deal and there was hope that we could move forward only to have the truly destructive caucus of radicals stop it all. Again. And again.
Miselle said it so well. No one is perfect but I seriously cannot find one redeeming trait in the leadership of the Republicans except those that lost their political careers because of their fellow MAGA component. We must support a President that has led us out of COVID and what could have been financial catastrophe. How short memories are indeed.
Biden has spent years interacting with thousands of people including politicians from both sides of the aisle. For many years, Biden took the train from Delaware to DC when he was a Senator and reports are that he often interacted with people on the train. HCR has interviewed Biden many times and I'm sure they both learned from each of those experiences.
One thing that Biden, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln all have in common is they all enjoyed interacting with all Americans. Roosevelt wrote over 150,000 letters and Lincoln personally answered many letters when he was President. I have no information on Biden's correspondence but we all know he is skilled at listening to others.
Trump doesn't interact with people -- he talks at them. Is there any other President who cared less about learning anything. He knows as little about Covid-19 today as the day he heard about the possibility of a pandemic in late 2019. He gives a terrible interview and his rallies are filled with sycophants that he pays to show up.
Gary, remember when he suggested using disinfectants to cleanse the body of covid?
"Talking at them" is the perfect description of his interaction with people.
Goading them, inciting them to violence, appealing to their racist and holier-than-thou attitudes, his garbled and disjointed messages encourage the mob mentality that caused the insurrection against the government. He talks AT them with words they love to hear:.
He is a spoiled adolescent brat who whines when he can't get his way, disparaging all who dare to disagree or threaten his hold on his followers.
His words would be the opposite of Lincoln's words quoted here by HCR.
What a shame that so many people are blinded by his unhinged fervor while "talking at them."
One of the things that Trump does offer the brainwashed cultists (and I do not get how they derive any meaning whatsoever from his word slaw messes of dangling sentences and random thoughts, but, whatever) is validation and justification for their own grievances and rage--not to mention drama and entertainment--all of which is sorely lacking in their own lives.
So true! I never knew there were so many angry, rage-filled people until he brought them to the forefront. They need someone to stoke their fears and anger; he needs someone to worship and bow down to him.
A perfect match for an imperfect situation.
He hates the same people they hate and he says so out loud. That's what they love about him. He validates their rage. Very scary.
They don't care what he says, just being in his presence is enough.
He could speak "in tongues"; they would still cheer their "righteous leader".
Pam, Many Republican politicians will only SAY they support trump but will not. Their fear is for their lives and their careers. Only MAGA support trump. TrumpтАЩs showing in Iowa and New Hampshire were laughable in my mind. He is out speaking more and more word salad. The rescumliCons are panicked.
My anger is geared at the fact that he has been established to be fully unqualified to take ANY office due to the deadly coup incitement. Yet we watch this 3 year old repulsive delay play out as danger continues.
I personally am supporting those who make advertisements about trumpтАЩs lunacy, using trump himself as the star of psycho world ramblings. Move On & Lincoln Project are doing a nice jobs with this.
President Biden and more importantly Joe Biden the human, truly and seriously cares about all Americans. He also embodies the trait seldom pointed out, he listens. dt is on transmit 100%. He probably does not even receive, period, except for the adoring rubbish from those who have no knowledge of our laws, our history, our very constitution and nor does that mob desire to try to learn real facts.
Your comment Pat reminds me of when Priebus was his babysitter and had to make sure that TFFG didn't see any negative press. I agree that facts are of no consequence to the MAGA mob or the white faux-Christian Nationalists.
I was at a Delaware football game a few years ago, when Biden was VP. Shortly before halftime, the various Deans and administrators sitting near began checking their phones and saying to each other "He'll be here after halftime."
He (Biden) arrived just before halftime. He seemed to know everyone the in the stadium by name. At one point he leaned over the railing (we were in the front row of the bleachers) and called out the the sound man by name from the cable station televising the game and chatted with him for a few moments.
At one point, a young man stopped by while Biden was in a conversation with one of the university administrators. Biden paused and asked what he could do for the man. The man asked if he could get a photo with his girlfriend and Biden. Biden told him he was in the middle of something and that it would be a little while before he do the photo and the man left. When the conversation was over, Biden called one of his Secret Service men over and asked them to get the young man and his girlfriend. (He referred to the young man by name.). The Secret Service man returned with the young man and his girlfriend; photos were taken; and Biden left a few moments later.
He could easily have "forgotten" about the photos and left after his conversation with the administrators, but he didn't. He's a genuinely good person who thinks of others. I will proudly vote for him in November.
Excellent story Fran.
Gary, we are in a different age of correspondence; when I write to him on Whitehouse.gov I always get a satisfactory response, from him/his people. We are given that opportunity for the free flow of ideas through technology.
I remember Tim Russert's interview with David Duke. I'd like to see what he could have done with Trump in another interview (a little tougher than his 1999 interview with Trump). See https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-flip-flop-meet-the-press_n_580e46b0e4b000d0b157c993
ЁЯдйЁЯдй I canтАЩt believe I lucked onto this today!! Thank you! Thank you!
Trump gives interviews? More likes he gets his exercise by walking out just as he did at one of his trials (and then complained that he didn't get to testify).
Trump talks at people. He repeats the same lies and boring accusations ad nauseam interrupted by gibberish.
Pat, TFFG is a carney-barker to BidenтАЩs elder statesman.
Snake oil peddler or worse. Let's remember though that those peddlers only existed because demand was there.
They "buy" the snake oil peddler's wares, in part, because they want to believe it, on the one hand, and they don't have the critical thinking skills necessary to test the hypothesis. Fast forward, MAGA/KKK folks buy TFFG'S spiel, IMO, because he is selling them something that they opine for - white Protestant supremacy. This is what brings together the evangelicals and the racists, IMO.
As someone said on MSNBC early this morning, we are living in a post-truth world. Heather has told US how and why. We have to claw our way out and back to truth FAST. Every time I hear it said that Ukraine might accept leaving some of her territory in Russian hands, I quiver because it means that leaving any part of Russian power in Ukrainian land is beyond preposterous in a NATO world, which is essential to Europe.
D4N, and the enthralled will part with their last pennies to buy a bottle (or more!) of тАЬelixir of dreams to beтАЭ woven by the words of the spell-caster.
Freak shows were what carnival barkers promoted. Still are, it seems
Touche ~
Would the people who voted for TFFG who changed their mind please stand up. Stand up and explain what attracted them ,what changed their mind . There are influential ,very rich people behind the scenes ( some backers not so hidden) ..are they not aware of the frequent underside of the bus syndrome, not aware of his dismal track record, or is some shiny objective the real goal and we/Trump just pons in the plan?
The standout consistency is lying ...humungous amounts -still ongoing!
The facts though, statistical data easily accessed, printed , broadcast, seldom get above the din danger . The stinking snake oil still sells.
Cults are strange phenomena , that analogy keeps circling about this circus cacophony and major ingredient of Poison Pie #2025
ЁЯТЩЁЯТЩVOTE ALL THE COMPLICIT OUTЁЯТЩЁЯТЩ
He *IS* a solid leader! People keep damning him with faint praise as if they don't know what the Biden administration has achieved in the last three years, and against daunting odds. People seem to conflate leadership with charisma. Some individuals do have both, but plenty have one without the other.
So many people complain about his age and it feels like they are covering for something else that they canтАЩt even acknowledge ЁЯд╖ЁЯП╗тАНтЩАя╕ПЁЯд╖ЁЯП╗тАНтЩАя╕П seriously worried about his age of all things. I DONтАЩT GET IT!!
I love your comment about how "it feels like they are covering for something else that they can't even acknowledge" -- because you've pinpointed what's been bugging me and I couldn't even name it. Are they afraid he's going to die in office? Presidents much younger than he have died in office and the country survived. Are they afraid he's going to die in office *and then Kamala Harris, a woman of color, will be president*? I've got a hunch that's at least part of it -- and that they can't admit out loud how racist and sexist that makes them sound. Because it *is* racist and sexist.
Interesting. Perhaps you nailed it! Thank you!
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/4391046-is-joe-biden-a-superager-were-asking-all-the-wrong-questions/?fbclid=IwAR27tQbFn9A7saBiJ17wTELjsd3fkkgl3FThJu8DgrEbgLN1Ung5uheHoUk
When the both siders or what abouts start up, I ask for the Dem equivalents of Mtg and Boebert and Johnson, etc. Lot of humma humma responses.
Read an interesting article in WAPO on black men (not women) and disappointment with Biden, something like What has Biden done for Me? Left me very confused and with many questions. Definitely something to address. I need to reread it.
Ask yourself why WaPo is running that sort of article. Ask yourself why "What has Biden done for me?" is set up as the make me/break me question. It's a fine question to ask of one's congressional representatives and one's state legislators, but is it the most important question to ask of the U.S. president at this point in our history?
We have to have our antennas on for the propaganda. In 2016 (or I guess it was 2020?) the Russians really went after the black vote with their cyberwarfare.
тАЬ As RAND Senior Behavioral Scientist Todd Helmus explained on Ep28 of RadPod:
тАЬRussia, in 2016, 2018, 2020, theyтАЩre targeting both the left and the right. The interesting approach about what Russia does is they take peopleтАЩs views and make them more extreme. They want conservatives to not just be conservatives - they want them to hate immigrants. They donтАЩt want African Americans to just be suspicious in how the Western world engages with them, they want them to be isolationist and militaristic. They wanted to turn Hillary Clinton supporters into Bernie supporters. Whatever position theyтАЩre in, they want them further away. The whole goal of that - and they definitely supported Trump over Clinton, was clear - they want to make Americans hate each other.тАЭ
I canтАЩt make it any more clear - we are being psyoped daily toward extremism, toward extreme hatred for one another. As I noted in my report on the Ionov indictment, which showed Russia paying both left and right groups for more than a decade to cause chaos and destabilization, to destroy us from within, there are no rear areas in an information war. It is cheap and those causing the harms are easily purchasable.тАЭ
https://www.bettedangerous.com/p/from-the-archives-daring-greatly?utm_source=%2Finbox&utm_medium=reader2
@Pat Russiano
You're not so bad yourself. You just said many of the things I've been thinking lately.
And, we need to remember now, especially, that cutting Biden down is supporting Trump...by default.
So very true! No one is perfect but Biden is a God-send if you want my opinion and I have no description what so ever of the Republic front runner or their policy or politics at this point in time.
I agree. He is slow and steady. His life experiences have made him strong in a way that he uses to lead this country. We have to respect his way of being as it has done VERY well for us. Many complain he is to slow, however we cannot overlook his many accomplishments and how great we are doing on so many levels.
ЁЯСП+
"People want the circus to stop." - Adam Frisch, who ran against L. Boebert in 2022.
The GOP has become the Party of Lawless Disorder.
This is my conclusion, too. The GOP has become the tool of the super rich who want to be left alone to suck the country dry.
тАЬHaving ever regarded Government as their deadliest bane,тАЭ Lincoln said, тАЬthey make a jubilee of the suspension of its operations; and pray for nothing so much as its total annihilation.тАЭ
"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." - Reagan
I've always been repulsed by Reagan's line, though it did apply in my mind to the many who meant well but couldn't grasp the real long term needs (or opportunities to improve), of the people they thought needed help.
I have huge respect for people like the honest agent county agricultural agents, and the land grant colleges inspired by Lincoln. They listened and observed the current and longer term trends to learn and help figure out how to actually help people.
My grandfather was one such honest agent as a dairyman, milk inspector and eventual Chief Milk Inspector for Massachusetts, inspecting dairies and milk processing plants that sold milk to Massachusetts. He worked with many small farmers (instead of being a "gotcha" inspector just looking for fines to gather revenue), and helped them cost effectively modernize without being tricked into buying far more expensive equipment poorly suited to the size of their operations.
He was a moderate Republican who worked with everyone, and passed on a bit of his view of the weaknesses of both parties we had to watch out for (back through the last century), in a pretty simple example. He said roughly:
"If a man is being washed down a river towards a waterfall and is 50 feet from the shore, a Democrat will throw him a 100 foot rope but let go of his end, a Republican would throw him a 25 foot rope and tell him to swimming the other 25 feet to get to the rope will do him good."
That was the old Republican party, the new one puts barbed wire on the shore.
JL, what I find ironic is the notion that Trump, DeSantis, Abbott (and Paxton), ETC. (Including the likes of Reagan) think/thought of government тАЬas their deadliest bane,тАЭ yet strive to be The Government, in their тАЬhappiest vain.тАЭ
Reagamism was never about eliminating "government" per se, but rather radically changing who government is by, and who it it for; plutocracy over egalitarianism.
Quite a juxtaposition there, JL.
Stark
And the MAGAs are their laborers
NAHAs - Make America Hate Again
HAHAs: Hating Americans Hate Americans.
The party of animosity
And Frisch will very likely win the seat she is vacating.
He is running in the 3rd district again, while Boebert is switching to the more conservative 4th. Fortunately, she has a lot of competition on the GOP side
And sedition, threats, hate and cruelty.
Miselle, Lincoln wasn't "perfect" either. He wasn't progressive enough for some and was too progressive for others. Were there any perfect answers then? Are there now? How could Lincoln save the union while bringing freedom and full equality to African Americans, especially within the U.S. Constitution, which says states control their elections? IMO, Biden is a pretty darn good president!
Biden is a very good president, but underappreciated because some Americans would rather be entertained than governed.
Reality Tv entertainment has dumbed-down America better than plain old ignorance. Attracting people to bull Schitt, instead of things that would stimulate and not rot their brains. Still hate CBS for Survivor, and Andy Cohen for, well, more than a few idiotic endeavors.
Don't forget the dumbing down courtesy of a massive self-serving advertising industry. That is huge.
And makes me heave many times a day. Don't think the younger generation has a clue how noxious the current reality is to those who remember 15 second commercials.
If we think thatтАЩs bad, there are generations coming up that now carry that entertainment with them 24/7 and the content is far more mind numbing then ever. ItтАЩs an addiction. Everyone is doing it. ЁЯШ│
I'm old, hope to not see the worst of it. I'm of the generation that loved Bill Moyers. He was politically savvy, loved literature, and oozed intelligence and common sense. Long gone, I fear.
Trained to jump at red meat. I find myself scanning for a news line that Trump has stumbled.
Or, better yet: dead!
Exactly
"of the people, by the people, for the people"
It's not enough to just change channels.
Also under appreciated because so many Americans donтАЩt realize how pervasive and effective the propaganda is from Putin/Koch/GOP and rely on corporate funded media rather than seeking the truth tellers
There's not a lot of media that isn't corporate funded.
And itтАЩs harder to find. Plenty of corporate media journalists that have good ethical standards, seems likes itтАЩs the higher ups, (editors and producers and owners?) that produce the ЁЯТй?
Plenty of journalists doing their very best ЁЯдй https://guides.lib.virginia.edu/newspapers/investigative_news
Could you give examples? The purchase of The Baltimore Sun by the Sinclair Group seems to negate that. But IтАЩd love to be wrong.
It's not just the entertainment they seek, but license and indulgence. And Trump is peddling those indulgences to shore up his dwindling fortunes.
Talia, I think you are correct because so many are hooked onto тАЬreality tvтАЭ these days. Very sad state of affairs.
Television is a mess. Interesting to know the percentage who have never watched PBS.
Yes, and itтАЩs difficult to get outside our echo chambers.
The author of Grant, Ron Chernow, who wrote of President Grant seeing the gradual destruction of Reconstruction, figures Lincoln would have been beset with the same intractable issues of the South's Non acceptance of racial equality, and the North's mixed attitudes pro and con.
Grant is next on my list. IтАЩm almost through Jon MeachamтАЩs book, And There Was Light, on Lincoln. Excellent!
You may find this less "inspiring" but very interesting from a human nature point of view and a reflection of the Civil War, Restoration and its failures, into the gilded age. Perhaps the most significant big ticket item was that the social rifts opened in the Civil War were never healed, well relatively never that is, cited but not explored in the biography! Much of the GOP political heartland is in fact, the Old South, with vast extensions into rural America, but hardly just that. Have i got that right?
Frank Loomer, along the same idea, take a look at two books by Colin Woodard: 1) Union:тАж and 2) American Nations. He makes the case that we have been, from first immigrations to now, a loose assembly of 11 different nations.
I need to read that one again, I remember being fascinated by it. Thanks for the reminder!
Ties right into Heather's specialty eh! Be interesting to read on of hers, more academic, but I'm sure worth the trouble.
You havenтАЩt read any of hers? Not more academic if by that you mean dry! These are about parts of our history that are agonizingly racist, violent, and unfathomly tragicтАж I found them hard to get through because they were not dry/academic. They certainly explain why we are where weтАЩre at nowтАж
Lincoln wasn't "perfect"...but, I consider him to be a genius. From my childhood and on, he's always been an inspiration. ( I'm from Illinois.)
тАЬSpeaker of the House Seward.тАЭ My mistake. He was Secretary of State, not Speaker of the House, but he was a target in the assassination plot. Why? Was he in line to succeed VP Andrew Johnson?
Wow ! Incredibly well stated Miselle. "... stop tossing the good while seeking the perfect."
Miselle, I posted this here recently, but not sure all here have seen it, so am posting once again. Have sent it to friends & familyтАж.actually to just about everyone on my email contact list & asked that they spread it too: https://brianhassett.com/2023/12/why-i-love-joe-biden/
Marianne, a reader over on Ask E. Jean's substack wanted to thank Ms. Carroll for fighting for herself and all of us. She posted this quote said by Gloria Steinem:
тАЬPeople now ask me if I'm passing the torch. I always explain that no, I'm keeping my torch, thank you very much. And I'm using it to light the torches of others.
Because the truth is that the old image of one person with a torch is part of the problem, not the solution. We each need a torch if we are to see where we're going. And together, we create so much more light.тАЭ
So, thank you, Barbara for lighting our torches so that we may spread this good news!
Awesome
We know she can't SPEND 83+million. I am sure it will go to a good cause.
TFFG's money. Ironic. Or, perfect justice. since he NEVER donates any of his filthy lucre.
There was discussion a few days ago that she should buy Trump Tower and turn it into a Crisis Center for Women!
There's an article in The NY Times referring to her being able to donate to a good cause.
"The amount vastly eclipsed the $5 million awarded to her by a jury last spring in a different trial against Mr. Trump. It could take years before she sees the money, as Mr. Trump has said he will appeal, but she is already considering how she might use the money once she obtains it.
тАЬIтАЩm not going to waste a cent of this,тАЭ she said. тАЬWeтАЩre going to do something good with it.тАЭ
Figuring that out will take some time, she added. But she will splurge on one luxury, she said тАФ for her Great Pyrenees and her pit bull. тАЬIтАЩm going to be able to buy some premium dog food now,тАЭ she said."
Me?: I don't have any millions but I buy premium dog and cat food.
That's a fantastic essay on why to love Joe Biden. Love the cartoons and inserts, especially the final point that abstaining from voting or choosing to protest is a vote for Trump. So true!!! Will share share share!
Thanks Barbara. We hear so much negativity about Biden. This is very refreshing.
I love the post script thing about Taylor Swift encouraging people to register to vote. 35,000 people in a day. Holy Cow!
Oh I like that Barb; Thank you, and concur.
Sent it to my extended family list -- 8 names
Let's trust successful, pro-social legislation and policy can take on MAGA's latest attempt to generate a "red wave".....
I missed this... thank you! Yes! Truth! тАЬHeтАЩs smart, hard working, Gets Things Done, and is a kind human being.тАЭ
Thanks
Thank you!
It seems that Biden is showing his strength. He is joining Haley in attacking Trump, and from what I hear it is stressing Trump out. However unlike Haley he represents a clear difference. A constitutional leader, not a fascist lite! Does Haley join other Red States governors in supporting Abbott to ignore the Supreme Court? Dismissing an entire branch of government that has evolved to support Red State initiatives, how ever precedent overruling they are, however weakly they follow the constitution, or ignore it. According to this, she is one of those governors.
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/01/26/texas-border-dispute-gop-states-support-letter/72364737007/
At the same time, I think it is fair and healthy not to see Biden as perfection, but as the excellent president he is. To be able to criticize that which did not work out, knowing that he went in with best of intentions, is to be able to be objective and not get sucked into a cult of Biden. I know that Biden is the best president in my lifetime, that does not mean I like all policy decisions. I also know that they are not made in a vacuum. I have seen Biden work against amazing resistance from the Republican members of government to get things done to keep our country running, and to try to support our allies. Ukraine is a striving democracy, and supporting them in their striving to remain sovereign as well as to keep their democracy are both served by supporting them. The more democracy we can bring about the better. I do not think at this point in time there is anyone better suited to do this in the USA than Biden. In Germany, the Constitutional Court just denied The Heimat Party (understood to be Nazis) funding from the tax base, because their platform defies the constitution. The big question now is can this be applied to the AfD, who actually has enough support to (20%?) to get tax funds to support their party. However, will they also be found to be too antidemocratic to receive funding as well? I hope so! I wish that people who donated to Trump would not be allowed to write it off on their taxes because they are funding a party and candidate that is working against the constitution. They are not even bothering to rewrite it, they are just making their own rules and laws and ignoring ours. Biden's greatest challenge remains here in the USA. I am 100% behind him taking it on.
As a long term executive holder, he has long since learned the best practice of surrounding himself "with good people" ie competent, suited for their assignments. Apart from being under appreciated for his efforts and successes, some of which he obtained with bipartisan means, the way a normal democracy should work, his administration has been saddled with the latest incarnation of a failed major political opposition, namely the GOP, albatrossed with MAGA under Trump.
Remember Obama had a helper on the side as his VP and Obama is now right there to consult. Making ads, etc. Biden does not operate in a void. He has trouble with speeches becuase the nuns changed him from left hand to right hand. That causes a stutter. Obama was also taught by the nuns ........in the Phillapines. He also was born left handed. The nuns did not change writing hand to right. (I was born without the spelling gene and will die not knowing how to spell. :-)
Me, too. And, I spent a year (1966) in Mensa. Spell check often helps out. But, sometimes it arrogantly decides it knows better than me what I should be typing.
Regards your parenthetical last line: Me too, sister, me too.
Miselle, "tossing the good while seeking the perfect" is very apt with respect to Biden's situation. What puzzles me mightily, though, is how anyone could "seek the perfect" in Trump!
In a voter interview the gentleman stated that perhaps a change to Nikki Haley would be helpful. This after being asked about Biden vs Trump. Scary how many share the same lack of understanding.
Tossing the good while seeking the perfect...great phrase
Miselle, here here. Spot on!!
MOST DEFINITELY!!! 100%
100% AGREEEEE!
Miselle, Your last sentence is something we all need to take to heart! It is time for all of us to тАЬ...stop tossing the good while seeking the perfect.тАЭ
Bravo! Did we learn nothing from the 2016 election?
Apparently not.
HCR even had her foot on another gas pedal today, complete with historical context of the new Biden for the Win Card Campaign she is promoting:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0LqH91uNrxoqcBAyTA3wJnCubn6nM7o1L2ALhf1DNy3MnbpDNWTxSKS52QmY3z7yxl&id=100044557238708&mibextid=cr9u03
With reference to another easy action for us by dropping Liberal Rocks:
https://liberalrocks.com/
Here is the link to the campaign:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555808736304&mibextid=PtKPJ9
Love that Liberal Rocks website, Ellie! Thanks!
Love liberal rocks. Sorry other link is on FB
FB kicked me out for good because I got hacked and didn't tell the age on my ID. Lost 15 years of photos: travel, the dog, dead friends, my adorable NYC apartment....Mean META!
I have to get FFB back just for Marketplace.
Mean self-righteous Meta. They had a hack attack and my name and phone number have been on the dark web for years. I have LifeLock, and they tell me it's still found there, probably in perpetuity.
OMG! Remember when all we had was books? Somehow I was using my brain for things that interested me and had enough "social contacts". There was non of the time wasting constant fixes that keeps me, for one, glued to pointless complicated internet issues.
I never gave my phone number; they kept asking. I thought: For what!?
Sign up with a different name.
They know your IP. Your computer has to be on a proxy 100% of the time. And, don't use your phone for FB.
Only have one phone number, tried a couple of times. Miss some cousins
Morning, Jeri! Is it that you are not "on" FB? I joined years ago. But now I only visit it to listen to HCR's chats; otherwise, I would "quit" FB.
I got banned for saying that chump used nazi messaging three years ago. That was violating "community standards."
Did they actually tell you what "community standards." you violated??...They never told me...I had to guess.
I use Whatsapp which is really great. Everyone here in Mexico uses it and my friends who live all over the planet. I considered investing in it: BUT, it's owned by META. I'd have to buy FB stocks. .... ICK!
I need to kiss your ring, Jeri!
Stop! Can you log back in with another email address?
You can subscribe to her chats on YouTube also.
I hope the Card Campaign gets a website. On principle, I refuse to create a FB account. Thank you for bringing both of these to our attention, Ellie.
There is an email address: CardCampaignBH@gmail.com
Thank you, Carol!
Thanks, Ellie, love the Liberal Rocks ! Perfect for my Trumper neighborhood.Although I will do some research and тАЬ plantтАЭ them in more fertile, Independent soil.
Romantic gestureЁЯШВ by hubby to buy me a Biden / Harris sign.That will probably be a Spring planting. тЭдя╕ПЁЯдНЁЯТЩ
For those not on the Facebook platform. There's an email contact at the very bottom.
For years, folks here have asked for short, simple information about what is really happening in American politics to share with friends and family who arenтАЩt paying close attention. ItтАЩs always been a great idea, but I just didnтАЩt have the time to take it on.
Now, though, going into the 2024 election, one of this projectтАЩs key readers, Michele Rudenko, has stepped up. Her Biden for the Win campaign is designed to break down what is at stake in 2024 in cards that can be printed at home or at a copy center and either used as talking points or simply distributed where you think they will do some good.
When Michele came to me with this idea, I thought of how you all, along with organizations like Liberal Rocks, have been able to reach places that no official campaign ever could.
And that made me think of a project from 1936.
In that year, opponents of the New Deal were determined to make sure Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a flash in the pan, a one-term president whose actions would be erased and whose principles would be forgotten as the country returned to the ideology of the 1920s and government protection of business alone.
But women liked the FDR governmentтАЩs regulation of business and provision of a basic social safety net, which had been advanced by people like Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet secretary.
So in summer 1936, women organized to produce what became known as тАЬRainbow FlyersтАЭ: one-page fact sheets printed on different colors of paper. Each would have тАЬfacts clearly stated [with] each flier carrying the important facts in a given field of government activityтАФas agriculture, business, labor, finance, etc.,тАЭ as the plans of the WomenтАЩs Division of the Democratic National Committee spelled out. тАЬJust the facts and no comments,тАЭ as one woman said, тАЬa sort of, if thatтАЩs what you want, vote for it.тАЭ
In her 1981 book Beyond Suffrage: Women in the New Deal, historian Susan Ware noted that these fliers made up 80% of all Democratic literature in 1936, as women and men distributed them across the country to make sure that folks who didnтАЩt really understand what was happening in the country had access to factual information.
When FDR won reelection, one of the projectтАЩs organizers wrote to another: тАЬIn my humble opinion there is no one who did more to provide an intelligent basis of fact on which voters could make their decision in the campaign than you and your associatesтАж.тАЭ
So here we are in 2024, and what is old is new again.
You can follow and join the Biden for the Win card campaign project at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555808736304....
Or email Michele at cardcampaignbh@gmail.com.
Thanks, Ellie!
Thanks so much for this, Ellie! What an inspired campaign. I'm in!
Thanks for sharing this. I checked it out and I have to say that these messages are not going to resonate with Trump supporters. I would do a version that includes BidenтАЩs action on the border. ThatтАЩs a thing they care about but arenтАЩt hearing or are misinformed on.
IтАЩm not the creator, but I donтАЩt believe the target is Trump supporters. They mentioned planting blue seeds. We have a huge percentage of voters in the middle and non-voters, all influence-able and with our persistent outreach, poised to tip the election to save democracy.
OMG I love these ideas! Sharing with my Blue Tennessee launch group.
Terrific! What gentle, easy ways to spread truth and hope. Thanks, Ellie; IтАЩm sharing these sites and utilizing them!
To everyone I forwarded it to and there were many, I said simply тАЬthis is superbтАЭ, it rang with the clarity of a bell. ЁЯЩП
"Apples and Oranges''
Biden is a Golden Delicious and Trump is a blood-soaked rotten citrus. The choice is clear.
an insult to all citrus, but damn right he's rotten.
What is so effective about this is that one can relate not only to the symbolism ("as American as apple pie" versus the orange face paint), but to the taste and odor. I'm stealing!
blood-soaked rotten, and infested citrus
'Youth and the 2024 Election: Likely to Vote and Ready to Drive Action on Key Political Issues'
November 29, 2023
CIRCLE's (Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University) '...early poll of youth (ages 18-34) ahead of the 2024 presidential election highlights major trends in young people's political views and participation.'
'In the past decade, young people have risen to the forefront of civic and political life in the United States. They have led major movements for action on issues like gun violence, climate, and racial justice. They have voted at historic rates compared to youth in previous decades, and their choices on the ballot have influenced key elections.'
'In 2024, Gen Z youth alone will make up over 40 million potential votersтАФincluding 8 million youth who will have newly reached voting age since 2022тАФmaking up nearly one fifth of the American electorate. Together with the youngest Millennials, young people ages 18-34 are poised to be a potential force in the next presidential election.'
'But young people are also living through trying times in their personal lives, for our country, and around the world that make their continued civic participation far from guaranteed. The nationтАЩs economy, while strong by some accounts, has nonetheless left many young people concerned about jobs, the cost of living, and their financial situation. A mental health crisis affects many young peopleтАЩs ability and desire to vote and engage in their communities. And many are looking ahead (though not necessarily looking forward) to a potential presidential rematch in 2024 between President Joe Biden and former President Donald TrumpтАФtwo candidates that have not often garnered young peopleтАЩs approval and enthusiasm.'
'This initial analysis from our nationally representative poll of youth ages 18-34 reveals major trends about youth, including:'
'A majority say theyтАЩre very likely to vote in 2024, though groups like Black youth and youth without college experience, who are getting less information about the election and support to participate, are less likely to say theyтАЩll cast a ballot.'
'Youth overall prefer a Democratic candidate by a double-digit margin, but nearly a third are undecided and some groups of youth favor a GOP nominee.'
'Issues like climate change and gun violence remain at the center of youth engagement with politics and elections, but the cost of living is, by a wide margin, young peopleтАЩs top concern.
Read below for detailed data and analysis on these and other questions, and see the bottom of this page for methodology and other information about the poll.'
'A Majority of Youth Say TheyтАЩll Vote in 2024тАФBut Less Sure Who to Vote For
Diverse Issue Priorities, Like Climate, Shape Youth Votes and Action'
'Information and Support, Key to Youth Engagement, Are Often Still Lacking'
'Young Nonvoters: Who They Are and How to Engage Them' (The Circle) See link for more information from this survey about the youth vote, US, in 2024.
https://circle.tufts.edu/2024-election-youth-poll
'About the Survey'
'The CIRCLE Pre-2024 Election Youth Survey was developed by CIRCLE at Tufts University, and the polling firm Ipsos collected the data from their nationally representative panel of respondents between October 25 and November 2, 2023. The study surveyed a total of 2,017 self-reported U.S. citizens ages 18 to 34 in the United States; unless otherwise mentioned, data are for all 18- to 34-year-olds in our sample. When data is reported by educational experience (college/no college) the sample used is youth ages 21-34 in order to account for young people who may pursue higher education later in life.'
TC, the other day I saw a license plate (in AZ) with TCLA on it and I immediately thought of you! :)
Interesting. One of these days I'm going to see if I can get TCINLA here.
Great observation, TC. She really does have her foot on the gas.
Thank you HCR and TC for keeping us true.
Not the only foot on the gas pedal. Nothing like being complicit in a genocide to drive the drunk driver into believing a speedy delivery of weapons of war to a racist oppressor is the proper play. Empire simps abound.
https://www.thenation.com/article/world/gaza-dispatch-afaf-al-najjar/
As iron sharpens iron.
Was just reading this. No doubt you have already seen it. https://www.spytalk.co/p/picture-this-a-compelling-new-photo?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
Interesting - I once wrote a "dramedy"screenplay about Air America, "The Magic Bus." (Think Butch and Sundance in SEA riding a C-47 instead of horses) Was also privileged to be a friend of Erik Shilling, former Flying Tiger, former Air America pilot, who taught me how to barrel roll my Beech Bonanza.
тЭдя╕П Sounds like a great story ЁЯдй what awesome memories!