With President Joe Biden’s speech today at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, South Carolina, coming after his speech in Pennsylvania on January 5, the election year of 2024 is in full swing. The first Republican caucus will be held on January 15 in Iowa; the first Democratic primary will be held on February 3. (A caucus is held by a political party and can have public voting, by a show of hands or gathering behind a candidate’s team; a primary election is run by the government and uses secret ballots.)
I thought it was terrific, too. Until I saw they did not include Dothraki and Klingon. How are we to keep the votes of the youth and nerd contingents if we cannot communicate with them in their native tongues? [/sarcasm]
Will, I've admired your comments for quite awhile. I have an idea for outreach to young voters and wonder if you'd like to collaborate or point me towards someone who could help me. I agree that humor is a good way to reach all voters but particularly younger voters. I'm wondering if we could crowdfund a pot of money for prizes and sponsor a contest to create viral videos for use on tiki tok or other social media towards GOTV and other priority Dem topics. This could be a creative way to offer content to Dem politicians to aid in messaging, bypassing MSM. I've thought about approaching the League of Women Voters' Education Project, a 501(c)3, to encourage tax deductible donations towards this project. Thoughts?
Sorry for the delay in replying. Check out this blog about a nonprofit Students For Justice which gives college interns (mainly from minority communities). One of the things they do is create TikToks. I think it is very cost effective and the students get a small stipend. Glad to discuss further. deepak@thedemlabs.org
Frankly Bob..anyway you can capture the ‘youth vote’ from Taylor Swift to viral videos is just fine with me..also like both the Hispanic and black vote and any stray ‘independents’ as well as all sensible women!
I think it is a fantastic idea. I have no idea exactly hiw to go about such a thing and would not be the right person for the set of skills that would require. But there are definitely many who would be, and they are certainly easy to find on the internet! I say go for it!
I enjoy reading comments by readers of the HCR’s Letters, but often find it annoying to skip past the threads that fall outside my interests. Threads are often long, so it takes a lot of time and effort to locate the next thread. I would like Substack to adopt a commentary format for their “Top first” mode that the NYT now uses: Comments are displayed in decreasing order of up-votes, and reply streams are suppressed unless the reader asks to see them. That way, widely popular comments come first, whether they are lead comments or replies, and readers can easily skip streams that don’t interest them. I’ll submit this request to Substack, but I’m putting it here, too, because I’d like to find out whether other Letters readers find reply-streams annoying and whether they think the NYT method would help. To bring the idea to the attention of readers, I’m using a dirty trick that I see in commentary streams here and in the NYT, WaPo, and other publications. Namely, I’m posting this comment as a reply to a popular message, even though the comment is irrelevant to that stream. Sorry, Will from Cal, Joan Leslie, and Deepak Puri. Won’t do it again. Probably.
And since many Americans get their information through comedians, Conan O’Brien interviewed Joe Biden for his podcast last December. It gives a great sense of Biden’s actual cognitive abilities, his values, and his integrity. It’s a great listen. I’m passing it on to fence-sitters. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend/id1438054347?i=1000639169916
Thanks MLRGRMI. I love the voice of Joe Biden and am so grateful for him fighting to be our President; to encourage us to save the soul of America. He's nothing less than a true American Hero!
Thank you! I didn't know. I'm posting on FB and X (Twitter) with this comment:
Is President Biden too old?
If you want to vote for a president who cares about saving democracy, but are afraid that President Biden is "too old" and/or has dementia, PLEASE take a few moments and listen to him during this conversation. Get your evidence first hand."
This is a podcast with Conan O'Brien, be sure you listen all the way to where they take off to see to "see the oval". Some great moments toward the end especially. I agree this is an impossible conversation for anyone even slightly demented. Some good laughs too.
If I made this remark about checking translations, it is because I have over half a century's experience as a translator and still see that most people haven't a clue what this work involves.
From time to time I take a look at one of the latest IT efforts -- mostly into English, my native language. Some very straightforward texts come across quite well. The information is all there, maybe a phrase or two need correcting or improving. Messages that called for some hard thinking on the part of the writer risk coming out as gobbledegook.
This morning I read an obvious machine translation, and its broad meaning could only be construed if you had some inside knowledge of the subject matter.
I was reminded of a crucial scene in Andrei Tarkovsky's film The Mirror, in which a proofreader wakes up in the morning with a severe panic attack and rushes to the printing works where an important political text is already being turned out... to check a single word. Under Stalin, a single embarrassing misprint and she and others could have been shot.
I and my colleagues may never have run such risks, but every single word in an important policy statement was carefully weighed up. Not work that could be performed on automatic pilot...
Bear in mind that every language represents a different culture, a different way of thinking, so that a perfectly normal expression in English will sound very strange in Spanish. Even more so when we're translating from or into, say, Japanese.
Day in, day out, what the president says gets misconstrued or misrepresented by English-speaking fellow Americans... Need I say more?
Yet, even some insiders have trouble coping with cultural diversity... In France, where I live, the French way of doing things is often seen as the only conceivable way...
I'll never forget a French jurist arguing that a German expression was impossible because it couldn't be said in French...
Constant refrain of a naive young man observing the world of politics from the wings.
I am no cynic, except in the original doggie sense, but by the time that "What's in it for ME?" ousted "What's in it for us?" I'd understood how widespread cynicism and dishonesty are.
All that has become so much more flagrant since November 2016... when straight discussion with people holding different views was still possible and you could still understand where the other was coming from.
Thanks Deepak. The GOP realizes how large and important the Hispanic speaking block is.
After the 2020 elections, a Democrat Congresswoman talked about how the GOP took out full page ads in the local Spanish language newspapers full of lies and misrepresentations about her and other Democrats.
It seems that when the media talks about voters of color it's always blacks and never any other voting blocks. People of color are not mutually exclusive. Bring them all into the tent!
I think you're right on. The challenge is that many groups and campaigns do not have the funds or capacity to translate their content into other languages, espeically in a timelly manner. That's where AI supplemented with human editing can help. There's a good group called Ethnic Media Services which is a collection of 600+ publications, radio stations and TV stations that target minority communities. https://ethnicmediaservices.org
I knows it's not cheap to translate content, but what other languages besides Spanish, Chinese and Korean should be translated for this site? French? Hindi?
So many countries speak fluent English they may not need translation like India and Pakistan and most of the European countries.
There are programs that will automatically translate content into those and other languages with AI. Actually about 32 languages. But I had limited time so I just did a few to illustrate the process. it only costs about $5 to translate a video including the human labor involved to proofread the machine generated transcript first.
I'm hoping that native speakers of these languages verified the translations. I remember when a friend of mine who was a re-enactor with the local Minutemen went to a sister city meeting in France. They had the Google translator translate their speech into French. It translated "Minute Men" into "tiny men." Ever since then, I've been skeptical of machines' ability to understand words with multiple meanings and to pick up nuance.
I wish people wold refrain from conflating the horrible 45th pres with a body part that for many of both genders is a very attractive secondary sex characteristic. The derriere actually evolved--along with the nuchal ligament, the achilles tendon, and body hairlessness--to enable our ancestors to run, which they did to catch prey animals, which lacked our stamina, and overheated when they ran due to said hair. Harvard's Daniel Lieberman is the expert on this stuff.
"Corporate Joe" Biden hails from tiny postage-stamp Delaware, a suburb of Wall Street and a tax haven for corporate headquarters.
"Corporate Joe" Biden and his fellow Vampire Liberals fund Worthwhile Programs by selling Treasury Bonds to suck money out of foreign countries, depending on the imperial power of the Almighty Dollar to add to the Unpayable Debt.
(Vampire Conservatives, on the other hand, suck money to give tax breaks to the rich.)
Zombies don't think. Zombified Vampire Liberals like Heather Cox Richardson DON'T THINK about where the money comes from for President Biden's Worthwhile Programs.
By far the largest fraction of our large deficit was caused by crooked Republicans lying about "fiscal responsibility" while simultaneously cutting taxes on their Oligarch butties.
Reagan alone, after Carter ran a four year surplus, added $3.1 Trillion dollars during his 8 years of "fiscally responsible" bit of BS. That is like $40 Trillion or something in today's dollars.
So, I know you don't like Biden because Putin is paying you to not like him and post here, but, really, Trump added more to the deficit than Biden, yet, you are blinded by the money Putin is paying you to post here.
I simply shared the truth with you. My apology for upsetting your fragile ego with a bit of reality, but, hey, I live in reality, why not you? Equality is my goal.
Democrats are also playing their role in the slow-motion ruin of our finances. President Clinton undermined Social Security by loading up its trust fund with government IOUs (Treasury bonds). When the government debt hits the fan, probably through hyperinflation to escape from our foreign creditors, all the old people will starve.
John! None of us are happy with the national debt. Neither are Democrats in our government. I can find example after example of quotes that advocate a re-arrangement of our tax structure to go after the richest persons and businesses. They come from Democrats and democratic socialists. Which, if implemented, would again run surpluses, and reduce the debt. If implemented - there are powerful special interests and a strong political party that will do anything to make sure it doesn't get implemented. Don't blame Democrats.
Each comment posted on here offers the opportunity for others to 'like, reply, or share,' all postitive choices, two of which do not involve writing one's own comment.. Substack ought to offer a further option, 'to dislike,' a simpler way of disagreeing other than posting a reply. Then the number of 'likes' and 'dislikes' could be compared on a level playing field.
Yeah...when the troll starts with the ad hominem attacks, it's pretty clear that the troll hasn't got anything substantial to say (not that he ever does, anyway) but is merely trying to provoke and thusly, earn his "clicks=turnips" pay from some Russian troll farm.
Virginia Witmer - "Please stop wasting time and space with this 'person.'”
Note that every response to him is perceived as "encouragement" which in every case results in a loop that is, indeed, nothing more than a "time waster" -- for everyone, participant or not. Never a move forward.
Geeze Louise Schmeek, Did someone cut you off on the road or something? You have to be the nastiest commenter ever! Most of us would be happy if you would go vent your negative comments about our President and beloved Historian someplace else!
If your post is more than just rhetoric, then we could have an exchange of views. The way I see things, Biden, after stealing the nomination from Bernie Sanders, had to get real liberal to get Bernie's voters to show up on Election Day. ...
It was Hillary who sort of stiffed Bernie in 2016. Biden had nothing to do with Bernie at all. But, keep feeding us what Putin wants you to. It is really having a big effect here. Who knows, we all may become big Putin fans as a result.
But, you have a ways to go to earn your money that Putin is paying you. Better get on your knees. Putin does not like failure.
I think I'm beginning to understand you, John. You're a disenchanted Bernie boy. Well, listen, I was a Bernie fan, too, but things didn't work out. The problem with so many idealists, such as yourself, is that you refuse to allow for the good when you can't get the perfect. I have been pleasantly surprised by Joe Biden- an infrastructure bill, the Chips and Science Act, a lot of student debt forgiven, some control over insulin and other critical drugs just to name a few of his accomplishments that benefit everyday people. Take off the rose colored glasses, John, and you might see that there is a huge difference between Biden and Trump.
I remember, as a child, Bernie was mayor of nearby Burlington. My father didn't think it was bad that Bernie was a socialist, but others clearly did.
In general, I've thought of Bernie as being better than most politicians, but I've never really been one of his fans. He has worked within a broken system to get some good things done, including succeeding in imposing some of his agenda on the Biden administration.
I can tell you are idealistic, John. Just not very realistic. Still and all, we need a few dreamers to set the bar. Just don't be so hard on Uncle Joe and don't equivocate when it comes to Biden or Trump- I don't think there will be a place for any kind of dreamer under a tyrannical government, which is what Trump promises.
I don't charge for things. I have an honest job and I say what I think, and I am capable of changing my mind if people convince me that I'm wrong. My agenda is here:
What a wonderful thing to do. Thank you so much. President Biden doesn't yell and scream but his words make sense and call us to our better selves. How good to broadcast them loudly and clearly for everyone to hear.
A point of comparison between the two candidates in 2020 and 2024 that I am surprised more people are not making is that they *both* appeal to a sense of American values that seem "lost," even if neither candidates' supporters are so good at naming exactly what it is they are gravitating toward when they find a candidate's persona resonating. The whole country knows something went amiss in the last few decades, and there is something we need to pick up again before we move forward, as if we are quickly driving back home to turn off the stove before we get back in the car and go to work again. We all want some of what we had, and some of what we never had yet. (For anyone under 40, the "what we had" part is almost entirely mythical, but I digress.) The chasm between the two elderly candidates and their supporters is down to one set of "lost values" being cheap facade for a vitriolic litany of grievances, while the other set is of the more down-home and down-to-Earth "Keep Calm and Carry On" variety.
My Nana (Dad's Mom, born 1913) told a simple anecdote that he passed along to me about the general American spirit in the Depression. One night while living in NYC studying nursing, she lost her coin that was needed to take transportation home. She and her friend who was accompanying her began asking around to strangers to see if anyone would be generous enough to help a young woman get home. Most people showed sympathy but had literally not a cent to spare. Someone decided they could part with a penny and began to help them ask around. Eventually they had the few cents needed, and made it back.
No "well they should have been more careful." No "it is probably a trick." Even on the streets of NYC people pitched in for a fellow American. Even when all you had was literally a penny. It was called COMMUNITY, it was called PATRIOTISM, and this is the attitude we are missing today, frankly. I think this is part of the reason President Biden has been as successful as he has been, and why so many in the media and our country as a whole are loathe to admit it. His mindset comes from this earlier era, and he has lived a long and full life already, seeing the arc of our country and our society for three-quarters of a century. He seems to genuinely believe that operating from a place of common sense and positivity is the best way to build unity and hope for the future. You know, the *good* part of the supposed "good old days," our ***actual*** "traditional values." He refuses to lead through drama and pettiness, and frankly it seems like a lot of people get high on that and are a tad resentful that he refuses to provide it for them. When he stands up and says "we have to remember who we are," that is what he means and what people his supporters - myself included - hear. We hear basic decency, common sense, empathy, integrity, and work ethic.
Conversely, the idea that "Make America great again" could ever be viewed as a patriotic slogan is maddening to me. If you truly loved this country and thought this country was great, you wouldn't need to return it to greatness (the "again" part), it would already be the case in your mind. What those words say is that your ability to have love and pride for your country depends on whether or not our society takes the form you prefer, and that form alone, for your version of the country is the only true one, and any deviation is so unacceptable that you are willing to erase the present by force (the "make" part) in order for you to have your pride in country back.
I don't love everything about the present state of the good ole USA, far from it, but I still love the USA. Period. Just like I think my brother is annoying as crap and was happy when he moved out, but I still love him and would give him a bone marrow transfusion if necessary. It is the difference between conditional versus unconditional love, and patriots have the latter. Patriots have hope and positivity, not blame and resentfulness. Period. Patriots build bridges, both literally and metaphorically, not walls, either literally or metaphorically. Period. Patriots believe that the country can be the best version of itself that it can be, and are excited about the future, and willing to work to make it so. Period.
Regardless of the sense of doubt and anxiety the media is attempting to instill, I know which version of old-fashioned, patriotic values resonate with me, and I will be working this year to re-elect the candidate that continues to reflect them. It really is that simple.
I love what Will said. There is so much more than just "me" and "we"", although that is pretty much true. I think there is a lot of fear of the unknown among Trump's base --the "socialism" , the "gays", the "liberals", the "immigrants", the "books", and whatever else they see as threatening their way of life. I was a teenager who listened to Mc Carthy hearings, and today's politics are just as filled with hatred of "the other" as those days when it was people called "communist". This is hard to counter with just information, even if they are told about what Biden has done to make their life better.
So it is... Education is key. The MAGAts don't know "the other", and that's why they are afraid of "them". Ignorance breeds fear, fear leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. The Republicans have done everything in their power to keep their base undereducated, and it pays off (for them)...
The MAGA slogan pissed me off to the max. Still does. I thought who is stupid enough to buy that. When I hear them interviewed, it is clear that stupid is the operative word.
Jeri, to me it sounds a lot like my seven year old sister (who’d been “fetching” for our broken-legged grandmother while our mom was at the grocery store) when our mom got back from the store. She said “I quit! I don’t want to be a grownup anymore!”
The ones I’ve talked to seem to want to return to a time when they had a “parent “ who made all the choices and was responsible for their welfare, even if the “parent” acts like a drunken con man and burns the house down. And, like the spouse of an abuser, the more someone points out the abuser’s bad behavior, the more they defend him/her. The book “Beyond Contempt” by Erica Etelson explains it better than I have and offers hope.
You are right, I’m a tired old grandma, but no, I would NEVER defend abusers bad behavior. Nor republican’s treasonous behavior. I will never get that old and tired.
Jeri, my point is that it’s very hard to admit that you were tricked into giving your heart and soul to an abuser. Spouses keep telling themselves that the abuser will get better, that they only act that way part of the time. Look how the MAGA people are gaslighted into isolation as far as news is concerned , much like an abuser isolates the victim from friends and family. Trump uses mob tactics: first request is for a small thing, then for a bigger illegal thing…until the person is in deep. No one in Trump’s orbit manages to keep their reputation intact —and, when they finally find their red line, he attacks them.
I had a best friend who was excellent example of that. Smart, more intelligent, but bullied (gently) for the 20+ years that I watched from the sidelines. Now it’s a national epidemic. No argument here. It was her vision of “ideal family” that kept her sucked in. In the end, they look great, but there are holes I could drive a semi through that are not posted on FB. Phony perfection is quite a draw I guess.
Mary, Having been in that type of situation for several years, I ask myself why I haven't seen the similarities. You are absolutely correct. Those who stick with him are either too stupid to see what's really going on and/or too embarrassed to admit they've been scammed. And by staying linked to the scammer, they think they are saving face but really, the only people that agree with them are also being scammed. It's a very sick cycle of behavior to be involved in and it takes much strength and introspection to escape from their grasp.
Jeanne, that’s why the advice in the book “Beyond Contempt” is so useful. The author shows ways to allow people to see for themselves through skillful interaction. It’s a game changer. I hadn’t realized how the wording of my questions indicated superiority and closed down the conversations.
"Just find me a few votes. My people and I will take it from there." Haven't we heard that from SOM himself? What can they do to you if all you do is "find" a few votes? The picture of a mobster (M above) couldn't be clearer.
Mary, back during the 2020 election a friend and I were discussing the candidates and I asked how could anyone in their right mind still support Trump. She talked about a study that showed brain differences in conservatives and liberals. Conservatives desire authority (parent figure?) more than liberals.
Thank you so much for this link. I had read of a study (lost the reference) where a very small study (sample group about 10-20) split between those who self-identified as "liberal" or "conservative". They were hooked up with brain monitoring equipment, and asked to make a decision on an investment: high risk/reward or low risk/reward. Interestingly, the answer each participant chose reflected no affiliation with either liberal or conservative, it was a mish-mash.
What was really measured was the area of the brain used in the decision-making process: In conservatives, it was the midbrain, where the amygdala lives and in the liberals, it was the frontal cortex, where complex thought and reasoning live.
I am not an expert, by any stretch of the imagination, but when your primary processing center is the threat assessment department, much of your "daily input" is assessed as danger/no danger, there isn't a lot of room for complex thought. Conversely, if your primary processing center is for complex thought and assessment, you're going to be very slow to respond to a threat as you analyze it.
Note: My interest in this was as a law enforcement trainer, and figuring out ways for people to get out of "flight or fight" and into rational thought as fast as possible balanced with a way to teach complex thinkers to do a quick "threat assessment" before trying to "reason" into a situation.
I listened to a beautiful podcast interview with Tracy K. Smith, former U.S. Poet Laureate. The podcast was City Arts and Lectures. Responding to a question about how to handle conversations with far right people, she said (paraphrase) she thinks of them like a little brother who is cross about something. You don't belittle or dismiss him, you help him understand and grow past his tantrums. I recommend this interview. Tracy's view of America is inspiring.
I believe you mean Tracy K. Smith, the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019, and is also the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
Beau of the Fifth Column sometimes wears a shirt in his videos that says, "You traded your country for a red hat." A pretty good summary in my opinion.
Jeri, I came across a recent video, " Iowa's Christian conservatives follow their faith when voting, and some say it leads them to Trump." Members of an Iowa Church of God praise the MAGA theme.
"Who is stupid enough to buy that?" you ask.
Here are some answers to your question:
*One man "felt that the former president exemplified what Jesus would do."
(Despite the fact that Trump has "focused his 3rd
campaign around the message of retribution and
harsh justice.") However, this doesn't seem to be discouraging evangelicals to change their beliefs.
*One 72 yr. old man "likened Trump's legal troubles to a crucifiction. I think they are doing the same thing they did to Jesus on the cross."
* "I think God used that man to govern in Godly principles."
* "I want him to lead our nation back to that city on a hill- shining city on a hill."
* "MAGA is about returning the country to the Christian principles I belive it was founded on."
* "I definitely take my belief and understanding of the Bible into the voting booth with me."
The producer of the video, Michelle L. Price says, "Trump best aligns with their faith, suggesting his tough stance on the border, and calls for harsher punishment for crimes reflect a sense of justice they see rooted in Christianity."
I found that "God Made Trump" video blasphemous, appalling, and completely disgusting. These deluded people are no more following the teachings of Jesus than a man in the moon. Trump is being held accountable for the first time in his miserable life. I hope he is convicted on every single charge and sentenced to exile in Gitmo.
It’s ignorance, bad food (Big Ag), endless sitcoms (no movement), the failure of the education system to educate (the loss of core curriculum values), and watching FOX news (endless propaganda), etc. sadly too, sports are no longer for fun, only for money.
Yeah, I've seen that as the University of Oregon has abandoned the Pac 12 to go into a bicoastal conference. Works great for football (one game a week). Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse... not so much.
HCR did a wonderful job of bringing out the kind of speeches that Biden and Harris have been making all along. Let’s help by sharing this article with the 🎃🤡💩 tfg supporters AND remind these good christians that he cheated on all 3 of his wives.
Pam, death star is the antiChrist and what they said tells me that they have no idea of what Jesus said or represents....exemplified what Jesus would do....gag me. And what part of the Bible goes into the voting booth, the OT, certainly not the first three Gospels. These are the same people who sit around and judge everyone else while not attending to the logs in their own eyes.
Didn't Jesus say, "Judge not, lest ye be judged"? and " Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye.?" (Matthew 7)
Yes, he did....hence my comment about the log in the eye. I also thought about judge not. They are exactly the type of people Jesus spoke against....people who pray loudly in the Temple. Form but no essence.
I also watched it on PBS. I made it through most of it but had to turn it off when the minister compared Trump's legal issues to his idea of Jesus. I'm not even religious but I just couldn't believe the level of stupidity. To think that a person like that actually leads a congregation of people is terrifying.
I have seen videos of such interviews. Resembles NOT at all the Jesus I learned about as a young person. "Shining city on a hill." Daddy Bush's verbiage as he approved the Willie Horton ad. Hypocrisy on steroids.
Yes, and, of course we know that Jesus was all about making punishment harsher and rejecting the stranger in our midst and exacting "retribution". These ignorant people don't even know what Jesus demands of them. And I'm afraid they don't deserve the beautiful democracy that is about to be destroyed.
Pam Taylor - "Jeri, I came across a recent video, 'Iowa's Christian conservatives follow their faith when voting, and some say it leads them to Trump.'"
Will, from Cal, thank You for your contribution. You are helping to restore the American mind, which some among us appear to have lost. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your words. I'm going to save it, print it, maybe tape it on the wall above my desk, to be reminded. Too often I find myself forgetting what politics was like in the '50s and '60s and into the '70s. The Old School politicians could argue vehemently all day long, yet remain true friends. Surely it couldn't hurt to dream that we can achieve that again.
Very insightful, Will. Biden is trying to lead by able example, Trump is trying to rule. The bygone values you speak of I see simply as values - so, I suspect, did people like Plato. I don't think honesty, respect for truthfulness, community, or courage are generational values, they have been shared by the true builders of the human spirit for a very long time now. Thanks for picking up the torch.
I still see those values in the same places that are deeply divided like where I live. Just one, before I entered the grocery store I noticed a car littered with pro trump slogans & anti liberal ones. A man coming out held the door as I entered & then got into the trump mobile. I have encountered kind acts in venues devoid of political energy.
This is the brain-breaking thing, isn't it? I see it in a few members of my own extended family. So many people who are kindly in daily interactions are supporting truly heinous people in their quest for power. It's really hard to square.
My aunt has never been anything but lovely to me. If I was asked "Is she a good person?" I would feel compelled to say yes. But what if I did not have that vested interest? I think of voting/donating/supporting as an active choice. If she is still agreeing with and supporting people I think are objectively evil, that means her actions are making the world worse. At what point does this continuous negative moral act outweigh the positives? Like, what if you mug some old ladies BUT ALSO make everyone at the children's hospital a birthday cake? How would that work? Conversely, I wouldn't think of an otherwise horrid person as forgiven because they voted "the right way."
We are now having to morally philosophize when we used to just say "oh well, she has her opinions" and it is exhausting.
I wonder how many of these people hold their nose when they vote for the massive RINO & any one with an R next to their name rather than do anything but vote for a D?
What a beautiful point of view and reflection. It truly brought tears to my eyes. It helped me become centered. Thank you. Will from Cal. I am Vee, formerly from Cal.
Aww, you guys make me smile! I'm always here! I just usually don't log in until it is the next day and all you other brilliant folks have said everything that needs to be said. I got here "early" today and couldn't sleep, so what is a guy to do but start gabbing?
IMHO Will, your comments are not gabbing. Stefanik, Jordan,Johnson and the other fascist criminals are the gabbers. Gabbing is thoughtless and trivial speech. So we need a better word for what people like you who are trying to save democracy are doing. 🏆👏🏼👍🏻
Isn't it funny? I always thought of gab as a vaguely fancy chatting, because I think I had only heard "gift of gab" in old books when I was a kid. But looking it up now, it indeed says that it is an archaic word that indicates trivialities and gossip. So I just learned that while I may still gab once in a while, I no longer WANT to be seen as gabbing now that I know what it means more clearly. Thanks, Gigi!
I remember my grandfather telling me about people leaving a penny tip during the Great Depression, as what they could do to show appreciation, and for many years after, always adding an extra penny to the better tips they could afford even if the tip was already very generous.
My mother-in-law continued the practice well into the years when dementia had started taking hold, but we were fortunate to find a few who graciously accepted the extra penny whether or not they knew of the old custom (a few I checked with, did know).
So moving. Nana passed when I was quite small, but the thing I actually remember is her always giving me quarters and dimes. I thought they were fun and shiny things to add to my toy that looked like a see-through ATM, because even 25 years ago a quarter would get you approximately one half a dust bunny, but I now know that to her younger self that would have been an extraordinary thing to be given out of the blue.
She also carefully took off the wrapping paper from gifts, rather than tearing it. She wanted to save it for later. The things those people then had to do is so beyond my experience, in a lucky way.
My aunt, who churned butter (she and my uncle had a small house that he built on a few acres of the farm she grew up on), always kept gift wrap for next presents. Now my daughter does also.
Oh, keeping it is definitely the thing to do that would most align with my values otherwise. But since I am thankfully always with family on Christmas, I would get the dagger stares for daring to slow down the process of voracious ripping and tossing that is standard there. So I have compartmentalized this one wasteful thing as allowed under the same "holiday exception" that allows - nay, requires! - me to eat garbage nostalgia candy because "Santa" left it in the stockings.
Your Nana was born three years ahead of my Dad (my folks were old when they had kids; my Dad was 41 when I was born, Mom was 36, and I'm the first born). Both my folks were depression era kids. We saved wrapping paper, monitored coffee consumption, and some other depression-era carryovers.
When they were courting, my Dad would arrive to the diner first, and order a cup of coffee. He'd drink it, and Mom would drink the refill, thus avoiding a penny tax on the coffee. Mom always tipped the extra penny.
That says everything about your Mom's character, I think. Saving a penny for the express purpose of giving it away immediately. Speaks volumes.
It also speaks to the level of trust in their relationship. I have yet to meet anyone on Earth I would drink out of the same cup directly after. But that's my issues talking lol.
Thank you Will for the reminder that my Grandma would always give me a quarter when I saw her during my younger years. After reading what Jim posted, I will remember her in a different way now.
"Make America Great Again," is code for "Make America Pure White." It is a call for White Nationalism, which will be a despotic state that will also punish the ill-informed white (alleged) Christians. Speaking of which, this comes to mind: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34.
Will...this is an excellent summary/evaluation of both candidates. Thank you for sharing your Nanna's story....it sums up, beautifully, the social attitude that lifts us all up. I think/know that social attitude is still out there and I hope the Biden campaign keeps the contrast of the two campaigns front and forward.
And I also hope someone finds a way to introduce the concept that if today your sentiments are aligned with Trump's and you are in the circle of privilege he's promoting... tomorrow Trump may feel differently, and you'll be out.
Only democracy protects us from the whims of a dictator and fascist government.
Thank you Will from Cal. I agree but with one caveat. There are millions of young voters out there and many who will have the right to vote in this next election (my granddaughter is one of them). The message of old fashioned values and community may or may not resonate so strongly with them since their youth experiences have been so different than ours. Even if their parents and/or grandparents have instilled good values, the sense of community is more about their social media presence. They are more about "me". They need to be inspired to understand the danger of either not voting at all or being lured in by people who use fear and loathing to mold their opinions.
Thank you. I always scroll down to check if you have made a comment on the letter of the day. Your ability to give the words to what our common goal will/can achieve is so appreciated. I share your words with others--and certainly give you as the source...Thank you
So, lost American values that "Both" left and right folks yearn for but probably can't describe. I think you are correct. Although the word "Both" was incased in quotes and I wondered why.
John Taylor Gatto wrote the book "Dumbing Us Down" in 1991. I've been paying attention to that premise ever since. At the end of his career, George Carlin had a standup bit about education that matches up to what Gatto wrote about our system of education.
Yes, it's anecdotal but does anybody disagree that one of the values we Americans think we have lost is a sense of is cultural intelligence, kindness, insight and clarity, part of the thing we called American Exceptionalism? And we used to believe that we were the fastest, strongest, best and the brightest, but as a whole, we are getting dumber and we are unhealthy. Then Donald Trump comes along and tells all the dummies, it's ok to be dummies. Be proud of that.
Carlin called consumption a civic duty. I thought he was being funny but he wasn't kidding. I take my consuming habits as a patriotic duty in a capitalist society ...(I kid). The irony is that I volunteered and fought in a war (Vietnam) on behalf of our capitalist leaders because "Communism" was going to take over the world.
Remember the 9-11 speech George W Bush gave on the night of the attack calling himself "A War President"? He literally asked us to continue to consume...keep buying stuff. And we did our patriotic duty, we went to Disney World, bought jewelry, bought stuff. A perfect example of a dumbed down president and population.
The word Culture is critical to this discussion. That is what this whole rebellion on the right is about. Millions of us do not want to accept the objective basis for science, laws and medicine. They want the illusory basis of this idea of "freedom". But pure freedom is not a friend to an 18th century Social Contract based in the premise that some limitations are necessary for a society to operate well and to exist.
Anti-intellectualism really does reign supreme in a lot of places. Somewhere along the line we shifted from "We are the greatest country because we never stop improving" to "We are the greatest because we were made that way and we don't need to try." It's the difference between "I won this race because I trained hard every day, and I am happy to share what I learned" and "I won this race because I'm bigger and taller, so stay outta my way, shrimps!"
You (and George Carlin) are also correct that there is an unmistakable link between this anti-intellectualism and rampant consumerism. "What is this really good for and do I really want it?" is a rather mutually exclusive thought pattern from "buy buy buy!" The smarter people are, the harder it is to make money off them. Who knows, they might end up smart enough to make some money of their own!
I’m almost to the end of Democracy Awakening. As I read, I was thrown back in time to the dark days of Trump’s presidency and was plunged again into the slough of despond I lived between 2016 and 2020 until chapter 22. You reminded me of the men and women who have fought to improve the status of all humans to see themselves and to see the others as equal partners in this Great American Experiment. Trump is a clear and present danger to this nation. He is a fascist with no boundaries. I’m unfortunately terrified all over again.
Lynell, i am not giving up either, ,at least yet. I am appalled and disgusted that this, lower than scum and excrement SOB Donald TUMP is allowed to threaten our President, and threaten anyone that disagrees with his sorry ass. I read some articles earlier tonight that scared the bejeebers out of me about the threatening lies and rhetoric he is now continuously spewing several times a day. Anyone else but him would be either arrested and jailed or be sent to an insane asylum for evaluation and declared criminally insane. The fact that this is being tolerated makes me want to leave here for good and never look back. I just hope the unrest with this crazed and dangerous wild animal isn't about to boil over in violence. I have to admit, i am extremely concerned about this. His half-ass attorneys have become as delusional as he is......
Agree, John. I admit that I am not one of those brave people who..."rush in where angels fear to tread." But I am willing to stand behind the "foot soldiers" who are on the front lines. People like HCR, Robert Hubbell, Joyce Vance, Greg Olear, Jay Kuo...and even Dan Rather!
Too loosely quote Groucho Marx: “A good friend will come and bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'!”
I agree, Lynell. Do you ever read Robert Reich's posts on the Substack site? I am a paying member on this site and Mr. Reich's site too. These are great sites, and i like all of the people on both of these sites. One exception though, i sure as heck don't like those trolls that come on here at times just to stir up trouble. They disgust me.
I also had to limit the number of paid sites too. These emails i get from Democrats asking for donations are too numerous for my resources too. If i donated to everyone that sent me emails, it would cost me over $3,000 a month just by donating $3 to each of them. I receive less than that from my pension and Social Security each month.
The authoritarian mood is spreading widely--threatening to infect many other countries, as well as ours. We must stay here and fight for the country that we want to have, to love & cherish because truly--there are no havens. No place is safe from the infection of authhoritarianism.
Agree that they’re delusional which is a component of their primary affliction - willful ignorance! The majority of Trump’s die hard supporters only read or hear information in which they already believe. Our hope lies in the possibility that there are enough of the “rest of us” to overcome them!
I'm reading Louise Penny's latest crime novel, A World of Curiosities. The prime suspect is a psychopath who is able to penetrate the minds and hearts of even the staunchest defenders of justice. His twisted genius preys on knowledge of others, their hopes and fears, to extract his selfish needs. That's what we're dealing with, and sadly he has beguiled our people, our systems, our country. Not all of us, though...
Think it quite reasonable to be in that ‘slough’ again…means you are awake to the issues…what you and I and everyone on this excellent Letters to Americans DO is really important…my best thought tonight is that it might be a really good idea for all of us to consistently ‘share’ online..here….regularly…what we come up with..love the many language translations that were the opening comment…..ideas are contagious!
Susan, While I, too, am terrified, the antidote, at least for me, is action. Accordingly, some time today, I plan to draft a letter to the White House. Though I will underscore, contrary to Trump who is fueling hate and division, that the President’s Charleston church Address brilliantly demonstrated the decisive leadership this moment demands from Biden, I also will express my expectation that Biden won’t principally be addressing audiences who already share his views. In turn, I will urge the Administration to enlist surrogates to go where the trouble is in this country, the trouble that Donald Trump is stoking, the trouble he is making worse, and show, unlike Trump who presents himself as a savior— particular of white people— an alternate, admittedly arduous, path that seeks, especially for those who doubt Democrats care about them, to remedy legitimate issues and grievances. Additionally, I will press that our party surrogates, without a script, from the heart, speak for justice for safety, for equity, for unity, for reform, and especially for the crying need to bring the country together.
In my view, if said surrogates can craft their messaging half as well as our country’s standout orators, we might not have to live with four or more years of Trump/Trumpism.
Thank you Professor Richardson. I watched and listened to President Biden on January 8, 2024 speaking in SC at Emanuel Church where violence took the lives of parishioners. He is my president. What a powerful speech and speaker. He’s convincing and Truth and Justice must prevail. My heart is full, and yet….
So many citizens say they will vote for TFG. Or not vote. How can that be? In our Democracy. Our United States of America.
Robert Hubbell reminded us yesterday: "We are the majority. Believe it! Act like it!
One of the most pernicious aspects of the unthinking loyalty of Trump's base is that we tend to overestimate the scale of Trump's support. Their stubborn, mindless, vocal support for Trump bewilders us and causes us to assume that it is broader and deeper than it really is. Those who support democracy and oppose Trump represent the strong majority of Americans. We need to believe that fact—and start acting like we believe it!"
"Trump doesn't actually speak for the silent majority."
Tweet by tweet, Trump’s psychotic resentment peels off another layer of would-be loyalists. "Bend a knee" to a soul so twisted, so misanthropic? Trump is unraveling before our eyes, folks. Watch his madcap reaction when denied immunity by a Supreme Court he thinks is in his pocket, posed to bend a knee. Ain’t gonna happen. Courage.
I agree with you Tom. I've seen interviews with voters who supported him in 2016 and 2020 who want nothing to do with him in 2024. The diehard rally attendees are a lonely bunch. Those rallies breath life in these people because they have something to belong too. It gives them purpose where they had none. It's the misfit conventions. They are with their peeps. They have something to look forward to in their small lives. They thrive on victimization. Too many are nuts anyway. The big orange Turd validates them. That's what they want. Your free to be a complete idiot in this country. We have a lot of representation in that department and they love the guy who shits his pants just like they do.
Lisa, watching Trump rally attendees being interviewed is a surreal experience…the jokes almost write themselves. It’s like they attended some Beavis & Butthead school and got a degree in Delusions/Magical Thinking. I don’t understand it, at all, but respect their right to their beliefs.
Well, I'll respect their rights to such beliefs only as long as they stay away from expressing their beliefs violently and keep those dearly held beliefs to themselves and don't require me to live them as well.
They are hysterical. Waiting in Dallas for months for JFK and son to show up at their rallies. Or the one who said they saw JFK JR in a helicopter with Agent Orange and his kids. That just precious. Or the men who grab their own balls when speaking gloriously of AO molesting women. They look normal (some do) and then they open their mouths. It's always a WTF moment for me.
We can keep our fingers crossed, pray and hope like crazy, that SCOTUS realizes that they would unleash their own demise should they find "for" Trumpy's permanent presidential immunity.
@T L, While I expect, based on a bs procedural off-ramp, that SCOTUS will overrule the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove Trump from the ballot, I, nonetheless, can’t imagine the Justices finding for Trump relative to presidential immunity. My hope is that the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling not only unanimously rejects Trump’s immunity claim but also lifts the stay on the 1/6 trial so that Trump must immediately appeal to the Supreme Court. Were the stay not lifted, the delays, starting with Trump’s appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court for an en banc hearing, could set a series of delays in motion that likely would preclude the 1/6 case from going to trial until next year.
I think these people are scared. I think they see the country moving forward without them and believe the Democrats don't have their backs. Fertile ground for a guy like Trump who promises them the world. Biden has to take the fight to these folks and convince them he has their backs. He's got to campaign in places that aren't politically safe for him and he has to do it without attacking Trump. He has to acknowledge their feelings and not just promise to make things better, but show them. Reaching out on their own turf would be a beginning.
So true. As Masha Gessen noted, that has been one of Putin's keys to staying in power: promoting his invincibility and the inevitability, term after tem, of his ascendancy to the presidency. I've been hopeful that the images of tfg sitting and pouting at the defense table during his trials would help shred that similar cloak of "invincibility" his acolytes seem to credit him with.
Replying to my own question and other replies questioning how people can justify voting for TFG, I researched Voting patterns because that seems to be related to families. From Pew
Irenie, i am also wondering the same thing as your last sentence. I can't for the life of me what has went wrong with a large portion of our society. Being taken in by the ultimate con artist and the most evil cretin on the planet has my head spinning.
You don’t understand because you are not in a position of paycheck to paycheck fear of falling off a cliff when an unexpected $400 invoice lands on your doorstep. Chronic economic anxiety is its own trauma, and like PTSD, can manifest itself in strange behavior.
Yeah, um... Democrats consistently win the lowest-earning sectors of voters (plus union members). No matter how many times the "working class anxiety" mantra is repeated, it doesn't make it any more true. Who Democrats lose are working-class voters **who are some combination of white, over-45, and/or highly religious.**
A few weeks ago I had to put my fruit back in the checkout line because I failed to literally count the dollars in my pocket properly, but I didn't walk out of the supermarket going "That does it! Dictatorship for me!" Because while I am (currently) low-income and (permanently) white, I am also under-45, non-religious, college-educated, and the B in LGBT. Oh, and an actual patriot who doesn't lose their values when their bank balance dips. Go figure.
Agree Will, I and many of my family and friends are, with a couple of exceptions, in the lower-middle class or upper-lower class (not poverty) income range, but just making do. Most of us are month-to-month on tight budgets & dread the unexpected emergency & have scant ability to “prepare” for it despite a desire to do so. And yet we all believe in “the Commons”…something we all contribute to and benefit from…readily give a helping hand, if somewhat reluctant to receive one (tho grateful nonetheless). I am so grateful that most of those in my life see our democracy as “we’re all in this together” rather than seeking a way to exclude or demean others. Find it more joyous and satisfying to live life that way.
You are spot on with this, Will. My sister (61, career grocery clerk with the last 5 years (finally) in a Union job) has lived at or slightly over the poverty line her entire life. She is incredibly generous, gives to her community, and is an amazing individual.
How many of working class people listen to the faux news ? Reading what the cult posts on the WH FB page is mainly the same rant with few variations that they are being feed, " costs of living; close the border". The actual facts become twisted projections.
My Mom, yesterday "It just doesn't make sense! They are going to lose the things that benefit them! Why would you support someone who has no idea how you actually live?"
[She turns to me expecting an answer]
Me: [...]
Mom: "They... they just really hate foreigners, don't they?"
Me: [nods sagely]
Mom: **huge sigh** [Shakes head and returns to Instagram]
Not just foreigners, Will -- black and brown foreigners. No one is getting upset about Canadians, Germans, Swedes, et al coming to the U.S. and overstaying their visas.
I grew up in an orange grove, now a shopping center. Growing up in CA !@ that time & working in places with people of different cultures & backrounds , strongly influenced my world view. Now I live in a place if u see someone other than white, you take notice.
I guess we’ll see in November, won’t we? When the Dems start blaming everyone but the face in the mirror for the stupid loss in another eminently winnable election.
I’m a 55 y/o White female with a college degree. I was brought up in solid middle class family. But, my entire adult life has been lived with Reagan’s trickledown economics in place.
My circumstances get worse every year, so sleeplessness over unexpected invoices is a struggle I can relate to. I’ve been working overtime now while it lasts because within the next few years I will have to decide whether I have a car or an apartment since I can no longer afford both. I’ve been letting my landlords use me as their personal ATM machine and giving rent for the next month long before it’s due, to the detriment of other bills and expenses, in hope they will not raise my rent.
My retirement plan is to pray for a lotto win and if that fails, a timely death when I can no longer work.
With all that being said, I never, ever saw Trump as a good choice in leaders for people like me.
Also, I no longer believe that people living with economic anxiety voted for him a second time because they feel their economic circumstances improved because of him. I think they vote for him because their self-image of their place in the social hierarchy will improve and they hope it will lead to a rise in economic hierarchy as well.
President Biden hasn’t helped my circumstances, but he hasn’t made them worse either, and they really could have been during and after the pandemic.
I will vote for him again because I believe he will do for younger regular people what Reagan did for the wealthy, and without prejudice and without destroying the lives of the wealthy like Reagan did to the middle class.
I just hope President Biden he sees and has a plan for the upcoming catastrophe of 40-55 percent of American workers who can’t afford to retire, even when they can no longer continue working. If Millennials and Gen Z thought the financial ball & chain of their student loans was holding them down, wait until they have to support their aging parents.
I am sorry to hear about your circumstances, Lisa. Thank you for sharing something so personal. It is a great illustration of why people report not feeling good about "the economy" even though the economy is objectively good. There is no sense of security for the vast majority of people, and much of that lack of secure sense comes down to the omnipresent state of American life being people making money off you whenever possible while you hope nothing happens to make it worse. Imagine if we had had ONE more Senate vote and the Build Back Better provisions would have been made law and taking effect now. Childcare, eldercare, education, medication, paid leave, housing, loan forgiveness, family tax credits... Imagine the life-changing effect this would have on tens of millions of people being able to BREATHE and PLAN and ENJOY instead of on a treadmill worrying about basics. We deserve better. We should get it for ourselves soon.
Your last point is particularly salient. Honestly, the whole world is unprepared for the shifts in society that will need to take place due to the whole developed world having more elderly than youth. All expert predictions are that human population will peak soon and then seriously decrease by the end of the century. This is sorely needed for both the environment as well as quality of life per capita, but it will be an unprecedented sea change that I will see on my lifetime. Should be interesting.
Your comment about my last point is precisely why we need immigration reform, healthcare reform, housing reform, and to increase entitlements money ASAP.
That is why Biden needs a 2nd term for the economics to reach people in your financial situation. Changing the retirement age did not help either. Health care is now a private for profit $$$$$$ grab. Sorry that u are caught up in this transition that started with Regan.
Lisa, I am sorry about your situation. Millions of people share your situation.
Being a white man born in the midwest gave me a great advantage especially financially. As a computer programmer who started in the 1970's, I worked with many extremely talented women. One of the ladies I worked with started a month before I did. She was even paid $100/mo more. Admittedly, she had a better CV than mine and she deserved it. A few years later, she had her first child. She only took off a few weeks, but because she had a family and a husband the company assumed she would be loyal. She stayed with them for about 45 years and retired from there making decent money, but if she had moved around she would have made much more, especially with her brains and talent.
A few years after starting as a programmer trainee, a company in CA called and offered me a 50% increase in pay. My wife was ecstatic and she quit her job as a legal secretary. She found work easily, but without a law degree and being a woman, she never made good wages. When the lawyer she was working for won a large settlement against Ford, she received no bonus even though she had worked exclusively on the case for over a year. The other lawyer in the office who was male and didn't work on the case, received a bonus.
In the computer world, this is known as "reward for the non-participants."
Anyway, it sounds like you've hit a glass ceiling and are will probably work long past when you turn 65.
As Emma Watson has pointed out- "Fuck the patriarchy."
Lisa, I just wrote to Will about my 61 year old sister (a career grocery clerk) who has lived at at or below the poverty line until she hired on with a union grocery store. She's got no retirement, she has to work until at least 67 to get an almost adequate Social Security benefit.
I was fortunate enough to land a public sector job (local law enforcement) with a fabulous retirement plan (which became progressively less fabulous through time until the early 00's, when it was a fraction of what it used to be). I also have a fiscally minded spouse, who encouraged me to save even more through Deferred Compensation to the point where, at 65, I can live modestly and comfortably.
Everyone knows the best way to help those living paycheck to paycheck is to give a trillion dollar tax break to the wealthiest of the wealthy, then just wait for it to trickle down!
All Trump and the rest of the fetid lot have left are lies and threats and even violence. There are no substantive policy ideas for fixing problems. Just radical, irrational, hateful blather.
It’s not a winning strategy, and as that becomes clear, who knows what their desperation will trigger?
Repubs are proudly corrupt and anti-democratic, they don’t deserve the name Republican that Lincoln stood for. They not only fall short, they reject what the founders of the party fought for.
I hear these headlines as I go about my business. I think, am I really hearing these comments??? It seems as if I have travelled through the looking glass...
You know when I knew 2020 was going our way? It was when the 2nd debate got cancelled, the networks scheduled conflicting interviews instead, and Biden's staid convo with Stephenopoulos got more viewers than the guaranteed trainwreck a few channels over.
For America to choose boring during their TV time, they have to be so over your particular brand of shtick that the likelihood of the show avoiding cancelation is not great.
Trump is a loose cannon who makes dirty deals with the Establishment.
"Corporate Joe" Biden IS the Establishment. Biden hails from tiny postage-stamp Delaware, a suburb of Wall Street and a tax haven for corporate headquarters.
"Corporate Joe" Biden and his fellow Vampire Liberals fund Worthwhile Programs by selling Treasury Bonds to suck money out of foreign countries, depending on the imperial power of the Almighty Dollar to add to the Unpayable Debt.
(Vampire Conservatives, on the other hand, suck money to give tax breaks to the rich.)
Zombies don't think. Zombified Vampire Liberals like Heather Cox Richardson DON'T THINK about where the money comes from for President Biden's Worthwhile Programs.
Vampire Liberals pay for Worthwhile Projects by sucking money out of foreign countries, adding to the Unpayable Debt.
Well-meaning liberals get zombified by Biden's Vampire Liberals when they mindlessly embrace Biden because he supports liberal programs, and they never ask where the money's coming from.
During such a critical time of choosing, let us not open the door to tyranny!
“In Myrtle Beach on Sunday, Vice President Harris told the audience, “[A]t this moment in history, I say: Let us not throw up our hands when it’s time to roll up our sleeves. Because we were born for a time such as this.’ Today, in Charleston, President Biden made the stakes clear: “[T]his is a time of choosing,” he said, ‘so let us choose the truth. Let us choose America.’”
“Writer Todd Dillard declared on social media, "I need Democrats to understand that when a protestor shouts '20,000 dead Palestinians; their blood is on your hands' responding with 'FOUR MORE YEARS FOUR MORE YEARS FOUR MORE YEARS' is the grimmest, darkest thing imaginable."
As of Monday, Israeli bombings and raids in Gaza have killed over 23,000 Palestinians and injured nearly 59,000 more. A growing number of legal scholars and world leaders have accused Israel of genocide, including at the International Court of Justice.
"The Democrats rushing to Biden's defense should realize that chanting 'four more years' in response to a protest objecting to the U.S. government's support of a genocide in Gaza is not doing anything to improve the president's standing as his poll numbers continue to drop," said In These Times senior editor Miles Kampf-Lassin.”
Joe Biden did something very important in his speech today. He called Trump a “loser”. And he did it is a clear and emphatic way that I believe will get under Trump’s skin, especially if it is turned into a campaign commercial / social media meme. Trump cannot stand being called a loser. Yet, that’s the truth of who and what he is (along with many other things of course). Here’s to the Biden Harris Campaign engaging in the kind of psychological warfare it’s going to take to win this election. Trump must be confronted with the truth of who he is over and over again. I believe if done with enough skill, it will cause Trump to psychologically collapse
Seriously, this is not just cathartic but essential. Authoritarians feed off of fear and intimidation. Mockery punctures the balloon.
Von Tweeto IS a loser. He could lose at Candy Land after starting out halfway up the board. He's stupid. A hamster could outsmart this dude. And weak! Downright wimpy. Probably gets out of breath walking to the golf cart, and hasn't seen his shoes in a decade. Old, too! Did I mention old? Between the two roughly 80-year-old men on offer, only one looks like a rained-on Jack-O-Lantern carved by someone with Parkinson's. Who can't figure out how umbrellas or stairs work? You guessed it! Old old old old old. Old with stupid hair and teeny chubby fingers. And... wait for it... drumroll... bad with money! Guy could lose your life savings in a couch with no cushions. No wonder his Dad never loved him. LOSER!
I know liberals hate this cheap stuff, but I'm begging y'all, embrace it for a few months.
Will, from Cal, you have me giggling before my first cup of coffee and that’s a MIRACLE! Thx for your comments this morning. Hugging you from Florida! 😂
I'm going to appropriate your phrase "a rained-on Jack-O-Lantern carved by someone with Parkinson's". With apologies to those suffering from Parkinson's (my mother's last husband died from it - and it is anything but funny).
Yup. The second anyone says "What's your problem? Buzz off!" they get knocked off the top of the food chain. That's why they have to make sure everyone is too afraid to say anything. Some people never leave middle school their whole lives. Pathetic.
As absolutely sickened by the horror Biden has enabled in Gaza and as much as I despise him for it, I will vote for him, if that is our absurd choice, because dump and all the crazed, treasonous Republicans must be stopped. Vote blue no matter who.
I agree with you that what is going on in Gaza is horrific. But it is on the Israeli state and the Israelis. Israel is a sovereign nation. They have made their choice. Biden and our state officials are working behind the scenes to influence, but in the end it is up to the Israeli people.
Israel kicked Netanyahu to the curb just like we did chump. He cheated his way back in to avoid prosecution, just like chump is trying to do. If he succeeds, I won’t support him. The Israelis are trying to throw him out. As we are trying to overcome Trumpism. Despots don’t go willingly, if at all. Big picture people
But we are funding it and shipping arms, and refused to call for a ceasefire. They have said they couldn't do it without us. Whether or not that is true, our financial and moral support for the slaughter of Palestinians is abhorrent to me and many others. The Palestinians have been absolutely mistreated since 1948. Israeli leaders have said they want them killed or expelled. Gaza is a tiny piece of the shore. Israel has all the rest. The West Bank, not even connected to Gaza, is increasingly populated with illegal settlements of violent, hate-filled Americans. It's shocking to learn just how badly and unfairly the Palestinians were treated from the very start. Forced off their land and from their homes with no compensation?!! Netanyahu himself lives in a valuable home taken/stolen from a Palestinian family. It's all been hidden with layers of propaganda, the power of money, the threat of antisemitism, and our sympathy for the horrific Holocaust, but now I and others can see the truth. Gaza has been and is occupied by an extremely hostile state and they have the right to fight back against their oppressors.
Lisa, yesterday Biden let slip that he is working behind the scenes for a peaceful solution. There is only so much he can do; he and Blinken are working to keep the tinderbox of Iran/Hezbollah/Isis from catching the whole region on fire.
Yeah, they should have called for a ceasefire weeks ago. They enabled this and I hope it doesn't grow larger. I truly question their judgment and morals that they have backed vile Netanyahu in his and his fellow leaders' murderous terror on Gaza. They talk about sending the Palestinians to Congo! I would never vote for Biden again if it weren't absolutely critical to stop the insane GOP. Vote Blue no matter who.
Something that gives me pause - and should give others pause - is this: while the Senate is the body actually entrusted with ratifying treaties, only 4 out of 100 senators have publicly and explicitly expressed ceasefire support, and those 4 (Durbin, Merkeley, Warren, Welch) expressed lengthening the November temporary ceasefire if conditions were met (which were not). So there is literally ZERO support at the necessary level of the U.S. government for an immediate ceasefire at this time.
Every person with a heart will have a horrible reaction to seeing what is happening in Gaza, including me. But if literally NO ONE at the necessary level of government is supporting a given position - not even Bernie Freaking Sanders - one could conclude that such a position is somewhere between quite fringe and downright impossible
Lisa, they did call for a ceasefire—and the Israeli government ignored them, saying that they need to destroy the group (Hamas) that is calling for killing all Jews, whatever collateral damage that action causes. Just like “bomb the Mexican drug labs” proposed by a past president to get support, war against an enemy is a relatively easy action to distract a populace from a corrupt leader and disrupt a recall action.
I agree that Netanyahu has a motive to stay out of jail, in addition his other motives. I don't remember them ever actually calling for a ceasefire. They voted no on the UN resolution. Biden has said there should be no daylight between the US and Israel about anything. And they could shut off funds and arms if they chose, but Biden and Blinken are all in.
How much are we really funding? Does anyone know? Prior to Oct 7, Israel had a well trained and well armed military. I’m not sure what if anything we have sent them in military aid since then. The Republicans have refused aid to Israel and to Ukraine until the southern border is sorted out. (A conundrum that ranks about 4th in difficulty just after Climate Change, USA healthcare system, and peace in the Middle East.). So don’t hold your breath about the Republicans ponying up any more funds till after the election.
The number of casualties is supplied by the Gaza Health Ministry, aka Hamas. I reserve judgement until that number is independently confirmed by a neutral party, like the U.N.
Sky, you’re not sure what we have sent them since 10/7 because you are siloed in your media input. Genocide Joe and Butcher Blinken have sent two separate shipments of weaponry, mostly consisting of artillery and tank shells, without Congressional authority, mind you, and that’s over and above our regular four-billion military weaponry outlay, consisting of the bunker-busting bombs that are blowing Palestinian children to bits, and those don’t include the children who are having limbs amputated without anesthesia, who, if they live, will have an immediate future of starvation and disease. It is unspeakable horror, Biden is complicit, as he is in the horror of Ukraine, and unlike Lisa, I wouldn’t vote for a genocide enabler for all the tea in China.
I would never vote for a grifting asshole like Trump, so put that to rest. Those crocodile tears Biden shed about Gaza, after his speech was interrupted by protest in the church yesterday, which Heather notedly failed to mention, were repulsive in their insincerity.
I do not have the time to re-educate you. But time and time again it has been the PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND THE PALESTINIANS WHO HAVE REFUSED TO ACCEPT ANY PEACE OR TWO STATE DEAL.
They should have been given a big beautiful state with lots of coastline and compensation for loss of homes and land and ancient olive groves back in 1948. What the hell were the British thinking? 750,000 violently forced off their land and future Israelis more than happy to take what wasn't theirs. This is the bottom; the rest is excuses and propaganda. We all need a re-education to see the truth. That explains the heavy censorship going on everywhere on behalf of Israel. No need to censor if there's nothing to hide.
Lisa, with all due respect, I suggest that you might spend some time reading about the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It’s one of the most complex and intractable problems of our time, and requires an understanding of the past to understand the present. Some of what you say is true - Netanyahu is a pretty bad guy - but painting all Israelis with his brush is very far from what all Israelis believe. Remember, just a few months ago, demonstrations against his plans for the judiciary with hundreds of thousands of people, that went on for months?
Biden has worked with a lot of delicacy to prevent this conflict from spreading. He has pushed hard for a moderation of Israeli actions. But you are beyond naive if you think that any nation would allow what Hamas did to go unanswered. Hamas itself bears responsibility for the initiation of this conflict; for using its own citizens as human shields; and for continuing to hold hostages. Try to imagine for a minute what three months of captivity has been like for them, especially for the women. Try to imagine that some of those women are likely pregnant now. Hamas was offered ceasefire contingent on the release of hostages. They stopped releasing hostages, so the ceasefire ended. This is on them. I’m not talking about partition or about the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, I’m talking about today’s conflict. Put the blame where it is due, and it is not due to Biden.
Massively disproportionate response is a war crime, as is indiscriminate bombing, which even Biden mentioned. I don't blame all Israelis, but Netanyahu and fellow extremists continue to be elected. How can you truthfully say that the Palestinians were ever treated fairly. No one in this country has been forced off their land and out of their homes since our horrific genocide of the Native Americans. It isn't done, except during wars of aggression or when colonizers do it, in the name of civilizing the nonwhite savages. (Kidnapping nonwhite people from their homes to bring them here to work for free is a variation on the theme.)
On the other hand: The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; Arabic: السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية as-Sulṭa al-Waṭanīya al-Filasṭīnīya), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine, is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over West Bank areas "A" and "B" as a consequence of the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords. The Palestinian Authority controlled the Gaza Strip prior to the Palestinian elections of 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, when it lost control to Hamas; the PA continues to claim the Gaza Strip, although Hamas exercises de facto control. Since January 2013, the Palestinian Authority has used the name "State of Palestine" on official documents, although the United Nations continues to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the "representative of the Palestinian people". Wikipedia
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; Arabic: منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية Munaẓẓamat at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīniyyah) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people. Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish an Arab state over the entire territory of the former Mandatory Palestine, advocating the elimination of the State of Israel. However, in 1993, the PLO recognized Israeli sovereignty with the Oslo I Accord, and now only seeks Arab statehood in the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.
Lisa, I hear what you are saying. I agree with you 100%. It would be morally right to cut off all aid to Israel. However, I think nuclear-powered Israel would be desperate if we were to do so. A dramatic gesture like that would make our country vulnerable (more vulnerable than it already is). Governments need to keep their citizens safe. I think we would not be safe if we backed Israel into a corner. I think the Biden Administration is pushing for Israel to back down. On the other hand we and other countries built this Frankenstein. Years of colonization by Western powers was the model upon which Israel was built. A malignant destructive model. Now what? It is a trip-wire situation. It is awful and heart-breaking. And the hatred and blood lust are not only happening in Israel and Ukraine but in many other places around the world including our own U.S. with our gun violence and violence directed at communities that do not fit the old white man’s burden model--just let me be in charge and I’ll show you lesser beings how it’s done. What needs to change to move humanity forward and away from this destructive mindset? I think we need to start changing minds locally. Individual municipalities need to move away from militarization of their own police forces for example. Too many guns. Too much violence. Too too many of our fellow citizens in prison. We need to work on those problems close to home. Find a new model, one not based on exploitation and domination. Grass roots pushing for change. Meanwhile our national diplomats can hopefully keep us from total destruction while we work locally to change mindsets. Having said all this I am worried we are actually too late--things too far gone and Frankenstein on the loose--to address all the cruelty baked into all our systems. We may be staring down the path to a violent destruction rather than constructive fixes to the model we have been following for centuries.
I do agree with what you have perfectly stated. I do believe it's far too late. Humans in power have continued to show their greed and cruelty as has always been the case, with rare exceptions. And exactly because of greed and lack of empathy, our planet and its nonhuman inhabitants are damaged beyond repair. The powers that be aren't willing to give up their filthy billions to save it in time. Smart enough to ruin it, but not smart or caring enough to save it.
Netanyahu is a criminal. He had a struggle winning his position, as Israel's leader....and yet he did and here we are. I am in agreement with you.
Netanyahu is using us. We need to get out of this situation. We are creating more pain, more hatred by supporting Israel's slaughter and that is what it is.
Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people. Netanyahu has told us who he is and what he is planning for Gaza.....how many times does he have to repeat himself?
Better still, IF WE COULD ALL live together and worship or not as we choose. Faith should be a personal choice....not some forced word stamped on someones forehead in order to stay alive...in order to not lose their home or the lives of their families.
I must trust there are talks going on...I must trust in negotiations but we cannot bring back the lives lost. I do not believe President Biden or Blinken approve. I do trust that they are working to calm this conflict. But currently Netanyahu has us where he wants us. This is a highly sensitive situation. Other countries are watching...our enemies probably helped to "set this up".....to weaken us and to involve us in as many conflicts as possible....to divide our country and to attack our President. It is a wicked web!!!!
Is it possible that Netanyahu set this up? The protective dome was not completely functioning at the time the hostages were taken....there are other questions.
We each should be able to worship as we choose and not condemned. Of course with our choices there should be no killing one another!!!!
Israel made the choice to defend her right to exist. Biden is not Hamas. Hamas crossed the border into Israel on a Sabbath morning to begin terrorizing the sleeping citizens of a sovereign nation. Hamas is funded by Iran (a proxy for Putin) and the Arab states. Think of it this way: you are asleep in your home in NYC. You wake up to screaming New Jerseyites who burn, rape, murder you and all your neighbors because they hate New Jersey.
I see that. However, Israel is making a choice to bomb Gaza back to the Stone Age. And there are a lot of people caught up in it who did not instigate or even support the Oct 7 attack. But they do now. Israel will succeed in turning Gaza into a wasteland and dispersing the former Gaza’s throughout the world, those that survive the onslaught. Whatever sympathy Israel had is now gone for most citizens of the world. Israelis had a choice and they chose genocide.
To understand the sophistication of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, check out the above link. This was a huge step up from the years of suicide bombings, rocket attacks and kidnappings suffered by Israel.
(The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization located in Washington, DC).
If you have the idea that the Qassam Brigades are a small band of freedom fighters, they are definitely not.
Frankly, I think many do know. They just think Israel deserved it. I know it is disturbing to say, and I am open to being challenged and hope to be proven wrong. What I see is that so many have fully internalized the Israel-as-land-stealing-oppressor tropes and propaganda that any attack on Israel is viewed in the same way as an abused child killing their abusive parent, times a million. They will pay lip service ("I don't condone the murders at all..."), but then openly place their sympathy with the perpetrator ("...but this is what happens when you make innocent people desperate.") The extra special thing folks are doing with Israel is pre-emptively blaming it for any future violence ("this brutality will just lead to more youth joining the terrorists"), while also expecting unilateral disarmament with no plan in place ("Cease fire now!").
A lot of people just really, really, really don't like Israel, and see their chance to unload those sentiments publicly.
Let's just take religion out of it.....humans murdering humans for power and control with no boundaries...only selfish control....like two people fighting until both are dead.
No matter the names or descriptions of beliefs....it is simple hatred and greed and power to control.....no one is ever happy or satisfied.
This is another message that the Biden people need to shout. Biden is between a rock & a hard place with his sending weapon to the current Israeli gov . How do u support Israel right as a nation but not its government. The US has been there too
Correct. These difficult-to-impossible choices, where there is no true I-can-live-with-that option, is the downside to holding that most powerful of positions. Armchair analysts and keyboard warriors can praise you or damn you, but they will never have to actually give the order knowing the full scope of what it may entail one way or the other.
It is very conflicting for me, because the US has always stood with Israel, even though I haven’t always understood why. This war is over 2,000 years old!!!! However, I am not sure that is the right thing to do anymore. BUT these actions and genocide belong to the Israelis alone. It does not rest on the shoulders of the US. I do trust that the administration is trying to move the Israelis in a different direction, but there does not seem to be any inclination to move from their position.
It is my personal and very uninformed opinion that there is tremendous national guilt over the treatment of Jews by Hitler in WWII and of our refusal to take refugees from there.
I also have the personal and very uninformed opinion that, while there have been conflicts in this region since recorded history (and before, I am certain), the real issue now is that first Britain, then the US has "decided what's best" in the Middle East (with an eye towards petroleum reserves) since the Balfour Declaration in 1917.
Joint Resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States
1- Netanyahu is a Trump, brutal and afraid of retribution. Very dangerous.
2- Lisa's views (and that agressive sub thread below) are symptoms of how the anti US trolling proaganda is effective and reaching right into the heart of liberal democrats. They are actually managing to turn a tide.
No, that's not true. I have read many different sources and watched videos of what is happening. I support Ukraine. I despise Putin and all murderous dictators everywhere. This is about ending the horror. The US is guilty of many attacks (Iraq, for one) and coups (Chile, for one), but I still want to save our democracy. And the fact is that the majority of liberal boomers continue to agree with whatever Israel says.
Agree absolutely. I'm a grown-up and grown-ups have to make hard choices. It's harder for young folks to see that. It's extremely unfortunate that this occurred now before the election. The US is hanging by a thread. I like to tell myself we're a bit protected living in California. It's all just so cruel, stupid, short-sighted. Humans crazed with greed. We don't deserve this precious earth and all its beautiful nonhuman inhabitants suffering because of us.
Texas is in the grip of governmental insanity. Hope we don’t go national. They have stacked the deck (like all despots do) so very hard to vote out. Appreciate CA. Many CA idiots have moved here. Wish I could come there. BTW, I don’t think it’s an accident that this occurred before the election. Money moves mountains. Or maybe I’m permanently suspicious.
"There are neo-Nazi pogroms against the Roma, rampant attacks on feminists and LGBT groups, book bans, and state-sponsored glorification of Nazi collaborators.
"These stories of Ukraine’s dark nationalism aren’t coming out of Moscow; they’re being filed by Western media, including US-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE); Jewish organizations such as the World Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and watchdogs like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House, which issued a joint report warning that Kiev is losing the monopoly on the use of force in the country as far-right gangs operate with impunity."
It REALLY makes me sick!! So many people are easily influenced, persuaded, and can be so easily brainwashed. By conspiracy theories and alternative realities.
Honestly? The die-hard anti-war anti-Israel progressives remind me of nothing more in terms of rhetoric than the anti-abortion warriors. I mean OBVIOUSLY they have more of a leg to stand on, since in this case actual alive children are actually being killed, which in any working moral system is reprehensible. But...
Read the comments here today. Look at the rhetoric. How impassioned and righteous and florid it is. Look at how quick they are to pull out the most incendiary language possible, to so quickly label a perpetrator, assign every possible bad intent, proclaim they have religiously "seen the truth," and how everyone who doesn't hold their exact level of nuance-free disgust must be damnable and heartless...
Will, you’re right about the contempt and disgust—that’s why I’m trying to get my friends from both sides of the aisle to read “Beyond Contempt”. It’s far too easy to attack someone who agrees with us 90% because they don’t agree 100%.
We’ve been taught for too long to debate with a scorched-earth philosophy when the differences are not great instead of saving that level of fight for the big stuff.
Yes, Mary. Coalition-building and coalition-keeping needs to be our North Star. Many people were awakened into action post-2016 and started taking clearer moral lines about what our values were and what we were not willing to silently accept. That has been a good thing in my opinion, but too many people have adopted a Down with Oppression/Colonialism/Capitalist/Patriarchy!!! mindset - or something close to it - to feel good about themselves, and are finding that it just doesn't work when applied to notably complex situations. It is easy and necessary to take a clear line against MAGA or any number of American domestic issues, because they are so off-the-charts insane and dangerous and by their very nature destroy nuance anyway. Applying this lens to a stubbornly cyclical and entrenched problem of violence in the Middle East? Not so much.
You’re wrong. Just like the New York Times, another liberal-worshipped media outlet spewing American government propaganda and lies. You are being sell-righteous in your own fallacious attack on those horrified by a genocide. Not a good place to be. Own that. Watch the video below, which will explain why you are wrong, using just one, of many, examples of propaganda in defense of genocide.
I am in the same pit of despair Lisa. I look at the Biden WH financial support of Netanyahu’s murderous rampage killing innocent civilians children. Right now as I write, and am sick. Netanyahu does not want a two state solution. He wants to dominate. This goes against everything we are saying about our support for our democratic republic. We can have a democratic state… but support with our money the bombing into oblivion of those Palestinians who were/ are denied access to a democratic life. It sticks in my mouth and heart. So while I was shouting the benefits of a second Biden term in September; now I spend time writing the White House.
The argument that Hamas started it, falls flat. Yes they are a heinous monsterous group. They are everything we hate and fear. But to deny why they and Hezbolah have support; just misses the solution to the violence. And to argue that because they started it, he can murder 20,000 civilians. And cause enormous suffering. It makes me crazy that Biden doesn’t use our leverage to stop the slaughter. Souls extinguished. Each one.
Would Trump do better here … of course not. But it doesn't let Biden or us off the hook of responsibility.
We are going to lose if this continues. We lost in 2016 when the young passed on voting or voted 3rd party, because they were upset about Bernie and the Dem Party. The progressive young and people of color find it even harder to look away from this beast we are supporting.
Many young people care about this war, but I see many more who are MORE about their reproductive rights and the climate. And guns--they've seen too many scholl slaughters.
No question there is a virulent strain of misogyny running through the American populace. But her foolishly injecting race against Obama in ‘08 (Thanks, Bill) killed her campaign then, and then in ‘16, deplorables and Wall Street speeches did likewise.
Margaret, see Will’s comments above on his generation. Few are one trick ponies and climate, racism, women’s rights and gun control are also major parts of their agenda. I have faith.
Remember, Lisa, it was Gazan Hamas troops who began the horrors. They well knew that the Israeli government, filled with those who already despised the Gazans and likely most Palestinians, would unleash military hell on civilians and soldiers alike. They were the trigger for now 22,000+ Gazan deaths, multitudes more injured, even more homeless among shelled and bombed ruins. Most of Israel now has little, if any sympathy for the Gazans. They want their ton of flesh, and have been getting it, with hostages still in waiting, for what?
I have MANY friends in Israel. All pro a two State Solution. All wanting Netanyahu 's head. They had been protesting the authoritarian, far right governance on the streets since January. This could have been prevented. But the ultra Conservative coalition threatened to abandon Netanyahu, who would then no longer be PM and, therefore, would be going to jail for crimes he can only be indicted for after he is no longer PM. Professor Richardson has addressed this in one of her letters! !Do not blame the Israeli people. The majority hate the government. This would be like parents separated from their children blaming us!! We, the people, had no voice in the matter.
One of the many things I dislike about the left these days is how wrong they see the “Palestinian” problem. It’s easier to believe that Israel, with a 20% Arab population, hates the Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza enough to just rampage through Gaza like it was summer camp. In 2005, Israel gave Gaza back to the Arabs. In 2006, they elected HAMAS as their government after HAMAS destroyed the towns, farms, schools and hospitals Israel left intact so they would have a leg up. Neither Jordan or Egypt want the Gazans because HAMAS has, since 2006, systematically brainwashed the citizens of Gaza to hate the Jews.
Just popping my head in the door to point out that Israel has nukes, biological weapons, and all sorts of other things on hand we can't even imagine, and if they actually wanted to commit genocide so badly they could do it literally overnight.
Oh, and almost all war involves massive numbers of innocent civilians killed and maimed beyond recognition. It's just a matter of degrees. That is why war should be avoided if at all possible. I cannot believe the number of smart people who seem to be learning this for the first time. Now make the combat area in question one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, with impovershed and shoddy infrastructure and the enemy combatants fully integrated with civilians (an enormous number of whom support the terrorists, though God forbid you mention that)? Good luck.
Thanks for the heads up, i heard about the huge protests against the state takeover of the courts, but i thought i had heard that even those against him consolidated behind the war effort. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67893122
I am sickened by what Hamas did to the Israelis on Oct 7. Unbelievable horror. And the horror of what is happening in Gaza is not on Biden, but on Netanyahu.
The one of diaper Don? That of white trash Boebert? Subpoena hypocrite Jim Jordan? Functionally illiterate Marjorie Taylor Greene? All the gun nuts eager for AR-15 rampage? The many Republicans on the let's-get-bribed end of dark money? The deviant billionaires running social media hate sites?
Ideologues and misogynists eager to control women? Racists? More racists? Those who would turn schools over to "let's-number-everybody and keep out humanities"? Those would fear books freely chosen by others?
I think the mere fact that we all have that question nagging at us constantly ironically means it is much less likely to occur. 2016 was a sneak attack, and the downside to a sneak attack is that you by definition cannot repeat it. The element of surprise is the central element, and surprise once lost cannot be regained.
It's the same part of your brain that makes you afraid to leave the house after you've been mugged. "What if it happens again and I don't make it?" This whole country is so traumatized, and we can't heal because we keep having to share a friend group with the mugger. Blech.
Will, you’re right. Far too many of us trusted the norms to keep the train on the track. Politicians ignored vast swaths of discontented people who’d seen their jobs disappear and their cultures despised. Trump showed us that appealing to the people who felt forgotten, even if he proposed burning it all down to start over and breaking all the rules, can be a winning strategy.
The good news is that, due to people like HCR, Bob Woodard, Jonathan Karl, Joyce Vance, Jay Kuo and others, we’ve been awakened by the smoke alarm. Now it’s up to us to raise the alarm and work to save the house. It would have been easier when it started, but we can elect people to pass laws to strengthen the norms and shore up the weak parts.
T**** will not win. If, by some nefarious chicanery, he does happen to appear to have taken the election, it will be up to us to make sure he never occupies the Oval Office again.
I don't see, James, how he can live much longer without major stroke.
It's coming, simple result of his being so full of bile, hate, rage, let alone whatever's in his diapers, and whatever chemicals in the orange crud coating his face.
The majority of American people who do embrace facts, science, and evidence must understand this could be the last time in generations that the United States can evolve toward equity, justice, and democracy.
We have seen the critical appointments to the Supreme Court and other vital judicial appointments stolen. We were angry for a moment.
We saw the legal maneuvering to stop legitimate vote counting in Florida as Bush became President instead of Gore. We were angry for a moment.
We saw the Trump appointments of the vastly corrupt to his Cabinet. We were angry for a moment.
We saw Trump accuse journalists of being enemies of the people, as Hitler and the Nazis once did. We were angry for a moment.
We saw Trump impede investigations, obstruct justice, and continue to do so. We were angry for a moment.
We saw Trump dismiss COVID as being nothing more than a cold, suggesting people drink bleach, while hundreds of thousands died. We were angry for a moment.
There are so many examples throughout my journey through life where our societal reaction to egregious action is met with a moment of anger, and then forgotten. The election of Rick Scott to Governor and then Senator is an example. The elevation of Ryan Zinke, another.
In France, talk of raising the normal retirement age is met with days of rage. In America, when we should be removing the cap on contributions to the system instead of continuing to raise normal retirement age we simply shrug our shoulders and move on.
The American people will be reminded daily by scholars like Professor Richardson, Professor Snyder, and even those who worked within the Trump administration that we are on the precipice of ending the American experiment and replacing it with an authoritarian system for generations. A system that encourages the continued concentration of wealth and power so average worker wages will stagnate. Our children and grandchildren will have to work harder at multiple gig jobs in order to pay rent or live at home, victims of our own indifference. This election not just democracy is on the ballot. So is equity, justice, the climate, labor rights, Women’s rights, voting rights, and so much more.
On a connected note:
In the United States, in 2024, democracy is on the ballot. Recent research states 75% of people consume their news on social platforms. With so much at stake, do you trust Musk and Zuckerberg -or is it time for an ad-free, subscriber-supported civic social network that doesn't sell or share data with marketers, shadowy political operatives, or billionaires.
Proud to be shoulder to shoulder with you and so many others who read the LFAA’s, stay informed, and are aware of the world around us.
It just seems that there is a vast number of people who recognize things are wrong, and yet, have become docile, obedient consumers. Perhaps the Senator Susan Collins syndrome of witnessing egregious actions and expressing a mild discomfort.
Susan Collins sold her soul long ago. Many do suffer from mild discontent and Kardashian distraction syndrome, which is tantamount to Catatonia in my view. I have never so suffered.
I agree, Jeri. I have been angry ever since that monster stepped out in public to claim his “place” in OUR government. I’m doing what I physically and financially can do to rid us of him and his shirt-tail crew. I keep thinking how my self-educated, brilliant mother born in 1914 and raised by a single mother, went through the Depression and WWII always working hard, reading voraciously to understand what was happening here and in the world, always voting, and developing a true patriotism in us. She would be apoplectic at where we are now. Wish we could talk!
I'm not so sure about that, actually. Talking to people using a frame they have already demonstrated a willingness to engage with ups your odds of breaking through a heck of a lot more than insisting their whole way of thinking is wrong. I mean, it still probably won't work, but it has a smaller chance of not-working than the other way, and at least holds more potential for fun "gotcha!" moments.
Today I gave a second donation online to Dem candidate that I like…normally one would have been enough in ‘normal times’ these are NOT ‘normal times’…think a LOT of ’extra Effort’ is required this round….what it is depends on each of us…how much is the MAXIMUM….possible !
‘Time and voice’ type support is also needed, in addition to funding. Perhaps you could volunteer to make phone calls or write letters in place of making donations? It’s helpful to each focus on what we can do rather than what we can’t.
PitterPatter (either of the little feet or of the heart), Jeri is one of the stalwart supporters here. On a seriously reduced income, a widow, and trapped in Texas.
True, but I’m not a victim, just another one old enough to have seen one pillar of democracy after another fall with so many unaware or tuning in to an alternative version of America. I grew up with a version with plenty of flaws, but hope and progress. This reversed in the 80’s and it seems that it has been one step forward and two back ever since. The chump cult is likely worse in Texas, but it’s worse than any Covid virus. Thank you for kind words, I have appreciated suggestions here and have ways to engage besides being upset. Critical to my sanity.
Thank you for sharing that background info, Ally. Your thoughtful advocating on Jeri’s behalf was appreciated. (Seems like you’re a stalwart supporter here, too!) Such knowledge makes the human connection flow all the more freely.
Apologies to all if I came across as lecturing. That wasn’t my intent. Just saw an opportunity to ‘plant a seed’ encouraging action and positivity ~ and I took it!
Let us choose above all to promote and protect ‘the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity’. A vote is not just a declaration of preference. It is a strategic choice that, in aggregate, shapes the lives of millions, and perhaps impacts the lives of those already most deprived most of all.
It is one small act, but I am responding to GOP attempts to intimidate and silence Dems by resolving to wear a Biden shirt on every grocery run. I hope too that it catches on and becomes a “thing” (maybe, Taylor Swift, if you’re reading this... you could join me. 😁) The intimidation is real. As my friends have applauded my Biden Shirt Grocery Shopping... only my mother-in-law has shared my post. Many have said that posting about pro-Biden anything risks damaging relationships. I feel the intimidation in the Florida pickup trucks displaying massive “Trump” flags. And the “F Biden” flags that seem intended to intimidate and stop “Biden pride” before it starts. So far, my grocery runs in Biden gear have been uneventful. And that fills me with hope that I’m passing a multitude of Floridians who quietly agree with me, and feel a glimmer of hope as we pass in the aisles.
I do this too because I have genuine enthusiasm for Biden/Harris that must catch on if Biden is to win in Nov. “Anti Trump” messages are not enough. I want to turn the “I-wish-we-had-a-different-choice” Democrats into “All-in-on-Biden” Democrats. I hope my enthusiasm beget enthusiasm that begets enthusiasm that snowballs.
Think about it the next time you need groceries. I promise it feels good to wear Biden. It feels good being a one-person-grocery-rally. And it will feel amazing to one day be part of a seven-million-person-grocery-rally.
We converted President Biden's 1 minute message on standing up to Democracy into Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, German and French using AI. It's an important message and it should reach all American, regardless of what language they speak. https://thedemlabs.org/2024/01/06/how-to-use-ai-to-convert-videos-into-different-languages-like-the-biden-harris-ad-to-preserve-democracy/
Terrific!
I thought it was terrific, too. Until I saw they did not include Dothraki and Klingon. How are we to keep the votes of the youth and nerd contingents if we cannot communicate with them in their native tongues? [/sarcasm]
Dothraki speakers are just a bunch of royalists. Klingons, well, I just want them on my side. :)
Where's Spock when we really need him?!
Me too Steve--but I'm pretty sure Klingons are republicans....
Same Steve. Bring on the Klingons!
Not a joking matter, Will.
Grow up.
If we cant even find humor in a situation - it gets pretty sad!
Amen, Maggie!
Live long, and prosper....
At this point in time? How else can we survive?
It is actually pretty sad.
Uh, sometimes humor is what is called for.
Maybe "often" instead of "sometimes"! The deity gave us funny bones because they knew we'd need them!
When the joke is obviously a joke then it is OK...relax, and I am a pretty serious guy, usually the last to see humor in anything.
There is always room for a pause to laugh. It does good to the soul!
I agree with you, Laine. Not appropriate at this point.
Will, I've admired your comments for quite awhile. I have an idea for outreach to young voters and wonder if you'd like to collaborate or point me towards someone who could help me. I agree that humor is a good way to reach all voters but particularly younger voters. I'm wondering if we could crowdfund a pot of money for prizes and sponsor a contest to create viral videos for use on tiki tok or other social media towards GOTV and other priority Dem topics. This could be a creative way to offer content to Dem politicians to aid in messaging, bypassing MSM. I've thought about approaching the League of Women Voters' Education Project, a 501(c)3, to encourage tax deductible donations towards this project. Thoughts?
Bob,
Sorry for the delay in replying. Check out this blog about a nonprofit Students For Justice which gives college interns (mainly from minority communities). One of the things they do is create TikToks. I think it is very cost effective and the students get a small stipend. Glad to discuss further. deepak@thedemlabs.org
The blog describing the groups is at https://thedemlabs.org/2024/01/10/student-activists-make-great-tiktoks/
Frankly Bob..anyway you can capture the ‘youth vote’ from Taylor Swift to viral videos is just fine with me..also like both the Hispanic and black vote and any stray ‘independents’ as well as all sensible women!
I think it is a fantastic idea. I have no idea exactly hiw to go about such a thing and would not be the right person for the set of skills that would require. But there are definitely many who would be, and they are certainly easy to find on the internet! I say go for it!
How about Hindi, Urdu and Arabic? I would say more people speak these languages than Klingon.
Sad that you have to tell us it’s sarcasm
I enjoy reading comments by readers of the HCR’s Letters, but often find it annoying to skip past the threads that fall outside my interests. Threads are often long, so it takes a lot of time and effort to locate the next thread. I would like Substack to adopt a commentary format for their “Top first” mode that the NYT now uses: Comments are displayed in decreasing order of up-votes, and reply streams are suppressed unless the reader asks to see them. That way, widely popular comments come first, whether they are lead comments or replies, and readers can easily skip streams that don’t interest them. I’ll submit this request to Substack, but I’m putting it here, too, because I’d like to find out whether other Letters readers find reply-streams annoying and whether they think the NYT method would help. To bring the idea to the attention of readers, I’m using a dirty trick that I see in commentary streams here and in the NYT, WaPo, and other publications. Namely, I’m posting this comment as a reply to a popular message, even though the comment is irrelevant to that stream. Sorry, Will from Cal, Joan Leslie, and Deepak Puri. Won’t do it again. Probably.
I hope you got the translations checked by competent native speakers of each language...
And since many Americans get their information through comedians, Conan O’Brien interviewed Joe Biden for his podcast last December. It gives a great sense of Biden’s actual cognitive abilities, his values, and his integrity. It’s a great listen. I’m passing it on to fence-sitters. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend/id1438054347?i=1000639169916
Thanks MLRGRMI. I love the voice of Joe Biden and am so grateful for him fighting to be our President; to encourage us to save the soul of America. He's nothing less than a true American Hero!
Thank you! I didn't know. I'm posting on FB and X (Twitter) with this comment:
Is President Biden too old?
If you want to vote for a president who cares about saving democracy, but are afraid that President Biden is "too old" and/or has dementia, PLEASE take a few moments and listen to him during this conversation. Get your evidence first hand."
Thank you again!
Exactly ! Thank you for amplifying this positive message!
You are welcome! It's something I've been feeling called to do whenever I can in those two places - working my way up to Instagram and TikTok!
I heard that interview and wish everyone who thinks President Biden has dementia would listen also. It was a wonderful interview!
Agree, it was a great Interview; very human. he actually wants to listen to others and laugh with them. don't get much of that anywhere else.
“ he actually wants to listen to others and laugh with them. ”. That sums it all up, No?!
Wow. This is great! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
This is a podcast with Conan O'Brien, be sure you listen all the way to where they take off to see to "see the oval". Some great moments toward the end especially. I agree this is an impossible conversation for anyone even slightly demented. Some good laughs too.
And thanks for the share!
If I made this remark about checking translations, it is because I have over half a century's experience as a translator and still see that most people haven't a clue what this work involves.
From time to time I take a look at one of the latest IT efforts -- mostly into English, my native language. Some very straightforward texts come across quite well. The information is all there, maybe a phrase or two need correcting or improving. Messages that called for some hard thinking on the part of the writer risk coming out as gobbledegook.
This morning I read an obvious machine translation, and its broad meaning could only be construed if you had some inside knowledge of the subject matter.
I was reminded of a crucial scene in Andrei Tarkovsky's film The Mirror, in which a proofreader wakes up in the morning with a severe panic attack and rushes to the printing works where an important political text is already being turned out... to check a single word. Under Stalin, a single embarrassing misprint and she and others could have been shot.
I and my colleagues may never have run such risks, but every single word in an important policy statement was carefully weighed up. Not work that could be performed on automatic pilot...
Bear in mind that every language represents a different culture, a different way of thinking, so that a perfectly normal expression in English will sound very strange in Spanish. Even more so when we're translating from or into, say, Japanese.
Day in, day out, what the president says gets misconstrued or misrepresented by English-speaking fellow Americans... Need I say more?
Fellow translator here, Peter!
I'm sure you get the picture then...
Yet, even some insiders have trouble coping with cultural diversity... In France, where I live, the French way of doing things is often seen as the only conceivable way...
I'll never forget a French jurist arguing that a German expression was impossible because it couldn't be said in French...
Das kann nicht sein! (That can’t be - one of Germany’s favorite sayings!)
"But that's not possible!"
Constant refrain of a naive young man observing the world of politics from the wings.
I am no cynic, except in the original doggie sense, but by the time that "What's in it for ME?" ousted "What's in it for us?" I'd understood how widespread cynicism and dishonesty are.
All that has become so much more flagrant since November 2016... when straight discussion with people holding different views was still possible and you could still understand where the other was coming from.
That was my thought, after I saw what AI did to my daughter's fund raising letter for her foundation, which she gave to me to proof!
AI... Founded on the quicksands of good old natural, traditional human stupidity!
Thanks Deepak. The GOP realizes how large and important the Hispanic speaking block is.
After the 2020 elections, a Democrat Congresswoman talked about how the GOP took out full page ads in the local Spanish language newspapers full of lies and misrepresentations about her and other Democrats.
It seems that when the media talks about voters of color it's always blacks and never any other voting blocks. People of color are not mutually exclusive. Bring them all into the tent!
Am I wrong?
I think you're right on. The challenge is that many groups and campaigns do not have the funds or capacity to translate their content into other languages, espeically in a timelly manner. That's where AI supplemented with human editing can help. There's a good group called Ethnic Media Services which is a collection of 600+ publications, radio stations and TV stations that target minority communities. https://ethnicmediaservices.org
What a great site! Thanks for the link.
I knows it's not cheap to translate content, but what other languages besides Spanish, Chinese and Korean should be translated for this site? French? Hindi?
So many countries speak fluent English they may not need translation like India and Pakistan and most of the European countries.
There are programs that will automatically translate content into those and other languages with AI. Actually about 32 languages. But I had limited time so I just did a few to illustrate the process. it only costs about $5 to translate a video including the human labor involved to proofread the machine generated transcript first.
May your efforts pay off. Elections are getting closer and I need to stock up on Lomotil or Imodium...
Well done, Deepak!
Thank you for doing this!
I'm hoping that native speakers of these languages verified the translations. I remember when a friend of mine who was a re-enactor with the local Minutemen went to a sister city meeting in France. They had the Google translator translate their speech into French. It translated "Minute Men" into "tiny men." Ever since then, I've been skeptical of machines' ability to understand words with multiple meanings and to pick up nuance.
"minute" (emphasis on first syllable, which is pronounce just like "my") does mean small, or tiny.
But that was the point. A human translator gets that. The AI did not.
tRump's cult followers (most of them) can't read, plus they would think it is propaganda and they can't even spell that correct.
I wish people wold refrain from conflating the horrible 45th pres with a body part that for many of both genders is a very attractive secondary sex characteristic. The derriere actually evolved--along with the nuchal ligament, the achilles tendon, and body hairlessness--to enable our ancestors to run, which they did to catch prey animals, which lacked our stamina, and overheated when they ran due to said hair. Harvard's Daniel Lieberman is the expert on this stuff.
Perhaps converting it into Malayalam should also be done, as it is the fastest growing language in the US.
Sorry Steve but you have your Indian languages confused, fastest growing in the US is Telugu, official language of Hyderabad and Telengana.
Thanks for the translation of Joe's speech. Hopefully Googles AI system will automatically translate it into all the other languages- a good use of AI
if you take the slightest interest in what Peter says, I do not think we want Googles AI system involved at all.
Well done!
Good idea. But how is the message distributed to those who will see it? On X?
"Corporate Joe" Biden hails from tiny postage-stamp Delaware, a suburb of Wall Street and a tax haven for corporate headquarters.
"Corporate Joe" Biden and his fellow Vampire Liberals fund Worthwhile Programs by selling Treasury Bonds to suck money out of foreign countries, depending on the imperial power of the Almighty Dollar to add to the Unpayable Debt.
(Vampire Conservatives, on the other hand, suck money to give tax breaks to the rich.)
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-national-debt-dilemma#:~:text=Years%20of%20elevated%20budget%20deficits,GDP)%20since%20World%20War%20II.
Zombies don't think. Zombified Vampire Liberals like Heather Cox Richardson DON'T THINK about where the money comes from for President Biden's Worthwhile Programs.
Schmuckle,
By far the largest fraction of our large deficit was caused by crooked Republicans lying about "fiscal responsibility" while simultaneously cutting taxes on their Oligarch butties.
Reagan alone, after Carter ran a four year surplus, added $3.1 Trillion dollars during his 8 years of "fiscally responsible" bit of BS. That is like $40 Trillion or something in today's dollars.
So, I know you don't like Biden because Putin is paying you to not like him and post here, but, really, Trump added more to the deficit than Biden, yet, you are blinded by the money Putin is paying you to post here.
Stop engaging with a troll
Schmuckle! You win the prize! Schmuckle is like a mosquito!
Why is it that anyone speaking out about Biden is called Putanist?
Childish behaviour.
It’s classic projection. #45 is and no one in his cult admits it. So they project instead of believing the truth. Common protective mechanism.
Schmuckle is not anyone, this is a troll.
Oh I am sure you know this Marj. Probably a PUTIN troll!!!!!!! Paranoia in the US reigns supreme!
I've reported the troll. In my experience, reporting them gets their comments eliminated.
...said the thuggish Biden Bigot
Schmuckle,
I simply shared the truth with you. My apology for upsetting your fragile ego with a bit of reality, but, hey, I live in reality, why not you? Equality is my goal.
...said Bad Breath the Biden Bigot.
Democrats are also playing their role in the slow-motion ruin of our finances. President Clinton undermined Social Security by loading up its trust fund with government IOUs (Treasury bonds). When the government debt hits the fan, probably through hyperinflation to escape from our foreign creditors, all the old people will starve.
John! None of us are happy with the national debt. Neither are Democrats in our government. I can find example after example of quotes that advocate a re-arrangement of our tax structure to go after the richest persons and businesses. They come from Democrats and democratic socialists. Which, if implemented, would again run surpluses, and reduce the debt. If implemented - there are powerful special interests and a strong political party that will do anything to make sure it doesn't get implemented. Don't blame Democrats.
Hahahahahahahaahahaha
This system needs an ability to remove this shit
Seriously, John, were you wringing deficit hearts when Trump was adding $7 trillion to the debt?
Wow! You are so confused !!!
So, Tovarich, how's that corner office in the Kremlin?
Another Biden Bigot without a reasoned rebuttal
Will not even offer you a blindfold as we put you up against the wall.
Try offering reason yourself. There is no "Pravda" in "Izvestia." No "Izvestia" in "Pravda."
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Each comment posted on here offers the opportunity for others to 'like, reply, or share,' all postitive choices, two of which do not involve writing one's own comment.. Substack ought to offer a further option, 'to dislike,' a simpler way of disagreeing other than posting a reply. Then the number of 'likes' and 'dislikes' could be compared on a level playing field.
What a great idea, Jack!
I was going to suggest that we reply to trolls with just a 'thumbs down' emoji--but your idea is better. Thanks!
Trolls feed on long replies anyway....
If it's a known troll, it's best to scroll on by. A "dislike" indicates you read their diatribe. They loathe being ignored.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Yeah...when the troll starts with the ad hominem attacks, it's pretty clear that the troll hasn't got anything substantial to say (not that he ever does, anyway) but is merely trying to provoke and thusly, earn his "clicks=turnips" pay from some Russian troll farm.
Please stop wasting time and space with this “person.”
Virginia Witmer - "Please stop wasting time and space with this 'person.'”
Note that every response to him is perceived as "encouragement" which in every case results in a loop that is, indeed, nothing more than a "time waster" -- for everyone, participant or not. Never a move forward.
The bot is back. They could have picked a better name for it.
Actually, he’s a schmeckle-head so picture him walking around that way. Tfg fans are no-brainers.
Biden Trolls have dismissive comments without any substance.
Geeze Louise Schmeek, Did someone cut you off on the road or something? You have to be the nastiest commenter ever! Most of us would be happy if you would go vent your negative comments about our President and beloved Historian someplace else!
Your beloved Historian has become a sold-out Biden shill.
I hope HCR recovers her integrity.
You can be anti-Trump without whoring for Biden.
Would you have corporations subject to some government regulation or none at all?
If your post is more than just rhetoric, then we could have an exchange of views. The way I see things, Biden, after stealing the nomination from Bernie Sanders, had to get real liberal to get Bernie's voters to show up on Election Day. ...
Schmuckle,
It was Hillary who sort of stiffed Bernie in 2016. Biden had nothing to do with Bernie at all. But, keep feeding us what Putin wants you to. It is really having a big effect here. Who knows, we all may become big Putin fans as a result.
But, you have a ways to go to earn your money that Putin is paying you. Better get on your knees. Putin does not like failure.
...said Bastard Breath the Biden Bigot, who wants to drown out any effort at reasoned exchange of views.
Hahahahahahaha
I think I'm beginning to understand you, John. You're a disenchanted Bernie boy. Well, listen, I was a Bernie fan, too, but things didn't work out. The problem with so many idealists, such as yourself, is that you refuse to allow for the good when you can't get the perfect. I have been pleasantly surprised by Joe Biden- an infrastructure bill, the Chips and Science Act, a lot of student debt forgiven, some control over insulin and other critical drugs just to name a few of his accomplishments that benefit everyday people. Take off the rose colored glasses, John, and you might see that there is a huge difference between Biden and Trump.
I remember, as a child, Bernie was mayor of nearby Burlington. My father didn't think it was bad that Bernie was a socialist, but others clearly did.
In general, I've thought of Bernie as being better than most politicians, but I've never really been one of his fans. He has worked within a broken system to get some good things done, including succeeding in imposing some of his agenda on the Biden administration.
I can tell you are idealistic, John. Just not very realistic. Still and all, we need a few dreamers to set the bar. Just don't be so hard on Uncle Joe and don't equivocate when it comes to Biden or Trump- I don't think there will be a place for any kind of dreamer under a tyrannical government, which is what Trump promises.
Bernie bro?
Hahahahahahahaha
...said Giggles the troll
John, how much would you charge to antagonize a party of ten Magats?
I don't charge for things. I have an honest job and I say what I think, and I am capable of changing my mind if people convince me that I'm wrong. My agenda is here:
https://earthwarning.org/index.php/what-should-we-do/
John, don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?
Yes, when I HEAR it. Online, sarcastic intent often gets lost.
🙄
...said Stalker the troll
Hahahahahahaha.
So you now admit you're a troll? Time to retire under your bridge and wait for some tasty goats.
Stalker the troll likes to talk about trolls
Ok, so what have you got that's better ?
For starters, my general approach is here:
https://earthwarning.org/index.php/what-should-we-do/
By the way, do you listen to GasslitNation?
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9nYXNsaXRuYXRpb24ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M/episode/NmRhZWZlZWQtODdhZS00ODc1LWIzMDktY2E0MTI5OTgyZTc5?ep=14
Some of that seems absurd to me; I'm willing to share my views but don't need to argue about it.
What a wonderful thing to do. Thank you so much. President Biden doesn't yell and scream but his words make sense and call us to our better selves. How good to broadcast them loudly and clearly for everyone to hear.
Thank you!
Great idea, Deepak!
A point of comparison between the two candidates in 2020 and 2024 that I am surprised more people are not making is that they *both* appeal to a sense of American values that seem "lost," even if neither candidates' supporters are so good at naming exactly what it is they are gravitating toward when they find a candidate's persona resonating. The whole country knows something went amiss in the last few decades, and there is something we need to pick up again before we move forward, as if we are quickly driving back home to turn off the stove before we get back in the car and go to work again. We all want some of what we had, and some of what we never had yet. (For anyone under 40, the "what we had" part is almost entirely mythical, but I digress.) The chasm between the two elderly candidates and their supporters is down to one set of "lost values" being cheap facade for a vitriolic litany of grievances, while the other set is of the more down-home and down-to-Earth "Keep Calm and Carry On" variety.
My Nana (Dad's Mom, born 1913) told a simple anecdote that he passed along to me about the general American spirit in the Depression. One night while living in NYC studying nursing, she lost her coin that was needed to take transportation home. She and her friend who was accompanying her began asking around to strangers to see if anyone would be generous enough to help a young woman get home. Most people showed sympathy but had literally not a cent to spare. Someone decided they could part with a penny and began to help them ask around. Eventually they had the few cents needed, and made it back.
No "well they should have been more careful." No "it is probably a trick." Even on the streets of NYC people pitched in for a fellow American. Even when all you had was literally a penny. It was called COMMUNITY, it was called PATRIOTISM, and this is the attitude we are missing today, frankly. I think this is part of the reason President Biden has been as successful as he has been, and why so many in the media and our country as a whole are loathe to admit it. His mindset comes from this earlier era, and he has lived a long and full life already, seeing the arc of our country and our society for three-quarters of a century. He seems to genuinely believe that operating from a place of common sense and positivity is the best way to build unity and hope for the future. You know, the *good* part of the supposed "good old days," our ***actual*** "traditional values." He refuses to lead through drama and pettiness, and frankly it seems like a lot of people get high on that and are a tad resentful that he refuses to provide it for them. When he stands up and says "we have to remember who we are," that is what he means and what people his supporters - myself included - hear. We hear basic decency, common sense, empathy, integrity, and work ethic.
Conversely, the idea that "Make America great again" could ever be viewed as a patriotic slogan is maddening to me. If you truly loved this country and thought this country was great, you wouldn't need to return it to greatness (the "again" part), it would already be the case in your mind. What those words say is that your ability to have love and pride for your country depends on whether or not our society takes the form you prefer, and that form alone, for your version of the country is the only true one, and any deviation is so unacceptable that you are willing to erase the present by force (the "make" part) in order for you to have your pride in country back.
I don't love everything about the present state of the good ole USA, far from it, but I still love the USA. Period. Just like I think my brother is annoying as crap and was happy when he moved out, but I still love him and would give him a bone marrow transfusion if necessary. It is the difference between conditional versus unconditional love, and patriots have the latter. Patriots have hope and positivity, not blame and resentfulness. Period. Patriots build bridges, both literally and metaphorically, not walls, either literally or metaphorically. Period. Patriots believe that the country can be the best version of itself that it can be, and are excited about the future, and willing to work to make it so. Period.
Regardless of the sense of doubt and anxiety the media is attempting to instill, I know which version of old-fashioned, patriotic values resonate with me, and I will be working this year to re-elect the candidate that continues to reflect them. It really is that simple.
Summary: there are two kinds of people: those who think “me” and those who think “we”.
P.S. My comment is in no way meant disrespectfully, Wil! I love your story and agree wholeheartedly with it.
I love what Will said. There is so much more than just "me" and "we"", although that is pretty much true. I think there is a lot of fear of the unknown among Trump's base --the "socialism" , the "gays", the "liberals", the "immigrants", the "books", and whatever else they see as threatening their way of life. I was a teenager who listened to Mc Carthy hearings, and today's politics are just as filled with hatred of "the other" as those days when it was people called "communist". This is hard to counter with just information, even if they are told about what Biden has done to make their life better.
So it is... Education is key. The MAGAts don't know "the other", and that's why they are afraid of "them". Ignorance breeds fear, fear leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. The Republicans have done everything in their power to keep their base undereducated, and it pays off (for them)...
The MAGA slogan pissed me off to the max. Still does. I thought who is stupid enough to buy that. When I hear them interviewed, it is clear that stupid is the operative word.
Jeri, to me it sounds a lot like my seven year old sister (who’d been “fetching” for our broken-legged grandmother while our mom was at the grocery store) when our mom got back from the store. She said “I quit! I don’t want to be a grownup anymore!”
The ones I’ve talked to seem to want to return to a time when they had a “parent “ who made all the choices and was responsible for their welfare, even if the “parent” acts like a drunken con man and burns the house down. And, like the spouse of an abuser, the more someone points out the abuser’s bad behavior, the more they defend him/her. The book “Beyond Contempt” by Erica Etelson explains it better than I have and offers hope.
You are right, I’m a tired old grandma, but no, I would NEVER defend abusers bad behavior. Nor republican’s treasonous behavior. I will never get that old and tired.
Jeri, my point is that it’s very hard to admit that you were tricked into giving your heart and soul to an abuser. Spouses keep telling themselves that the abuser will get better, that they only act that way part of the time. Look how the MAGA people are gaslighted into isolation as far as news is concerned , much like an abuser isolates the victim from friends and family. Trump uses mob tactics: first request is for a small thing, then for a bigger illegal thing…until the person is in deep. No one in Trump’s orbit manages to keep their reputation intact —and, when they finally find their red line, he attacks them.
I had a best friend who was excellent example of that. Smart, more intelligent, but bullied (gently) for the 20+ years that I watched from the sidelines. Now it’s a national epidemic. No argument here. It was her vision of “ideal family” that kept her sucked in. In the end, they look great, but there are holes I could drive a semi through that are not posted on FB. Phony perfection is quite a draw I guess.
Mary, Having been in that type of situation for several years, I ask myself why I haven't seen the similarities. You are absolutely correct. Those who stick with him are either too stupid to see what's really going on and/or too embarrassed to admit they've been scammed. And by staying linked to the scammer, they think they are saving face but really, the only people that agree with them are also being scammed. It's a very sick cycle of behavior to be involved in and it takes much strength and introspection to escape from their grasp.
Jeanne, that’s why the advice in the book “Beyond Contempt” is so useful. The author shows ways to allow people to see for themselves through skillful interaction. It’s a game changer. I hadn’t realized how the wording of my questions indicated superiority and closed down the conversations.
"Just find me a few votes. My people and I will take it from there." Haven't we heard that from SOM himself? What can they do to you if all you do is "find" a few votes? The picture of a mobster (M above) couldn't be clearer.
Mary, back during the 2020 election a friend and I were discussing the candidates and I asked how could anyone in their right mind still support Trump. She talked about a study that showed brain differences in conservatives and liberals. Conservatives desire authority (parent figure?) more than liberals.
Here is one account from the Scientific American:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/conservative-and-liberal-brains-might-have-some-real-differences/
Thank you so much for this link. I had read of a study (lost the reference) where a very small study (sample group about 10-20) split between those who self-identified as "liberal" or "conservative". They were hooked up with brain monitoring equipment, and asked to make a decision on an investment: high risk/reward or low risk/reward. Interestingly, the answer each participant chose reflected no affiliation with either liberal or conservative, it was a mish-mash.
What was really measured was the area of the brain used in the decision-making process: In conservatives, it was the midbrain, where the amygdala lives and in the liberals, it was the frontal cortex, where complex thought and reasoning live.
I am not an expert, by any stretch of the imagination, but when your primary processing center is the threat assessment department, much of your "daily input" is assessed as danger/no danger, there isn't a lot of room for complex thought. Conversely, if your primary processing center is for complex thought and assessment, you're going to be very slow to respond to a threat as you analyze it.
Note: My interest in this was as a law enforcement trainer, and figuring out ways for people to get out of "flight or fight" and into rational thought as fast as possible balanced with a way to teach complex thinkers to do a quick "threat assessment" before trying to "reason" into a situation.
Ally, I love the training to deal with threats. I seem to remember a Young Shelton episode that dealt with just that issue.
I listened to a beautiful podcast interview with Tracy K. Smith, former U.S. Poet Laureate. The podcast was City Arts and Lectures. Responding to a question about how to handle conversations with far right people, she said (paraphrase) she thinks of them like a little brother who is cross about something. You don't belittle or dismiss him, you help him understand and grow past his tantrums. I recommend this interview. Tracy's view of America is inspiring.
I believe you mean Tracy K. Smith, the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019, and is also the Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
Beau of the Fifth Column sometimes wears a shirt in his videos that says, "You traded your country for a red hat." A pretty good summary in my opinion.
Jeri, I came across a recent video, " Iowa's Christian conservatives follow their faith when voting, and some say it leads them to Trump." Members of an Iowa Church of God praise the MAGA theme.
"Who is stupid enough to buy that?" you ask.
Here are some answers to your question:
*One man "felt that the former president exemplified what Jesus would do."
(Despite the fact that Trump has "focused his 3rd
campaign around the message of retribution and
harsh justice.") However, this doesn't seem to be discouraging evangelicals to change their beliefs.
*One 72 yr. old man "likened Trump's legal troubles to a crucifiction. I think they are doing the same thing they did to Jesus on the cross."
* "I think God used that man to govern in Godly principles."
* "I want him to lead our nation back to that city on a hill- shining city on a hill."
* "MAGA is about returning the country to the Christian principles I belive it was founded on."
* "I definitely take my belief and understanding of the Bible into the voting booth with me."
The producer of the video, Michelle L. Price says, "Trump best aligns with their faith, suggesting his tough stance on the border, and calls for harsher punishment for crimes reflect a sense of justice they see rooted in Christianity."
Oh my.
I found that "God Made Trump" video blasphemous, appalling, and completely disgusting. These deluded people are no more following the teachings of Jesus than a man in the moon. Trump is being held accountable for the first time in his miserable life. I hope he is convicted on every single charge and sentenced to exile in Gitmo.
They don't know a thing about Jesus or his teachings.
And he wants the country to go into a recession this year.
you and me both, Jenn!!!
You and me both!!!
And Soon!!
It’s ignorance, bad food (Big Ag), endless sitcoms (no movement), the failure of the education system to educate (the loss of core curriculum values), and watching FOX news (endless propaganda), etc. sadly too, sports are no longer for fun, only for money.
Yeah, I've seen that as the University of Oregon has abandoned the Pac 12 to go into a bicoastal conference. Works great for football (one game a week). Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse... not so much.
My U of M won last night. The financial stakes were high. Go blue?
Huck the Fuskies. Except the marching band. They're cool.
HCR did a wonderful job of bringing out the kind of speeches that Biden and Harris have been making all along. Let’s help by sharing this article with the 🎃🤡💩 tfg supporters AND remind these good christians that he cheated on all 3 of his wives.
I started putting the word "christian" in quotes when so many started aligning themselves with Trump.
They are anything but in my estimation. But old, white men have been tainting the bible before there was a bible.
Pam, death star is the antiChrist and what they said tells me that they have no idea of what Jesus said or represents....exemplified what Jesus would do....gag me. And what part of the Bible goes into the voting booth, the OT, certainly not the first three Gospels. These are the same people who sit around and judge everyone else while not attending to the logs in their own eyes.
Didn't Jesus say, "Judge not, lest ye be judged"? and " Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye.?" (Matthew 7)
Yes, he did....hence my comment about the log in the eye. I also thought about judge not. They are exactly the type of people Jesus spoke against....people who pray loudly in the Temple. Form but no essence.
It's so sad that people can spout off about how people should live, claim to follow Jesus, and be the opposite of what they proclaim.
"Oh my", translates to YIKES!
My translation is more profane. YIKES!!! is much more socially acceptable.
Yeah, I thought of at least 3-4 “other” responses too 🤬
Yes it does!
Pam: I watched it on PBS NewsHour last night. All I could think of was those pitiful people. What suckers.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/where-the-gop-race-stands-with-1-week-until-iowa-caucuses
I also watched it on PBS. I made it through most of it but had to turn it off when the minister compared Trump's legal issues to his idea of Jesus. I'm not even religious but I just couldn't believe the level of stupidity. To think that a person like that actually leads a congregation of people is terrifying.
preaching bull schitt from the pulpit non-stop. Keep wondering why no lightening strikes
Pitiful is right.
The question is are there enough of these misguided people to vote him in?
If not enough of us show up, yes. (2016)
If enough of us show up, no. (2018, 20, 22)
Texas and more than a few other states have stacked the deck. No way it can be a fair election. Will take a miracle.
I do believe in miracles, and hard work.
Seems they’ve defaulted to the Old Testament, many tenets of which Jesus denied.
😩😩😩
Sad and scary isn't it?
I have seen videos of such interviews. Resembles NOT at all the Jesus I learned about as a young person. "Shining city on a hill." Daddy Bush's verbiage as he approved the Willie Horton ad. Hypocrisy on steroids.
I like that- "hypocrisy on steroids."
Yes, and, of course we know that Jesus was all about making punishment harsher and rejecting the stranger in our midst and exacting "retribution". These ignorant people don't even know what Jesus demands of them. And I'm afraid they don't deserve the beautiful democracy that is about to be destroyed.
Dave, well said!
Pam Taylor - "Jeri, I came across a recent video, 'Iowa's Christian conservatives follow their faith when voting, and some say it leads them to Trump.'"
One source:
https://apnews.com/article/iowa-evangelical-voters-trump-2024-22f81caeaec48f5206709d0c67df4be5
cult crap, no doubt about it
Sickening.
Indeed
Jeri, you are so right. I'm actually embarrassed for some of them and wonder how they got this far in life.
It is beyond embarrassing.
Will, from Cal, thank You for your contribution. You are helping to restore the American mind, which some among us appear to have lost. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your words. I'm going to save it, print it, maybe tape it on the wall above my desk, to be reminded. Too often I find myself forgetting what politics was like in the '50s and '60s and into the '70s. The Old School politicians could argue vehemently all day long, yet remain true friends. Surely it couldn't hurt to dream that we can achieve that again.
Cheers!
Very insightful, Will. Biden is trying to lead by able example, Trump is trying to rule. The bygone values you speak of I see simply as values - so, I suspect, did people like Plato. I don't think honesty, respect for truthfulness, community, or courage are generational values, they have been shared by the true builders of the human spirit for a very long time now. Thanks for picking up the torch.
Well said. Leading by example compared to ruling by decree. And while leading, always following the path laid out in the Constitution.
"Leading by example compared to ruling by decree."
Kind of like you led by example by coming up with this perfectly succinct phrase, and I hereby decree that it is now mine to use in admiration?
I still see those values in the same places that are deeply divided like where I live. Just one, before I entered the grocery store I noticed a car littered with pro trump slogans & anti liberal ones. A man coming out held the door as I entered & then got into the trump mobile. I have encountered kind acts in venues devoid of political energy.
This is the brain-breaking thing, isn't it? I see it in a few members of my own extended family. So many people who are kindly in daily interactions are supporting truly heinous people in their quest for power. It's really hard to square.
My aunt has never been anything but lovely to me. If I was asked "Is she a good person?" I would feel compelled to say yes. But what if I did not have that vested interest? I think of voting/donating/supporting as an active choice. If she is still agreeing with and supporting people I think are objectively evil, that means her actions are making the world worse. At what point does this continuous negative moral act outweigh the positives? Like, what if you mug some old ladies BUT ALSO make everyone at the children's hospital a birthday cake? How would that work? Conversely, I wouldn't think of an otherwise horrid person as forgiven because they voted "the right way."
We are now having to morally philosophize when we used to just say "oh well, she has her opinions" and it is exhausting.
I wonder how many of these people hold their nose when they vote for the massive RINO & any one with an R next to their name rather than do anything but vote for a D?
Think of the Germans..........1933 to 1941.
"They never hurt anyone themselves in their whole life! They were just trying to protect their own family!"
By ratting out their neighbors to face torture and death for the crime of menorah-ing? Yeah, good luck with that pleading at the pearly gates.
Ha - that quote makes me think of Walter White on "Breaking Bad"! ;)
Will, I think we share the same Aunt, different coasts. Mine lives her faith, serving the poor, but an evangelical through and through.
What a beautiful point of view and reflection. It truly brought tears to my eyes. It helped me become centered. Thank you. Will from Cal. I am Vee, formerly from Cal.
I am very touched, Veronica. Thinking deep thoughts today and it came from the heart. Cheers to you wherever you are currently!
Haven't seen your comments lately, Will. You have been missed.
Miselle, thought exactly that, with a smile, when I saw his name here once again!
Aww, you guys make me smile! I'm always here! I just usually don't log in until it is the next day and all you other brilliant folks have said everything that needs to be said. I got here "early" today and couldn't sleep, so what is a guy to do but start gabbing?
IMHO Will, your comments are not gabbing. Stefanik, Jordan,Johnson and the other fascist criminals are the gabbers. Gabbing is thoughtless and trivial speech. So we need a better word for what people like you who are trying to save democracy are doing. 🏆👏🏼👍🏻
Isn't it funny? I always thought of gab as a vaguely fancy chatting, because I think I had only heard "gift of gab" in old books when I was a kid. But looking it up now, it indeed says that it is an archaic word that indicates trivialities and gossip. So I just learned that while I may still gab once in a while, I no longer WANT to be seen as gabbing now that I know what it means more clearly. Thanks, Gigi!
I remember my grandfather telling me about people leaving a penny tip during the Great Depression, as what they could do to show appreciation, and for many years after, always adding an extra penny to the better tips they could afford even if the tip was already very generous.
My mother-in-law continued the practice well into the years when dementia had started taking hold, but we were fortunate to find a few who graciously accepted the extra penny whether or not they knew of the old custom (a few I checked with, did know).
So moving. Nana passed when I was quite small, but the thing I actually remember is her always giving me quarters and dimes. I thought they were fun and shiny things to add to my toy that looked like a see-through ATM, because even 25 years ago a quarter would get you approximately one half a dust bunny, but I now know that to her younger self that would have been an extraordinary thing to be given out of the blue.
She also carefully took off the wrapping paper from gifts, rather than tearing it. She wanted to save it for later. The things those people then had to do is so beyond my experience, in a lucky way.
My aunt, who churned butter (she and my uncle had a small house that he built on a few acres of the farm she grew up on), always kept gift wrap for next presents. Now my daughter does also.
It’s an ecological move .
Oh, keeping it is definitely the thing to do that would most align with my values otherwise. But since I am thankfully always with family on Christmas, I would get the dagger stares for daring to slow down the process of voracious ripping and tossing that is standard there. So I have compartmentalized this one wasteful thing as allowed under the same "holiday exception" that allows - nay, requires! - me to eat garbage nostalgia candy because "Santa" left it in the stockings.
Ain't that the truth. Book of LifeSavers, anyone?
Your Nana was born three years ahead of my Dad (my folks were old when they had kids; my Dad was 41 when I was born, Mom was 36, and I'm the first born). Both my folks were depression era kids. We saved wrapping paper, monitored coffee consumption, and some other depression-era carryovers.
When they were courting, my Dad would arrive to the diner first, and order a cup of coffee. He'd drink it, and Mom would drink the refill, thus avoiding a penny tax on the coffee. Mom always tipped the extra penny.
That says everything about your Mom's character, I think. Saving a penny for the express purpose of giving it away immediately. Speaks volumes.
It also speaks to the level of trust in their relationship. I have yet to meet anyone on Earth I would drink out of the same cup directly after. But that's my issues talking lol.
Probably where my sister gets her generosity as well.
Thank you Will for the reminder that my Grandma would always give me a quarter when I saw her during my younger years. After reading what Jim posted, I will remember her in a different way now.
"Make America Great Again," is code for "Make America Pure White." It is a call for White Nationalism, which will be a despotic state that will also punish the ill-informed white (alleged) Christians. Speaking of which, this comes to mind: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34.
Will...this is an excellent summary/evaluation of both candidates. Thank you for sharing your Nanna's story....it sums up, beautifully, the social attitude that lifts us all up. I think/know that social attitude is still out there and I hope the Biden campaign keeps the contrast of the two campaigns front and forward.
And I also hope someone finds a way to introduce the concept that if today your sentiments are aligned with Trump's and you are in the circle of privilege he's promoting... tomorrow Trump may feel differently, and you'll be out.
Only democracy protects us from the whims of a dictator and fascist government.
Thank you Will from Cal. I agree but with one caveat. There are millions of young voters out there and many who will have the right to vote in this next election (my granddaughter is one of them). The message of old fashioned values and community may or may not resonate so strongly with them since their youth experiences have been so different than ours. Even if their parents and/or grandparents have instilled good values, the sense of community is more about their social media presence. They are more about "me". They need to be inspired to understand the danger of either not voting at all or being lured in by people who use fear and loathing to mold their opinions.
I stand up and applaud you for being able to so succinctly state this “truth”. Thank you.
Brilliant.
Thank you. I always scroll down to check if you have made a comment on the letter of the day. Your ability to give the words to what our common goal will/can achieve is so appreciated. I share your words with others--and certainly give you as the source...Thank you
Great post, Will....Thank you.
So, lost American values that "Both" left and right folks yearn for but probably can't describe. I think you are correct. Although the word "Both" was incased in quotes and I wondered why.
John Taylor Gatto wrote the book "Dumbing Us Down" in 1991. I've been paying attention to that premise ever since. At the end of his career, George Carlin had a standup bit about education that matches up to what Gatto wrote about our system of education.
https://youtu.be/ILQepXUhJ98?si=ay5FEA76R3QYJ9Eg
Yes, it's anecdotal but does anybody disagree that one of the values we Americans think we have lost is a sense of is cultural intelligence, kindness, insight and clarity, part of the thing we called American Exceptionalism? And we used to believe that we were the fastest, strongest, best and the brightest, but as a whole, we are getting dumber and we are unhealthy. Then Donald Trump comes along and tells all the dummies, it's ok to be dummies. Be proud of that.
Carlin called consumption a civic duty. I thought he was being funny but he wasn't kidding. I take my consuming habits as a patriotic duty in a capitalist society ...(I kid). The irony is that I volunteered and fought in a war (Vietnam) on behalf of our capitalist leaders because "Communism" was going to take over the world.
Remember the 9-11 speech George W Bush gave on the night of the attack calling himself "A War President"? He literally asked us to continue to consume...keep buying stuff. And we did our patriotic duty, we went to Disney World, bought jewelry, bought stuff. A perfect example of a dumbed down president and population.
The word Culture is critical to this discussion. That is what this whole rebellion on the right is about. Millions of us do not want to accept the objective basis for science, laws and medicine. They want the illusory basis of this idea of "freedom". But pure freedom is not a friend to an 18th century Social Contract based in the premise that some limitations are necessary for a society to operate well and to exist.
Anti-intellectualism really does reign supreme in a lot of places. Somewhere along the line we shifted from "We are the greatest country because we never stop improving" to "We are the greatest because we were made that way and we don't need to try." It's the difference between "I won this race because I trained hard every day, and I am happy to share what I learned" and "I won this race because I'm bigger and taller, so stay outta my way, shrimps!"
You (and George Carlin) are also correct that there is an unmistakable link between this anti-intellectualism and rampant consumerism. "What is this really good for and do I really want it?" is a rather mutually exclusive thought pattern from "buy buy buy!" The smarter people are, the harder it is to make money off them. Who knows, they might end up smart enough to make some money of their own!
"patriots build bridges......not walls."
I’m almost to the end of Democracy Awakening. As I read, I was thrown back in time to the dark days of Trump’s presidency and was plunged again into the slough of despond I lived between 2016 and 2020 until chapter 22. You reminded me of the men and women who have fought to improve the status of all humans to see themselves and to see the others as equal partners in this Great American Experiment. Trump is a clear and present danger to this nation. He is a fascist with no boundaries. I’m unfortunately terrified all over again.
We protect ourselves by protecting each other. That's the secret of liberty in plain sight. We protect ourselves by protecting all.
Totally excellent point!
I am terrified, too, Susan. However, I am not giving up. Stay with us, Susan. We are part of a majority who can prevail.
Lynell, i am not giving up either, ,at least yet. I am appalled and disgusted that this, lower than scum and excrement SOB Donald TUMP is allowed to threaten our President, and threaten anyone that disagrees with his sorry ass. I read some articles earlier tonight that scared the bejeebers out of me about the threatening lies and rhetoric he is now continuously spewing several times a day. Anyone else but him would be either arrested and jailed or be sent to an insane asylum for evaluation and declared criminally insane. The fact that this is being tolerated makes me want to leave here for good and never look back. I just hope the unrest with this crazed and dangerous wild animal isn't about to boil over in violence. I have to admit, i am extremely concerned about this. His half-ass attorneys have become as delusional as he is......
Agree, John. I admit that I am not one of those brave people who..."rush in where angels fear to tread." But I am willing to stand behind the "foot soldiers" who are on the front lines. People like HCR, Robert Hubbell, Joyce Vance, Greg Olear, Jay Kuo...and even Dan Rather!
Too loosely quote Groucho Marx: “A good friend will come and bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'!”
I agree, Lynell. Do you ever read Robert Reich's posts on the Substack site? I am a paying member on this site and Mr. Reich's site too. These are great sites, and i like all of the people on both of these sites. One exception though, i sure as heck don't like those trolls that come on here at times just to stir up trouble. They disgust me.
Robert Reich's Substack is another good one, too, I agree. I just had to limit the number of sites I could afford to subscribe to.
I also had to limit the number of paid sites too. These emails i get from Democrats asking for donations are too numerous for my resources too. If i donated to everyone that sent me emails, it would cost me over $3,000 a month just by donating $3 to each of them. I receive less than that from my pension and Social Security each month.
The authoritarian mood is spreading widely--threatening to infect many other countries, as well as ours. We must stay here and fight for the country that we want to have, to love & cherish because truly--there are no havens. No place is safe from the infection of authhoritarianism.
Agree that they’re delusional which is a component of their primary affliction - willful ignorance! The majority of Trump’s die hard supporters only read or hear information in which they already believe. Our hope lies in the possibility that there are enough of the “rest of us” to overcome them!
I'm reading Louise Penny's latest crime novel, A World of Curiosities. The prime suspect is a psychopath who is able to penetrate the minds and hearts of even the staunchest defenders of justice. His twisted genius preys on knowledge of others, their hopes and fears, to extract his selfish needs. That's what we're dealing with, and sadly he has beguiled our people, our systems, our country. Not all of us, though...
Oh, I’m in this all the way, just as I have been since 1968.
Good!
Nurses are tough that way!
Think it quite reasonable to be in that ‘slough’ again…means you are awake to the issues…what you and I and everyone on this excellent Letters to Americans DO is really important…my best thought tonight is that it might be a really good idea for all of us to consistently ‘share’ online..here….regularly…what we come up with..love the many language translations that were the opening comment…..ideas are contagious!
Susan, While I, too, am terrified, the antidote, at least for me, is action. Accordingly, some time today, I plan to draft a letter to the White House. Though I will underscore, contrary to Trump who is fueling hate and division, that the President’s Charleston church Address brilliantly demonstrated the decisive leadership this moment demands from Biden, I also will express my expectation that Biden won’t principally be addressing audiences who already share his views. In turn, I will urge the Administration to enlist surrogates to go where the trouble is in this country, the trouble that Donald Trump is stoking, the trouble he is making worse, and show, unlike Trump who presents himself as a savior— particular of white people— an alternate, admittedly arduous, path that seeks, especially for those who doubt Democrats care about them, to remedy legitimate issues and grievances. Additionally, I will press that our party surrogates, without a script, from the heart, speak for justice for safety, for equity, for unity, for reform, and especially for the crying need to bring the country together.
In my view, if said surrogates can craft their messaging half as well as our country’s standout orators, we might not have to live with four or more years of Trump/Trumpism.
Ditto!
Thank you Professor Richardson. I watched and listened to President Biden on January 8, 2024 speaking in SC at Emanuel Church where violence took the lives of parishioners. He is my president. What a powerful speech and speaker. He’s convincing and Truth and Justice must prevail. My heart is full, and yet….
So many citizens say they will vote for TFG. Or not vote. How can that be? In our Democracy. Our United States of America.
Robert Hubbell reminded us yesterday: "We are the majority. Believe it! Act like it!
One of the most pernicious aspects of the unthinking loyalty of Trump's base is that we tend to overestimate the scale of Trump's support. Their stubborn, mindless, vocal support for Trump bewilders us and causes us to assume that it is broader and deeper than it really is. Those who support democracy and oppose Trump represent the strong majority of Americans. We need to believe that fact—and start acting like we believe it!"
"Trump doesn't actually speak for the silent majority."
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/opinion/trump-2024-election-silent-majority.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MU0.ZlGH.Zh-sxTqazMOb&smid=url-share
Tweet by tweet, Trump’s psychotic resentment peels off another layer of would-be loyalists. "Bend a knee" to a soul so twisted, so misanthropic? Trump is unraveling before our eyes, folks. Watch his madcap reaction when denied immunity by a Supreme Court he thinks is in his pocket, posed to bend a knee. Ain’t gonna happen. Courage.
I agree with you Tom. I've seen interviews with voters who supported him in 2016 and 2020 who want nothing to do with him in 2024. The diehard rally attendees are a lonely bunch. Those rallies breath life in these people because they have something to belong too. It gives them purpose where they had none. It's the misfit conventions. They are with their peeps. They have something to look forward to in their small lives. They thrive on victimization. Too many are nuts anyway. The big orange Turd validates them. That's what they want. Your free to be a complete idiot in this country. We have a lot of representation in that department and they love the guy who shits his pants just like they do.
Lisa, watching Trump rally attendees being interviewed is a surreal experience…the jokes almost write themselves. It’s like they attended some Beavis & Butthead school and got a degree in Delusions/Magical Thinking. I don’t understand it, at all, but respect their right to their beliefs.
Well, I'll respect their rights to such beliefs only as long as they stay away from expressing their beliefs violently and keep those dearly held beliefs to themselves and don't require me to live them as well.
T L, totally agree!
They are hysterical. Waiting in Dallas for months for JFK and son to show up at their rallies. Or the one who said they saw JFK JR in a helicopter with Agent Orange and his kids. That just precious. Or the men who grab their own balls when speaking gloriously of AO molesting women. They look normal (some do) and then they open their mouths. It's always a WTF moment for me.
I have a hard time respecting the disrespect of media and money ilk that’s infected the realities of people I love.
We can keep our fingers crossed, pray and hope like crazy, that SCOTUS realizes that they would unleash their own demise should they find "for" Trumpy's permanent presidential immunity.
@T L, While I expect, based on a bs procedural off-ramp, that SCOTUS will overrule the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to remove Trump from the ballot, I, nonetheless, can’t imagine the Justices finding for Trump relative to presidential immunity. My hope is that the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling not only unanimously rejects Trump’s immunity claim but also lifts the stay on the 1/6 trial so that Trump must immediately appeal to the Supreme Court. Were the stay not lifted, the delays, starting with Trump’s appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court for an en banc hearing, could set a series of delays in motion that likely would preclude the 1/6 case from going to trial until next year.
I think these people are scared. I think they see the country moving forward without them and believe the Democrats don't have their backs. Fertile ground for a guy like Trump who promises them the world. Biden has to take the fight to these folks and convince them he has their backs. He's got to campaign in places that aren't politically safe for him and he has to do it without attacking Trump. He has to acknowledge their feelings and not just promise to make things better, but show them. Reaching out on their own turf would be a beginning.
Watching intently today to see if scotus will do the right thing. I expect if they do, TFG will implode. Hopefully it is all captured.
So true. As Masha Gessen noted, that has been one of Putin's keys to staying in power: promoting his invincibility and the inevitability, term after tem, of his ascendancy to the presidency. I've been hopeful that the images of tfg sitting and pouting at the defense table during his trials would help shred that similar cloak of "invincibility" his acolytes seem to credit him with.
The “silent” majority can no longer remain silent! It is critical that they speak up.
And vote!~
Well said, Lynell, and thanks for the link! Oh, and Good Morning!
Morning, Ally!
I just muted Trump's press conference outside of the courthouse in D.C. I'd rather wait to read what Joyce Vance, Robert Hubbell and HCR have to say!
Sounds like a good idea.
Replying to my own question and other replies questioning how people can justify voting for TFG, I researched Voting patterns because that seems to be related to families. From Pew
Research: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/07/12/voting-patterns-in-the-2022-elections/
Irenie, i am also wondering the same thing as your last sentence. I can't for the life of me what has went wrong with a large portion of our society. Being taken in by the ultimate con artist and the most evil cretin on the planet has my head spinning.
You don’t understand because you are not in a position of paycheck to paycheck fear of falling off a cliff when an unexpected $400 invoice lands on your doorstep. Chronic economic anxiety is its own trauma, and like PTSD, can manifest itself in strange behavior.
Yeah, um... Democrats consistently win the lowest-earning sectors of voters (plus union members). No matter how many times the "working class anxiety" mantra is repeated, it doesn't make it any more true. Who Democrats lose are working-class voters **who are some combination of white, over-45, and/or highly religious.**
A few weeks ago I had to put my fruit back in the checkout line because I failed to literally count the dollars in my pocket properly, but I didn't walk out of the supermarket going "That does it! Dictatorship for me!" Because while I am (currently) low-income and (permanently) white, I am also under-45, non-religious, college-educated, and the B in LGBT. Oh, and an actual patriot who doesn't lose their values when their bank balance dips. Go figure.
Agree Will, I and many of my family and friends are, with a couple of exceptions, in the lower-middle class or upper-lower class (not poverty) income range, but just making do. Most of us are month-to-month on tight budgets & dread the unexpected emergency & have scant ability to “prepare” for it despite a desire to do so. And yet we all believe in “the Commons”…something we all contribute to and benefit from…readily give a helping hand, if somewhat reluctant to receive one (tho grateful nonetheless). I am so grateful that most of those in my life see our democracy as “we’re all in this together” rather than seeking a way to exclude or demean others. Find it more joyous and satisfying to live life that way.
Remarkable how the people with the least to give are so often the most generous in every way.
It only looks like a "handout" if you are not willing to share or receive in turn.
You are spot on with this, Will. My sister (61, career grocery clerk with the last 5 years (finally) in a Union job) has lived at or slightly over the poverty line her entire life. She is incredibly generous, gives to her community, and is an amazing individual.
How many of working class people listen to the faux news ? Reading what the cult posts on the WH FB page is mainly the same rant with few variations that they are being feed, " costs of living; close the border". The actual facts become twisted projections.
My Mom, yesterday "It just doesn't make sense! They are going to lose the things that benefit them! Why would you support someone who has no idea how you actually live?"
[She turns to me expecting an answer]
Me: [...]
Mom: "They... they just really hate foreigners, don't they?"
Me: [nods sagely]
Mom: **huge sigh** [Shakes head and returns to Instagram]
Not just foreigners, Will -- black and brown foreigners. No one is getting upset about Canadians, Germans, Swedes, et al coming to the U.S. and overstaying their visas.
I grew up in an orange grove, now a shopping center. Growing up in CA !@ that time & working in places with people of different cultures & backrounds , strongly influenced my world view. Now I live in a place if u see someone other than white, you take notice.
Welcome back, Will. You bring up some great points.
Yeah, um…. Everybody ain’t you, Will.
No duh, Captain Obvious.
But notably more working-class people are "me" than "you."
I guess we’ll see in November, won’t we? When the Dems start blaming everyone but the face in the mirror for the stupid loss in another eminently winnable election.
I’m a 55 y/o White female with a college degree. I was brought up in solid middle class family. But, my entire adult life has been lived with Reagan’s trickledown economics in place.
My circumstances get worse every year, so sleeplessness over unexpected invoices is a struggle I can relate to. I’ve been working overtime now while it lasts because within the next few years I will have to decide whether I have a car or an apartment since I can no longer afford both. I’ve been letting my landlords use me as their personal ATM machine and giving rent for the next month long before it’s due, to the detriment of other bills and expenses, in hope they will not raise my rent.
My retirement plan is to pray for a lotto win and if that fails, a timely death when I can no longer work.
With all that being said, I never, ever saw Trump as a good choice in leaders for people like me.
Also, I no longer believe that people living with economic anxiety voted for him a second time because they feel their economic circumstances improved because of him. I think they vote for him because their self-image of their place in the social hierarchy will improve and they hope it will lead to a rise in economic hierarchy as well.
President Biden hasn’t helped my circumstances, but he hasn’t made them worse either, and they really could have been during and after the pandemic.
I will vote for him again because I believe he will do for younger regular people what Reagan did for the wealthy, and without prejudice and without destroying the lives of the wealthy like Reagan did to the middle class.
I just hope President Biden he sees and has a plan for the upcoming catastrophe of 40-55 percent of American workers who can’t afford to retire, even when they can no longer continue working. If Millennials and Gen Z thought the financial ball & chain of their student loans was holding them down, wait until they have to support their aging parents.
I am sorry to hear about your circumstances, Lisa. Thank you for sharing something so personal. It is a great illustration of why people report not feeling good about "the economy" even though the economy is objectively good. There is no sense of security for the vast majority of people, and much of that lack of secure sense comes down to the omnipresent state of American life being people making money off you whenever possible while you hope nothing happens to make it worse. Imagine if we had had ONE more Senate vote and the Build Back Better provisions would have been made law and taking effect now. Childcare, eldercare, education, medication, paid leave, housing, loan forgiveness, family tax credits... Imagine the life-changing effect this would have on tens of millions of people being able to BREATHE and PLAN and ENJOY instead of on a treadmill worrying about basics. We deserve better. We should get it for ourselves soon.
Your last point is particularly salient. Honestly, the whole world is unprepared for the shifts in society that will need to take place due to the whole developed world having more elderly than youth. All expert predictions are that human population will peak soon and then seriously decrease by the end of the century. This is sorely needed for both the environment as well as quality of life per capita, but it will be an unprecedented sea change that I will see on my lifetime. Should be interesting.
Your comment about my last point is precisely why we need immigration reform, healthcare reform, housing reform, and to increase entitlements money ASAP.
It is this fear of change that motivates many MAGAs. Why aren't the rest of us so fearful that we would support a Dictator?
Lisa, "With all that being said, I never, ever saw Trump as a good choice in leaders for people like me"......yes, me either.
I think Trump voters love Trump because they love to hate and Trump feeds them hate all day long.
If you ever meet a true blue member of the Southern Baptist Church, you will see what I am talking about, if you have not already.
Hang in Lisa.
That is why Biden needs a 2nd term for the economics to reach people in your financial situation. Changing the retirement age did not help either. Health care is now a private for profit $$$$$$ grab. Sorry that u are caught up in this transition that started with Regan.
I feel your situation. I am under different circumstances, but zero nest egg to cushion an unexpected medical or home repair issue.
Between the economic and climate tsunamis bearing down on us, we’re in deep doo-doo. Peace, t
Lisa, I am sorry about your situation. Millions of people share your situation.
Being a white man born in the midwest gave me a great advantage especially financially. As a computer programmer who started in the 1970's, I worked with many extremely talented women. One of the ladies I worked with started a month before I did. She was even paid $100/mo more. Admittedly, she had a better CV than mine and she deserved it. A few years later, she had her first child. She only took off a few weeks, but because she had a family and a husband the company assumed she would be loyal. She stayed with them for about 45 years and retired from there making decent money, but if she had moved around she would have made much more, especially with her brains and talent.
A few years after starting as a programmer trainee, a company in CA called and offered me a 50% increase in pay. My wife was ecstatic and she quit her job as a legal secretary. She found work easily, but without a law degree and being a woman, she never made good wages. When the lawyer she was working for won a large settlement against Ford, she received no bonus even though she had worked exclusively on the case for over a year. The other lawyer in the office who was male and didn't work on the case, received a bonus.
In the computer world, this is known as "reward for the non-participants."
Anyway, it sounds like you've hit a glass ceiling and are will probably work long past when you turn 65.
As Emma Watson has pointed out- "Fuck the patriarchy."
Lisa, I just wrote to Will about my 61 year old sister (a career grocery clerk) who has lived at at or below the poverty line until she hired on with a union grocery store. She's got no retirement, she has to work until at least 67 to get an almost adequate Social Security benefit.
I was fortunate enough to land a public sector job (local law enforcement) with a fabulous retirement plan (which became progressively less fabulous through time until the early 00's, when it was a fraction of what it used to be). I also have a fiscally minded spouse, who encouraged me to save even more through Deferred Compensation to the point where, at 65, I can live modestly and comfortably.
Everyone knows the best way to help those living paycheck to paycheck is to give a trillion dollar tax break to the wealthiest of the wealthy, then just wait for it to trickle down!
Sarcasm is simply lost entirely on some people.
You want end poverty, give money to those living in poverty.
You want to perpetuate poverty, give the rich what they want.
No argument from me. Others will scream Socialism!!!!!
Dave, I’ve always thought the “trickle down” economic theory was just a polite way to say “golden showers” economic theory!
????????????? what are you talking about? I don't understand what you are referring to?? The con artist DJT? The Orange baboon?
Education/greed and not voting when times were good!
All Trump and the rest of the fetid lot have left are lies and threats and even violence. There are no substantive policy ideas for fixing problems. Just radical, irrational, hateful blather.
It’s not a winning strategy, and as that becomes clear, who knows what their desperation will trigger?
Repubs are proudly corrupt and anti-democratic, they don’t deserve the name Republican that Lincoln stood for. They not only fall short, they reject what the founders of the party fought for.
The way they behave, their party should be called, the DTP. The Domestic Terrorists Party.
Lincoln, and all those who died for the cause would shun them, as would WW2 vets, I would imagine. They knew the costs of treachery
They also don't deserve the name "Christian."
TFFG released a video this week anointing himself as the messiah.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-shares-bizarre-video-declaring-god-made-trump-suggesting-he-is-embracing-a-messianic-image/ar-AA1myqz4
The evangelicals in IA are not happy.
I hear these headlines as I go about my business. I think, am I really hearing these comments??? It seems as if I have travelled through the looking glass...
All Drumph and his Klan have ever had is hateful, rassist, irrational, and mindless. He's a one trick phony pony.
You know when I knew 2020 was going our way? It was when the 2nd debate got cancelled, the networks scheduled conflicting interviews instead, and Biden's staid convo with Stephenopoulos got more viewers than the guaranteed trainwreck a few channels over.
For America to choose boring during their TV time, they have to be so over your particular brand of shtick that the likelihood of the show avoiding cancelation is not great.
It's all about domination over others; the recipe for tyranny.
This is a You-Tube video by Robert Reich listing 40 of TFFGs broken promises.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yky9xGsjQTE
And when there might me a policy idea -- TFFG and the GOP punt.
Trump is a loose cannon who makes dirty deals with the Establishment.
"Corporate Joe" Biden IS the Establishment. Biden hails from tiny postage-stamp Delaware, a suburb of Wall Street and a tax haven for corporate headquarters.
"Corporate Joe" Biden and his fellow Vampire Liberals fund Worthwhile Programs by selling Treasury Bonds to suck money out of foreign countries, depending on the imperial power of the Almighty Dollar to add to the Unpayable Debt.
(Vampire Conservatives, on the other hand, suck money to give tax breaks to the rich.)
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-national-debt-dilemma#:~:text=Years%20of%20elevated%20budget%20deficits,GDP)%20since%20World%20War%20II.
Zombies don't think. Zombified Vampire Liberals like Heather Cox Richardson DON'T THINK about where the money comes from for President Biden's Worthwhile Programs.
Go away.
...said the zombified Vampire Liberal
Schmuck le
Now we are down to calling a history professor a "Zombie Vampire???
Shucks Schmuck it seems your bottom feeding is at an all time high today.
Mike S I believe the term is “illusory intelligence”. That hook he’s hung his hat upon for the past several months has a screw loose.
Mike, it seems the two hecklers are playing tag team today
Bastard Breath,
Vampire Liberals pay for Worthwhile Projects by sucking money out of foreign countries, adding to the Unpayable Debt.
Well-meaning liberals get zombified by Biden's Vampire Liberals when they mindlessly embrace Biden because he supports liberal programs, and they never ask where the money's coming from.
Hahahahahaha
I hear an echo in this comments section ... ection ... ection ...
🙄
...said Stalker the troll
Hahahahaha
Hahahahahahahahaha
No, I don’t care to elaborate. It is not worth the effort.
Your thinking is part of the problem, john.
Would you cate to elaborate on that?
During such a critical time of choosing, let us not open the door to tyranny!
“In Myrtle Beach on Sunday, Vice President Harris told the audience, “[A]t this moment in history, I say: Let us not throw up our hands when it’s time to roll up our sleeves. Because we were born for a time such as this.’ Today, in Charleston, President Biden made the stakes clear: “[T]his is a time of choosing,” he said, ‘so let us choose the truth. Let us choose America.’”
On Biden making the stakes clear.
“Writer Todd Dillard declared on social media, "I need Democrats to understand that when a protestor shouts '20,000 dead Palestinians; their blood is on your hands' responding with 'FOUR MORE YEARS FOUR MORE YEARS FOUR MORE YEARS' is the grimmest, darkest thing imaginable."
As of Monday, Israeli bombings and raids in Gaza have killed over 23,000 Palestinians and injured nearly 59,000 more. A growing number of legal scholars and world leaders have accused Israel of genocide, including at the International Court of Justice.
"The Democrats rushing to Biden's defense should realize that chanting 'four more years' in response to a protest objecting to the U.S. government's support of a genocide in Gaza is not doing anything to improve the president's standing as his poll numbers continue to drop," said In These Times senior editor Miles Kampf-Lassin.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/biden-gaza-cease-fire
Joe Biden did something very important in his speech today. He called Trump a “loser”. And he did it is a clear and emphatic way that I believe will get under Trump’s skin, especially if it is turned into a campaign commercial / social media meme. Trump cannot stand being called a loser. Yet, that’s the truth of who and what he is (along with many other things of course). Here’s to the Biden Harris Campaign engaging in the kind of psychological warfare it’s going to take to win this election. Trump must be confronted with the truth of who he is over and over again. I believe if done with enough skill, it will cause Trump to psychologically collapse
Seriously, this is not just cathartic but essential. Authoritarians feed off of fear and intimidation. Mockery punctures the balloon.
Von Tweeto IS a loser. He could lose at Candy Land after starting out halfway up the board. He's stupid. A hamster could outsmart this dude. And weak! Downright wimpy. Probably gets out of breath walking to the golf cart, and hasn't seen his shoes in a decade. Old, too! Did I mention old? Between the two roughly 80-year-old men on offer, only one looks like a rained-on Jack-O-Lantern carved by someone with Parkinson's. Who can't figure out how umbrellas or stairs work? You guessed it! Old old old old old. Old with stupid hair and teeny chubby fingers. And... wait for it... drumroll... bad with money! Guy could lose your life savings in a couch with no cushions. No wonder his Dad never loved him. LOSER!
I know liberals hate this cheap stuff, but I'm begging y'all, embrace it for a few months.
Will, from Cal, you have me giggling before my first cup of coffee and that’s a MIRACLE! Thx for your comments this morning. Hugging you from Florida! 😂
I'm going to appropriate your phrase "a rained-on Jack-O-Lantern carved by someone with Parkinson's". With apologies to those suffering from Parkinson's (my mother's last husband died from it - and it is anything but funny).
Will, you left out smelly
I am so stealing this Will. Thanks!
Repeat ad nauseam. Loser, loser, loser. Should be on everyone’s lips. Bullies lose in the end, or so I was taught
Yup. The second anyone says "What's your problem? Buzz off!" they get knocked off the top of the food chain. That's why they have to make sure everyone is too afraid to say anything. Some people never leave middle school their whole lives. Pathetic.
Amen!
As absolutely sickened by the horror Biden has enabled in Gaza and as much as I despise him for it, I will vote for him, if that is our absurd choice, because dump and all the crazed, treasonous Republicans must be stopped. Vote blue no matter who.
I agree with you that what is going on in Gaza is horrific. But it is on the Israeli state and the Israelis. Israel is a sovereign nation. They have made their choice. Biden and our state officials are working behind the scenes to influence, but in the end it is up to the Israeli people.
Israel kicked Netanyahu to the curb just like we did chump. He cheated his way back in to avoid prosecution, just like chump is trying to do. If he succeeds, I won’t support him. The Israelis are trying to throw him out. As we are trying to overcome Trumpism. Despots don’t go willingly, if at all. Big picture people
U said this so much better than my attempt.
Jeri, THANK YOU!!!
But we are funding it and shipping arms, and refused to call for a ceasefire. They have said they couldn't do it without us. Whether or not that is true, our financial and moral support for the slaughter of Palestinians is abhorrent to me and many others. The Palestinians have been absolutely mistreated since 1948. Israeli leaders have said they want them killed or expelled. Gaza is a tiny piece of the shore. Israel has all the rest. The West Bank, not even connected to Gaza, is increasingly populated with illegal settlements of violent, hate-filled Americans. It's shocking to learn just how badly and unfairly the Palestinians were treated from the very start. Forced off their land and from their homes with no compensation?!! Netanyahu himself lives in a valuable home taken/stolen from a Palestinian family. It's all been hidden with layers of propaganda, the power of money, the threat of antisemitism, and our sympathy for the horrific Holocaust, but now I and others can see the truth. Gaza has been and is occupied by an extremely hostile state and they have the right to fight back against their oppressors.
Lisa, yesterday Biden let slip that he is working behind the scenes for a peaceful solution. There is only so much he can do; he and Blinken are working to keep the tinderbox of Iran/Hezbollah/Isis from catching the whole region on fire.
Yeah, they should have called for a ceasefire weeks ago. They enabled this and I hope it doesn't grow larger. I truly question their judgment and morals that they have backed vile Netanyahu in his and his fellow leaders' murderous terror on Gaza. They talk about sending the Palestinians to Congo! I would never vote for Biden again if it weren't absolutely critical to stop the insane GOP. Vote Blue no matter who.
Something that gives me pause - and should give others pause - is this: while the Senate is the body actually entrusted with ratifying treaties, only 4 out of 100 senators have publicly and explicitly expressed ceasefire support, and those 4 (Durbin, Merkeley, Warren, Welch) expressed lengthening the November temporary ceasefire if conditions were met (which were not). So there is literally ZERO support at the necessary level of the U.S. government for an immediate ceasefire at this time.
Every person with a heart will have a horrible reaction to seeing what is happening in Gaza, including me. But if literally NO ONE at the necessary level of government is supporting a given position - not even Bernie Freaking Sanders - one could conclude that such a position is somewhere between quite fringe and downright impossible
Will; You omitted Bernie from that list.
Lisa, they did call for a ceasefire—and the Israeli government ignored them, saying that they need to destroy the group (Hamas) that is calling for killing all Jews, whatever collateral damage that action causes. Just like “bomb the Mexican drug labs” proposed by a past president to get support, war against an enemy is a relatively easy action to distract a populace from a corrupt leader and disrupt a recall action.
I agree that Netanyahu has a motive to stay out of jail, in addition his other motives. I don't remember them ever actually calling for a ceasefire. They voted no on the UN resolution. Biden has said there should be no daylight between the US and Israel about anything. And they could shut off funds and arms if they chose, but Biden and Blinken are all in.
He can stop the money!
Jenny, in the same way Trump did with Ukraine? Isn’t a Senate decision to make?
My understanding is he went over the heads of Congress?
How much are we really funding? Does anyone know? Prior to Oct 7, Israel had a well trained and well armed military. I’m not sure what if anything we have sent them in military aid since then. The Republicans have refused aid to Israel and to Ukraine until the southern border is sorted out. (A conundrum that ranks about 4th in difficulty just after Climate Change, USA healthcare system, and peace in the Middle East.). So don’t hold your breath about the Republicans ponying up any more funds till after the election.
Note that this article is from 11/18. The dead now number between 20 and 30,000. Unknown number buried under rubble Starvation, and lack of shelter, water and medical help is a constant. https://www.vox.com/world-politics/2023/11/18/23966137/us-weapons-israel-biden-package-explained
The number of casualties is supplied by the Gaza Health Ministry, aka Hamas. I reserve judgement until that number is independently confirmed by a neutral party, like the U.N.
All I can say is that UN has found Hamas numbers to be accurate in the past.
Sky, you’re not sure what we have sent them since 10/7 because you are siloed in your media input. Genocide Joe and Butcher Blinken have sent two separate shipments of weaponry, mostly consisting of artillery and tank shells, without Congressional authority, mind you, and that’s over and above our regular four-billion military weaponry outlay, consisting of the bunker-busting bombs that are blowing Palestinian children to bits, and those don’t include the children who are having limbs amputated without anesthesia, who, if they live, will have an immediate future of starvation and disease. It is unspeakable horror, Biden is complicit, as he is in the horror of Ukraine, and unlike Lisa, I wouldn’t vote for a genocide enabler for all the tea in China.
I would never vote for a grifting asshole like Trump, so put that to rest. Those crocodile tears Biden shed about Gaza, after his speech was interrupted by protest in the church yesterday, which Heather notedly failed to mention, were repulsive in their insincerity.
2.8 billion per year + to Israel!
I do not have the time to re-educate you. But time and time again it has been the PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND THE PALESTINIANS WHO HAVE REFUSED TO ACCEPT ANY PEACE OR TWO STATE DEAL.
They should have been given a big beautiful state with lots of coastline and compensation for loss of homes and land and ancient olive groves back in 1948. What the hell were the British thinking? 750,000 violently forced off their land and future Israelis more than happy to take what wasn't theirs. This is the bottom; the rest is excuses and propaganda. We all need a re-education to see the truth. That explains the heavy censorship going on everywhere on behalf of Israel. No need to censor if there's nothing to hide.
Lisa, with all due respect, I suggest that you might spend some time reading about the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It’s one of the most complex and intractable problems of our time, and requires an understanding of the past to understand the present. Some of what you say is true - Netanyahu is a pretty bad guy - but painting all Israelis with his brush is very far from what all Israelis believe. Remember, just a few months ago, demonstrations against his plans for the judiciary with hundreds of thousands of people, that went on for months?
Biden has worked with a lot of delicacy to prevent this conflict from spreading. He has pushed hard for a moderation of Israeli actions. But you are beyond naive if you think that any nation would allow what Hamas did to go unanswered. Hamas itself bears responsibility for the initiation of this conflict; for using its own citizens as human shields; and for continuing to hold hostages. Try to imagine for a minute what three months of captivity has been like for them, especially for the women. Try to imagine that some of those women are likely pregnant now. Hamas was offered ceasefire contingent on the release of hostages. They stopped releasing hostages, so the ceasefire ended. This is on them. I’m not talking about partition or about the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, I’m talking about today’s conflict. Put the blame where it is due, and it is not due to Biden.
And Iran is involved. I see Biden moving quietly to do what can be done to stop the region blowing up.
Hamas has been used 2 times before by Israel.
There are hundreds of Palestinians being held in Israeli gaols without trial.
It's you who should read more.
Massively disproportionate response is a war crime, as is indiscriminate bombing, which even Biden mentioned. I don't blame all Israelis, but Netanyahu and fellow extremists continue to be elected. How can you truthfully say that the Palestinians were ever treated fairly. No one in this country has been forced off their land and out of their homes since our horrific genocide of the Native Americans. It isn't done, except during wars of aggression or when colonizers do it, in the name of civilizing the nonwhite savages. (Kidnapping nonwhite people from their homes to bring them here to work for free is a variation on the theme.)
The PLO to my understanding were under rules from Israel who still controlled the borders. They had NO authority.
On the other hand: The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; Arabic: السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية as-Sulṭa al-Waṭanīya al-Filasṭīnīya), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine, is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over West Bank areas "A" and "B" as a consequence of the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords. The Palestinian Authority controlled the Gaza Strip prior to the Palestinian elections of 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, when it lost control to Hamas; the PA continues to claim the Gaza Strip, although Hamas exercises de facto control. Since January 2013, the Palestinian Authority has used the name "State of Palestine" on official documents, although the United Nations continues to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the "representative of the Palestinian people". Wikipedia
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; Arabic: منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية Munaẓẓamat at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīniyyah) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people. Founded in 1964, it initially sought to establish an Arab state over the entire territory of the former Mandatory Palestine, advocating the elimination of the State of Israel. However, in 1993, the PLO recognized Israeli sovereignty with the Oslo I Accord, and now only seeks Arab statehood in the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip) that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.
You need to be re-educated. Your lack of awareness, and history, in defense of a genocide, is disgusting.
Lisa, I hear what you are saying. I agree with you 100%. It would be morally right to cut off all aid to Israel. However, I think nuclear-powered Israel would be desperate if we were to do so. A dramatic gesture like that would make our country vulnerable (more vulnerable than it already is). Governments need to keep their citizens safe. I think we would not be safe if we backed Israel into a corner. I think the Biden Administration is pushing for Israel to back down. On the other hand we and other countries built this Frankenstein. Years of colonization by Western powers was the model upon which Israel was built. A malignant destructive model. Now what? It is a trip-wire situation. It is awful and heart-breaking. And the hatred and blood lust are not only happening in Israel and Ukraine but in many other places around the world including our own U.S. with our gun violence and violence directed at communities that do not fit the old white man’s burden model--just let me be in charge and I’ll show you lesser beings how it’s done. What needs to change to move humanity forward and away from this destructive mindset? I think we need to start changing minds locally. Individual municipalities need to move away from militarization of their own police forces for example. Too many guns. Too much violence. Too too many of our fellow citizens in prison. We need to work on those problems close to home. Find a new model, one not based on exploitation and domination. Grass roots pushing for change. Meanwhile our national diplomats can hopefully keep us from total destruction while we work locally to change mindsets. Having said all this I am worried we are actually too late--things too far gone and Frankenstein on the loose--to address all the cruelty baked into all our systems. We may be staring down the path to a violent destruction rather than constructive fixes to the model we have been following for centuries.
I do agree with what you have perfectly stated. I do believe it's far too late. Humans in power have continued to show their greed and cruelty as has always been the case, with rare exceptions. And exactly because of greed and lack of empathy, our planet and its nonhuman inhabitants are damaged beyond repair. The powers that be aren't willing to give up their filthy billions to save it in time. Smart enough to ruin it, but not smart or caring enough to save it.
Remember OIL?
We don't have to have a state there to buy oil.
Lisa,
Netanyahu is a criminal. He had a struggle winning his position, as Israel's leader....and yet he did and here we are. I am in agreement with you.
Netanyahu is using us. We need to get out of this situation. We are creating more pain, more hatred by supporting Israel's slaughter and that is what it is.
Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people. Netanyahu has told us who he is and what he is planning for Gaza.....how many times does he have to repeat himself?
Better still, IF WE COULD ALL live together and worship or not as we choose. Faith should be a personal choice....not some forced word stamped on someones forehead in order to stay alive...in order to not lose their home or the lives of their families.
I must trust there are talks going on...I must trust in negotiations but we cannot bring back the lives lost. I do not believe President Biden or Blinken approve. I do trust that they are working to calm this conflict. But currently Netanyahu has us where he wants us. This is a highly sensitive situation. Other countries are watching...our enemies probably helped to "set this up".....to weaken us and to involve us in as many conflicts as possible....to divide our country and to attack our President. It is a wicked web!!!!
Is it possible that Netanyahu set this up? The protective dome was not completely functioning at the time the hostages were taken....there are other questions.
We each should be able to worship as we choose and not condemned. Of course with our choices there should be no killing one another!!!!
The truth is shrouded in lies, cover-ups, propaganda, bought media, dead journalists and our own desires, isn't it?
Israel made the choice to defend her right to exist. Biden is not Hamas. Hamas crossed the border into Israel on a Sabbath morning to begin terrorizing the sleeping citizens of a sovereign nation. Hamas is funded by Iran (a proxy for Putin) and the Arab states. Think of it this way: you are asleep in your home in NYC. You wake up to screaming New Jerseyites who burn, rape, murder you and all your neighbors because they hate New Jersey.
I see that. However, Israel is making a choice to bomb Gaza back to the Stone Age. And there are a lot of people caught up in it who did not instigate or even support the Oct 7 attack. But they do now. Israel will succeed in turning Gaza into a wasteland and dispersing the former Gaza’s throughout the world, those that survive the onslaught. Whatever sympathy Israel had is now gone for most citizens of the world. Israelis had a choice and they chose genocide.
Not genocide. Words matter.
https://www.csis.org/analysis/hamass-october-7-attack-visualizing-data
To understand the sophistication of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, check out the above link. This was a huge step up from the years of suicide bombings, rocket attacks and kidnappings suffered by Israel.
(The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization located in Washington, DC).
If you have the idea that the Qassam Brigades are a small band of freedom fighters, they are definitely not.
People who have not seen the actual surveillance videos have no idea what happened October 7th. They repeat what they hear, like parrots..
Frankly, I think many do know. They just think Israel deserved it. I know it is disturbing to say, and I am open to being challenged and hope to be proven wrong. What I see is that so many have fully internalized the Israel-as-land-stealing-oppressor tropes and propaganda that any attack on Israel is viewed in the same way as an abused child killing their abusive parent, times a million. They will pay lip service ("I don't condone the murders at all..."), but then openly place their sympathy with the perpetrator ("...but this is what happens when you make innocent people desperate.") The extra special thing folks are doing with Israel is pre-emptively blaming it for any future violence ("this brutality will just lead to more youth joining the terrorists"), while also expecting unilateral disarmament with no plan in place ("Cease fire now!").
A lot of people just really, really, really don't like Israel, and see their chance to unload those sentiments publicly.
Yes, Will, and I’d take it even further. It’s anti-semitism on steroids.
Annie,
Let's just take religion out of it.....humans murdering humans for power and control with no boundaries...only selfish control....like two people fighting until both are dead.
No matter the names or descriptions of beliefs....it is simple hatred and greed and power to control.....no one is ever happy or satisfied.
It is the cry of HELL,'MORE, MORE, MORE'....
Who do you think Israel is a proxy for? Biden is worse than Hamas, for he is siding with an oppressor over the oppressed.
Think of it this way: U.S. bombs are killing kids in a concentration camp.
Rubbish....read more. NOT MSM garbage.
This is another message that the Biden people need to shout. Biden is between a rock & a hard place with his sending weapon to the current Israeli gov . How do u support Israel right as a nation but not its government. The US has been there too
Correct. These difficult-to-impossible choices, where there is no true I-can-live-with-that option, is the downside to holding that most powerful of positions. Armchair analysts and keyboard warriors can praise you or damn you, but they will never have to actually give the order knowing the full scope of what it may entail one way or the other.
It is very conflicting for me, because the US has always stood with Israel, even though I haven’t always understood why. This war is over 2,000 years old!!!! However, I am not sure that is the right thing to do anymore. BUT these actions and genocide belong to the Israelis alone. It does not rest on the shoulders of the US. I do trust that the administration is trying to move the Israelis in a different direction, but there does not seem to be any inclination to move from their position.
It is my personal and very uninformed opinion that there is tremendous national guilt over the treatment of Jews by Hitler in WWII and of our refusal to take refugees from there.
I also have the personal and very uninformed opinion that, while there have been conflicts in this region since recorded history (and before, I am certain), the real issue now is that first Britain, then the US has "decided what's best" in the Middle East (with an eye towards petroleum reserves) since the Balfour Declaration in 1917.
NO. It's up to Biden not giving Israel more money!
Jenny, appropriations are the responsibility of Congress, not Presidents
Look up AUMF
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/538387-repealing-the-aumf-is-bidens-opportunity-to-end-the-forever-wars/
Joint Resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the recent attacks launched against the United States
Two thoughts on this sub thread.
1- Netanyahu is a Trump, brutal and afraid of retribution. Very dangerous.
2- Lisa's views (and that agressive sub thread below) are symptoms of how the anti US trolling proaganda is effective and reaching right into the heart of liberal democrats. They are actually managing to turn a tide.
No, that's not true. I have read many different sources and watched videos of what is happening. I support Ukraine. I despise Putin and all murderous dictators everywhere. This is about ending the horror. The US is guilty of many attacks (Iraq, for one) and coups (Chile, for one), but I still want to save our democracy. And the fact is that the majority of liberal boomers continue to agree with whatever Israel says.
You have a point, we are guilty of so much. There is so much horror, imagine worse if chump wins. That’s all my empathy-laden psyche can manage.
Agree absolutely. I'm a grown-up and grown-ups have to make hard choices. It's harder for young folks to see that. It's extremely unfortunate that this occurred now before the election. The US is hanging by a thread. I like to tell myself we're a bit protected living in California. It's all just so cruel, stupid, short-sighted. Humans crazed with greed. We don't deserve this precious earth and all its beautiful nonhuman inhabitants suffering because of us.
Texas is in the grip of governmental insanity. Hope we don’t go national. They have stacked the deck (like all despots do) so very hard to vote out. Appreciate CA. Many CA idiots have moved here. Wish I could come there. BTW, I don’t think it’s an accident that this occurred before the election. Money moves mountains. Or maybe I’m permanently suspicious.
God, Texas and Gov. Abbott. So sorry you're there. I suspect it's no accident either that this is happening now.
I hope you also despise Ukraine's thuggish far-right terror regime.
I don't believe that at all. Guess you're a Putin believer.
I suppose we could share facts and sources:
"There are neo-Nazi pogroms against the Roma, rampant attacks on feminists and LGBT groups, book bans, and state-sponsored glorification of Nazi collaborators.
"These stories of Ukraine’s dark nationalism aren’t coming out of Moscow; they’re being filed by Western media, including US-funded Radio Free Europe (RFE); Jewish organizations such as the World Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center; and watchdogs like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Freedom House, which issued a joint report warning that Kiev is losing the monopoly on the use of force in the country as far-right gangs operate with impunity."
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far-right_politics_in_Ukraine
Guess who else has a neo-nazi problem?
Hahahahaha
It REALLY makes me sick!! So many people are easily influenced, persuaded, and can be so easily brainwashed. By conspiracy theories and alternative realities.
Honestly? The die-hard anti-war anti-Israel progressives remind me of nothing more in terms of rhetoric than the anti-abortion warriors. I mean OBVIOUSLY they have more of a leg to stand on, since in this case actual alive children are actually being killed, which in any working moral system is reprehensible. But...
Read the comments here today. Look at the rhetoric. How impassioned and righteous and florid it is. Look at how quick they are to pull out the most incendiary language possible, to so quickly label a perpetrator, assign every possible bad intent, proclaim they have religiously "seen the truth," and how everyone who doesn't hold their exact level of nuance-free disgust must be damnable and heartless...
I'm waiting for someone to tell me I'm wrong...
Will, you’re right about the contempt and disgust—that’s why I’m trying to get my friends from both sides of the aisle to read “Beyond Contempt”. It’s far too easy to attack someone who agrees with us 90% because they don’t agree 100%.
We’ve been taught for too long to debate with a scorched-earth philosophy when the differences are not great instead of saving that level of fight for the big stuff.
Yes, Mary. Coalition-building and coalition-keeping needs to be our North Star. Many people were awakened into action post-2016 and started taking clearer moral lines about what our values were and what we were not willing to silently accept. That has been a good thing in my opinion, but too many people have adopted a Down with Oppression/Colonialism/Capitalist/Patriarchy!!! mindset - or something close to it - to feel good about themselves, and are finding that it just doesn't work when applied to notably complex situations. It is easy and necessary to take a clear line against MAGA or any number of American domestic issues, because they are so off-the-charts insane and dangerous and by their very nature destroy nuance anyway. Applying this lens to a stubbornly cyclical and entrenched problem of violence in the Middle East? Not so much.
Will, once again, you’ve said it so very well. Thank you.
Will, 7 hours in, and only one comment telling you you're wrong.
There is no "winning" here.
And that one comment from our resident contrarian.
You’re wrong. Just like the New York Times, another liberal-worshipped media outlet spewing American government propaganda and lies. You are being sell-righteous in your own fallacious attack on those horrified by a genocide. Not a good place to be. Own that. Watch the video below, which will explain why you are wrong, using just one, of many, examples of propaganda in defense of genocide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcvVL3YTvOg&t=11s
HAHAHAHAHAHA. Sounds like “they did their own research”.
This.
I am in the same pit of despair Lisa. I look at the Biden WH financial support of Netanyahu’s murderous rampage killing innocent civilians children. Right now as I write, and am sick. Netanyahu does not want a two state solution. He wants to dominate. This goes against everything we are saying about our support for our democratic republic. We can have a democratic state… but support with our money the bombing into oblivion of those Palestinians who were/ are denied access to a democratic life. It sticks in my mouth and heart. So while I was shouting the benefits of a second Biden term in September; now I spend time writing the White House.
The argument that Hamas started it, falls flat. Yes they are a heinous monsterous group. They are everything we hate and fear. But to deny why they and Hezbolah have support; just misses the solution to the violence. And to argue that because they started it, he can murder 20,000 civilians. And cause enormous suffering. It makes me crazy that Biden doesn’t use our leverage to stop the slaughter. Souls extinguished. Each one.
Would Trump do better here … of course not. But it doesn't let Biden or us off the hook of responsibility.
We are going to lose if this continues. We lost in 2016 when the young passed on voting or voted 3rd party, because they were upset about Bernie and the Dem Party. The progressive young and people of color find it even harder to look away from this beast we are supporting.
Again, the perfect is the enemy of the good
Many young people care about this war, but I see many more who are MORE about their reproductive rights and the climate. And guns--they've seen too many scholl slaughters.
The Dems lost in ‘16 because they ran a corporate candidate in a populist election. Period.
Who was an outspoken woman. 0-2
No question there is a virulent strain of misogyny running through the American populace. But her foolishly injecting race against Obama in ‘08 (Thanks, Bill) killed her campaign then, and then in ‘16, deplorables and Wall Street speeches did likewise.
Absolutely, Margaret. I feel the exact same way. It's unbearable.
Margaret, see Will’s comments above on his generation. Few are one trick ponies and climate, racism, women’s rights and gun control are also major parts of their agenda. I have faith.
I'm in Sonoma County.
Remember, Lisa, it was Gazan Hamas troops who began the horrors. They well knew that the Israeli government, filled with those who already despised the Gazans and likely most Palestinians, would unleash military hell on civilians and soldiers alike. They were the trigger for now 22,000+ Gazan deaths, multitudes more injured, even more homeless among shelled and bombed ruins. Most of Israel now has little, if any sympathy for the Gazans. They want their ton of flesh, and have been getting it, with hostages still in waiting, for what?
I have MANY friends in Israel. All pro a two State Solution. All wanting Netanyahu 's head. They had been protesting the authoritarian, far right governance on the streets since January. This could have been prevented. But the ultra Conservative coalition threatened to abandon Netanyahu, who would then no longer be PM and, therefore, would be going to jail for crimes he can only be indicted for after he is no longer PM. Professor Richardson has addressed this in one of her letters! !Do not blame the Israeli people. The majority hate the government. This would be like parents separated from their children blaming us!! We, the people, had no voice in the matter.
One of the many things I dislike about the left these days is how wrong they see the “Palestinian” problem. It’s easier to believe that Israel, with a 20% Arab population, hates the Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza enough to just rampage through Gaza like it was summer camp. In 2005, Israel gave Gaza back to the Arabs. In 2006, they elected HAMAS as their government after HAMAS destroyed the towns, farms, schools and hospitals Israel left intact so they would have a leg up. Neither Jordan or Egypt want the Gazans because HAMAS has, since 2006, systematically brainwashed the citizens of Gaza to hate the Jews.
Just popping my head in the door to point out that Israel has nukes, biological weapons, and all sorts of other things on hand we can't even imagine, and if they actually wanted to commit genocide so badly they could do it literally overnight.
Oh, and almost all war involves massive numbers of innocent civilians killed and maimed beyond recognition. It's just a matter of degrees. That is why war should be avoided if at all possible. I cannot believe the number of smart people who seem to be learning this for the first time. Now make the combat area in question one of the most densely populated regions on Earth, with impovershed and shoddy infrastructure and the enemy combatants fully integrated with civilians (an enormous number of whom support the terrorists, though God forbid you mention that)? Good luck.
Thank you!
And it was Netanyahu who supported Hamas for decades, to sow chaos among Palestinians:
https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/
Thank you for helping me make sense of this horrible situation.
Thanks for the heads up, i heard about the huge protests against the state takeover of the courts, but i thought i had heard that even those against him consolidated behind the war effort. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67893122
No, the horrors began long before 10/7. Try again.
Just think what a joy it would be if Netanyahu and chump were in power. Putin dancing a jig.
I've said and am still saying Vote Blue No Matter Who.
I am sickened by what Hamas did to the Israelis on Oct 7. Unbelievable horror. And the horror of what is happening in Gaza is not on Biden, but on Netanyahu.
Choose America?
Which America?
The one of diaper Don? That of white trash Boebert? Subpoena hypocrite Jim Jordan? Functionally illiterate Marjorie Taylor Greene? All the gun nuts eager for AR-15 rampage? The many Republicans on the let's-get-bribed end of dark money? The deviant billionaires running social media hate sites?
Ideologues and misogynists eager to control women? Racists? More racists? Those who would turn schools over to "let's-number-everybody and keep out humanities"? Those would fear books freely chosen by others?
Trumpists have only one America, the CSA that lost the Civil War. May they lose again and again.
It is a question I keep asking myself. What if THEY WIN? Maybe America will think of Harakiri. No one thought so in 2016. Not even the moron himself!
I think the mere fact that we all have that question nagging at us constantly ironically means it is much less likely to occur. 2016 was a sneak attack, and the downside to a sneak attack is that you by definition cannot repeat it. The element of surprise is the central element, and surprise once lost cannot be regained.
It's the same part of your brain that makes you afraid to leave the house after you've been mugged. "What if it happens again and I don't make it?" This whole country is so traumatized, and we can't heal because we keep having to share a friend group with the mugger. Blech.
Will, you’re right. Far too many of us trusted the norms to keep the train on the track. Politicians ignored vast swaths of discontented people who’d seen their jobs disappear and their cultures despised. Trump showed us that appealing to the people who felt forgotten, even if he proposed burning it all down to start over and breaking all the rules, can be a winning strategy.
The good news is that, due to people like HCR, Bob Woodard, Jonathan Karl, Joyce Vance, Jay Kuo and others, we’ve been awakened by the smoke alarm. Now it’s up to us to raise the alarm and work to save the house. It would have been easier when it started, but we can elect people to pass laws to strengthen the norms and shore up the weak parts.
T**** will not win. If, by some nefarious chicanery, he does happen to appear to have taken the election, it will be up to us to make sure he never occupies the Oval Office again.
I don't see, James, how he can live much longer without major stroke.
It's coming, simple result of his being so full of bile, hate, rage, let alone whatever's in his diapers, and whatever chemicals in the orange crud coating his face.
That is my spouse's fervent hope - that a really pissed off Mother Nature does a number on him.
There's an education problem in the US.
A lot of people don't understand this Democrat rhetoric.
That's why Trump uses language as if he's speaking to 5 year olds.
The uneducated and the gullible, these are his people - and there are more of them.
A country usually gets the leaders it deserves.
Educate your people - that's what I say.
His name calling always struck me as junior high, but kindergarten works, too.
Cameron, during Trump's presidency, I tweaked a quote which I thought summed up the way things seem to be going.
"Democracy used to mean that anyone can grow up to be president. Now it means that anyone who HASN'T grown up can be president."
This is why the US has a problem......Education.
By Nov. the bully has a head start
“So God made Trump” is a cheap ripoff of Paul Harvey’s “So God made a Farmer”, which I heard as a Super Bowl ad for Dodge Ram pickups.
Blasphemy on steroids
“So God made Trump.” Trump is following the” self -appointed evangelicals” lead.
“So God made a fighter”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3720540-desantis-releases-new-2022-ad-god-made-a-fighter/
The “new Moses”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mike-johnson-moses-christian-nationalist-gala-1234918565/
It’s all pretty scary.
Thank you so much Heather.
The majority of American people who do embrace facts, science, and evidence must understand this could be the last time in generations that the United States can evolve toward equity, justice, and democracy.
We have seen the critical appointments to the Supreme Court and other vital judicial appointments stolen. We were angry for a moment.
We saw the legal maneuvering to stop legitimate vote counting in Florida as Bush became President instead of Gore. We were angry for a moment.
We saw the Trump appointments of the vastly corrupt to his Cabinet. We were angry for a moment.
We saw Trump accuse journalists of being enemies of the people, as Hitler and the Nazis once did. We were angry for a moment.
We saw Trump impede investigations, obstruct justice, and continue to do so. We were angry for a moment.
We saw Trump dismiss COVID as being nothing more than a cold, suggesting people drink bleach, while hundreds of thousands died. We were angry for a moment.
There are so many examples throughout my journey through life where our societal reaction to egregious action is met with a moment of anger, and then forgotten. The election of Rick Scott to Governor and then Senator is an example. The elevation of Ryan Zinke, another.
In France, talk of raising the normal retirement age is met with days of rage. In America, when we should be removing the cap on contributions to the system instead of continuing to raise normal retirement age we simply shrug our shoulders and move on.
The American people will be reminded daily by scholars like Professor Richardson, Professor Snyder, and even those who worked within the Trump administration that we are on the precipice of ending the American experiment and replacing it with an authoritarian system for generations. A system that encourages the continued concentration of wealth and power so average worker wages will stagnate. Our children and grandchildren will have to work harder at multiple gig jobs in order to pay rent or live at home, victims of our own indifference. This election not just democracy is on the ballot. So is equity, justice, the climate, labor rights, Women’s rights, voting rights, and so much more.
On a connected note:
In the United States, in 2024, democracy is on the ballot. Recent research states 75% of people consume their news on social platforms. With so much at stake, do you trust Musk and Zuckerberg -or is it time for an ad-free, subscriber-supported civic social network that doesn't sell or share data with marketers, shadowy political operatives, or billionaires.
Help us finish something great together: https://wefunder.com/civic.works.corporation.
Your memory is as good as mine, but I have never stopped being angry and fighting back. Sometimes alone, it seems.
Proud to be shoulder to shoulder with you and so many others who read the LFAA’s, stay informed, and are aware of the world around us.
It just seems that there is a vast number of people who recognize things are wrong, and yet, have become docile, obedient consumers. Perhaps the Senator Susan Collins syndrome of witnessing egregious actions and expressing a mild discomfort.
Susan Collins sold her soul long ago. Many do suffer from mild discontent and Kardashian distraction syndrome, which is tantamount to Catatonia in my view. I have never so suffered.
I agree, Jeri. I have been angry ever since that monster stepped out in public to claim his “place” in OUR government. I’m doing what I physically and financially can do to rid us of him and his shirt-tail crew. I keep thinking how my self-educated, brilliant mother born in 1914 and raised by a single mother, went through the Depression and WWII always working hard, reading voraciously to understand what was happening here and in the world, always voting, and developing a true patriotism in us. She would be apoplectic at where we are now. Wish we could talk!
Check this "Ten Commandments: MAGA Edition" infographic which shows how Trump (the Orange Jesus) has violated all the commandments. https://thedemlabs.org/2024/01/07/ten-commandments-maga-edition/
religious arguments aren't going to win anything
I'm not so sure about that, actually. Talking to people using a frame they have already demonstrated a willingness to engage with ups your odds of breaking through a heck of a lot more than insisting their whole way of thinking is wrong. I mean, it still probably won't work, but it has a smaller chance of not-working than the other way, and at least holds more potential for fun "gotcha!" moments.
Thanks for this resource, Deepak. Just subscribed and will start sharing.
Well done again, Deepak.
Today I gave a second donation online to Dem candidate that I like…normally one would have been enough in ‘normal times’ these are NOT ‘normal times’…think a LOT of ’extra Effort’ is required this round….what it is depends on each of us…how much is the MAXIMUM….possible !
Wish I had the resources of Elon, but I have less than in the past. Are all the billionaires repubs. Soros may be maxed out. Ha
‘Time and voice’ type support is also needed, in addition to funding. Perhaps you could volunteer to make phone calls or write letters in place of making donations? It’s helpful to each focus on what we can do rather than what we can’t.
Have always done so, PitterPatter. Love the name
Good for you. Thank you for your service then, Jeri!
Thanks to all who recognize the threat and advocate for an America to be proud of.
PitterPatter (either of the little feet or of the heart), Jeri is one of the stalwart supporters here. On a seriously reduced income, a widow, and trapped in Texas.
True, but I’m not a victim, just another one old enough to have seen one pillar of democracy after another fall with so many unaware or tuning in to an alternative version of America. I grew up with a version with plenty of flaws, but hope and progress. This reversed in the 80’s and it seems that it has been one step forward and two back ever since. The chump cult is likely worse in Texas, but it’s worse than any Covid virus. Thank you for kind words, I have appreciated suggestions here and have ways to engage besides being upset. Critical to my sanity.
Thank you for sharing that background info, Ally. Your thoughtful advocating on Jeri’s behalf was appreciated. (Seems like you’re a stalwart supporter here, too!) Such knowledge makes the human connection flow all the more freely.
Apologies to all if I came across as lecturing. That wasn’t my intent. Just saw an opportunity to ‘plant a seed’ encouraging action and positivity ~ and I took it!
No apology needed, critical that we all DO what we can.
Let us choose above all to promote and protect ‘the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity’. A vote is not just a declaration of preference. It is a strategic choice that, in aggregate, shapes the lives of millions, and perhaps impacts the lives of those already most deprived most of all.
It is one small act, but I am responding to GOP attempts to intimidate and silence Dems by resolving to wear a Biden shirt on every grocery run. I hope too that it catches on and becomes a “thing” (maybe, Taylor Swift, if you’re reading this... you could join me. 😁) The intimidation is real. As my friends have applauded my Biden Shirt Grocery Shopping... only my mother-in-law has shared my post. Many have said that posting about pro-Biden anything risks damaging relationships. I feel the intimidation in the Florida pickup trucks displaying massive “Trump” flags. And the “F Biden” flags that seem intended to intimidate and stop “Biden pride” before it starts. So far, my grocery runs in Biden gear have been uneventful. And that fills me with hope that I’m passing a multitude of Floridians who quietly agree with me, and feel a glimmer of hope as we pass in the aisles.
I do this too because I have genuine enthusiasm for Biden/Harris that must catch on if Biden is to win in Nov. “Anti Trump” messages are not enough. I want to turn the “I-wish-we-had-a-different-choice” Democrats into “All-in-on-Biden” Democrats. I hope my enthusiasm beget enthusiasm that begets enthusiasm that snowballs.
Think about it the next time you need groceries. I promise it feels good to wear Biden. It feels good being a one-person-grocery-rally. And it will feel amazing to one day be part of a seven-million-person-grocery-rally.