McConnell’s hypocrisy and ability to lie while acting outraged never ceases to astound, but even more disturbing is the inability of any media entity to hold him accountable
Agree Suzanne, and the greatest offense is the silence of the press (broadcast media). This is so long past due addressing, and to our mutual peril. What, I ask is a "free press" that might be deserving of the constitutional protections afforded it ? Further, what responsibilities must be demanded of this "free press" ?
D4N, I read what you are talking about in The New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, VOX and other sources. HCR's 'NOTES' are full of links to the 'free press'. We are suffering from the loss of local, journalistic outlets. There are gulfs and gaps, but the landscape is not barren either. As citizens we deserve and need more; we also need to work together to get the 'free press' democracies cannot survive without.
Yes, Fern, that is the problem. Something like 30,000 jobs have been lost in journalism, but one of the bright spots is that individuals with remarkable skills—like Judd Legum and groups like ProPublica — have been able to flourish independently. And, of course, Substack gives someone like Heather Cox Richardson a platform, whereas in more conventional journalism, she might be reduced to sound bites as a talking head. The issue, of course, is that a reader has to be dogged to FIND trustworthy news, which is why I'm so happy that a man who seems to be an ordinary citizen, duped by Fox News, can seek reliief and maybe even have some credibility with like-minded individuals.
This is an exact happening , the common folk or close resemblance , get to have a say, yea 🙌
...it’s broader expose to the majority’s -our nation’s opinions -all the while overshadowed by the incessant bantering of the Jim Jordan’s , the Tuberville’s and the sickening minority cacophony .
After now years of NOT putting up clear evidence NOT shutting their lying lips NOT honoring their oaths, but with ‘still yet’ malice and deviant intent spewing hatred and placating this treasonous ‘base ‘. All this plus a SCOTUS that hands down verdicts that PUT DOWN trusted relied upon laws and on top of that won’t uphold any collective ethics that all other court appointees have to abide by...
I’m disgusted...period.
I’m so sick of hearing it I have turned off the TV, choose only to stream as NOT to have to listen to incessant commercials touting their product is the best, and delete most emails because they’re all asking for donations near 2 years out from an election . Money has become the driving source vs dedication and protection to principles for ...
WE THE PEOPLE!
The country is fine 🗣️HELLO !!!! 65-70% of which wants the freedoms being taken away by the very people we entrusted to care for it.
As for the people who keep voting the liars back in ...sorry isn’t exactly my sentiment
As for the dark money backing this BS...I hope you get to walk in the moccasins of the people who suffered from your selfish ignorance
As for the ‘Christian’ pastors/fellowship who walked away from His Path ...Lord forgive them ..for they DO know what they DO....
Permitting ‘Letters to an American’ , The Lucid, Hopium, and so many other excellent honest sources ...to be published in every state by the ‘free press’ to avail the majority of TRUTH , of FACTS vs what ifs / the could bes or out and out LIES...is such an excellent idea.
I’m going to VOTE 💙
I’m going to continue to pray for everyone with my tongue properly in my mouth
I’m going to speak out , encourage, and promote Democracy again, and again, and again...
Wow!!! Patricia, I wish I’d met you 40 years ago!!! You are a woman after my heart 💙! I LOVE everything you have said, and honestly, I couldn’t have said it any better! WOW!!!!!!!
Thank you Daniel, we have likely fought/worked for/taught the solutions together anyhow. Writing and my vote is the last vestige to bring what’s needed to the masses. I’m inspired by the best Heather , was my first introduction, and since then many more , many of whom I can afford only their teasers. Going back to the land MANY years ago is a limited income to pick carefully with.
So carry on with your charm , write , and be engaged , inspired, and a purveyor of truth. The world needs this ❤️
If the press is allowed to scapegoat ordinary Americans for ratings, what's next? Epps is a Trump fan who actually tried to stop the stampede to the doors of the Capitol on Jan 6th. The irony is that Fox needed to believe in the insurrection and the ludicrous "Stop the Steal," but it couldn't, so it ruthlessly took a man whose only crime was being there and objecting to what was happening, slandered him and ruined his life, for ratings. If a jury doesn't shut down Fox for good, there is no justice left in America.
Well answered by you. If we ever doubted the need for a free press, those doubts should have vanished as soon as fox started spewing lies and trying to kill our country.
We REALLY need to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. Thanks ronnie raygun!
An important point is support of the outlets we read. Subscriptions pay for the work. I can’t afford to pay them all, but my budget has been increasingly being targeted toward substack while maintaining a local, state and national newspaper, along with the Atlantic, Propublica, and Wapo. Spread the money around folks. Freedom isn’t free
Thomas Frank in his seminal book, "What's the Matter With Kansas," explains how propaganda promulgated by extreme right-wing groups use wedge issues (abortion, immigration, undeserving folks getting government handouts, gay rights, women's rights, etc.) to get ordinary people to vote against their best economic and social interests. That $32 trillion national debt has gone mostly into the pockets of the wealthy, at the expense of 98% of our population. The Right uses culture wars to drain our treasury.
My rent was just raised by $100 a month. I'm not going to be able to afford more than one or two Substacks. I can't afford newspapers. I read ProPublica for free. I hate WaPo.
Sadly, our “free press” has followed Rupert and the Money-making model for a while now. Where is Walter who, told it like it was, with nary a whiff of entertainment to be found. True, there are some journalists who have a voice, but investigative journalists are rarer than hen’s teeth,
while “opinion” journalists abound.
I still take a local paper, although I had to switch since the one I had subscribed to for 20 years decided to add 8 conservative opinion writers to their crew. Hell NO, said I.
Where is Paul Krugman - New York Times; where is Rachel Maddow - MSNBC; where is Christiane Amanpour - CNN and PBS; Where is Robert Woodward - Washington Post; Where is Eugene Scott - Washington Post; Where is Fareed Zakaria - CNN; Where is Kate Stafford - AP; Where is Sally Ho - AP; Where is Jeff Leen - editor in charge of The Washington Post's dedicated investigative units; Where is Carol Leonnig - Washington Post; Where is Amy Brittain - Washington Post; Where is Roger Cohen - New York Times; Where are Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb - Seattle Times...
Jeri Chilcutt, just a few names above, a little drop, a hint... We need more good journalists to cover local, state and rural areas, no doubt, but I wouldn't give credit to a villain of the facts for how expensive it is to run a newspaper. We are reaching the American people in different ways and need to focus on the areas that require much more 'free-press'.
Fern There are excellent journalists such as you mention, ProPublica, and other excellent news sources at The Atlantic and elsewhere. However, in our FALSE FACT environment, relatively few Americans bother to read or listen to critical thinking.
It took the House January 6th Committee to highlight for the public the calumny of the Capitol Hill insurrection.
We are, as my Chilean friends would say, in un dialog con mudos (a dialogue of mutes).
The water is available if someone is thirsty. As I once heard “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it think.”
No argument here,, where I live Rupert rules the fools. Every day, I feel like I live in pre-war Germany where there is zip interest in MSNBC, WaPo, NYT, PBS, or anything besides Fox and clones. Sorry for the peek into my world.
What’s happening to CNN? I turned it on the other night and Kaitlin Collins was interviewing Mike Pence and he blathered on about the failed Biden administration and how Democrats are destroying our country. the next night Anderson Cooper interviewed Chris Christie who was (is) the only R attacking Trump, but also about how Democrats were ruining our country. Admittedly I turned them both off mid-interview but what’s happened to CNN that they’re giving time to these Republicans who are the real destroyers of our democracy?
Why don’t they report on the strength of the American economy because of Biden’s policies? I only see reported is the polling that shows most voters think Biden is too old to run, but evidently not Trump, who is nearly as old.
I unwisely tuned into the first few minutes of the Today show this morning. Besides the weather, one of the top stories was about the cocaine found in the White House and people (i.e., Republican members of Congress) upset that the Secret Service investigation has ended without any information released about how the cocaine got there and whose it was. Really, THAT's the most important national story?! Needless to say, I turned off the TV at that point.
This morning, MSNBC carried as part of the "breaking news" that the House narrowly passed the hotly contested NDAA -- and then proceeded to air the presser with McCarthy, Scalise, Emmer, Stefanik, Kiggans, and LaLota, in which they heaped criticism on Democrats, talked about "woke," and nearly broke their arms patting themselves on the back for having squeezed out a passage.
I'm personally disgusted that MSNBC aired the statements by this pack of power-mongering TFG sycophants.
The Republicans always seem to be nothing, if not consistently dedicated to heaping praise on themselves and being loathsome.
Excellent Fern, I copied in addition to reading, to print later for others seeking good journalism.I share (as you know) what i subscribe to also. Often feels like a minimal effort to HELP our Democracy but often the best I can do anymore.
Thank you, Patricia, we are working together with millions upon millions more. Your words and commitment boost our efforts. I would like to add Politico, SLATE, ProPublica, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Nature Brief...I'll stop there, but there are more!
It is not barren, but the mainstream media rarely calls out the lies. There are some good journalists, but overall “reporting” does not challenge their statements very often.. and HOW a is it that Fox is still the main source of news on our military bases???? This might be the most damaging of all .
'Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year.' (THE WASHINGTON POST) I second the call for more journalism in local, state and rural areas. As disappointed as you my be with mainstream media, I am startled by how little effort and awareness many Americans have, including, perhaps, some subscribers, of the excellent journalism by reporters around the country as well as published in The New York Times and The Washington Post. As for the reporting on the 'lies', I see that subject covered quite a lot.
'Pinocchio effect' confirmed: When you lie, your nose temperature rises'
Source:
University of Granada
'When a person lies, he or she experiences a "Pinocchio effect", which is an increase in the temperature around the nose and in the orbital muscle in the inner corner of the eye. In addition, when we perform a considerable mental effort our face temperature drops, and when we have an anxiety attack our face temperature rises, according to a pioneering study that has introduced new applications of thermography.' (ScienceDaily)
Fox may be the main source of news on our military bases, but I'll bet the story about Sen. Tuberville holding up military promotions isn't even mentioned. (NPR had a good story about it yesterday, though.)
Suzanne, there are many accounts of military bases airing Fox News. I have not, however, been able to find any reports indicating that 'Fox is still the main source of news on our military bases????' as you wrote. That would be very bad news. I would like to follow up. If you have a source or sources for your statement, please provide me with the sources' names and links,. Thank you.
Thanks Fern. Problem seems to be that there are smaller numbers of 'us' that understand the divides > yielding a monstrous big problem in search of a large'ish medium. Small i can do little to effect changes that address the largest issue which is 'the megaphone of broadcast' monopoly, or in this case in particular - too many outlets and too few with willingness to advocate 'truth' - as it is on this plane, which is revealing and accepting 'facts in evidence'. Trying is all I've got brother. Thanks again...
Hi D4N. I think that I understand what you mean by indicating that the fragmentation of American society mitigates against any kind of common understanding among us. We may not agree on how big that middle is. The mid-terms were not the anticipated disaster and the economy is better than expected. I wonder as the evidence in various cases mount against Trump, whether a fair number of Republicans give up the ghost. I think that Trump is a model case and an important starting point. I could go through a number of other big obstacles but sticking with we have to keep working on this. We have no choice, D4N. There are no grounds for giving up.
Just in case everyone wants/needs a good news network to watch, may I offer one. I watch MSNBC myself. It has good, true, journalism that reports the truth of what’s really going on in the country/world on the political front. Good, bad, ugly, doesn’t matter. They have interviews and do fact-finding efforts to give the truth. It’s the only station I watch extensively. As a matter of fact, my TV doesn’t know anything about FOX Network. It never had been on that ridiculous channel.
Listening to a variety of experts substantiate their views and understanding of the news helps me LEARN and THINK about what's happening in the world. Heather and Joyce Vance (along with NYT, WaPO, The Atlantic, Atlanta Journal Constitution) are my reading go-to's, providing historical and legal context. Granted, as an elder citizen, I have more time and experience of my own to bring to the conversation, but there's always more to Truth than I'll ever carry in my own backpack.
Here's a source that will probably shock you - Vanity Fair. I am a subscriber and don't read the magazine. I get daily political reporting that in my view is outstanding. Surprises never cease. MSNBC is my primary newscast while I get a number of other newspapers and magazines - Mother Jones, The Atlantic, Boston Globe, Boston Herald (a right wing paper), Orlando Sentinel, Lakeland Ledger, NY Times, Washington Post and others.
You sound like a Partner in Time! And yes, Vanity Fair has terrific writers and articles. When people talk about "The Media" as a monolith of indistinguishable sources, they've no idea what they're talking about!
Yes, it is one of life's pleasant surprises, finding an unexpected source of information that is, in fact, informative. I don't understand their business model, but what the heck?
Same here, my TV doesn't know anything about Fox Spews. And my TV has never been on that despicable channel either. I wouldn't watch that rotten garbage if someone held a loaded gun to my head. I had rather die than watch the excrement they spew on a daily basis. Fox Fascist spews should be what they call that vile poisonous TV channel.
I think it is going to get very costly for those kings of disinformation and outright blatant lies. Correct me if i am wrong, isn't the Smartmatic lawsuit next in line for them?? I remember reading that someone or some other company is going after them too. I sincerely hope they have to bankfupt and take that vile garbage off the air forever. They have caused so much hate and division with their traitorous lies and incitement of violence in America already.
Daniel Cooper Writes Daniel’s Thoughts & Opinions - "Just in case everyone wants/needs a good news network to watch, may I offer one. I watch MSNBC myself."
But does whoever does the rating take account of the colossal list to starboard that has taken place over the past three or four decades?
What was once boring centrism is now slated as "leftism" by people who call themselves "conservatives" but whose sole notion of what's to be conserved is at best "finders keepers".
At worst...
If Al Capone was among us now, he'd be a top GOP candidate for the presidency.
We generate overall news source scores based on scores of individual articles (in the case of online news sources) or episodes (in the cases of podcasts, radio, TV, and video-based sources).
Our current team of over 60 analysts, who are trained in our content analysis methodology, perform the ratings. Our analysts go through an initial 30 hours of training plus an additional 40 hours of ongoing training per year. Our analysts include academics, journalists, librarians, lawyers, military veterans, civil service professionals, and other professions that require high levels of rhetorical and analytical skills.
Each individual article and episode is rated by a pod of at least three human analysts at the same time. Each pod is politically balanced, meaning it contains one person who self-identifies as being right-leaning, one as center, and one as left-leaning. Articles and episodes are rated in three-person live panels conducted in shifts over Zoom. Analysts first read each article and rate them on their own, then immediately compare scores. If there are discrepancies in the scores, they discuss and adjust scores if necessary. The three analysts’ ratings are averaged to produce the overall article rating. Sometimes articles are rated by larger panels of analysts for various reasons–for example, if there are outlier scores, the article may be rated by more than three analysts.
Fine, thank you, but you have not addressed my main point about wildly varying criteria. What was center right in 1963 may be seen as far left in 2023.
Maybe it would help if one took historical cases... writings like Tom Paine's Common Sense... Or why not go further back and consider those of Montesquieu on the rights of blacks or Condorcet's on equal rights for women? Or fast forward to FDR's radio chats...
I just don't see a meaningful standard. Even adherence to truth is difficult to rate since it is so easy to use facts and true statements deceitfully, to proclaim fine principles as a screen behind which to commit crimes.
I can't help remembering conversations with a statistician about "lies, damned lies, and..."
Thanks for including the link. A source that gets updated for bias, leaning, and factual reporting. My goto aa they are separately looking to podcasts.
In reference to the press, once the "free market" principles got applied to the press, it gave conservatives the opening to set their agenda for press access. Tough question asking journalists began to find themselves without access. Then Fox and right wing media came along for the conservatives to hit the ait waves with friendly confines. In order for the MSM tough journalists to be able to talk to both sides, they had to softball their questions. No longer able to inquire and make the conservatives answer the tough questions, that is where we are today. Hungary suffers from this, Russia media today is the same as when the communists party ruled. The American conservative power players took notice how that worked and now are doing the same.
Historians and journalists are in danger in America.
Suzanne, I write to note, according to former Senator Claire McCaskill, that McConnell and fellow Senate Republicans, largely, have written off the 2024 presidential election and, instead, are principally focused on re-taking the Senate in 2024 with the intent of causing irreparable damage to Joe Biden. In turn, McConnell is focused on Republicans, in 2028, retaking the White House and controlling both federal chambers. Because the 2024 U.S. Senate map is daunting for Democrats, I would suggest, among the various 2024 priorities in which we are all engaged, that both retaining and expanding Democratic seats in the Senate be a top priority.
Let's not overlook the importance of getting out the vote when Republicans are trying to limit it. State by state, we need to end gerrymandering. Michigan and 20 other states have it. It works to make legislators work for voters instead of their party.
In addition to that, the importance of not letting politicians and political party officials serve on the Commission. I would note that about the difference between the results in Michigan vs Ohio where in Ohio the drafters of their constitutional amendment didn't include that provision, and the Republican Ohio Governor sat on their Redistricting Commission and of course, Ohio remains gerrymandered!
Yes! It was interesting here in Michigan. It was the Republican Party that sued to try to overturn that provision., first in State Court and then in federal court! Obviously they lost, but the NAACP has also filed suit claiming the commission lines eliminated solidly Black Districts. We are waiting to see if the latest Supreme Court ruling on the Alabama gerrymandering case where the lines were drawn to pack Black voters into less districts will be applied to Michigan, where that was never the intention, but making as many districts as closely competitive was the intended result of the redistricting as laid out in the language of the Constitutional Amendment. In doing so it broke up predominantly Black Districts inside the City of Detroit, and moved the district lines to include suburban areas that brought the new districts to half and half. I would argue with the NAACP that Blacks in Detroit are now better served by the new system, because nothing on the Black Agenda was ever accomplished Statewide until the new system has been put in place here. The new Michigan Budget skews funding back into Detroit, which has never happened under Republican Control! We are now awaiting the Court discisions. Ironic that because of discrimination and packing Blacks into smaller numbers of districts in Alabama, that the same case is being used to overturn Michigan District Lines that achieved the exact opposite!!!
Patricia, In the absence of federal voter protection safeguards, I am every bit as committed as you to instating protections at the state level. Accordingly, I would note I presented an argument for retaining and expanding Democratic Senate seats as a top priority, not the top priority.
Yup. Could see that coming all the way up north. Called strategic thinking. Only wish progressives were working toward the same goal for 2028, especially if the Democratic agenda faces the headwinds of Mr Biden's first term.
Mitch McConnell always finds his own version of truth
Since I started following US politics, I have known Mitch McConnell as a someone who tries as much as possible to consolidate Republican power even in the face of damaging truths. Seemingly fed up with the presence of Democrats, he often changes rules of the country's politics to find "the buttered part of the bread for the Republicans to eat." He knows, by all means, he has to deliver power to the Republican by bending the rules. Sometimes, Mitch McConnell flips the truth when it is hard and damaging to admit by terming that there exists "alternative truth" just to turn away political bullets. He is a friend to corporations and just makes sure that taxes do not hit them and that ensures that their campaign basket is too large and not limited to accommodate campaign donations. Mitch McConnell looks like a broker in the market who lies to traders and ultimately gets the lion share of the proceeds. It took him some months to acknowledged that Biden has won 2020 elections. He sometimes criticises Trump but at the same time backs off and denies any wrong doing by Trump. His behaviour is situational, his blood is Republican, and truth is an alien.
His behavior is similar to some of Africa's leaders especially opposition leader in Kenya Raila Odinga. He does not accept any election that he hasn't won. Up to date, he stages violent protests and claim that his elections are normally stolen, a fact that Supreme Court has confirmed contrarily. When the high costs of living was high when he was in government, he criticised those who were protesting. Recently, because he is not in government, he is protesting the high costs of living to find his angle of truth. According to him, he has to participate even when he has no value to the voters.
(I am a writer and researcher delving into politics, history, technology, etc. I have a mission in Africa: spotlighting underserved communities ignored by the traditional media. I am greatly indebted for the support I have gotten from this community by those who subscribed in large numbers. I have interesting newsletters for this week. You may, if interested, subscribe to my newsletter for free).
McConnell's stonewalling of Obama's 2016 SCORRUPTUS nominee because it was too close to a presidential election, and then doing an about face in October 2020, shows the slimy hypocrite in action. Now we have Tommy of the Turbervilles stonewalling military appointments, for "culture war"reasons, and ignoring the real war consequences to our national security. The party of law and order? The party of national security? The party that takes credit for the IRA after voting against it? "Simply pathetic."
I couldn't agree more, Suzanne. Millions of Americans were suckered by fake news. Hypocrisy is now the main ball swatted about by opposing parties. Elections will be held in inside carnival mirrors. The big question is whether common sense will prevail. Hopefully the tiny backlash against the extreme right gains steam.
My friend Lela and I were just discussing how and what causes narcissism and how it seems to be part and parcel of sociopathy and then what turns the sociopath into a psychopath by definition. We were trying to decide if Donald could legally be labeled a psychopath at this point because of the deaths he was personally responsible for causing during the pandemic, and also about Mary Trump's diagnoses of Trump, because we had both read her book, To Much and Never Enough! we started the conversation with " Have you heard what the Republican House Committees had done in the Christopher Wray hearings? " and on from there.
Equally disturbing is that one man can have so much power as to change the SCOTUS from one that actually tries to interpret the Constitution to a hard right take no prisoners blind to what the majority wants cabal.
I think the problem is that there are a bewildering number of moving parts in the American government. We had stability for a long time because there was a sense of proportion. Government was allowed to do its jobs between election (with some exceptions). Most people were deferential to the power of government and the assumption of expertise. This is obviously an imperfect system. Corruption can flourish. Legislators hang around until they are 90 because the perks are too obvious and generous.
But, allowing for certain spasms turmoil that engaged the attention of the electorate, the system worked - as a system - pretty much as the Framers had planned. There were (gasp!) gaps in political news when there was pretty much nothing to write about.
Now everybody is an expert. Everybody has a plan, except for those indulging in a scheme. People have exposed the essential hollowness of the Framers’ vision and are rushing in to fill the vacuum. Crises, mini and otherwise, are going viral. Moms for Liberty grab the media and start wreaking havoc. Turns out there’s not an East way to stop them. Judges openly make rulings based on their personal bias or benefactor. The campaign season runs for nearly every day we decide is a good day for breathing. In political defeat, politicians rarely lick their wounds. Instead they fund raise based on it.
The ship of state is taking on water and surely one day it will just sag into nothingness weighted down by false actors and invented crises.
Truthfully it’s getting boring. One damn thing after another and we can’t keep our eyes glued non stop. This hardly seems accidental. It’s no longer about holding on to the reins of power - it is more like a continual passing out of new reins to gratify the parched egos of the wannabes.
Totally agreed. How on earth does he keep getting reelected? Kentucky ranks about 52nd in the US in quality of life.... Yes, I know there are only 50 states.... but I will stick with 52nd....
Can the we please find a dozen Dems to start challenging ‘republican’ voter registrations, especially in purple states like Georgia? The good guys need to play the same game. It may swing some elections. Fight fire...
When I was a kid, my parents made it clear that claiming that I should be doing what "everybody" else was doing was not an argument I was going to win. If Dems claim to have certain values, doing illegal or immoral things because the Republican'ts are doing them is not a tenable justification. We need to work harder at registering voters, at rebutting challenges at the polls (the ACLU, if I'm remembering correctly, will help with that), and at living our values.
The most effective youth organization at registering voters according to Forbes Magazine (no liberal bastion) is terrifically effective Harvard students at www.turnup.us/ so please-- please--click on that link, see what they are doing, and make a generous contribution! Our democracy depends on youth mobilization on reproductive rights against the real, very real, threat that a nationwide ban would quickly become law in January 25! So please help them make sure it doesn’t happen and your contribution is entirely tax deductible as Turnup is a nonpartisan 501c3 organization! Thank you!! Really important!!!
Sorry Dan that I have to repeat it but I figure different folks see it each time and it makes a difference if I can get it shown at the start of the night’s thread like tonight; so many geographical audiences and time zones for Helen’s commentary, isn’t there?
I would like to point out that Harvard isn't the only university students to be organizing and mobilizing for the 2024 election. Students at Michigan State and the University of Michigan along with students at Wayne State Universities have joined hands (a miracle in itself) to push for gun safety legislation and action on climate change . These student bodies were the deciding margin in flipping the State Blue. Bridge Magazine did a voter by by precinct anylisis and at every county in and around all the campuses in Michigan the color was overwhelmingly Blue. It was a real joy for me to see that interactive map broken down by precinct! And the actual number of votes cast and for Whom!
Good info here! I recall recently hearing a blurb that some right wing high profile person (not sure who?) put it “right out there” that they (the right) needs to focus on colleges and college aged voters to keep them from voting. Clearly unconstitutional.
Oh Ira; apologies are 'not' necessary to me, nor others on this community of good intent and conscience. I wholeheartedly support your repeating that particular link and advocating it, especially as I feel and hope that HCR agrees that the missions of this community revolve around 'education' of facts in evidence, and wholesome-for-our-nation - conclusions derived to defend our democracy from an educated position of truth and facts in evidence. Now, all that said I say post away to your hearts content unless HCR advise otherwise Ira. *Or perhaps, those that agree with my previous statement of encouragement, all consider asking our Dr. Dynamo to post a link + brief explainer to this non-partisan vote encouragement initiative at or alongside the header or body of her letters - LTAA, thereby perhaps saving Ira (you) the effort of re-posting. I shall do so, and kindly encourage others so persuaded to reach out to her also.
Certainly would be outstanding if HCR would endorse our nonpartisan effort, but I don't expect a journalist, and an esteemed one at that, could or would do so! But thanks for your endorsement, Dan. What is so significant about tens of millions of potential voters' political choices right now is the absolute failure of the mass media to realize and to frequently comment on the extraordinary shift which is going on with respect to reproductive health? This issue has transformed in the last two years from a policy issue of broad interest to a deep and resilient personal issue for tens of millions of potential voters--wherever-- who are aged 18 to 25 both female and male; women aged 25 to 35 or 40; and recent polling has identified a significant group of conservative women aged 35 to 44 who live in suburbs relatively near cities who are worried about the reproductive health possibilities of their daughters! These three groupings can AND WILL decide the elections for President, significantly important House and Senate races, and local races of all sorts!
Therefore, a brilliant and highly effective group of Harvard students: please go to and evaluate www.turnup.us ! They are using advanced NONPARTISAN social media messages (both paid and unpaid), as well as hosts of volunteers, to deliver the message (1) only in key "competitive" congressional districts and states; (2) to register and then to (3) TURNOUT millions of potential voters in these three age groupings. Of course there are other nonpartisan, proven college and nationwide organizations like Planned Parenthood, ACLU, League of Women Voters, etc. which perform these tasks excellently. I will caution you, however, that there are "scams"--many of them--on the internet which sound good but collect your money without doing much of anything. Please be careful!
Finally, the path forward will not be easy; billions will be spent by opponents; misinformation will abound; nay-sayers are and will be vocal; but multi-millions of well intentioned voters throughout this troubled Nation will cast their ballots for candidates who are pledged to protect reproductive health (and trans as well); effective gun control and gun safety; and finally--in the midst of heat--a majority of the public (and certainly younger voters) will recognize and vote to really support OUR DESPERATE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE!
Sorry for taking so long to deliver this message. If you think it is worthy, please donate to www.turnup.us and pass this message along to friends and family and, if you desire, please copy parts of message and pass it on as well to others, and please mention it to most politicians who really think that most money spent on politics must be spent on TV (which these multi-millions of young voters don't watch)! Thanks for listening!
It can't be said too often, Ira! Repeat, repeat, repeat. This is not getting enough press.
As I have said frequently, if Gen Z and Y will represent about 45% of the potential voters, getting them registered and motivated is not only a strategy. It's THE strategy that if not employed will lead us to further fascism. McConnell is a corrupt fascist and so are six Extreme Court justices. We CAN'T lose the Senate.
Thanks BC; every donation helps as we have a big job coming up; please pass along your comment with a link to www.turnup.us to your friends and family.
This is a fantastic link. Thanks for sharing it Ira. I’ll check it out further. Bring disabled and on a very tight budget, donating a large sum is impossible for me, but I’ll do what I can to help these young people get their jobs done.
When you first noted www.turnup.us, I prominently added a link to our list at defendyourvotingrights.org of groups supporting voter registration and the exercise of the unfettered right to vote. Thanks to the devoted efforts of such orgs and talented journalists like HCR, our site narrates, by daily headlines and excerpts, the rise and long free fall of 54+ Trump enablers. And especially the heroic efforts of the many to recover and renew our precious democratic Republic and global leadership. To see these Enablers, play a version of Blackjack, demonstrating that voter suppression and election manipulation are exactly like a rigged Card Game.
1. Challenging voters is not illegal. 2. republicans realize disproportionate voice on the biggest issues because they play hardball better than Dems, e.g. reproductive rights. Our values, and rights, are being stripped away by these sociopaths. This is the game in front of us. Dems must play to win, or we will forfeit away those values.
I strongly agree John and have lobbied to the affect that all opposed to extremist tactics, turn those tactics and any and all legally acceptably worse efforts back at them. Apathy and inertia lends a free pass that extremists will happily take.
It struck me that if the situation were reversed and there was a Democrat Tommy Tuberville gumming up the works, every Republican’t would be crying foul with big crocodile tears—except for Manchin and Sinema. Is someone directing Dems to have 1 voice speaking or is the media just not publishing Democrats because they speak with reason and facts rather than outrageous lies? Sometimes it does look like apathy and inertia.
I have the same questions. Tee Tub claims that the hold up doesn’t threaten security or military readiness. Have seen 2 generals contradict that and state that Tee Tub’s block is causing harm to both.
Apparently Tee Tub is of the opinion that he knows more than the generals. Now where have I heard that before.......?
Gigi, I love, love, love (where 'is' the right emoji ?) .. that you 'get' what I'm saying here, and apparently so do others from the "likes". That's a dandy thought to put forth to the broadcast media on their social platforms and direct email.... en mass by a healthy number of us, and just worded in a matter-of-fact manner without flames and anger. Honey is far sweeter than 'vinegar' isn't it ?
McConnell so proudly and publicly obstructed President Obama, but now refuses to own the chaos and extremist mess he has made of SCOTUS??? Oh, no, Mr McConnell. Truth will out.
I'm afraid death is the only thing that will put an end to his reign of destruction. I only wish there was some appropriate version of hell for him, too. A true monster.
YES, i agree, and just look at how much better off Germany was after Hitler met his demise. They had a huge mess to clean up and they rebuilt and are a diverse nation now and are so much better off now. So much for Hitler's thousand year Reich. (Hmmm. the spelling doesn't look right in the word, '' Reich''. Someone please correct me if i spelled that wrong.) Those dedicated MAGAt's should be forced to watch those Hitler documentaries just to see how Fascism and Dictators can ruin an entire nation, and all of the death and destruction that goes along with it.
A SOFT LANDING! RELIEF FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE! BETTER ODDS FOR BIDEN! ???
'The latest numbers on consumer prices arrived on Wednesday, and they were better than even optimists had expected. Even media reports, as far I can tell, generally omitted the “but concerns remain” qualifiers that have seemed mandatory when covering good news about the Biden economy.'
'Which is not to say that everyone was happy. Republicans are more or less in denial, no doubt worried that they may be losing pretty much their only substantive campaign issue — leaving them with nothing to run on besides wokeness and Hunter Biden. And there have been some fairly peevish reactions from economists who had committed themselves to the grim view that we would face a nasty “sacrifice ratio” — that controlling inflation would require years of high unemployment.'
'For this report was anything but grim. It strongly suggested that we may be heading for a soft landing — a return to acceptable inflation without a large rise in unemployment. We’re not there yet, and I’ll talk shortly about what may still go wrong. But a happy outcome that not long ago seemed like wishful thinking now looks more likely than not.' (Paul Krugman, NYTimes) See gifted link below for more of Krugman's Opinion.
But we MUST have price controls and rationing of food and gasoline ASAP. Probably impossible without big Dem win in ‘24, but climate change demands it and it’s fairer to everyone. It worked once, we can do it again.
What about addressing the fossil fuel sector and Biden cancelling his approvable of ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana? Why not stop what's killing us first and step up the alternatives?
Better yet, start enforcing anti-trust and break up some of the super-massive conglomerates that have long been hoovering up every major business in sight.
Much of the inflation that has punished the 90% and devastated the 50% is "greedflation". Robert Reich has schooled us on that with vivid details to include the record breaking profits of those conglomerates. And huge pay packages for the clowns who run them.
While families were struggling with high gas prices and rising interest rates, food companies were hiking the cost of every grocery item. And if the price didn't go up, the size of the product went down! Google "shrinkflation" or Paul Solomon on PBS.
Then the clueless Fed attacked the broad population to slow the economy when they should have been pointing at the money grubbing monsters you refer to.
I know it's not in their charter to do such. But they could look at the economy with a broader lens. And they do have a bully pulpit. Instead, they live in a delusional ivory tower and vote to flip a switch one way or the other. They don't live in the same world we do.
This is the story Democrats should be telling. It's about the pain of modest paychecks that can't keep up with rising prices CAUSED by big business. Oligarchs and stockholders were doing fine, while many of us had to cut back on protein. The egg fiasco was a perfect example.
I don't believe in price controls. But as an old "business guy" I believe in competition. Our choices for everything are narrow or non existent.
Good post here, Bill. I had noted that the price of my beverage of choice (Polar brand flavored fizzy water) had started to climb, and then returned to its former price....with four fewer cans in the package. My 12 pack is now an 8 pack.
Oddly enough, when Bill Alstrom mentioned "shrikflation" above, that was the first product to come to mind, fresh from my morning encounter at the supermarket. Except in my case the price. went steeply up, while the quantity came down. And that's true with so many products. It also seems to me that the price of things that I am certain are very cheap to produce has inflated far more than "average" and far more than could be explained by increased production costs, such a package of four hamburger buns for $4.99. My wife saw "premium" peanuts for $13/lb. I'm old enough to remember when "I bought it for peanuts" meant it was exceptionally cheap. I am aware that the price of everything tends to rise over time, but my sense is that the markup as a percentage of price for many food items is way up; and how do the poor cope with that?
It seems to me that the public is so alienated from our own society that fewer can spot an unreasonably expensive product, or resist it, than in the mid 20th Century. We complain but feel powerless; yet our primary leverage lies in the wise use of the vote, and restoring competition to the marketplace. I enjoyed the robust sales competition that characterized Internet sales in earlier days, but that so of democratic-style commerce seems to be ebbing there as well.
As the expansion of population expands, I an finding stores, especially the big box stores offer few options. A lot of items for which there is less demand (but are still very useful) have become harder to obtain. There is more choice on the Internet, but even there I find shrinking inventory. Both in physical stores and online I find it much harder to buy smaller quantities of things; enough to be a significant problem. One of many examples, I searched and searched for someone to sell me a single, specific capacitor, a small electrical component. After a thorough search I found I could buy a bag of 100 of them noticeably cheaper than anyone would sell me one; or even 10, so I bought the big bag with the thought I might (maybe) need some of them some other day; but what a waste. I get that there are fixed costs to mail order and expect a small quantity premium, but lately it has been absurd. It should not cost more to buy one than to buy 100. In a more diverse, competitive market I would expect that to be the case.
I’ve been asking... do we or do we not still have anti-trust laws? When I was a young school girl back before the Spanish-American War, I clearly recall our Econ teacher going into detail about these laws. Economics was a high school course back in my day.
They have not been well enforced for many years, thanks to the legacy of Robert Bork ("The Antitrust Paradox"). However, there are organizations like the Open Markets Institute and the Institute for Local Power doing great work to highlight the impact of monopoly power on the U.S. economy. Also, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has taken up the issue. I recommend her book "Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age."
What planet do you live on? Earth 3, where the sky is green and the grass is blue? We must have price controls and rationing of food and gasoline ASAP??
It's so embarrassing when morons like you claim you're on my side. Were you even alive in 1971 when that was done? Do you know that was what led to the stagflation of the rest of the 70s?
While I might have said all that differently TC, it is a fact that price controls were tried and failed miserably by none other than R. Nixon, of all people. Price controls especially can not work when the world or us try to levy them on monopolies, leaving but two options that come to mind; alternative energy sources and monopoly busting where *possible if it's outcome can be *assuredly positive for consumers.
Come on, TCinLA, cool your jets. I get your point about price controls and rationing, but the oh-so-briefly-implemented wage and price controls under that well known Bolshevik Richard Nixon did not lead to the stagflation of the rest of the '70s. OPEC deciding to strut its stuff, and the winding down of the illegitimate yet expensive war in Vietnam, among others, were far bigger factors.
Effective civil discourse, the gift of this site, and use of the derogatory and offensive term “moron”, are not compatible. Your argument assets something that I think may be true (the ineffective of the 1970’s price restrictions) but instead of giving the reasons to those under (and over) 45, you simply attack, Trump-style, by name-calling.
Heather, thank you for pulling this information together. I applaud Ray Epps for seeing how Fox News, along with some of the House Republicans, have no problem with attacking members of their own party with scurrilous stories. It doesn’t matter if you’re a lifelong Republican and voted for Trump twice; if they need to defame you to promote their conspiracy theory, you’re toast. Rick Wilson’s book title (Everything Trump Touches Dies) is so true; he acts like a mob boss recruiting lieutenants and unwitting foot soldier who sacrifice their honor for a Pat on the head. Rupert Murdock appears not to have learned his lesson; perhaps Smartmatic will teach his opinion hosts that spouting “alternative facts” can be prohibitively expensive.
I think President Biden may well reconsider his view regarding expansion of SCOTUS as a "political" move that will make such moves common. The SCOTUS is already corrupt and unbalanced via such corruption. Time to add 4 seats and "rebalance". Now would not be a good time. After the election, assuming both chambers of Congress are (D) and Biden is in his second term, it would be time to burn the filibuster and fix SCOTUS. Also, Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) has some excellent thoughts on SCOTUS reform. See: https://youtu.be/RBpuW35aZHQ
Yes. Biden does not want to make supreme court reform into an election issue that republicans would twist and misrepresent. As you say, it is a pointless conversation until he gets 52 senators including manchin plus one other likely holdout. If Biden CAN pass such a bill, I believe he will do so.
For the life of me I cannot understand why ANY American, irrespective of political persuasion, could actually think that having a Supreme Court with the same number of Justices as when U.S. Grant was President makes any sense
Thanks for that, Alexandra. After a long day, to have one of my snippets described as cogent by a woman whose small sample of commentary that I am aware of is quite cogent indeed, I am certainly appreciative!
Bartholomew Clark, thank you for the opportunity to hear Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) .
What a learned American patriot.....a freedom fighter if I ever heard one.....so excellent!!!!
I agree we do not need (potentally corrupt...) justices to be appointed to the Supreme Court. We as citizens should make it known that we do not approve of any of OUR Supreme Court justices who allow their opinions to be bought. The persons who are contributing to this corruption should be named and held accountable. Justice should be for all Americans, not for just a few!!!!
Heather, another masterpiece in reporting the important issues facing us! I had heard and read about a number of the issues you talk about: NY State getting a properly drawn voter map; China alleged spy Gal Luft’s attempt to smear Biden and now on the run; the lawsuit against Fox by Trump supporter Epps, McConnell’s minimizing of the right wing SCOTUS he helped usher in. All too much to absorb at once, but the forces for good seem to be on the move. Keep us informed, and we will all roll up our sleeves to get voters to register and vote in the coming year. Thank you, Heather.
The current court dominated by self-serving kangaroos is the vindictive creation of Mitch McConnell. History will rightfully record McConnell as the father.
Earlier today when I saw the Pro Publica report on the Georgia voter registration challenges I wondered if HCR would pick up on it. And she did! I found it both interesting and infuriating. However, I would urge folks to read it (HCR has the link in her footnotes) to see how it is being dealt with. Democratic activists, even from Stacy Abrams' Fair Fight initiative, are taking this very seriously and are taking measures to see that this is dealt with. Even Sec'y of State Raffensperger's office is taking it on as well -- it appears that Raffensperger's office took Pro Publica's report VERY seriously. They mainly want to ensure that Georgia is in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) with regard to how such challenges are initiated and handled and that there is uniform policy in all 159 of Georgia's counties. (They did may a big boo-boo, because at one point they refer to Gwinnett county as the state's "most populous county" and then a few paragraphs later, they called it the state's "second most populous county" . . . oops!) Anyway, I like to think shining a light on this pretty outrageous occurrence from the '22 election is going to ensure that this will not be the case in the run-up to'24. Georgia is going to be under a magnifying glass as one of the key swing states, so there is a lot at stake and I think Raffensperger is going to want to see to it that things run smoothly. Also, with the looming indictment of the Big Orange Menace, and possible trial, we will be getting increased scrutiny because of that too.
You’re right James. I was unfair and I apologize to all the faithful DOJ employees who are no doubt working their asses off for us. I’m hoping against hope that Merrick Garland and his ace assistant, Jack Smith, bring a monstrous RICO charge against all of these seditionists. When that happens, I’ll frame a picture of Merrick and Jack and mount the picture in my hall of heroes. Thank you for bringing my faux pas to my attention. I can do better.
If FOX billed itself as "FOX Propaganda Corporation" it wouldn't be so bad & let's face it their viewers wouldn't even question it. The viewers don't know & don't care that they are being lied to because it fills their empty lives with the notion that their grievances are just & they can wallow in self-pity about how they are being persecuted. Hadn't we been told that republicans believe in pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, & taking personal responsibility. Where did all that bravado go? They are now presented with a president that is doing his best to improve the lives of everyone & they are flipping him off & ignoring the fact that if his policies were encouraged & new laws were passed they might just get those good paying jobs they weep & wail over losing. There is/will be numerous good paying jobs that will not require a college degree & can't be outsourced because the recharging stations & wind mills & solar panels are HERE in the US & no matter how hard they try companies are not going to be able to uproot that infrastructure & send it overseas. But like I said, well like I implied, they are just down right ignorant. When I see these conspiracy theories being spouted by the so-called representatives in Congress I just want to grab them by their collars & say, "Are you listening to yourselves? If you really believe all the hogwash that you are spouting you really need to go back to school & learn how to think critically. Do you really believe the bu**sh*t that trumps is feeding you? Can you really look at the things that he says & believe it?" I guess they can, at this point it's must plain embarrassing to admit that they have been conned. There is one thing that trump is good at & that's conning people & like he said, "I love the undereducated!" Well, of course, he does undereductated people don't question, they believe what's put in front of them & the fancier the 'barker' the more they love him/her & believe them.
Woe is the US to have these idiots voting in the next election.
I refuse to get cable or satellite TV because I will not give even a small amount of money to support FOX TV. The best way to get rid of FOX TV is to boycott them.
The Don Trump Booster Club doesn’t seem to be working out for its members very well lately. Exhibit A: Mike the pillow guy was making bank selling lumpy pillows, but then he fell in love with Donald, and it all seems to have fallen apart. I guess love really is blind.
We think of the rule of law in the context of criminal cases. But civil lawsuits are helping to save democracy and punish those profiting from extraordinarily destructive propaganda. Make that lies.
Thanks for your well informed news roundup tonight. An early night for you and me here in Oregon. We are seeing our first summer fires and fire activity growing with the high temperatures. I am wondering about flooding in Vermont and elsewhere in NE we only get snippets of it out here. A good reminder that change like weather is about what is happening locally.
I have a decades long friend in Vermnot who reports heavy rains with more on the way. In Montepelier, the Capitol the streets are flooded & VT Governor warns of more on the way. Southern Texas, (all my X's roast in Texas) New Mexico, Arizona & SoCal are experiencing extreme heat. SoCal peaks this Weekend.
The first El Nino since 2019 may generate upper level eastern winds from the Pacific into the Gulf which could act as a counteracting force to cyclonic lows.
Make sure a "pressure drop doesn't fall on you." More weather at 11
I strongly recommend WEATHER UNDERGROUND which uses scores of local, weather data monitors at all locations which you can tune-in for precision data at specific locations.
Yes, it’s long past time for elected official climate change deniers to shut up and for our tax dollars to continue to fund policies and fast track new solutions to mitigate and possibly reduce losses. And subsidize insurance. The flooding and storms, fires and extreme drought and heat are continuing to cost individual homeowners and residents. In my Northern California mountain community we routinely experience fires up hill and we are all paying steep prices for mandatory insurance and inspections. Unaffordable and reduced values. I live in a small community with few amenities except for landscaping and outside maintenance. Yesterday all plantings in the front small courtyards that could possibly block vision or movement to the driveway were cut down, pulled out and replaced with rock. For sure losing shade and heating up the homes. Thirty year old lush camellias, azaleas and more. Today I replaced my anger with acceptance that this isn’t even the beginning of Climate Change. It’s here. Costs are more than money. Wealthy politicians and their supporters aren’t affected the way middle and low income homeowners and renters who see property as their only wealth. And losses. They continue to block legislation or end funding. We should be planting trees, increasing green spaces, according to experts. How do we do both and create safe communities? Is it too late?
Is it too late? is not a useful question, I think. We are here, and there are hundreds of thousands of people in dire circumstances. That alone should motivate us without all the angst over the ultimate fate of our planet. For all the good President Biden has done, and it's quite impressive, giving Joe Manchin's pipeline and the Alaskan project the green light are on the other side of the scales. I'm in New York City where the air is only supposed to be dangerous to children, the elderly and the compromised, and my local pharmacist cautioned me about walking maybe half a mile to pick up my prescription until after 7 when the temperature would be more bearable. She waited until I got there, and I found her sweltering because the AC had gone out in her store.
progwoman, IMHO in the big picture we (all humans/gov’ts/nations) need to be thinking about where/how humanity will live/survive. It has been rolling out for awhile, but is now getting on the Tee-Vee & folks are finally starting to take it as seriously as it is, tho’ some still resist. Likely we will be looking increasingly at climate “refugees” w/in and from w/out (further increasing immigration tensions) our country (will affect countries worldwide)—it has already started, but like that proverbial snowball rolling downhill, it will get ever larger. This is going to be a very big lift, especially if we don’t take the long view and don’t have some kind of plan (need the best minds parsing it). I don’t think reworking insurance coverage is going to cut it when communities are repeatedly destroyed—it may come down to determining (guessing!?) if an area is ultimately habitable, just as some island nations are already looking a the wholesale movement of their entire population elsewhere….yeah, but where/how/who pays for it? It is the existential threat for our times (of all human times?) and yet we still need to go to work, make dinner & do the dishes, figure out our politics, etc…..you know, “life”.
Yes, I think what we can't conceive is that WE might be in need of migration, and a lot of people aren't paying attention. Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas are the three top destinations for people leaving the East and cold climates.And just this week, we learned that you might not be safe from huge floods in Vermont or tornadoes in Chicago. Colorado friends fled their home of many years minutes before it went up in flames and down to the water main. I want to recommend a book that has helped me ease into this subject, in large part because I heard the author, Davide Geffen, speak. It's called A Traveler's Guide to the End of the World, and he researched and wrote it in response to his daughter's asking what the world might be like when she is his age. It helped me focus on life rather than my fear/rage/impotence about the behavior of some of our fellow human beings.
I am in an area that folks will likely be drawn to. It is currently rural, with a low population county-wide, but that will probably change. We have forests that can, and have fiercely burned to the east of me, but we also have the moderating coastal influence—fog!—that keeps the fire danger, for present, at bay closer to the coast. Wild fires happen here, but they’re not as intense, except in the mountains to the east—they have been “toasted” by a number of fires in recent years. I’ve already been scoping out habitable surrounding land, including “infill” w/in current city/town boundaries; many folks don’t like the idea, but I’m taking a long-view of options—with increased population, infrastructure will need to be rethought and updated. We still need to leave plenty arable land for food production—it is so shortsighted to pave over & build on farmland because it’s flat and nearby!!!! Thanks for the book rec. I worry about my nieces, nephews and their kids (and so on down the line)….well, all of us really. We’re getting a really late start due to hampering by all the monied interests. Hmmmm, maybe we should start printing money on edible paper….won’t do much good in a world simultaneously burning an drowning.
There are multiple fires 🔥 in western Riverside County, California this Weekend. The "Rabbit Fire" has burned over 7000 acres. The "Heat Dome" is still in place. Many consecutive 100+ Days in El Paso, Texas. Take care All.
I checked the WEATHER UNDEGROUND data driven graphics for MONTPELIER VT over the next five (5) days. 3 of next 5 days have data showing Thunderstorms & ⚡Lightning ⚡starting this afternoon. Only 0.26 inhes of rain today ⛅🌩🌨 but, upstream, flows continue. Thinkin' about the folks in the Granite state. 🙏
A friend forwarded me this news item. Really helps explain what's happening in Vermont (Green Mountain State) as well as its neighbor New Hampshire (Granite State)
Ally, it’s hard to relax at all when that kind of tension is thrumming in your mind….hope all in the Valley & surrounding hills/mountains are being extra cautious (and no thunderstorms on the horizon…)….I fear this is the new dry weather normal for much of the west (and, now, Canada…and….and…and).
It’s all about power and votes….Dems and reps fighting it out with ‘redistricting’ and innumerable other machinations to get ‘their way’ in whatever election comes next …and THEIR WAY can clearly be identified in ‘party control’…..
The 2022 election was by all reports the cleanest one we have ever had….Covid and the ‘mail in’ vote really kept it clean.
In Oregon the mail in vote is the only way to vote…everyone uses it and there’s been no fraud…..
Couldn’t we learn from this past election and the Oregon experience and simply authorize the ‘mail in’ vote in an easy fashion, for everyone as an option…..in CA it now represents 87% of the vote and I’d guess that would be increasingly true elsewhere as well, if it’s promoted and made simple to execute.
My guess it would be super popular and most important…just.
Joan, you state facts. In the Republican world, facts don’t matter. “Fraudulent vote-by-mail” was part of Trump’s conspiracy theory on why he lost the election. Vote by mail is secure, but the Republicans spoiled it with their talking points. Everything Repubs touch turns to sh*t.
I think it’s time to particularly emphasize just how genuinely fine that election actually was!
You are right Cathy about the reps and truth…generally it’s the exact opposite of whatever they ‘say’….and in this particular case it has never been more so….
And the truth, here, is so bloody important…..it’s the accurate response to Trumps most basic election lie and THE foundation for his ‘rerun’…..(the idiot ‘stolen’ LIE) and the ANSWER to future fair elections…..
Joan, I have voted by mail in the last two elections. I must say I do miss the ceremony and camaraderie of walking the two blocks to my little town’s (pop 1200) voting site. No waiting in line, chatting with the poll workers, a nod & smile at my neighbors. That part I miss, but know the ease of voting by mail. Needing to “make sure” it got there (even if early!) and despite several nearby drop boxes, I drove to the county elections office to put it in the drop box right outside the entrance….wanted to be as close to the endpoint as possible! I don’t EVER want to take my right to vote for granted.
Barbara…completely agree on the loss of camaraderie…..but at 85 in a state with a complex ballot where spreading it out on the kitchen table really helps with ‘those’ propositions….AND walking the completed ballot to the mailbox…I’m a huge fan!
The reps hate ‘mail-ins’ (they can’t tamper with states like Oregon so easily when it’s universal…)..and I think it’s safe to say they may well be majority dem….
There has been quite a change in the "dialogue" recently, with a number of comments becoming nasty diatribes. I believe they may be written by chatbots using AI, or else by people whose only contribution to life is to heap insults on others to obscure their own derangements. Has anyone else noticed that?
I suspect that you are right. I think Putin is ramping up his election interference machine again. Just like in 2016, today when I tried to comment in support of NATOs decision to not touch off literal World War III by admitting Ukraine now with a hot war and Russian Troops in Ukraine presently, all my entries took many minutes to even display on my screen, and after posting certain vital words were spelled wrong like arms was substituted with air. This was the exact same thing that happened to me while trying to comment on Hillary's policy positions then. Same with the Washington Post! Both Times, the Comment sections were later determined to be riddled with Russian Bots, remember. That was one reason Hillary's digital campaign director said that they couldn't get their message out.
Many digital defenses can be deployed at the USER end. My cell phone defenses have improved significantly after moving to Google's "Pixel 6". But, (always a but) there are positives & negatives on ALL digital Platforms.
I shouldn't even reply to this attempt to distract and reflect, but I can't resist. Hillary told us what was in those deleted emails and her record of honesty way out does Donald Trump, a compulsive lier! These were personal emails, and on top of that she distroyed the emails and server to preserve national security when it was brought to her attention! Also, since Russia could never find them, and we would have heard if they had! You are making a rather silly argument. Not like storing military battle plans in a bathroom or ballroom off a quasi public pool area!! Like I said, I presume you are on this site as an agent of interference, and a foe of American Democracy!
Hold on, I voted for her but that politicization led her to lose the election. And she shouldn’t have lost. But she made a mistake putting government business on her personal computer and the opposition used it successfully against her.
As in, “Man that Gym Jordan can be diatribey!” With a little more scientific research, we should be able to establish that this is also a form of mental disorder, which might possibly be treatable with a qualified medical intervention of some sort. The home intervention approach doesn’t seem to be effective.
Yes, Frank & i have had lengthy communications with Substack Inc regarding many Platform content moderation matters including the potential of Algothorimic, Bot & Troll driven disruptions.
There have been some minor improvements that some have noticed. We, meaning HCR's created digital Community, has "Terms of Service" that provide a number of benefits in my view including contractually defined roles for "Authors", "Readers" and, yes, the Platform, Substack Inc.
The hostility & personal attacks are common to virtuallly all Platforms. Must deal with it.
I just keep reporting them and encourage others to do so as well. I'm late onto the forum today and I don't notice the most recent copy/paste repeatedly troll today. Hopefully, he's gone.
I did report one "guy" who appeared to be copying and pasting. If someone makes nasty comments like "what, you moron!" Is that reportable, or is there a general rule on substack about offensive speech that has been published?
I trust you are not including me. I kept asking us to be more reflexive as to why we often lose elections and ask ourselves that maybe just maybe we are doing something wrong. If I work on a project and it doesn’t go well, I blame myself. It’s not enough to just think, “We gotta bring out the vote.” No, maybe we must ask why some of what we support may be holding us back. Inevitably, it’s called compromise in order to win. I’m just itching to say it so I will. Please stop supporting trans women on girls teams. I don’t care if it is a rare occurrence. People despise this. I do. If you insist on this new demand, prepare yourself to lose elections. It’s that simple. Stop be ing obtuse.
As you may remember Bill, I've had a few back and forths with you. I think you are a man of good faith seeking the best for the Democrats and their broader perspective.
However having said that, you are incorrect on the transgender issue, both in arguing for dehumanizing a discrete class of courageous, embattled people, and in making the "issue" much larger than it is.
"Please despise this"?!? Really??
As I have mentioned previously, the transgender issue was addressed fully and fairly by the Biden administration in a compromise manner.
Finally, ask yourself this----If a group of voters are so triggered beyond Pavlov by the very mention of transgender people that they would vote for the GOP due to their cowardly bashing of the entire LGBTQ community, are these really the voters a responsible political party could ever reach?
Ok, have it your way. I’m telling you that you want to sink the ship because you can’t see the difference between reality and crazy. You are simply unable to get it. And that’s ok. So go and get out the vote. And see how far that gets you. Let me tell you something straight up. Some of us (I had this talk with friends who generally think alike) that these crazy issues will be ammo to the opposition. You probably think we are all haters. I’ve been around the world I am familiar with lifestyles that are different from mine. It doesn’t phase me. But I don’t care if someone has their feeling hurt because they were male one year and now a cool with being female and rush to join a girl’s team. I don’t know why I need to regurgitate this it’s real simple. I want to see our side make progress but the other side of me say, who cares. As long as I prosper. Hey, I did spend 3 years trying to write a book about the mad man called Trump so I obviously put my ideals where my mouth is.
Gee Bill, I didn't know you were the point of the sword for the old notion that "no good deed goes unpunished". I compliment you and you return same with telling me that "I want to sink the ship because I can't see the difference between reality and crazy"?!?
Really?!? And you don't even respond to my points save with ad hominems and simplistic, prejudicial slurs about transgender people?!
I am beginning to suspect Bill Katz might be Russian. Again, there is a pattern emerging that has that feel to it of 2016 in his commentary. They've learned camoflaging techniques like claiming to have written a book on Trump, but what was the title and who was the publisher?
Defined "Authors" including "Tantrums" have contractual duties, express & implied, & are bound contractually to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) forum at JAMS SF. SF Superior Court for bad faith renegades.
Why don’t you buy my book and find out. I’ll even autograph it for you. It’s only $15 softcover. You people want everyone to think like you do; lock, stock and barrel. It doesn’t work that way. Some of us have individual minds. May I ask if either of you are trans? Just wondering.
Lol Bill was railing about trans athletes, B1 visas and immigration the other day. When challenged it was “I’m entitled to my opinion and wrote a book”. Today he rails below about the need to ignore “dreamers” in immigration legislation. Bill seems a bit dicey but pushes his YouTube attempts at musical… something. He’s been filed in my skim bin.
Bill supports girls and women’s issues and guy to girl things are not women’s issues. I have been a feminist support all my life and will continue to be. I am opinionated and this wrote a book about one of them. On the topic of Dreamers, I am supportive of them absolutely but I’m equally supportive of immigration reform for two reasons; it’s broken and needs to be addressed and also, this unresolved issue will come back to bite us during the election cycle and me thinks you don’t quite understand the complexity of having issues tossed back and thereby lose an election. It’s called compromise Sister Gail, and this is what politics is about. We keep losing or almost losing because we don’t understand how to reach and reach an accord with the nuts on the right. Glad I’m in your skim bin whatever that is.
I am never going to despise people who transition from one gender to another. You have absolutely NO idea what it feels like to be in the wrong body, and how right it feels to be in the correct one. Your harping on this one particular issue sounds like it touches a nerve for you in some way, or that you buy into some of the ridiculous things that the MAGAts say about folks.
McConnell’s hypocrisy and ability to lie while acting outraged never ceases to astound, but even more disturbing is the inability of any media entity to hold him accountable
Agree Suzanne, and the greatest offense is the silence of the press (broadcast media). This is so long past due addressing, and to our mutual peril. What, I ask is a "free press" that might be deserving of the constitutional protections afforded it ? Further, what responsibilities must be demanded of this "free press" ?
D4N, I read what you are talking about in The New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, VOX and other sources. HCR's 'NOTES' are full of links to the 'free press'. We are suffering from the loss of local, journalistic outlets. There are gulfs and gaps, but the landscape is not barren either. As citizens we deserve and need more; we also need to work together to get the 'free press' democracies cannot survive without.
Yes, Fern, that is the problem. Something like 30,000 jobs have been lost in journalism, but one of the bright spots is that individuals with remarkable skills—like Judd Legum and groups like ProPublica — have been able to flourish independently. And, of course, Substack gives someone like Heather Cox Richardson a platform, whereas in more conventional journalism, she might be reduced to sound bites as a talking head. The issue, of course, is that a reader has to be dogged to FIND trustworthy news, which is why I'm so happy that a man who seems to be an ordinary citizen, duped by Fox News, can seek reliief and maybe even have some credibility with like-minded individuals.
This is an exact happening , the common folk or close resemblance , get to have a say, yea 🙌
...it’s broader expose to the majority’s -our nation’s opinions -all the while overshadowed by the incessant bantering of the Jim Jordan’s , the Tuberville’s and the sickening minority cacophony .
After now years of NOT putting up clear evidence NOT shutting their lying lips NOT honoring their oaths, but with ‘still yet’ malice and deviant intent spewing hatred and placating this treasonous ‘base ‘. All this plus a SCOTUS that hands down verdicts that PUT DOWN trusted relied upon laws and on top of that won’t uphold any collective ethics that all other court appointees have to abide by...
I’m disgusted...period.
I’m so sick of hearing it I have turned off the TV, choose only to stream as NOT to have to listen to incessant commercials touting their product is the best, and delete most emails because they’re all asking for donations near 2 years out from an election . Money has become the driving source vs dedication and protection to principles for ...
WE THE PEOPLE!
The country is fine 🗣️HELLO !!!! 65-70% of which wants the freedoms being taken away by the very people we entrusted to care for it.
As for the people who keep voting the liars back in ...sorry isn’t exactly my sentiment
As for the dark money backing this BS...I hope you get to walk in the moccasins of the people who suffered from your selfish ignorance
As for the ‘Christian’ pastors/fellowship who walked away from His Path ...Lord forgive them ..for they DO know what they DO....
Permitting ‘Letters to an American’ , The Lucid, Hopium, and so many other excellent honest sources ...to be published in every state by the ‘free press’ to avail the majority of TRUTH , of FACTS vs what ifs / the could bes or out and out LIES...is such an excellent idea.
I’m going to VOTE 💙
I’m going to continue to pray for everyone with my tongue properly in my mouth
I’m going to speak out , encourage, and promote Democracy again, and again, and again...
I’m going to VOTE 💙
Wow!!! Patricia, I wish I’d met you 40 years ago!!! You are a woman after my heart 💙! I LOVE everything you have said, and honestly, I couldn’t have said it any better! WOW!!!!!!!
Thank you Daniel, we have likely fought/worked for/taught the solutions together anyhow. Writing and my vote is the last vestige to bring what’s needed to the masses. I’m inspired by the best Heather , was my first introduction, and since then many more , many of whom I can afford only their teasers. Going back to the land MANY years ago is a limited income to pick carefully with.
So carry on with your charm , write , and be engaged , inspired, and a purveyor of truth. The world needs this ❤️
If the press is allowed to scapegoat ordinary Americans for ratings, what's next? Epps is a Trump fan who actually tried to stop the stampede to the doors of the Capitol on Jan 6th. The irony is that Fox needed to believe in the insurrection and the ludicrous "Stop the Steal," but it couldn't, so it ruthlessly took a man whose only crime was being there and objecting to what was happening, slandered him and ruined his life, for ratings. If a jury doesn't shut down Fox for good, there is no justice left in America.
Well answered by you. If we ever doubted the need for a free press, those doubts should have vanished as soon as fox started spewing lies and trying to kill our country.
We REALLY need to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. Thanks ronnie raygun!
An important point is support of the outlets we read. Subscriptions pay for the work. I can’t afford to pay them all, but my budget has been increasingly being targeted toward substack while maintaining a local, state and national newspaper, along with the Atlantic, Propublica, and Wapo. Spread the money around folks. Freedom isn’t free
Straight news isn’t free either, but Goebbels-style propaganda saturates the airwaves, wanted or not.
Thomas Frank in his seminal book, "What's the Matter With Kansas," explains how propaganda promulgated by extreme right-wing groups use wedge issues (abortion, immigration, undeserving folks getting government handouts, gay rights, women's rights, etc.) to get ordinary people to vote against their best economic and social interests. That $32 trillion national debt has gone mostly into the pockets of the wealthy, at the expense of 98% of our population. The Right uses culture wars to drain our treasury.
You just described Texas, it's not just Kansas anymore.
Clicks and likes are driven by divisiveness, right?
No way, Jose.!! (-:
People used to donate or tithe to their church. Journalism is my "religion". I pay for all the enlightening news sources.
Those you mentioned and The NY Times, New Yorker, Democracy Now, R. Reich, Heather,..plus Wikipedia and more.
My rent was just raised by $100 a month. I'm not going to be able to afford more than one or two Substacks. I can't afford newspapers. I read ProPublica for free. I hate WaPo.
As do I, Dave.
Sadly, our “free press” has followed Rupert and the Money-making model for a while now. Where is Walter who, told it like it was, with nary a whiff of entertainment to be found. True, there are some journalists who have a voice, but investigative journalists are rarer than hen’s teeth,
while “opinion” journalists abound.
I still take a local paper, although I had to switch since the one I had subscribed to for 20 years decided to add 8 conservative opinion writers to their crew. Hell NO, said I.
Where is Paul Krugman - New York Times; where is Rachel Maddow - MSNBC; where is Christiane Amanpour - CNN and PBS; Where is Robert Woodward - Washington Post; Where is Eugene Scott - Washington Post; Where is Fareed Zakaria - CNN; Where is Kate Stafford - AP; Where is Sally Ho - AP; Where is Jeff Leen - editor in charge of The Washington Post's dedicated investigative units; Where is Carol Leonnig - Washington Post; Where is Amy Brittain - Washington Post; Where is Roger Cohen - New York Times; Where are Dominic Gates, Steve Miletich, Mike Baker and Lewis Kamb - Seattle Times...
Jeri Chilcutt, just a few names above, a little drop, a hint... We need more good journalists to cover local, state and rural areas, no doubt, but I wouldn't give credit to a villain of the facts for how expensive it is to run a newspaper. We are reaching the American people in different ways and need to focus on the areas that require much more 'free-press'.
Fern There are excellent journalists such as you mention, ProPublica, and other excellent news sources at The Atlantic and elsewhere. However, in our FALSE FACT environment, relatively few Americans bother to read or listen to critical thinking.
It took the House January 6th Committee to highlight for the public the calumny of the Capitol Hill insurrection.
We are, as my Chilean friends would say, in un dialog con mudos (a dialogue of mutes).
The water is available if someone is thirsty. As I once heard “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it think.”
I am reminded of an IBM ad from long ago: THINK OR THWIM.
No argument here,, where I live Rupert rules the fools. Every day, I feel like I live in pre-war Germany where there is zip interest in MSNBC, WaPo, NYT, PBS, or anything besides Fox and clones. Sorry for the peek into my world.
What’s happening to CNN? I turned it on the other night and Kaitlin Collins was interviewing Mike Pence and he blathered on about the failed Biden administration and how Democrats are destroying our country. the next night Anderson Cooper interviewed Chris Christie who was (is) the only R attacking Trump, but also about how Democrats were ruining our country. Admittedly I turned them both off mid-interview but what’s happened to CNN that they’re giving time to these Republicans who are the real destroyers of our democracy?
Why don’t they report on the strength of the American economy because of Biden’s policies? I only see reported is the polling that shows most voters think Biden is too old to run, but evidently not Trump, who is nearly as old.
I unwisely tuned into the first few minutes of the Today show this morning. Besides the weather, one of the top stories was about the cocaine found in the White House and people (i.e., Republican members of Congress) upset that the Secret Service investigation has ended without any information released about how the cocaine got there and whose it was. Really, THAT's the most important national story?! Needless to say, I turned off the TV at that point.
This morning, MSNBC carried as part of the "breaking news" that the House narrowly passed the hotly contested NDAA -- and then proceeded to air the presser with McCarthy, Scalise, Emmer, Stefanik, Kiggans, and LaLota, in which they heaped criticism on Democrats, talked about "woke," and nearly broke their arms patting themselves on the back for having squeezed out a passage.
I'm personally disgusted that MSNBC aired the statements by this pack of power-mongering TFG sycophants.
The Republicans always seem to be nothing, if not consistently dedicated to heaping praise on themselves and being loathsome.
It's been widely written about - CNN is shifting to the right. I don't watch TV news except for occasionally BBC America and NPR.
CNN was hurting for money! They are trying to get Fox viewers!
Excellent Fern, I copied in addition to reading, to print later for others seeking good journalism.I share (as you know) what i subscribe to also. Often feels like a minimal effort to HELP our Democracy but often the best I can do anymore.
Thanks for you superb commenting and input.
Thank you, Patricia, we are working together with millions upon millions more. Your words and commitment boost our efforts. I would like to add Politico, SLATE, ProPublica, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Nature Brief...I'll stop there, but there are more!
It is not barren, but the mainstream media rarely calls out the lies. There are some good journalists, but overall “reporting” does not challenge their statements very often.. and HOW a is it that Fox is still the main source of news on our military bases???? This might be the most damaging of all .
'Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims as president. Nearly half came in his final year.' (THE WASHINGTON POST) I second the call for more journalism in local, state and rural areas. As disappointed as you my be with mainstream media, I am startled by how little effort and awareness many Americans have, including, perhaps, some subscribers, of the excellent journalism by reporters around the country as well as published in The New York Times and The Washington Post. As for the reporting on the 'lies', I see that subject covered quite a lot.
'Pinocchio effect' confirmed: When you lie, your nose temperature rises'
Source:
University of Granada
'When a person lies, he or she experiences a "Pinocchio effect", which is an increase in the temperature around the nose and in the orbital muscle in the inner corner of the eye. In addition, when we perform a considerable mental effort our face temperature drops, and when we have an anxiety attack our face temperature rises, according to a pioneering study that has introduced new applications of thermography.' (ScienceDaily)
Fern, darling, you never cease to amaze me! :)
Do I appreciate your warm embrace, absolutely; thank you, dear Marlene!
Fox may be the main source of news on our military bases, but I'll bet the story about Sen. Tuberville holding up military promotions isn't even mentioned. (NPR had a good story about it yesterday, though.)
Suzanne, there are many accounts of military bases airing Fox News. I have not, however, been able to find any reports indicating that 'Fox is still the main source of news on our military bases????' as you wrote. That would be very bad news. I would like to follow up. If you have a source or sources for your statement, please provide me with the sources' names and links,. Thank you.
And banks and hotels!
What?! Are you serious? I did not know this!
Thanks Fern. Problem seems to be that there are smaller numbers of 'us' that understand the divides > yielding a monstrous big problem in search of a large'ish medium. Small i can do little to effect changes that address the largest issue which is 'the megaphone of broadcast' monopoly, or in this case in particular - too many outlets and too few with willingness to advocate 'truth' - as it is on this plane, which is revealing and accepting 'facts in evidence'. Trying is all I've got brother. Thanks again...
Hi D4N. I think that I understand what you mean by indicating that the fragmentation of American society mitigates against any kind of common understanding among us. We may not agree on how big that middle is. The mid-terms were not the anticipated disaster and the economy is better than expected. I wonder as the evidence in various cases mount against Trump, whether a fair number of Republicans give up the ghost. I think that Trump is a model case and an important starting point. I could go through a number of other big obstacles but sticking with we have to keep working on this. We have no choice, D4N. There are no grounds for giving up.
Fern, in my area the paper is Republican owned. Actually, we have mostly obituarys and arrests of the drug users and dealers. It is sad!
It there a fair amount of local advertising as well? If so, it could than be simply an advertising supplement.
Yes! They do well during an election year!
Low cost, good revenue and no journalism. It is a cash register.
Just in case everyone wants/needs a good news network to watch, may I offer one. I watch MSNBC myself. It has good, true, journalism that reports the truth of what’s really going on in the country/world on the political front. Good, bad, ugly, doesn’t matter. They have interviews and do fact-finding efforts to give the truth. It’s the only station I watch extensively. As a matter of fact, my TV doesn’t know anything about FOX Network. It never had been on that ridiculous channel.
Listening to a variety of experts substantiate their views and understanding of the news helps me LEARN and THINK about what's happening in the world. Heather and Joyce Vance (along with NYT, WaPO, The Atlantic, Atlanta Journal Constitution) are my reading go-to's, providing historical and legal context. Granted, as an elder citizen, I have more time and experience of my own to bring to the conversation, but there's always more to Truth than I'll ever carry in my own backpack.
Here's a source that will probably shock you - Vanity Fair. I am a subscriber and don't read the magazine. I get daily political reporting that in my view is outstanding. Surprises never cease. MSNBC is my primary newscast while I get a number of other newspapers and magazines - Mother Jones, The Atlantic, Boston Globe, Boston Herald (a right wing paper), Orlando Sentinel, Lakeland Ledger, NY Times, Washington Post and others.
You sound like a Partner in Time! And yes, Vanity Fair has terrific writers and articles. When people talk about "The Media" as a monolith of indistinguishable sources, they've no idea what they're talking about!
Vanity Fair-YES
Surprising, glad to know
Yes, it is one of life's pleasant surprises, finding an unexpected source of information that is, in fact, informative. I don't understand their business model, but what the heck?
Lasley, I would add to your go-to list the Status Quo by Jay Quo.
Same here, my TV doesn't know anything about Fox Spews. And my TV has never been on that despicable channel either. I wouldn't watch that rotten garbage if someone held a loaded gun to my head. I had rather die than watch the excrement they spew on a daily basis. Fox Fascist spews should be what they call that vile poisonous TV channel.
I hope it’s getting very costly to lie as a network.
I think it is going to get very costly for those kings of disinformation and outright blatant lies. Correct me if i am wrong, isn't the Smartmatic lawsuit next in line for them?? I remember reading that someone or some other company is going after them too. I sincerely hope they have to bankfupt and take that vile garbage off the air forever. They have caused so much hate and division with their traitorous lies and incitement of violence in America already.
Same goes for Spewsmax and OANN. They are just as horrible as Fox Spews is.
They learned from the best.
Daniel Cooper Writes Daniel’s Thoughts & Opinions - "Just in case everyone wants/needs a good news network to watch, may I offer one. I watch MSNBC myself."
𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗦𝗡𝗕𝗖 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟯 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝘀. -- mediabiasfactcheck.com/msnbc/
Media Bias - Strong Left/Reliability - Generally -- https://adfontesmedia.com/interactive-media-bias-chart/
But does whoever does the rating take account of the colossal list to starboard that has taken place over the past three or four decades?
What was once boring centrism is now slated as "leftism" by people who call themselves "conservatives" but whose sole notion of what's to be conserved is at best "finders keepers".
At worst...
If Al Capone was among us now, he'd be a top GOP candidate for the presidency.
Peter Burnett - "But does whoever does the rating take account of ..."
https://adfontesmedia.com/how-ad-fontes-ranks-news-sources/
We generate overall news source scores based on scores of individual articles (in the case of online news sources) or episodes (in the cases of podcasts, radio, TV, and video-based sources).
Our current team of over 60 analysts, who are trained in our content analysis methodology, perform the ratings. Our analysts go through an initial 30 hours of training plus an additional 40 hours of ongoing training per year. Our analysts include academics, journalists, librarians, lawyers, military veterans, civil service professionals, and other professions that require high levels of rhetorical and analytical skills.
Each individual article and episode is rated by a pod of at least three human analysts at the same time. Each pod is politically balanced, meaning it contains one person who self-identifies as being right-leaning, one as center, and one as left-leaning. Articles and episodes are rated in three-person live panels conducted in shifts over Zoom. Analysts first read each article and rate them on their own, then immediately compare scores. If there are discrepancies in the scores, they discuss and adjust scores if necessary. The three analysts’ ratings are averaged to produce the overall article rating. Sometimes articles are rated by larger panels of analysts for various reasons–for example, if there are outlier scores, the article may be rated by more than three analysts.
Fine, thank you, but you have not addressed my main point about wildly varying criteria. What was center right in 1963 may be seen as far left in 2023.
Maybe it would help if one took historical cases... writings like Tom Paine's Common Sense... Or why not go further back and consider those of Montesquieu on the rights of blacks or Condorcet's on equal rights for women? Or fast forward to FDR's radio chats...
I just don't see a meaningful standard. Even adherence to truth is difficult to rate since it is so easy to use facts and true statements deceitfully, to proclaim fine principles as a screen behind which to commit crimes.
I can't help remembering conversations with a statistician about "lies, damned lies, and..."
True here too, add BBC
Jeri Chilcutt -- "True here too, [good news network] add BBC.
Correction (I don't know how it got changed.)
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/bbc/
𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗕𝗖 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁-𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁-𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Thanks for including the link. A source that gets updated for bias, leaning, and factual reporting. My goto aa they are separately looking to podcasts.
Glad to know
Maybe you merely agree with their slant. Think about it.
In reference to the press, once the "free market" principles got applied to the press, it gave conservatives the opening to set their agenda for press access. Tough question asking journalists began to find themselves without access. Then Fox and right wing media came along for the conservatives to hit the ait waves with friendly confines. In order for the MSM tough journalists to be able to talk to both sides, they had to softball their questions. No longer able to inquire and make the conservatives answer the tough questions, that is where we are today. Hungary suffers from this, Russia media today is the same as when the communists party ruled. The American conservative power players took notice how that worked and now are doing the same.
Historians and journalists are in danger in America.
Ś
Suzanne, I write to note, according to former Senator Claire McCaskill, that McConnell and fellow Senate Republicans, largely, have written off the 2024 presidential election and, instead, are principally focused on re-taking the Senate in 2024 with the intent of causing irreparable damage to Joe Biden. In turn, McConnell is focused on Republicans, in 2028, retaking the White House and controlling both federal chambers. Because the 2024 U.S. Senate map is daunting for Democrats, I would suggest, among the various 2024 priorities in which we are all engaged, that both retaining and expanding Democratic seats in the Senate be a top priority.
Let's not overlook the importance of getting out the vote when Republicans are trying to limit it. State by state, we need to end gerrymandering. Michigan and 20 other states have it. It works to make legislators work for voters instead of their party.
In addition to that, the importance of not letting politicians and political party officials serve on the Commission. I would note that about the difference between the results in Michigan vs Ohio where in Ohio the drafters of their constitutional amendment didn't include that provision, and the Republican Ohio Governor sat on their Redistricting Commission and of course, Ohio remains gerrymandered!
Wow...what a difference. Isn't it curious how Republicans are the ones who cry every decision not in their favor is politically motivated!
Yes! It was interesting here in Michigan. It was the Republican Party that sued to try to overturn that provision., first in State Court and then in federal court! Obviously they lost, but the NAACP has also filed suit claiming the commission lines eliminated solidly Black Districts. We are waiting to see if the latest Supreme Court ruling on the Alabama gerrymandering case where the lines were drawn to pack Black voters into less districts will be applied to Michigan, where that was never the intention, but making as many districts as closely competitive was the intended result of the redistricting as laid out in the language of the Constitutional Amendment. In doing so it broke up predominantly Black Districts inside the City of Detroit, and moved the district lines to include suburban areas that brought the new districts to half and half. I would argue with the NAACP that Blacks in Detroit are now better served by the new system, because nothing on the Black Agenda was ever accomplished Statewide until the new system has been put in place here. The new Michigan Budget skews funding back into Detroit, which has never happened under Republican Control! We are now awaiting the Court discisions. Ironic that because of discrimination and packing Blacks into smaller numbers of districts in Alabama, that the same case is being used to overturn Michigan District Lines that achieved the exact opposite!!!
Patricia, In the absence of federal voter protection safeguards, I am every bit as committed as you to instating protections at the state level. Accordingly, I would note I presented an argument for retaining and expanding Democratic Senate seats as a top priority, not the top priority.
Yup. Could see that coming all the way up north. Called strategic thinking. Only wish progressives were working toward the same goal for 2028, especially if the Democratic agenda faces the headwinds of Mr Biden's first term.
Mitch McConnell always finds his own version of truth
Since I started following US politics, I have known Mitch McConnell as a someone who tries as much as possible to consolidate Republican power even in the face of damaging truths. Seemingly fed up with the presence of Democrats, he often changes rules of the country's politics to find "the buttered part of the bread for the Republicans to eat." He knows, by all means, he has to deliver power to the Republican by bending the rules. Sometimes, Mitch McConnell flips the truth when it is hard and damaging to admit by terming that there exists "alternative truth" just to turn away political bullets. He is a friend to corporations and just makes sure that taxes do not hit them and that ensures that their campaign basket is too large and not limited to accommodate campaign donations. Mitch McConnell looks like a broker in the market who lies to traders and ultimately gets the lion share of the proceeds. It took him some months to acknowledged that Biden has won 2020 elections. He sometimes criticises Trump but at the same time backs off and denies any wrong doing by Trump. His behaviour is situational, his blood is Republican, and truth is an alien.
His behavior is similar to some of Africa's leaders especially opposition leader in Kenya Raila Odinga. He does not accept any election that he hasn't won. Up to date, he stages violent protests and claim that his elections are normally stolen, a fact that Supreme Court has confirmed contrarily. When the high costs of living was high when he was in government, he criticised those who were protesting. Recently, because he is not in government, he is protesting the high costs of living to find his angle of truth. According to him, he has to participate even when he has no value to the voters.
(I am a writer and researcher delving into politics, history, technology, etc. I have a mission in Africa: spotlighting underserved communities ignored by the traditional media. I am greatly indebted for the support I have gotten from this community by those who subscribed in large numbers. I have interesting newsletters for this week. You may, if interested, subscribe to my newsletter for free).
McConnell's stonewalling of Obama's 2016 SCORRUPTUS nominee because it was too close to a presidential election, and then doing an about face in October 2020, shows the slimy hypocrite in action. Now we have Tommy of the Turbervilles stonewalling military appointments, for "culture war"reasons, and ignoring the real war consequences to our national security. The party of law and order? The party of national security? The party that takes credit for the IRA after voting against it? "Simply pathetic."
Thank you for deleting the duplicate of you post. Cheers!
Cheers 🍻 @Fern Mcbride
You are a kind soul sir! I vastly appreciate your well thought out letters here, and will indeed subscribe.JD
Thank you so much @JD and welcome 🤝
He dug his ditch and now he doesn't want to lie in it, but has no problem lying about it.
Suzanne, they have ability, but they’re hedging their bets on the potential success of MAGA. If Trump gets power back, hell is coming with him
I couldn't agree more, Suzanne. Millions of Americans were suckered by fake news. Hypocrisy is now the main ball swatted about by opposing parties. Elections will be held in inside carnival mirrors. The big question is whether common sense will prevail. Hopefully the tiny backlash against the extreme right gains steam.
Sociopaths. All of them. Schoolyard bullies. Might makes right.
My friend Lela and I were just discussing how and what causes narcissism and how it seems to be part and parcel of sociopathy and then what turns the sociopath into a psychopath by definition. We were trying to decide if Donald could legally be labeled a psychopath at this point because of the deaths he was personally responsible for causing during the pandemic, and also about Mary Trump's diagnoses of Trump, because we had both read her book, To Much and Never Enough! we started the conversation with " Have you heard what the Republican House Committees had done in the Christopher Wray hearings? " and on from there.
Equally disturbing is that one man can have so much power as to change the SCOTUS from one that actually tries to interpret the Constitution to a hard right take no prisoners blind to what the majority wants cabal.
McConnell’s daily existence redefines the meaning of a sleazy politician!
I think the problem is that there are a bewildering number of moving parts in the American government. We had stability for a long time because there was a sense of proportion. Government was allowed to do its jobs between election (with some exceptions). Most people were deferential to the power of government and the assumption of expertise. This is obviously an imperfect system. Corruption can flourish. Legislators hang around until they are 90 because the perks are too obvious and generous.
But, allowing for certain spasms turmoil that engaged the attention of the electorate, the system worked - as a system - pretty much as the Framers had planned. There were (gasp!) gaps in political news when there was pretty much nothing to write about.
Now everybody is an expert. Everybody has a plan, except for those indulging in a scheme. People have exposed the essential hollowness of the Framers’ vision and are rushing in to fill the vacuum. Crises, mini and otherwise, are going viral. Moms for Liberty grab the media and start wreaking havoc. Turns out there’s not an East way to stop them. Judges openly make rulings based on their personal bias or benefactor. The campaign season runs for nearly every day we decide is a good day for breathing. In political defeat, politicians rarely lick their wounds. Instead they fund raise based on it.
The ship of state is taking on water and surely one day it will just sag into nothingness weighted down by false actors and invented crises.
Truthfully it’s getting boring. One damn thing after another and we can’t keep our eyes glued non stop. This hardly seems accidental. It’s no longer about holding on to the reins of power - it is more like a continual passing out of new reins to gratify the parched egos of the wannabes.
Nancy MacLean nails it in her book, “Democracy in Chains.”
Totally agreed. How on earth does he keep getting reelected? Kentucky ranks about 52nd in the US in quality of life.... Yes, I know there are only 50 states.... but I will stick with 52nd....
Can the we please find a dozen Dems to start challenging ‘republican’ voter registrations, especially in purple states like Georgia? The good guys need to play the same game. It may swing some elections. Fight fire...
When I was a kid, my parents made it clear that claiming that I should be doing what "everybody" else was doing was not an argument I was going to win. If Dems claim to have certain values, doing illegal or immoral things because the Republican'ts are doing them is not a tenable justification. We need to work harder at registering voters, at rebutting challenges at the polls (the ACLU, if I'm remembering correctly, will help with that), and at living our values.
The most effective youth organization at registering voters according to Forbes Magazine (no liberal bastion) is terrifically effective Harvard students at www.turnup.us/ so please-- please--click on that link, see what they are doing, and make a generous contribution! Our democracy depends on youth mobilization on reproductive rights against the real, very real, threat that a nationwide ban would quickly become law in January 25! So please help them make sure it doesn’t happen and your contribution is entirely tax deductible as Turnup is a nonpartisan 501c3 organization! Thank you!! Really important!!!
Thank you for repeatedly advocating this Ira.
Sorry Dan that I have to repeat it but I figure different folks see it each time and it makes a difference if I can get it shown at the start of the night’s thread like tonight; so many geographical audiences and time zones for Helen’s commentary, isn’t there?
I would like to point out that Harvard isn't the only university students to be organizing and mobilizing for the 2024 election. Students at Michigan State and the University of Michigan along with students at Wayne State Universities have joined hands (a miracle in itself) to push for gun safety legislation and action on climate change . These student bodies were the deciding margin in flipping the State Blue. Bridge Magazine did a voter by by precinct anylisis and at every county in and around all the campuses in Michigan the color was overwhelmingly Blue. It was a real joy for me to see that interactive map broken down by precinct! And the actual number of votes cast and for Whom!
Good info here! I recall recently hearing a blurb that some right wing high profile person (not sure who?) put it “right out there” that they (the right) needs to focus on colleges and college aged voters to keep them from voting. Clearly unconstitutional.
Thanks Louise; they did and will do a great job! counting on all hands on deck!!
This is a vital repetition , Ira. We all need something concrete to do or all is lost. You're providing it.
Thank you for the repetition Ira! It worked! 🙂
Oh Ira; apologies are 'not' necessary to me, nor others on this community of good intent and conscience. I wholeheartedly support your repeating that particular link and advocating it, especially as I feel and hope that HCR agrees that the missions of this community revolve around 'education' of facts in evidence, and wholesome-for-our-nation - conclusions derived to defend our democracy from an educated position of truth and facts in evidence. Now, all that said I say post away to your hearts content unless HCR advise otherwise Ira. *Or perhaps, those that agree with my previous statement of encouragement, all consider asking our Dr. Dynamo to post a link + brief explainer to this non-partisan vote encouragement initiative at or alongside the header or body of her letters - LTAA, thereby perhaps saving Ira (you) the effort of re-posting. I shall do so, and kindly encourage others so persuaded to reach out to her also.
Certainly would be outstanding if HCR would endorse our nonpartisan effort, but I don't expect a journalist, and an esteemed one at that, could or would do so! But thanks for your endorsement, Dan. What is so significant about tens of millions of potential voters' political choices right now is the absolute failure of the mass media to realize and to frequently comment on the extraordinary shift which is going on with respect to reproductive health? This issue has transformed in the last two years from a policy issue of broad interest to a deep and resilient personal issue for tens of millions of potential voters--wherever-- who are aged 18 to 25 both female and male; women aged 25 to 35 or 40; and recent polling has identified a significant group of conservative women aged 35 to 44 who live in suburbs relatively near cities who are worried about the reproductive health possibilities of their daughters! These three groupings can AND WILL decide the elections for President, significantly important House and Senate races, and local races of all sorts!
Therefore, a brilliant and highly effective group of Harvard students: please go to and evaluate www.turnup.us ! They are using advanced NONPARTISAN social media messages (both paid and unpaid), as well as hosts of volunteers, to deliver the message (1) only in key "competitive" congressional districts and states; (2) to register and then to (3) TURNOUT millions of potential voters in these three age groupings. Of course there are other nonpartisan, proven college and nationwide organizations like Planned Parenthood, ACLU, League of Women Voters, etc. which perform these tasks excellently. I will caution you, however, that there are "scams"--many of them--on the internet which sound good but collect your money without doing much of anything. Please be careful!
Finally, the path forward will not be easy; billions will be spent by opponents; misinformation will abound; nay-sayers are and will be vocal; but multi-millions of well intentioned voters throughout this troubled Nation will cast their ballots for candidates who are pledged to protect reproductive health (and trans as well); effective gun control and gun safety; and finally--in the midst of heat--a majority of the public (and certainly younger voters) will recognize and vote to really support OUR DESPERATE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE!
Sorry for taking so long to deliver this message. If you think it is worthy, please donate to www.turnup.us and pass this message along to friends and family and, if you desire, please copy parts of message and pass it on as well to others, and please mention it to most politicians who really think that most money spent on politics must be spent on TV (which these multi-millions of young voters don't watch)! Thanks for listening!
It can't be said too often, Ira! Repeat, repeat, repeat. This is not getting enough press.
As I have said frequently, if Gen Z and Y will represent about 45% of the potential voters, getting them registered and motivated is not only a strategy. It's THE strategy that if not employed will lead us to further fascism. McConnell is a corrupt fascist and so are six Extreme Court justices. We CAN'T lose the Senate.
Absolutely Bill thanks
I just made a small donation. I think this is a fantastic way to get the issues to younger people. Thank you for sharing. I will also share the link.
Thanks BC; every donation helps as we have a big job coming up; please pass along your comment with a link to www.turnup.us to your friends and family.
I just contributed and I urge anyone who is able to do so. Our youth are our future.
Terrific Nancy; thanks for the plug too
I am donating. Thanks for tip. Did not see beforr. Repeat. Repeat repeat
This is a fantastic link. Thanks for sharing it Ira. I’ll check it out further. Bring disabled and on a very tight budget, donating a large sum is impossible for me, but I’ll do what I can to help these young people get their jobs done.
When you first noted www.turnup.us, I prominently added a link to our list at defendyourvotingrights.org of groups supporting voter registration and the exercise of the unfettered right to vote. Thanks to the devoted efforts of such orgs and talented journalists like HCR, our site narrates, by daily headlines and excerpts, the rise and long free fall of 54+ Trump enablers. And especially the heroic efforts of the many to recover and renew our precious democratic Republic and global leadership. To see these Enablers, play a version of Blackjack, demonstrating that voter suppression and election manipulation are exactly like a rigged Card Game.
IRA posted turnup.us not .com.
thanks - got it right on defendyourvotingrights.org
You can change it in your post by clicking on the 3 dots to the right of Reply, then Edit....
Thanks Tom
Much appreciated, Ira!! Thank you
1. Challenging voters is not illegal. 2. republicans realize disproportionate voice on the biggest issues because they play hardball better than Dems, e.g. reproductive rights. Our values, and rights, are being stripped away by these sociopaths. This is the game in front of us. Dems must play to win, or we will forfeit away those values.
I strongly agree John and have lobbied to the affect that all opposed to extremist tactics, turn those tactics and any and all legally acceptably worse efforts back at them. Apathy and inertia lends a free pass that extremists will happily take.
It struck me that if the situation were reversed and there was a Democrat Tommy Tuberville gumming up the works, every Republican’t would be crying foul with big crocodile tears—except for Manchin and Sinema. Is someone directing Dems to have 1 voice speaking or is the media just not publishing Democrats because they speak with reason and facts rather than outrageous lies? Sometimes it does look like apathy and inertia.
I'm afraid the media doesn't find them very interesting because they aren't outrageous.
I have the same questions. Tee Tub claims that the hold up doesn’t threaten security or military readiness. Have seen 2 generals contradict that and state that Tee Tub’s block is causing harm to both.
Apparently Tee Tub is of the opinion that he knows more than the generals. Now where have I heard that before.......?
Gigi, I love, love, love (where 'is' the right emoji ?) .. that you 'get' what I'm saying here, and apparently so do others from the "likes". That's a dandy thought to put forth to the broadcast media on their social platforms and direct email.... en mass by a healthy number of us, and just worded in a matter-of-fact manner without flames and anger. Honey is far sweeter than 'vinegar' isn't it ?
McConnell so proudly and publicly obstructed President Obama, but now refuses to own the chaos and extremist mess he has made of SCOTUS??? Oh, no, Mr McConnell. Truth will out.
He's not trying to reject blame. He is trying to gaslight the US voters.
Oh btw, f*** mitch mcconnell. what a scumbag.
I have a bottle of champagne waiting to be put on ice the day that old scumbag finally Makes America Great Again with his permanent departure.
I'm afraid death is the only thing that will put an end to his reign of destruction. I only wish there was some appropriate version of hell for him, too. A true monster.
YES, i agree, and just look at how much better off Germany was after Hitler met his demise. They had a huge mess to clean up and they rebuilt and are a diverse nation now and are so much better off now. So much for Hitler's thousand year Reich. (Hmmm. the spelling doesn't look right in the word, '' Reich''. Someone please correct me if i spelled that wrong.) Those dedicated MAGAt's should be forced to watch those Hitler documentaries just to see how Fascism and Dictators can ruin an entire nation, and all of the death and destruction that goes along with it.
I've been repeating your last
Please save a glass for me friend.
I agree with the sentiment but Kentucky would find someone else just as bad. They've also given us Rand Paul.
His God will be waiting with a red hot poker....if there is a God...
My sentiments exactly. He and death star are quite the pair.
A SOFT LANDING! RELIEF FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE! BETTER ODDS FOR BIDEN! ???
'The latest numbers on consumer prices arrived on Wednesday, and they were better than even optimists had expected. Even media reports, as far I can tell, generally omitted the “but concerns remain” qualifiers that have seemed mandatory when covering good news about the Biden economy.'
'Which is not to say that everyone was happy. Republicans are more or less in denial, no doubt worried that they may be losing pretty much their only substantive campaign issue — leaving them with nothing to run on besides wokeness and Hunter Biden. And there have been some fairly peevish reactions from economists who had committed themselves to the grim view that we would face a nasty “sacrifice ratio” — that controlling inflation would require years of high unemployment.'
'For this report was anything but grim. It strongly suggested that we may be heading for a soft landing — a return to acceptable inflation without a large rise in unemployment. We’re not there yet, and I’ll talk shortly about what may still go wrong. But a happy outcome that not long ago seemed like wishful thinking now looks more likely than not.' (Paul Krugman, NYTimes) See gifted link below for more of Krugman's Opinion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/opinion/paul-krugman-soft-landing-inflation.html?unlocked_article_code=qCt51fU15FBY9oAM81h2-NRVpUklY1_hwMeWHHwgKx47zIAyuxdwWowXkd_W3Blq-jK3jiZ1bfBQd_7-FUPi01k02pJDICv19aSxNRz4A6U9jlE1tNLWGa7Y2WrBigVWzRb0hpFlgbbfonl6tESmedz0f-wUg4JK8GLVecnpEulumQ1Px1k_6yCV53p8TGP34ARDF2ZlBW9gpObKqanfJ1OJzl5Xitls6J41RHR9TrZHDHlALsXl3Qt5w9OEpSa8o52vnG4DMUucXQgspFlQnYW4esAcleQly-ARoa8T151d_5mrIXhRWF4FOxgIoRHH10Z5_kWwuX6Snl6Pehesk53JhsSDNFFFd3C6v-Q&smid=url-share
But we MUST have price controls and rationing of food and gasoline ASAP. Probably impossible without big Dem win in ‘24, but climate change demands it and it’s fairer to everyone. It worked once, we can do it again.
What about addressing the fossil fuel sector and Biden cancelling his approvable of ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, in a federal oil reserve roughly the size of Indiana? Why not stop what's killing us first and step up the alternatives?
No planet, no economy.
Better yet, start enforcing anti-trust and break up some of the super-massive conglomerates that have long been hoovering up every major business in sight.
Thank you, J L!
Much of the inflation that has punished the 90% and devastated the 50% is "greedflation". Robert Reich has schooled us on that with vivid details to include the record breaking profits of those conglomerates. And huge pay packages for the clowns who run them.
While families were struggling with high gas prices and rising interest rates, food companies were hiking the cost of every grocery item. And if the price didn't go up, the size of the product went down! Google "shrinkflation" or Paul Solomon on PBS.
Then the clueless Fed attacked the broad population to slow the economy when they should have been pointing at the money grubbing monsters you refer to.
I know it's not in their charter to do such. But they could look at the economy with a broader lens. And they do have a bully pulpit. Instead, they live in a delusional ivory tower and vote to flip a switch one way or the other. They don't live in the same world we do.
This is the story Democrats should be telling. It's about the pain of modest paychecks that can't keep up with rising prices CAUSED by big business. Oligarchs and stockholders were doing fine, while many of us had to cut back on protein. The egg fiasco was a perfect example.
I don't believe in price controls. But as an old "business guy" I believe in competition. Our choices for everything are narrow or non existent.
Good post here, Bill. I had noted that the price of my beverage of choice (Polar brand flavored fizzy water) had started to climb, and then returned to its former price....with four fewer cans in the package. My 12 pack is now an 8 pack.
Oddly enough, when Bill Alstrom mentioned "shrikflation" above, that was the first product to come to mind, fresh from my morning encounter at the supermarket. Except in my case the price. went steeply up, while the quantity came down. And that's true with so many products. It also seems to me that the price of things that I am certain are very cheap to produce has inflated far more than "average" and far more than could be explained by increased production costs, such a package of four hamburger buns for $4.99. My wife saw "premium" peanuts for $13/lb. I'm old enough to remember when "I bought it for peanuts" meant it was exceptionally cheap. I am aware that the price of everything tends to rise over time, but my sense is that the markup as a percentage of price for many food items is way up; and how do the poor cope with that?
It seems to me that the public is so alienated from our own society that fewer can spot an unreasonably expensive product, or resist it, than in the mid 20th Century. We complain but feel powerless; yet our primary leverage lies in the wise use of the vote, and restoring competition to the marketplace. I enjoyed the robust sales competition that characterized Internet sales in earlier days, but that so of democratic-style commerce seems to be ebbing there as well.
As the expansion of population expands, I an finding stores, especially the big box stores offer few options. A lot of items for which there is less demand (but are still very useful) have become harder to obtain. There is more choice on the Internet, but even there I find shrinking inventory. Both in physical stores and online I find it much harder to buy smaller quantities of things; enough to be a significant problem. One of many examples, I searched and searched for someone to sell me a single, specific capacitor, a small electrical component. After a thorough search I found I could buy a bag of 100 of them noticeably cheaper than anyone would sell me one; or even 10, so I bought the big bag with the thought I might (maybe) need some of them some other day; but what a waste. I get that there are fixed costs to mail order and expect a small quantity premium, but lately it has been absurd. It should not cost more to buy one than to buy 100. In a more diverse, competitive market I would expect that to be the case.
I’ve been asking... do we or do we not still have anti-trust laws? When I was a young school girl back before the Spanish-American War, I clearly recall our Econ teacher going into detail about these laws. Economics was a high school course back in my day.
They have not been well enforced for many years, thanks to the legacy of Robert Bork ("The Antitrust Paradox"). However, there are organizations like the Open Markets Institute and the Institute for Local Power doing great work to highlight the impact of monopoly power on the U.S. economy. Also, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota has taken up the issue. I recommend her book "Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age."
What planet do you live on? Earth 3, where the sky is green and the grass is blue? We must have price controls and rationing of food and gasoline ASAP??
It's so embarrassing when morons like you claim you're on my side. Were you even alive in 1971 when that was done? Do you know that was what led to the stagflation of the rest of the 70s?
While I might have said all that differently TC, it is a fact that price controls were tried and failed miserably by none other than R. Nixon, of all people. Price controls especially can not work when the world or us try to levy them on monopolies, leaving but two options that come to mind; alternative energy sources and monopoly busting where *possible if it's outcome can be *assuredly positive for consumers.
Dan, Monopoly busting!!! The Neo Gilded Age is upon us in Media, Energy, Internet Service, Newspapers
Its always about the money
Fossil fuel sector, retail, Faang for the five high performing tech stocks Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet
Yep.
Come on, TCinLA, cool your jets. I get your point about price controls and rationing, but the oh-so-briefly-implemented wage and price controls under that well known Bolshevik Richard Nixon did not lead to the stagflation of the rest of the '70s. OPEC deciding to strut its stuff, and the winding down of the illegitimate yet expensive war in Vietnam, among others, were far bigger factors.
You do have a way with words... (I had to type that three times - it kept coming out as "swords". Nothing A about my I.)
Sometimes, they are swords. :-)
And the pen (or computer) is mightier than the sword, or so we have been told. :-)
Effective civil discourse, the gift of this site, and use of the derogatory and offensive term “moron”, are not compatible. Your argument assets something that I think may be true (the ineffective of the 1970’s price restrictions) but instead of giving the reasons to those under (and over) 45, you simply attack, Trump-style, by name-calling.
?????
FERN MCBRIDE (NYC) -- "Which is not to say that everyone was happy."
“3% 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘕𝘈𝘛𝘖 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘴? 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘉𝘐. 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤.” --Jennifer Rubin
Heather, thank you for pulling this information together. I applaud Ray Epps for seeing how Fox News, along with some of the House Republicans, have no problem with attacking members of their own party with scurrilous stories. It doesn’t matter if you’re a lifelong Republican and voted for Trump twice; if they need to defame you to promote their conspiracy theory, you’re toast. Rick Wilson’s book title (Everything Trump Touches Dies) is so true; he acts like a mob boss recruiting lieutenants and unwitting foot soldier who sacrifice their honor for a Pat on the head. Rupert Murdock appears not to have learned his lesson; perhaps Smartmatic will teach his opinion hosts that spouting “alternative facts” can be prohibitively expensive.
I think President Biden may well reconsider his view regarding expansion of SCOTUS as a "political" move that will make such moves common. The SCOTUS is already corrupt and unbalanced via such corruption. Time to add 4 seats and "rebalance". Now would not be a good time. After the election, assuming both chambers of Congress are (D) and Biden is in his second term, it would be time to burn the filibuster and fix SCOTUS. Also, Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) has some excellent thoughts on SCOTUS reform. See: https://youtu.be/RBpuW35aZHQ
Yes. Biden does not want to make supreme court reform into an election issue that republicans would twist and misrepresent. As you say, it is a pointless conversation until he gets 52 senators including manchin plus one other likely holdout. If Biden CAN pass such a bill, I believe he will do so.
On the issue of the court, Biden's where Obama was about gay marriage in 2012.
Sadly you are correct, TCinLA.
For the life of me I cannot understand why ANY American, irrespective of political persuasion, could actually think that having a Supreme Court with the same number of Justices as when U.S. Grant was President makes any sense
Daniel , numbers do not make a difference if opinions can be bought. My concern is with those who are appointing the justices and why.
That's a most cogent way to put it, Daniel!
Thanks for that, Alexandra. After a long day, to have one of my snippets described as cogent by a woman whose small sample of commentary that I am aware of is quite cogent indeed, I am certainly appreciative!
Thanks for the link Bart.
Bartholomew Clark, thank you for the opportunity to hear Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI) .
What a learned American patriot.....a freedom fighter if I ever heard one.....so excellent!!!!
I agree we do not need (potentally corrupt...) justices to be appointed to the Supreme Court. We as citizens should make it known that we do not approve of any of OUR Supreme Court justices who allow their opinions to be bought. The persons who are contributing to this corruption should be named and held accountable. Justice should be for all Americans, not for just a few!!!!
Sheldon Whitehouse is a great source!
Heather, another masterpiece in reporting the important issues facing us! I had heard and read about a number of the issues you talk about: NY State getting a properly drawn voter map; China alleged spy Gal Luft’s attempt to smear Biden and now on the run; the lawsuit against Fox by Trump supporter Epps, McConnell’s minimizing of the right wing SCOTUS he helped usher in. All too much to absorb at once, but the forces for good seem to be on the move. Keep us informed, and we will all roll up our sleeves to get voters to register and vote in the coming year. Thank you, Heather.
The current court dominated by self-serving kangaroos is the vindictive creation of Mitch McConnell. History will rightfully record McConnell as the father.
Earlier today when I saw the Pro Publica report on the Georgia voter registration challenges I wondered if HCR would pick up on it. And she did! I found it both interesting and infuriating. However, I would urge folks to read it (HCR has the link in her footnotes) to see how it is being dealt with. Democratic activists, even from Stacy Abrams' Fair Fight initiative, are taking this very seriously and are taking measures to see that this is dealt with. Even Sec'y of State Raffensperger's office is taking it on as well -- it appears that Raffensperger's office took Pro Publica's report VERY seriously. They mainly want to ensure that Georgia is in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) with regard to how such challenges are initiated and handled and that there is uniform policy in all 159 of Georgia's counties. (They did may a big boo-boo, because at one point they refer to Gwinnett county as the state's "most populous county" and then a few paragraphs later, they called it the state's "second most populous county" . . . oops!) Anyway, I like to think shining a light on this pretty outrageous occurrence from the '22 election is going to ensure that this will not be the case in the run-up to'24. Georgia is going to be under a magnifying glass as one of the key swing states, so there is a lot at stake and I think Raffensperger is going to want to see to it that things run smoothly. Also, with the looming indictment of the Big Orange Menace, and possible trial, we will be getting increased scrutiny because of that too.
Where is the civil rights division of the US Department of justice? Oh, right. Merrick Garland.
It's right here: https://www.justice.gov/voting
And your sniping at the Attorney General is out of line. He's doing his job. As are all the people who work at DOJ.
You’re right James. I was unfair and I apologize to all the faithful DOJ employees who are no doubt working their asses off for us. I’m hoping against hope that Merrick Garland and his ace assistant, Jack Smith, bring a monstrous RICO charge against all of these seditionists. When that happens, I’ll frame a picture of Merrick and Jack and mount the picture in my hall of heroes. Thank you for bringing my faux pas to my attention. I can do better.
If FOX billed itself as "FOX Propaganda Corporation" it wouldn't be so bad & let's face it their viewers wouldn't even question it. The viewers don't know & don't care that they are being lied to because it fills their empty lives with the notion that their grievances are just & they can wallow in self-pity about how they are being persecuted. Hadn't we been told that republicans believe in pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, & taking personal responsibility. Where did all that bravado go? They are now presented with a president that is doing his best to improve the lives of everyone & they are flipping him off & ignoring the fact that if his policies were encouraged & new laws were passed they might just get those good paying jobs they weep & wail over losing. There is/will be numerous good paying jobs that will not require a college degree & can't be outsourced because the recharging stations & wind mills & solar panels are HERE in the US & no matter how hard they try companies are not going to be able to uproot that infrastructure & send it overseas. But like I said, well like I implied, they are just down right ignorant. When I see these conspiracy theories being spouted by the so-called representatives in Congress I just want to grab them by their collars & say, "Are you listening to yourselves? If you really believe all the hogwash that you are spouting you really need to go back to school & learn how to think critically. Do you really believe the bu**sh*t that trumps is feeding you? Can you really look at the things that he says & believe it?" I guess they can, at this point it's must plain embarrassing to admit that they have been conned. There is one thing that trump is good at & that's conning people & like he said, "I love the undereducated!" Well, of course, he does undereductated people don't question, they believe what's put in front of them & the fancier the 'barker' the more they love him/her & believe them.
Woe is the US to have these idiots voting in the next election.
I refuse to get cable or satellite TV because I will not give even a small amount of money to support FOX TV. The best way to get rid of FOX TV is to boycott them.
We've dropped cable this month. Not nearly worth the money and, yes, get to keep our money away from FOX "News" is a bonus.
The Don Trump Booster Club doesn’t seem to be working out for its members very well lately. Exhibit A: Mike the pillow guy was making bank selling lumpy pillows, but then he fell in love with Donald, and it all seems to have fallen apart. I guess love really is blind.
lol William. Well observed !
Now, THAT’S a fantastic analogy!
Actually, the best way is to get their advertisers to cancel their accounts.
Advertising is not a major source of income for Fox, compared with cable news subscriptions.
We think of the rule of law in the context of criminal cases. But civil lawsuits are helping to save democracy and punish those profiting from extraordinarily destructive propaganda. Make that lies.
Thanks for your well informed news roundup tonight. An early night for you and me here in Oregon. We are seeing our first summer fires and fire activity growing with the high temperatures. I am wondering about flooding in Vermont and elsewhere in NE we only get snippets of it out here. A good reminder that change like weather is about what is happening locally.
I have a decades long friend in Vermnot who reports heavy rains with more on the way. In Montepelier, the Capitol the streets are flooded & VT Governor warns of more on the way. Southern Texas, (all my X's roast in Texas) New Mexico, Arizona & SoCal are experiencing extreme heat. SoCal peaks this Weekend.
The first El Nino since 2019 may generate upper level eastern winds from the Pacific into the Gulf which could act as a counteracting force to cyclonic lows.
Make sure a "pressure drop doesn't fall on you." More weather at 11
I strongly recommend WEATHER UNDERGROUND which uses scores of local, weather data monitors at all locations which you can tune-in for precision data at specific locations.
Yes, it’s long past time for elected official climate change deniers to shut up and for our tax dollars to continue to fund policies and fast track new solutions to mitigate and possibly reduce losses. And subsidize insurance. The flooding and storms, fires and extreme drought and heat are continuing to cost individual homeowners and residents. In my Northern California mountain community we routinely experience fires up hill and we are all paying steep prices for mandatory insurance and inspections. Unaffordable and reduced values. I live in a small community with few amenities except for landscaping and outside maintenance. Yesterday all plantings in the front small courtyards that could possibly block vision or movement to the driveway were cut down, pulled out and replaced with rock. For sure losing shade and heating up the homes. Thirty year old lush camellias, azaleas and more. Today I replaced my anger with acceptance that this isn’t even the beginning of Climate Change. It’s here. Costs are more than money. Wealthy politicians and their supporters aren’t affected the way middle and low income homeowners and renters who see property as their only wealth. And losses. They continue to block legislation or end funding. We should be planting trees, increasing green spaces, according to experts. How do we do both and create safe communities? Is it too late?
Is it too late? is not a useful question, I think. We are here, and there are hundreds of thousands of people in dire circumstances. That alone should motivate us without all the angst over the ultimate fate of our planet. For all the good President Biden has done, and it's quite impressive, giving Joe Manchin's pipeline and the Alaskan project the green light are on the other side of the scales. I'm in New York City where the air is only supposed to be dangerous to children, the elderly and the compromised, and my local pharmacist cautioned me about walking maybe half a mile to pick up my prescription until after 7 when the temperature would be more bearable. She waited until I got there, and I found her sweltering because the AC had gone out in her store.
progwoman, IMHO in the big picture we (all humans/gov’ts/nations) need to be thinking about where/how humanity will live/survive. It has been rolling out for awhile, but is now getting on the Tee-Vee & folks are finally starting to take it as seriously as it is, tho’ some still resist. Likely we will be looking increasingly at climate “refugees” w/in and from w/out (further increasing immigration tensions) our country (will affect countries worldwide)—it has already started, but like that proverbial snowball rolling downhill, it will get ever larger. This is going to be a very big lift, especially if we don’t take the long view and don’t have some kind of plan (need the best minds parsing it). I don’t think reworking insurance coverage is going to cut it when communities are repeatedly destroyed—it may come down to determining (guessing!?) if an area is ultimately habitable, just as some island nations are already looking a the wholesale movement of their entire population elsewhere….yeah, but where/how/who pays for it? It is the existential threat for our times (of all human times?) and yet we still need to go to work, make dinner & do the dishes, figure out our politics, etc…..you know, “life”.
Yes, I think what we can't conceive is that WE might be in need of migration, and a lot of people aren't paying attention. Miami, Phoenix and Las Vegas are the three top destinations for people leaving the East and cold climates.And just this week, we learned that you might not be safe from huge floods in Vermont or tornadoes in Chicago. Colorado friends fled their home of many years minutes before it went up in flames and down to the water main. I want to recommend a book that has helped me ease into this subject, in large part because I heard the author, Davide Geffen, speak. It's called A Traveler's Guide to the End of the World, and he researched and wrote it in response to his daughter's asking what the world might be like when she is his age. It helped me focus on life rather than my fear/rage/impotence about the behavior of some of our fellow human beings.
I am in an area that folks will likely be drawn to. It is currently rural, with a low population county-wide, but that will probably change. We have forests that can, and have fiercely burned to the east of me, but we also have the moderating coastal influence—fog!—that keeps the fire danger, for present, at bay closer to the coast. Wild fires happen here, but they’re not as intense, except in the mountains to the east—they have been “toasted” by a number of fires in recent years. I’ve already been scoping out habitable surrounding land, including “infill” w/in current city/town boundaries; many folks don’t like the idea, but I’m taking a long-view of options—with increased population, infrastructure will need to be rethought and updated. We still need to leave plenty arable land for food production—it is so shortsighted to pave over & build on farmland because it’s flat and nearby!!!! Thanks for the book rec. I worry about my nieces, nephews and their kids (and so on down the line)….well, all of us really. We’re getting a really late start due to hampering by all the monied interests. Hmmmm, maybe we should start printing money on edible paper….won’t do much good in a world simultaneously burning an drowning.
There are multiple fires 🔥 in western Riverside County, California this Weekend. The "Rabbit Fire" has burned over 7000 acres. The "Heat Dome" is still in place. Many consecutive 100+ Days in El Paso, Texas. Take care All.
I checked the WEATHER UNDEGROUND data driven graphics for MONTPELIER VT over the next five (5) days. 3 of next 5 days have data showing Thunderstorms & ⚡Lightning ⚡starting this afternoon. Only 0.26 inhes of rain today ⛅🌩🌨 but, upstream, flows continue. Thinkin' about the folks in the Granite state. 🙏
A friend forwarded me this news item. Really helps explain what's happening in Vermont (Green Mountain State) as well as its neighbor New Hampshire (Granite State)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/07/11/vermont-flooding-cause/
Roger, NH. The Granite State :)
The Toot’s & the Maytals: Pressure Drop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm0qWpZrgCU
Here is a quote about what “pressure drop” means in Reagge music by Toot’s:
“It's a song about revenge, but in the form of karma: if you do bad things to innocent people, then bad things will happen to you. The title was a phrase I used to say. If someone done me wrong, rather than fight them like a warrior, I'd say: “The pressure's going to drop on you.” From a Guardian article in 2016: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/sep/06/toots-and-the-maytals-how-we-made-pressure-drop#:~:text=It%27s%20a%20song%20about%20revenge,going%20to%20drop%20on%20you.”
Have the Weather Underground link on my homepage.
Hat tip Barbara ...
Will check out weather underground thanks for the tip!
We're under a "fire watch" here in the Willamette Valley.
Ally, it’s hard to relax at all when that kind of tension is thrumming in your mind….hope all in the Valley & surrounding hills/mountains are being extra cautious (and no thunderstorms on the horizon…)….I fear this is the new dry weather normal for much of the west (and, now, Canada…and….and…and).
It’s all about power and votes….Dems and reps fighting it out with ‘redistricting’ and innumerable other machinations to get ‘their way’ in whatever election comes next …and THEIR WAY can clearly be identified in ‘party control’…..
The 2022 election was by all reports the cleanest one we have ever had….Covid and the ‘mail in’ vote really kept it clean.
In Oregon the mail in vote is the only way to vote…everyone uses it and there’s been no fraud…..
Couldn’t we learn from this past election and the Oregon experience and simply authorize the ‘mail in’ vote in an easy fashion, for everyone as an option…..in CA it now represents 87% of the vote and I’d guess that would be increasingly true elsewhere as well, if it’s promoted and made simple to execute.
My guess it would be super popular and most important…just.
Joan, you state facts. In the Republican world, facts don’t matter. “Fraudulent vote-by-mail” was part of Trump’s conspiracy theory on why he lost the election. Vote by mail is secure, but the Republicans spoiled it with their talking points. Everything Repubs touch turns to sh*t.
I think it’s time to particularly emphasize just how genuinely fine that election actually was!
You are right Cathy about the reps and truth…generally it’s the exact opposite of whatever they ‘say’….and in this particular case it has never been more so….
And the truth, here, is so bloody important…..it’s the accurate response to Trumps most basic election lie and THE foundation for his ‘rerun’…..(the idiot ‘stolen’ LIE) and the ANSWER to future fair elections…..
It’s the ULTIMATE TRUTHM
Joan, I have voted by mail in the last two elections. I must say I do miss the ceremony and camaraderie of walking the two blocks to my little town’s (pop 1200) voting site. No waiting in line, chatting with the poll workers, a nod & smile at my neighbors. That part I miss, but know the ease of voting by mail. Needing to “make sure” it got there (even if early!) and despite several nearby drop boxes, I drove to the county elections office to put it in the drop box right outside the entrance….wanted to be as close to the endpoint as possible! I don’t EVER want to take my right to vote for granted.
Barbara…completely agree on the loss of camaraderie…..but at 85 in a state with a complex ballot where spreading it out on the kitchen table really helps with ‘those’ propositions….AND walking the completed ballot to the mailbox…I’m a huge fan!
The reps hate ‘mail-ins’ (they can’t tamper with states like Oregon so easily when it’s universal…)..and I think it’s safe to say they may well be majority dem….
There has been quite a change in the "dialogue" recently, with a number of comments becoming nasty diatribes. I believe they may be written by chatbots using AI, or else by people whose only contribution to life is to heap insults on others to obscure their own derangements. Has anyone else noticed that?
I suspect that you are right. I think Putin is ramping up his election interference machine again. Just like in 2016, today when I tried to comment in support of NATOs decision to not touch off literal World War III by admitting Ukraine now with a hot war and Russian Troops in Ukraine presently, all my entries took many minutes to even display on my screen, and after posting certain vital words were spelled wrong like arms was substituted with air. This was the exact same thing that happened to me while trying to comment on Hillary's policy positions then. Same with the Washington Post! Both Times, the Comment sections were later determined to be riddled with Russian Bots, remember. That was one reason Hillary's digital campaign director said that they couldn't get their message out.
Noted also. You are not imagining it Louise. There is much going on - it's being watched.
And, documented, analyzed & acted on by many competent folks. I respect BELLINGCAT's clever work.
It took over a half hour to post a two paragraph comment. I am not talking about the time it takes to have your comment approved.
Louise and D4N, is that happening here on Substack?
No. It immediately stopped happening as soon as I closed the New York Times website. Also I checked my interest speed, normal!
Many digital defenses can be deployed at the USER end. My cell phone defenses have improved significantly after moving to Google's "Pixel 6". But, (always a but) there are positives & negatives on ALL digital Platforms.
Make that internet speed. I was writing just now while lying upside down. My mistake!
You might ask why she deleted emails.
I shouldn't even reply to this attempt to distract and reflect, but I can't resist. Hillary told us what was in those deleted emails and her record of honesty way out does Donald Trump, a compulsive lier! These were personal emails, and on top of that she distroyed the emails and server to preserve national security when it was brought to her attention! Also, since Russia could never find them, and we would have heard if they had! You are making a rather silly argument. Not like storing military battle plans in a bathroom or ballroom off a quasi public pool area!! Like I said, I presume you are on this site as an agent of interference, and a foe of American Democracy!
Hold on, I voted for her but that politicization led her to lose the election. And she shouldn’t have lost. But she made a mistake putting government business on her personal computer and the opposition used it successfully against her.
I have indeed. I'm pretty sure a couple of the more...diatribey... are real people. Others I am not so sure about.
“diatribey”. New word! Thanks Ally! We need to get this into the DSM 5 or whatever it’s up to now.
I agree with you, William! Ally's "diatribey" adjective should be entered into Webster's post haste!
As in, “Man that Gym Jordan can be diatribey!” With a little more scientific research, we should be able to establish that this is also a form of mental disorder, which might possibly be treatable with a qualified medical intervention of some sort. The home intervention approach doesn’t seem to be effective.
*snort!* hahahaha…..
Diatribey — great word! Thanks for this addition to the language.
I am late viewing the comments today, looks like our most prolific troll is not here today. Hope he's gone.
Yes, Frank & i have had lengthy communications with Substack Inc regarding many Platform content moderation matters including the potential of Algothorimic, Bot & Troll driven disruptions.
There have been some minor improvements that some have noticed. We, meaning HCR's created digital Community, has "Terms of Service" that provide a number of benefits in my view including contractually defined roles for "Authors", "Readers" and, yes, the Platform, Substack Inc.
The hostility & personal attacks are common to virtuallly all Platforms. Must deal with it.
I have and mentioned to our rightful authority when it becomes habitual.
I just keep reporting them and encourage others to do so as well. I'm late onto the forum today and I don't notice the most recent copy/paste repeatedly troll today. Hopefully, he's gone.
I did report one "guy" who appeared to be copying and pasting. If someone makes nasty comments like "what, you moron!" Is that reportable, or is there a general rule on substack about offensive speech that has been published?
I trust you are not including me. I kept asking us to be more reflexive as to why we often lose elections and ask ourselves that maybe just maybe we are doing something wrong. If I work on a project and it doesn’t go well, I blame myself. It’s not enough to just think, “We gotta bring out the vote.” No, maybe we must ask why some of what we support may be holding us back. Inevitably, it’s called compromise in order to win. I’m just itching to say it so I will. Please stop supporting trans women on girls teams. I don’t care if it is a rare occurrence. People despise this. I do. If you insist on this new demand, prepare yourself to lose elections. It’s that simple. Stop be ing obtuse.
As you may remember Bill, I've had a few back and forths with you. I think you are a man of good faith seeking the best for the Democrats and their broader perspective.
However having said that, you are incorrect on the transgender issue, both in arguing for dehumanizing a discrete class of courageous, embattled people, and in making the "issue" much larger than it is.
"Please despise this"?!? Really??
As I have mentioned previously, the transgender issue was addressed fully and fairly by the Biden administration in a compromise manner.
Finally, ask yourself this----If a group of voters are so triggered beyond Pavlov by the very mention of transgender people that they would vote for the GOP due to their cowardly bashing of the entire LGBTQ community, are these really the voters a responsible political party could ever reach?
Ok, have it your way. I’m telling you that you want to sink the ship because you can’t see the difference between reality and crazy. You are simply unable to get it. And that’s ok. So go and get out the vote. And see how far that gets you. Let me tell you something straight up. Some of us (I had this talk with friends who generally think alike) that these crazy issues will be ammo to the opposition. You probably think we are all haters. I’ve been around the world I am familiar with lifestyles that are different from mine. It doesn’t phase me. But I don’t care if someone has their feeling hurt because they were male one year and now a cool with being female and rush to join a girl’s team. I don’t know why I need to regurgitate this it’s real simple. I want to see our side make progress but the other side of me say, who cares. As long as I prosper. Hey, I did spend 3 years trying to write a book about the mad man called Trump so I obviously put my ideals where my mouth is.
Gee Bill, I didn't know you were the point of the sword for the old notion that "no good deed goes unpunished". I compliment you and you return same with telling me that "I want to sink the ship because I can't see the difference between reality and crazy"?!?
Really?!? And you don't even respond to my points save with ad hominems and simplistic, prejudicial slurs about transgender people?!
Oh how the mighty have fallen
I am beginning to suspect Bill Katz might be Russian. Again, there is a pattern emerging that has that feel to it of 2016 in his commentary. They've learned camoflaging techniques like claiming to have written a book on Trump, but what was the title and who was the publisher?
Defined "Authors" including "Tantrums" have contractual duties, express & implied, & are bound contractually to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) forum at JAMS SF. SF Superior Court for bad faith renegades.
Da. Likey Klomski.
Why don’t you buy my book and find out. I’ll even autograph it for you. It’s only $15 softcover. You people want everyone to think like you do; lock, stock and barrel. It doesn’t work that way. Some of us have individual minds. May I ask if either of you are trans? Just wondering.
OMG, Louise. I'm trying not to think that, but then again.....
I need a breather. Maybe I'll have to plop down on some remote portion of the UP in your hood!
Lol Bill was railing about trans athletes, B1 visas and immigration the other day. When challenged it was “I’m entitled to my opinion and wrote a book”. Today he rails below about the need to ignore “dreamers” in immigration legislation. Bill seems a bit dicey but pushes his YouTube attempts at musical… something. He’s been filed in my skim bin.
Bill supports girls and women’s issues and guy to girl things are not women’s issues. I have been a feminist support all my life and will continue to be. I am opinionated and this wrote a book about one of them. On the topic of Dreamers, I am supportive of them absolutely but I’m equally supportive of immigration reform for two reasons; it’s broken and needs to be addressed and also, this unresolved issue will come back to bite us during the election cycle and me thinks you don’t quite understand the complexity of having issues tossed back and thereby lose an election. It’s called compromise Sister Gail, and this is what politics is about. We keep losing or almost losing because we don’t understand how to reach and reach an accord with the nuts on the right. Glad I’m in your skim bin whatever that is.
I’ve said all I’m going to say on topic. Go argue with someone else.
Take your arguments elsewhere Bill. I will not tolerate them.
I am never going to despise people who transition from one gender to another. You have absolutely NO idea what it feels like to be in the wrong body, and how right it feels to be in the correct one. Your harping on this one particular issue sounds like it touches a nerve for you in some way, or that you buy into some of the ridiculous things that the MAGAts say about folks.