Today news broke that Anthony Aguero, who was in the Capitol on January 6 and who is close to Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), joined Republican members of the right-wing Republican Study Committee when they traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday night.
It seems obvious to me that every hurdle the Republicans install to make voting harder has a counter move. We as Democrats have to stop looking for easier voting and institute actions to meet those austere standards.
Of course I believe voting should be as frictionless as possible and someday will be, but until then we have to rise to the challenge. Where it's not possible to legislatively correct the Republican's draconian laws, we organize to help those voters meet the criteria.
-If states demand photo ID's, then help those targeted by this law to get one.
-If states limit voting days and hours then do whatever possible to get the targeted voters to the polls
-If lines are too long then document it with live video feeds and flood the media contrasting the hours long lines in low income precincts vs the champagne and caviar conditions in the rich.
Don't lie down and just take. Don't give up and just accept it. Get up, Standup, Standup for your Rights!
Christopher, thanks! I've been saying this for a long time. We are the majority party, and can't allow ourselves to be intimidated. So far, the Supreme Court hasn't said that minorities can't vote, only that it's permissible to make it more difficult. If that's the hand that's been dealt, play it, and enable the affected voters to participate. It might be more difficult, but minorities doggedly decided to vote to dump TFG, control the Senate, and defy the worst pandemic in 100 years. We have the number, so stop wringing your hands.
This absolutely spot on. If the "patriots" could organize to overthrow our democracy on jan. 6th, we can organize to maintain our democracy! We need to target areas that need help and then hire buses and carpool, all flying our democracy flag (tbd), and go help in numbers. I'm in.
Not much of a leader, but I can follow. Too early yet til '22, but I wouldn't be surprised if folks like Black Voters Matter would coordinate buses to the polls
If we really cared about voting, the cities would provide free city bus transportation to the polls! Why not! And all employers would give a day off for those who voted. Voting machine would spit out a "receipt" to be taken to the employer for verification and a (voting)day's pay.
Yes they absolutely do matter. And another thing that matters is helping people feel empowered, feel good about doing the civic duty, feel supported in doing their civic duty, feel that their vote does matter.
I don't know. It would need to be an alliance of blue state blue folks and red state blue folks. It would be a big undertaking to make a difference but how cool would its be???!!! Can you just see us in a cavalcade streaming our flags, standing up for democracy, helping folks who need help...As I said in another similar post, let those Texas boys try to run us off the road with their pickup trucks! We have kindness and love on our side!
Thanks for this link, Lynell. This is the kind of thing I hope more folks like Beto, who are not in political office but are known and respected, will do more often…to counter the right’s narrative.
Oh awesome Bruce! Thanks for sharing! There is just too much to keep up with, but from time to time it pops into my head, "shouldn't that be a lawsuit???" Yay!
I did some of phone banking prior to the presidential election and had mixed feelings about the productivity of that. But those organizations were definitely on it--getting people involved, keeping in touch, setting it all up online, etc. But then again, the Jan 6th folks were just organizing on social media. I guess that wasn't quite as complicated in some ways. If a town needing help could register somewhere, indicate what they need, then people wanting to help could be matched. Of course, who knows what will be illegal by then!
Friends, I am old enough to remember the voter ID ploy when it was clearly racist. Please be aware that, in most cases, this refers to a driver's license and/or passport with a photo, which is government-issued, too expensive for the poor, and requires some weeks or months of waiting before one is obtained. There is nothing wrong with an ID per se but it should be accessible to everyone, free of charge and tamper-proof. In my mind, this is a national registration card and will be a huge undertaking that is not likely to happen anytime soon. (Guess who will be the likely adversaries?)
Making a government-issued ID free, while useful, would only solve part of the problem, I'm afraid. The other part is the documentation required to obtain it. See the documents required here in Georgia for a "Real ID," the term used for the secured ID mandated, I think, by Homeland Security post-9/11. https://dds.georgia.gov/list-acceptable-real-id-documents
You've gotta be pretty settled down to have these documents ready at hand. For instance, I'd be hard pressed to find my marriage license -- do you have yours handy? I'm quite sure that one's ability to assemble proof of identity is heavily influenced with income, level of transience, location, education, etc. How that skews the voter pool is probably very complicated and not necessarily intuitive.
And as alarming as restrictive voter ID requirements may be, not having to prove that you are, in fact, the person named on the voter registration roll seems...well, insecure, to put it mildly. I suspect that the end result will always be that a certain segment of potential voters will inevitably be excluded simply because they are too disorganized and poor to participate.
When they did the post 9/11 "security" horseshit, I had to arrange to get an ID for my father.
Born in 1913, he was in his late 80's, and was already suffering from early dementia. They insisted on his birth certificate. He had a copy. They said the copy was no good, they needed an "original." Gosh. Did they actually keep those original records from 1913?
My father served in WWII, and after he passed, I found his honorable discharge papers. Those would probably have been insufficient, too. He had lived in the same house in the same town for almost fifty years. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him. One of the clerks processing these was our neighbor. She took me aside and said, "I'll take care fo this."
That's how "identification" works in police states.
I'm one of those people who shouldn't be impacted by getting a "real ID" and it still cost me $40 and six weeks to get an official copy of my birth certificate from Texas, as well as $35 for the license. I will say (thank you, COVID-19!) that the California DMV instituted a great system during the pandemic, which I hope they'll retain in the future: getting it all done online, no visit to teh @#$#@!! DMV office - if you don't have any moving violations during the period of the old license, you go online, create an account, answer their questions, take a photo of the birth certificate and upload it, and 2 weeks later there it is in the mail: your new drivers license/real ID.
And I'll bet it doesn't work like that in Jawjah or Tejas.
Another complication: the Indiana DMV would not accept my valid marriage license b/c it was issued and signed by the church official even though the minister was also an authorized state official with an official state seal. I had to get a copy from the county clerk's office where we had applied and lived at the time. I was told that since 9/11, "church" issued licenses aren't accepted. This feels like Republican sh*t to me.
In the otherwise regressive bill proposed in Washington State was included the option of a voter ID card issued upon registration. I'd have to go back and look at the requirements for getting that card, but it was not as onerous as I'd expected - although possibly still beyond some people's ability.
I know in Florida, one can obtain a state ID if one has no interest in driving privileges. Works as proper ID, gets one registered to vote, and does not take as long as a drivers license or passport.
And another thing. If the GOP says they are addressing "fears of election fraud in order to reassure voters," then let them. Then when the next election comes along, they will have no excuses for losing! How can they then claim a Big Lie again? Meanwhile we will do our work to make sure that everyone who wants to vote, is able to.
As for the Supreme Court decision this week, one of the angst in Arizona was the voting in the wrong polling place. Arizona has a bad habit of changing polling places in heavily Democratic areas on a whim. So voting in the wrong polling place is to be an expected mistake. Let's work on more polling places in more permanent places.
I don't understand this mentality of you must go to the voting place in which you are assigned. In Texas so long as you go to one in the same county, it's no big deal.... hopefully Abbott, et al., aren't trying to change that flexibility! I've voted by mail, at a local university, and at all sorts of libraries. Early voting is 3 weeks long, so there's not a ton of pressure to go vote NOW - if the line is too long, check out a different library or come back a different day. Or do like Colorado and mail out ballots to every citizen a month early - so you get more active participation in local elections where your power really matters but are easy to miss if you don't pay attention to local news.
The Texas approach is good and very doable in the computer age where information sharing is instant and secure. Still I don't see the harm in having to go to your local precinct. It should be and probably is the law to notify voters if their polling place has changed. Mine changes depending on the party in power but I always get a notice in the mail.
Mine changed during the pandemic - maybe even the day before the primary, which then got postponed. I used to vote at a nursing home; it was a sensible change.
I don't see how they can allow that to happen. When I go to vote they verify me on the voter roll. AZ is in need of a major overhaul if someone can walk into the wrong precinct and be able to vote unchallenged.
In AZ, it is also difficult to get an ID. DMV sites have been reduced, requiring hours of travel. Online does not work. Getting appointments is impossible. And I am a highly mobile person.
Thanks so much for posting this, Lanita! Although a 1980 song, it sure has totally appropriateness for today -- in the US and Canada! (I'm a dual citizen.) Love Bob Marley!
I went to see him at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on his 1979 tour - on my birthday!!! - and I just found a recording of that concert. Wow! It was an amazing evening - I'm not sure I sat down once the whole time. I have such a strong memory of his dreads spreading out like sunrays when he danced. Gonna listen to that concert right now!!!
I am in complete agreement with you Christopher. It is up to us, "the people " to continue the work to form "a more perfect Union ". While we can hope for good results from our elected representatives, it is up to us to take up the cause of ensuring that every American who wants to vote complies with their state requirements, are able to get to the polls, and vote! Boots on the ground for each of us who is able.
Well said, Christopher. However, If other states are like Ohio, you have to have numerous documents with you (some certified/original) to get either an ID or a Drivers License. The push being recommended is right on target, but it requires a lot of preparation and documents that many folks don't have easy access to. A real problem......
It's not like that in the Ohio where I live. First I always vote absentee and don't need a reason. On the application I usually just give my SSN last four because I'm too lazy to pull out my Driver's License. I haven't been a poll judge for a while but when I was, in the absence of a photo ID you only needed a utility bill with your name and address. You can find all the acceptable ones here: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/id-requirements/?
So, every voter can vote absentee or in person without a major hassle as you seemed to imply.
Somethings are best not left to the states. Maybe the whole process doesn't need to be federalized but the question of proving who you are definitely should be.
Many, too many things are left to the states. What is the point of being the "United" states when states can make up their own rules about such basic needs/rights as voting, adequate health care and free quality K-12 education?
Agreed. It allows things like pockets of the virus flourishing while the rest of us comply with masks, etc. A democracy requires that everyone be vaccinated and/or comply with rules to protect our fellow citizens. The notion that democracy means total independence from government rules has gone off the charts. States' rights people are milking it for all it's worth.
Southern Democrat Dixiecrat racism then, nationwide Republican racism now, Caste and Class and slavery worldwide in all its forms, the Holocaust and Holocaust deniers, MTG, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, DeSantis, Kevin and Mitch, Mussolini & Hitler, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson and Joe McCarthy, Putin and Trump, Orval Faubus and Pres. Eisenhower, LBJ and Great Society, Obama, Biden, Biden, Harris, Joe Knows Us, segregation now, segregation forever, AG Nick Katzenbach and George C. Wallace, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, MLK and FDR and JFK and RFK, Nobel Nadia Murad and @SBLewisSB - Greta and Gov. Abbot - the arc of our story today in Texas, Arizona, of my story now coming, of history as told here, finally, now, here by HCR, of Kenneth Bancroft Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark, Bill Clinton on his last day in office, Stanley James Evans MD, Douglas S. Eakeley, Bill Bradley, USD Judges Mary Johnson Lowe and William C. Conner, January 6th, July 4th, Juneteenth, Trump at the border, Pelosi and The House, Cheney and Cheney, John Robert Lewis and Matt Gaetz, Floyd George and Emmet Till, Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln Douglas, Civil War and 1813 and January 6th… the Negro Wet Nurse, first sex for white boys, KKK, our tortured past and present.
To truth. To Pericles Oration, the Gettysburg Address, I Have a dream.
To Heather for her nightly labors, let’s put her on The Court. She can teach there.
To Adam Liptak. Willy Rashbaum. Suzanne Craig. David Barstow.
As truth, as facts, as history reminds us that current nefarious tactics are not new or shiny, Sandy, then hope does spring. Historians remind us of action put into motion during another era that corrected course. We are reminded that we are a community of neighbors on the watch for each other.
Thank you for your comments today. I hope HCR and the likes of her will be able to record our history of this year as being the arc bending towards Lady Justice.
Careful with counting on "hope" springing wherever or whenever. The full Pope couplet reads "Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man NEVER IS, but always TO BE blessed." Which I take to mean that you'll never catch the right train if you're waiting on the wrong platform.
Mr. Grantham's comment (immediately below) is spot on, though as he surely recognizes there is no possibility that Mr. Lewis will mend his tiresome ways. One way to understand the poverty of Mr. Lewis's comments is to appreciate that all of them are all about him: he is a showy writer, the goal of his word salad screeds, which are largely incoherent--he is unable to mount an extended narrative, compare id. with Ms. Richardson's narratives-- is to show off what he perceives to be his intellectual depth and breadth. But it is not breadth and depth that are shown, but the lack of same: he is a vain dilettante, not remotely in Ms. Richardson's league on any front, which explains in part why he is so jealous of her.
I admire the efforts of HCR. As a historian she is B+. Thucydides is A+.
Jealous? She’s unappealing in every way for me, but she’s honest. I’ve loved academics that survived Auschwitz, Dachau, Buchenwald. With a few good exceptions, I’ve not found a Phillips Exeter graduate well rounded. We have three in our nuclear family. The stuff they have that makes them special came later. Not one loves the memory of PEA. Two hate it. Summa cum laude at Princeton and D. Phil at Oxford, law at Yale and medical school.. not one loved the snots at PEA.
I am not a writer. I’ve written and have been asked by the best to do that. I speak. Writing requires patience I do not have.
Jealous? I am jealous of few. At 82, I’ve coped well will my handicaps. I seek no approval. I provoke.
As I see it, we live for those to come and we are failing badly. I would destroy millions if I felt that by doing so I might cleanse the human race of Trump, Giuliani, Putin, and thousands of others. I do not feel that killing solves anything.
The idiots that jabber nonsense here are a form of obnoxious bum fluff.
Those that struggle to make sense here have potential.
This Substack works the elderly. It does not reach students. I try. If we do not reach deeply those now being educated, planet earth 🌍 will burn up.
If we allow the GOP to rule, it’s Civil War. Trump et al will be jailed, or we will again experience January 6th. And worse.
Getting into a pissing fight with a skunk 🦨 is silly, Robert Lerner. I pass.
"This Substack works the elderly. It does not reach students. I try. If we do not reach deeply those now being educated, planet earth 🌍 will burn up."
But HOW the hell do we do that?? I totally agree, but in a world with more diversions than Leggo pieces, getting attention is kinda difficult. I am remined of a recent cartoon - Small spaceship lands on what looks like a Uni lawn. Students everywhere, intently looking at their phones. Alien 1 to Alien 2 " You see, I told you they'd never notice us" ! Some care, most don't.
Sandy, not being one of the cognoscenti, you posts lose me. Such a shame, as I'm sure there is so much in them. Maybe you can find some one to filter them first? We'd all benefit, I'm sure.
I re-read that 2012 Times article and Sandy Lewis has credibility that cannot be ignored. As for his 'stream of consciousness' style, imagine that you are at a magnificent buffet table of great length. The tempting items are too numerous to sample them all, but certainly, whatever you select to eat will be delicious.
Abuse? Bull shit. People in the public sphere are open to criticism. Idiots reading here are responding to their needs, not hers. She has broad shoulders… and she is guilty, as are many of us, of latent racism. Boston College the same. We will not whip the vicious racism spreading again over Europe and the USA… with passive crap that does not rip it, front and center. The best German Jews thought Hitler was a joke. Never again? Well, it’s ramping right now… and Trump and the racist GOP and the passive historians that fear controversy are of the problem, not of the solution. Most readers here are silent… and do not pay $5 or $50 to comment or read the comments. They come and go. The hard core play here, with us… and I am amused to read the garbage from the latent racists that seek to protect the Million Dollar Historian that will not challenge racism, front and center. Passive resistance worked for MKG. It will not work in our Senate or our nation,.
I find Sandy’s posts often confusing, yet compelling. Reading this one, I see a composite of faces and events in our history that lead to today. It makes me remember, and think. It’s a patchwork quilt that often doesn’t match patterns and there might be a few stay threads, but it sure covers a lot. I’m thankful we have someone like him in our midst.
Charlie Grantham, you have a physician in your community - who did not choose to give his famous father a memorial service… That physician is first class. And well liked… and he is dying of lung cancer… we last saw each other in December 1949.. his father hired and fired me… and I liked him. He was not brilliant. His uncle Arthur was.
As for you, Charlie, look in the mirror and tell me what color your cheeks are.
Common knowledge. Slave women before and after emancipation were used to get white boys started. Their sperm produced what the old Negro wanted. Their experience destroyed their respect for women and created an ownership syndrome that drives white supremacy to this day. Racist white men like to do it with the willing. It’s not rape. It’s not love. It’s Bill Clinton, pure and simple. And he knows it.
When the first such experience forms expectations, subsequent efforts do not result in happiness. The men orgasm. It’s a pit stop mentality. Their women rarely do, regardless of color.
Another tour de force "Letter" from Dr. Richardson. She compares and contrasts current events with the history of my country of 140 years ago that I was never taught. As such, she both enlightens me and shows me how ignorant I am!
I have not yet read any other comments here today. Something in this letter triggered a memory of the following quote:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
I’ve spent my lifetime working on environmental issues and been privileged to see small groups actually change the world - in this case change policy and make things better. The truth is I’d like nothing better than to stand down and truly retire. Instead, today I’m going to participate in a meeting with other committed citizens talking about what to do for our democracy. After that, I will write out ten postcards to voters in Alabama in a special election there and after that, go water and weed my poor neglected garden since the drought here in Minnesota is wreaking havoc. Climate change? Makes my life harder every day. And given how many just died in the Pacific Northwest of heat related illnesses, I’m not the only one!
I come here every day for comfort and inspiration - and find it. I see that I am not only not alone but among titans. Knowledgeable, capable, smart and obviously committed to the Great Experiment.
Please reach down deep and find ways to DO today and going forward. Democracy needs active citizens and many here could be just the lever that moves the ball forward. Thanks for being here. Y’all give me hope!
It seems obvious to me that every hurdle the Republicans install to make voting harder has a counter move. We as Democrats have to stop looking for easier voting and institute actions to meet those austere standards.
Of course I believe voting should be as frictionless as possible and someday will be, but until then we have to rise to the challenge. Where it's not possible to legislatively correct the Republican's draconian laws, we organize to help those voters meet the criteria.
-If states demand photo ID's, then help those targeted by this law to get one.
-If states limit voting days and hours then do whatever possible to get the targeted voters to the polls
-If lines are too long then document it with live video feeds and flood the media contrasting the hours long lines in low income precincts vs the champagne and caviar conditions in the rich.
Don't lie down and just take. Don't give up and just accept it. Get up, Standup, Standup for your Rights!
Christopher, thanks! I've been saying this for a long time. We are the majority party, and can't allow ourselves to be intimidated. So far, the Supreme Court hasn't said that minorities can't vote, only that it's permissible to make it more difficult. If that's the hand that's been dealt, play it, and enable the affected voters to participate. It might be more difficult, but minorities doggedly decided to vote to dump TFG, control the Senate, and defy the worst pandemic in 100 years. We have the number, so stop wringing your hands.
We can all help make the “more difficult “ possible.
... and less difficult.
This absolutely spot on. If the "patriots" could organize to overthrow our democracy on jan. 6th, we can organize to maintain our democracy! We need to target areas that need help and then hire buses and carpool, all flying our democracy flag (tbd), and go help in numbers. I'm in.
See, Kimberly, you did/do have a great idea!
Thanks Lynell! You remembered! Now how to make it happen!
Not much of a leader, but I can follow. Too early yet til '22, but I wouldn't be surprised if folks like Black Voters Matter would coordinate buses to the polls
If we really cared about voting, the cities would provide free city bus transportation to the polls! Why not! And all employers would give a day off for those who voted. Voting machine would spit out a "receipt" to be taken to the employer for verification and a (voting)day's pay.
Now you're on to something, Mary...why not, indeed!
I am too… but CT is a blue state, and we’re near to NYC, which is also blue. How can I find an area where I could be useful?!
Margins matter everywhere, even in solid blue or solid red states. Every vote matters.
Yes they absolutely do matter. And another thing that matters is helping people feel empowered, feel good about doing the civic duty, feel supported in doing their civic duty, feel that their vote does matter.
This is the United States. You mobilize the blues to make the voice LOUD in Connecticut, Cynthia. They will hear it in Alabama.
Especially coming from me...My voice REALLY CARRIES!
I don't know. It would need to be an alliance of blue state blue folks and red state blue folks. It would be a big undertaking to make a difference but how cool would its be???!!! Can you just see us in a cavalcade streaming our flags, standing up for democracy, helping folks who need help...As I said in another similar post, let those Texas boys try to run us off the road with their pickup trucks! We have kindness and love on our side!
Here is an example of Texans fighting back against those trying to run us off the road with their pickup trucks.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/24/politics/trump-train-lawsuit-biden-campaign-workers/index.html
We do fight back. Don't give up on Texas. We are definitely in the fight.
Beta O'Rourke isn't giving up. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/03/beto-o-rourke-interview-texas-politics
Thanks for this link, Lynell. This is the kind of thing I hope more folks like Beto, who are not in political office but are known and respected, will do more often…to counter the right’s narrative.
And no, I am not giving up on Texas!
Oh awesome Bruce! Thanks for sharing! There is just too much to keep up with, but from time to time it pops into my head, "shouldn't that be a lawsuit???" Yay!
Maybe a way to start would be to coordinate with Stacy Abrams. Set up a system and then expand it to other red states.
thanks! I was thinking about that~
I did some of phone banking prior to the presidential election and had mixed feelings about the productivity of that. But those organizations were definitely on it--getting people involved, keeping in touch, setting it all up online, etc. But then again, the Jan 6th folks were just organizing on social media. I guess that wasn't quite as complicated in some ways. If a town needing help could register somewhere, indicate what they need, then people wanting to help could be matched. Of course, who knows what will be illegal by then!
With you!
Friends, I am old enough to remember the voter ID ploy when it was clearly racist. Please be aware that, in most cases, this refers to a driver's license and/or passport with a photo, which is government-issued, too expensive for the poor, and requires some weeks or months of waiting before one is obtained. There is nothing wrong with an ID per se but it should be accessible to everyone, free of charge and tamper-proof. In my mind, this is a national registration card and will be a huge undertaking that is not likely to happen anytime soon. (Guess who will be the likely adversaries?)
Agree. If a state or national ID is required, it should be free.
Making a government-issued ID free, while useful, would only solve part of the problem, I'm afraid. The other part is the documentation required to obtain it. See the documents required here in Georgia for a "Real ID," the term used for the secured ID mandated, I think, by Homeland Security post-9/11. https://dds.georgia.gov/list-acceptable-real-id-documents
You've gotta be pretty settled down to have these documents ready at hand. For instance, I'd be hard pressed to find my marriage license -- do you have yours handy? I'm quite sure that one's ability to assemble proof of identity is heavily influenced with income, level of transience, location, education, etc. How that skews the voter pool is probably very complicated and not necessarily intuitive.
And as alarming as restrictive voter ID requirements may be, not having to prove that you are, in fact, the person named on the voter registration roll seems...well, insecure, to put it mildly. I suspect that the end result will always be that a certain segment of potential voters will inevitably be excluded simply because they are too disorganized and poor to participate.
When they did the post 9/11 "security" horseshit, I had to arrange to get an ID for my father.
Born in 1913, he was in his late 80's, and was already suffering from early dementia. They insisted on his birth certificate. He had a copy. They said the copy was no good, they needed an "original." Gosh. Did they actually keep those original records from 1913?
My father served in WWII, and after he passed, I found his honorable discharge papers. Those would probably have been insufficient, too. He had lived in the same house in the same town for almost fifty years. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him. One of the clerks processing these was our neighbor. She took me aside and said, "I'll take care fo this."
That's how "identification" works in police states.
I'm one of those people who shouldn't be impacted by getting a "real ID" and it still cost me $40 and six weeks to get an official copy of my birth certificate from Texas, as well as $35 for the license. I will say (thank you, COVID-19!) that the California DMV instituted a great system during the pandemic, which I hope they'll retain in the future: getting it all done online, no visit to teh @#$#@!! DMV office - if you don't have any moving violations during the period of the old license, you go online, create an account, answer their questions, take a photo of the birth certificate and upload it, and 2 weeks later there it is in the mail: your new drivers license/real ID.
And I'll bet it doesn't work like that in Jawjah or Tejas.
Another complication: the Indiana DMV would not accept my valid marriage license b/c it was issued and signed by the church official even though the minister was also an authorized state official with an official state seal. I had to get a copy from the county clerk's office where we had applied and lived at the time. I was told that since 9/11, "church" issued licenses aren't accepted. This feels like Republican sh*t to me.
In the otherwise regressive bill proposed in Washington State was included the option of a voter ID card issued upon registration. I'd have to go back and look at the requirements for getting that card, but it was not as onerous as I'd expected - although possibly still beyond some people's ability.
What you say is true, imo, personal experience too, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't begin. The system can be tweaked over time.
Totally agree. I know people in that certain segment.
I know in Florida, one can obtain a state ID if one has no interest in driving privileges. Works as proper ID, gets one registered to vote, and does not take as long as a drivers license or passport.
And another thing. If the GOP says they are addressing "fears of election fraud in order to reassure voters," then let them. Then when the next election comes along, they will have no excuses for losing! How can they then claim a Big Lie again? Meanwhile we will do our work to make sure that everyone who wants to vote, is able to.
Oh they will anyway Kimberly. Have you ever seen facts sway the opinion of a Republican?
Point well placed. But there may be a few Lincoln Project Republicans who can push that idea.
And who cares if they do? We will be celebrating our greater majority for Pres Biden to work with.
As for the Supreme Court decision this week, one of the angst in Arizona was the voting in the wrong polling place. Arizona has a bad habit of changing polling places in heavily Democratic areas on a whim. So voting in the wrong polling place is to be an expected mistake. Let's work on more polling places in more permanent places.
I don't understand this mentality of you must go to the voting place in which you are assigned. In Texas so long as you go to one in the same county, it's no big deal.... hopefully Abbott, et al., aren't trying to change that flexibility! I've voted by mail, at a local university, and at all sorts of libraries. Early voting is 3 weeks long, so there's not a ton of pressure to go vote NOW - if the line is too long, check out a different library or come back a different day. Or do like Colorado and mail out ballots to every citizen a month early - so you get more active participation in local elections where your power really matters but are easy to miss if you don't pay attention to local news.
The Texas approach is good and very doable in the computer age where information sharing is instant and secure. Still I don't see the harm in having to go to your local precinct. It should be and probably is the law to notify voters if their polling place has changed. Mine changes depending on the party in power but I always get a notice in the mail.
Mine changed during the pandemic - maybe even the day before the primary, which then got postponed. I used to vote at a nursing home; it was a sensible change.
I don't see how they can allow that to happen. When I go to vote they verify me on the voter roll. AZ is in need of a major overhaul if someone can walk into the wrong precinct and be able to vote unchallenged.
In AZ, it is also difficult to get an ID. DMV sites have been reduced, requiring hours of travel. Online does not work. Getting appointments is impossible. And I am a highly mobile person.
Yes, Christopher. I believe Stacey is thinking along the same lines you are.
Bob Marley in Munich in 1980 sang it! Get up, Stand Up, Don't Give Up the The Fight!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhJ0q7X3DLM
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight, oh
Preacher man, don't tell me
Heaven is under the earth
I know you don't know
What life is really worth
It's not all that glitter is gold
'Alf the story has never been told
So now you see the light
You stand up for your right
Get up, stand up (oh)
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
And I say, most people think
A great God will come from the sky
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high
But if you know what life is worth
You will look for yours on earth
And now you see the light
I want you to stand up for your right, ay
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your right
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
We sick an' tired of your bullshit game
To die and go to Heaven inna Jesus name
We know when we understand
Almighty God is a living man
You fool some people sometimes, yeah
But you can't fool all the people all the time
So now we see the light
We gonna stand up for our rights
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights (yeah)
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
Wish Bob Marley had been alive and performed Get up, Stand Up, Don't Give Up the The Fight! all over Germany in the 1930's.
Thanks so much for posting this, Lanita! Although a 1980 song, it sure has totally appropriateness for today -- in the US and Canada! (I'm a dual citizen.) Love Bob Marley!
Face towards the light…..been sayin’ it. That’s where the Love is.
Love this one. ❤️🤍💙
Thanks, Lanita!! I knew those words sounded familiar. Bob Marley, a consummate activist.
I went to see him at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on his 1979 tour - on my birthday!!! - and I just found a recording of that concert. Wow! It was an amazing evening - I'm not sure I sat down once the whole time. I have such a strong memory of his dreads spreading out like sunrays when he danced. Gonna listen to that concert right now!!!
https://seattlepalate.com/bob-marley-the-wailers-live-at-paramount-theatre-seattle-wa-u-s-a-20-11-1979/
Oh, my, Lanita...lucky you!
The song has been in my head all day, since I read Christopher’s post this morning 🙂
I am in complete agreement with you Christopher. It is up to us, "the people " to continue the work to form "a more perfect Union ". While we can hope for good results from our elected representatives, it is up to us to take up the cause of ensuring that every American who wants to vote complies with their state requirements, are able to get to the polls, and vote! Boots on the ground for each of us who is able.
100% on target! Prepare for the worst as well as fight for the best!
Yes, Christopher. I want to believe this significant forum of voices is thinking along the same lines as you are.
Well said, Christopher. However, If other states are like Ohio, you have to have numerous documents with you (some certified/original) to get either an ID or a Drivers License. The push being recommended is right on target, but it requires a lot of preparation and documents that many folks don't have easy access to. A real problem......
It's not like that in the Ohio where I live. First I always vote absentee and don't need a reason. On the application I usually just give my SSN last four because I'm too lazy to pull out my Driver's License. I haven't been a poll judge for a while but when I was, in the absence of a photo ID you only needed a utility bill with your name and address. You can find all the acceptable ones here: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/id-requirements/?
Absentee voting is even easier imho: https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/absentee-voting/
So, every voter can vote absentee or in person without a major hassle as you seemed to imply.
Somethings are best not left to the states. Maybe the whole process doesn't need to be federalized but the question of proving who you are definitely should be.
Many, too many things are left to the states. What is the point of being the "United" states when states can make up their own rules about such basic needs/rights as voting, adequate health care and free quality K-12 education?
Agreed. It allows things like pockets of the virus flourishing while the rest of us comply with masks, etc. A democracy requires that everyone be vaccinated and/or comply with rules to protect our fellow citizens. The notion that democracy means total independence from government rules has gone off the charts. States' rights people are milking it for all it's worth.
Exactly!
Yes !
Excellent, Christopher! (I love that song)
Yes!
I love this attitude! 👏🏻✊🏻
Southern Democrat Dixiecrat racism then, nationwide Republican racism now, Caste and Class and slavery worldwide in all its forms, the Holocaust and Holocaust deniers, MTG, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, DeSantis, Kevin and Mitch, Mussolini & Hitler, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson and Joe McCarthy, Putin and Trump, Orval Faubus and Pres. Eisenhower, LBJ and Great Society, Obama, Biden, Biden, Harris, Joe Knows Us, segregation now, segregation forever, AG Nick Katzenbach and George C. Wallace, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, MLK and FDR and JFK and RFK, Nobel Nadia Murad and @SBLewisSB - Greta and Gov. Abbot - the arc of our story today in Texas, Arizona, of my story now coming, of history as told here, finally, now, here by HCR, of Kenneth Bancroft Clark and Mamie Phipps Clark, Bill Clinton on his last day in office, Stanley James Evans MD, Douglas S. Eakeley, Bill Bradley, USD Judges Mary Johnson Lowe and William C. Conner, January 6th, July 4th, Juneteenth, Trump at the border, Pelosi and The House, Cheney and Cheney, John Robert Lewis and Matt Gaetz, Floyd George and Emmet Till, Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln Douglas, Civil War and 1813 and January 6th… the Negro Wet Nurse, first sex for white boys, KKK, our tortured past and present.
To truth. To Pericles Oration, the Gettysburg Address, I Have a dream.
To Heather for her nightly labors, let’s put her on The Court. She can teach there.
To Adam Liptak. Willy Rashbaum. Suzanne Craig. David Barstow.
To NY State RICO, to Federal RICO.
The arc of history is bending.
Love thy neighbor, hope springs.
One Art. Elizabeth Bishop.
As truth, as facts, as history reminds us that current nefarious tactics are not new or shiny, Sandy, then hope does spring. Historians remind us of action put into motion during another era that corrected course. We are reminded that we are a community of neighbors on the watch for each other.
Thank you for your comments today. I hope HCR and the likes of her will be able to record our history of this year as being the arc bending towards Lady Justice.
Happy 4th weekend, Sandy. Woohoo!
Careful with counting on "hope" springing wherever or whenever. The full Pope couplet reads "Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man NEVER IS, but always TO BE blessed." Which I take to mean that you'll never catch the right train if you're waiting on the wrong platform.
I’m not on the wrong platform.
Blessings!
Mr. Grantham's comment (immediately below) is spot on, though as he surely recognizes there is no possibility that Mr. Lewis will mend his tiresome ways. One way to understand the poverty of Mr. Lewis's comments is to appreciate that all of them are all about him: he is a showy writer, the goal of his word salad screeds, which are largely incoherent--he is unable to mount an extended narrative, compare id. with Ms. Richardson's narratives-- is to show off what he perceives to be his intellectual depth and breadth. But it is not breadth and depth that are shown, but the lack of same: he is a vain dilettante, not remotely in Ms. Richardson's league on any front, which explains in part why he is so jealous of her.
Spot on.
I admire the efforts of HCR. As a historian she is B+. Thucydides is A+.
Jealous? She’s unappealing in every way for me, but she’s honest. I’ve loved academics that survived Auschwitz, Dachau, Buchenwald. With a few good exceptions, I’ve not found a Phillips Exeter graduate well rounded. We have three in our nuclear family. The stuff they have that makes them special came later. Not one loves the memory of PEA. Two hate it. Summa cum laude at Princeton and D. Phil at Oxford, law at Yale and medical school.. not one loved the snots at PEA.
I am not a writer. I’ve written and have been asked by the best to do that. I speak. Writing requires patience I do not have.
Jealous? I am jealous of few. At 82, I’ve coped well will my handicaps. I seek no approval. I provoke.
As I see it, we live for those to come and we are failing badly. I would destroy millions if I felt that by doing so I might cleanse the human race of Trump, Giuliani, Putin, and thousands of others. I do not feel that killing solves anything.
The idiots that jabber nonsense here are a form of obnoxious bum fluff.
Those that struggle to make sense here have potential.
This Substack works the elderly. It does not reach students. I try. If we do not reach deeply those now being educated, planet earth 🌍 will burn up.
If we allow the GOP to rule, it’s Civil War. Trump et al will be jailed, or we will again experience January 6th. And worse.
Getting into a pissing fight with a skunk 🦨 is silly, Robert Lerner. I pass.
Sandy
"This Substack works the elderly. It does not reach students. I try. If we do not reach deeply those now being educated, planet earth 🌍 will burn up."
But HOW the hell do we do that?? I totally agree, but in a world with more diversions than Leggo pieces, getting attention is kinda difficult. I am remined of a recent cartoon - Small spaceship lands on what looks like a Uni lawn. Students everywhere, intently looking at their phones. Alien 1 to Alien 2 " You see, I told you they'd never notice us" ! Some care, most don't.
Horse shit.
Sandy, not being one of the cognoscenti, you posts lose me. Such a shame, as I'm sure there is so much in them. Maybe you can find some one to filter them first? We'd all benefit, I'm sure.
Mr. Lewis deserves better: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/nyregion/the-lonely-redemption-of-sandy-lewis-wall-street-provocateur.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
I re-read that 2012 Times article and Sandy Lewis has credibility that cannot be ignored. As for his 'stream of consciousness' style, imagine that you are at a magnificent buffet table of great length. The tempting items are too numerous to sample them all, but certainly, whatever you select to eat will be delicious.
The Year They Sold Wall Street, by Tim Carrington… is his best effort to capture me… Want a copy?
Thanks ... but just ordered a used copy online for under $5.
Well that was fascinating, thank you. It doesn't shed any light on his abuse of HCR but it explains a lot of other things.
Abuse? Bull shit. People in the public sphere are open to criticism. Idiots reading here are responding to their needs, not hers. She has broad shoulders… and she is guilty, as are many of us, of latent racism. Boston College the same. We will not whip the vicious racism spreading again over Europe and the USA… with passive crap that does not rip it, front and center. The best German Jews thought Hitler was a joke. Never again? Well, it’s ramping right now… and Trump and the racist GOP and the passive historians that fear controversy are of the problem, not of the solution. Most readers here are silent… and do not pay $5 or $50 to comment or read the comments. They come and go. The hard core play here, with us… and I am amused to read the garbage from the latent racists that seek to protect the Million Dollar Historian that will not challenge racism, front and center. Passive resistance worked for MKG. It will not work in our Senate or our nation,.
Hey, send in sanitation, Sandy. You're making a mess and losing our respect. Stop crapping on you allies.
Thanks, Molly. The article speaks of his incredible integrity and genius. Definitely worth a read.
Thanks Molly, that read helped make sense of Sandy’s comments, I too write stream of consciousness, but not as brilliantly 🤷♂️
The first three words of the NYT article reads "Angry Sandy Lewis" Kinda sums it all up right there.
Thanks for that - I had the previous article - but have lost the link. We all need Sandys - however tre difficile they might be to us mortals!
I find Sandy’s posts often confusing, yet compelling. Reading this one, I see a composite of faces and events in our history that lead to today. It makes me remember, and think. It’s a patchwork quilt that often doesn’t match patterns and there might be a few stay threads, but it sure covers a lot. I’m thankful we have someone like him in our midst.
Basically, he is saying good and evil have always existed in our politics. Nevertheless, imperfect people do good and good prevails.
Hi Hugh those posts lose me too — happy 4th everyone.
Shall I please the agent and a publisher? Does anything matter today?
Well, now, that's an idea, Sandy, put Heather on the Court!
Dude, Get a new shtick. You have grown tiresome and very predictable. I'll take a side order of humility dressing with your word salad.
Charlie Grantham, you have a physician in your community - who did not choose to give his famous father a memorial service… That physician is first class. And well liked… and he is dying of lung cancer… we last saw each other in December 1949.. his father hired and fired me… and I liked him. He was not brilliant. His uncle Arthur was.
As for you, Charlie, look in the mirror and tell me what color your cheeks are.
First sex for white boys?
Yes. Of course. After he's taken the pill from girls and taught them to just say no. Please refer to his outrageous post of A few days ago.
He was listing the odious ways whites have used BIPOC in this nation.
Common knowledge. Slave women before and after emancipation were used to get white boys started. Their sperm produced what the old Negro wanted. Their experience destroyed their respect for women and created an ownership syndrome that drives white supremacy to this day. Racist white men like to do it with the willing. It’s not rape. It’s not love. It’s Bill Clinton, pure and simple. And he knows it.
When the first such experience forms expectations, subsequent efforts do not result in happiness. The men orgasm. It’s a pit stop mentality. Their women rarely do, regardless of color.
Another tour de force "Letter" from Dr. Richardson. She compares and contrasts current events with the history of my country of 140 years ago that I was never taught. As such, she both enlightens me and shows me how ignorant I am!
I have not yet read any other comments here today. Something in this letter triggered a memory of the following quote:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
I’ve spent my lifetime working on environmental issues and been privileged to see small groups actually change the world - in this case change policy and make things better. The truth is I’d like nothing better than to stand down and truly retire. Instead, today I’m going to participate in a meeting with other committed citizens talking about what to do for our democracy. After that, I will write out ten postcards to voters in Alabama in a special election there and after that, go water and weed my poor neglected garden since the drought here in Minnesota is wreaking havoc. Climate change? Makes my life harder every day. And given how many just died in the Pacific Northwest of heat related illnesses, I’m not the only one!
I come here every day for comfort and inspiration - and find it. I see that I am not only not alone but among titans. Knowledgeable, capable, smart and obviously committed to the Great Experiment.
Please reach down deep and find ways to DO today and going forward. Democracy needs active citizens and many here could be just the lever that moves the ball forward. Thanks for being here. Y’all give me hope!