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Thank you for reminding us of Margaret Chase Smith’s legacy. How I wish that there was a Republican with the courage shown by Liz Cheney (and Margaret Chase Smith) along with the wish to protect voting rights and the social safety net.

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What a formidable woman! How I wish she were still with us to put tfg and the current GOP thugs in their places. It would warm my heart!

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Well, Rowshan, it is then up to US to put the rethuglicans in their places and out of government—in Margaret Chase Smith's memory! Women sure seem to stand up against authoritarianism, no wonder white, privileged fascists hate us and prefer us to not know women's history, and to keep us barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. We scare the bejeezus out of them. And that is polite. Those who can— need to speak loudly. March. Write. These fools back into the tarpits of time so All of The People can move forward, together.

I saw a really incredible 2013 movie last night with Colin Firth & Nicole Kidman: The Railway Man. It is a true story and hits one in the gut about what really happens in war and its aftermath. In it, Firth's character states: "Wherever there are men, there is war."

Why don't we see what women (or those with higher levels of estrogen) can do? Let men take a break and golf, play sports and video games,mountain bike, do extreme feats with all that testosterone. Give the world a break and try something different. Warning: I speeded through the horrific torture scenes, but saw enough to curl my toes. Just like Uvalde and all our previous massacres of innocent people and children. It is time to stop this male-dominated, violent nonsense. (Apologies to all good men!).

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Tread carefully about believing this war thing will be done away with a gender flip. It’s easy to think that way and comfortable. Yet, human beings are all capable of horrific judgement, narcissism, pettiness, greed, avarice, and maliciousness. Just look at many gop women currently lying, obstructing, and causing havoc for political access and power. It’s a human weakness.

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There are always bad apples in any cart. I never even got to non-genders or transgenders this morning due to time constraints. But war, invention of assault weapons and massacres are rarely committed by non-males as much as males. A little tidbit on the assault weapons, most likely not invented by women (but much desired during a bad case of PMS).

A Brief History of the Assault Rifle

The gun’s name may have been coined by Adolf Hitler.

By Michael Shurkin

Amid the controversy over assault rifles—and specifically, the debate over whether or not guns like the semi-automatic weapon Omar Mateen used to commit the recent massacre in Orlando should be considered “assault weapons” or singled out for restrictions—some consideration of the original design and development of assault weapons is useful.

The assault rifle is a class of weapon that emerged in the middle of the last century to meet the needs of combat soldiers on the modern battlefield, where the level of violence had reached such heights that an entirely new way of fighting had emerged, one for which the existing weapons were a poor match. The name “assault rifle” is believed to have been coined by Adolf Hitler. Toward the end of World War II, the story goes, Hitler hailed his army’s new wonder weapon by insisting that it be called not by the technical name given it by its developers, the Machinenpistole (the German name for a submachine gun), but rather something that made for better propaganda copy. A Sturmgewehr, he called the new gun: a “storm” or “assault” weapon.

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Well said. Hopeful change through "a gender flip" is not enough to make politicians suddenly moral and well-intentioned. Women are as subject to corruption as men are. Consider the number of political women, like men, who are enriched at the public trough. Consider all the female members of Congress who joined the men in voting for the Iraq War--a trillion$$$+ war which was not justified except to Bush Jr., Cheney, and Haliburton; a war which brought immense suffering and death to the people of Iraq. How many women politicians, as well as their male counterparts, totally endorsed the war?

I want to see a woman President--not just any woman but one who will maintain complete integrity and demonstrate the practical in female sensibilities; one who will not join the back-room boys' club in making secret deals to start another war; one who will not take PAC funds from defense industries; one who says, "I will not accept money which results from the torture and mutilation of other human beings, especially the innocent women and children." The odds are not good that we will experience this in our lifetime. I hope we can beat those odds.

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P.S. I should add my belief that we currently have a remarkable candidate for President: Tulsi Gabbard. She has qualifications on such a high level in experience, character, and integrity that no one else even comes close. She has consistently put country first while political party devotion is a distant second. No way will she ever become a Republican.

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And no way would I ever EVER vote for Gabbard! She is another one close to the Repubs. She has no integrity whatsoever. She met up with Assad and praised him. Who does that? Please review her records, Heydon.

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For the record: There are presently 25 nations which have women leaders, Presidents or Prime ministers. Some of those nations are small, some are members of NATO, but none are at war, directly. Some have impressive economies and social supports. May they prevail. Also I recall Angela Merkel of Germany. On the negative side: Hong Kong and Myanmar whose women at the helm have been made redundant.

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Thank you Hope.

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Totally agree.

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That's a good reminder. Although I am among the guilty of the male-who's-out-of-his-mind-ruler stereotype, we just don't know what women would do if we ruled the world. Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Indira Ghandi are examples who ruled during war and chaos, but there were still plenty of men in their Parliament and Congress who influenced their reigns. Chances are there will still be wars with women at the helm. Nevertheless, I lean to the side of "Let's Give It a Try." Boudica and Joan of Arc were stalwart warriors, too, but cut down in their primes by men.

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True but I think it would help to have half and half men and women in federal, state and local offices.

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Michele, nothing compared to the men!!!🧔🤬

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And don't forget Margaret Thatcher's Falkland War.

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Good thing I know and have known some wonderful old white men. The current batch of Repub men and women taint humanity.

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Yes, my step-grandfather was an incredible diplomat who served in multiple countries. Calm, intelligent and wise and could speak multiple languages, as do his children who lived in many countries and are so respectful of differences. Education of that sort is truly missing in our country and many other countries falling towards fascism due to greed and power over.

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So true. They don't represent the voters that elected them and don't dare speak out against DJT.

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I’m right with you, Pensa. My mother used to say “Men cannot live without women but women can live without men.” Testosterone is deadly.

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Gloria Steinem said: A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.

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How is this not prejudicial? Could a man get away with saying estrogen is deadly? Keep your sexist conversation on Faux News where it has company.

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It wouldn't be true but testosterone is deadly,

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And there's Malvina Reynolds's song, We Don't Need the Men https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHfFmo4NXi8

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It says in Coronet Magazine,

June nineteen-fifty six, page ten,

That married women are not as happy

As women who have no men.

Married women are cranky,

Frustrated and disgusted,

While single women are bright and gay,

Creative and well adjusted.

We don't need the men,

We don't need the men,

We don't need to have them round

Except for now and then.

They can come to see us

When we need to move the piano,

Otherwise they can stay at home

And read about the White Sox.

We don't care about them,

We can do without them,

They'll look cute in a bathing suit

On a billboard in Manhattan.

We don't need the men,

We don't need the men,

We don't need to have them round

Except for now and then.

They can come to see us

When they have tickets for the symphony,

Otherwise they can stay at home

And play a game of pinochle.

We don't care about them,

We can do without them,

They'll look cute in a bathing suit

On a billboard in Wisconsin.

We don't need the men,

We don't need the men,

We don't need to have them round

Except for now and then.

The can come to see us

When they're feeling pleasant and agreeable,

Otherwise they can stay at home

And holler at the T.V. programs.

We don't care about them,

We can do without them,

They'll look cute in a bathing suit

On a billboard in Madagascar.

We don't need the men,

We don't need the men,

We don't need to have them round

Except for now and then.

They can come to see us

When they're all dressed up with a suit on,

Otherwise they can stay at home

(Spoken:) And drop towels in their own bathroom.

We don't care about them,

We can do without them,

They'll look cute in a bathing suit

On a billboard in Tierra del Fuego.

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Love it! Thanks! Here's another rendition from Canada:

https://youtu.be/zqVj8ZcXrpo

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Thanks!

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This one’s great too!😆👍🏼

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🤣🤣🤣🤣 thank you!! This is priceless!

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Agree 100%. And I would say biology/hormones are part of it but HEALING is what men are most afraid of. We are most afraid of our own pain and will do anything to avoid it. People who love political solutions ( like myself) rarely want to look deeper. Democracy takes courage on all levels

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And would it not be wonderful for men and boys to be allowed to feel their pain and move through it so as not to inflict it upon others? Same with women, just in smaller numbers because higher levels of estrogen probably help us feel empathy more easily.

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Exceptions please for cretins like MTG, Bobo, et al. To celebrate Uvalde, MTG is giving away her 50 caliber gun and claiming all sorts of lies about Joe. Yet this is the woman(?) who won her primary with no competition. Maybe she's actually trans. Pass it on. (Works for Republicans)

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Why on earth do we have to jump on an unsavory female as possibly transgendered? Missy Three Names is reprehensible in her own right; why disparage transgender people by using it as an insult?

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Please delete your comment. This is offensive and completely unnecessary.

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Agreed; this has always been a self-moderating group and comments like Mr. Whitman's are completely out of place as well as failing to advance the conversation.

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Cretins come in all forms, maybe even trans. One horrible example comes to mind

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No, I think she's just an ignorant self-serving bitch. No testosterone required!

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Please! You know very well she is from Uranus!

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Jun 2, 2022
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I am missing the humor here.

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MTG and Lauren Boebert are as bad as any man in the anti-democracy wing of the Republican Party. Women may not have had as many opportunities to screw things up as men, but given the chance, they are as likely to. Let’s judge people as individuals, not by their sexual identity.

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Nope! Those two women are just a smidgen of our gender who act the way they do. Jon, look at history, especially ours. What women have started wars? What woman, in their right mind, willingly sends their child off to fight an enemy?

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First, think of how many women march against women’s rights. And how many express pride when a child enlists in the armed forces? A myth of female superiority is as erroneous, and as dangerous, as the myth of male superiority.

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Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots...need I go on?

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Here in NH, we have a Republican legislature majority and they've been passing atrocious bill this session. There was a piece published about a goodly number of them in both houses taking into account the groups they fraternize with and the categories of their beliefs, including women. One of the women is a SECCESSIONIST and has a lot more unacceptable categories.

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Beautifully put, Pensa! Let’s go for it!

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Pensa, I tend to agree that, in fact, hormones do play a part, also the fact that women, the quiet arbiters of compromise and relative peace in the home (no small job) have been conditioned to nurture, encourage unity rather than conflict, etc. The usual list. Some of us are better at it than others. But don't you think that another factor in the willingness of women or people of color or gay or transgender to speak out with courage is, simply, in a world in which so many forces are arrayed against us, we have nothing to lose.

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I agree, Dean, we have nothing to lose. It is worth a try.

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I hear you. We peckerwoods are responsible for much tyranny and misery - most, if not all, of it ego driven - of which I own my share.

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Jean-Pierre, when a man can be self-reflective and say what you just said, I am afraid you probably fail flinging tyranny and misery over others. Even if you did, sounds like you learned from it and that is what being truly human is all about. Perfect example of males getting truly in touch with their tyranny is in the true story film I mentioned I saw last night called The Railway Man with Colin Firth. Tear jerker. Men, especially veterans, will need kleenex. Very healing for all of us to hear and see this story.

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Where was it shown? Streaming?

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Netflix

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love this!

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well said

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♥️

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Well said and so very true!!!

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Not only do I feel her spirit within you and I, Rowshan, the list I have in my mind is long also….starting with Professor Richardson, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Katie Porter, Leigh McGowan, and a host of others. Some personal friends who are warriors for democracy, truth, and Light and some very powerful voices on this forum. If you know who they are , then count yourself in the collective power.

I am posting link for latest podcast from Leigh McGowan about us setting up right in EVERY state legislature.

Remember….from Mallory McMurrow….Faith with Works!

UNITA! 🙋🏻🙋🏼🙋🏽🙋🏾🙋🏿🗽

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Here’s the link. Powerful listen. https://youtu.be/L8EFQ6qRe-U

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I tweeted excerpts of Chase’s speech to a few Republican Senators… Collins being the first— hoping she might feel a bit of shame when comparing herself to her predecessor, IF her staff passed on the message.

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We can always hope and, in the interim, do what we can. Good idea on your part.

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It would warm many hearts Rowshan as would the re-emergence of those who, like Senators Sasse and Romney, at one point did speak out.

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Let's see who Liz Cheney is if the Republicans come into power in '24. Don't forget, she voted with Trump 98% of the time.

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Exactly. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, but it’s often a very temporary friendship because it is not multifaceted.

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We already know who Liz Cheney is- she is a right wing extremist. I firmly believe she is doing all of this to run for president, and most Amrticans will be fooled by it. They think she's a good Republican, and she is not.

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And that is EXACTLY why Liz Cheney is no hero. She'll condemn Trumpism, but all the other horrible extremes of the party are A-Ok with her.

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As did Margaret Chase Smith...essentially Cheney sees trumpism as fascism.

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I agree. Immediately thought of Liz Cheney. Plus ca change…

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