When voters elected Democrats to take charge of the national government in 2020—despite the efforts of some Trump supporters to stop that from happening—Republican lawmakers built on the anger the former president had whipped up among his supporters to impose a Trumpian vision on their states.
Before I commented on the controversy about "critical race theory," I wanted to understand what it was. Now that I'm better informed, let me summarize in a nutshell: Critical race theory argues that racism is not just a matter of conscious personal racial biases. Rather, because racism has been such a prevalent force in our society since it's inception, it is "baked into" laws and institutional structures of our society in ways that people do not always perceive, and that were not always intended, although the recent changes in electoral laws which, by the way, are a perfect illustration of critical race theory, are clearly intended to be racist. The laws can proclaim themselves to be race "neutral," just as did the literacy requirements for voting in the 19th century. But if the authors of such laws are well-aware that they will impact people of color more than whites, as was the case with the literacy requirements, as more blacks than whites were illiterate in 19th-century America, the laws are racist. In fact, they are racist even if the authors of such laws don't understand their disproportional impact on people of color. In other words, laws and institutions can be racist without mentioning race.
And while I'm at it, let me explain what it means to be "woke." The term denotes awareness of how race impacts everyone's life in America. I should add that to me, one should be "woke" to class and gender as well. In other words, I am aware that as a white woman, I have enjoyed privileges, including better treatment in public spaces, because of my skin color. If I had any doubts about that, my romantic relationships with black men over the years, beginning when I was 19 years old in college, made that startlingly clear to me. I have taken for granted over the years privileges that others have not enjoyed. Similarly, as a woman, I have been aware that men could do things - including, in 1980s France for example, open a checking account - that were much harder for women. When I began teaching at a university, institutional and implicit gender bias was rife everywhere, and I am sure this was also true of racial bias, although at the time I was not really aware of it. (Thank goodness my university has made immense strides since then.) If you are a poor kid and cannot get to the library because it's been relocated to a prosperous suburb, how can you take advantage of that public service? If you are gay and risk physical attack in some locations for holding hands with your lover or spouse, that impacts your life. There are many ways in which race, class, and gender determine the course of our lives. If you can't access books as a child, you are disadvantaged in applying for college. If you can't be with your significant other in public, you may feel compelled to turn down a good job offer in a location where people of your sexual orientation face violence in public. Critical race theory argues that these inequalities are institutionalized in our society.
Being "woke" simply means that you have become aware of this reality. The purpose is not to make people feel guilty or bad about themselves. I didn't ask to be born white or female. I didn't ask for the privileges the former afforded me any more than I asked for the benefits or difficulties the latter created for me. But if one is not aware of the institutional inequalities in our society, how can one take action to remedy them? That is the point of critical race theory, and of being "woke." It means that if we do not wake up, not only will our society continue to be unequal, but it will also be riven with racial, gender and class conflict.
The unequal laws we are passing now will have ramifications for generations to come, and will be a source of conflict in our society long after we are gone. And they will create two Americas, one of white privilege in states that, ironically, will become economically poorer and more backward businesses and educated individuals migrate to more progressive states. Those passing these laws are not doing themselves or their fellow citizens any favors.
The point about critical race theory or being "woke" is not to "wake up" to punish oneself or others. It's not about vengeance, although there are doubtless some angry folks who give that impression. It is about change and, ironically, in the long run, REDUCING CONFLICT in our society and world. That is what so many folks miss about calls for social justice. Much, probably most, of the conflict in our world derives from inequality and injustice, from folks who want more at the expense of others. We neither need nor will ever achieve perfect equality in our world. But to the extent we can work toward social justice and equal opportunity, at least, to that extent we can reduce conflict. It's going to become harder, not easier, to achieve social justice in the coming decades, due in large part to the immense pressures we are putting on our environment and natural resources. As is true of many things, climate change will impact the poor and people of color more than the rich. But social justice is not only a good in and of itself. It is in the self-interest of everyone, because it reduces conflict and less conflict creates the conditions for greater prosperity and wellbeing for everyone.
So my message here is very simple: wake up and work toward a more just and peaceful world, for you and for your descendants. You can't have prosperity without peace, and you can't have peace without social justice unless, as was said of the Romans, you are willing to make a desert and call it peace.
Excellent! A question always lingers for me: Why can't the Democrat leadership get with it and reply to the Repub distortions over CRT? The R's are poisoning the well, so to speak, so thoroughly that a proper understanding of all this will be impossible. IMHO.
Democrats need to take responsibility too for not clearly and powerfully presenting our vision. Milley gave us an excellent example of a compelling rebuttal. Now we need to hear this message again and again and again from every Democrat at every opportunity. Being correct gets us nowhere if we aren’t willing to craft powerful talking points and hammer them in daily. We must be unified and relentless.
This is the essence of reframing the narrative. As Common Cause and other progressive groups are doing, it's important to use our access to social media (for those of us who choose to participate beyond this forum) to put out positive and affirming messages, rather than arguing using the terms the right brands us with. And on such subjects as CRT and socialism, we need to take back those terms and make sure we are clear about the benefits to us as a nation to be critical about our history and our present, and to continue to support and build programs that benefit all of society. There is nothing disturbingly radical or revolutionary about loving our neighbors as ourselves - which is the basis of both CRT and socialism to my simplistically inclined mind.
Agreed! And Dems are neither unified or relentless. They have not learned a thing. And they can't convey what I would call "central values'. What is the POSITIVE reason for access to voting---although access by minority voters is essential, that is NOT the essential reason for needing access to voting---it is a cornerstone of democracy for all. Where is that message that might reach across the "great divide"?
Not that I am certain, but Pres. Biden seems to deliberately ignore the rants from the right, because it's like responding to a child's tantrum. It just keeps upping the behavior. But I am also anxious. There are at least 2 separate narratives in our body politic, and the more outrageous the behavior the more fans it has. Sort of like "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."
Here is an article that discusses "woke" and how the word is used/misused/misappropriated. Regardless of our penchant for the use of proper language it helps to understand the context of a word prior to determining whether or not it is poor English.
I don't know off the top of my head where the term "woke" originated. But maybe part of being "woke" or "awakened" or "aware" or whatever word you want to use is to have an understanding that the way most traditionally educated Americans think of "good or poor English" is in itself a narrow , privileged person's judgement of language usage. There are many regional and cultural variations of English language use, as there are with other languages, and to criticize others' use that is different from what we learned can be seen as a form of racism. I imagine the British thought the Americans corrupted the English language quite a bit too. Who's to say what's right or wrong? More important that we aim to understand and be understood despite these normal variations.
This was the view I took as an English language teacher. Although I taught the prescriptive grammar in the textbooks we used, I also introduced descriptive grammar - which follows the way words are actually used outside the classroom. I once had a visiting Japanese professor sit in on a grammar class who (politely) objected to how I was teaching past tense(s). Rather than agree or disagree with his view of correctness, I explained to the class that they would hear many Americans use grammar not used in the textbook and that they should be prepared to understand the intended meaning when they heard something they hadn't learned in class. I also said that while I tried to use the textbook grammar in class, they would probably hear me use different forms if they overheard me speaking with family members or old friends. I then had them talk about variations from correct grammar in the ways they use their own first languages. After the class, I thanked the visiting professor for bringing up a good topic of discussion. I don't think I changed his mind about what is correct, but I think he understood why I was teaching grammar in my own particular way.
Thanks for reposting this. I saw it below after I had made my comment. Comments show up in such a weird order here! At least for me, no matter which way I have my settings.
Hm. While I disagree from a descriptive grammar standpoint that there is a problem using the term "woke" in the way it is used to describe a state of awareness, I do feel uncomfortable saying it to describe myself or anyone else. I'm 66, white and, though not completely staid and out of touch, have also never been or aspired to be hip. For me, using this word would be a combination of cultural appropriation and an effort to appear something I'm not. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't aspire to that very state of awareness.
Ahhhh, dear Marcy. Good morning. Finally something in this forum said about “woke” that I thought the very first time I heard it. You do not say what you think it suggests about race. Can you elaborate?
Familiar with the article. It makes me wince to hear it come out of mouths that use the word to weaponize attitudes about political division. Most people that use this word have absolutely no idea about the origin of its use and would be shocked to hear how they label themselves using the term in a sarcastic, derisive manner. They turn upon themselves.
Wow! Thank you for putting this out here. I usually make the assumption that all of us on this forum would agree with the importance of CRT in understanding where we are in this moment of history, and I think we do - but we don't all have the ability to lay it out as clearly as you have done, connecting it so well to the effects on so much beyond "race". It saddens and appals me that voices like yours are being silenced in educational institutions in the name of "intellectual diversity".
Wonderful! Touches all the bases! Followers of this daily "Letter from an American" already know that we must "work toward a more just and peaceful world," as this comment beautifully concludes. But we need leadership to accomplish that. Otherwise, as I stated earlier, way, way, down in this posting, hours ago, we are just "whistling in the dark." One of you responded that we had better be whistling loudly, even in the dark, to accomplish anything. So I quoted the bard of Freehold, NJ, Bruce Springsteen, in reply: "You can't start a fire, You can't start a fire without a spark, This gun's for hire, Even if we're just dancin' in the dark." WE NEED A SPARK. Whistling ain't enough.
Full transcript of General Milley's response to the idiots:
"First of all, on the issue of critical race theory, etc. I'll obviously have to get much smarter on whatever the theory is. But I do think it's important, actually, for those of us in uniform to be open-minded and be widely read. And the United States Military Academy is a university, and it is important that we train and we understand. And I want to understand 'white rage." I'm white, and I want to understand it.
So, what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? I want to find that out. I want to maintain an open mind here, and I do want to analyze it. It's important that we understand that. Because our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians—they come from the American people. So it is important that the leaders, now and in the future, do understand it.
I've read Mao Tse Tung. I've read Karl Marx. I've read Lenin. That doesn't make me a communist. So what is wrong with understanding—having some situational understanding—about the country for which we are here to defend?
I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned and non-commissioned officers, of being quote 'woke' or something else because we're studying some theories that are out there. That was started at Harvard Law School years ago, and it proposed that there are laws in the United States, antebellum laws prior to the Civil War, that led to a power differential with African-Americans that were three-quarters of a human being when this country was formed. And then we had a Civil War and Emancipation Proclamation to change it. And then we brought it up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964—it took another 100 years to change that.
So look, I do want to know. And I respect your service, and you and I are both Green Berets (to Walz, not Gaetz - TC). But I want to know. And it matters to our military and the discipline and cohesion of this military.
And I thank you for the opportunity to make a comment on that.
I view his response with meaning, Gen Milley is modeling for us all how to address the demagoguery of today. Directly, intellectually, with purpose and wisdom, and in defense of democracy.
I agree, Ted. And I see the same response being modeled by our President Biden who daily works directly, intellectually, with purpose and wisdom, and in defense of democracy.
I felt proud, too. He was dignified, calm and articulate in his outrage. I was imagining the long line of Black Americans who have served in our military going back to the Revolutionary War (when some enslaved Black people were forced to fight in place of their enslavers), and felt he was speaking up for them, as well as for current and future members of our military.
If only he would agree that the "chain of command" is not a good system for investigating and prosecuting the epidemic of sexual assaults in the military. Secretary Austin has agreed with Senator Gillibrand (not one of my fave people but she is def on the side of the angels here) that the military's response to the assaulting of their own personnel by their own personnel is pathetic and needs to change. Milley is resisting, by throwing sand in the proverbial faces by raising the specter of all felonies being investigated by outside legal groups.
This is a difficult point. On the one hand, you are entirely right, and that has to be done and the sooner the better. On Milley's side, there are "crimes" in the military that have to be enforced in order to maintain the military, that go largely not understood or misunderstood by civilians - particularly the civilians who become lawyers.
Can you elaborate on the "crimes" that the civilian population does not understand or misunderstands. I have more than once tried to engage current and former military members on things I don't understand and have found a universal unwillingness to talk to "civilians", because we "just wouldn't understand". How can we understand when our military brothers and sisters won't try to help us do that. While it is not the job of BIPOC to educate white people, I think this might be a different kind of situation. There is a secretiveness to military life that shuts out civilians - who, in America, at least for now, are the ones who elect the civilian government which ultimately controls the military. How can we make good political decisions when we don't understand the life into which we are sending our fellow citizens who join the military?
Just off the top of my head, there are rules against "fraternization" between officers/enlisted in "relationships" that aren't expressed that strongly in civilian life. Also "adultery" is enforced - you can't have a person who has cuckholded another person in positions to take "wrong action" in difficult situations (by either party) because of that - that's not something one worries about in civilian life, but it could mean lives lost in the military. There are other things like that which are involved with the problem that you cannot have people making "non-operational" decisions on the basis of outside stuff, that can result in things done or not done that can harm a unit in combat. I hope this sort of explains.
I was so so pleased by what General Milley said and equally so with the force and edge in his voice in doing so. Had I been in that room I would have felt compelled to snap to attention and render a sharp salute when he finished.
General Milley's statement is even more powerful to hear and see after reading it. The subtleties in his voice and facial expressions add mightily to the depth of the meaning of his words.
Milley’s response is the America that we all used to agree on. I am not a military person but I admire his thoughtful response. He is educated but the soldiers beneath him are typically much less educated. Education and curiosity is key. Unfortunately his response is not what is going to be on FOX and it wont show up in most Facebook feeds. No one but liberals are going to read it, see it, hear it or consider it.
Let's remember that the Republicans who wrote that report in Michigan are among the leaders of the move to "audit" the election due to the "questions" that have been raised - that their own report said are baseless and based on lies! They even called out the liars by name!
The cognitive dissonance on that one must weigh as much as a small asteroid.
True because that would require conflicting fundamental beliefs....and they don't have any. But they are bordeline Schizoid anyway! They just have conflicts, conscious or not, amongst their objectives which they have considerable difficulty prioritizing. Sometimes the subconscious does the "ordering" for us. We often wonder why we didn't hit the nail on our supposed primary objective ...until we discover the win we achieved on our unconscious secondary objective despite ourselves.
It stuns me that after their own careful research they are still considering inviting the buffoons in to "fraudit" Michigan's ballots. I used to believe that the cognitive dissonance would at some time reach the tipping point and bring them back to their senses. No longer. They lack the ability to have that sort of dissonance.
So glad the "Republican-led Michigan commission" agreed that there was no fraud with our elections. This, and their recommendations (see link below), could mean a turning point for our Repupublican party away from the former guy and his Capitol attackers.
Okay. That's it, Charlie. There definitely has been some outside influence infiltrating today's substackers who are unleashing unabashed, unadulterated, NOT unappreciated jocularity onto this page...Joseph admonishing R Dooley to go wash his hands after typing; R Dooley insisting he did wash his hands...JustJanice needing eye bleach to wash out of her eyes from the image created by R Dooley's comment that "a more revolting couple would be hard to find – unless Cruz and Graham decided to tie the knot, with J. Jordan and M.T. Greene as best man and bridesmaid...Hugh suggesting we buy guillotine and pitchfork futures while Grace is suggesting we hoard the pitchforks...Stuart's fisherwomen friends who knit while watching the "string 'em up, string 'em up high" spectacle. TC demands a book of his own with 5 stars next to it just because he's TC. Class...Dismissed!
It was Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, who said over a century ago that "The ballot is stronger than the bullet" and today the renegade Trump Republicans have taken the Great Emancipator's point to heart in their frantic efforts to suppress the vote and weaken the foundations of democracy and the rule of law with their gaslighting and manipulation of the structures of power. It remains to be seen how history will judge their quixotic maneuvers, but they should be aware that if they fail, and I pray that they will, the consequences of their actions will be harsh. For it was Lincoln who also said, "We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." Power to the People!
We the people are the rightful masters of both courts and Congress, until we allow the super rich to purchase them from us. If we don’t allow that purchase such attempts by the rich will be seen as bribery. If we allow that purchase we are screwed as a nation!!!
Abraham Lincoln also said "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their Constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it".
And isn't it powerful this complete Republican refutation of every principle of Founder Abraham Lincoln? Reminds me of their other favorite refutation that denies one of the central Jesus teachings—compassion for the poor.
“ to be open minded and be widely read.” I’ve read Mao, Marx, and Lenin too. And I think the anti democracy efforts, tactics, actions, and rhetoric of Republicans today, more closely resemble the demagoguery of those three aforementioned than they do any and all of the founding fathers and principles of the United States.
To think that General Milley has to take questions from hairgel Gaetz is really too much. Milley should never have to be in the same room with that pedophile.
One former military guy posted to Gaetz that each hashmark on Milley's sleeve denotes six months in a combat zone, "and General Austin has more than Milley does, but he doesn't wear them on his suit." A direct reference to Gaetz as your typical service-avoiding wingerscum.
Ivanka and Jared are blatant opportunists without a shred of integrity.
They were pleased as punch to leverage evil Dad’s power to what they thought at the time would be their advantage but now that he is rolling head over heels toward the dumpster, they are keeping their distance.
A more revolting couple would be hard to find – unless Cruz and Graham decided to tie the knot, with J. Jordan and M.T. Greene as best man and bridesmaid.
I think that Critical Race Theory can be described mathematically using network theory, with historic social and economic inequalities forming the central node of a neighborhood cluster, where all nodes are interconnected, and all nodal inequalities are mutually reinforcing. The system is set up so that wealth accumulated in an earlier generation cannot be efficiently passed on to subsequent generations, because the social and institutional guardrails are largely missing. Families where social and institutional bulwarks are in place tend to succeed. Construction laborers have families, and children are encouraged to go into the family business, because that's what's talked-about at the dinner table. They become skilled tradesmen, who then become successful subcontractors; and as they become more successful, they become general contractors. The next generation attends college or technical schools, and they become surveyors, architects, civil engineers, amid the subspecialty within the overall profession. Maybe some of them become lawyers, accountants, bankers and financiers, or developers. As you can see, all of these occupations have interlocking connections to one another. I've personally witnessed all of what I'm describing. In Boston and Newton, Massachusetts, where I practiced law for fifteen years, the construction industry was dominated by people whose backgrounds were either Irish or Italian. These were substantial companies that employed hundreds of men and women. Their subcontractors were clones of the larger companies. These were third and fourth generation families, intermarrying, doing business with one another; they worshiped at the same churches, depending on which side of the family went where. Irish-Italien blended families were common, and altogether, these interconnected families formed the backbone of a substantial portion of the middle class in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Politics allowed for a lot of patronage, and so it went.
African-Americans had none of those avenues to advancement.
I was the Regional Attorney for the Federal Transit Administration which funded over two billion dollars of public transportation improvements. I stayed in that job for seven years, before transitioning into private law practice.
This occurred between 1978 and 1985.
We had an Affirmative Action program that had a 10 percent set aside for historically-disadvantaged minority and women-owned business. General contractors were required to partner with qualified disadvantaged or women-owned businesses; and therein lies the problem. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts had a minority business coordination within its Executive Office of Transportation and Construction, EOTC. This Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) coordination office kept a roster of then-currently qualified subcontractors that was supposed to assist contractors doing federally assisted work meet and do business with one another. The problem was in keeping the roster current, because registrants could go out of business at any time. Often the junior partner had been an employee of the general contractor he would be working with, and the tie between them was the federal grant. The MBE might have had no real independent existence; no capital; and certainly no track record as a viable business. Ergo, it could not qualify for the bonding and insurance obligations that the federal grant requires, the paperwork required for certifications, Wage and Hour requirements, and so on, was an additional burden. Different subcontractors might or might not share similarities in how well qualified they might be to be included in a contract bidders proposal package, but the common thread was that the federal contract they were bidding on was time limited, and they needed other work in order to stay in business. If they're not part of the overall landscape on a day to day basis, they would need some marketing strategy, even if they're working on the federal contract. It's not enough to be skilled in your own trade, you have to be a business person too. The bottom line with these set-asides is that, like academic race-based admissions to competitive colleges and universities, if they have the skills, qualifications, and capital needed to do the job, the set-aside loses its purpose to promote new entrants into the trade or business, because they can get the job on their own, without the state's help.
Bottom line. This is an intractable problem that government by and large cannot fix, other than by setting up training programs like a Conservation Corps, to train people the way that the military trains its recruits. But that presupposes that local schools are doing their job in preparing students to enter the work force. But that requires stable families in stable communities, with positive incentives toward learning, and a diminished emphasis on athletics as a career choice. The communities themselves need to articulate a vision of where they need to go. Critical Race Theory is grounded in our history of interlocking, mutually reinforcing societal, economic, and political restraints on African-American advancement. Those are part of the historical record and cannot be denied. But the communities themselves need to become the seeds for growing future success. Programs like the one I describe above generally fail in accomplishing their objectives because the social and community supports are lacking. Worse yet, gross inequalities are impoverishing families that just a few years ago would have been expected to succeed as a matter of course. Nowadays, if you don't already own a house, your chances of ever doing so are greatly diminished.
Further, the "solution" must be inclusive and forward-looking and not mired in the past.
Thus, for example, rather than reparations prepared for a few I think a better course of action is Universal Basic Income for all and thus provide everyone equal footing.
Absolutely. Something like that will have to be implemented in the future because due to the necessary money printing (it has to be done, there was no other way out of this crisis with Covid), fiat currency will be debased year after year and all but the rich will lose more and more buying power. Jobs are being eliminated by the new technological revolution. There will have to be a universal basic income at some point.
Question: How is this alone not game over for Democrats in 2022? "18 states have put in place more than 30 laws restricting access to the ballot. These laws will affect around 36 million people, or about 15% of all eligible voters."
Observation: Please look past the headlines on Critical Race Theory and instead expose the engine so effectively working to eradicate liberalism in all its forms
from colleges nationwide—PragerU. Along with conservative talk radio, PragerU is promoting the Fundamentalism that's ripping us apart.
If your orchestra manager over-ruled you, the conductor, and for the 2022 grand finale concert, the success of which would determine funding for the next season, the manager issued a financial incentive to the violinists to use a brand of violin strings prone to breaking, would you accept that as a fait accompli, or would you be entreating the musicians to resist the incentive and use quality strings?
However ridiculous this hypothetical, the point is about making a choice of whether or not to accept a situation as a fait accompli.
Expertise of Timothy Snyder on fighting tyranny:
1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
2. Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.
15. Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay.
19. Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.
I like the one where Timothy Synder says vote as if this is the last election you'll be allowed to vote. My question then is was it the last one or the next one?
I once belonged to a women's charitable sorority which elected a male national president. Soon after installment, he raised his salary and thus our membership fees. I quit. Liberals (and many democrats) are often stymied about inclusiveness, as in racial, gender and other isms. However, when there is a struggle for parity, I tend to let the minority or the oppressed people represent themselves. Many men just can't help themselves when it comes to control of women and their organizations. Just look at the anti-abortion movement, especially in SCOTUS. White men especially have historical and traditional success at management and leadership roles, thus their "qualifications," but how the hell will women learn if they are not the leaders of their own movements?
The chair of the LWV/SD Public Policy Committee is a man. He is a retired city planner with excellent background to inform our discussions and choices. And the LWV everywhere participates in voter registration including attending the swearing in of new citizens, providing them with information and forms for registering to vote (of course, not making recommendations of party registrations).
Thank you, Ellie. Excellent. That adage "Do not obey in advance" is key, the rest supportive. Question. Inquire. Stand up. Thank you for reminding us that those who would discourage us from acting are not our friends. I recently decided that I needed to reexamine my choices of which groups to focus my energy on. I do believe we are more effective when we work with each other, but I have some thinking to do. Thanks for the suggestions.
Of course you're right you're right you're right! :) Your orchestra hypotheticals aren't off. The truth of what actually happens is much more ridiculous. And bizarrely existential. But the comparison would really be more like if the conductor was told funding would be withheld no matter if the concert was a success or not. The game here where only Republicans (i.e. Republicans loyal to Trump) are in charge of county voter—that rigging of the system one would think would be instantly challenged by the Justice Department and brought to the Supreme Court. Except that isn't happening. There's squawking but no action.
Shout out to the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra and their staff! LAYO is so wonderful for the youths and their families! Modeling and teaching young people how persistent practice and working together pays off to produce something greater than the sum of its parts is an inspirational template for civic engagement!
Litigation proceeds at the speed of molasses in January. If you ever find your way to a court docket, you'll see procedural hearing after procedural hearing, which could only have begun after laborious and tedious investigation that has produced a case perceived by the prosecutor as sure to convince a jury of 12.
In my time as a court stenographer, it mostly took three years between filing a claim and pretrial depositions being conducted. Often trials in these cases were another six months to a year after discovery closed.
And then there are the lack of judges, etc. in settling border cases! Begs the question - why are our representatives not adding this issue to their "lists" of things to do? Guess we(!) should be asking them, right?
Great question, Margaret. Of course when it comes to the law, there is no simple answer. Not being an attorney, I looked your question up. Here's one answer I found: "A typical state may have a six year statute of limitations for most felony offenses, but have a fourteen year statute of limitations for sex offenses involving minors, and no statute of limitations at all for murder charges." Here's the long read: https://www.expertlaw.com/library/criminal-statute-of-limitations
Ellie you made made my day, probably week, with this! Fun hypothetical. There is no point at all in crying and whining now as if our cause is lost. If we do all we can, engaging all we can recruit, democracy will prevail. If it were not to, well, we will need our tissues then.
Be careful with the statistics. Let's assume that all 15% would have voted (very unlikely) and that they would have voted straight Democratic tickets (very unlikely).
That has to be balanced against the number of die-hard Republicans and conservative Independents who have already left the theater and are dumping their popcorn, and the more that will walk out as this nonsense continues, and the news increasingly finds it both safe and "newsworthy" to rake Republicans over the coals. Is that another 15% of the population? Or only 14%? Or maybe 16%?
I've read numerous times that the pollsters are finding it difficult to make sense of their numbers. There are a lot of rules-of-thumb that govern how you do polling, and when there is extreme polarization, as there is now, many of those rules stop working. Look at Georgia. The Republicans had that in the bag last November. And then they lost.
My guess is that a lot of people could be very surprised after the 2022 elections are finally tallied and okayed by the courts.....and contestation there will be! The trumpites think they know, understand and can channel their voters "anger". They ain't seen nothing yet, in my mind. I think that they risk being submerged by a wave of anger the like of which they can't even conceive that their stupidity, cupidity, avidity and avariciousness has unleashed on which they will have absolutely no possibility of surfing. By their blatant disregard, disrespect and disdain for the people they could achieve what they have always sort to prevent, an, alliance between the Blacks and the Mudsills, all those from whom they are stealing, formed to take back political power for the people and be done with them once and for all.
Morning, Lynell. I think people will be queuing massively and peaceably, overnight and around the block to register, vote and will be massing to thereafter protect the count, verification and certification of the results. People are going to be "mad as hell and not taking it any more" before, during and after the vote. Once power has been taken back, heaven help Gaetz, Greene and their state equivalents. The people will be singing "à la lanterne, à la lanterne" ...the french revolutionary equivalent of "string 'em up, string 'em up high" .
Re queuing and massing: I am relishing the idea of people leaving their minimum wage jobs, with their middle finger raised behind them, to queue and mass. The wrong people are angry in this country. If the capitol was stormed by black people or another minority that has been systemically harmed, I would not be happy maybe, but I would understand. Some people have not been allowed to be angry. Maybe the time is now.
People are already fleeing minimum wage jobs and employers blame it on increased unemployment benefits so they stopped the $300 per week Federal subsidies in many states. And still employees won’t come back to low pay jobs. A year long reset woke many up to other, better opportunities. Now it’s time for employers to wake up and pay a living wage.
It's already started. Protesters at Sinema's office in PHX? For AZ that's is a 'weak signal' of the movement, Stuart talks about. Next up will be the circus surrounding the finalization of the "fraudit" as it is called. I've gotten my Extra Costco sized popcorn ready.
We need to have voter registration tables all over America. It is very easy to become a notary public and register folks. At least it is very easy here in Vermont. Not sure what it is like in other states.
At the Juneteenth March here in Ft Worth, they had people registering voters and asking for volunteers to register people at high schools. There appears to be a surge in young voters locally. Opal Lee’s speech was a call for action and the crowd was far from Republican! It was inspiring! I was there to help represent The Tarrant County Democratic Women’s Club. I’m so anxious but still have hope for my Ft Worth.
A Notary Public is required to register voters? Not the case here in California. Anyone can set up a table for registering new voters. Ca. also has automatic registration when getting or renewing a driver's license if not already registered (Motor Voter state law).
I wonder about that possibility too. Except midterms are notorious for poor voter turnout. And it's crucial that the "wave of anger" you talk about happens before or during the election, not afterwards!
Good morning, Stuart. I’m traveling now and even a bit of physical distance from Florida and the heat, humidity, and Desantis’s thinly veiled supremacist rhetoric..especial the latest state “law” encouraging censure and putting a chokehold on educators…the traveling feels like a bit of wind in the sails and summer vacation energy.
So thank you for saying so succinctly and well exactly what is on my mind after reading HCR’s letter today.
We’re heading north soon also Christine. Some distance from DeSantis will be refreshing. Seeing or hearing him provokes a visceral reaction in me, much like Trump.
Totally feel that response, Diane. I cannot quite put into words a comment on his latest “law” that HCR outlined as his grandstanding Gov Abbott in Texas.
I hope you're right. I wish I had your confidence. The way critical race theory is being applied in schools is not going to help. See my quotes from Andrew Sullivan's substack on CRT, well above this post, or read it here,
"In public, they talk a liberal talk. In private, the editor of the NYT himself conceded that the project was designed to promote critical race theory. In a meeting as the NYT was preparing its 1619 Project, one staffer wanted to know why every story in the paper wasn’t rooted in an understanding that “racism and white supremacy [are] the foundation of all of the systems in the country.” That’s CRT. Dean Baquet responded that “one reason we all signed off on the 1619 Project and made it so ambitious and expansive was to teach our readers to think a little bit more like that.” Note the verb: teach. Note what they’re teaching: CRT. That’s why the project was designed for high schools from the get-go, and given prestige by the Pulitzers and the entire woke media establishment — as a tool not for greater debate but for instruction in why our entire democracy is built on white supremacist lies."
See Heather's post of a couple of days ago. The term comes from a speech defending slavery and the "southern attitude" by Senator James Hammond in 1850.
These are all great responses. Thank you all! Of course the game is psychological suppression of votes as well as physical suppression. But I still say that just the notion that Republicans are placing voter certification in strictly partisan control taints the entire notion of a free and fair election before it even begins. And no American should put up with that.
Exactly, that no American should put up with Republican machinations to subvert free and fair elections. That means walk the talk, and start the walking now.
Good morning Ellie. I note with interest what Joseph said earlier. The pollsters are having difficulty assessing the many factors they look at with usual regularity. And what happened in Georgia in 2020 is an example of polls being wrong and what is happening now indicates same. “Walking the talk and starting now” is everything.
Keep pushing. More and more hands are joining the effort. Can you feel the energy?
We just had a "regional" election here in France and only 1/3 of the voters turned up. They were expecting twice as much....and none of the pollsters' predictions came true....and far from it.
Regarding your question: Aggressive Voter Registration and GOTV efforts - always important, are critical in 2022. With success on both, we have a chance.
I guess I'm confused. If Republicans are going to rig voting against Democrats and control which votes get certified, what does it matter how aggressively we get people to registere? Isn't that the whole point of these laws?
You're right, the point of the laws is to make voting more difficult. But they haven't outlawed it - yet!
Having numbers and getting them to the Polls (within the restricted windows/rules) will matter. GOTV efforts will be more complicated than in previous elections - but not insurmountable.
There will be new hurdles, but short of outright vote stealing, we can still prevail.
Read this overview, by State, of the laws passed and proposed. The Brennan Center is a reliable source for information and they regularly update their research.
Thank you for the link. A quick search revealed that my own state (WA) has three bills in the restricting access list and two bills in the expanding access. Because WA is a very blue state (with a few red and purple counties) that has had all mail-in voting for several years, I made the mistaken assumption that we would not have any legislators daring to introduce bills to restrict voting. Wrong! Now I can look up the bill numbers, read the bills, and start writing to my state representatives and senator. Can't thank you enough!
I suspect, Penelope, they are following the rule of law, crossing t's and dotting i's before making a knee-jerk reaction. Nothing would be worse in this instance than to have their case thrown out of court due to insufficient evidence or a technicality. Just MHO.
Lynell, I sure hope you are right. I keep waiting for some badass superheroes to intervene in our fight and for five years have been extraordinarily disappointed. However, during that time, so much of America's dark shadows have been revealed, and so many of us have learned so much more about how our democracy does (and does not) work, who controls us (Matrix) and the fears of white people around the world bent on greed and total control through autocratic regimes. Perhaps, I may need to continue to steady myself and keep doing what I can. Usually patient to a point, my Taurean nature has certainly vacillated with nostrils flaring and front left foot digging up dust on certain days for what feels like eons.
I read yesterday that some "mostly-Democrat" states (such as Vermont, NY and Calif) are passing laws to make it easier to vote wich is vitally necessary to counter-balance what the Repubs are doing, Our (R) Gov. is generally well thought of, but has vetoed 23 bills since taking office! Yesterday, some of his vetoes were over-ridden.
R. Dooley's Brennan Center link has a list of all the various voting bills in every state - both restrictive and expansive. It's an enlightening list and shows me that even "mostly-Democrat" states may have some restrictive bills introduced.
You nail the Democrat casket shut prematurely. The voting issue is not dead in the Senate yet, just S1 is. The vote on Tuesday was a wise political ploy to put every Senator's vote on record, then adjourn. Now we The People have 19 days (17...) to call, write, visit and march to make clear to our Senators we want a fair voting bill, and at least one new one (which would overrule many state restrictions) will be introduced when the Senate reconvenes on July 12th. My birthday is the 13th. That would be the best present ever.
I hope you get your birthday wish, seriously. I share your hopes. In the decades I referred to the other day, we (I say that by association) kept bringing good, better, narrower, feasible, possible, OK, not the worse options forward. The lesson I think ADA and ACA offered, go big, be comprehensive, don't piecemeal it together, and cajole and move ahead and do that again and again. The ACA needs to be updated as it was only step one in healthcare reform (note healthcare reform), the basic big building blocks upon which to redesign America's health, including education, provision of services, universal coverage, medical delivery, insurance, etc. It all hinged upon universal coverage. No American left behind. I was hopeful that S1 would be forced through as such. But, happy birthday.
It was 2 Democrats that the Democrats had to win over this week, and they did. Now the John Lewis bill will be written, maybe not as comprehensively as ADA and AHA, but enough to save democracy. As an RN working special ed back in the 80's, and public health my whole career, I am so grateful for ADA & AHA.
Aha!! That explains it! Not sure what it is yet, but all good. My cousin was born 3 hours before me (my twin cousin), so you also have an astral twin in Minnesota, too!
MaryPat, thank you for bringing sage uplifting clarity to my feeling discouraged: "What, S1 tanked and it was a 'wise political ploy?????'" and casting about for the Plan B: "Weren't we supposed to petition the Senate to delay their vacation?"
I was very upset with Sen. Feinstein when she announced she supported Manchin. She emailed me back with a link to her position on the filibuster, that she is open to modifying it:
Glad I was helpful, and pray that I am right, Ellie. This is scary, but all good politics on the Democrat side. And excellent lobbying on your part letting Feinstein know your position. And Yay on filibuster modifications! Manchin and Sinema must have agreed to changes, then with VP Harris's vote, it will pass. Those legislators are not on vacation - they are working double time at home listening to constituents.
Russell, you realize 5hat Prager U is not a college, but a website run by Prager. "PragerU, short for Prager University, is an American far-right, 501 non-profit media company that creates videos on various political, economic, and sociological topics from an American conservative perspective. The organization was co-founded by Allen Estrin and talk show host and writer Dennis Prager in 2009. Wikipedia"
Yes, PragerU is a highly successful conservative propaganda machine. PragerU and conservative talk radio are potent weapons fueling the crazed Fundamentalism that has infected the Republican Party. We don't talk enough about how this, how these two forces are largely the fuel behind all the right-wing rage against liberals and liberalism. If you listen to Dennis Prager, you soon hear his obsession that liberal American universities are the greatest threat to America. This is drummed into his listeners every day.
Arguments with one of my conservative friends is how he always comes back to this authoritative goto source for real facts. A lesson from history is that when you write the playbook on how to win by any means, it gets leaked and improved upon by their opposition. As the opposition, we aren't disgusted enough as a whole, but the means, shading, distortion, click-bait, group-think, gerrymandering, and authoritarian tricks are going to show up in the campaign locker rooms of the some (most desperate?) candidates, including on our side.
yes! "we aren't disgusted enough as a whole"—that's the heart of it. Without the accountability, the virus just keeps spreading—as you point out, it spreads to both sides.
There has been a long and good discussion here, BUT the point still remains---there is an amazing propaganda machine out there, as well as a political machine, promoting right wing ideas and producing new laws on voting. There is no liberal machine countering the lies, etc. Promoting voting is crucial, but opposing the lies in the public forum is also crucial. And I don't see that happening (just read/listen to Schumer. Not be best messenger for a cause, whatever his successes in managing the Senate.) Hopeful and not-hopeful at the same time.
I think you make the central point. There is no liberal or Democratic force even remotely as coordinated or powerful as the "House That Rush Built." Robert Reich is doing good work and the Lincoln Project at least understands the game. But these are uncoordinated and small compared to the nationwide conservative talk radio juggernaut. And in Congress, it's so hard to watch McConnell continue to make Schumer and Pelosi dance to his tune. Don't we all feel the pathos observing Manchin effectively slow down the pace of Democratic legislation as the window of possibility steadily closes before the midterm elections?
Because the Electoral College was established in the U.S. Constitution. The only way to eliminate it is through amending the Constitution. By the time that process could be completed (pass House & Senate then approval by 3/4 of states), it would be much too late for us. "The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens." https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about
Yes, the famous Sherman Compromise! I have heard very persuasive arguments for abolishing the Electoral College. But none of those arguments address the central 1787 issue that the Compromise worked through–how to convince the smaller states they would have a voice and not be hostage to the larger states.
So Florida's "conservative" governor wants to know what university students think so he can decide if they're being "indoctrinated." What's next? The thought police of Orwell's "1984"? Or is this just another Republican effort to gut a state university system, as Scott Walker did in Wisconsin?
The biggest and most consequential conflict of interest of all is having politicians decide voting laws. Why isn't anyone talking about the faulty planning of this and whether it should change?
It should be illegal and those doing the violating of our rights should be prosecuted. Why are our democratic leaders not screaming about this? Our rights that are being trampled by these vile creatures against democracy. It is time to be very loud.
I have wondered this myself. Why isn't the act of either party changing election laws to benefit one group specifically flat out illegal? Doing so is a blatant, gleeful, vindictive grab for power and control. How is this not automatically illegal? Wy do we not have laws that say so and provide for removing any individual(s) who tries to do so from office immediately upon their grab for control?
What I see as so chilling about the prospect of these surveys is the statement that they cannot guarantee anonymity of the responses. I’m not a Floridian, but it seems to me that Florida universities will have a much harder time attracting quality professors and students as a result of this, thus dumbing down the population even further.
Chickenfeed or chichensh*t stuff. They are really have to peck and scrape farout into the wilds to get this sort of idea. I think that these political chickens have been smoking their rug.
Maybe Trump’s offspring are setting up to do to him what he did to his own father, setting him up as legally incompetent get full control of his assets.
I never had this level of fear and anxiety during Trump's 4 year term as I have right now. What I perceived as idle threats from the GOP after the election are coming true. The tag line of "we are going to lose our Democracy" is real. They came equipped to this war with ammunition, we came with folding chairs to sit on the sidelines to watch with our hands on our ass.
I read many sources for my news, all of which are now predicting an utter disaster for the Democrats in 2022. We have sat by and let the Republicans stack the deck for the mid terms as we politely clap for Biden.
The fox is in the henhouse and has been since before the powers of the Presidency changed hands.
Before I commented on the controversy about "critical race theory," I wanted to understand what it was. Now that I'm better informed, let me summarize in a nutshell: Critical race theory argues that racism is not just a matter of conscious personal racial biases. Rather, because racism has been such a prevalent force in our society since it's inception, it is "baked into" laws and institutional structures of our society in ways that people do not always perceive, and that were not always intended, although the recent changes in electoral laws which, by the way, are a perfect illustration of critical race theory, are clearly intended to be racist. The laws can proclaim themselves to be race "neutral," just as did the literacy requirements for voting in the 19th century. But if the authors of such laws are well-aware that they will impact people of color more than whites, as was the case with the literacy requirements, as more blacks than whites were illiterate in 19th-century America, the laws are racist. In fact, they are racist even if the authors of such laws don't understand their disproportional impact on people of color. In other words, laws and institutions can be racist without mentioning race.
And while I'm at it, let me explain what it means to be "woke." The term denotes awareness of how race impacts everyone's life in America. I should add that to me, one should be "woke" to class and gender as well. In other words, I am aware that as a white woman, I have enjoyed privileges, including better treatment in public spaces, because of my skin color. If I had any doubts about that, my romantic relationships with black men over the years, beginning when I was 19 years old in college, made that startlingly clear to me. I have taken for granted over the years privileges that others have not enjoyed. Similarly, as a woman, I have been aware that men could do things - including, in 1980s France for example, open a checking account - that were much harder for women. When I began teaching at a university, institutional and implicit gender bias was rife everywhere, and I am sure this was also true of racial bias, although at the time I was not really aware of it. (Thank goodness my university has made immense strides since then.) If you are a poor kid and cannot get to the library because it's been relocated to a prosperous suburb, how can you take advantage of that public service? If you are gay and risk physical attack in some locations for holding hands with your lover or spouse, that impacts your life. There are many ways in which race, class, and gender determine the course of our lives. If you can't access books as a child, you are disadvantaged in applying for college. If you can't be with your significant other in public, you may feel compelled to turn down a good job offer in a location where people of your sexual orientation face violence in public. Critical race theory argues that these inequalities are institutionalized in our society.
Being "woke" simply means that you have become aware of this reality. The purpose is not to make people feel guilty or bad about themselves. I didn't ask to be born white or female. I didn't ask for the privileges the former afforded me any more than I asked for the benefits or difficulties the latter created for me. But if one is not aware of the institutional inequalities in our society, how can one take action to remedy them? That is the point of critical race theory, and of being "woke." It means that if we do not wake up, not only will our society continue to be unequal, but it will also be riven with racial, gender and class conflict.
The unequal laws we are passing now will have ramifications for generations to come, and will be a source of conflict in our society long after we are gone. And they will create two Americas, one of white privilege in states that, ironically, will become economically poorer and more backward businesses and educated individuals migrate to more progressive states. Those passing these laws are not doing themselves or their fellow citizens any favors.
The point about critical race theory or being "woke" is not to "wake up" to punish oneself or others. It's not about vengeance, although there are doubtless some angry folks who give that impression. It is about change and, ironically, in the long run, REDUCING CONFLICT in our society and world. That is what so many folks miss about calls for social justice. Much, probably most, of the conflict in our world derives from inequality and injustice, from folks who want more at the expense of others. We neither need nor will ever achieve perfect equality in our world. But to the extent we can work toward social justice and equal opportunity, at least, to that extent we can reduce conflict. It's going to become harder, not easier, to achieve social justice in the coming decades, due in large part to the immense pressures we are putting on our environment and natural resources. As is true of many things, climate change will impact the poor and people of color more than the rich. But social justice is not only a good in and of itself. It is in the self-interest of everyone, because it reduces conflict and less conflict creates the conditions for greater prosperity and wellbeing for everyone.
So my message here is very simple: wake up and work toward a more just and peaceful world, for you and for your descendants. You can't have prosperity without peace, and you can't have peace without social justice unless, as was said of the Romans, you are willing to make a desert and call it peace.
Such a powerful and clear explanation of these two terms. Thank you for taking the time and putting so much thought into this. ❤️
Yes gkbrunelle, great clear explanation of how you perceive these problems/concepts. Thank you!
Bravo, great explanation
Excellent! A question always lingers for me: Why can't the Democrat leadership get with it and reply to the Repub distortions over CRT? The R's are poisoning the well, so to speak, so thoroughly that a proper understanding of all this will be impossible. IMHO.
Democrats need to take responsibility too for not clearly and powerfully presenting our vision. Milley gave us an excellent example of a compelling rebuttal. Now we need to hear this message again and again and again from every Democrat at every opportunity. Being correct gets us nowhere if we aren’t willing to craft powerful talking points and hammer them in daily. We must be unified and relentless.
This is the essence of reframing the narrative. As Common Cause and other progressive groups are doing, it's important to use our access to social media (for those of us who choose to participate beyond this forum) to put out positive and affirming messages, rather than arguing using the terms the right brands us with. And on such subjects as CRT and socialism, we need to take back those terms and make sure we are clear about the benefits to us as a nation to be critical about our history and our present, and to continue to support and build programs that benefit all of society. There is nothing disturbingly radical or revolutionary about loving our neighbors as ourselves - which is the basis of both CRT and socialism to my simplistically inclined mind.
Truth is usually quite simple; it’s lies that are complicated.
I would say, Lanita, simple and sophisticated.
Agreed! And Dems are neither unified or relentless. They have not learned a thing. And they can't convey what I would call "central values'. What is the POSITIVE reason for access to voting---although access by minority voters is essential, that is NOT the essential reason for needing access to voting---it is a cornerstone of democracy for all. Where is that message that might reach across the "great divide"?
My message is collapse the divide. It is fake and based on an imposed reality with no merit, compassion, or abundance.
Not that I am certain, but Pres. Biden seems to deliberately ignore the rants from the right, because it's like responding to a child's tantrum. It just keeps upping the behavior. But I am also anxious. There are at least 2 separate narratives in our body politic, and the more outrageous the behavior the more fans it has. Sort of like "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."
This is "my favourite thing" I have read today. Thanks for stating it all so clearly and eloquently!
Thank you for this excellent explanation. It should be published widely. May we quote you?
Certainly!
Being "woke" is to use very poor English and I think it behooves folks to be awakened.
Here is an article that discusses "woke" and how the word is used/misused/misappropriated. Regardless of our penchant for the use of proper language it helps to understand the context of a word prior to determining whether or not it is poor English.
https://www.vox.com/culture/21437879/stay-woke-wokeness-history-origin-evolution-controversy
I don't know off the top of my head where the term "woke" originated. But maybe part of being "woke" or "awakened" or "aware" or whatever word you want to use is to have an understanding that the way most traditionally educated Americans think of "good or poor English" is in itself a narrow , privileged person's judgement of language usage. There are many regional and cultural variations of English language use, as there are with other languages, and to criticize others' use that is different from what we learned can be seen as a form of racism. I imagine the British thought the Americans corrupted the English language quite a bit too. Who's to say what's right or wrong? More important that we aim to understand and be understood despite these normal variations.
This was the view I took as an English language teacher. Although I taught the prescriptive grammar in the textbooks we used, I also introduced descriptive grammar - which follows the way words are actually used outside the classroom. I once had a visiting Japanese professor sit in on a grammar class who (politely) objected to how I was teaching past tense(s). Rather than agree or disagree with his view of correctness, I explained to the class that they would hear many Americans use grammar not used in the textbook and that they should be prepared to understand the intended meaning when they heard something they hadn't learned in class. I also said that while I tried to use the textbook grammar in class, they would probably hear me use different forms if they overheard me speaking with family members or old friends. I then had them talk about variations from correct grammar in the ways they use their own first languages. After the class, I thanked the visiting professor for bringing up a good topic of discussion. I don't think I changed his mind about what is correct, but I think he understood why I was teaching grammar in my own particular way.
https://www.vox.com/culture/21437879/stay-woke-wokeness-history-origin-evolution-controversy
This should help define the current use of the word with regard to social justice.
Thanks for reposting this. I saw it below after I had made my comment. Comments show up in such a weird order here! At least for me, no matter which way I have my settings.
Beth, comments show up in weird order for me as well. I think it's gremlins living in Substack Land.
Oh! Thanks for this Daria.
Thank you so much for putting this link here. Great article.
My pleasure.
Language is dynamic
Indeed! Is there a real difference between "woke", "awakened", "saved", or "born again"?
Um, actually, all those words, taken in current cultural context, have very different meanings.
True, and "seeing the light" comes in many contexts. Ah-ha! Eureka! Duhh. Ouch! Oops! Oh what a goose I am!
You make me smile!
William, this is a prime example of what white folks do to BIPOC culture. We can't wait to white-wash it.
Do you think the word “woke” is not only poor English except in some past tense cases, but is intended to connote race?
Yes, perhaps! And to make such distinctions via terminology does nothing towards inclusivity.
Further, while it may indeed be a rallying call for POC, perhaps this is a case where folks should avoid cultural appropriation.
Hm. While I disagree from a descriptive grammar standpoint that there is a problem using the term "woke" in the way it is used to describe a state of awareness, I do feel uncomfortable saying it to describe myself or anyone else. I'm 66, white and, though not completely staid and out of touch, have also never been or aspired to be hip. For me, using this word would be a combination of cultural appropriation and an effort to appear something I'm not. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't aspire to that very state of awareness.
Precisely framed! I concur (emphasis on cur)
Ahhhh, dear Marcy. Good morning. Finally something in this forum said about “woke” that I thought the very first time I heard it. You do not say what you think it suggests about race. Can you elaborate?
Please see link under William's original comment.
Familiar with the article. It makes me wince to hear it come out of mouths that use the word to weaponize attitudes about political division. Most people that use this word have absolutely no idea about the origin of its use and would be shocked to hear how they label themselves using the term in a sarcastic, derisive manner. They turn upon themselves.
Brava! I hope you publish this far and wide.
Indeed!
Agree!
thank you!!
Wow! Thank you for putting this out here. I usually make the assumption that all of us on this forum would agree with the importance of CRT in understanding where we are in this moment of history, and I think we do - but we don't all have the ability to lay it out as clearly as you have done, connecting it so well to the effects on so much beyond "race". It saddens and appals me that voices like yours are being silenced in educational institutions in the name of "intellectual diversity".
Thanks for a cogent and correct statement. I'd like to copy it and share it. Maybe you have shared it already or kept it at least. Publish it.
Yes, please do
Thanks for this fabulous explanation of CRT.
Well said! Is it possible to copy this to give it broader access? Thank you.
Certainly!
Copied and posted your 1st paragraph. Thank You.
So grateful for this clear picture
Wonderful! Touches all the bases! Followers of this daily "Letter from an American" already know that we must "work toward a more just and peaceful world," as this comment beautifully concludes. But we need leadership to accomplish that. Otherwise, as I stated earlier, way, way, down in this posting, hours ago, we are just "whistling in the dark." One of you responded that we had better be whistling loudly, even in the dark, to accomplish anything. So I quoted the bard of Freehold, NJ, Bruce Springsteen, in reply: "You can't start a fire, You can't start a fire without a spark, This gun's for hire, Even if we're just dancin' in the dark." WE NEED A SPARK. Whistling ain't enough.
Thank you so much for this explanation.
Thank you, gk, I needed this explanation. Much appreciated
Full transcript of General Milley's response to the idiots:
"First of all, on the issue of critical race theory, etc. I'll obviously have to get much smarter on whatever the theory is. But I do think it's important, actually, for those of us in uniform to be open-minded and be widely read. And the United States Military Academy is a university, and it is important that we train and we understand. And I want to understand 'white rage." I'm white, and I want to understand it.
So, what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? I want to find that out. I want to maintain an open mind here, and I do want to analyze it. It's important that we understand that. Because our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and guardians—they come from the American people. So it is important that the leaders, now and in the future, do understand it.
I've read Mao Tse Tung. I've read Karl Marx. I've read Lenin. That doesn't make me a communist. So what is wrong with understanding—having some situational understanding—about the country for which we are here to defend?
I personally find it offensive that we are accusing the United States military, our general officers, our commissioned and non-commissioned officers, of being quote 'woke' or something else because we're studying some theories that are out there. That was started at Harvard Law School years ago, and it proposed that there are laws in the United States, antebellum laws prior to the Civil War, that led to a power differential with African-Americans that were three-quarters of a human being when this country was formed. And then we had a Civil War and Emancipation Proclamation to change it. And then we brought it up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964—it took another 100 years to change that.
So look, I do want to know. And I respect your service, and you and I are both Green Berets (to Walz, not Gaetz - TC). But I want to know. And it matters to our military and the discipline and cohesion of this military.
And I thank you for the opportunity to make a comment on that.
I felt proud to be an American listening to General Milley this evening.
Yes indeed, my thought was the best compliment an ex-enlisted can give an officer: "I wouldn't mind having you for a CO."
I view his response with meaning, Gen Milley is modeling for us all how to address the demagoguery of today. Directly, intellectually, with purpose and wisdom, and in defense of democracy.
I agree, Ted. And I see the same response being modeled by our President Biden who daily works directly, intellectually, with purpose and wisdom, and in defense of democracy.
Exactly.
Yes. And also modeling respect and humility along with power and goodness.
It’s crazy how some can not discern what real leadership looks like.
It was a LOOOOONG four years, Ted - remember? Very long. Takes a while to recover from all of that ??????.
I felt proud, too. He was dignified, calm and articulate in his outrage. I was imagining the long line of Black Americans who have served in our military going back to the Revolutionary War (when some enslaved Black people were forced to fight in place of their enslavers), and felt he was speaking up for them, as well as for current and future members of our military.
If only he would agree that the "chain of command" is not a good system for investigating and prosecuting the epidemic of sexual assaults in the military. Secretary Austin has agreed with Senator Gillibrand (not one of my fave people but she is def on the side of the angels here) that the military's response to the assaulting of their own personnel by their own personnel is pathetic and needs to change. Milley is resisting, by throwing sand in the proverbial faces by raising the specter of all felonies being investigated by outside legal groups.
This is a difficult point. On the one hand, you are entirely right, and that has to be done and the sooner the better. On Milley's side, there are "crimes" in the military that have to be enforced in order to maintain the military, that go largely not understood or misunderstood by civilians - particularly the civilians who become lawyers.
Can you elaborate on the "crimes" that the civilian population does not understand or misunderstands. I have more than once tried to engage current and former military members on things I don't understand and have found a universal unwillingness to talk to "civilians", because we "just wouldn't understand". How can we understand when our military brothers and sisters won't try to help us do that. While it is not the job of BIPOC to educate white people, I think this might be a different kind of situation. There is a secretiveness to military life that shuts out civilians - who, in America, at least for now, are the ones who elect the civilian government which ultimately controls the military. How can we make good political decisions when we don't understand the life into which we are sending our fellow citizens who join the military?
Just off the top of my head, there are rules against "fraternization" between officers/enlisted in "relationships" that aren't expressed that strongly in civilian life. Also "adultery" is enforced - you can't have a person who has cuckholded another person in positions to take "wrong action" in difficult situations (by either party) because of that - that's not something one worries about in civilian life, but it could mean lives lost in the military. There are other things like that which are involved with the problem that you cannot have people making "non-operational" decisions on the basis of outside stuff, that can result in things done or not done that can harm a unit in combat. I hope this sort of explains.
The quality of most of our military leaders is indeed much for us to be proud
Did you see Gaetz's reply on twitter? Something along the lines of with generals like him it's no wonder we lost so many wars.
Here is that Twitter response which is despicable. https://twitter.com/mattgaetz/status/1407780765421740032
What an insufferable boob Gaetz is.
Lock Gaetz up for life.
Would pay to see Milley show up at Gaetz's doorstep looking pissed with a bat in his hand. Ahh, I can dream.....
LOL! But I believe that General Milley is unlikely to ever descend to Gaetz' level (which is pretty bottomed out).
Thank you for the link. Was looking, but couldn't find it. (still working on my first cup of coffee....)
I did not see that. What disgraceful thing for Gaetz to say, but not surprising.
Grrrr
Double Grrrr!
Thank you for posting the full transcript.
I was so so pleased by what General Milley said and equally so with the force and edge in his voice in doing so. Had I been in that room I would have felt compelled to snap to attention and render a sharp salute when he finished.
As a former Green Beret I couldn’t agree more.
Same here. A General to truly be proud of. Bravo General Milley.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000007831214/milley-critical-race-theory-military.html
General Milley's statement is even more powerful to hear and see after reading it. The subtleties in his voice and facial expressions add mightily to the depth of the meaning of his words.
Agree, Annie.
My 5th time watching this. Or 7th. Maybe should watch every morning with my cup of tea.
Thank you, Jennifer.
Milley’s response is the America that we all used to agree on. I am not a military person but I admire his thoughtful response. He is educated but the soldiers beneath him are typically much less educated. Education and curiosity is key. Unfortunately his response is not what is going to be on FOX and it wont show up in most Facebook feeds. No one but liberals are going to read it, see it, hear it or consider it.
Thanks for posting this TC. When I heard him speak yesterday, I was overjoyed.
Let's remember that the Republicans who wrote that report in Michigan are among the leaders of the move to "audit" the election due to the "questions" that have been raised - that their own report said are baseless and based on lies! They even called out the liars by name!
The cognitive dissonance on that one must weigh as much as a small asteroid.
I don't think the people who do this sort of thing experience cognitive dissonance.
Yes, they lack the necessary physical equipment, i.e., a functioning brain.
I read that some Qanon followers are confused (!) by iDJT scheduling rallies in December knowing he’ll be “reinstated” in August.
Found an article describing this. Amazing, just amazing.
https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-trump-december-dates-bill-oreilley-president-1602328
Kind of like "The world will end on [fill in the date]"
He held rallies during his entire occupation of our Oval office. His rallies are brainwashing booster shots for the masses.
Oh, my, huh?
Haha!
Probably not. Just Lobotomized at birth.
Same result.
True because that would require conflicting fundamental beliefs....and they don't have any. But they are bordeline Schizoid anyway! They just have conflicts, conscious or not, amongst their objectives which they have considerable difficulty prioritizing. Sometimes the subconscious does the "ordering" for us. We often wonder why we didn't hit the nail on our supposed primary objective ...until we discover the win we achieved on our unconscious secondary objective despite ourselves.
Yes, I’ve thought the same thing for years. I’m just reticent to say the word ‘idiot.’
Nice to see Fern gave this a "like." I knew she couldn't stick with that declaration of departure (thank god!).
You nabbed and tagged me!
It stuns me that after their own careful research they are still considering inviting the buffoons in to "fraudit" Michigan's ballots. I used to believe that the cognitive dissonance would at some time reach the tipping point and bring them back to their senses. No longer. They lack the ability to have that sort of dissonance.
Yes. I have watched "crazy wingnuts" for a looonnngg time, but now they're truly Beyond Belief.
I believe they are still fundraising on the “fraud it” from folks who would never read the report.
And there were more crazies with guns at the Michigan stare Capitol insisting on an audit. This is a disease that is spreading.
So glad the "Republican-led Michigan commission" agreed that there was no fraud with our elections. This, and their recommendations (see link below), could mean a turning point for our Repupublican party away from the former guy and his Capitol attackers.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michigan-senate-no-election-fraud-2020/
I'm going for a large 'ass ta roid'. Similar to hemorrhoid, or clinically 'a rectal-cranial inversion syndrome. https://img.123clipartpng.com/-clipart-of-a-man-with-his-head-up-his-ass-908_1107.jpg
Okay. That's it, Charlie. There definitely has been some outside influence infiltrating today's substackers who are unleashing unabashed, unadulterated, NOT unappreciated jocularity onto this page...Joseph admonishing R Dooley to go wash his hands after typing; R Dooley insisting he did wash his hands...JustJanice needing eye bleach to wash out of her eyes from the image created by R Dooley's comment that "a more revolting couple would be hard to find – unless Cruz and Graham decided to tie the knot, with J. Jordan and M.T. Greene as best man and bridesmaid...Hugh suggesting we buy guillotine and pitchfork futures while Grace is suggesting we hoard the pitchforks...Stuart's fisherwomen friends who knit while watching the "string 'em up, string 'em up high" spectacle. TC demands a book of his own with 5 stars next to it just because he's TC. Class...Dismissed!
Flattery will *indeed* get you *everywhere* Lynnell. The snark-o-meter readings here lately are truly off the scale!
ROTFLMAO
Watch it! The Supreme Court just said you can’t do that! LOL!
Haha!
It was Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, who said over a century ago that "The ballot is stronger than the bullet" and today the renegade Trump Republicans have taken the Great Emancipator's point to heart in their frantic efforts to suppress the vote and weaken the foundations of democracy and the rule of law with their gaslighting and manipulation of the structures of power. It remains to be seen how history will judge their quixotic maneuvers, but they should be aware that if they fail, and I pray that they will, the consequences of their actions will be harsh. For it was Lincoln who also said, "We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." Power to the People!
We the people are the rightful masters of both courts and Congress, until we allow the super rich to purchase them from us. If we don’t allow that purchase such attempts by the rich will be seen as bribery. If we allow that purchase we are screwed as a nation!!!
Abraham Lincoln also said "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their Constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it".
And isn't it powerful this complete Republican refutation of every principle of Founder Abraham Lincoln? Reminds me of their other favorite refutation that denies one of the central Jesus teachings—compassion for the poor.
“ to be open minded and be widely read.” I’ve read Mao, Marx, and Lenin too. And I think the anti democracy efforts, tactics, actions, and rhetoric of Republicans today, more closely resemble the demagoguery of those three aforementioned than they do any and all of the founding fathers and principles of the United States.
Yes indeed! Them and Goebbels on The Big Lie.
To think that General Milley has to take questions from hairgel Gaetz is really too much. Milley should never have to be in the same room with that pedophile.
One former military guy posted to Gaetz that each hashmark on Milley's sleeve denotes six months in a combat zone, "and General Austin has more than Milley does, but he doesn't wear them on his suit." A direct reference to Gaetz as your typical service-avoiding wingerscum.
Precisely
Ivanka and Jared are blatant opportunists without a shred of integrity.
They were pleased as punch to leverage evil Dad’s power to what they thought at the time would be their advantage but now that he is rolling head over heels toward the dumpster, they are keeping their distance.
A more revolting couple would be hard to find – unless Cruz and Graham decided to tie the knot, with J. Jordan and M.T. Greene as best man and bridesmaid.
Now THAT revolting thought is something you should go wash your hands after typing. :-)
I did!
😂
😆
Morning, R Dooley and Joseph!! Thanks for my first belly laugh of the day!
Yup.
Eyebleach needed! Ewwww! 😭 lol
And Gaetz marrying them. 🤣
😂
I think that Critical Race Theory can be described mathematically using network theory, with historic social and economic inequalities forming the central node of a neighborhood cluster, where all nodes are interconnected, and all nodal inequalities are mutually reinforcing. The system is set up so that wealth accumulated in an earlier generation cannot be efficiently passed on to subsequent generations, because the social and institutional guardrails are largely missing. Families where social and institutional bulwarks are in place tend to succeed. Construction laborers have families, and children are encouraged to go into the family business, because that's what's talked-about at the dinner table. They become skilled tradesmen, who then become successful subcontractors; and as they become more successful, they become general contractors. The next generation attends college or technical schools, and they become surveyors, architects, civil engineers, amid the subspecialty within the overall profession. Maybe some of them become lawyers, accountants, bankers and financiers, or developers. As you can see, all of these occupations have interlocking connections to one another. I've personally witnessed all of what I'm describing. In Boston and Newton, Massachusetts, where I practiced law for fifteen years, the construction industry was dominated by people whose backgrounds were either Irish or Italian. These were substantial companies that employed hundreds of men and women. Their subcontractors were clones of the larger companies. These were third and fourth generation families, intermarrying, doing business with one another; they worshiped at the same churches, depending on which side of the family went where. Irish-Italien blended families were common, and altogether, these interconnected families formed the backbone of a substantial portion of the middle class in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Politics allowed for a lot of patronage, and so it went.
African-Americans had none of those avenues to advancement.
I was the Regional Attorney for the Federal Transit Administration which funded over two billion dollars of public transportation improvements. I stayed in that job for seven years, before transitioning into private law practice.
This occurred between 1978 and 1985.
We had an Affirmative Action program that had a 10 percent set aside for historically-disadvantaged minority and women-owned business. General contractors were required to partner with qualified disadvantaged or women-owned businesses; and therein lies the problem. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts had a minority business coordination within its Executive Office of Transportation and Construction, EOTC. This Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) coordination office kept a roster of then-currently qualified subcontractors that was supposed to assist contractors doing federally assisted work meet and do business with one another. The problem was in keeping the roster current, because registrants could go out of business at any time. Often the junior partner had been an employee of the general contractor he would be working with, and the tie between them was the federal grant. The MBE might have had no real independent existence; no capital; and certainly no track record as a viable business. Ergo, it could not qualify for the bonding and insurance obligations that the federal grant requires, the paperwork required for certifications, Wage and Hour requirements, and so on, was an additional burden. Different subcontractors might or might not share similarities in how well qualified they might be to be included in a contract bidders proposal package, but the common thread was that the federal contract they were bidding on was time limited, and they needed other work in order to stay in business. If they're not part of the overall landscape on a day to day basis, they would need some marketing strategy, even if they're working on the federal contract. It's not enough to be skilled in your own trade, you have to be a business person too. The bottom line with these set-asides is that, like academic race-based admissions to competitive colleges and universities, if they have the skills, qualifications, and capital needed to do the job, the set-aside loses its purpose to promote new entrants into the trade or business, because they can get the job on their own, without the state's help.
Bottom line. This is an intractable problem that government by and large cannot fix, other than by setting up training programs like a Conservation Corps, to train people the way that the military trains its recruits. But that presupposes that local schools are doing their job in preparing students to enter the work force. But that requires stable families in stable communities, with positive incentives toward learning, and a diminished emphasis on athletics as a career choice. The communities themselves need to articulate a vision of where they need to go. Critical Race Theory is grounded in our history of interlocking, mutually reinforcing societal, economic, and political restraints on African-American advancement. Those are part of the historical record and cannot be denied. But the communities themselves need to become the seeds for growing future success. Programs like the one I describe above generally fail in accomplishing their objectives because the social and community supports are lacking. Worse yet, gross inequalities are impoverishing families that just a few years ago would have been expected to succeed as a matter of course. Nowadays, if you don't already own a house, your chances of ever doing so are greatly diminished.
I tend to agree.
Further, the "solution" must be inclusive and forward-looking and not mired in the past.
Thus, for example, rather than reparations prepared for a few I think a better course of action is Universal Basic Income for all and thus provide everyone equal footing.
Absolutely. Something like that will have to be implemented in the future because due to the necessary money printing (it has to be done, there was no other way out of this crisis with Covid), fiat currency will be debased year after year and all but the rich will lose more and more buying power. Jobs are being eliminated by the new technological revolution. There will have to be a universal basic income at some point.
One question and one observation:
Question: How is this alone not game over for Democrats in 2022? "18 states have put in place more than 30 laws restricting access to the ballot. These laws will affect around 36 million people, or about 15% of all eligible voters."
Observation: Please look past the headlines on Critical Race Theory and instead expose the engine so effectively working to eradicate liberalism in all its forms
from colleges nationwide—PragerU. Along with conservative talk radio, PragerU is promoting the Fundamentalism that's ripping us apart.
If your orchestra manager over-ruled you, the conductor, and for the 2022 grand finale concert, the success of which would determine funding for the next season, the manager issued a financial incentive to the violinists to use a brand of violin strings prone to breaking, would you accept that as a fait accompli, or would you be entreating the musicians to resist the incentive and use quality strings?
However ridiculous this hypothetical, the point is about making a choice of whether or not to accept a situation as a fait accompli.
Expertise of Timothy Snyder on fighting tyranny:
1. Do not obey in advance. Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
2. Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us to preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. So choose an institution you care about and take its side.
15. Contribute to good causes. Be active in organizations, political or not, that express your own view of life. Pick a charity or two and set up autopay.
19. Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.
https://scholars.org/contribution/twenty-lessons-fighting-tyranny-twentieth-century
I invite you to support the many good people working to (1) fight the voter suppression laws in court, and (2) Get Out The Vote. Better yet, join us.
https://americansofconscience.com/
https://campaignlegal.org/
https://www.democracydocket.com/
Home | Fair Fight
I like the one where Timothy Synder says vote as if this is the last election you'll be allowed to vote. My question then is was it the last one or the next one?
I would add another group fighting voter suppression at the national, state and local levels: The League of Women Voters.
League of Women Voters is great. I only learned a few months ago that members include men—some of whom are readers in this forum. 👍
I once belonged to a women's charitable sorority which elected a male national president. Soon after installment, he raised his salary and thus our membership fees. I quit. Liberals (and many democrats) are often stymied about inclusiveness, as in racial, gender and other isms. However, when there is a struggle for parity, I tend to let the minority or the oppressed people represent themselves. Many men just can't help themselves when it comes to control of women and their organizations. Just look at the anti-abortion movement, especially in SCOTUS. White men especially have historical and traditional success at management and leadership roles, thus their "qualifications," but how the hell will women learn if they are not the leaders of their own movements?
The chair of the LWV/SD Public Policy Committee is a man. He is a retired city planner with excellent background to inform our discussions and choices. And the LWV everywhere participates in voter registration including attending the swearing in of new citizens, providing them with information and forms for registering to vote (of course, not making recommendations of party registrations).
I should have included that there are a couple of other men who are members of the said Committee.
Thank you, Ellie. Excellent. That adage "Do not obey in advance" is key, the rest supportive. Question. Inquire. Stand up. Thank you for reminding us that those who would discourage us from acting are not our friends. I recently decided that I needed to reexamine my choices of which groups to focus my energy on. I do believe we are more effective when we work with each other, but I have some thinking to do. Thanks for the suggestions.
Of course you're right you're right you're right! :) Your orchestra hypotheticals aren't off. The truth of what actually happens is much more ridiculous. And bizarrely existential. But the comparison would really be more like if the conductor was told funding would be withheld no matter if the concert was a success or not. The game here where only Republicans (i.e. Republicans loyal to Trump) are in charge of county voter—that rigging of the system one would think would be instantly challenged by the Justice Department and brought to the Supreme Court. Except that isn't happening. There's squawking but no action.
Shout out to the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra and their staff! LAYO is so wonderful for the youths and their families! Modeling and teaching young people how persistent practice and working together pays off to produce something greater than the sum of its parts is an inspirational template for civic engagement!
Greater than the sum of its parts...that concept has always given me comfort.
Yes Lynell and good morning! Always one of fave equations. I find it often here.
1+1 = 3.
Morning, Christine!!
It sure is. There are other examples, but I love the lift this positive example gives me.
Litigation proceeds at the speed of molasses in January. If you ever find your way to a court docket, you'll see procedural hearing after procedural hearing, which could only have begun after laborious and tedious investigation that has produced a case perceived by the prosecutor as sure to convince a jury of 12.
In my time as a court stenographer, it mostly took three years between filing a claim and pretrial depositions being conducted. Often trials in these cases were another six months to a year after discovery closed.
And then there are the lack of judges, etc. in settling border cases! Begs the question - why are our representatives not adding this issue to their "lists" of things to do? Guess we(!) should be asking them, right?
When a case is filed does that stop the statute of limitations?
Great question, Margaret. Of course when it comes to the law, there is no simple answer. Not being an attorney, I looked your question up. Here's one answer I found: "A typical state may have a six year statute of limitations for most felony offenses, but have a fourteen year statute of limitations for sex offenses involving minors, and no statute of limitations at all for murder charges." Here's the long read: https://www.expertlaw.com/library/criminal-statute-of-limitations
Not to mention court backlogs everywhere due to covid.
And in Texas due to Snowmagedon,as well. My jury duty was canceled due to damage at the courthouse from burst pipes.
They may be shut down all summer for lack of A/C.
Maybe the abysmally poor infrastructure in Texass is a right-wing conspiracy.
We do not know there is no action, DOJ watch must consider the view of an iceberg. Mostly not visible.
Ellie you made made my day, probably week, with this! Fun hypothetical. There is no point at all in crying and whining now as if our cause is lost. If we do all we can, engaging all we can recruit, democracy will prevail. If it were not to, well, we will need our tissues then.
love timothy snyder
Morning, Ellie!! Another great post from you today!
https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1407434086365413388?s=20
Words to live by, thank you Ellie.
Ellie, I am reposting. Thank You!
Be careful with the statistics. Let's assume that all 15% would have voted (very unlikely) and that they would have voted straight Democratic tickets (very unlikely).
That has to be balanced against the number of die-hard Republicans and conservative Independents who have already left the theater and are dumping their popcorn, and the more that will walk out as this nonsense continues, and the news increasingly finds it both safe and "newsworthy" to rake Republicans over the coals. Is that another 15% of the population? Or only 14%? Or maybe 16%?
I've read numerous times that the pollsters are finding it difficult to make sense of their numbers. There are a lot of rules-of-thumb that govern how you do polling, and when there is extreme polarization, as there is now, many of those rules stop working. Look at Georgia. The Republicans had that in the bag last November. And then they lost.
My guess is that a lot of people could be very surprised after the 2022 elections are finally tallied and okayed by the courts.....and contestation there will be! The trumpites think they know, understand and can channel their voters "anger". They ain't seen nothing yet, in my mind. I think that they risk being submerged by a wave of anger the like of which they can't even conceive that their stupidity, cupidity, avidity and avariciousness has unleashed on which they will have absolutely no possibility of surfing. By their blatant disregard, disrespect and disdain for the people they could achieve what they have always sort to prevent, an, alliance between the Blacks and the Mudsills, all those from whom they are stealing, formed to take back political power for the people and be done with them once and for all.
Morning, Stuart!! I'm in your camp. Today we have Stacey Abrams, Black Voters Matter, people like me who are paying attention/then voting!
Morning, Lynell. I think people will be queuing massively and peaceably, overnight and around the block to register, vote and will be massing to thereafter protect the count, verification and certification of the results. People are going to be "mad as hell and not taking it any more" before, during and after the vote. Once power has been taken back, heaven help Gaetz, Greene and their state equivalents. The people will be singing "à la lanterne, à la lanterne" ...the french revolutionary equivalent of "string 'em up, string 'em up high" .
Re queuing and massing: I am relishing the idea of people leaving their minimum wage jobs, with their middle finger raised behind them, to queue and mass. The wrong people are angry in this country. If the capitol was stormed by black people or another minority that has been systemically harmed, I would not be happy maybe, but I would understand. Some people have not been allowed to be angry. Maybe the time is now.
People are already fleeing minimum wage jobs and employers blame it on increased unemployment benefits so they stopped the $300 per week Federal subsidies in many states. And still employees won’t come back to low pay jobs. A year long reset woke many up to other, better opportunities. Now it’s time for employers to wake up and pay a living wage.
I agree with all but storming, violence must remain off the table.
Who wants to invest in guillotine futures?
Where do i sign? I know a few "fisherwomen" who would be willng to bring their knitting and watch the spectacle.
I’m hoarding pitchforks.
But we know how that turned out.
It's already started. Protesters at Sinema's office in PHX? For AZ that's is a 'weak signal' of the movement, Stuart talks about. Next up will be the circus surrounding the finalization of the "fraudit" as it is called. I've gotten my Extra Costco sized popcorn ready.
I give up. Popcorn for lunch.
We need to have voter registration tables all over America. It is very easy to become a notary public and register folks. At least it is very easy here in Vermont. Not sure what it is like in other states.
At the Juneteenth March here in Ft Worth, they had people registering voters and asking for volunteers to register people at high schools. There appears to be a surge in young voters locally. Opal Lee’s speech was a call for action and the crowd was far from Republican! It was inspiring! I was there to help represent The Tarrant County Democratic Women’s Club. I’m so anxious but still have hope for my Ft Worth.
A Notary Public is required to register voters? Not the case here in California. Anyone can set up a table for registering new voters. Ca. also has automatic registration when getting or renewing a driver's license if not already registered (Motor Voter state law).
I think Stuart and Hugh and Grace got a case of the substack jitters from yesterday to the rest of our collective enjoyment...thanks, team!
Doubtful. Mainstream Democrats seem almost afraid of their own shadows and would certainly recoil at retribution.
I'd expect a strongly-worded letter to teach those bad G-spots a lesson...
If that's the case then they deserve what they'll get. Hell is aved with the best of intentions!
Power in people!!!
I wonder about that possibility too. Except midterms are notorious for poor voter turnout. And it's crucial that the "wave of anger" you talk about happens before or during the election, not afterwards!
So are special elections a low turn out affair. Look what happened in Georgia. You can’t take away a fundamental right and expect crickets.
Good morning, Stuart. I’m traveling now and even a bit of physical distance from Florida and the heat, humidity, and Desantis’s thinly veiled supremacist rhetoric..especial the latest state “law” encouraging censure and putting a chokehold on educators…the traveling feels like a bit of wind in the sails and summer vacation energy.
So thank you for saying so succinctly and well exactly what is on my mind after reading HCR’s letter today.
Both the Letter and your comment sizzlin’.
We’re heading north soon also Christine. Some distance from DeSantis will be refreshing. Seeing or hearing him provokes a visceral reaction in me, much like Trump.
Totally feel that response, Diane. I cannot quite put into words a comment on his latest “law” that HCR outlined as his grandstanding Gov Abbott in Texas.
Stuart ~ I hope you're right.
He is
I hope you're right. I wish I had your confidence. The way critical race theory is being applied in schools is not going to help. See my quotes from Andrew Sullivan's substack on CRT, well above this post, or read it here,
tinyurl.com/AndrewSullivanCRT
Here's an excerpt
"In public, they talk a liberal talk. In private, the editor of the NYT himself conceded that the project was designed to promote critical race theory. In a meeting as the NYT was preparing its 1619 Project, one staffer wanted to know why every story in the paper wasn’t rooted in an understanding that “racism and white supremacy [are] the foundation of all of the systems in the country.” That’s CRT. Dean Baquet responded that “one reason we all signed off on the 1619 Project and made it so ambitious and expansive was to teach our readers to think a little bit more like that.” Note the verb: teach. Note what they’re teaching: CRT. That’s why the project was designed for high schools from the get-go, and given prestige by the Pulitzers and the entire woke media establishment — as a tool not for greater debate but for instruction in why our entire democracy is built on white supremacist lies."
and check this out:
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/04/14/i-cant-stay-silent-nyc-math-teacher-rips-schools-critical-race-theory-indoctrination-1059819/
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/04/14/i-cant-stay-silent-nyc-math-teacher-rips-schools-critical-race-theory-indoctrination-1059819/
In reading today's comments, I detect a lot of "whistling in the dark."
Somebody's got to do some powerful whistling Jack or we'll all be facing the music in the dark!
Somebody has to do it, someone beyond those who follow HCR, and as Bruce Springsteen sang back in '09,
"You can't start a fire
You can't start a fire without a spark
This gun's for hire
Even if we're just dancin' in the dark
I hope youre right!
Hope you're right.
I am sorry, but who are the Mudsills?
See Heather's post of a couple of days ago. The term comes from a speech defending slavery and the "southern attitude" by Senator James Hammond in 1850.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudsill_theory#:~:text=The%20theory%20was%20first%20articulated,speech%20on%20March%204%2C%201858.&text=It%20was%20directly%20used%20to,grip%20on%20the%20Southern%20economy.
Thank you
These are all great responses. Thank you all! Of course the game is psychological suppression of votes as well as physical suppression. But I still say that just the notion that Republicans are placing voter certification in strictly partisan control taints the entire notion of a free and fair election before it even begins. And no American should put up with that.
Exactly, that no American should put up with Republican machinations to subvert free and fair elections. That means walk the talk, and start the walking now.
If they can now overturn elections in those states, it won’t be long before they overturn primaries too, and start eating their own.
Good morning Ellie. I note with interest what Joseph said earlier. The pollsters are having difficulty assessing the many factors they look at with usual regularity. And what happened in Georgia in 2020 is an example of polls being wrong and what is happening now indicates same. “Walking the talk and starting now” is everything.
Keep pushing. More and more hands are joining the effort. Can you feel the energy?
We just had a "regional" election here in France and only 1/3 of the voters turned up. They were expecting twice as much....and none of the pollsters' predictions came true....and far from it.
Yes, and you are one of the vibrant energizers!
Good morning, Joseph. You are striking right at the heart of things. Thank you for your cool and measured perceptions over many Letters!
Yes. But now I want popcorn.
Regarding your question: Aggressive Voter Registration and GOTV efforts - always important, are critical in 2022. With success on both, we have a chance.
I guess I'm confused. If Republicans are going to rig voting against Democrats and control which votes get certified, what does it matter how aggressively we get people to registere? Isn't that the whole point of these laws?
You're right, the point of the laws is to make voting more difficult. But they haven't outlawed it - yet!
Having numbers and getting them to the Polls (within the restricted windows/rules) will matter. GOTV efforts will be more complicated than in previous elections - but not insurmountable.
There will be new hurdles, but short of outright vote stealing, we can still prevail.
Have any of them yet ratified laws that allow them to override the vote?
Read this overview, by State, of the laws passed and proposed. The Brennan Center is a reliable source for information and they regularly update their research.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-may-2021
Brennan Center is one of my main go-tos. Keep an eye on them. They also have terrific panel discussions, free, with outstanding and insightful people.
Thank you for the link. A quick search revealed that my own state (WA) has three bills in the restricting access list and two bills in the expanding access. Because WA is a very blue state (with a few red and purple counties) that has had all mail-in voting for several years, I made the mistaken assumption that we would not have any legislators daring to introduce bills to restrict voting. Wrong! Now I can look up the bill numbers, read the bills, and start writing to my state representatives and senator. Can't thank you enough!
Thank you for this link
It is very confusing because it should be against the law to violate our rights to vote, and to vote easily. Where is our DO-figging-J?
Marc Elias and Democracy Docket heroes:
https://www.democracydocket.com/
Ellie, you are my superhero in information sharing!
https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1407409321667923974?s=20
I suspect, Penelope, they are following the rule of law, crossing t's and dotting i's before making a knee-jerk reaction. Nothing would be worse in this instance than to have their case thrown out of court due to insufficient evidence or a technicality. Just MHO.
Lynell, I sure hope you are right. I keep waiting for some badass superheroes to intervene in our fight and for five years have been extraordinarily disappointed. However, during that time, so much of America's dark shadows have been revealed, and so many of us have learned so much more about how our democracy does (and does not) work, who controls us (Matrix) and the fears of white people around the world bent on greed and total control through autocratic regimes. Perhaps, I may need to continue to steady myself and keep doing what I can. Usually patient to a point, my Taurean nature has certainly vacillated with nostrils flaring and front left foot digging up dust on certain days for what feels like eons.
Right there with you, Penelope. But having seen firsthand the scales of just grinding exceedingly small, I have learned to "pack my patience"!
The Republican version of Sharia law.
I read yesterday that some "mostly-Democrat" states (such as Vermont, NY and Calif) are passing laws to make it easier to vote wich is vitally necessary to counter-balance what the Repubs are doing, Our (R) Gov. is generally well thought of, but has vetoed 23 bills since taking office! Yesterday, some of his vetoes were over-ridden.
R. Dooley's Brennan Center link has a list of all the various voting bills in every state - both restrictive and expansive. It's an enlightening list and shows me that even "mostly-Democrat" states may have some restrictive bills introduced.
You nail the Democrat casket shut prematurely. The voting issue is not dead in the Senate yet, just S1 is. The vote on Tuesday was a wise political ploy to put every Senator's vote on record, then adjourn. Now we The People have 19 days (17...) to call, write, visit and march to make clear to our Senators we want a fair voting bill, and at least one new one (which would overrule many state restrictions) will be introduced when the Senate reconvenes on July 12th. My birthday is the 13th. That would be the best present ever.
I hope you get your birthday wish, seriously. I share your hopes. In the decades I referred to the other day, we (I say that by association) kept bringing good, better, narrower, feasible, possible, OK, not the worse options forward. The lesson I think ADA and ACA offered, go big, be comprehensive, don't piecemeal it together, and cajole and move ahead and do that again and again. The ACA needs to be updated as it was only step one in healthcare reform (note healthcare reform), the basic big building blocks upon which to redesign America's health, including education, provision of services, universal coverage, medical delivery, insurance, etc. It all hinged upon universal coverage. No American left behind. I was hopeful that S1 would be forced through as such. But, happy birthday.
It was 2 Democrats that the Democrats had to win over this week, and they did. Now the John Lewis bill will be written, maybe not as comprehensively as ADA and AHA, but enough to save democracy. As an RN working special ed back in the 80's, and public health my whole career, I am so grateful for ADA & AHA.
Wow. We're close to astral twins. I only ever met one other (me: 7/13/44)
Aha!! That explains it! Not sure what it is yet, but all good. My cousin was born 3 hours before me (my twin cousin), so you also have an astral twin in Minnesota, too!
Very interesting.
MaryPat, thank you for bringing sage uplifting clarity to my feeling discouraged: "What, S1 tanked and it was a 'wise political ploy?????'" and casting about for the Plan B: "Weren't we supposed to petition the Senate to delay their vacation?"
I was very upset with Sen. Feinstein when she announced she supported Manchin. She emailed me back with a link to her position on the filibuster, that she is open to modifying it:
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=C249B72C-4E97-4D8A-A5F8-1921F8E8C53D
Glad I was helpful, and pray that I am right, Ellie. This is scary, but all good politics on the Democrat side. And excellent lobbying on your part letting Feinstein know your position. And Yay on filibuster modifications! Manchin and Sinema must have agreed to changes, then with VP Harris's vote, it will pass. Those legislators are not on vacation - they are working double time at home listening to constituents.
Russell, you realize 5hat Prager U is not a college, but a website run by Prager. "PragerU, short for Prager University, is an American far-right, 501 non-profit media company that creates videos on various political, economic, and sociological topics from an American conservative perspective. The organization was co-founded by Allen Estrin and talk show host and writer Dennis Prager in 2009. Wikipedia"
Yes, PragerU is a highly successful conservative propaganda machine. PragerU and conservative talk radio are potent weapons fueling the crazed Fundamentalism that has infected the Republican Party. We don't talk enough about how this, how these two forces are largely the fuel behind all the right-wing rage against liberals and liberalism. If you listen to Dennis Prager, you soon hear his obsession that liberal American universities are the greatest threat to America. This is drummed into his listeners every day.
Arguments with one of my conservative friends is how he always comes back to this authoritative goto source for real facts. A lesson from history is that when you write the playbook on how to win by any means, it gets leaked and improved upon by their opposition. As the opposition, we aren't disgusted enough as a whole, but the means, shading, distortion, click-bait, group-think, gerrymandering, and authoritarian tricks are going to show up in the campaign locker rooms of the some (most desperate?) candidates, including on our side.
yes! "we aren't disgusted enough as a whole"—that's the heart of it. Without the accountability, the virus just keeps spreading—as you point out, it spreads to both sides.
Ouch. I think I am a skeptic today unsure whether I am a cynic trying to only be skeptical.
There has been a long and good discussion here, BUT the point still remains---there is an amazing propaganda machine out there, as well as a political machine, promoting right wing ideas and producing new laws on voting. There is no liberal machine countering the lies, etc. Promoting voting is crucial, but opposing the lies in the public forum is also crucial. And I don't see that happening (just read/listen to Schumer. Not be best messenger for a cause, whatever his successes in managing the Senate.) Hopeful and not-hopeful at the same time.
I think you make the central point. There is no liberal or Democratic force even remotely as coordinated or powerful as the "House That Rush Built." Robert Reich is doing good work and the Lincoln Project at least understands the game. But these are uncoordinated and small compared to the nationwide conservative talk radio juggernaut. And in Congress, it's so hard to watch McConnell continue to make Schumer and Pelosi dance to his tune. Don't we all feel the pathos observing Manchin effectively slow down the pace of Democratic legislation as the window of possibility steadily closes before the midterm elections?
I agree with all but your summation of Manchin. Wait and see: some good politics afoot.
What I don't understand, Russell, is why the elimination of the Electoral College isn't being discussed.
Because the Electoral College was established in the U.S. Constitution. The only way to eliminate it is through amending the Constitution. By the time that process could be completed (pass House & Senate then approval by 3/4 of states), it would be much too late for us. "The Electoral College is a process, not a place. The Founding Fathers established it in the Constitution, in part, as a compromise between the election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens." https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/about
Yes, the famous Sherman Compromise! I have heard very persuasive arguments for abolishing the Electoral College. But none of those arguments address the central 1787 issue that the Compromise worked through–how to convince the smaller states they would have a voice and not be hostage to the larger states.
So Florida's "conservative" governor wants to know what university students think so he can decide if they're being "indoctrinated." What's next? The thought police of Orwell's "1984"? Or is this just another Republican effort to gut a state university system, as Scott Walker did in Wisconsin?
The book would no doubt be considered subversive and banned from all campuses.
Both.
The biggest and most consequential conflict of interest of all is having politicians decide voting laws. Why isn't anyone talking about the faulty planning of this and whether it should change?
It should be illegal and those doing the violating of our rights should be prosecuted. Why are our democratic leaders not screaming about this? Our rights that are being trampled by these vile creatures against democracy. It is time to be very loud.
I have wondered this myself. Why isn't the act of either party changing election laws to benefit one group specifically flat out illegal? Doing so is a blatant, gleeful, vindictive grab for power and control. How is this not automatically illegal? Wy do we not have laws that say so and provide for removing any individual(s) who tries to do so from office immediately upon their grab for control?
Geeze-- thanks for "hearting" my comment. Are we too rational?
Mark Milley slapped Matt Gaetz right in his grinning little face! Good for the general.
Milley is no Vanilli...
😂
Lots of insights in this one🙂 It was fun to read about Matt Gaetz get bitch-slapped by generals.
Surveying college students and professors…WTF?
At UT, 9 out of 10 Frat boys prefer butt-chugging.
https://www.utdailybeacon.com/news/its-all-behind-them-butt-chugging-fraternity-returns-to-ut/article_e851f6cc-7afe-11e6-b555-1f99ac1e70f0.html
When it comes to matters of higher education, the opinions of college students are relatively unimportant.
What I see as so chilling about the prospect of these surveys is the statement that they cannot guarantee anonymity of the responses. I’m not a Floridian, but it seems to me that Florida universities will have a much harder time attracting quality professors and students as a result of this, thus dumbing down the population even further.
For DeSantid “dumbing down the population” is a feature, not a bug.
CRT is a theory, provable and testable.
Some guy shredding ballots and feeding them to chickens, then burning the chicken house is a fantasy. And a creepy one at that.
Chickenfeed or chichensh*t stuff. They are really have to peck and scrape farout into the wilds to get this sort of idea. I think that these political chickens have been smoking their rug.
Maybe Trump’s offspring are setting up to do to him what he did to his own father, setting him up as legally incompetent get full control of his assets.
Plenty of evidence for them in public view
But they’ve denied all that. They need to publicly start calling him out now.
Don’t hold your breath
Interesting thought...
What assets? 😂
He’s the asset - to the Russians.
Yup.
I’m sure he has plenty of $$$ tucked away.
Off shore
That and other ways.
Thank you Heather.
I never had this level of fear and anxiety during Trump's 4 year term as I have right now. What I perceived as idle threats from the GOP after the election are coming true. The tag line of "we are going to lose our Democracy" is real. They came equipped to this war with ammunition, we came with folding chairs to sit on the sidelines to watch with our hands on our ass.
I read many sources for my news, all of which are now predicting an utter disaster for the Democrats in 2022. We have sat by and let the Republicans stack the deck for the mid terms as we politely clap for Biden.
The fox is in the henhouse and has been since before the powers of the Presidency changed hands.
I'm sick about this and fear for my friends.
Be safe, be well.
Well said.
Both parties thrive on creating fear.
One uses facts to do so, one doesn't. The sky is, in fact, in danger of falling.