Heather, wonderful piece today (as always) and just to laugh, I saw this online: DOGE = Destruction Of Government by Elon…..that is the truth! Thank god for Bernie and AOC, my heroes for many years. On April 5, please share widely, the American people will fill the streets of their cities across the United States to protest what tramp and mush (and, of course, Juvenile Delinquent Vance) are doing to the people, who are actually their employers. Millions are expected to raise their voices loud and clear. Thank you for all you do. You are my hero everyday of the week.
Add Tim Walz to the list of Dem legends holding town halls across red states, speaking truth to packed crowds. Getting Dems to step up has felt like watching the titanic make a U-turn.
Kazz- Absolutely! I can’t believe that so many Dem congresspeople are standing in the corner while (so far) only three of their party are visibly going out and speaking. especially in red districts (bravo!) I think the corner group just wants to get on the telly, which “no-one” watches much anymore anyway.
Chrissy Houlahan isn’t standing in the corner—6th PA rep had a 600 people Town Hall with line stretching three blocks or more of people waiting and failing to get in. She’s come out truth speaking, has always tried to work across the aisle, and is smart as a whip— standing against the craziness of the Republicans now. Of course she’s a Democrat. Still faces some antagonists in her ‘purple’ district, but has huge support!
Yes, one of the problems is that the media is still covering for Trump and won’t put up stories on what the Dems are doing unless it’s a bad reflection on the Dems.
Let's not forget Bennie Thompson and Nancy and Schumer and..., so many more, really. It's the names of "those" we haven't heard anything from who need to be 'front paged', (as I refer to it). Seems to me the expression "they don't know whether to s--t or go blind" fits them,. Whomever-the-heck THEY are. Bunch of 'slo-leaks'.., that's what.
They want to be certain they can help and don’t forget that all of their Secret Service protection has been taken away and they have children AND targets on their backs. That they remain here is courageous.
Not to distract from the concerns expressed here.., but let's remember we are the ones who have done this to ourselves. Innocent until proven guilty - So simple. But, not. Sorry.., Virginia, it's early here, another day passing before us. It's in AOC's court. Her and Jasmine Crockett's. And, some others, yet to be known, I'm sure. It's early.
Welp.., flipping that coin Bronwyn.., "they" are maybe wondering just where in the heck "WE" are. Ya think? We've been driving while blind, pretty much sums it up. The dust storm just caused a 48-car pile up. So much for the 1st responders in this one.
Nancy, lots of Ds are working hard. They may not get the national attention of Bernie and AOL or Walz, but they are working with people locally and publishing their stories about how they have been hurt by the current administration and this includes people in red areas. They have been holding well attended town halls in person and virtually. Now our state legislature (Oregon) is going to every county in the state to get feedback. Our D governor when she was first elected did the same.
I've only seen pictures of it and driven through the far NE corner once but haven't had time to go and spend a few weeks in its' obvious beauty. I hope to do that before I die.
A lot of eastern Oregon is high desert, beautiful in its own way. I did my fishing on the North Santiam which is on the west side of the Cascades. A lot of the area burned in 2020.
It depends on what you are talking about. I love Oregon for its beauty and variety of areas: mountains, high desert, ocean, Willamette Valley where I live. However, in some metrics, Oregon does not measure up well.
Oh absolutely, all kinds of wineries, run by all sorts of people. The problem for some Oregon wineries is that they were negotiating with distributers in Canada for a contract to supply Oregon wine as usual. Then death star started the tariff war and suddenly no one wanted to contract to buy Oregon wines. So it's not just bourbon and peanut butter. The best pinot noir I had was in a hole in the wall Mexican place in Dayton. It was so good, that a couple of us bought bottles....came from a very small acreage near Dayton. My husband drinks usually French reds as they are generally cheaper. I don't, but will drink a wee dram of single malt scotch neat if certain individuals depart this earth. I have a good supply.
I envy you the single malt. After writing postcards to Wisconsin voters for hours a bit of Laphroig would be glorious. Can remember buying it for less than $8 per bottle in NOLA in the 1970’s.
My, that is really cheap. I didn't drink scotch in those days. I can't remember how I came to enjoy single malt. I thought I didn't like scotch because I had only had a taste of a blend..truly awful. i can remember drinking Glava(sp?) in Scotland which is a liquor made from scotch. We met a couple of elderly English ladies at a hotel in Scotland and offered to buy them a drink after supper. One of them ordered a single malt and apparently they made a yearly trip to Scotland to buy a few bottles, so maybe I learned to enjoy it then. A couple years ago, we received a couple bottles of scotch as gifts and my husband is a bourbon drinker when he drinks whiskey. I would like to have the wee dram sooner rather than later! Kudos for the postcards.
Yes, it was truly inexpensive when you compare it to pre-Trump prices. I had some Glenlivet a few years ago, but it’s the heavy complexity of Laphoig that always gets to my taste buds. Hooray for single malt scotch!
No state does. I live in Indiana, whose outcomes for just about every indicator of quality of life is in the bottom 10 states or at the very bottom. I look forward to the day I can leave.
I'm making my sign now to take to the protest this afternoon where trump and senator mccormick will be attending the NCAA wrestling championships here in Philadelphia and we're taking our 11 and 13-yr-old grandchildren to see what people can do....
I wonder if Trump realizes that NCAA wrestling is NOTHING LIKE Linda McMahon's outfit the WWF. It's actual REAL competitive wrestling! Not the Hulk Hogan crap you see on TV.
Good for you Sophia! As a bunch of 'constituents' which is what we are, after all, some Representative needs to see that kind of expression (support!) so they can take a stand..., maybe get re-elected. I've been hard on politicians not making themselves known, but for them to 'jump and shout' there has got to be support. Seems like the MAGAtts grabbed that ball and ran with it while the 48% were all over the field. Constituents = Power. You Go, Sophia, and bring those kids. :))
The candidates in the Democratic Primary for Governor of NJ are airing TV ads attacking Trump and promising to protect people in NJ from him and Musk if elected. Of course those are just promises.
Not "just promises".., if those "candidates" see an outpouring of support from their CONSTITUENTS, they might be able to get something done. That's where our voice is. And, it's right here as well.
Mark Pocan, Democratic Representative for the 2nd District in WI, is one of those doing town halls in Republican districts.
From a recent Pocan newsletter:
"My challenge to House Republicans: if you’re voting to cut Medicaid and food assistance, at least have the guts to go out there and defend your cruel votes. But if you can’t stand the heat, maybe it’s time to stay out of the firepit and stop voting for destructive, cruel policies."
I'm really proud of my Oregon Senators who are speaking out in DC and holding town halls all over Oregon, especially in the areas where our Republican Representative has apparently chickened out.
Again, as you “rebuke” me very rudely, I don’t need to be bullied because you think you’re superior. We can’t follow every representative and it would be way more effective to respond with positive information than to bully.
Well, I live in Vermont and Senator Sanders is one of our two Senators. Bernie is amazing at constituent services. Hard to believe he can do as much as he does. We love Bernie! I donated to his Stop Oligarchs tour.
My Congressman, Bill Keating (D-MA), had a very well attended Town Meeting this past week and was greeted with loud applause for his takedown of the Republican Congressman who insisted on addressing a transgender Congresswoman as “Mr.”
Yo.., Susan et al, why can't we just refer to the "person" as "Congress-person Smith" or "Representative Smight" or "Senator Smight".., instead of using Mister or Misses or They, etc? I know..., it's tradition, or whatever. Well, i say drop that crap. Just refer to the "person" by their title or perhaps by their first and last name, with no gender attached. This is all just so silly. C'mon kiddies, let's go out and play now. Be nice kidddies. Geeezzzzusssss, get a life, people.
Nancy, you are spot on. It seems that most members of Congress are living in fear of Trump, their constituents, and/or loosing their seat in Congress. What these cowards don't understand is that if the mad man continues his rampage through our government, Congress will not longer exist. Wake up people, this isn't a test, this is quickly becoming the end of our Democracy. It's time for everyone who still believes in what the founding fathers gave us, to stand up and fight...Press On Regardless!
Excellent point Ms. Lanoue! It is SO important that all dems, everywhere, contiue to show up and demonstrate Democratic values. We must NOT let down our guard this time. We MUST vote this fool down and out.
I would not generalize because some in Congress are doing other work behind the scenes, such as writing substantive and lengthy legal arguments to file in courts, fighting the egregious dismantling of our Government.
Nancy, I would also add that Dems do not have a cohesive and strong presence in social media network. On top of it all, I don’t trust Google algorithms when searching for specific political figures or topics. Their “Golf of America” said it all.
Walz is a decent guy but he and Kamala Harris represent a monumentally failed Democratic effort. Yes, blame Biden for the late timing and lack of primaries in 2024. Still, it is time to move on. I don't have a favorite candidate but I hope one emerges during the campaigns for the 2026 elections for Congress. I do note that even now, which is early in the cycle, I'm getting a lot of political solicitations for money. Some Democrats are getting cranked up early, prompted no doubt by the rogue Trump/Musk/Vance administration.
What do the Democrats stand for? Abortion, Trans Men in women's sports, fighting Deportation of Criminal Illegal Aliens, and raising taxes are not going to win any elections. Really, please help me understand what Democrats stand for?
I read that in addition to the 11,000 that packed Bernie and AOC's town hall in Colorado, an additional 1000 could not get in, and they had an online audience of 123,000.
My daughter was at the Bernie one in Denver yesterday. She had to stand outside the fence because it was so packed. I’m going to DC from OR for protest on April 5. We all need to do what we can!
Great turnout but still a pittance in an already Democratic state. When the online numbers are 1,230,000 I would feel more hopeful. And what is more important is getting similar numbers in GOP states like Iowa and Alabama and Montana. Then we probably have their attention.
15000 in AZ and 34000 in Denver. AZ is at least purple and so are many parts of CO. 2500 turned up in Omaha on 2/24 with hundreds more outside. And that's right across the river from Council Bluffs, IA.
But again, Arizona is a state of almost 8 million people. A really of 15,000 is pretty anemic if you are trying to change the world. It's not even 1% of the voting population.
Lemme guess.., they were'nt gifted a hunnerd-bucks or a tesla-turd to attend either. Now there's some good CONSTITUENTS. That's what we need - Support.
Nobody “mocked” Bernie Sanders. We believed, and I still do, that he couldn’t win a presidential election and wouldn’t be a an effective president if he did. It takes more, a lot more, than good ideas to succeed as president.
We need good people like Bernie and AOC and Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy et al in Congress. Remember Congress? That’s what the framers intended to be the seat of government power. Republicans have ceded that power to the Musk/Trump junta. Bernie Sanders is much more effective bringing his ideas, most of which I heartily agree with, directly to the voters, all of whom will be mightily motivated to get to the polls in the upcoming congressional midterm elections in 2026. Maybe then we can begin to move political power back where it belongs; in Congress.
I didn’t intend to be so long-winded. I love Bernie Sanders; now more than ever. I would never mock him.
I do hope Bernie and AOC et alii can bring out more of the voters who are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the election result, and more of the voters who thought their votes would not count. If we get enough people out in the streets, perhaps the Republicans (who have the power not just to do the job of Congress, but to impeach and convict the menace) will recognize their responsibility. But I won't bet lunch on it happening before the critical mass is reached and the war starts.
AOC is really appealing to the average Joe, using her own lived experience as a waitress and cleaner to get her through school, not to mention her struggles as a Latino woman. The turnout to these rallies is very hopeful.
Good bartenders (AOC) pay attention to patrons, and learn a lot. Poor bartenders (Schumer) ignore their patrons (constituents)) and then wonder why they aren't getting tips (votes).
One might argue that growing up in a castle with a golden spoon is not great preparation for understanding and resonating with the struggles of common folk. It does not entirely rule it out, but it seems a whole lot less likely.
“Homeless is a misnomer. It implies that someone got a little bit behind on their mortgage, and if you just gave them a job, they’d be back on their feet,” he told former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson in October. “What you actually have are violent drug zombies with dead eyes, and needles and human feces on the street.” - Elon Musk
“The more homeless there are, the more money these organizations get, so their incentive is to increase, not decrease, homelessness!” -Elon Musk
She is bright and articulate. But don't underestimate Jeffries. Remember, slow talking John Lewis? I won't comment on Schumer. But he does bring in the money. And money, as everyone is learning, is the "milk" of politics.
Money is what is destroying our country right now! Bernie and AOC are right. We need to have public funding of campaigns and the campaign season should be much shorter like they do in the UK. This constant horse race bullshit is exhausting and a waste of money. There should not be of any campaigning allowed until three months before an election And only publicly financed. All the corruption we’re seeing right now is because of that disgusting citizens united Bill that the criminals at the Supreme Court passed.
And with a shorter campaign season, they'd be forced to actually articulate policy with details, evidence and data, instead of disordered ramblings, superficial charm and displaying narcissism in moderation.
Would that be 3 months before the Primaries? I agree that we subjected to too much campaigning. Now the campaign begins immediately after the victory is confirmed. I would like to see more discussion about this idea.
Exactly, that’s right. I lived in Germany and, indeed, for a few weeks before the national elections, there were campaign signs everywhere, and then the election came and went, and it was all over. The whole Spiel was so much simpler and money and corruption were mostly kept out of the process. The way it’s done here is totally exhausting and by now pretty rife with corruption, unfortunately, it seems.
"Everybody wants to be on all the committees, so you have your staffs doing all the work, because you can't keep up. But the main culprit, the cancer on the body politic, is money: Money,money, money. When I ran 6 years ago, in 1998, I raised $8.5 million. That $8.5 million is $30,000 a week, every week, for 6 years. If you miss Christmas week, you miss New Years week, you are $100,000 in the hole and don't you think we don't know it and we start to work harder at raising money.
As a result, the Senate doesn't work on Mondays and Fridays. We have longer holidays. The policy committee is adjourned and we go over to the campaign building because you can't call for money in the office. So we go over to the building and call for money and obviously we only can give attention to that. We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers." - Fritz Hollings
Criminal whose appointment was shepherded by those who weld enormous wealth. The constitutional grounds for buying elections and legislation alleged to be universal guarantees of free speech; the more you can pay the more free speech you get. Too bad if you can't afford it.
Hakeem Jeffries is a fine person. He is, however, ill suited for this moment. There is little fire and he has failed to pull his coalition together. Auction paddles at SOTU? Embarrassing.
Agreed, Barbara. Although I didn't watch it, I think the Dem seats in the chamber should have either been filled with a rousing chorus shouting "Lies!" at every opportunity, or left empty if they couldn't bring themselves to it. Their silence (for nearly 100% of the party) is deafening.
lauriemcf, I agree that AOC is an outstanding spokesperson for her party and is deeply motivated to be a true public servant. But I can't agree with your assessment of Jeffries. He is articulate, but does not have the "firebrand" persona. That doesn't make him a poor communicator. He appeals to a different type of audience.
More importantly, being an effective leader of legislators doesn't involve dazzling speaking skills. It requires the ability to corral and motivate a bunch of people with differing priorities and sidestep the landmines set by the opposing party. Nancy Pelosi wasn't a scintillating public speaker, but she "got shit done." Jeffries has that potential, if he ever gets the chance.
Laurie, I love AOC, hope she primaries Schumer. Her communication skills are very effective at reaching up and down the social strata. Jeffries' oratorical skills are nearly like those of a rapper minister, but I haven't heard much from him lately. Someone should do a wellness check on the Dem leadership.
lauriemcf -- IMO, AOC is indeed really bright, and she's a woman. I'm also a huge fan of Hakeem Jeffries, who I experience as [also] highly articulate and otherwise hard to characterize. Sen. Schumer is another story.
Yes Kazz. AOC worked her way through school. She graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in international relations and economics. Keep that 2nd sentence in mind when describing her. She's a hard and very smart worker.
I agree she is a great rallying point. But be careful not to delude yourself into thinking that kind of backing translates into electability across this wide diverse nation. We aren't there yet. Sad but true.
True Jon, but there are over 100,000 elections taking place in the US this year. They are all at the local or state level. Most people hate their Republican representatives at this point. So we need the agitators out there like Bernie and AOC.
And we need to chastise Trump for not doing any rallies. At this point what is he going to say. "It's working. Project 2025 is falling into place. If only we can impeach all of the anti-Trump judges it will be smooth sailing for ending elections forever in the US."
He will only have carefully stage managed events likely with a portion of his audience vetted to ensure a big, enthusiastic reception.
Consider, too, that Trump believes he no longer has to pay much attention to his MAGA fans. As long as he can show videos of alleged criminals being deported they are happy.
I just checked that AOC was born in NYC and is 35 years old, therefore eligible for presidency (unlike de facto president Musk). Whether she would be a good candidate or good president, don't know, but certainly very promising.
Yes, promising, but not now. Democrats need to focus now on winning. If that requires a moderate white male nominee for president, so be it. Unelected people don't have much power -- unless they're Elon Musk and the prez is Donald Trump.
Actually I think a more mainstream (ie white) candidate might have helped in 2024, but more importantly someone not tied to Biden. There are a lot of "if onlys" from 2024. I always thought the best candidate would have been Gretchen Whitmer but once Biden resisted getting out of the race immediately (as he should have in early 2024) the damage was probably done.
I’m starting to think this whole shit show had to play out to make much needed change. To get not only Americans, but the whole global community to wake the f**ck up to oligarchical authoritarianism and realise ‘power of the people’.
Unless and until millions of American misogynists die off, she couldn't be elected to the White House, no matter how "ready" she might be. Maybe in 50 years. Maybe.
Ain't holding my breath. If the resumes of Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris were not enough to get elected against the bloviating diaper wearer, we are a llooooonnnnnggg way off.
Spot on, Ally. My feeling as well. But as I've said many times before, I think it's going to take a worldful of hurt among our population before a majority of survivors awake from the near-fatal fever of maga-ism and begin to restore the country to the progressive path of democracy. And that's sad.
But Kazz, are they listening to that song on their way to and from work, or are they listening to right wing talk radio? (I'm referring generally to the younger males in our population.) I fear the propagation of right wing blather in workplace conversations, while fewer are talking about the policies that are now destroying their lives as well as those of the rest of us.
You’re right Doug, this is where the trade unions need to get on board. To raise awareness around job insecurity and sub-par working conditions from DEI culls and the inevitable trump recession rearing it’s head.
I love Bernie, but AOC’s charm is lost on me. I find her embarrassing. Regardless of personal reactions, surely one of the lessons we should have learned is that at least half the country is not ready for progressive policies, more if you include large numbers of Democrats. That may be lamentable, but if there is a hope of returning to sound, long-term environmental, foreign policy and social policies the Democratic party has to appeal to a wide range of voters.
I attended a talk by Jefferson Cowie this week, with my book club on his book Freedom's Dominion. He is saying that for someone to win they need to have a populist agenda. Here is a piece I wrote about it.
"Politics needs to reflect the will of the people." That's it in a nutshell. Thank you, Linda. That is what democracy is.
I especially like your last paragraph: "In order for them to trust the party, people need to hear that the Democratic party is more concerned about people having food on their table and being able to pay their bills than whether they are saying the correct things all the time. I think a piece that Cowie did not mention, but is critical, is to take on campaign finance reform. For the Democratic party to transform, Democrats need to listen to people and figure out how to address their problems. Whether or not the party heeds Cowie's advice and turns to a populist message, the party must rethink what it stands for and what it can do for people."
Anne's comment is spot on. Democrats need to focus on kitchen-table issues -- getting jobs, paying for food and buying houses, as examples. The other issues are legitimate but focus on a tiny portion of the populace. Paying for food, etc., is a critical issue for all people, straight or gay, male or female.
I have seen only slight evidence of that yet. The entire GOP in Congress is still wrapped up in the victory. There are a few chinks in the armor starting to show but I think we are in for a fairly long row to hoe before we get there.
Yesterday Heather documented that Mike Turner (R.AL) and Roger Wicker (R. MS) complained about National Security. Lots more have called Trump a liar on Putin/Ukraine. I published the letter I got from Rick Scott. Thom Tillis. Murkowski. Many more.
They are still Republicans. The main issue is National Security. Jerry Weiss has identified a number fof candidates and we have 3 Cuban American MAGATs here who have recently discovered they are DEI and many of their donors and consituents are upset. We have more Canadians here that some Canadian provinces -- most with dual citizenship.
Hoefully behind the scenes there is discussion about shared government. Only takes 3 in the House. Hakim Jeffries can offer chairmanships of key committees to Republicans.
I think that could happen someday but not yet. Politics is all about timing and while this is a terrible time for us all, I think it is premature to expect a serious turnabout even in the House. Trump needs to do something REALLY egregious (as if what he had done so far isn't enough, but I think it isn't). If he seriously capitulates on Ukraine to Russia that might be enough (how could even "little" Marco go along with that?) That might be the turning point for the staunchest be line GOP, enough to retake the House maybe even the Senate
But so far Trump has been skating a fine line. Not totally giving in to Putin but keeping Zelenskyy on guard. What he isn't reckoning with is that NATO and Europe are getting tired of the Trump nonsense and may just dump the him.
You must not know many Republicans. Anything for power. A chairmanship is mighty appetising.
Little Marco is the automoton of Norman Braman. He is also funded by CANF -- and they are having an attitude adjustment. They discovered they are DEI and reject alliance as an ally of Cuban Communism.
One of our local House MAGATS was a Dem mayor until 2020. Was an HRC supporter in 2016.
I listed those who say they want to work with Democrats below.
Journalist Cathy Young writes on The Bulwark about Ukraine. Poll numbers say that 60% of Americans distrust Putin and support Ukraine, she reports. This is a great subject to keep in the spotlight. My representatives are all Republican, and at least two of the three have publicly supported Ukraine. I call and thank them. The third - I just ask him to support Ukraine.
A year ago I visited Charleston, SC, bastion of Republicanism. Throughout the old French Quarter, there were Ukraine flags flying outside of homes and commercial buildings. I think MAGAts need reminding that Russia is the enemy, not Ukraine.
Thom Tillis is my Senator, and I call him every day at 2 offices to thank him for his public support for Ukraine. I think good self-care is the first priority and calls to our representatives is the next.
I agree, and I've said this before, but I think Bernie has always known that he can't win a presidential election. But Bernie is a smart guy, and he knows how to make himself heard. I reiterate.......no one has moved the political rhetoric more in the last 10 years than Bernie Sanders. He is brilliant, and passionate. Love the guy.
Bob, Yes, Bernie is a smart guy but he showed poor leadership after Hillary beat him in the 2016 primaries. My fellow Wisconsin Democrats have not forgotten how his followers acted at the national DEM convention and certainly haven’t forgotten how a shocking number of his followers (“Bernie Bros”) stayed home and refuse to vote for Hillary — allowing Trump to win our state in 2016.
I suppose that's true, but he's not a democrat. I'm not aware of how he, personally, acted. I've never seen anything from him that I thought was inappropriate. As for the "Bernie Bros", they are free to do whatever they like, and after all, we were all "sure" that Hillary was going to win. Not to belabor the point, but there were rumors of shenanigans from the Clinton campaign to discredit Bernie as well.
Hillary's assumption that she was entitled to be president and would of course win was a major problem. Plus, she's a lousy campaigner, the polar opposite of her husband.
What specifically is that shocking number and who recorded it?
I know that there are always some that only see the small picture, but how representative are they of a whole campaign? I was a Sanders alternate delegate and I supported and voted for Hillary Clinton once she was the nominee, despite having gripes about Sander's treatment, which I could detail. It seems to me that Sanders and so far as I know, the preponderance of his following, helps, not hurts the Democrats agendas, at least over all.
Great post Ralph. I too love Bernie and AOC but I also agree that Bernie could never be elected. He is to be fair "an old commie jew" ( as am I by the way and proud of it!) But sadly in this country that makes him virtually unelectable nationwide as a President no matter how great he might turn out.
And as I have said before AOC is simply not mature enough as a leader to be a president. I am not sure she could be elected Senator in her home state of New York. Maybe in 6-8 years, yes. But not yet.
All that said they are great legislators and advocates for our cause and I continue to support them both in their efforts to shine the light on the Trump terror emanating from DC.
I would TOO of course but it's also necessary to face the political realities in NY (and anywhere). New York is really two completely different places: NYC and New York state (and part of NYC, i.e., Staten Island doesn't really count!)
AOC could easily get elected Senator from NYC but unfortunately there is the pesky reality that NYC doesn't get their own Senator. And she is at best a 50-50 shot at getting elected Senator in NY State possibly less than that.
There are other states where getting elected to Congress in a major district would practically pave the road for you to the Senate but unfortunately NY is NOT one of those states.
Someday I think she will make it and maybe even the White House but sadly not this decade. And I want her to hold her Congressional seat and not sacrifice it like California's Katie porter did when she took on Adam Schiff for Senator. That was a tragic House loss for the Democrats. And the same problem too.
Schiff had 20 years in Congress and Porter, a bright progressive woman had only 2 terms. Anyone with any sense could see that she was heading uphill. It's one thing to go uphill against a monster but Schiff was a liberal hero.
Katie had no chance and I fear AOC needs more time to be ready to fight for av Senate seat let alone the Presidency no matter how much she could handle it. We allk know Harris would have made a terrific President but she had to win first.
I do use care. It is a common expression and MOST people understand that it is an expression of speech not to be taken literally. It means "most of us should know".
But my apologies I will try to be more careful. It is funny that you picked out almost the very last thing I wrote in a relatively long comment so can we agree that most of what I wrote is good?
Dude, get over yourself. Did you see the quote marks around the expression "old commie Jew"? It is NOT a literal statement of fact, it is a representation of what the opposition thinks of him.
THIS o them he is OLD (totally true), he is Jewish (also totally true) and a "commie" in the same way that 1950s Joe Mc Carathy supporters called ANYONE who was to the left of Attilla the Hun a "commie".
The point is that Bernie, whatever you call him, is WAY to the left of mainstream America. He never had any real serious chance of being elected President and he stillo doesn't. If we couldn't get Harris elected, Bernie isn't even on the road map.
But I LOVE the guy and I hope he keeps doing what he is doing because it is a rallying point for the people. And we need that right now.
Just don't get confused between someone who can help us win and someone who can win himself. He is the former, not the latter.
Apologies, I was reminded of when, during the 2015 primary race, my right-wing brother-in-law asked me if Bernie Sanders is the same kind of communist as Hitler. I guess I'm just sensitive to feeding the right-wing propensity to label every liberal as a communist. My experience with right-wingers is that most of them don't know the difference between a communist and a fascist. They don't realize that they are now fascists.
Well said MS. Furthermore and a thing that unfairly bias' some people is that even if he were a raging communist, we have two other branches and the constitution to tame any wayward policy leanings by only the executive branch. Congress makes all law, departments, etc., in harmony with the constitution - if not, the judiciary steps on it.
"Even if he were a raging communist, we have two other branches of government... to take any wayward policy leanings."
I am assuming this was an attempt at political humor, right? Be cause if you were serious, have you noticed how effective those other two branches are right now when we need them? The judiciary is trying but Congress is totally under the thumb of Trump.
The Democrats made a huge mistake by not allowing a chance Bernie to get on the ticket. I know he has been an independent and not a Democrat, but people were excited about him. He has ideas. I think he would be an effective leader. I mean, let’s face it, Obama, charismatic and intelligent and graceful as he is Was behind the learning curve when he took office. And look how he compromised with the Republicans immediately that was not exactly a wise strategy. So I think the Democrats really screwed up back in 2016 and here we are…
Terry: the *Dems* screwed up in 2016? No, I believe we ran the right candidate. I know it's all woulda coulda shoulda, but let's blame Comey for his public announcement that the FBI was reopening the email investigation, what, a week or 2 before the election? And let's also remember that she won the popular vote, in spite of that.
I think you have forgotten who ran in and who won the 2016 election. Sanders never ran against Obama in primaries; that was Clinton and it was 2008. It was likewise Clinton who was the nominee in 2016. Furthermore, much as Sanders has very good ideas, he’s not even an effective Senator. Of all the 421 bills he has sponsored, only 3 have become law. I don’t know how anyone could think he would be an effective president, despite his ideas, given his performance as a senator. I think he’s doing a great job as our moral compass and teaming up with AOC is wonderful. This is where he is at his most effective.
In an election between far-right (Agent Orange) and far-left (Bernie) I bet a lot of voters would swing left. The people who really hate Bernie are the billionaires on both sides of the aisle. But his message and his crowds would have defeated both Hillary (who would have made a fantastic president) and Orange.
Many democracies have more than 2 parties and some have coalition governments. A third party could be a path to an effective government. I know I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...
I have very mixed feelings about a third party or having parties at all, at least the way we do them. Canada has more than one party and got stuck with Republican-like Stephen Harper for nine years. Dunno if it's true, but my politically plugged in Canadian son-in-law claims that the majority of Canadians disliked Harper, but because they could not come together to oppose him, he stayed a long time. I recall that Harper really loathed environmental protection.
Dream on! It's one way to attack our political nightmare, but until we eliminate money in our elections, the oligarchs will cling to the current two-party system. Money is unable to feel compassion or seek justice. "Citizens United" is really "End Democracy Now".
I think it is clear that having a hell of a lot of money in this country allows one to veto the will of a whole lot of people. I have thought of this every time the MSM says that a popular policy is blocked (with seemingly no chance of advancing) by a "powerful lobby". Musk did not invent Tesla. He took it over because he has a whole lot of money.
The kids (youth) certainly seemed to like him. They were all kinds of PO'd when it was intimated that the dem party pulled one over on him. And yet, he sticks with and votes with them. Gotta' love that.
Ralph, agreed about Bernie & AOC, however, we HAD excellent candidates in Harris/Walz whom we let slip through the cracks of a VERY suspect election with all 7 swing states showing dramatic similarities in their statistical "winning margins” all with just enough of a margin to avoid recounts and all with dramatic down-ballot “drop-off” showing only the Republican presidential candidate winning with remaining candidates for other offices from the Democrats winning.
Millions really did vote for Trump/Vance. In a nation of rational, knowledgeable citizens neither one of those two would be elected dog catcher. We live in a nation where a large plurality of voters have willingly let themselves be turned into political idiots. Turning back that tide is going to be tough, painful, and maybe bloody.
The masculinity and misogyny has turned young men into whining fools because they don’t want to work hard, can’t seem to have relationships with women so ran to vote for the rapists and his sidekick who denigrates women every chance he gets. Even Musk can’t maintain a relationship and has somehow managed to father 13+ children. How many abortions and unknown little Musks are out there.
Thank goodness my grandson learned respect at home.
Ralph, ‘twould seem “we” need to get as effective as the Republicans at using/diverting the legal process, the machinery of voting, gerrymandering and countering voter suppression. "They” have mastered these tools since at least Bush V Gore in 2000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_v._Gore
Jonathan, let's hope we survive the next 20 months until the 2026 election, and 2 years after that one before speculating about 2036. But if we do, and she runs, I hope I'm still around to vote for her.
Some of us weren't wild about his tolerance of misogyny either, but he did get better after 2016 -- probably thanks in large part to his female supporters like AOC.
Ralph, I agree with much that Bernie has advocated for a very long time. And i agree that he is very effective on the stump speaking to voters. I also am a pragmatic person and I know that progress in our system can be very slow which is why I have sometimes held my nose to vote for certain Ds because their R counterparts were/are much worse. I hope that somehow we can right the ship despite death star and muskrat making huge holes in it and loading it with rocks. I am truly surprised at some of the R statements around Social Security especially when they come out of the mouth of a billionaire. For the first time I wanted to know if my SS check had been deposited. We also got our federal tax return check.
One thing that I deeply appreciate about Bernie besides his guts, is that he never wavers. He is on the side he's on without reservation and hasn't changed.
And if they they hold their rallies on a slow news day, ABC, NBC, CBS, NYTimes, The WAPO, might do a two minute story buried in their newscasts/papers somewhere.
Ralph, I’m not trying to be oppositional, I’m just concerned about the integrity of the election in 2026. Please tell me I’ just overreacting to the voter suppression. Does anyone else feel the same? I really could use some hope. Can we overturn this mess? I live in deeply red and gerrymandered Florida. I don’t want to discuss SS. Like most retired Americans, I worked all my life and saved, my husband and I count on it to pay the bills.
Phyllis, I share your concerns about the legitimacy of the 2026 elections. We can hope that there are enough votes for Democratic candidates to overcome Republican shenanigans.
Many self-identified Democrats have, even blaming him for Hillary Clinton's loss. Hillary herself criticized Bernie's position on campaign spending. I don't know if Bernie could have handled the presidency of not. I don't think anyone can, and do a good job of it without enough of the public essentially on board, and at least in the primary, Sanders was puling some good numbers. His great nemesis was the "Superdelegates"; but had he succeeded in being elected could he been an effective leader? I can't say for sure either way. I'm not always on the same page with him, but I think he has some clarity. Whatever the case, I have observed the influence of the Democratic Party sliding for decades, and believed that there was more that could be done about it. If you keep losing ground you would surely be wise to examine your strategy.
The warping of society and the democratic process by very big money is a very big deal, and by now, it isn't subtle. Sen. Hollings let the cat out of the bag long ago, but that was in the news for like a day:
"But the main culprit, the cancer on the body politic, is money: Money, money, money... We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers. Somebody ought to tell the truth about that."
Spot on JL. It's the money; it's corrupted a percentage within the dem party, without a doubt. I think that is part of the reason for so much inaction by them. I also think the gop is holding some truths above their heads, such as 'who' dipped into the SS Trust, and who approved of costly overseas wars. And more; more that is specific and personal, so their re-election would be at stake.
Bernie was sabotaged by the Dem party leadership. Bernie has given talks at conservative gatherings where he was applauded. What he speaks of are basic universal goals of ordinary people. All of his points are in use in countries today and some have been in practice in the US before.
"Bernie was sabotaged by the Dem party leadership."
You make it appear as if Sanders was a lifelong Democrat. He wasn't. He remained aloof and apart from the party until he used the Democratic Party as a useful stepping stone. The Democratic Party owed him nothing, but still they welcomed him in. Maybe if he had paid half the party dues Clinton had paid her whole career, the Dems might have been more helpful. Sanders' tepid endorsement of Clinton after she won the nomination illustrates that he was not a true Democrat; merely an opportunist and, in the end, a spoiler who helped Donald Trump get into the White House. How different the world would be now if.....
I heartily disagree that Bernie has been unelectable. That was a bullshit trope that the mainstream millionaire Democrat establishment put across to give us Hillary. People wanted change in 2016 and that is why we got Trump. Hillary represented the status quo, Bernie had substantial popular groundswell. The time of “moderates” has past. Change is on the horizon.
Mocking him about the money in politics? If there is a problem you can bet your bottom dollar money is at the root. Law firms, universities, businesses all caving to trump's demands, why? Can you say MONEY? The country has been taken over by oligarchs, what are oligarchs? Can you say MONEY? Did the SC give MONEY the protection of the 1st Amendment? Tell me how money does not = power, i.e. the power to corrupt. As in the corruption of too many politicians.
A-friggin'-men!! After living and working in Europe for nearly 20 years and moving back to the US in 2005, one of THE things that absolutely became apparent to me was how much the country had changed in the interim with regard to the obsession with money. It permeated everything, it seemed. Of course, that's not to say that mentality doesn't similarly exist in Europe—I lived in The Netherlands and they are famous for their, um, "frugality"—but returning here I was struck with the pervasiveness of this attitude, obsession even, everywhere you turned of making money at all costs. It was ALWAYS the bottom line and there was no subtlety about it. It's one of those things that one could only notice after spending a number of years away from a place—kind of like every time I'd return to the US to visit, maybe once a year, that's when I began to really notice how my parents were aging. When you're around it all the time you don't take as much notice of it. Go away for like 20 years and come back and, a la Rip van Winkle, you get a real sense of how much things can change.
The two things you mentioned—the caving in to Trump of Columbia U. and the high-powered law firm yesterday—really showed how money can seemingly compromise anyone's ethics. Everybody seems to have their price, and ruthless, predatory capitalists like Trump know exactly how to use that power. One really can't fault Columbia for failing to turn their nose up at $400 million in grants. That's a LOT of funding for very valuable research. It just sucks that jerks like Trump can be in positions where they can extort favors from people, political ones in this case, and make them fall in line all for the price of a dollar.
Everyone has a price—that’s the not-so-secret of the con.
Have you ever imagined yourself in a situation where you had to choose between taking a 'life-changing sum of money' in exchange for… *you fill in the blank*? A moment where the offer on the table could alter your future, tempting you to compromise something you once thought was non-negotiable?
In the end, it all comes down to one thing—something in dangerously short supply these days: INTEGRITY!
Agree. Columbia U would have survived without the $400 million and law firm Paul Weiss can easily provide $40 million in pro bono work -- but for Trump? Principle went out the window in both cases.
Columbia seemed to fold pretty quick. I am unaware if Columbia tried any legal appeals. A whole lot of outfits have seemed only too eager to sell out human rights responsibilities.
Money is one of the most powerful forms of power. If you pay enough money you can find someone who will do just about anything for you. Even illegal things. Even really terrible things. The more corrupt a society is the more interchangeable the power of money with political power. With enough corruption, you can add physical and other forms of violence to the mix.
The Bible claims that "the lover of money" is the "root of all evil", or some say just "many evils". That pretty much fits for me if you consider "love of money" to be obsessive. You'd sell your grandmother for financial advantage. I think Trump would.
Whereas the republicans are intent on getting every last penny they can pilfer outta the remains of the federal government in preparation to sell it for scrap.
Many Republicans want to privatize literally everything, including, explicitly, public roads, public schools, public parks, even police, firefighting, and the military, so someone can extract profit from it. They would privatize the air we breathe if they could figure out a way to fence it off. I recall the reasoning of a red state (I forget which one) that outlawed municipal public internet was it was unfair competition for profit makers. I really love free enterprise for the goods and services it is suited to providing, but some services are too vital and some powers too dangerous to be entrusted to profit-making calculations away from public supervision and control. The invading British put a tax on salt no matter how acquired. That became a key issue driving Indian independence.
"You will find that all the arguments in favor of king-craft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden. That is their argument, and this argument of the Judge is the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it." - Lincoln
I always laugh when I read that some candidate (especially for president) is lauded for being a good business person. Business and government are two totally different entities with polar opposite goals.
I think there may be some legitimate areas of overlap, but yes, very different missions and responsibilities. I think business interests encourage the public to conflate the two.
Overlap indeed: intelligence, collegiality, management skills and that sort of thing. But the goals and motivations, I think, are different. I've worked for both. I don't want to say one is "better" than the other, but they are different.
One thing that has held the Democratic back since the 2016 election is the incessant division over Bernie Sanders. The drum beat of resentment from Progressives concerning Bernie has simply got to stop. It has been 9 years. Let it go. We have much work to do.
While we complain about Bernie and AOC, they are the duo that started the public popular resistance against the regime. Fortunately some other leaders are following and we have to recognize them as the initiators and pay some respect by showing an United Front and stop the drum beat you are talking about Barbara.
I think we are pulling together now. I think also that the drum beat stopped already and people recognize the situation is to serious to keep playing the blame game. Hope you didn't get me wrong.
Thank you for the clarification. Even Dr. Richardson stated one month ago that we are in a coup. It greatly disturbs me when I see more ruminations on stuff that has already happened instead of actions we can take now.
One of the advantages of human consciousness is the ability to learn from the past. What if Sanders was correct about the need to focus on misuses of money? Maybe he is not. We still get to talk about it, which is crucial to functioning self-governance, and I believe, to making wise choices. It is expected that people will disagree in courts, and in the halls of Congress, so long as they do so in good faith. So long as there is a bottom line of solidarity, of common interests and mutual respect. Solidarity enables diversity and diversity is essential to liberty, along with accepting individual responsibilities. That makes democracy "messy" (but worth it).
Sanders may differ in his priorities with some other liberals, but yet he is on the team. He ran against Clinton but supported the party in the end, as have I. That said, it's not the Democratic Part I feel loyalty to (though I have been a registered Democrat my whole voting life) but to the principles they champion, as compared to the abandonment of good faith by the "GOP".
Barbara, i understand that Bern is not the answer for 2028, but i think the lesson needs to be spoken. Hillary was a democratic mistake in 2026. People wanted change, not more of the same. Change is why we got trump in a populist uprising. Bernie represented change in a progressive direction, he spoke for the people. I as well as many others believe he would have won the 2016 election. There is a lesson there that we should not forget or ignore. Just my opinion.
It's hard to completely understand all that contributed to Trump's victory. I think the most tragic mistake is the "Electoral College" since the entire nation is the constituency of the president and VP. I want to see Democrats take a stronger and more explicit stand on democratic principles, liberty and justice literally for all. I wrote to my members of Congress yesterday, and always have to select from a list of "issues" that typically oblique to my concern. I think perhaps our insistence on packaging matters as discrete "issues". Some people announced they would not vote because the felt their primary "Issue" was not honored. What about our 'values"? Even when life presents unappealing alternatives, which portends the most good and the least harm?
I hear you Barbara, i am interested in your opinions and thoughts. I want positive and intelligent discourse. I do some small part in communicating with my community and financial support of causes supporting democracy. I am rather surprised that you are throwing darts at me as response to a respectful comment that I believe. Seems uncharacteristic? I am sorry to raise your ire. Apologies.
I am not angry. I promote activism. I am desperate to promote activism in the face of a coup d'etat. We are hanging by a thread for our Democracy. You realize the Sanders discussion is 9 years old. You realize people have been hating on and analyzing trump for also 9 years. We lost the 2024 election. Let's move on. I have seen too many long, long, long discussions on forums. It worries me. I promote doing more and talking less. We must hit the streets, not sit at our keyboards.
Did you look at the link I posted?
If you really want to hear my thoughts and opinions I will be glad to send you links for marches, writing Congress and other opportunities.
Yes Barbara, i know that 2016 was 9 years ago. I am not promoting the idea of a Sanders campaign. But i am commenting on the loss of the 2024 election. Not sexism, not racism although the themes were prevalent. The loss of both of those elections were a failure of the democratic leadership to not stuff the status quo down our throats. People want change. Bernie and AOC are speaking to that change. The dems have failed to show us that path, which is why so many low information voters went for the Liar. I have voted democrat my whole life, but am currently researching how to change affiliation to independent. Democrats can’t keep people in their tent. That needs to be spoken. Otherwise we are yelling in a shrinking echo chamber.
on the other hand, Kamala Harris got large and enthusiastic crowds out for her campaign, too - but millions of potential voters stayed home rather than vote for a woman of color as president. So crowd size is not the only measure - though small turnouts would be worse, for sure.
Yes, many other nations have embraced or at least accepted female leaders. That "ceiling" appears to remain entrenched in the us, and yes the ethnic barrier. There were also those who vowed not to vote because of the Biden Administration's policies (which I too opposed) on Gaza. But what did they gain by that?
She did not represent change! She even said as much on a huge nationwide broadcast. Pay attention to the message. It wasn’t all racism and misogyny. WE THE PEOPLE want change in the government. We want support for labor, support for working class families. Trump fooled the low information voting masses that he was that. He did so better than Kamela in his messaging. Even if he was lying through his teeth.
Elizabeth: I second your gratitude to Dr. COX RICHARDSON. The next Democratic President will be urged to reward her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I will be the first to sign the petition
Can you imagine a mass demonstration where people not only filled the streets but also peacefully occupied interstate highways, bringing traffic to a standstill across the nation? I’m not advocating for reckless endangerment, but such an act could be carried out strategically and safely, making an undeniable statement without causing harm. That would make our anger and frustration palpable.
I love a march, or just a stationary protest. Someone in my town decided to start a protest at our courthouse. She emailed a few friends, who emailed their friends, and a few hours later there were a hundred people on the sidewalk with their quickly created signs. Leaders made a few rules - stay on the sidewalk, no rude signs, no engaging with hecklers. The attendees interviewed by our paper said they just wanted to DO something. One woman said that most of her friends were too depressed to do anything.
Many people who passed in cars honked and gave the thumbs up. We absolutely need ways to show the coup leaders that we have not given up and we need ways to keep our morale up.
Blocking critical lines of transportation is dangerous. It blocks emergency vehicles and everything else. What about a massive march on Washington though? A march of hundreds of thousands, reminiscent of the Civil Right Movement...except this is just the Rights Movement...for all people. Is anyone organizing on this scale yet? And what about sit-ins? Do those exist anymore?
It would take only 16 people to stop their cars abreast at an interchange of 6-lane highways. One car in each lane plus another to block each shoulder. Banners hung from the overpass would communicate the reason.
Quite recently a group of actual Nazis staged a demonstration like you’ve described. They all brought firearms and hung Nazi banners from the overpass. This occurred just outside DC.
What happens on highways? True, lots of shopping traffic. Even more people going to work and doing their jobs, making deliveries. You know who else uses highways? Ambulances, firemen, police, people as individuals responding to an emergency, and likely quite a few other things I’ve left out.
So how clever is it to stage mass demonstrations on a public highway?
If a permit was granted, then there would be lots of advance notice, police coordination, alternative routes provided. OK, so problem mitigated. I wonder how likely it is a permit would be granted?
Yes, Elisabeth, I join you in thanking Bernie and AOC as almost the ONLY visible Democrats making a stink. My Congress members are sending me letters telling me what they are doing on a local level to "push back" against the things that cripple our state programs, but this is a national problem. No one has yet emerged as a leader for a nationwide effort to "stop the steal." I'm hoping JB Pritzker (Illinois governor) will step up, but still so far no leader.
I place great hope in the upcoming April 5 event and wish I was able to be in the streets shouting and carrying signs. At 74 and after back surgery has weakened my legs, I won't make it standing or marching for long enough to help, but I'm willing and able to make signs for people to carry, write letters of support, and aid my fellow citizens in any way I can to further this effort. My local Indivisible organization is only available on Facebook, which I refuse to use for MANY reasons (their website appears to be inactive).
I know everyone is tired of hearing this from me, but I still have to ask why none of these people has been arrested. Is their no law enforcement agency besides the DOJ in DC? Laws are being broken, some with criminal penalties. Where are the police? OK, I'll stop beating that dead horse.
I cannot answer your last question. When reporting on the US Institute of Peace (NON government agency that Skum and his incels invaded) they called DC Police, who let the intruders in. Same agency that completely botched the January 6th crowd control response. I do not know what local law enforcement is using for brains over there, but what they are permitting to happen is unconscionable.
The laws you are suggesting they are breaking are federal laws and wpuld require arrest by the FBI or some other federal agency. The DC police arrest period for me "mundane" things like gas station robberies, etc. They do not enforce the federal laws except when they provide protection as they did on Jan6 2021 at the Capitol. However even they are representatives of the federal government and can be ordered by the President.
I am assuming you understand that no one in the federal government is going to arrest anyone else in the federal government for ostensible crimes against the federal government that Trump (or Musk) has authorized.
They are all wearing the same hats and working for the same team. And the team's "owner" has already decided that they aren't breaking any laws so there will be no arrests or prosecutions.
Thank you, Jon. That's the most cogent explanation I have had for why no arrests. Just as a thought exercise, what happens if a federal judge finds someone in criminal contempt withing the district and orders them jailed? Who would act on the order? I presume your answer is no one.
Actually it is possible (although not guaranteed) that the US Marshals office might actually act on behalf of the federal courts to arrest a fed appointee on behalf of the courts of so ordered.
They are the nominal representatives of the judiciary and most of them take that role pretty seriously. Some might ignore a judge's order if told to do so by their superiors but I expect there are some who would refuse to defy a judge's order because their training puts the judges above their superiors.
But it's uncharted territory. And what will happen like so much of what is happening today is extremely unpredictable.
I expect that is what Trump and Musk are relying on as they work their black magic to destroy the government. No one quite knows what to do because we've never seen anything like this before, at least not since the Civil War.
That's why I council readiness but NOT direct action... yet. It is quite possible that there will come a point where that will be the only (or best) option, but I think right now that point is still in the future.
It probably sounds to many like a Neville Chamberlain moment but things are very different today compared to pre WW II. The main difference is Chamberlain was dealing with an external menace and had the support of most of the countries around the world and yet he still chose to play the dupe with Hitler.
Today, our enemy is truly within and our normal allies are abandoning us in droves. We are in a much more dangerous time than pre WW II.
Thanks John. Maybe there’s something about the way popular histories are written that leave out the greater part of the turmoil, misery, uncertainty and personal cost that comes with revolutions. Even within society itself, the tendency to forget anguish and pain or at least think of it as a bad dream is most common.
History pretty clearly shows these victories are pyrrhic. All anyone wants to hear is about the victories and glories. Like an iceberg, that’s the pretty tip, a signal flag of danger. Some revolutions go on for generations. In most, a “bad guy” wins, and often that faction arose seemingly from nowhere … like a highjacking.
Bottomline, the history of arrests of people in high office anywhere is a rather thin one. It’s a very difficult and fraught road to go down.
You have hit the nail squarely on it's head. We The People are the employers of government officials starting with the president and on down.It is patently ridiculous that a plain unelected citizen and his unelected boys are taking down our Social Security administration with an unaimed wrecking ball. I will be out in the streets on April 5th to give my outrage a face as will millions of others.ENOUGH!
Elisabeth, it would seem a more accurate pronunciation of DOGE would be “Dodgy,” especially given your more accurate acronym "Destruction Of Government by Elon."
Leakers to the public are generally good. Leakers, intentional or fools, who leak to our enemies are not good. This sure the time for real whistleblowers to show their mettle.
Yes -- agree. And I hope people at the agencies are somehow archiving or taking home all the pages that are being scrubbed from websites -- they are trying to remove our history - especially history and contributions of people of color, indigenous people and the LGBTQ community and make history solely about white men. I hope someday we will have a chance to put the real history back together.
Sharlene, I have been sharing a LOT of them that are being purged from military websites. I did my due diligence on one involving Emily Perez (West Point grad, KIA in Iraq) and noted her bio was missing. I posted it, and got jumped on with both feet when my RWNJ friends found that it had been relisted. I also looked up the WASP entry; it was gone one day and back the next. It took longer for the Navajo Code Talkers to reappear, but they did too.
You are 100% correct. I monitor so that I know what the enemy is doing.
They are mostly retired cops that I worked with, and have been through numerous critical incidents with. So sad that people’s I trusted my life with do not deserve that trust.
That is very well said, lauriemcf. All totalitarian governments erase and alter history to manipulate their people.
The right-wingers have always been petty, bigoted fools easily held down by their "leaders" to disregard their best interests by using their hatred for others.
There are “leakers “ and “ whistleblowers “. And then there are ass kissers. And any grade schooler could tell you the difference. We kids called them tattle tellers or teachers’s pet who were put in their place by any competent teacher. These pathetic creatures were never rewarded for their ass kissing
Heh, well ya got me. I am 76 and it's been about 70,s years that I remember using that word. It is one sin I did not commit, but I admit to committing a bit of whistleblowing.
No teacher I ever knew ever put in place a tattle teller or teacher’s pet. I taught school for over thirty years in seven different states. There were kids who tried “ass kissing” but not generally to get others in trouble. Usually those kids were hoping for better grades for less work.
America has to waste time with the incompetent administration, the MSM not fact-checking their news, and the corruption with SCOTUS & Heritage Foundation… so we are not “Leakers”…we are mature adults who work and communicate with other colleagues- the inexperienced cabinet hasn’t done the daily workload TO DO JOB SCHEDULES, to earn their weekly paycheck, so since Jan 20, 2025…it’s like third graders running our INSTITUTIONS. No wonder Asia and Europe are ahead of us, since Trump and Project 2025 took over the Government.
from Dr Bandy X Lee’s Substack today -
“Structural violence, or inequality, aligns with individuals who seek positions of leadership for their power and influence, rather than their capacity to serve society or humanity. Over time, personal ambition becomes a dominant motivator for pursuing leadership, eclipsing any sense of collective responsibility (Mills, 2000). Psychologically, positions of power are increasingly seen as a means of assuaging and overcoming feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy, shifting from a duty to an entitlement (Foucault, 1977). This dynamic is especially compelling for those who are psychologically-disordered, making leadership roles disproportionately attractive to those with a need to assert dominance. This self-selection process overrides existing mechanisms for screening or accountability, leading to the emergence of unfit “leaders”—those who are corrupt, manipulative, or willing to do anything to rise to the top. Unfit “leaders” by definition worsen the society through incompetence and poor governance, but because they view their positions of power differently from the very beginning, they will respond to criticisms with defensiveness, reinforcing rather than addressing the systemic inequalities that allowed them to rise (Ferguson, 2013).”
May I suggest, read Carlyn Beccia's Medium post - Most of her family are ardent MAGAS - and as she says, it's got nothing to do with the economy.
"The grievances aren’t about GDP, unemployment rates, or the price of eggs. They’re about identity, recognition, and a visceral need to reclaim a sense of power in a world that seems increasingly indifferent, especially to white men."
Nothing so fragile as an mediocre white man. I am very lucky to have some in my life who are incredibly supportive (including two current and one former band directors of mine.)
JD, I am with you. White men and their female enablers and apologists need to get over themselves. I know that 2000 years of white supremacy in the west is hard to reverse, but even the Romans didn't think that skin color meant anything--although their misogyny was epic. The grievances of privileged people that their privileges are being taken away (which is not the case, as this is not pie) should be a subject for ridicule. And if the little snowflakes complain? I have all kinds of rehab therapies to offer them: like removing their access to their privilege for a time so that they can experience the "reality-based" world for once; making men experience what being female is like in this world; scaring the crap out of them in the way that women and BIPOC people experience every damn day. And yes: I am so done with this. Time. Is. Up.
I understand your sentiments, truly do. However if we demonize white men, we are kicking a big voter block out of our camp. Listen to Adam Kinzinger on this topic. We can’t afford to alienate anyone. White men are ALSO suffering in these times. Although many ( but not all) the perpetrators are SWM , the majority of white males are just Americans struggling to survive. Bring those people in to the fight.
No one is keeping them out of the fight. It's up to them to see how OTHER people are struggling to survive, just as they are, but with the added baggage of NOT being a white male. I don't know how many times I hear that it is Black women who "save" the Democratic party. I'm not a Black woman, but I honor their efforts to make the Democratic party "do the right thing". It's time for ALL men to see the "donkey work" women do. Watching the Republican slash through social programs that help families survive/thrive and not realizing how that impacts women is a damn shame. Women help their families financially while also raising children and taking care of elderly parents or handicapped relatives. A majority of women live in poverty with their children, and then in their old age. If we sound pissed off about all of that and then white males feel threatened, that is one added burden...don't make white males feel threatened. Keep everyone happy. Damn, Spanky. Put one more stick on the camel's back. I understand YOUR sentiments, I truly do, however.
My comment is purely about keeping the tent open and with room for everyone. I am in no way diminishing the hardship of women or black and brown people. I live in a multiracial family. However on this thread folks tend to generalize that all white men are privileged. This is not the case. One of the reasons we lost many votes from young men is that they felt that democrats were not speaking up for their own struggles. Suicide amongst young white men is skyrocketing, substance abuse and unemployment. Loneliness is at an all time high. Yes, the perpetrators are mostly SWM, but they are only a few in number. This is class warfare, more than it is racial or gender driven…
I recommend reading Jefferson Cowie's Freedom's Dominion too. It is tracing the White backlash to Reconstruction periods where Blacks gain voting rights, like after the Civil war. The Whites call their backlash Redemption, and have an idea of Freedom that places them at the top. I wrote a piece about a lecture Cowie gave this week that talks about this in context of the current election where he talks about populists winning the presidency, but explains it as either left or right.
I think the biggest divide in America is not the left vs. the right but up vs. down, the rich vs the rest of us. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote and spoke about this.
And that is exactly as planned by the GOP and MAGA, and propagandized on Fox… distract and get folks angry about the “culture wars” so that they don’t vote in their own economic interests. Sadly, it worked very well, especially with those who are less well educated. Perhaps when they stop getting their Social Security, Medicare, ACA, and farm aid they will wake up from their trance… but maybe not.
I don’t feel sorry for white males and their pity party. Not one bit. The fathers of them worked very hard to get ahead, and support their families. They were drafted and fought wars.
Yes, and did the hard work of unionizing (not going to leave women out of that fight, either) in order to improve their lot in life and not be worked to death and then thrown on the dung heap. We have take all of this for granted. Those who do not see that men and women who were not white fought the same battles with the added burden of NOT being white.
Here seems to be an appropriate place to note that since the origins of humanity, patriarchy has been almost universal as a social structure. Additionally, Caucasian men have always been a small minority of the entire global population, and have been physically weaker than men with elevated dermal melanin. This probably accounts for white men's inherently fragile egos and perpetual need to feel superior to others.
And might I note that once those white men eliminate all people of color and LGBT+ and people with disabilities and most women (who think for themselves and see through those men) they will be alone in the world as they cannot reproduce alone!
So true, JaKsaa; what you say is also true for the military and law enforcement; they were represented at the J6 insurrection and support the demise of our democracy.
I find hope when I hear that Republicans Congressfolk are sometimes speaking up. I have decided that when I hear of it (eg Wicker and Murkowski) I will call and politely thank them for the specific action they took. I hope this will demonstrate that they will have support if they are brave enough to withstand Musk’s threats. We only need to change the minds of 3 R House members and 8 R Senators to be able to effect an impeachment….
If only a few Republicans try to pull support from Trump, they will be ruined by social media. It has to be a large amount so large that Trump can’t ruin them.
You are correct about the house but in the Senate to convict we would need 67 votes (2/3) and right now we Dems good only 47 seats. By my count that means we need 20 R senators to actually get a conviction.
Nice idea but virtually impossible to actually happen. Add to that that even if it happened, JD Vance would become President, I wish we wouldn't waste our valuable time with things that won't do anything except rile up the masses.
This is why I have urged that impeachment is a waste of time.
But JD is not the cult leader. He wouldn't be able to carry it off and we might have a better chance at righting the ship. If you're hit by a gust of wind, your sailboat will heel (lean) way over. Release the main sheet (line holding in the sail), the sail will dump the wind and the boat will come upright again. Perhaps not the best metaphor but we are sheeted in too tightly and in danger of capsizing.
The problem with JD Vance is that he is owned pretty much lock stock and barrel by billionaire Peter Thiel and it doesn't matter what he can or can't do. Peter will dress him up and sell him like Lays potato chips.
Also as we almost all know, Trump is a bit of a wild card. He will tack at a hint of a change in the wind. Vance is way more predictable and controllable. That means he is LESS likely to just make his own decision on important issues. He will just ask Thiel which way to jump and how high
It should never be forgotten that Vance's daddy, Peter Thiel, is influenced by and allied with Curtis Yarvin, who is one creepy supervillain. The vilest fictional dystopias don't compare with Yarvin's actual designs.
Much of what comes out of Vance's mouth smells of the Yarvin stench.
Jane's suggestion may not help toward impeachment but that's an end game and there are many baby steps to stopping this madness and her suggestion is worthy in this regard. IMO
Jon, I often don't agree with your comments (not to say that I DISagree), but on the matter of impeachment chatter, I agree.
If someone wants to spend their own time daydreaming of Trump's impeachment, or raising unicorns, or having supernatural powers, they should be free to do so. But sharing these reveries in public is a waste of everyone's time, and a distraction from more useful discourse.
What would you suggest, then? I think that the town halls happening without the R’s could have an effect. I am old enough to remember that it was the Republican Senators who went to Nixon and said they would vote for his impeachment… They supported him until they didn’t. I think the Social Security issue may very well be a tipping point. Where do you see hope and potential fog stopping this - short of civil war?
I agree that Social Security might be a strong domestic issue, certainly if Musk actually tries to stop checks going out. My SSI deposit is due next week and my roommate and I are awaiting to see if they show up in the bank. I'll survive if it doesn't come but not easily.
I also think the Ukraine is.a potential issue as many R's do not agree with Trump's capitulation to Putin.
But it is still a "long game" that won't have a good resolution instantaneously and that is what a lot of people want. They want it to be over NOW and that isn't going to happen sadly. Once he got elected again, those horses were out of the corral.
Agree. The threat by T and M to primary those not falling in line may not be as daunting if their policies are deeply unpopular. Many backed by T have not succeeded in the past.
More so than now if we retake both houses of Congress. But still, as we found out in 2020 and 2021, with split Congress, is so very difficult to get a conviction. If Trump actually killed someone on 6th Avenue, MAYBE even the R's would turn against him but that's a far stretch.
I called Sen Wicker also Rep Rogers from Alabama, who stood up for our support of NATO. They need to know that people are paying attention to these issues.
Howard Lutnick’s statement made me want to spit nails. I find it interesting that these entitled far right millionaires/billionaires call those on the left “elites”….oh, missing a SS check shouldn’t be a bother & if you holler about it you are a fraudster or cheat. WTF???? Wish he and others like him found themselves in a “Trading Places” reality for long enough to grow some compassion & understanding. Oh, and I gather that his 90+ year old MIL lives in his billionaire household, so no, I don’t think she’d be hungry or homeless (and I hope she is loved and well cared for)….that he can’t envision another reality for his MIL’s circumstance shows just how insulated he is.
How can someone so stupid be so rich? Lutnick;’s “reality” that anyone screaming about losing their SS benefit is a fraudster will get a rude awakening if they try to pull that one off. Tens of millions of us are not 94 years old, nor do we live with our billionaire children. Cross that red line and I guarantee there will be hell to pay.
I'll field that question. In most cases, wealthy people are members of the Lucky Sperm Club. That is, they were born into wealth. (See: Trump, Musk) Non-members of LSC often rely on the work of others. This might take the form of cheating in school or hiring others who actually have expertise in a particular discipline.
There are a lot of things that we can’t write if we want to stay out of jail. “If my mind could be seen they’d put my head in a guillotine” pretty much sums it up 🤷♂️
I love the Trump Lutnick endorsement of Tesla! MAGAs will never buy an EV after a decade fighting against them. Thanks to Trump's and Lutnick's endorsements, no Lib who loves EVs and might have overlooked a few months of Musk Madness since Musk created the EV market with 'proof of concept', these Libs will not buy Teslas now. It's a good time to be 'short Tesla'! 'Look out below'!
It won't do any good but it made me feel better, I have a scathing letter ready to go to Mr. Lutnick. Say how about we coin a new nickname for him, what's say we refer to him as "Howie Lugnut"?
He was dripping with unctuous distain for the peasantry who might need to keep track of their bank balance. That was a vile display of cold blooded detachment. Rachel played it like six times last night - I can’t get it out of my head😝.
As are the majority doing the destruction, no clue constituents .
Every time the truth is mentioned they scapegoat, blame, and double down with lying , becomes an immediate tell taller tales tactics or new smoke screen distractions.
Lutnick also pushed the idea of tariffs to replace federal income taxes.
Consumer taxes that the bottom 50% spend a much higher percentage of their income on.
I love to hear the crowd at the town halls chanting "tax the rich".
Since 1980 and the Reagan administration and right-wing policies, fifty trillion dollars has been transferred from the bottom ninety percent to the top one percent. I learned that from HCR. Today, our national debt is 37 trillion dollars; the answer is to tax the rich, the answer to Social Security funding and Medicare funding is tax the rich.
Bernie was my candidate of choice twice, when the corporate Dems kept him from running. He's still my hero, as is AOC. Two fighters. Two truth-tellers.
Another hero of mine, since I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, has been Jackie Robinson. Another fighter and truth-teller. Anyone calling him a DEI hire, decades before DEI was even a concept, has no idea what it means to hire someone based on merit. We all have our heroes, and we need to do what we can to keep their reputation alive and to insist on their reality. Enough said.
However, my understanding is that on this tour Bernie and AOC are pointing out what is wrong and not working, but I don't know if they are offering solutions. Political consultant Anat Shanker Ocosio, is telling us that we have to have narratives for people where they can see what they lives would be like under a different vision. A populist vision.
Actually right now Bernie is a highly effective Democratic leader (and we sure could use one, Biden and Harris have virtually disappeared!) And deserves our support. I still do not believe he could have won any of the three elections from 2016 on for both political and cultural reasons, but that doesn't mean I think he should sit down. In fact I think he is vitally needed to lead us right now. I just caution that we should realize that no matter how much he is liked or even loved, his electability in the future remains highly questionable.
Hopefully an electable leader will come to the forefront by 2027 for the next election.
So pathetically, mortally sad so many Dems are so totally out of touch with America's working classes.
And yet the apt novels, memoirs, essay collections, biographies, and histories are there -- recent, current, in-touch, apt. And ignored by all elites, all schools that assembly-line the idiot elites.
I'm not familiar with Anat Shanker Ocosio, so I don't know what her solutions are, but I'm not sure on what you're basing your understanding of Bernie and AOC's message. Bernie has always been clear about his vision, everything from universal health care to a living wage.
The only thing that we can do is mass civil mobilization constantly to force the politicians to live up to their oath to preserve and protect the Constitution.
They may think they taking an oath to God, I believe they are taking the oath to their constituents.
Are you participating in an April 5 demonstration? If you don't know where there is one near you, check the Indivisible homepage: https://indivisible.org/.
Thank you for your comments in support of Bernie. I supported him in both elections and was a Bernie delegate to the 2020 Democratic Convention in 2020. It dismays me to read so many comments from fellow LFAA readers dissing his electricity or ability to get things done. I respectfully disagree. He is consistently ranked the most popular politician in America, hands down. I hence believe he is the most electable. He has demonstrated his ability to lead us in this moment, leaning into his 40 year history of opposing oligarchy. And all of his ideas of Medicare for all, expanding social security, improving veterans care, and raising pay to a living wage are immensely popular and just what this moment needs. He is paving the way for younger voters by supporting AOC. What's not to like?
So, do you wonder if this administration will demand that that "42" must be used for player numbers now to avoid being DEI? Jackie's number had been retired years ago out of respect for what he accomplished both as a player & a civil rights sports icon. Shall we besmirch his accomplishments all because some poor little white boys & men are finally feeling what people of color, women, minorities, handicapped have felt for decades? Awh, poor little white guys, they aren't THE MOST important humans after all!
Trump claimed he loves meritocracy, but you can't have a true meritocracy without DEI. The idea of "merit" is not totally positive either. It shames those who are too poor or otherwise disinclined to go to college as being responsible for their own failure to make a good living. There are systemic causes making it harder for them, and DEI is an attempt to level the playing field. Everyone "merits" decent housing, food, and health care.
Addendum. The George W. Bush administration used the “you create your own reality” language technology taught by Werner Erhard in his est training program which later became known as the Landmark Forum. The evidence I have of this is that when Donald Rumsfeld gave a briefing about the coming Iraq War, he used identical language to that used in introductions to the Landmark Forum. In those introductions, those attempting to sell people on taking the program talked about how “there are things we know… Things we don’t know that we know we don’t know… And things we don’t know we don’t know“ Rumsfeld was selling the war as something critics couldn’t criticize or shouldn’t criticize because they didn’t know what they didn’t know about the reality the Bush administration claimed to be aware of. Of course the Bush administration was lying about the existence of weapons of mass destruction. Those expressions about reality used by Rumsfeld as well as Condoleezza Rice (talking about how we didn’t want the evidence of weapons to look like a mushroom cloud) were all based on Erhard’s teachings … that principally revolved around being very skilled con artists. Someday I hope researches are able to uncover how many people in the Bush administration took Erhard‘s programs. I’m pretty sure Rumsfeld did.
"Terrorist" deportees did not have any criminal records because they were imprisoned before they could commit any crimes. Sounds like an Iraq casus belli to me.
This is good information but it obscures the reality JFK’s assassination created. Until then the military empire of the Defense Department (that replaced the War Department) served the democratic Republic of the United States. The Republic served the Defense Department after that, demonstrated by the Tonkin Gulf Resolution and other resolutions that got our military involved in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Trump is another demonstration of the disfunction of empire vs the function of democracy.
I’ve run out of words to express my disgust for what Trump and Musk and all of the Project 2025 terrorists are doing to our garment. They discovered the simple fact that you don’t have to eliminate the government if you just make it so that it cannot function. Then the government becomes a dead weight hanging around the necks of ordinary Americans. And that appears to be what these fascists want… A government that is like an automobile engine that has been fed tar instead of gasoline. Impossible to function. 😡
Where is Superman and the rest of the Justice League when we need them?!?! 
Superman's name is Bernie Sanders. He is an Independent, not a Democrat, and he showed the leadership needed when it was most needed. No need to mention those who did not.
Where's Superman, Steve? The kryptonite got him that was in the Powell memo.
It's a history -- 50 years back when, by the mid-1970s both the Heritage Foundation and ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) had been up and running a couple years – since early 1973. They, along with an enlarged Hoover Institution, were the first to begin implementing the far right’s agenda as in the 1971 Powell memo.
Heritage and Hoover spent the 1970s placing articles to shame lib profs on U.S. campuses for any extra-curricular activism – anti-war, pro civil rights, women’s lib, and the environment. They sought an end to the use of novels, films, and songs of the time energizing these causes. They wanted profs as neutered specialists only.
ALEC added to this with lobbying state legislatures to reduce funding for the public colleges and universities which all had well aided since the Justin Morrill land grant act of 1862. ALEC argued half of Americans never went to college, so why subsidize those who did?
The Cato Institute joined the clamor in 1977. Then many others. All began lobbying for more standardized testing – that K-12 serve meritocracy, so easily obtainable numbers put all in clear numerical hierarchies.
Trouble was, ALEC’s defunding successes also set higher ed students in new and deep student loan debt to the banks. And testing’s K-12 takeover tilted all to categories, abstracted causalities, and life as linear chronology. Nothing personal anymore. Humanities gone. As if 100% of all in K-12 aspired to meritocracy’s neutered elites.
Possibly. You do see things I don’t. I’m somewhat confident that crypto will never be mine. Unlike currency, which is and has always been self-contained … crypto requires a lot of sophisticated and expensive equipment at every stage. Equipment that has a short lifespan and is prone to failure at any stage and multiple points. It’s value has been and remains indeterminate. But you know all this.
I suppose a lot of terrible things are going to occur before my final exit, as they always have up to this point. Whoever is interested in making satoshis universal had best hurry. Thing is, I do understand blockchain ;->} 😂 😜 ✌️
As to the other popular forms of gambling, I don’t participate in those either.
As you just pointed out, those positioned to have less risk, and something with non-evaporative value to bargain with, will do pretty well. In the Great Depression people like those could buy up things others could no longer afford to keep. Entire industries grew out of that. Just like the stock market loves RIFs, there are many Republicans that see economic downturns as a culling of the herd. It’s horrible to realize the extent of this in some folk. Heartbreaking actually.
Phil, thanks for nailing this down. It is also true that the Democratic Party leadership was well aware of all this at the time. They saw the moves into county and State governments and into judiciaries. They saw Blue Dog seats go Republican. There’s quite a litany here.
It's a problem to concentrate all the attention and blame on Musk, that's part of their game. We have to keep the name of the main responsible at hand for any action this regime carries out. Don't forget pls.
I agree, the focus must stay on Trump. He is the elected president. Just ask him! The focus and blame is his alone for the destruction of our democracy. Also the blame goes on JD Vance as he is the Vice President. Don’t take the eye off them.
And the people who dreamed this up, have funded it, orchestrated it, and are benefitting most from it are barely mentioned allowing the team's front men, T and M, to take all the heat while they plot their way to recasting the US as a feudal state, along with the rest of the world, that they will rule with AI and their military weaponry as untouchable dictators over us, their serfs.
They are in the process of setting up the US like a tech startup corporation where T rump is the Chairman of the Board, Mush is the CEO, and both answer to and are beholden to the board of directors: senior board members Sacks, Andreessen, Thiel, Roberts, demonic "thought" leader Yarvin, plus Zuckerberg, Altman, Bezos, Balaji, etc. These people don't consider themselves US citizens but rather global citizens who want to accelerate the destruction of the US to scoop up bargain assets and make us ordinary folks so desperate that we will work for them for peanuts. Plus they have major connections to Russia, China, and other authoritarians and are behind the whole Greenland and Canada and Panama Canal overthrow imperialist idiocy.
No, no, without them, none of this happens, not even the first Rump go-round when Thiel called the shots on most hiring and helped with the data mining efforts. Focusing on T rump or even Mush has been like we're mowing over the dandelions' flowers but never digging up the roots. (Though honestly the deepest root that made them possible is neoliberal capitalism, but that's a whole other chapter.) (On Bluesky see @gilduran and @jennycohn for much more detail on all of this extremist organization.)
Agreed. It’s the Voughts, the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, the Thiels and musks who want money and power. Felon47 is not this bright and vance is bought and paid for.
Just because they keep themselves low key and under the radar, don't ever forget the lead hand of Koch Industries. Reject any of their affiliate companies products. Look them up; they are a monstrous right wing extremist corporate conglomerate that financially supports the far right wing and Christo-facists.
He is the elected president, but because of his pathological narcissism and greed, he is vulnerable to manipulation by others even less well-intentioned than himself - and they seem to be taking advantage of that vulnerability.
James Donald Bowman (birth name of current VP) is being kept under wraps by Peter Thiel, awaiting the moment when ffpotus is terminated; either by natural causes or by 25th Amendment action.
It's a coalition Rachel; A horrific coalition. "It’s the Voughts, the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, the Thiels and musks who want money and power. Felon47 is not this bright and vance is bought and paid for. " via Jen Schafer, above ↑ Also, Just because they keep themselves low key and under the radar, don't ever forget the lead hand of Koch Industries. Reject any of their affiliate companies products. Look them up; they are a monstrous right wing extremist corporate conglomerate that financially supports the far right wing and Christo-facists.
I do believe that is musk’s purpose in all this. Trump sure as heck won’t take any blame for this mess. His sign should read, “The Buck Stops Anywhere But Me”.
Oh yeah, T rump will escape any culpability as the ceremonial Chairman of the Board (aka monarch), while Mush runs this US startup as its CEO (co-monarch), both having been appointed by and who are beholden to the Board of Directors (the king's council) -- the billionaire tech fascist extremists who are running everything: Yarvin, Thiel, Andreessen, etc. They are the ones who so far are getting away with quite literal murder of both real humans and of our democracy. They have their installed Vance (crown prince) waiting in the wings to take over for T when he ceases to be useful (or you know) and Mush will keep on running the day-to-day operations until he too moves on to more global takeovers (world ruler shit) or until the board votes to bring in someone else after M completes the coup. In the meantime Mush is not so much being manipulated as he is willing to take the heat as the representative face of the cabal that's in charge in exchange for control over our skies, military, internet, govt AI, his own tech fiefdom, etc. here and around the world. This crew has plotted this for decades and now that they are in position and executing their insane plan, they don't think they'll ever be held to account. We have to change that outcome for all of them.
But, remember, you have a disaffected component of the population that only wants revenge (mostly , which supports this mostly inchoate attitude, but supports Trump/Musk actions.
I agree with all of the folks who say that he is too deranged to come up with any of this by himself--although the tariffs thing has been an obsession of his for a very long time--but he is the mechanism through which they are working. I also just read a report this morning in the Times that decades ago Columbia U was looking to expand and rejected his offer to sell them a piece of property for 400 million. And that he never forgot it. So what is the penalty the Felon wants Columbia to pay? Oh, that would be 400 million. Shared: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/nyregion/trump-columbia-university-400-million.html?unlocked_article_code=1.504.0yFe.Kbdx5U6bcnwp&smid=url-share
I only partially agree. I have used this analogy before. When a sledgehammer is being swung in your general direction, it's a good idea to keep your eye on the tool's trajectory so as to avoid being hit. But if you want to stop the sledgehammer from swinging, you must discover who is swinging it and disarm or disable them.
Donald is the sledgehammer (and has the same I.Q.). One ignores those who are manipulating him at one's own risk. We must pay attention to and disable the likes of Stephen Miller, Russell Vought and his gang of terrorists, Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin and others.
This so called DOGE is not a legitimate government department, yes? Why is it granted such access to so much information (rhetorical question)? When will Congress fight against DOGE’s dismantling of the government? When DOGE decides to do away with Congress? It’s not that far off considering how many congressionally mandated entities it has already deemed insignificant. If their jobs are threatened, will Republican elected officials finally realize the disaster they have enabled?
Congress will do nothing until there are mass demonstrations, like 20,000 people on the Mall in Washington. Republicans dodge town halls. They need more than the town halls organized by Democrats. Republicans somehow find a way to dismiss protests as being conducted by paid people rather than serious protests. It’s an old tactic. I grew up in Mississippi in the 60s. NOBODY paid the freedom riders. You can’t get anyone to be beaten viciously for money; those people did what they did on their principles.
20 thousands? How about 200 thousands or 2 million. Just wait for the policies to start rotting all aspects of life for everyone except for the 1% and then the regime will be afraid of us and not all the way around. Thanks for your comment Kim.
Okay, I suggested a number too low. I just pulled it out of you know what. MLK proved you could attract larger crowds, but that was a different time. He was perceived as a leader. If a leader emerges who commands a high level of visibility and respect, then the number would be higher. Who would that be? I’m too naive about visibility and respect to know who would be able to lead.
Hello Margaret... Maybe Musk, and Vought are given so much 'Free-Rein' because DJT is Lazy, and doesn't want to actually Learn, and Govern... In DJT's Demented Reality Show, DJT just wants Outrage, and Vengeance... Fear of DJT's Minions suppresses those Republicans in Congress that don't go with their Program...
It seems to me that Trump is profoundly lazy, which is part of why he makes everything up. But being born ultra wealthy lets him dabble in so many cosplay roles, like impresario, or university head, or clever business leader, and "money pouring in from Russia" helped a lot when he was blowing it. He is not really a president, but he plays one on TV. He has the powers of a president, but of course, that's not nearly enough. He is trying to play at King of the World, but don't even say the word 'responsibility'.
Thanks JL... DJT uses People when it benefits him, and Discards them when they have served his Purposes... Maybe the Joke now is that Musk, and Putin are using DJT until his Dementia, or the Creator, takes him away...
J L... Thanks for the Post... This is Good... Maybe an 'Evil, Malignant, Demented', Bam-Bam would be appropriate... I believe that Mary Trump would have some insight into DJT's formation...
he got elected in the first place (2016) because people thought he was a competent businessman, thanks to The Apprentice - despite bankrupting casinos ("the house always wins...") and other enterprises, and despite his openly fraudulent charity and university and ... and ... and..... So playing someone competent on TV, or now social media, goes a long way.
I imagine you are aware that Trump's popular book "The Art of The Deal" was ghostwritten and the writer now very much repents his shameful role in promoting the BS.
I think our reliance on actor/celebrities is the problem, not the solution, but yes, an effective leader need be courageous, outspoken, focused, and relatable. I suspect that a number of our venerated leaders would not have checked the "made for TV" box adequately, but still were skillful communicators. Maybe, at long last, it is time for America to put away childish things and grasp self-governance as an adult responsibility. And by "adult" I mean emotionally adult. When they were both in the news, who was more adult? Trump or school-girl Greta Thunberg?
The Reality is, neither is DOGE... If one is a knowledgeable Techie, Teslas, Space-X Rockets, and 'X' are shoddy Products that were rushed out, and over-hyped... J.L., did you know that ALL CyberTrucks have been recalled AGAIN?...
Stuck together with Elmo's Glue. Musk used his massive supply of money to take over Tesla from the people who built it. The CyberTruck looks more like Musk's influence.
They are rust buckets, intentionally designed to disappear in the environment. Of course now their parts will just fly off before even having a chance to rust out.
Yesterday was the first day we went out where I didn’t see a single one. We usually see quite a few in southern California where the sea air will make them vanish. There will be seats and a battery driving down the roads.
For the scumbag president, those people are just doing "his" job and will be blamed when people start seeing reality and revolt. Then he'll fire them and name replacements the same or worse. In the meantime, nothing would change. Nice comment Apache 👍
I doubt there is anyone who would be “better” than Elon. His visibility, money, and ignorance of government would be hard to replace, and there is probably no one worse.
Hello Kim... DJT, and Elon seem to share some Bad Pathologies.... The Thirst for Hype, the disconnection with the effects of their actions on other People, and a lack of Integrity... Does Elon want to rob the SSA Trust Funds for his Mars Trip? Elon says that SpaceX will be there in 2029, or no later than 2031... Elon should do a Howard Hughes, and be his 1st Best Test Pilot...
If you have access to the diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals, look at Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Both men fit all of these criteria. The psychiatrists who have written about Trump used the term malignant narcissism and many have labeled him a psychopath. He fits there as well. I think he’s paranoid,too. Freud called this wild analysis- diagnosing someone you haven’t seen personally. In Trump’s case, we have a broad range of behaviors and speech that allow his diagnoses to be valid. We have “seen” him display all the behaviors in diagnostic nomenclature. That’s a much larger sample than you can get by sitting in your office with him,
Trump is now announcing that some of the tariffs will be selective. Better to increase the personal bribes he can demand. And it’s not even protection money, just basic bribes. That’s what he’s interested in, those companies, countries and rich interests all begging to be allowed to bribe him.
Hello Nancy... From the 1st Admin.... DJT thought that the Presidency was Symbolic... Just Occasional Appearances... In DJT's World-View, DJT is Emperor.. What DJT/Musk, is revealing, is that in the Contemporary Neo-Realism of American Society, Money Doesn't Talk, it Screams Profanities...
There’s also mounting evidence that T is a Russian operative. (I know. Stop. Think! Why a war on China now? Keep that in your head as you run past-and-present information through your truth meter!). Musk has his own agenda. JD his own. (Both well documented and known.) Trump his own agenda. Musk and JD can do anything they want and Trump wouldn’t care, except to throw the dogs (American people) a bone now and then. They (American people, Musk, JD + courts, Congress, etc) are the perfect distraction to protect T as he achieves what he vowed (to Putin) to achieve— to take down the American Empire. Narcissistic Trump was an easy “recruit” for Putin. T would sell out America in a heartbeat for the power promised to him—leader of the new America! King to Rule! Not a President to govern! Together with Russia we will unite to fight China and bring America in line with the new world order! That would also of course please Musk. And surprise the hell out of JD (oblivious). HCR READERS- please! Your combined thoughts welcome for Heather’s consideration! For reference, consider finding the article, “At some point real action will be required to stop this madness,” posted by Investigation of Corruption is with John Vega and 8 others.
I hope and pray this is not true. But every cell in my body is telling me get up and fight like hell!
I don’t think we can classify Trump as a Russian operative. That would require discipline. I do believe real action will be needed. By that, I mean huge demonstrations, including maybe 100,000 people on the mail in Washington. No violence. Just a large peaceful demonstration. The Mall doesn’t have storefronts for window breaking and looting. We just need a leader to pull it together. Look at how MLK did it.
one problem is that the MAGAts tend strongly to violence and are well armed, and any member of Congress - either house - who starts feeling independent of Trump/Musk gets death threats against them and their families.
I contemplated getting a gun for the first time in my life. But I think there are other ways I could prevent those perverts from attacking that might be more effective.
Thank you, Professor, for talking about how people are fighting back. Would love to read some of your magical history stories about how others before us fought back against their oppressors, even going back to the Revolutionary War era, to provide inspiration for what we can do now.
Today I started asking my reps to not just report to us on what is happening, cuz we frickin' know, but also what are they doing to help us fight back, not do it for us, although that would be helpful too, but ways they can use their experience and connections and any of their expertise to help us help ourselves.
So, I asked one of my Dem senators to not just report on the flagrant disregard to the court order over those hellish removal flights to El Salvador but to attending one of the April 5 Hands Off gatherings, preferably in the redder part of the state, and to rally people around what a government and party that works for everyday folks can look like that she will commit to fighting alongside us to achieve.
When I saw that Chris Murphy, who is not one of my reps, also reported on the changes happening at the Social Security Agency in a Bluesky post and said, "Pay attention", I replied: "Chris, we know. A big part of your job now is to help us figure out how we stop this & be there with us when we do it. Like, which senior groups are you offering organizing or coalition building advice to? Which unions or social services groups have you approached about actions they could unite to take?"
And even to AOC who reported on the impacts on families of disabled children from the closure of the Department of Education I wrote: "Alexandria, what can you advise those families and advocates and groups and neighbors can do to unite, to help out, to find other ways to get around this so these kids don't get hurt by a regime that does not care about them when the majority of society does?"
We're not experts but as AOC and Bernie's huge rallies are showing, we are in this fight and we need them to work alongside us as we navigate how we organize, survive, and win.
trump and musk are bullies who thrive on fear. Bullies are the weakest of the weak. Sooner or later everyone becomes one of their targets. Bullies cannot be trusted ever. DO NOT BE AFRAID!!!! Stand up to them and say WE WILL NOT LET YOU INTIMIDATE US because the thing with bullies is that they CANNOT stand to be stood up to and shown that we ARE NOT AFRAID of them now ....or ever!
Or RUD for SpaceX explosions. Rapid Unplanned Disassembly. A man who knows nothing about how the government works is colluding with Trump, with Trump’s blessing on the rapid disassembly of the Civil Service. Meanwhile, the Republicans sit by and say nothing, or even cheer random termination of public servants without regard to the actual work done by these people, assuming they are all incompetent and unnecessary. CIC indeed.
Good Evening to all of my fellow Trump Derangement Syndrome Sufferers, and welcome to Spring!!!
In the great American classic film "On the Waterfront", the anti-hero/hero Terry Malloy, played by the late, great Marlon Brando, took a horrific beating on the docks of Hoboken, trying to break the corruption of the aptly named uber corrupt boss Johnny Friendly, played by the always magnificent Lee J. Cobb. He had to get across the line before the gate closed to procure justice for the workers, one way or another. As he struggled to do so, the viewers of the film could hear a bell ringing, a common dockside bell but sounding like a ringside bell as well, a trope ironically used decades later by a onetime decent guy, yet now Trump supporting sellout Sylvester Stallone, in "Rocky".
My point being that the bell has rung, and indeed we now know for whom the bell tolls, as the Sanders/AOC caravan continues its sold out tour of the former territory of La Republica de Mexico, denouncing the anti-constitutional oligarchic and anarchic depredations of the Trump/Musk regime.
The bell ringing, as has been the case in so many human societies throughout history, is a call to awareness, gathering, and vigilance. A call in our case to all of those, but also to something heretofore never thought necessary, a call to reconstitute the fabrics of our house we never thought would ever be so frayed. Yet frayed they are, by social media's distortion, by generations of people acting upon watching Fox News and actually thinking it's "news", by Despicable Don's con-man charismatic call to cataclysm, etc.
May we come together consistently, persistently and insistently, to reclaim America as we know it to be, a unique experimental Nation taking a wonderful Brobdingnagian, all hands on deck, teeming refuse from distant shores mentality, ALL coming together interlocking our digits of all colors, our spirits of all religions, and our perspectives of all possibilities to achieve the twin goals our Forefathers/Foremothers so creatively promised, of liberty and justice.
To do so, we must hearken back to our revolutionary beginnings knowing, sad as it may be to say, that the forces of darkness aligned against us are so temporarily powerful that we must realize that standing together, standing strong, resolute and fully resistant is our only hope, to avoid, as Franklin so famously said, hanging separately.
To our beautiful resistance, and to its ultimate goal of our beautiful renaissance, I say,
May the mighty Liberty Bell ring loudly and righteously again, inspiring us to keep this republic and reclaim our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...and banish this tyranny and lawlessness from this land...
Does the expression, "a fire bell in the night," sound familiar? It is attributed to Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Senator John Holmes, as he contemplated the expansion of slavery into Missouri, 40 years before the beginning of the Civil War.
Jefferson continued, "I am now to die in the belief the useless sacrifice of themselves by the generation of 1776 . . . is to be thrown away by the unwise and unworthy passions of their sons, and that my only consolation is to be, that I live not to weep over it."
Megalomaniacs indifferent or even proud of the damage they inflict. An idiot with the means to do so can wreck things. There must be a way to properly shame these bullies. Not that the main perpetrators are capable of remorse, but perhaps some of the less hard-core followers might shift their perspective. Crazy town indeed. We the People are going to have to live with this in the end.
I don't want them to feel shame; I want them to feel pain, hunger, fear, homelessness, wrongful imprisonment, poverty. They ALL need to be reaping what they are sowing, from the MAGA school board members all the way up to the corrupt 6 SC justices, every member of the WH administration and every MAGA Congress member!
J L, thank you for that link. Pretty horrifying, an understatement. One doesn't remember history such as that because it is simply too painful. So it is good to be reminded of it in times when the leader exhibits racist behavior, such as the disappearing of immigrants to foreign prisons without even a nod to the law.
There is definitely a horror component to human nature, and not specific to any one society. The urge to bully. The thrill of cruelty. It has plagued our species for so long at so terrible a cost, you would think we would be more than ready to let it go.
Do most white Americans think and/or feel that racism is a problem to be solved by “DEI” (e.g. people of color)? Quite a number of us say we have MAGA members among friends, family and colleagues. Do you ever talk about racism with them?
If we could overcome white supremacy in our psyche and systems we’d have a much better chance to live with democratic values in a “United” nation.
I have spoken with maga inlaws and acquaintances who focus on merit and qualifications as the heart of anti DEI initiatives. This of course has been disproven by this administration, but does not change their mind. They are not willing to admit to racial motivations.
My MAGA neighbor quit talking to me after being pushed back on for supporting the pussy grabber and then denying Covid. We used to walk every morning, then she moved to Montana while keeping her 2 million dollar house here for her brother to live in. She rarely comes back for even a visit. Her brother could live in a condo and that 5 bedroom house could be for a family.
Thank you, Professor Richardson. I remember reading the quotation about "reality" you cited from the New York Times Magazine. I'm pretty sure I saw something about it more recently than 2004. What it reveals is that the efforts to subvert our government and our reality go back at least as far as the Bush-Cheney administration, if not before. The far right has been trying for a long time to impose its wants and needs on America by undermining and even completely ignoring the rule of law. They think they've finally got the power to destroy the country the better to impose their vision on us.
Heather, wonderful piece today (as always) and just to laugh, I saw this online: DOGE = Destruction Of Government by Elon…..that is the truth! Thank god for Bernie and AOC, my heroes for many years. On April 5, please share widely, the American people will fill the streets of their cities across the United States to protest what tramp and mush (and, of course, Juvenile Delinquent Vance) are doing to the people, who are actually their employers. Millions are expected to raise their voices loud and clear. Thank you for all you do. You are my hero everyday of the week.
Add Tim Walz to the list of Dem legends holding town halls across red states, speaking truth to packed crowds. Getting Dems to step up has felt like watching the titanic make a U-turn.
Kazz- Absolutely! I can’t believe that so many Dem congresspeople are standing in the corner while (so far) only three of their party are visibly going out and speaking. especially in red districts (bravo!) I think the corner group just wants to get on the telly, which “no-one” watches much anymore anyway.
Chrissy Houlahan isn’t standing in the corner—6th PA rep had a 600 people Town Hall with line stretching three blocks or more of people waiting and failing to get in. She’s come out truth speaking, has always tried to work across the aisle, and is smart as a whip— standing against the craziness of the Republicans now. Of course she’s a Democrat. Still faces some antagonists in her ‘purple’ district, but has huge support!
Yes, one of the problems is that the media is still covering for Trump and won’t put up stories on what the Dems are doing unless it’s a bad reflection on the Dems.
Media excepting MSNBC, which has been terrific.
That’s awesome, Diedra!
i want to know where Kamala and the Obamas are.
ME TOO!!! AND BIDEN! AND THE CLINTONS! LIZ CHENEY! We need all hands on deck!!!
Let's not forget Bennie Thompson and Nancy and Schumer and..., so many more, really. It's the names of "those" we haven't heard anything from who need to be 'front paged', (as I refer to it). Seems to me the expression "they don't know whether to s--t or go blind" fits them,. Whomever-the-heck THEY are. Bunch of 'slo-leaks'.., that's what.
They want to be certain they can help and don’t forget that all of their Secret Service protection has been taken away and they have children AND targets on their backs. That they remain here is courageous.
Obama, Clinton, Biden (and Bush)still have their Secret Service protection as former presidents. Their other family members are on their own.
Not to distract from the concerns expressed here.., but let's remember we are the ones who have done this to ourselves. Innocent until proven guilty - So simple. But, not. Sorry.., Virginia, it's early here, another day passing before us. It's in AOC's court. Her and Jasmine Crockett's. And, some others, yet to be known, I'm sure. It's early.
Welp.., flipping that coin Bronwyn.., "they" are maybe wondering just where in the heck "WE" are. Ya think? We've been driving while blind, pretty much sums it up. The dust storm just caused a 48-car pile up. So much for the 1st responders in this one.
Nancy, lots of Ds are working hard. They may not get the national attention of Bernie and AOL or Walz, but they are working with people locally and publishing their stories about how they have been hurt by the current administration and this includes people in red areas. They have been holding well attended town halls in person and virtually. Now our state legislature (Oregon) is going to every county in the state to get feedback. Our D governor when she was first elected did the same.
Oregon seems so far ahead of other states (eastern 2/3 probably excepted). My son lives there and he loves it.
The Eastern 2/3 of Oregon has lots of square miles and not very many voters. It does have a good fishing river.
I've only seen pictures of it and driven through the far NE corner once but haven't had time to go and spend a few weeks in its' obvious beauty. I hope to do that before I die.
A lot of eastern Oregon is high desert, beautiful in its own way. I did my fishing on the North Santiam which is on the west side of the Cascades. A lot of the area burned in 2020.
A lot of the 2/3rds wants to secede and join Idaho.
It depends on what you are talking about. I love Oregon for its beauty and variety of areas: mountains, high desert, ocean, Willamette Valley where I live. However, in some metrics, Oregon does not measure up well.
Is there still Oregon wine?
Oh absolutely, all kinds of wineries, run by all sorts of people. The problem for some Oregon wineries is that they were negotiating with distributers in Canada for a contract to supply Oregon wine as usual. Then death star started the tariff war and suddenly no one wanted to contract to buy Oregon wines. So it's not just bourbon and peanut butter. The best pinot noir I had was in a hole in the wall Mexican place in Dayton. It was so good, that a couple of us bought bottles....came from a very small acreage near Dayton. My husband drinks usually French reds as they are generally cheaper. I don't, but will drink a wee dram of single malt scotch neat if certain individuals depart this earth. I have a good supply.
I envy you the single malt. After writing postcards to Wisconsin voters for hours a bit of Laphroig would be glorious. Can remember buying it for less than $8 per bottle in NOLA in the 1970’s.
My, that is really cheap. I didn't drink scotch in those days. I can't remember how I came to enjoy single malt. I thought I didn't like scotch because I had only had a taste of a blend..truly awful. i can remember drinking Glava(sp?) in Scotland which is a liquor made from scotch. We met a couple of elderly English ladies at a hotel in Scotland and offered to buy them a drink after supper. One of them ordered a single malt and apparently they made a yearly trip to Scotland to buy a few bottles, so maybe I learned to enjoy it then. A couple years ago, we received a couple bottles of scotch as gifts and my husband is a bourbon drinker when he drinks whiskey. I would like to have the wee dram sooner rather than later! Kudos for the postcards.
Yes, it was truly inexpensive when you compare it to pre-Trump prices. I had some Glenlivet a few years ago, but it’s the heavy complexity of Laphoig that always gets to my taste buds. Hooray for single malt scotch!
Frogs Leap! The name finally came back. It’s been a few years since I had it. Always a pleasure to drink though a bit expensive for me.
No state does. I live in Indiana, whose outcomes for just about every indicator of quality of life is in the bottom 10 states or at the very bottom. I look forward to the day I can leave.
I'm making my sign now to take to the protest this afternoon where trump and senator mccormick will be attending the NCAA wrestling championships here in Philadelphia and we're taking our 11 and 13-yr-old grandchildren to see what people can do....
I wonder if Trump realizes that NCAA wrestling is NOTHING LIKE Linda McMahon's outfit the WWF. It's actual REAL competitive wrestling! Not the Hulk Hogan crap you see on TV.
Good for you Sophia! As a bunch of 'constituents' which is what we are, after all, some Representative needs to see that kind of expression (support!) so they can take a stand..., maybe get re-elected. I've been hard on politicians not making themselves known, but for them to 'jump and shout' there has got to be support. Seems like the MAGAtts grabbed that ball and ran with it while the 48% were all over the field. Constituents = Power. You Go, Sophia, and bring those kids. :))
The candidates in the Democratic Primary for Governor of NJ are airing TV ads attacking Trump and promising to protect people in NJ from him and Musk if elected. Of course those are just promises.
That is great! Even if just promises the ads bring hope and attention to this dire situation.
But even to publish such commentary invites Trump’s thugs to send pizzas. (Trying to spoil the fun of pizza too!)
We will overcome. Too many of us for Tramp to deal with!
Not "just promises".., if those "candidates" see an outpouring of support from their CONSTITUENTS, they might be able to get something done. That's where our voice is. And, it's right here as well.
Mark Pocan, Democratic Representative for the 2nd District in WI, is one of those doing town halls in Republican districts.
From a recent Pocan newsletter:
"My challenge to House Republicans: if you’re voting to cut Medicaid and food assistance, at least have the guts to go out there and defend your cruel votes. But if you can’t stand the heat, maybe it’s time to stay out of the firepit and stop voting for destructive, cruel policies."
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff is holding a rally with Sen. Raphael Warnock today in Atlanta.
I hope that pair sweeps GA again. Will be writing postcards for them
Good News!
Let's hope their CONSTITUENTS show up. That's where the power is.
About 2,200 constituents showed up, filling the venue, reported a friend who attended it.
I think there are more than 3, but the others have lower profiles. Hooray for them, and for us!
Yes, and local coverage can go a long way to get voters’attention!
Rueben Gallego in Southern AZ.
I'm really proud of my Oregon Senators who are speaking out in DC and holding town halls all over Oregon, especially in the areas where our Republican Representative has apparently chickened out.
The “chickening out” is such a disservice to voters. I hope voters remember.
I'm so proud to be from Oregon....
M, too. But there better not be another Republican Senator Walk Out again this year. I am tired of it.
Oh really, Nancy? And how exactly did you hear about what AOC and Bernie are doing— from the telly?
Don’t unfairly denigrate our congresspeople. Mine is Jamie Raskin. He is not, and never has been, just standing in the corner.
And just because you don’t see them on the “telly” doesn’t mean that no one else is doing anything.
Really? Did you need to be so rude? Just tell us what your representative is doing. Personal attacks not needed.
Not rude. It was a rebuke.
And if you don’t know what Jamie Raskin has been doing, you haven’t been paying attention.
Again, as you “rebuke” me very rudely, I don’t need to be bullied because you think you’re superior. We can’t follow every representative and it would be way more effective to respond with positive information than to bully.
Not bullying. Stating facts.
Well, I live in Vermont and Senator Sanders is one of our two Senators. Bernie is amazing at constituent services. Hard to believe he can do as much as he does. We love Bernie! I donated to his Stop Oligarchs tour.
Good for you! I have to stop myself from donating to the two FL congressmen’s races. They could flip the House if they and the Pennsylvanian win.
Fingers crossed!
His letter to the current WH tenant was very very sharp - as he always is.
Easy Aslo.., easy there bro. We're all right up to the edge with this clown-show..., right to the edge!
Who you calling’ bro?!
Obviously you, Aslo. So, no offense meant, but are you talkin to me? You can refer to me as Mad, if it helps.
More than three. Chris Murphy for sure! There are others. But yes - the point is there are not enough, not nearly enough. Yet.
not yet, but it’s building.!
My Congressman, Bill Keating (D-MA), had a very well attended Town Meeting this past week and was greeted with loud applause for his takedown of the Republican Congressman who insisted on addressing a transgender Congresswoman as “Mr.”
Yo.., Susan et al, why can't we just refer to the "person" as "Congress-person Smith" or "Representative Smight" or "Senator Smight".., instead of using Mister or Misses or They, etc? I know..., it's tradition, or whatever. Well, i say drop that crap. Just refer to the "person" by their title or perhaps by their first and last name, with no gender attached. This is all just so silly. C'mon kiddies, let's go out and play now. Be nice kidddies. Geeezzzzusssss, get a life, people.
Things are slowly exploding....
Nancy, you are spot on. It seems that most members of Congress are living in fear of Trump, their constituents, and/or loosing their seat in Congress. What these cowards don't understand is that if the mad man continues his rampage through our government, Congress will not longer exist. Wake up people, this isn't a test, this is quickly becoming the end of our Democracy. It's time for everyone who still believes in what the founding fathers gave us, to stand up and fight...Press On Regardless!
Excellent point Ms. Lanoue! It is SO important that all dems, everywhere, contiue to show up and demonstrate Democratic values. We must NOT let down our guard this time. We MUST vote this fool down and out.
I would not generalize because some in Congress are doing other work behind the scenes, such as writing substantive and lengthy legal arguments to file in courts, fighting the egregious dismantling of our Government.
Thank you for this salient reminder! If all of them are perpetually out on the stump, nothing gets done.
Good point, Zelita.
Nancy, I would also add that Dems do not have a cohesive and strong presence in social media network. On top of it all, I don’t trust Google algorithms when searching for specific political figures or topics. Their “Golf of America” said it all.
Great titanic comment, Kazz. Thank you.
Walz '28!
Walz is a decent guy but he and Kamala Harris represent a monumentally failed Democratic effort. Yes, blame Biden for the late timing and lack of primaries in 2024. Still, it is time to move on. I don't have a favorite candidate but I hope one emerges during the campaigns for the 2026 elections for Congress. I do note that even now, which is early in the cycle, I'm getting a lot of political solicitations for money. Some Democrats are getting cranked up early, prompted no doubt by the rogue Trump/Musk/Vance administration.
What do the Democrats stand for? Abortion, Trans Men in women's sports, fighting Deportation of Criminal Illegal Aliens, and raising taxes are not going to win any elections. Really, please help me understand what Democrats stand for?
Not a chance. He is a proven loser.
Agree wholeheartedly.
Kazz, let’s try not to restart the circular firing squads despite the lovely U-turn simile.
Nothing like a good conversation starter.
Yes! More of this needed! We have plenty of good orators!
Good one!
I read that in addition to the 11,000 that packed Bernie and AOC's town hall in Colorado, an additional 1000 could not get in, and they had an online audience of 123,000.
My daughter was at the Bernie one in Denver yesterday. She had to stand outside the fence because it was so packed. I’m going to DC from OR for protest on April 5. We all need to do what we can!
I’ll see you there!!!
Great turnout but still a pittance in an already Democratic state. When the online numbers are 1,230,000 I would feel more hopeful. And what is more important is getting similar numbers in GOP states like Iowa and Alabama and Montana. Then we probably have their attention.
Well, Tim Walz has been holding town halls in Iowa lately. There are some on Youtube if you are interested.
Thanks!
15000 in AZ and 34000 in Denver. AZ is at least purple and so are many parts of CO. 2500 turned up in Omaha on 2/24 with hundreds more outside. And that's right across the river from Council Bluffs, IA.
But again, Arizona is a state of almost 8 million people. A really of 15,000 is pretty anemic if you are trying to change the world. It's not even 1% of the voting population.
Things are building.
And, Linda, they weren't even paid unlike many attendees at DonOLD rallies. The big bonus is they didn't have to watch DonOLD dance
I was one of them watching online
Lemme guess.., they were'nt gifted a hunnerd-bucks or a tesla-turd to attend either. Now there's some good CONSTITUENTS. That's what we need - Support.
Bernie campaigned on getting excess money out of politics first, and Democrats mocked him for it.
Nobody “mocked” Bernie Sanders. We believed, and I still do, that he couldn’t win a presidential election and wouldn’t be a an effective president if he did. It takes more, a lot more, than good ideas to succeed as president.
We need good people like Bernie and AOC and Elizabeth Warren and Chris Murphy et al in Congress. Remember Congress? That’s what the framers intended to be the seat of government power. Republicans have ceded that power to the Musk/Trump junta. Bernie Sanders is much more effective bringing his ideas, most of which I heartily agree with, directly to the voters, all of whom will be mightily motivated to get to the polls in the upcoming congressional midterm elections in 2026. Maybe then we can begin to move political power back where it belongs; in Congress.
I didn’t intend to be so long-winded. I love Bernie Sanders; now more than ever. I would never mock him.
I do hope Bernie and AOC et alii can bring out more of the voters who are becoming more and more dissatisfied with the election result, and more of the voters who thought their votes would not count. If we get enough people out in the streets, perhaps the Republicans (who have the power not just to do the job of Congress, but to impeach and convict the menace) will recognize their responsibility. But I won't bet lunch on it happening before the critical mass is reached and the war starts.
AOC is really appealing to the average Joe, using her own lived experience as a waitress and cleaner to get her through school, not to mention her struggles as a Latino woman. The turnout to these rallies is very hopeful.
She is so articulate - so clear. Compared to Jeffries and Schumer, who are dull and not good communicators, she is a very bright light.
Duh! AOC was a bartender. Some of the most educated people in the country are/were bartenders.
OAC loves helping people and cares for others......the #! most important trait in a successful..truthful, life in public service. OAC is the real deal
Many bartenders are not only well-educated, but are among the most empathetic people around!
Ellen, bartenders know how to listen even as they are busy mixing drinks.
Good bartenders (AOC) pay attention to patrons, and learn a lot. Poor bartenders (Schumer) ignore their patrons (constituents)) and then wonder why they aren't getting tips (votes).
She is also college educated.
And Smart.
https://qz.com/1481551/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-won-a-2007-isef-science-fair-prize-for-her-microbiology-research
One might argue that growing up in a castle with a golden spoon is not great preparation for understanding and resonating with the struggles of common folk. It does not entirely rule it out, but it seems a whole lot less likely.
“Homeless is a misnomer. It implies that someone got a little bit behind on their mortgage, and if you just gave them a job, they’d be back on their feet,” he told former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson in October. “What you actually have are violent drug zombies with dead eyes, and needles and human feces on the street.” - Elon Musk
“The more homeless there are, the more money these organizations get, so their incentive is to increase, not decrease, homelessness!” -Elon Musk
She is bright and articulate. But don't underestimate Jeffries. Remember, slow talking John Lewis? I won't comment on Schumer. But he does bring in the money. And money, as everyone is learning, is the "milk" of politics.
Money is what is destroying our country right now! Bernie and AOC are right. We need to have public funding of campaigns and the campaign season should be much shorter like they do in the UK. This constant horse race bullshit is exhausting and a waste of money. There should not be of any campaigning allowed until three months before an election And only publicly financed. All the corruption we’re seeing right now is because of that disgusting citizens united Bill that the criminals at the Supreme Court passed.
And with a shorter campaign season, they'd be forced to actually articulate policy with details, evidence and data, instead of disordered ramblings, superficial charm and displaying narcissism in moderation.
Would that be 3 months before the Primaries? I agree that we subjected to too much campaigning. Now the campaign begins immediately after the victory is confirmed. I would like to see more discussion about this idea.
I completely agree about much shorter campaigns. Thr current horse race is exhausting and ineffecient.
Well, people are able to run very short campaigns in other countries. We have created an onerous system and of course, fund raising is nonstop.
Agreed and all political advertising should identify who produced the advertising and list who paid for it.
Mystic, i would like the list.
Exactly, that’s right. I lived in Germany and, indeed, for a few weeks before the national elections, there were campaign signs everywhere, and then the election came and went, and it was all over. The whole Spiel was so much simpler and money and corruption were mostly kept out of the process. The way it’s done here is totally exhausting and by now pretty rife with corruption, unfortunately, it seems.
"Everybody wants to be on all the committees, so you have your staffs doing all the work, because you can't keep up. But the main culprit, the cancer on the body politic, is money: Money,money, money. When I ran 6 years ago, in 1998, I raised $8.5 million. That $8.5 million is $30,000 a week, every week, for 6 years. If you miss Christmas week, you miss New Years week, you are $100,000 in the hole and don't you think we don't know it and we start to work harder at raising money.
As a result, the Senate doesn't work on Mondays and Fridays. We have longer holidays. The policy committee is adjourned and we go over to the campaign building because you can't call for money in the office. So we go over to the building and call for money and obviously we only can give attention to that. We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers." - Fritz Hollings
The "A" constituents. I have experienced that and at a time I and we needed them most.
Criminal whose appointment was shepherded by those who weld enormous wealth. The constitutional grounds for buying elections and legislation alleged to be universal guarantees of free speech; the more you can pay the more free speech you get. Too bad if you can't afford it.
I like Hakeem Jeffries, and I think he speaks well. I also like Chris Murphy, Jamie Raskin and several others. I am looking forward to April 5th!
Hakeem Jeffries is a fine person. He is, however, ill suited for this moment. There is little fire and he has failed to pull his coalition together. Auction paddles at SOTU? Embarrassing.
Agreed, Barbara. Although I didn't watch it, I think the Dem seats in the chamber should have either been filled with a rousing chorus shouting "Lies!" at every opportunity, or left empty if they couldn't bring themselves to it. Their silence (for nearly 100% of the party) is deafening.
I would like to add Dan Goldman of NY to the list....
Penny, I agree about Jeffries.
lauriemcf, I agree that AOC is an outstanding spokesperson for her party and is deeply motivated to be a true public servant. But I can't agree with your assessment of Jeffries. He is articulate, but does not have the "firebrand" persona. That doesn't make him a poor communicator. He appeals to a different type of audience.
More importantly, being an effective leader of legislators doesn't involve dazzling speaking skills. It requires the ability to corral and motivate a bunch of people with differing priorities and sidestep the landmines set by the opposing party. Nancy Pelosi wasn't a scintillating public speaker, but she "got shit done." Jeffries has that potential, if he ever gets the chance.
Schumer, however, is a putz.
Laurie, I love AOC, hope she primaries Schumer. Her communication skills are very effective at reaching up and down the social strata. Jeffries' oratorical skills are nearly like those of a rapper minister, but I haven't heard much from him lately. Someone should do a wellness check on the Dem leadership.
They probably won't answer the door.
lauriemcf -- IMO, AOC is indeed really bright, and she's a woman. I'm also a huge fan of Hakeem Jeffries, who I experience as [also] highly articulate and otherwise hard to characterize. Sen. Schumer is another story.
Yes Kazz. AOC worked her way through school. She graduated cum laude from Boston University in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in international relations and economics. Keep that 2nd sentence in mind when describing her. She's a hard and very smart worker.
I agree she is a great rallying point. But be careful not to delude yourself into thinking that kind of backing translates into electability across this wide diverse nation. We aren't there yet. Sad but true.
True Jon, but there are over 100,000 elections taking place in the US this year. They are all at the local or state level. Most people hate their Republican representatives at this point. So we need the agitators out there like Bernie and AOC.
And we need to chastise Trump for not doing any rallies. At this point what is he going to say. "It's working. Project 2025 is falling into place. If only we can impeach all of the anti-Trump judges it will be smooth sailing for ending elections forever in the US."
I'd like to see tRump attempt a rally in the Corn Belt...
Donable Lector would be pelted with corn cobs from the very first Depends diaper change
He will only have carefully stage managed events likely with a portion of his audience vetted to ensure a big, enthusiastic reception.
Consider, too, that Trump believes he no longer has to pay much attention to his MAGA fans. As long as he can show videos of alleged criminals being deported they are happy.
Better yet, In Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal.
We need to weaponize the truth. OK, the MAGA shields are up, but how many people figured it was not worth voting? Perhaps they can be stirred?
That is a very good bet.
I just checked that AOC was born in NYC and is 35 years old, therefore eligible for presidency (unlike de facto president Musk). Whether she would be a good candidate or good president, don't know, but certainly very promising.
Yes, promising, but not now. Democrats need to focus now on winning. If that requires a moderate white male nominee for president, so be it. Unelected people don't have much power -- unless they're Elon Musk and the prez is Donald Trump.
I agree, a charismatic male should’ve been the game plan for 2024. Unfortunately both men AND women have unconscious bias towards women generally.
Actually I think a more mainstream (ie white) candidate might have helped in 2024, but more importantly someone not tied to Biden. There are a lot of "if onlys" from 2024. I always thought the best candidate would have been Gretchen Whitmer but once Biden resisted getting out of the race immediately (as he should have in early 2024) the damage was probably done.
I’m starting to think this whole shit show had to play out to make much needed change. To get not only Americans, but the whole global community to wake the f**ck up to oligarchical authoritarianism and realise ‘power of the people’.
Do you think her appeal is reaching the average *white* Joe (or Jo, for that matter)?
I like what she says but don't think she's ready to be president. Yet.
Or our misogynist country is not ready to elect her as President.
^^^^THIS^^^^
No, Alan, but I'd love to see her in Sen Schumer's seat.
Unless and until millions of American misogynists die off, she couldn't be elected to the White House, no matter how "ready" she might be. Maybe in 50 years. Maybe.
Ain't holding my breath. If the resumes of Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris were not enough to get elected against the bloviating diaper wearer, we are a llooooonnnnnggg way off.
Spot on, Ally. My feeling as well. But as I've said many times before, I think it's going to take a worldful of hurt among our population before a majority of survivors awake from the near-fatal fever of maga-ism and begin to restore the country to the progressive path of democracy. And that's sad.
I understand your point. But, "Hope springs eternal."
Alan Peterson -- I think she's on her way, in line after Pete and Gretchen.
Blue collar workers, the ones who work 12hr shifts and have no leave entitlements - she’s singing their song.
But Kazz, are they listening to that song on their way to and from work, or are they listening to right wing talk radio? (I'm referring generally to the younger males in our population.) I fear the propagation of right wing blather in workplace conversations, while fewer are talking about the policies that are now destroying their lives as well as those of the rest of us.
They almost all, to a person listen to talk radio constantly when they can't watch 'Faux News'.
You’re right Doug, this is where the trade unions need to get on board. To raise awareness around job insecurity and sub-par working conditions from DEI culls and the inevitable trump recession rearing it’s head.
I love Bernie, but AOC’s charm is lost on me. I find her embarrassing. Regardless of personal reactions, surely one of the lessons we should have learned is that at least half the country is not ready for progressive policies, more if you include large numbers of Democrats. That may be lamentable, but if there is a hope of returning to sound, long-term environmental, foreign policy and social policies the Democratic party has to appeal to a wide range of voters.
Sounds a lot like leaving BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ behind to me.
If AOC embarrasses you, you must be genuinely shallow.
What progressive policies of hers do you find so bad?
And young people
I attended a talk by Jefferson Cowie this week, with my book club on his book Freedom's Dominion. He is saying that for someone to win they need to have a populist agenda. Here is a piece I wrote about it.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/is-populism-the-way-to-go?r=f0qfn
"Politics needs to reflect the will of the people." That's it in a nutshell. Thank you, Linda. That is what democracy is.
I especially like your last paragraph: "In order for them to trust the party, people need to hear that the Democratic party is more concerned about people having food on their table and being able to pay their bills than whether they are saying the correct things all the time. I think a piece that Cowie did not mention, but is critical, is to take on campaign finance reform. For the Democratic party to transform, Democrats need to listen to people and figure out how to address their problems. Whether or not the party heeds Cowie's advice and turns to a populist message, the party must rethink what it stands for and what it can do for people."
Anne's comment is spot on. Democrats need to focus on kitchen-table issues -- getting jobs, paying for food and buying houses, as examples. The other issues are legitimate but focus on a tiny portion of the populace. Paying for food, etc., is a critical issue for all people, straight or gay, male or female.
How about Liberty and Justice for all? Really, for all?
What does that look like? When do we as a nation even think about it?
The fastest and most efficient way to get rid of Musk is Feathers of Hope. Surely a few Congressional Republicands refuse to join the axis if evil.
I really like Bernie's and AOC's approach of going into chicken-shit Congresscritters districts and hold rallies against Trump and Elon.
The local TV station can't help but report on the rallies. I mean, what are they going to preempt another story on bird flu or tariff's?
When almost half the town shows up for any event........that is front page news!!!
It’s probably the only thing to do in a lot of these towns. The movie theater closed decades ago.
Everyone I know who owns a Tesla is selling them. All of the progressives bought them. Now driving a Tesla is like wearing a MAGA hat....
They need to read Feathers of Hope.
I have seen only slight evidence of that yet. The entire GOP in Congress is still wrapped up in the victory. There are a few chinks in the armor starting to show but I think we are in for a fairly long row to hoe before we get there.
Yesterday Heather documented that Mike Turner (R.AL) and Roger Wicker (R. MS) complained about National Security. Lots more have called Trump a liar on Putin/Ukraine. I published the letter I got from Rick Scott. Thom Tillis. Murkowski. Many more.
They are still Republicans. The main issue is National Security. Jerry Weiss has identified a number fof candidates and we have 3 Cuban American MAGATs here who have recently discovered they are DEI and many of their donors and consituents are upset. We have more Canadians here that some Canadian provinces -- most with dual citizenship.
Hoefully behind the scenes there is discussion about shared government. Only takes 3 in the House. Hakim Jeffries can offer chairmanships of key committees to Republicans.
I think that could happen someday but not yet. Politics is all about timing and while this is a terrible time for us all, I think it is premature to expect a serious turnabout even in the House. Trump needs to do something REALLY egregious (as if what he had done so far isn't enough, but I think it isn't). If he seriously capitulates on Ukraine to Russia that might be enough (how could even "little" Marco go along with that?) That might be the turning point for the staunchest be line GOP, enough to retake the House maybe even the Senate
But so far Trump has been skating a fine line. Not totally giving in to Putin but keeping Zelenskyy on guard. What he isn't reckoning with is that NATO and Europe are getting tired of the Trump nonsense and may just dump the him.
That might be the bridge too far.
And i truly detest the fact that sooo many lives are affected by this deranged old white man. And he doesnt give a shit about anyone but himself.
It is the whole right-wing not only trump!
You must not know many Republicans. Anything for power. A chairmanship is mighty appetising.
Little Marco is the automoton of Norman Braman. He is also funded by CANF -- and they are having an attitude adjustment. They discovered they are DEI and reject alliance as an ally of Cuban Communism.
One of our local House MAGATS was a Dem mayor until 2020. Was an HRC supporter in 2016.
I listed those who say they want to work with Democrats below.
Journalist Cathy Young writes on The Bulwark about Ukraine. Poll numbers say that 60% of Americans distrust Putin and support Ukraine, she reports. This is a great subject to keep in the spotlight. My representatives are all Republican, and at least two of the three have publicly supported Ukraine. I call and thank them. The third - I just ask him to support Ukraine.
A year ago I visited Charleston, SC, bastion of Republicanism. Throughout the old French Quarter, there were Ukraine flags flying outside of homes and commercial buildings. I think MAGAts need reminding that Russia is the enemy, not Ukraine.
Right-wing Congress people are most likely salivating at the thought of the power they can wield when they and trump achieve their totalitarian dream.
These right-wingers are too cowardly to preserve and protect the Constitution as they pledged to do when they took their oath to office.
Worse than cowards, they are traitors.
Thom Tillis is my Senator, and I call him every day at 2 offices to thank him for his public support for Ukraine. I think good self-care is the first priority and calls to our representatives is the next.
“Hope is a thing with feathers.”
Dream on!
There are no right-wing heroes.
Read the materials. Never up never in. We don't need them to become Deomocrats.
I'm also hoping that a few Congressional Republicans who are lawyers will stand for the rule of law.
Can you pass on a link Daniel ? Thanks...
https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Thank you Linda!
Excellent writing, Linda!
When polls and more show a real shift in voter preferences, you'll see Republicans in competitive districts begin to shift a few gears.
I agree, and I've said this before, but I think Bernie has always known that he can't win a presidential election. But Bernie is a smart guy, and he knows how to make himself heard. I reiterate.......no one has moved the political rhetoric more in the last 10 years than Bernie Sanders. He is brilliant, and passionate. Love the guy.
Before 2016 everyone knew there was no way trump could ever in the Presidency.
Alas, excellent point.
Bob, Yes, Bernie is a smart guy but he showed poor leadership after Hillary beat him in the 2016 primaries. My fellow Wisconsin Democrats have not forgotten how his followers acted at the national DEM convention and certainly haven’t forgotten how a shocking number of his followers (“Bernie Bros”) stayed home and refuse to vote for Hillary — allowing Trump to win our state in 2016.
I suppose that's true, but he's not a democrat. I'm not aware of how he, personally, acted. I've never seen anything from him that I thought was inappropriate. As for the "Bernie Bros", they are free to do whatever they like, and after all, we were all "sure" that Hillary was going to win. Not to belabor the point, but there were rumors of shenanigans from the Clinton campaign to discredit Bernie as well.
Hillary's assumption that she was entitled to be president and would of course win was a major problem. Plus, she's a lousy campaigner, the polar opposite of her husband.
What specifically is that shocking number and who recorded it?
I know that there are always some that only see the small picture, but how representative are they of a whole campaign? I was a Sanders alternate delegate and I supported and voted for Hillary Clinton once she was the nominee, despite having gripes about Sander's treatment, which I could detail. It seems to me that Sanders and so far as I know, the preponderance of his following, helps, not hurts the Democrats agendas, at least over all.
Great post Ralph. I too love Bernie and AOC but I also agree that Bernie could never be elected. He is to be fair "an old commie jew" ( as am I by the way and proud of it!) But sadly in this country that makes him virtually unelectable nationwide as a President no matter how great he might turn out.
And as I have said before AOC is simply not mature enough as a leader to be a president. I am not sure she could be elected Senator in her home state of New York. Maybe in 6-8 years, yes. But not yet.
All that said they are great legislators and advocates for our cause and I continue to support them both in their efforts to shine the light on the Trump terror emanating from DC.
While I agree that neither of them could be elected President - I would definitely vote for AOC if she ran for Senator in NY.
I would TOO of course but it's also necessary to face the political realities in NY (and anywhere). New York is really two completely different places: NYC and New York state (and part of NYC, i.e., Staten Island doesn't really count!)
AOC could easily get elected Senator from NYC but unfortunately there is the pesky reality that NYC doesn't get their own Senator. And she is at best a 50-50 shot at getting elected Senator in NY State possibly less than that.
There are other states where getting elected to Congress in a major district would practically pave the road for you to the Senate but unfortunately NY is NOT one of those states.
Someday I think she will make it and maybe even the White House but sadly not this decade. And I want her to hold her Congressional seat and not sacrifice it like California's Katie porter did when she took on Adam Schiff for Senator. That was a tragic House loss for the Democrats. And the same problem too.
Schiff had 20 years in Congress and Porter, a bright progressive woman had only 2 terms. Anyone with any sense could see that she was heading uphill. It's one thing to go uphill against a monster but Schiff was a liberal hero.
Katie had no chance and I fear AOC needs more time to be ready to fight for av Senate seat let alone the Presidency no matter how much she could handle it. We allk know Harris would have made a terrific President but she had to win first.
Jon Rosen -- Use care when using the phrase "we all know" before stating your own opinion.
I do use care. It is a common expression and MOST people understand that it is an expression of speech not to be taken literally. It means "most of us should know".
But my apologies I will try to be more careful. It is funny that you picked out almost the very last thing I wrote in a relatively long comment so can we agree that most of what I wrote is good?
Thanks!
I agree with you about politics, Jon. You have to win.
Winning has to be he first priority for Democrats, regardless of what it takes (assuming that "what it takes" is ethical).
I agree. She may be ready someday but not yet. Upstate is another world.
I doubt Lincoln would make it to the presidency today, or at least there would be widely expresed opinion that he wouldn't.
Not with that beard!
He is not communist he is a democratic socialist.
He has never advocated nationalizing business it must be embarrassing to be so ignorant unless you're to ignorant to realize it.
Dude, get over yourself. Did you see the quote marks around the expression "old commie Jew"? It is NOT a literal statement of fact, it is a representation of what the opposition thinks of him.
THIS o them he is OLD (totally true), he is Jewish (also totally true) and a "commie" in the same way that 1950s Joe Mc Carathy supporters called ANYONE who was to the left of Attilla the Hun a "commie".
The point is that Bernie, whatever you call him, is WAY to the left of mainstream America. He never had any real serious chance of being elected President and he stillo doesn't. If we couldn't get Harris elected, Bernie isn't even on the road map.
But I LOVE the guy and I hope he keeps doing what he is doing because it is a rallying point for the people. And we need that right now.
Just don't get confused between someone who can help us win and someone who can win himself. He is the former, not the latter.
Apologies, I was reminded of when, during the 2015 primary race, my right-wing brother-in-law asked me if Bernie Sanders is the same kind of communist as Hitler. I guess I'm just sensitive to feeding the right-wing propensity to label every liberal as a communist. My experience with right-wingers is that most of them don't know the difference between a communist and a fascist. They don't realize that they are now fascists.
Well said MS. Furthermore and a thing that unfairly bias' some people is that even if he were a raging communist, we have two other branches and the constitution to tame any wayward policy leanings by only the executive branch. Congress makes all law, departments, etc., in harmony with the constitution - if not, the judiciary steps on it.
"Even if he were a raging communist, we have two other branches of government... to take any wayward policy leanings."
I am assuming this was an attempt at political humor, right? Be cause if you were serious, have you noticed how effective those other two branches are right now when we need them? The judiciary is trying but Congress is totally under the thumb of Trump.
Just saying...
The Democrats made a huge mistake by not allowing a chance Bernie to get on the ticket. I know he has been an independent and not a Democrat, but people were excited about him. He has ideas. I think he would be an effective leader. I mean, let’s face it, Obama, charismatic and intelligent and graceful as he is Was behind the learning curve when he took office. And look how he compromised with the Republicans immediately that was not exactly a wise strategy. So I think the Democrats really screwed up back in 2016 and here we are…
Terry: the *Dems* screwed up in 2016? No, I believe we ran the right candidate. I know it's all woulda coulda shoulda, but let's blame Comey for his public announcement that the FBI was reopening the email investigation, what, a week or 2 before the election? And let's also remember that she won the popular vote, in spite of that.
Unfortunately the popular vote doesn’t matter in this country when politicians can buy a gerrymandered district. The electoral college has to go.
Yes, Valerie. A thousand times YES.
I think you have forgotten who ran in and who won the 2016 election. Sanders never ran against Obama in primaries; that was Clinton and it was 2008. It was likewise Clinton who was the nominee in 2016. Furthermore, much as Sanders has very good ideas, he’s not even an effective Senator. Of all the 421 bills he has sponsored, only 3 have become law. I don’t know how anyone could think he would be an effective president, despite his ideas, given his performance as a senator. I think he’s doing a great job as our moral compass and teaming up with AOC is wonderful. This is where he is at his most effective.
In an election between far-right (Agent Orange) and far-left (Bernie) I bet a lot of voters would swing left. The people who really hate Bernie are the billionaires on both sides of the aisle. But his message and his crowds would have defeated both Hillary (who would have made a fantastic president) and Orange.
Many democracies have more than 2 parties and some have coalition governments. A third party could be a path to an effective government. I know I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one...
I have very mixed feelings about a third party or having parties at all, at least the way we do them. Canada has more than one party and got stuck with Republican-like Stephen Harper for nine years. Dunno if it's true, but my politically plugged in Canadian son-in-law claims that the majority of Canadians disliked Harper, but because they could not come together to oppose him, he stayed a long time. I recall that Harper really loathed environmental protection.
I wonder if 'ranked choice' voting helps that 3rd party conundrum ?
Dream on! It's one way to attack our political nightmare, but until we eliminate money in our elections, the oligarchs will cling to the current two-party system. Money is unable to feel compassion or seek justice. "Citizens United" is really "End Democracy Now".
I think it is clear that having a hell of a lot of money in this country allows one to veto the will of a whole lot of people. I have thought of this every time the MSM says that a popular policy is blocked (with seemingly no chance of advancing) by a "powerful lobby". Musk did not invent Tesla. He took it over because he has a whole lot of money.
Tax the rich!
The kids (youth) certainly seemed to like him. They were all kinds of PO'd when it was intimated that the dem party pulled one over on him. And yet, he sticks with and votes with them. Gotta' love that.
Bernie was in the Dem primaries so he was allowed on the ticket. I think he made a mistake when he said he wouldn’t play well with Dems or R’s.
Ralph, agreed about Bernie & AOC, however, we HAD excellent candidates in Harris/Walz whom we let slip through the cracks of a VERY suspect election with all 7 swing states showing dramatic similarities in their statistical "winning margins” all with just enough of a margin to avoid recounts and all with dramatic down-ballot “drop-off” showing only the Republican presidential candidate winning with remaining candidates for other offices from the Democrats winning.
I cannot forget Trump‘s reference to musk and the magic he worked with computers in Pennsylvania. Wink wink.
Yeah, that one bothers me. The trouble is that almost nothing Trump says is true.
“….whom we let slip through the cracks….”
“We”? How did “we” do that?
Millions really did vote for Trump/Vance. In a nation of rational, knowledgeable citizens neither one of those two would be elected dog catcher. We live in a nation where a large plurality of voters have willingly let themselves be turned into political idiots. Turning back that tide is going to be tough, painful, and maybe bloody.
Can't like, do agree.
Likewise read and agree.
That's the problem with "liking" comments.
The masculinity and misogyny has turned young men into whining fools because they don’t want to work hard, can’t seem to have relationships with women so ran to vote for the rapists and his sidekick who denigrates women every chance he gets. Even Musk can’t maintain a relationship and has somehow managed to father 13+ children. How many abortions and unknown little Musks are out there.
Thank goodness my grandson learned respect at home.
Ralph, ‘twould seem “we” need to get as effective as the Republicans at using/diverting the legal process, the machinery of voting, gerrymandering and countering voter suppression. "They” have mastered these tools since at least Bush V Gore in 2000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_v._Gore
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see AOC make a credible run for the White House in the next dozen years.
Jonathan, let's hope we survive the next 20 months until the 2026 election, and 2 years after that one before speculating about 2036. But if we do, and she runs, I hope I'm still around to vote for her.
Jonathan Adler -- after Pete Buttigieg and Gretchen Whitmer.
What ever happened with NY mayor Adams? I haven’t heard a word
He complied and stayed out of prison.
Complied to be a cfg stooge. Cfg's DOJ holds the threat of retrying him over his head.
Pay off.
He has several challengers, including the former governor of NY, Cuomo.
Some of us weren't wild about his tolerance of misogyny either, but he did get better after 2016 -- probably thanks in large part to his female supporters like AOC.
Ralph, I agree with much that Bernie has advocated for a very long time. And i agree that he is very effective on the stump speaking to voters. I also am a pragmatic person and I know that progress in our system can be very slow which is why I have sometimes held my nose to vote for certain Ds because their R counterparts were/are much worse. I hope that somehow we can right the ship despite death star and muskrat making huge holes in it and loading it with rocks. I am truly surprised at some of the R statements around Social Security especially when they come out of the mouth of a billionaire. For the first time I wanted to know if my SS check had been deposited. We also got our federal tax return check.
One thing that I deeply appreciate about Bernie besides his guts, is that he never wavers. He is on the side he's on without reservation and hasn't changed.
But lots of corporate type democrats did mock Bernie and some continue to do so. Ralph, you need to get out more.
And if they they hold their rallies on a slow news day, ABC, NBC, CBS, NYTimes, The WAPO, might do a two minute story buried in their newscasts/papers somewhere.
Ralph, I’m not trying to be oppositional, I’m just concerned about the integrity of the election in 2026. Please tell me I’ just overreacting to the voter suppression. Does anyone else feel the same? I really could use some hope. Can we overturn this mess? I live in deeply red and gerrymandered Florida. I don’t want to discuss SS. Like most retired Americans, I worked all my life and saved, my husband and I count on it to pay the bills.
Phyllis, I share your concerns about the legitimacy of the 2026 elections. We can hope that there are enough votes for Democratic candidates to overcome Republican shenanigans.
Many self-identified Democrats have, even blaming him for Hillary Clinton's loss. Hillary herself criticized Bernie's position on campaign spending. I don't know if Bernie could have handled the presidency of not. I don't think anyone can, and do a good job of it without enough of the public essentially on board, and at least in the primary, Sanders was puling some good numbers. His great nemesis was the "Superdelegates"; but had he succeeded in being elected could he been an effective leader? I can't say for sure either way. I'm not always on the same page with him, but I think he has some clarity. Whatever the case, I have observed the influence of the Democratic Party sliding for decades, and believed that there was more that could be done about it. If you keep losing ground you would surely be wise to examine your strategy.
The warping of society and the democratic process by very big money is a very big deal, and by now, it isn't subtle. Sen. Hollings let the cat out of the bag long ago, but that was in the news for like a day:
"But the main culprit, the cancer on the body politic, is money: Money, money, money... We don't have time for each other. We don't have time for constituents, except for the givers. Somebody ought to tell the truth about that."
Thank you for your very thoughtful response to my comment.
JL is a great read when he wants to.
Spot on JL. It's the money; it's corrupted a percentage within the dem party, without a doubt. I think that is part of the reason for so much inaction by them. I also think the gop is holding some truths above their heads, such as 'who' dipped into the SS Trust, and who approved of costly overseas wars. And more; more that is specific and personal, so their re-election would be at stake.
Amen to everything you said!!!!
Bernie was sabotaged by the Dem party leadership. Bernie has given talks at conservative gatherings where he was applauded. What he speaks of are basic universal goals of ordinary people. All of his points are in use in countries today and some have been in practice in the US before.
"Bernie was sabotaged by the Dem party leadership."
You make it appear as if Sanders was a lifelong Democrat. He wasn't. He remained aloof and apart from the party until he used the Democratic Party as a useful stepping stone. The Democratic Party owed him nothing, but still they welcomed him in. Maybe if he had paid half the party dues Clinton had paid her whole career, the Dems might have been more helpful. Sanders' tepid endorsement of Clinton after she won the nomination illustrates that he was not a true Democrat; merely an opportunist and, in the end, a spoiler who helped Donald Trump get into the White House. How different the world would be now if.....
I heartily disagree that Bernie has been unelectable. That was a bullshit trope that the mainstream millionaire Democrat establishment put across to give us Hillary. People wanted change in 2016 and that is why we got Trump. Hillary represented the status quo, Bernie had substantial popular groundswell. The time of “moderates” has past. Change is on the horizon.
Mocking him about the money in politics? If there is a problem you can bet your bottom dollar money is at the root. Law firms, universities, businesses all caving to trump's demands, why? Can you say MONEY? The country has been taken over by oligarchs, what are oligarchs? Can you say MONEY? Did the SC give MONEY the protection of the 1st Amendment? Tell me how money does not = power, i.e. the power to corrupt. As in the corruption of too many politicians.
A-friggin'-men!! After living and working in Europe for nearly 20 years and moving back to the US in 2005, one of THE things that absolutely became apparent to me was how much the country had changed in the interim with regard to the obsession with money. It permeated everything, it seemed. Of course, that's not to say that mentality doesn't similarly exist in Europe—I lived in The Netherlands and they are famous for their, um, "frugality"—but returning here I was struck with the pervasiveness of this attitude, obsession even, everywhere you turned of making money at all costs. It was ALWAYS the bottom line and there was no subtlety about it. It's one of those things that one could only notice after spending a number of years away from a place—kind of like every time I'd return to the US to visit, maybe once a year, that's when I began to really notice how my parents were aging. When you're around it all the time you don't take as much notice of it. Go away for like 20 years and come back and, a la Rip van Winkle, you get a real sense of how much things can change.
The two things you mentioned—the caving in to Trump of Columbia U. and the high-powered law firm yesterday—really showed how money can seemingly compromise anyone's ethics. Everybody seems to have their price, and ruthless, predatory capitalists like Trump know exactly how to use that power. One really can't fault Columbia for failing to turn their nose up at $400 million in grants. That's a LOT of funding for very valuable research. It just sucks that jerks like Trump can be in positions where they can extort favors from people, political ones in this case, and make them fall in line all for the price of a dollar.
Everyone has a price—that’s the not-so-secret of the con.
Have you ever imagined yourself in a situation where you had to choose between taking a 'life-changing sum of money' in exchange for… *you fill in the blank*? A moment where the offer on the table could alter your future, tempting you to compromise something you once thought was non-negotiable?
In the end, it all comes down to one thing—something in dangerously short supply these days: INTEGRITY!
Agree. Columbia U would have survived without the $400 million and law firm Paul Weiss can easily provide $40 million in pro bono work -- but for Trump? Principle went out the window in both cases.
Columbia seemed to fold pretty quick. I am unaware if Columbia tried any legal appeals. A whole lot of outfits have seemed only too eager to sell out human rights responsibilities.
Money is one of the most powerful forms of power. If you pay enough money you can find someone who will do just about anything for you. Even illegal things. Even really terrible things. The more corrupt a society is the more interchangeable the power of money with political power. With enough corruption, you can add physical and other forms of violence to the mix.
The Bible claims that "the lover of money" is the "root of all evil", or some say just "many evils". That pretty much fits for me if you consider "love of money" to be obsessive. You'd sell your grandmother for financial advantage. I think Trump would.
Whereas the republicans are intent on getting every last penny they can pilfer outta the remains of the federal government in preparation to sell it for scrap.
Many Republicans want to privatize literally everything, including, explicitly, public roads, public schools, public parks, even police, firefighting, and the military, so someone can extract profit from it. They would privatize the air we breathe if they could figure out a way to fence it off. I recall the reasoning of a red state (I forget which one) that outlawed municipal public internet was it was unfair competition for profit makers. I really love free enterprise for the goods and services it is suited to providing, but some services are too vital and some powers too dangerous to be entrusted to profit-making calculations away from public supervision and control. The invading British put a tax on salt no matter how acquired. That became a key issue driving Indian independence.
"You will find that all the arguments in favor of king-craft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden. That is their argument, and this argument of the Judge is the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it." - Lincoln
I always laugh when I read that some candidate (especially for president) is lauded for being a good business person. Business and government are two totally different entities with polar opposite goals.
I think there may be some legitimate areas of overlap, but yes, very different missions and responsibilities. I think business interests encourage the public to conflate the two.
Nah. Business writ large wants us to believe that government is an inherently evil destructive force producing human suffering on the epic scale.
Not interested in conflation – only elimination.
Overlap indeed: intelligence, collegiality, management skills and that sort of thing. But the goals and motivations, I think, are different. I've worked for both. I don't want to say one is "better" than the other, but they are different.
One thing that has held the Democratic back since the 2016 election is the incessant division over Bernie Sanders. The drum beat of resentment from Progressives concerning Bernie has simply got to stop. It has been 9 years. Let it go. We have much work to do.
While we complain about Bernie and AOC, they are the duo that started the public popular resistance against the regime. Fortunately some other leaders are following and we have to recognize them as the initiators and pay some respect by showing an United Front and stop the drum beat you are talking about Barbara.
Again. Demanding respect? How is this a unifying statement?
We have GOT to pull together.
I think we are pulling together now. I think also that the drum beat stopped already and people recognize the situation is to serious to keep playing the blame game. Hope you didn't get me wrong.
Thank you for the clarification. Even Dr. Richardson stated one month ago that we are in a coup. It greatly disturbs me when I see more ruminations on stuff that has already happened instead of actions we can take now.
Take Care. I always enjoy your feedback sir.
We must prevail.
Thanks Barbara, I'm taking care of myself by having a light lunch overlooking Porto Vecchio in southern Corsica 😋
How lovely. Now put down your phone and soak up the moment completely :))
🤩
One of the advantages of human consciousness is the ability to learn from the past. What if Sanders was correct about the need to focus on misuses of money? Maybe he is not. We still get to talk about it, which is crucial to functioning self-governance, and I believe, to making wise choices. It is expected that people will disagree in courts, and in the halls of Congress, so long as they do so in good faith. So long as there is a bottom line of solidarity, of common interests and mutual respect. Solidarity enables diversity and diversity is essential to liberty, along with accepting individual responsibilities. That makes democracy "messy" (but worth it).
Sanders may differ in his priorities with some other liberals, but yet he is on the team. He ran against Clinton but supported the party in the end, as have I. That said, it's not the Democratic Part I feel loyalty to (though I have been a registered Democrat my whole voting life) but to the principles they champion, as compared to the abandonment of good faith by the "GOP".
What protest are you scheduled to attend? Town hall maybe?
Barbara, i understand that Bern is not the answer for 2028, but i think the lesson needs to be spoken. Hillary was a democratic mistake in 2026. People wanted change, not more of the same. Change is why we got trump in a populist uprising. Bernie represented change in a progressive direction, he spoke for the people. I as well as many others believe he would have won the 2016 election. There is a lesson there that we should not forget or ignore. Just my opinion.
It's hard to completely understand all that contributed to Trump's victory. I think the most tragic mistake is the "Electoral College" since the entire nation is the constituency of the president and VP. I want to see Democrats take a stronger and more explicit stand on democratic principles, liberty and justice literally for all. I wrote to my members of Congress yesterday, and always have to select from a list of "issues" that typically oblique to my concern. I think perhaps our insistence on packaging matters as discrete "issues". Some people announced they would not vote because the felt their primary "Issue" was not honored. What about our 'values"? Even when life presents unappealing alternatives, which portends the most good and the least harm?
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/15-ways-you-can-fight-for-democracy#:~:text=15%20Ways%20You%20Can%20Fight%20for%20Democracy
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/15-ways-you-can-fight-for-democracy#:~:text=15%20Ways%20You%20Can%20Fight%20for%20Democracy
Sanders is out there working. What activism are you engaged in? I am going to a protest in my town on April 8. What are your plans?
I hear you Barbara, i am interested in your opinions and thoughts. I want positive and intelligent discourse. I do some small part in communicating with my community and financial support of causes supporting democracy. I am rather surprised that you are throwing darts at me as response to a respectful comment that I believe. Seems uncharacteristic? I am sorry to raise your ire. Apologies.
I am not angry. I promote activism. I am desperate to promote activism in the face of a coup d'etat. We are hanging by a thread for our Democracy. You realize the Sanders discussion is 9 years old. You realize people have been hating on and analyzing trump for also 9 years. We lost the 2024 election. Let's move on. I have seen too many long, long, long discussions on forums. It worries me. I promote doing more and talking less. We must hit the streets, not sit at our keyboards.
Did you look at the link I posted?
If you really want to hear my thoughts and opinions I will be glad to send you links for marches, writing Congress and other opportunities.
Yes Barbara, i know that 2016 was 9 years ago. I am not promoting the idea of a Sanders campaign. But i am commenting on the loss of the 2024 election. Not sexism, not racism although the themes were prevalent. The loss of both of those elections were a failure of the democratic leadership to not stuff the status quo down our throats. People want change. Bernie and AOC are speaking to that change. The dems have failed to show us that path, which is why so many low information voters went for the Liar. I have voted democrat my whole life, but am currently researching how to change affiliation to independent. Democrats can’t keep people in their tent. That needs to be spoken. Otherwise we are yelling in a shrinking echo chamber.
Yes, Hillary was a very bad mistake, but Bernie was not the correct answer. Democrats need to do better.
Politely disagree, but that is what we do as free people. 😉
Granted and happy that as free people we can still vote. Hope that continues.
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/15-ways-you-can-fight-for-democracy#:~:text=15%20Ways%20You%20Can%20Fight%20for%20Democracy
2016
Yup!
🤨👍
on the other hand, Kamala Harris got large and enthusiastic crowds out for her campaign, too - but millions of potential voters stayed home rather than vote for a woman of color as president. So crowd size is not the only measure - though small turnouts would be worse, for sure.
Yes, many other nations have embraced or at least accepted female leaders. That "ceiling" appears to remain entrenched in the us, and yes the ethnic barrier. There were also those who vowed not to vote because of the Biden Administration's policies (which I too opposed) on Gaza. But what did they gain by that?
She did not represent change! She even said as much on a huge nationwide broadcast. Pay attention to the message. It wasn’t all racism and misogyny. WE THE PEOPLE want change in the government. We want support for labor, support for working class families. Trump fooled the low information voting masses that he was that. He did so better than Kamela in his messaging. Even if he was lying through his teeth.
I happen to think that a main reason there were small turnouts was because of purging voter rolls and making it difficult or impossible to vote.
If you want (need) some comic relief, check out the anti-Trump bumper stickers available on Amazon. Here is one of my favorites-
SUPERcallousFRAGILEracistSEXISTnaziPOTUS
Thanks for the laugh, Gary!
Wonder what Julie Andrew thinks of this?
Elizabeth: I second your gratitude to Dr. COX RICHARDSON. The next Democratic President will be urged to reward her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I will be the first to sign the petition
Veronica, I thought at the time that Biden should have done it when he had the chance.
Can you imagine a mass demonstration where people not only filled the streets but also peacefully occupied interstate highways, bringing traffic to a standstill across the nation? I’m not advocating for reckless endangerment, but such an act could be carried out strategically and safely, making an undeniable statement without causing harm. That would make our anger and frustration palpable.
Gale McCray, “Old man with a sign” is back out in Texas bless him. He’s replaced “Trump That Boy Don’t Act Right” with “America Elected a Fascist “.
Yes, a national strike is the least effort that might stop the Project 2025 takeover.
I can't agree with blocking highways. People hate that. It would fuel MAGA.
How about a march instead of a blockage. People can slow down and see what it's all about. Signs on overpasses are good as well.
I love a march, or just a stationary protest. Someone in my town decided to start a protest at our courthouse. She emailed a few friends, who emailed their friends, and a few hours later there were a hundred people on the sidewalk with their quickly created signs. Leaders made a few rules - stay on the sidewalk, no rude signs, no engaging with hecklers. The attendees interviewed by our paper said they just wanted to DO something. One woman said that most of her friends were too depressed to do anything.
Many people who passed in cars honked and gave the thumbs up. We absolutely need ways to show the coup leaders that we have not given up and we need ways to keep our morale up.
Its the idea more than actually doing it. It would infuriate EVERYONE including supporters.
For those living near Washington DC: Remember when truckers blocked the Beltway by driving verrrry slowly around the 60-mile-long I-495?
Blocking critical lines of transportation is dangerous. It blocks emergency vehicles and everything else. What about a massive march on Washington though? A march of hundreds of thousands, reminiscent of the Civil Right Movement...except this is just the Rights Movement...for all people. Is anyone organizing on this scale yet? And what about sit-ins? Do those exist anymore?
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/15-ways-you-can-fight-for-democracy#:~:text=15%20Ways%20You%20Can%20Fight%20for%20Democracy
It would take only 16 people to stop their cars abreast at an interchange of 6-lane highways. One car in each lane plus another to block each shoulder. Banners hung from the overpass would communicate the reason.
Holy Jesus, are you out of your mind? That would alienate everyone.
Quite recently a group of actual Nazis staged a demonstration like you’ve described. They all brought firearms and hung Nazi banners from the overpass. This occurred just outside DC.
What happens on highways? True, lots of shopping traffic. Even more people going to work and doing their jobs, making deliveries. You know who else uses highways? Ambulances, firemen, police, people as individuals responding to an emergency, and likely quite a few other things I’ve left out.
So how clever is it to stage mass demonstrations on a public highway?
If a permit was granted, then there would be lots of advance notice, police coordination, alternative routes provided. OK, so problem mitigated. I wonder how likely it is a permit would be granted?
Yes, Elisabeth, I join you in thanking Bernie and AOC as almost the ONLY visible Democrats making a stink. My Congress members are sending me letters telling me what they are doing on a local level to "push back" against the things that cripple our state programs, but this is a national problem. No one has yet emerged as a leader for a nationwide effort to "stop the steal." I'm hoping JB Pritzker (Illinois governor) will step up, but still so far no leader.
I place great hope in the upcoming April 5 event and wish I was able to be in the streets shouting and carrying signs. At 74 and after back surgery has weakened my legs, I won't make it standing or marching for long enough to help, but I'm willing and able to make signs for people to carry, write letters of support, and aid my fellow citizens in any way I can to further this effort. My local Indivisible organization is only available on Facebook, which I refuse to use for MANY reasons (their website appears to be inactive).
I know everyone is tired of hearing this from me, but I still have to ask why none of these people has been arrested. Is their no law enforcement agency besides the DOJ in DC? Laws are being broken, some with criminal penalties. Where are the police? OK, I'll stop beating that dead horse.
I cannot answer your last question. When reporting on the US Institute of Peace (NON government agency that Skum and his incels invaded) they called DC Police, who let the intruders in. Same agency that completely botched the January 6th crowd control response. I do not know what local law enforcement is using for brains over there, but what they are permitting to happen is unconscionable.
The laws you are suggesting they are breaking are federal laws and wpuld require arrest by the FBI or some other federal agency. The DC police arrest period for me "mundane" things like gas station robberies, etc. They do not enforce the federal laws except when they provide protection as they did on Jan6 2021 at the Capitol. However even they are representatives of the federal government and can be ordered by the President.
I am assuming you understand that no one in the federal government is going to arrest anyone else in the federal government for ostensible crimes against the federal government that Trump (or Musk) has authorized.
They are all wearing the same hats and working for the same team. And the team's "owner" has already decided that they aren't breaking any laws so there will be no arrests or prosecutions.
Thank you, Jon. That's the most cogent explanation I have had for why no arrests. Just as a thought exercise, what happens if a federal judge finds someone in criminal contempt withing the district and orders them jailed? Who would act on the order? I presume your answer is no one.
Actually it is possible (although not guaranteed) that the US Marshals office might actually act on behalf of the federal courts to arrest a fed appointee on behalf of the courts of so ordered.
They are the nominal representatives of the judiciary and most of them take that role pretty seriously. Some might ignore a judge's order if told to do so by their superiors but I expect there are some who would refuse to defy a judge's order because their training puts the judges above their superiors.
But it's uncharted territory. And what will happen like so much of what is happening today is extremely unpredictable.
I expect that is what Trump and Musk are relying on as they work their black magic to destroy the government. No one quite knows what to do because we've never seen anything like this before, at least not since the Civil War.
That's why I council readiness but NOT direct action... yet. It is quite possible that there will come a point where that will be the only (or best) option, but I think right now that point is still in the future.
It probably sounds to many like a Neville Chamberlain moment but things are very different today compared to pre WW II. The main difference is Chamberlain was dealing with an external menace and had the support of most of the countries around the world and yet he still chose to play the dupe with Hitler.
Today, our enemy is truly within and our normal allies are abandoning us in droves. We are in a much more dangerous time than pre WW II.
And that is truly scary.
Thanks John. Maybe there’s something about the way popular histories are written that leave out the greater part of the turmoil, misery, uncertainty and personal cost that comes with revolutions. Even within society itself, the tendency to forget anguish and pain or at least think of it as a bad dream is most common.
History pretty clearly shows these victories are pyrrhic. All anyone wants to hear is about the victories and glories. Like an iceberg, that’s the pretty tip, a signal flag of danger. Some revolutions go on for generations. In most, a “bad guy” wins, and often that faction arose seemingly from nowhere … like a highjacking.
Bottomline, the history of arrests of people in high office anywhere is a rather thin one. It’s a very difficult and fraught road to go down.
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/15-ways-you-can-fight-for-democracy#:~:text=15%20Ways%20You%20Can%20Fight%20for%20Democracy
You have hit the nail squarely on it's head. We The People are the employers of government officials starting with the president and on down.It is patently ridiculous that a plain unelected citizen and his unelected boys are taking down our Social Security administration with an unaimed wrecking ball. I will be out in the streets on April 5th to give my outrage a face as will millions of others.ENOUGH!
Hooray for tiny Marquette, Michigan in the deep-MAGA U.P.! There will be an April 5 rally there!
I was also thinking I am thankful Bernie still has fight in him. And grateful that AOC is picking up for the younger generation.
God, I love Bernie. A constant force for us all in a vast sea of cowards.
Elisabeth, it would seem a more accurate pronunciation of DOGE would be “Dodgy,” especially given your more accurate acronym "Destruction Of Government by Elon."
MAGA = Making Americans Gullible Ass-kissers
Yes, Elisabeth! I've signed up for the Boston protest. (Maybe one has been organized in NH, but I saw nothing a week ago.)
Take to the streest, America! And let's do it regularly!
And then some!
Heather is my hero too! Thank you, Heather! You keep me sane, but vigilant.
Infinite thanks to the leakers.
Leakers to the public are generally good. Leakers, intentional or fools, who leak to our enemies are not good. This sure the time for real whistleblowers to show their mettle.
Yes -- agree. And I hope people at the agencies are somehow archiving or taking home all the pages that are being scrubbed from websites -- they are trying to remove our history - especially history and contributions of people of color, indigenous people and the LGBTQ community and make history solely about white men. I hope someday we will have a chance to put the real history back together.
Women are being removed as well, but for some reason never get mentioned as victims of this attempted purge of history. Does it go without saying?
Sharlene, I have been sharing a LOT of them that are being purged from military websites. I did my due diligence on one involving Emily Perez (West Point grad, KIA in Iraq) and noted her bio was missing. I posted it, and got jumped on with both feet when my RWNJ friends found that it had been relisted. I also looked up the WASP entry; it was gone one day and back the next. It took longer for the Navajo Code Talkers to reappear, but they did too.
So encouraging! I love it when we make a difference!! Kudos to you!
Those people are not your friends! Racists.
You are 100% correct. I monitor so that I know what the enemy is doing.
They are mostly retired cops that I worked with, and have been through numerous critical incidents with. So sad that people’s I trusted my life with do not deserve that trust.
Good point, Sharlene!
Many people outside of government are downloading and archiving web pages, too.
That is very well said, lauriemcf. All totalitarian governments erase and alter history to manipulate their people.
The right-wingers have always been petty, bigoted fools easily held down by their "leaders" to disregard their best interests by using their hatred for others.
Yes, that is egregious!
There are “leakers “ and “ whistleblowers “. And then there are ass kissers. And any grade schooler could tell you the difference. We kids called them tattle tellers or teachers’s pet who were put in their place by any competent teacher. These pathetic creatures were never rewarded for their ass kissing
It has to be over 70 years since I heard the words tattle tellers 🙏
Heh, well ya got me. I am 76 and it's been about 70,s years that I remember using that word. It is one sin I did not commit, but I admit to committing a bit of whistleblowing.
No teacher I ever knew ever put in place a tattle teller or teacher’s pet. I taught school for over thirty years in seven different states. There were kids who tried “ass kissing” but not generally to get others in trouble. Usually those kids were hoping for better grades for less work.
America has to waste time with the incompetent administration, the MSM not fact-checking their news, and the corruption with SCOTUS & Heritage Foundation… so we are not “Leakers”…we are mature adults who work and communicate with other colleagues- the inexperienced cabinet hasn’t done the daily workload TO DO JOB SCHEDULES, to earn their weekly paycheck, so since Jan 20, 2025…it’s like third graders running our INSTITUTIONS. No wonder Asia and Europe are ahead of us, since Trump and Project 2025 took over the Government.
from Dr Bandy X Lee’s Substack today -
“Structural violence, or inequality, aligns with individuals who seek positions of leadership for their power and influence, rather than their capacity to serve society or humanity. Over time, personal ambition becomes a dominant motivator for pursuing leadership, eclipsing any sense of collective responsibility (Mills, 2000). Psychologically, positions of power are increasingly seen as a means of assuaging and overcoming feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy, shifting from a duty to an entitlement (Foucault, 1977). This dynamic is especially compelling for those who are psychologically-disordered, making leadership roles disproportionately attractive to those with a need to assert dominance. This self-selection process overrides existing mechanisms for screening or accountability, leading to the emergence of unfit “leaders”—those who are corrupt, manipulative, or willing to do anything to rise to the top. Unfit “leaders” by definition worsen the society through incompetence and poor governance, but because they view their positions of power differently from the very beginning, they will respond to criticisms with defensiveness, reinforcing rather than addressing the systemic inequalities that allowed them to rise (Ferguson, 2013).”
May I suggest, read Carlyn Beccia's Medium post - Most of her family are ardent MAGAS - and as she says, it's got nothing to do with the economy.
"The grievances aren’t about GDP, unemployment rates, or the price of eggs. They’re about identity, recognition, and a visceral need to reclaim a sense of power in a world that seems increasingly indifferent, especially to white men."
https://carlynbeccia.medium.com/the-long-maga-apology-that-is-never-coming-aaa4e38a24ae
Trump has only ever made one genuinely true statement - "I am your retribution". Retribution is the glue that holds MAGA together.
When he says "your retribution", he really means "MY retribution"
#2 statement from Von Clownstick would be "i love uneducated"........being a narcissist.....he loves himself about all else.
My sympathy for white men is zip. Thank God I knew some awesome ones. If alive, they would be as irate as I am.
Nothing so fragile as an mediocre white man. I am very lucky to have some in my life who are incredibly supportive (including two current and one former band directors of mine.)
AMEN!!!!!!!!!
JD, I am with you. White men and their female enablers and apologists need to get over themselves. I know that 2000 years of white supremacy in the west is hard to reverse, but even the Romans didn't think that skin color meant anything--although their misogyny was epic. The grievances of privileged people that their privileges are being taken away (which is not the case, as this is not pie) should be a subject for ridicule. And if the little snowflakes complain? I have all kinds of rehab therapies to offer them: like removing their access to their privilege for a time so that they can experience the "reality-based" world for once; making men experience what being female is like in this world; scaring the crap out of them in the way that women and BIPOC people experience every damn day. And yes: I am so done with this. Time. Is. Up.
I understand your sentiments, truly do. However if we demonize white men, we are kicking a big voter block out of our camp. Listen to Adam Kinzinger on this topic. We can’t afford to alienate anyone. White men are ALSO suffering in these times. Although many ( but not all) the perpetrators are SWM , the majority of white males are just Americans struggling to survive. Bring those people in to the fight.
No one is keeping them out of the fight. It's up to them to see how OTHER people are struggling to survive, just as they are, but with the added baggage of NOT being a white male. I don't know how many times I hear that it is Black women who "save" the Democratic party. I'm not a Black woman, but I honor their efforts to make the Democratic party "do the right thing". It's time for ALL men to see the "donkey work" women do. Watching the Republican slash through social programs that help families survive/thrive and not realizing how that impacts women is a damn shame. Women help their families financially while also raising children and taking care of elderly parents or handicapped relatives. A majority of women live in poverty with their children, and then in their old age. If we sound pissed off about all of that and then white males feel threatened, that is one added burden...don't make white males feel threatened. Keep everyone happy. Damn, Spanky. Put one more stick on the camel's back. I understand YOUR sentiments, I truly do, however.
My comment is purely about keeping the tent open and with room for everyone. I am in no way diminishing the hardship of women or black and brown people. I live in a multiracial family. However on this thread folks tend to generalize that all white men are privileged. This is not the case. One of the reasons we lost many votes from young men is that they felt that democrats were not speaking up for their own struggles. Suicide amongst young white men is skyrocketing, substance abuse and unemployment. Loneliness is at an all time high. Yes, the perpetrators are mostly SWM, but they are only a few in number. This is class warfare, more than it is racial or gender driven…
I recommend reading Jefferson Cowie's Freedom's Dominion too. It is tracing the White backlash to Reconstruction periods where Blacks gain voting rights, like after the Civil war. The Whites call their backlash Redemption, and have an idea of Freedom that places them at the top. I wrote a piece about a lecture Cowie gave this week that talks about this in context of the current election where he talks about populists winning the presidency, but explains it as either left or right.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/is-populism-the-way-to-go?r=f0qfn
Note to others: Linda's Substack has no paywall.
And she has plenty of pithy, apt observations from Europe.
I think the biggest divide in America is not the left vs. the right but up vs. down, the rich vs the rest of us. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote and spoke about this.
And that is exactly as planned by the GOP and MAGA, and propagandized on Fox… distract and get folks angry about the “culture wars” so that they don’t vote in their own economic interests. Sadly, it worked very well, especially with those who are less well educated. Perhaps when they stop getting their Social Security, Medicare, ACA, and farm aid they will wake up from their trance… but maybe not.
I don’t feel sorry for white males and their pity party. Not one bit. The fathers of them worked very hard to get ahead, and support their families. They were drafted and fought wars.
Yes, and did the hard work of unionizing (not going to leave women out of that fight, either) in order to improve their lot in life and not be worked to death and then thrown on the dung heap. We have take all of this for granted. Those who do not see that men and women who were not white fought the same battles with the added burden of NOT being white.
Here seems to be an appropriate place to note that since the origins of humanity, patriarchy has been almost universal as a social structure. Additionally, Caucasian men have always been a small minority of the entire global population, and have been physically weaker than men with elevated dermal melanin. This probably accounts for white men's inherently fragile egos and perpetual need to feel superior to others.
And might I note that once those white men eliminate all people of color and LGBT+ and people with disabilities and most women (who think for themselves and see through those men) they will be alone in the world as they cannot reproduce alone!
Thanks, JaKasa. always wondered (really).
So true, JaKsaa; what you say is also true for the military and law enforcement; they were represented at the J6 insurrection and support the demise of our democracy.
"Infinite thanks to the leakers." Yes, Ricardo. Thank you. And infinite thanks to investigative reporters as well.
They are real patriots (compared to the January 6 insurrectionists).
I’m sure Musk still got the information.
I find hope when I hear that Republicans Congressfolk are sometimes speaking up. I have decided that when I hear of it (eg Wicker and Murkowski) I will call and politely thank them for the specific action they took. I hope this will demonstrate that they will have support if they are brave enough to withstand Musk’s threats. We only need to change the minds of 3 R House members and 8 R Senators to be able to effect an impeachment….
If only a few Republicans try to pull support from Trump, they will be ruined by social media. It has to be a large amount so large that Trump can’t ruin them.
@ Sandra. Read Feathers of Hope. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
You are correct about the house but in the Senate to convict we would need 67 votes (2/3) and right now we Dems good only 47 seats. By my count that means we need 20 R senators to actually get a conviction.
Nice idea but virtually impossible to actually happen. Add to that that even if it happened, JD Vance would become President, I wish we wouldn't waste our valuable time with things that won't do anything except rile up the masses.
This is why I have urged that impeachment is a waste of time.
But JD is not the cult leader. He wouldn't be able to carry it off and we might have a better chance at righting the ship. If you're hit by a gust of wind, your sailboat will heel (lean) way over. Release the main sheet (line holding in the sail), the sail will dump the wind and the boat will come upright again. Perhaps not the best metaphor but we are sheeted in too tightly and in danger of capsizing.
The problem with JD Vance is that he is owned pretty much lock stock and barrel by billionaire Peter Thiel and it doesn't matter what he can or can't do. Peter will dress him up and sell him like Lays potato chips.
Also as we almost all know, Trump is a bit of a wild card. He will tack at a hint of a change in the wind. Vance is way more predictable and controllable. That means he is LESS likely to just make his own decision on important issues. He will just ask Thiel which way to jump and how high
It should never be forgotten that Vance's daddy, Peter Thiel, is influenced by and allied with Curtis Yarvin, who is one creepy supervillain. The vilest fictional dystopias don't compare with Yarvin's actual designs.
Much of what comes out of Vance's mouth smells of the Yarvin stench.
Jane's suggestion may not help toward impeachment but that's an end game and there are many baby steps to stopping this madness and her suggestion is worthy in this regard. IMO
Jon, I often don't agree with your comments (not to say that I DISagree), but on the matter of impeachment chatter, I agree.
If someone wants to spend their own time daydreaming of Trump's impeachment, or raising unicorns, or having supernatural powers, they should be free to do so. But sharing these reveries in public is a waste of everyone's time, and a distraction from more useful discourse.
What would you suggest, then? I think that the town halls happening without the R’s could have an effect. I am old enough to remember that it was the Republican Senators who went to Nixon and said they would vote for his impeachment… They supported him until they didn’t. I think the Social Security issue may very well be a tipping point. Where do you see hope and potential fog stopping this - short of civil war?
I agree that Social Security might be a strong domestic issue, certainly if Musk actually tries to stop checks going out. My SSI deposit is due next week and my roommate and I are awaiting to see if they show up in the bank. I'll survive if it doesn't come but not easily.
I also think the Ukraine is.a potential issue as many R's do not agree with Trump's capitulation to Putin.
But it is still a "long game" that won't have a good resolution instantaneously and that is what a lot of people want. They want it to be over NOW and that isn't going to happen sadly. Once he got elected again, those horses were out of the corral.
That "only" that you mentioned Janet, it's a big only but reachable. Good comment 👍
Agree. The threat by T and M to primary those not falling in line may not be as daunting if their policies are deeply unpopular. Many backed by T have not succeeded in the past.
Impeachment may be a viable topic in 2027….
More so than now if we retake both houses of Congress. But still, as we found out in 2020 and 2021, with split Congress, is so very difficult to get a conviction. If Trump actually killed someone on 6th Avenue, MAYBE even the R's would turn against him but that's a far stretch.
I called Sen Wicker also Rep Rogers from Alabama, who stood up for our support of NATO. They need to know that people are paying attention to these issues.
Howard Lutnick’s statement made me want to spit nails. I find it interesting that these entitled far right millionaires/billionaires call those on the left “elites”….oh, missing a SS check shouldn’t be a bother & if you holler about it you are a fraudster or cheat. WTF???? Wish he and others like him found themselves in a “Trading Places” reality for long enough to grow some compassion & understanding. Oh, and I gather that his 90+ year old MIL lives in his billionaire household, so no, I don’t think she’d be hungry or homeless (and I hope she is loved and well cared for)….that he can’t envision another reality for his MIL’s circumstance shows just how insulated he is.
How can someone so stupid be so rich? Lutnick;’s “reality” that anyone screaming about losing their SS benefit is a fraudster will get a rude awakening if they try to pull that one off. Tens of millions of us are not 94 years old, nor do we live with our billionaire children. Cross that red line and I guarantee there will be hell to pay.
I'll field that question. In most cases, wealthy people are members of the Lucky Sperm Club. That is, they were born into wealth. (See: Trump, Musk) Non-members of LSC often rely on the work of others. This might take the form of cheating in school or hiring others who actually have expertise in a particular discipline.
Dale, you win for the best acronym today! Love the Lucky Sperm Club!
That was the second 'Elvis Presley shoot-the-TV' moment for me this week. I can't write what I'd like to do to that arsehole.
There are a lot of things that we can’t write if we want to stay out of jail. “If my mind could be seen they’d put my head in a guillotine” pretty much sums it up 🤷♂️
I love the Trump Lutnick endorsement of Tesla! MAGAs will never buy an EV after a decade fighting against them. Thanks to Trump's and Lutnick's endorsements, no Lib who loves EVs and might have overlooked a few months of Musk Madness since Musk created the EV market with 'proof of concept', these Libs will not buy Teslas now. It's a good time to be 'short Tesla'! 'Look out below'!
I love my Toyota hybrid!
It won't do any good but it made me feel better, I have a scathing letter ready to go to Mr. Lutnick. Say how about we coin a new nickname for him, what's say we refer to him as "Howie Lugnut"?
Or Howie Nutlick?
He was dripping with unctuous distain for the peasantry who might need to keep track of their bank balance. That was a vile display of cold blooded detachment. Rachel played it like six times last night - I can’t get it out of my head😝.
As are the majority doing the destruction, no clue constituents .
Every time the truth is mentioned they scapegoat, blame, and double down with lying , becomes an immediate tell taller tales tactics or new smoke screen distractions.
Lutnick also pushed the idea of tariffs to replace federal income taxes.
Consumer taxes that the bottom 50% spend a much higher percentage of their income on.
I love to hear the crowd at the town halls chanting "tax the rich".
Since 1980 and the Reagan administration and right-wing policies, fifty trillion dollars has been transferred from the bottom ninety percent to the top one percent. I learned that from HCR. Today, our national debt is 37 trillion dollars; the answer is to tax the rich, the answer to Social Security funding and Medicare funding is tax the rich.
It is only fair.
Bernie was my candidate of choice twice, when the corporate Dems kept him from running. He's still my hero, as is AOC. Two fighters. Two truth-tellers.
Another hero of mine, since I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, has been Jackie Robinson. Another fighter and truth-teller. Anyone calling him a DEI hire, decades before DEI was even a concept, has no idea what it means to hire someone based on merit. We all have our heroes, and we need to do what we can to keep their reputation alive and to insist on their reality. Enough said.
However, my understanding is that on this tour Bernie and AOC are pointing out what is wrong and not working, but I don't know if they are offering solutions. Political consultant Anat Shanker Ocosio, is telling us that we have to have narratives for people where they can see what they lives would be like under a different vision. A populist vision.
Bernie always has bullet lists of things needing to be done, Linda.
Actually right now Bernie is a highly effective Democratic leader (and we sure could use one, Biden and Harris have virtually disappeared!) And deserves our support. I still do not believe he could have won any of the three elections from 2016 on for both political and cultural reasons, but that doesn't mean I think he should sit down. In fact I think he is vitally needed to lead us right now. I just caution that we should realize that no matter how much he is liked or even loved, his electability in the future remains highly questionable.
Hopefully an electable leader will come to the forefront by 2027 for the next election.
Although Bernie is more vigorous than most of our "elder statesmen," he can continue to be a leader without being a presidential candidate.
TOTALLY agree with this Betsy. I am thrilled he and AOC are out there pushing back on Trump. The more, the better.
Read Ralph Nader's Letter this week! Familiar practical thoughts perhaps but like HCR he holds our history in his hands.
https://nader.org/2025/03/21/democratic-party-leaders-mostly-wimps-wallowers-and-wallflowers/
Thank you, Peter.
Totally correct he is.
So pathetically, mortally sad so many Dems are so totally out of touch with America's working classes.
And yet the apt novels, memoirs, essay collections, biographies, and histories are there -- recent, current, in-touch, apt. And ignored by all elites, all schools that assembly-line the idiot elites.
I'm not familiar with Anat Shanker Ocosio, so I don't know what her solutions are, but I'm not sure on what you're basing your understanding of Bernie and AOC's message. Bernie has always been clear about his vision, everything from universal health care to a living wage.
The only thing that we can do is mass civil mobilization constantly to force the politicians to live up to their oath to preserve and protect the Constitution.
They may think they taking an oath to God, I believe they are taking the oath to their constituents.
Are you participating in an April 5 demonstration? If you don't know where there is one near you, check the Indivisible homepage: https://indivisible.org/.
Agreed. Anat Shenker Ocosio shares helpful insights and advice from her research with focus groups.
Thank you for your comments in support of Bernie. I supported him in both elections and was a Bernie delegate to the 2020 Democratic Convention in 2020. It dismays me to read so many comments from fellow LFAA readers dissing his electricity or ability to get things done. I respectfully disagree. He is consistently ranked the most popular politician in America, hands down. I hence believe he is the most electable. He has demonstrated his ability to lead us in this moment, leaning into his 40 year history of opposing oligarchy. And all of his ideas of Medicare for all, expanding social security, improving veterans care, and raising pay to a living wage are immensely popular and just what this moment needs. He is paving the way for younger voters by supporting AOC. What's not to like?
So, do you wonder if this administration will demand that that "42" must be used for player numbers now to avoid being DEI? Jackie's number had been retired years ago out of respect for what he accomplished both as a player & a civil rights sports icon. Shall we besmirch his accomplishments all because some poor little white boys & men are finally feeling what people of color, women, minorities, handicapped have felt for decades? Awh, poor little white guys, they aren't THE MOST important humans after all!
Trump claimed he loves meritocracy, but you can't have a true meritocracy without DEI. The idea of "merit" is not totally positive either. It shames those who are too poor or otherwise disinclined to go to college as being responsible for their own failure to make a good living. There are systemic causes making it harder for them, and DEI is an attempt to level the playing field. Everyone "merits" decent housing, food, and health care.
Addendum. The George W. Bush administration used the “you create your own reality” language technology taught by Werner Erhard in his est training program which later became known as the Landmark Forum. The evidence I have of this is that when Donald Rumsfeld gave a briefing about the coming Iraq War, he used identical language to that used in introductions to the Landmark Forum. In those introductions, those attempting to sell people on taking the program talked about how “there are things we know… Things we don’t know that we know we don’t know… And things we don’t know we don’t know“ Rumsfeld was selling the war as something critics couldn’t criticize or shouldn’t criticize because they didn’t know what they didn’t know about the reality the Bush administration claimed to be aware of. Of course the Bush administration was lying about the existence of weapons of mass destruction. Those expressions about reality used by Rumsfeld as well as Condoleezza Rice (talking about how we didn’t want the evidence of weapons to look like a mushroom cloud) were all based on Erhard’s teachings … that principally revolved around being very skilled con artists. Someday I hope researches are able to uncover how many people in the Bush administration took Erhard‘s programs. I’m pretty sure Rumsfeld did.
"Terrorist" deportees did not have any criminal records because they were imprisoned before they could commit any crimes. Sounds like an Iraq casus belli to me.
'Tattoos of Mass Destruction' that were actually of a professional soccer club!
This is good information but it obscures the reality JFK’s assassination created. Until then the military empire of the Defense Department (that replaced the War Department) served the democratic Republic of the United States. The Republic served the Defense Department after that, demonstrated by the Tonkin Gulf Resolution and other resolutions that got our military involved in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Trump is another demonstration of the disfunction of empire vs the function of democracy.
Evil knows how to manipulate and use any tool to reframe their insanity. Rummie was an expert
OMG, est.
I was growing up in Los Angeles when that crap hit the well-to-do street.
If you want zen training, listen to Alan Watts tapes instead: much more fun.
There sure are a lot of estholes....
I’ve run out of words to express my disgust for what Trump and Musk and all of the Project 2025 terrorists are doing to our garment. They discovered the simple fact that you don’t have to eliminate the government if you just make it so that it cannot function. Then the government becomes a dead weight hanging around the necks of ordinary Americans. And that appears to be what these fascists want… A government that is like an automobile engine that has been fed tar instead of gasoline. Impossible to function. 😡
Where is Superman and the rest of the Justice League when we need them?!?! 
Superman's name is Bernie Sanders. He is an Independent, not a Democrat, and he showed the leadership needed when it was most needed. No need to mention those who did not.
Where's Superman, Steve? The kryptonite got him that was in the Powell memo.
It's a history -- 50 years back when, by the mid-1970s both the Heritage Foundation and ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) had been up and running a couple years – since early 1973. They, along with an enlarged Hoover Institution, were the first to begin implementing the far right’s agenda as in the 1971 Powell memo.
Heritage and Hoover spent the 1970s placing articles to shame lib profs on U.S. campuses for any extra-curricular activism – anti-war, pro civil rights, women’s lib, and the environment. They sought an end to the use of novels, films, and songs of the time energizing these causes. They wanted profs as neutered specialists only.
ALEC added to this with lobbying state legislatures to reduce funding for the public colleges and universities which all had well aided since the Justin Morrill land grant act of 1862. ALEC argued half of Americans never went to college, so why subsidize those who did?
The Cato Institute joined the clamor in 1977. Then many others. All began lobbying for more standardized testing – that K-12 serve meritocracy, so easily obtainable numbers put all in clear numerical hierarchies.
Trouble was, ALEC’s defunding successes also set higher ed students in new and deep student loan debt to the banks. And testing’s K-12 takeover tilted all to categories, abstracted causalities, and life as linear chronology. Nothing personal anymore. Humanities gone. As if 100% of all in K-12 aspired to meritocracy’s neutered elites.
And here now, Bernie Sanders is taking the stage and speaking up
History redux, thanks Phil. Damn, does the Hoover Institution want a redo of 1929
Yes.
But instead of the rich jumping out windows, they will have the resources to buy cheap while the rest of us are stuck with crypto.
Possibly. You do see things I don’t. I’m somewhat confident that crypto will never be mine. Unlike currency, which is and has always been self-contained … crypto requires a lot of sophisticated and expensive equipment at every stage. Equipment that has a short lifespan and is prone to failure at any stage and multiple points. It’s value has been and remains indeterminate. But you know all this.
I suppose a lot of terrible things are going to occur before my final exit, as they always have up to this point. Whoever is interested in making satoshis universal had best hurry. Thing is, I do understand blockchain ;->} 😂 😜 ✌️
As to the other popular forms of gambling, I don’t participate in those either.
As you just pointed out, those positioned to have less risk, and something with non-evaporative value to bargain with, will do pretty well. In the Great Depression people like those could buy up things others could no longer afford to keep. Entire industries grew out of that. Just like the stock market loves RIFs, there are many Republicans that see economic downturns as a culling of the herd. It’s horrible to realize the extent of this in some folk. Heartbreaking actually.
Phil, thanks for nailing this down. It is also true that the Democratic Party leadership was well aware of all this at the time. They saw the moves into county and State governments and into judiciaries. They saw Blue Dog seats go Republican. There’s quite a litany here.
Thank you. I just see crypto as ephemeral, more an illusion and wonder about the trip to Fort Knox. They don’t do anything without a plan.
They have muskrat to fix it, small enough to fit in a bathtub. Hope Grover drowns in it…
Wasn’t it former ambassador for to the US, Antonov, who made these two interesting and true remarks before departing?
1) The USA is like a great fatted cow waiting .
2) Upon being asked how liked living in Washington DC, “Too many squirrels.”
It's a problem to concentrate all the attention and blame on Musk, that's part of their game. We have to keep the name of the main responsible at hand for any action this regime carries out. Don't forget pls.
I agree, the focus must stay on Trump. He is the elected president. Just ask him! The focus and blame is his alone for the destruction of our democracy. Also the blame goes on JD Vance as he is the Vice President. Don’t take the eye off them.
Seems to me that there is a private club of creeps involved in this coup. I don't think it's just Trump coming up with all this.
And the people who dreamed this up, have funded it, orchestrated it, and are benefitting most from it are barely mentioned allowing the team's front men, T and M, to take all the heat while they plot their way to recasting the US as a feudal state, along with the rest of the world, that they will rule with AI and their military weaponry as untouchable dictators over us, their serfs.
They are in the process of setting up the US like a tech startup corporation where T rump is the Chairman of the Board, Mush is the CEO, and both answer to and are beholden to the board of directors: senior board members Sacks, Andreessen, Thiel, Roberts, demonic "thought" leader Yarvin, plus Zuckerberg, Altman, Bezos, Balaji, etc. These people don't consider themselves US citizens but rather global citizens who want to accelerate the destruction of the US to scoop up bargain assets and make us ordinary folks so desperate that we will work for them for peanuts. Plus they have major connections to Russia, China, and other authoritarians and are behind the whole Greenland and Canada and Panama Canal overthrow imperialist idiocy.
No, no, without them, none of this happens, not even the first Rump go-round when Thiel called the shots on most hiring and helped with the data mining efforts. Focusing on T rump or even Mush has been like we're mowing over the dandelions' flowers but never digging up the roots. (Though honestly the deepest root that made them possible is neoliberal capitalism, but that's a whole other chapter.) (On Bluesky see @gilduran and @jennycohn for much more detail on all of this extremist organization.)
“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” - Thoreau
Agreed. It’s the Voughts, the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, the Thiels and musks who want money and power. Felon47 is not this bright and vance is bought and paid for.
Just because they keep themselves low key and under the radar, don't ever forget the lead hand of Koch Industries. Reject any of their affiliate companies products. Look them up; they are a monstrous right wing extremist corporate conglomerate that financially supports the far right wing and Christo-facists.
Yep. No way cfg came up with most of it. *It's so shallow you can't get the soles of your shoes wet in him.
Yet the putrid side of the Force overfloweth with that one.
Indeed my friend...
He is the elected president, but because of his pathological narcissism and greed, he is vulnerable to manipulation by others even less well-intentioned than himself - and they seem to be taking advantage of that vulnerability.
Well-intentioned, never. Revenge and greed all the way.
James Donald Bowman (birth name of current VP) is being kept under wraps by Peter Thiel, awaiting the moment when ffpotus is terminated; either by natural causes or by 25th Amendment action.
That's my calculus too Ally.
Dont foget the monied people behind tRump though. 2025 was scripted by megabucks.
It's a coalition Rachel; A horrific coalition. "It’s the Voughts, the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, the Thiels and musks who want money and power. Felon47 is not this bright and vance is bought and paid for. " via Jen Schafer, above ↑ Also, Just because they keep themselves low key and under the radar, don't ever forget the lead hand of Koch Industries. Reject any of their affiliate companies products. Look them up; they are a monstrous right wing extremist corporate conglomerate that financially supports the far right wing and Christo-facists.
I do believe that is musk’s purpose in all this. Trump sure as heck won’t take any blame for this mess. His sign should read, “The Buck Stops Anywhere But Me”.
Oh yeah, T rump will escape any culpability as the ceremonial Chairman of the Board (aka monarch), while Mush runs this US startup as its CEO (co-monarch), both having been appointed by and who are beholden to the Board of Directors (the king's council) -- the billionaire tech fascist extremists who are running everything: Yarvin, Thiel, Andreessen, etc. They are the ones who so far are getting away with quite literal murder of both real humans and of our democracy. They have their installed Vance (crown prince) waiting in the wings to take over for T when he ceases to be useful (or you know) and Mush will keep on running the day-to-day operations until he too moves on to more global takeovers (world ruler shit) or until the board votes to bring in someone else after M completes the coup. In the meantime Mush is not so much being manipulated as he is willing to take the heat as the representative face of the cabal that's in charge in exchange for control over our skies, military, internet, govt AI, his own tech fiefdom, etc. here and around the world. This crew has plotted this for decades and now that they are in position and executing their insane plan, they don't think they'll ever be held to account. We have to change that outcome for all of them.
But, remember, you have a disaffected component of the population that only wants revenge (mostly , which supports this mostly inchoate attitude, but supports Trump/Musk actions.
I agree with all of the folks who say that he is too deranged to come up with any of this by himself--although the tariffs thing has been an obsession of his for a very long time--but he is the mechanism through which they are working. I also just read a report this morning in the Times that decades ago Columbia U was looking to expand and rejected his offer to sell them a piece of property for 400 million. And that he never forgot it. So what is the penalty the Felon wants Columbia to pay? Oh, that would be 400 million. Shared: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/nyregion/trump-columbia-university-400-million.html?unlocked_article_code=1.504.0yFe.Kbdx5U6bcnwp&smid=url-share
Yep, if this goes bad, Trump will shift the blame to mask must will be out and the chaos will continue
I only partially agree. I have used this analogy before. When a sledgehammer is being swung in your general direction, it's a good idea to keep your eye on the tool's trajectory so as to avoid being hit. But if you want to stop the sledgehammer from swinging, you must discover who is swinging it and disarm or disable them.
Donald is the sledgehammer (and has the same I.Q.). One ignores those who are manipulating him at one's own risk. We must pay attention to and disable the likes of Stephen Miller, Russell Vought and his gang of terrorists, Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin and others.
And stay safe, we need you.
This so called DOGE is not a legitimate government department, yes? Why is it granted such access to so much information (rhetorical question)? When will Congress fight against DOGE’s dismantling of the government? When DOGE decides to do away with Congress? It’s not that far off considering how many congressionally mandated entities it has already deemed insignificant. If their jobs are threatened, will Republican elected officials finally realize the disaster they have enabled?
Congress will do nothing until there are mass demonstrations, like 20,000 people on the Mall in Washington. Republicans dodge town halls. They need more than the town halls organized by Democrats. Republicans somehow find a way to dismiss protests as being conducted by paid people rather than serious protests. It’s an old tactic. I grew up in Mississippi in the 60s. NOBODY paid the freedom riders. You can’t get anyone to be beaten viciously for money; those people did what they did on their principles.
20 thousands? How about 200 thousands or 2 million. Just wait for the policies to start rotting all aspects of life for everyone except for the 1% and then the regime will be afraid of us and not all the way around. Thanks for your comment Kim.
Okay, I suggested a number too low. I just pulled it out of you know what. MLK proved you could attract larger crowds, but that was a different time. He was perceived as a leader. If a leader emerges who commands a high level of visibility and respect, then the number would be higher. Who would that be? I’m too naive about visibility and respect to know who would be able to lead.
exactly: 20,000 is a drop in the bucket. 2 million is a but more realistic in terms of changing minds, but unrealistic in terms of doable.
Hello Margaret... Maybe Musk, and Vought are given so much 'Free-Rein' because DJT is Lazy, and doesn't want to actually Learn, and Govern... In DJT's Demented Reality Show, DJT just wants Outrage, and Vengeance... Fear of DJT's Minions suppresses those Republicans in Congress that don't go with their Program...
It seems to me that Trump is profoundly lazy, which is part of why he makes everything up. But being born ultra wealthy lets him dabble in so many cosplay roles, like impresario, or university head, or clever business leader, and "money pouring in from Russia" helped a lot when he was blowing it. He is not really a president, but he plays one on TV. He has the powers of a president, but of course, that's not nearly enough. He is trying to play at King of the World, but don't even say the word 'responsibility'.
Thanks JL... DJT uses People when it benefits him, and Discards them when they have served his Purposes... Maybe the Joke now is that Musk, and Putin are using DJT until his Dementia, or the Creator, takes him away...
The world's biggest (utterly) spoiled child and all the people in the world his personal playthings.
I have an unforgettable image of Charlie Chaplin as "The Little Dictator" tossing an inflated globe in the air.
J L... Thanks for the Post... This is Good... Maybe an 'Evil, Malignant, Demented', Bam-Bam would be appropriate... I believe that Mary Trump would have some insight into DJT's formation...
he got elected in the first place (2016) because people thought he was a competent businessman, thanks to The Apprentice - despite bankrupting casinos ("the house always wins...") and other enterprises, and despite his openly fraudulent charity and university and ... and ... and..... So playing someone competent on TV, or now social media, goes a long way.
I imagine you are aware that Trump's popular book "The Art of The Deal" was ghostwritten and the writer now very much repents his shameful role in promoting the BS.
So maybe we need a good Democratic actor/ celebrity to rally around. Suggestions?
I think our reliance on actor/celebrities is the problem, not the solution, but yes, an effective leader need be courageous, outspoken, focused, and relatable. I suspect that a number of our venerated leaders would not have checked the "made for TV" box adequately, but still were skillful communicators. Maybe, at long last, it is time for America to put away childish things and grasp self-governance as an adult responsibility. And by "adult" I mean emotionally adult. When they were both in the news, who was more adult? Trump or school-girl Greta Thunberg?
Profoundly lazy, sign those executive orders and pretend that you are working. Phony through and through…
Clearly Trump is not knowledgeable enough to hack our governmental systems.
The Reality is, neither is DOGE... If one is a knowledgeable Techie, Teslas, Space-X Rockets, and 'X' are shoddy Products that were rushed out, and over-hyped... J.L., did you know that ALL CyberTrucks have been recalled AGAIN?...
Stuck together with Elmo's Glue. Musk used his massive supply of money to take over Tesla from the people who built it. The CyberTruck looks more like Musk's influence.
Again? Do you think those "trucks" are a lemon?...😄
They are rust buckets, intentionally designed to disappear in the environment. Of course now their parts will just fly off before even having a chance to rust out.
Yesterday was the first day we went out where I didn’t see a single one. We usually see quite a few in southern California where the sea air will make them vanish. There will be seats and a battery driving down the roads.
Good Sharon, the sooner they disappear the better 👏
Every time I see one I think of his nazi salute.
Neither is Musk.
For the scumbag president, those people are just doing "his" job and will be blamed when people start seeing reality and revolt. Then he'll fire them and name replacements the same or worse. In the meantime, nothing would change. Nice comment Apache 👍
The rubber meets the road in the offices of about 20 Republican House members who represent majority Dem districts.
Excellent Daniel... We can Hope, Pray, to the Deity of Your Choice, that there will be Congressional Elections in 2026...
Thanks Ricardo....
I doubt there is anyone who would be “better” than Elon. His visibility, money, and ignorance of government would be hard to replace, and there is probably no one worse.
Hello Kim... DJT, and Elon seem to share some Bad Pathologies.... The Thirst for Hype, the disconnection with the effects of their actions on other People, and a lack of Integrity... Does Elon want to rob the SSA Trust Funds for his Mars Trip? Elon says that SpaceX will be there in 2029, or no later than 2031... Elon should do a Howard Hughes, and be his 1st Best Test Pilot...
If you have access to the diagnostic manual used by mental health professionals, look at Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Both men fit all of these criteria. The psychiatrists who have written about Trump used the term malignant narcissism and many have labeled him a psychopath. He fits there as well. I think he’s paranoid,too. Freud called this wild analysis- diagnosing someone you haven’t seen personally. In Trump’s case, we have a broad range of behaviors and speech that allow his diagnoses to be valid. We have “seen” him display all the behaviors in diagnostic nomenclature. That’s a much larger sample than you can get by sitting in your office with him,
Hello Kim... Thank You... Excellent Info....
His only advantage over other worse than him is his bottomless amount of money. Other than that, not hard to replace. You'll see Kim. 😁
Exactly
Trump is now announcing that some of the tariffs will be selective. Better to increase the personal bribes he can demand. And it’s not even protection money, just basic bribes. That’s what he’s interested in, those companies, countries and rich interests all begging to be allowed to bribe him.
Hello Nancy... From the 1st Admin.... DJT thought that the Presidency was Symbolic... Just Occasional Appearances... In DJT's World-View, DJT is Emperor.. What DJT/Musk, is revealing, is that in the Contemporary Neo-Realism of American Society, Money Doesn't Talk, it Screams Profanities...
There’s also mounting evidence that T is a Russian operative. (I know. Stop. Think! Why a war on China now? Keep that in your head as you run past-and-present information through your truth meter!). Musk has his own agenda. JD his own. (Both well documented and known.) Trump his own agenda. Musk and JD can do anything they want and Trump wouldn’t care, except to throw the dogs (American people) a bone now and then. They (American people, Musk, JD + courts, Congress, etc) are the perfect distraction to protect T as he achieves what he vowed (to Putin) to achieve— to take down the American Empire. Narcissistic Trump was an easy “recruit” for Putin. T would sell out America in a heartbeat for the power promised to him—leader of the new America! King to Rule! Not a President to govern! Together with Russia we will unite to fight China and bring America in line with the new world order! That would also of course please Musk. And surprise the hell out of JD (oblivious). HCR READERS- please! Your combined thoughts welcome for Heather’s consideration! For reference, consider finding the article, “At some point real action will be required to stop this madness,” posted by Investigation of Corruption is with John Vega and 8 others.
I hope and pray this is not true. But every cell in my body is telling me get up and fight like hell!
I don’t think we can classify Trump as a Russian operative. That would require discipline. I do believe real action will be needed. By that, I mean huge demonstrations, including maybe 100,000 people on the mail in Washington. No violence. Just a large peaceful demonstration. The Mall doesn’t have storefronts for window breaking and looting. We just need a leader to pull it together. Look at how MLK did it.
one problem is that the MAGAts tend strongly to violence and are well armed, and any member of Congress - either house - who starts feeling independent of Trump/Musk gets death threats against them and their families.
I contemplated getting a gun for the first time in my life. But I think there are other ways I could prevent those perverts from attacking that might be more effective.
Hello Sharon... Hopefully the Necessity Never Arises... If you do get one, learn how to use it Safely, and as the very last resort...
I’ve had training and would certainly go for it again as well as the rest of my house. I do think I have better options for self-defense.
Hello John... The MAGAs have been Prepping for Decades... Some are praying for Violence... Pay attention to some of the J6 Confessions...
What ever happened to government procedures?
This is not a government JL, this is a regime and the procedures are made as they go.
Fools rush in. Boy, do they ever.
Frankenstein has an R on his head
Thank you, Professor, for talking about how people are fighting back. Would love to read some of your magical history stories about how others before us fought back against their oppressors, even going back to the Revolutionary War era, to provide inspiration for what we can do now.
Today I started asking my reps to not just report to us on what is happening, cuz we frickin' know, but also what are they doing to help us fight back, not do it for us, although that would be helpful too, but ways they can use their experience and connections and any of their expertise to help us help ourselves.
So, I asked one of my Dem senators to not just report on the flagrant disregard to the court order over those hellish removal flights to El Salvador but to attending one of the April 5 Hands Off gatherings, preferably in the redder part of the state, and to rally people around what a government and party that works for everyday folks can look like that she will commit to fighting alongside us to achieve.
When I saw that Chris Murphy, who is not one of my reps, also reported on the changes happening at the Social Security Agency in a Bluesky post and said, "Pay attention", I replied: "Chris, we know. A big part of your job now is to help us figure out how we stop this & be there with us when we do it. Like, which senior groups are you offering organizing or coalition building advice to? Which unions or social services groups have you approached about actions they could unite to take?"
And even to AOC who reported on the impacts on families of disabled children from the closure of the Department of Education I wrote: "Alexandria, what can you advise those families and advocates and groups and neighbors can do to unite, to help out, to find other ways to get around this so these kids don't get hurt by a regime that does not care about them when the majority of society does?"
We're not experts but as AOC and Bernie's huge rallies are showing, we are in this fight and we need them to work alongside us as we navigate how we organize, survive, and win.
trump and musk are bullies who thrive on fear. Bullies are the weakest of the weak. Sooner or later everyone becomes one of their targets. Bullies cannot be trusted ever. DO NOT BE AFRAID!!!! Stand up to them and say WE WILL NOT LET YOU INTIMIDATE US because the thing with bullies is that they CANNOT stand to be stood up to and shown that we ARE NOT AFRAID of them now ....or ever!
“Crazy Town” it is indeed. Maybe DOGE needs a new name - CIC, or Chaotic Inept Cruelty.
Or RUD for SpaceX explosions. Rapid Unplanned Disassembly. A man who knows nothing about how the government works is colluding with Trump, with Trump’s blessing on the rapid disassembly of the Civil Service. Meanwhile, the Republicans sit by and say nothing, or even cheer random termination of public servants without regard to the actual work done by these people, assuming they are all incompetent and unnecessary. CIC indeed.
As an old space junkie, I never applauded for catastrophes at NASA. Muskrat changed that. NASA will regret associating with him.
Kind of like a bull in a hospital operating room.
It occurred to me, Michael, that DOGE is really a Rube Goldberg “machine”…or at least that’s the effect! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg_machine
Seems more like a rock slide to me.
Mudslide
Call in the Muckrakers.
DOGE cruelty is epic. Efficiency? It depends? At weakening and disabling the nation? That seems true. Chaos? That's a pretty easy gig.
Good Evening to all of my fellow Trump Derangement Syndrome Sufferers, and welcome to Spring!!!
In the great American classic film "On the Waterfront", the anti-hero/hero Terry Malloy, played by the late, great Marlon Brando, took a horrific beating on the docks of Hoboken, trying to break the corruption of the aptly named uber corrupt boss Johnny Friendly, played by the always magnificent Lee J. Cobb. He had to get across the line before the gate closed to procure justice for the workers, one way or another. As he struggled to do so, the viewers of the film could hear a bell ringing, a common dockside bell but sounding like a ringside bell as well, a trope ironically used decades later by a onetime decent guy, yet now Trump supporting sellout Sylvester Stallone, in "Rocky".
My point being that the bell has rung, and indeed we now know for whom the bell tolls, as the Sanders/AOC caravan continues its sold out tour of the former territory of La Republica de Mexico, denouncing the anti-constitutional oligarchic and anarchic depredations of the Trump/Musk regime.
The bell ringing, as has been the case in so many human societies throughout history, is a call to awareness, gathering, and vigilance. A call in our case to all of those, but also to something heretofore never thought necessary, a call to reconstitute the fabrics of our house we never thought would ever be so frayed. Yet frayed they are, by social media's distortion, by generations of people acting upon watching Fox News and actually thinking it's "news", by Despicable Don's con-man charismatic call to cataclysm, etc.
May we come together consistently, persistently and insistently, to reclaim America as we know it to be, a unique experimental Nation taking a wonderful Brobdingnagian, all hands on deck, teeming refuse from distant shores mentality, ALL coming together interlocking our digits of all colors, our spirits of all religions, and our perspectives of all possibilities to achieve the twin goals our Forefathers/Foremothers so creatively promised, of liberty and justice.
To do so, we must hearken back to our revolutionary beginnings knowing, sad as it may be to say, that the forces of darkness aligned against us are so temporarily powerful that we must realize that standing together, standing strong, resolute and fully resistant is our only hope, to avoid, as Franklin so famously said, hanging separately.
To our beautiful resistance, and to its ultimate goal of our beautiful renaissance, I say,
ONWARD!!!
Thank you Daniel, very well said.
May the mighty Liberty Bell ring loudly and righteously again, inspiring us to keep this republic and reclaim our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...and banish this tyranny and lawlessness from this land...
Daniel, thank you for this! It is a tremendous, clarifying, and empowering writing.
Daniel:
Does the expression, "a fire bell in the night," sound familiar? It is attributed to Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Senator John Holmes, as he contemplated the expansion of slavery into Missouri, 40 years before the beginning of the Civil War.
Jefferson continued, "I am now to die in the belief the useless sacrifice of themselves by the generation of 1776 . . . is to be thrown away by the unwise and unworthy passions of their sons, and that my only consolation is to be, that I live not to weep over it."
Source: U of Virginia Library
\Vince S
I think having TDS is far better than being a pedophile soliciting sex from minors.
Well said, sir!
Megalomaniacs indifferent or even proud of the damage they inflict. An idiot with the means to do so can wreck things. There must be a way to properly shame these bullies. Not that the main perpetrators are capable of remorse, but perhaps some of the less hard-core followers might shift their perspective. Crazy town indeed. We the People are going to have to live with this in the end.
A friend sent a link to my wife. I tracked the source. It's petty horrifying, but the closing paragraph is wise: Such racism indicts Trump. Treating racism as a typical or minor matter indicts us." And that was from 2019 https://americasvoice.org/press_releases/michael-gerson-such-racism-indicts-trump-treating-racism-as-a-typical-or-minor-matter-indicts-us/
Turn the 'laugh track machine' around on them constantly, incessantly. The cfg hates to be laughed at.
I don't want them to feel shame; I want them to feel pain, hunger, fear, homelessness, wrongful imprisonment, poverty. They ALL need to be reaping what they are sowing, from the MAGA school board members all the way up to the corrupt 6 SC justices, every member of the WH administration and every MAGA Congress member!
J L, thank you for that link. Pretty horrifying, an understatement. One doesn't remember history such as that because it is simply too painful. So it is good to be reminded of it in times when the leader exhibits racist behavior, such as the disappearing of immigrants to foreign prisons without even a nod to the law.
There is definitely a horror component to human nature, and not specific to any one society. The urge to bully. The thrill of cruelty. It has plagued our species for so long at so terrible a cost, you would think we would be more than ready to let it go.
Do most white Americans think and/or feel that racism is a problem to be solved by “DEI” (e.g. people of color)? Quite a number of us say we have MAGA members among friends, family and colleagues. Do you ever talk about racism with them?
If we could overcome white supremacy in our psyche and systems we’d have a much better chance to live with democratic values in a “United” nation.
I have spoken with maga inlaws and acquaintances who focus on merit and qualifications as the heart of anti DEI initiatives. This of course has been disproven by this administration, but does not change their mind. They are not willing to admit to racial motivations.
My MAGA neighbor quit talking to me after being pushed back on for supporting the pussy grabber and then denying Covid. We used to walk every morning, then she moved to Montana while keeping her 2 million dollar house here for her brother to live in. She rarely comes back for even a visit. Her brother could live in a condo and that 5 bedroom house could be for a family.
Thank you, Professor Richardson. I remember reading the quotation about "reality" you cited from the New York Times Magazine. I'm pretty sure I saw something about it more recently than 2004. What it reveals is that the efforts to subvert our government and our reality go back at least as far as the Bush-Cheney administration, if not before. The far right has been trying for a long time to impose its wants and needs on America by undermining and even completely ignoring the rule of law. They think they've finally got the power to destroy the country the better to impose their vision on us.
The same old serpent has never liked any legal barriers between it and it's prey.
Reagan
Stagecraft over statecraft.
That quote was on T the first chump debacle